Author Archives: toyAdmin

The Toy Department – Episode 296

  By toyAdmin | April 8, 2022 - 11:19 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 296, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s hangover and potential parody songs about it before getting their act together to talk about:

  • The completely watchable but generally unimpressive Moonshot (2:50), a middle-of-the-road-to-the-moon romantic comedy that’s nothing special but not awful, though it does threaten to pigeonhole Lana Condor into a remarkably small niche…
  • The utterly awful Netflix movie The Bubble (9:20) and just how bafflingly bad it is, particularly given the often funny and definitely talented people involved…
  • The new Disney+ entry to the MCU — Moon Knight (16:40) and how it definitely leaves a lot of unanswered questions through two episodes, led by Oscar Isaac’s madcap performance as the central character…
  • This week’s episode of Top Chef: Houston (30:20), the new leaderboard, the remarkably high level of competition and a very cool challenge honoring trailblazing women from Texas…
  • Homework for TWO Fridays from now (51:10), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of Better Call Saul, the new Apple TV+ series Roar, the new season of Netflix’s Natasha Lyonne vehicle Russian Doll, Hulu’s second season of Woke (starring Lamorne Morris) and the new HBO Max joint Tokyo Vice…

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The Toy Department – Episode 295

  By toyAdmin | April 1, 2022 - 2:59 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 295, Madden and Kolsky spend a couple minutes on the pitfalls of parenting before hustling through:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef: Houston (2:00), and epic barbecue challenge and who’s thriving so far this season…
  • The return of Donald Glover’s Atlanta (15:30) and how it continues to be one of the best and most unique things on television…
  • Amy Schumer’s new Hulu show Life & Beth (22:30) and how the first two episodes are not particularly compelling but there’s hope for the future with Michael Cera still yet to show up…
  • A few minutes on The Oscars (25:00) without a mention of the slap…
  • HBO Max’s new DC-based series DMZ (31:25) and how Rosario Dawson in a post-apocalyptic war zone makes for very compelling television entertainment…
  • Homework for next Friday (35:45), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the new Marvel series Moon Knight, the HBO Max rom-com Moonshot and the new Netflix movie The Bubble…
  • Some thoughts on the upcoming Final Fours (40:15), particularly the big UNC-Duke matchup…

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The Toy Department – Episode 294

  By toyAdmin | March 25, 2022 - 2:23 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 294, Madden and Kolsky briefly address Derek’s disappointment with US Soccer before moving through:

  • Reaction to last night’s Top Chef: Houston episode (2:30), the remarkable technical skills needed for the doppelgänger challenge and who’s in the driver’s seat moving forward…
  • The absurdity of the psycho-erotic thriller Deep Water (25:25) and just how little sense the whole messy mess made…
  • The wonderful and rightfully Oscar-nominated CODA (32:15) and how this little movie charmed it’s way to big success…
  • HBO Max’s new Jake Johnson showcase Minx (41:50) and what a fun ride it is…
  • The Big Mouth spinoff Human Resources (46:40) and how it’s funny enough to watch but missing a lot of the original’s best features…
  • The latest in real-life-entrepreneur-gone-bad television, Hulu’s The Dropout (49:35), and how Amanda Seyfried’s phenomenal work is not enough to suck in one of our hosts…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:02:30), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of Donald Glover’s Atlanta on FX, the new Hulu show Life and Beth (starring Amy Schumer and Michael Cera), and HBO Max’s new limited series DMZ (starring Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 293

  By toyAdmin | March 18, 2022 - 11:47 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 293, Madden and Kolsky touch a little bit on a thrilling Day 1 of the college basketball tournament before moving on to:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef (2:50), Sam Kang’s potato problems and just how competitive this season is after just three episodes…
  • Apple TV+’s Ben Stiller-directed show Severance (21:15) and how fascinating it is, both in concept and in execution…
  • Another Apple show, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (28:00) and how it comes together over the first two episodes with an interesting premise and some really good performances from Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback in particular…
  • Showtime’s based-on-reality SuperPumped (35:55) and how Kolsky’s disgust with the people this show is based on makes it tough for him to enjoy it…
  • The new Paul Thomas Anderson joint Licorice Pizza (47:50), how much fun it was, and why it is so much better than some of the over-celebrated Oscar movies we’ve talked about on past shows…
  • Some Oscars thoughts (58:40) about the nominees and also the changes to the television show, which somehow leads us to Derek’s dissatisfaction with the Atlanta Braves…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:08:35), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the Oscar-nominated film CODA on Apple TV+, the new Jake Johnson show Minx on HBO/HBO Max, the new Big Mouth spinoff Human Resources on Netflix, the new erotic thriller Deep Water on Hulu and the new Hulu show The Dropout about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos…

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The Toy Department – Episode 292

  By toyAdmin | March 11, 2022 - 11:07 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 292, Madden and Kolsky briefly address the sad news of the passing of Derek’s dog before brightening everyone’s spirits with:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef: Houston (1:50) and just how high the level of execution appears to be in the early part of the season…
  • HBO’s new Lakers-focused show Winning Time (22:20), how much fun it is and some of the excellent performances in the first episode…
  • The Oscar-nominated Guillermo Del Toro film Nightmare Alley (33:50) and how it sucked both hosts in with a gripping and visually striking noir story…
  • The return of the original Law & Order (41:35) and what makes the OG the best version of the now widely spun-off concept…
  • The new cartoon short series The Boys: Diabolical (49:00) and how it’s more or less exactly what you’d expect and not particularly important for any reason…
  • Homework for next Friday (51:25), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the Apple TV+ series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (starring Sam Jackson) and Severance (directed by Ben Stiller), the Oscar-nominated Paul Thomas Anderson film Licorice Pizza and the Showtime show SuperPumped about the battle for Uber…

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The Toy Department – Episode 291

  By toyAdmin | March 4, 2022 - 5:56 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 291, Madden and Kolsky return from a Kolsky-forced hiatus to celebrate (or denigrate) all the pop culture they consumed while away, specifically:

  • The premiere of Top Chef Houston (2:25) and who the guys fell in love with in the first episode, plus thoughts on the first elimination and potential favorites to win…
  • The second season of The Righteous Gemstones (23:15) and how Madden is enjoying a slight shift in content…
  • The end of AppleTV+’s The Afterparty (24:55) and how ultimately it’s just a really good hang, even if it’s not always laugh-out-loud funny…
  • Season two of Euphoria (29:00) and how both hosts love this completely insane and wildly unbelievable show…
  • A quick take on The Girl Before (45:30) and how its particular brand of psychosexual melodrama is less than totally appealing…
  • A few thoughts on the Oscar-nominated film The Power of the Dog (47:00) and how neither host found it enjoyable, but for very different reasons than Sam Elliott…
  • Netflix’s new sensation Inventing Anna (52:15) and how it’s a very Shonda Rhimes show with some great acting and a fascinating story to tell…
  • The utterly “meh” Soderbergh joint Kimi (53:30) and how somehow it’s an empty enough effort to make both hosts indifferent towards Zoe Kravitz…
  • Potential future homeworks (55:30) Superpumped: The Battle for Uber and the Apple TV+ show Severance, directed by Ben Stiller; but those go on the back burner for now because we have…
  • Homework for next Friday (57:10), including: HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, the Oscar-nominated movie Nightmare Alley, the return of the original Law & Order and the new Prime Video cartoon The Boys Presents: Diabolical…

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The Toy Department – Episode 290

  By toyAdmin | February 11, 2022 - 11:47 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 290, Madden and Kolsky get straight into the content because Derek is having a tough day and Matt doesn’t want to make it worse:

  • Netflix’s new Aziz Ansari stand-up special Nightclub Comedian (2:50) and how it has it’s hilarious moments but isn’t particularly personal or essential…
  • Hulu’s new show Pam & Tommy (19:30) and how it is incredibly well-cast and highly entertaining but seems to be focused more on the specific story of the sex tape than the relationship in general…
  • The new Netflix series Murderville (35:35) and how mileage may vary but Marshawn Lynch is spectacular…
  • The Amazon series Reacher (45:25) and how it’s a hell of a good time…
  • Some NFL prop bets (49:30) to prepare you for Sunday’s big game…
  • Thoughts on the NBA trade deadline (1:06:35) especially the James Harden/Ben Simmons trade…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:24:00), including: getting into some Oscars content with The Power of the Dog on Netflix, plus the new HBO Max show The Girl Before, the new Soderbergh film Kimi (also on HBO Max) and the new Netflix series Inventing Anna (starring Julia Garner)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 289

  By toyAdmin | February 4, 2022 - 11:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 289, Madden and Kolsky have a somber philosophical rumination about dogs getting old before snapping out of it and getting into:

  • The film The Last Duel (4:25) and the difference between the hosts’ opinions on whether it’s worth watching…
  • Apple TV+’s new comedy The Afterparty (17:55) and how the deep roster of comedy talent makes for a great time…
  • The new Freeform sitcom Single Drunk Female (25:15) and how the first couple episodes really lean on the charm of the lead actress…
  • Netflix’s new Kristen Bell-led satire The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (29:15) and whether it is caught in-between parody and satire…
  • A check-in with The Book of Boba Fett (33:50) and how the Disney+ series seems to be leveling up in its last couple of episodes…
  • Some NFL talk (43:00) as the league goes through multiple scandals at once…
  • A few quick thoughts on USMNT soccer (1:12:05) and the decision to play in freezing cold Minnesota…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:17:25), including: the new Aziz Ansari stand-up special Nightclub Comedian, Hulu’s new show Pam & Tommy, the new Netflix series Murderville and the new Reacher series on Amazon Prime…

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The Toy Department – Episode 288

  By toyAdmin | January 25, 2022 - 11:34 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 288, Madden and Kolsky have a little laugh about the sadness of missing The Challenge before getting networky with:

  • The underwhelming How I Met Your Father on Hulu (2:20) and how it’s super networky, despite being a streaming-only show, and mediocre-at-best…
  • The more enjoyable Abbott Elementary on ABC/Hulu (8:25) and where it succeeds, though mileage may vary person to person on really loving it…
  • Fox/Hulu’s Pivoting (13:15) and the irrepressible charm of its cast…
  • The new Duplass joint Somebody Somewhere on HBO (20:25) and how nice it is to have the brothers back in their sincere, heartwarming wheelhouse…
  • The beginning of the final season of Netflix’s Ozark (29:00) and how the stakes just keep getting higher on a really great TV program…
  • Some thoughts on arguably the greatest weekend of NFL playoff football ever (40:55) and where we’re headed now that it’s down to the final four…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (59:15), including: Single Drunk Female on Freeform/Hulu, the film The Last Duel (now on HBO Max), The Afterparty on Apple TV+ and Netflix’s new Kristen Bell show The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window… plus hopefully another great weekend of NFL Playoffs!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 287

  By toyAdmin | January 18, 2022 - 12:00 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 287, Madden and Kolsky are BACK (at long last!) to cover a MYRIAD of pop culture topics… and don’t worry, we cut out most of the COVID conversation so it’s basically straight into:

  • Aaron Sorkin’s Amazon Prime film Being the Ricardos (4:35) and how it’s a poorly cast, oddly framed and ultimately kind of pointless look at Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz…
  • The Matrix Resurrections on HBO Max (8:35) and how it was a pretty enjoyable action flick but not really anything special or mind-blowing…
  • Disney+’s The Book of Boba Fett (13:10) and how it doesn’t live up to The Mandalorian’s high standard in the first couple episodes, but it probably deserves some time to achieve that level…
  • The Apple TV+ film Swan Song (15:00) and how tremendous performances from Mahershala Ali, Glenn Close and Awkwafina bring an incredibly subtle but deeply moving film to life…
  • The HBO Max post-apocalyptic series Station 11 (21:30) and how it really came together beautifully and is, in the end, a hopeful and uplifting version of the world…
  • The return of HBO’s Euphoria (33:25) and how it delivers the same beautiful cinematography and fascinating storytelling that you may remember from its first season…
  • The end of Season 1 of Showtime’s Yellowjackets (40:50) and how thrilling and entertaining and well-acted it was, plus some excitement over the potential for Season 2…
  • The end of The Challenge All-Stars 2 (50:10) and the new level we expect the Challenge’s senior circuit to hit with the quickly-coming Season 3…
  • A few thoughts on the NFL Playoffs (1:10:00) after a largely boring “Super” Wild Card Weekend…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:16:40), including: Abbott Elementary on ABC/Hulu, Pivoting on Fox/Hulu, How I Met Your Father on JUST Hulu and HBO’s new Duplass show Somebody Somewhere, plus the new season of Netflix’s Ozark… (and don’t miss the post-show out-take, we say the F word a lot 🙂

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