Author Archives: toyAdmin

The Toy Department – Episode 276

  By toyAdmin | October 7, 2021 - 11:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 276, Madden and Kolsky get into a little Austin City Limits story time before diving into:

  • HBO’s The Many Saints of Newark (7:20), how much THIS show enjoyed it and how far it goes beyond fan service…
  • Jon Stewart’s new Apple TV+ show (19:15) and how the format it seems to be going with is somewhat exhausting…
  • A turning point episode on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (25:35) and how the game will change moving into the second half of the season…
  • Homework for next Thursday (49:20), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus checking out the Netflix sensation Squid Game and the new Dave Chappelle standup special The Closer (also on Netflix) AND the many exciting sporting events that will happen before we next meet…

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The Toy Department – Episode 275

  By toyAdmin | September 30, 2021 - 11:33 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 275, Madden and Kolsky return from an unplanned absence with very little memory of what they intended to talk about when they left each other last, so today:

  • It’s pretty much all about The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies!!! (2:45) There’s three weeks of content to catch up on, lots of drama and a big turning point for game strategy in the most recent episode…
  • There’s just a touch of concert talk (42:25) as Derek heads to Austin City Limits…
  • Homework for next Thursday (47:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark on HBO and the debut of The Problem with John Stewart on Apple Plus…
  • And a bit of baseball (49:35) to round things off…

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The Toy Department – Episode 274

  By toyAdmin | September 9, 2021 - 12:12 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 274, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss Kolsky’s plan to head off marital distress at the pass with a football babysitter before moving to more pop-culture-relevant concerns, including:

  • The new season of American Crime Story on FX/Hulu — Impeachment (3:15) and how one episode may not be enough to say a lot more than “there’s some good acting here…”
  • Netflix’s John David Washington film Beckett (11:15) and how it is mediocre enough to make the hosts wonder why Denzel’s very talented son isn’t getting better material to work with…
  • A few quick thoughts on the return of Billions on Showtime (14:40) and how it continues to be the fun-times-with-bad-billionaires favorite that it has been for several seasons…
  • LOTS of stuff from The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (16:20) and how the rookies have now turned on each other as vets continue to cruise along, plus lots of great Devin moments and a heartbreaking injury disqualification…
  • Homework for next Thursday (47:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus HBO’s new show Scenes from a Marriage, Hulu’s new comic-book based show Y: The Last Man, the debut of Top Chef: Family Style and plenty of response to the start of the NFL season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 273

  By toyAdmin | September 2, 2021 - 1:41 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 273, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky chat a little about QB depth charts before getting into the weeds with:

  • The Hulu film Vacation Friends (3:15) and how the highly enjoyable cast of John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji and Meredith Hagner makes it a highly enjoyable watch…
  • Hulu’s new show Only Murders in the Building (8:55) and how Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez draw viewers in to a hijinks-filled murder mystery story…
  • The Nicole Kidman-led Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu (14:40) and the incredible cast that holds it up as its central mystery develops…
  • ALL THE LATEST on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (25:30) and the tragically stupid strategic decisions of Fessy, plus Burns of the Week and Episode MVP!!!
  • Homework for next Thursday (58:50), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the new Netflix film Beckett (starring John David Washington) and the new American Crime Story on FX/Hulu (focusing on the impeachment of Bill Clinton)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 272

  By toyAdmin | August 26, 2021 - 1:22 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 272, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are interrupting Kolsky’s family bonding leave to nitpick with each other about:

  • Netflix’s new Sandra Oh vehicle The Chair (1:45) which is entertaining and features a charming performance from the lead actress but also troubles one of our hosts from a thematic perspective…
  • The documentary Untold: Malice at the Palace (27:20) and how it does a great job of telling the story and addressing the may angles of a singular moment in sports history…
  • FX’s new triumph Reservation Dogs (37:20) and how quickly it sucks you in to a story about characters who feel extremely real…
  • The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies is through another week (41:40) and these rookies can’t get their heads out of their rears…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:08:35), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus a bunch of things on Hulu — the new Lil Rel/John Cena movie Vacation Friends, the Nicole Kidman show Nine Perfect Strangers and the Steve Martin/Martin Short collab Only Murders in the Building…

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The Toy Department – Episode 271

  By toyAdmin | August 19, 2021 - 11:55 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 271, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky reconvene after a week off with a MASSIVE list of pop culture topics, including:

  • The just-completed HBO Max series The White Lotus (3:25) and how the soundtrack and the acting were both tremendous, even if our hosts had different views of the series overall…
  • HBO Max’s dating series FBOY Island (17:25) and how Madden and Kolsky received the show in tremendously different ways, though they agree that saying “F Boy” over and over again is a terrible idea…
  • A couple brief thoughts on Apple TV+’s Mr. Corman (25:45) and how neither host has much to say about it yet, but both are in to see where Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes this thing…
  • James Gunn’s Suicide Squad (26:20) and how it succeeded in being largely entertaining, even if there aren’t a lot of meaningful takeaways…
  • THE RETURN of The Challenge (34:35), and all the intrigue from the first two episodes of Spies, Lies and Allies — from the eccentric Romanians Emy and Emanuel to Hurricane Ashley and everything in between…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:17:10), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the Netflix documentary Untold: Malice at the Palace, the new FX (on Hulu) show Reservation Dogs and the Sandra Oh show The Chair (also on Netflix)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 270

  By toyAdmin | August 3, 2021 - 11:06 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 270, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk a little about the crowded sports calendar before turning their focus to:

  • The return of Behind the Music (7:15) and whether the now-MTV property is doing enough with new content to be worth watching…
  • The new Iliza Schlesinger Netflix movie Good on Paper (17:40) and how it’s a relatively original twist on what is basically a romantic comedy format…
  • The new HBO Max comedy special Tig Notaro: Drawn (22:20) and whether the animation gimmick adds to Tig’s particular brand of stand-up…
  • The surprisingly compelling Peacock show Dr. Death (28:10) and how the lead actors and a shocking true story help create an engrossing experience…
  • Homework for next THURSDAY (37:15), including: the return of The Challenge!!! — Spies, Lies and Allies debuts on Wednesday and the guys will go deep on next week’s THURSDAY pod, plus HBO Max’s goofy new dating show FBOY Island, the new Suicide Squad movie (also on HBO Max) and hopefully an episode or two of Apple TV+’s Joseph-Gordon Levitt vehicle Mr. Corman…

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The Toy Department – Episode 269

  By toyAdmin | July 27, 2021 - 11:28 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 269, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky start by chatting about recent Olympic events and the recent trend of athletes stepping away to prioritize their mental health, then move through:

  • Season 2 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ (16:20) and how the show remains tremendously charming but the release schedule is an unanticipated annoyance…
  • Another Apple TV+ original, Schmigadoon! (22:35) and whether it is a parody musical or just a mediocre musical…
  • The new documentary Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love and Rage (28:05) from the Music Box series, a very well-made doc that tells a story about the past but ties directly to our present…
  • The new season of TBS’ Miracle Workers (48:35) and how the show retains a lot of its charm but definitely has some diminishing returns…
  • Hulu’s docu-series McCartney 3, 2, 1 (54:10) and how much mileage each of our hosts get out of old men telling stories — spoiler alert, it varies…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:04:05), including: Tig Notaro: Drawn on HBO Max, the Behind the Music revival on Paramount+, the Iliza Schlesinger Netflix rom-com Good on Paper and Dr. Death on Peacock; plus, LOTS of sports content between the Olympics, the NBA Draft and the MLB trade deadline…

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The Toy Department – Episode 268

  By toyAdmin | July 20, 2021 - 12:26 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 268, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with some Ted Lasso Season 2 excitement before discussing some currently available pop culture, including:

  • The new season of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever (3:40) and how it remains charming and enjoyable but doesn’t necessarily feel essential…
  • LeBron’s Space Jam (8:15) and how it’s a perfectly decent kids movie with a non-actor (but also non-terrible) star…
  • Netflix’s new action flick Gunpowder Milkshake (24:40) and how it’s basically the best version of exactly what you would expect it to be…
  • A few thoughts on an NBA Finals series (31:40) that has changed a lot since we last spoke…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (44:20), including: the new Hulu documentary McCartney 3, 2, 1, Apple TV+’s new musical satire Schmigadoon!, the new season of Miracle Workers (set on the Oregon Trail), the new HBO documentary Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love and Rage and the second season of Ted Lasso…

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The Toy Department – Episode 267

  By toyAdmin | July 13, 2021 - 11:55 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 267, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly debate who is responsible for their totally irrelevant delay in recording the episode before diving into:

  • The newly-available-on-the-CW show Wellington Paranormal (2:45) and whether or not the first two episodes are enough to warrant continued viewing…
  • The CW/HBO Max reboot of Gossip Girl (7:50), the pilot-y nature of the first episode and how it compares and contrasts to the original series…
  • Mike White’s new HBO show The White Lotus (29:10) and just how very much is going on in the first episode without necessarily giving you an idea of what’s going on, broadly speaking…
  • A handful of sports thoughts, from the NBA Finals (45:35) to ESPN’s mishandling of the Rachel Nichols/Maria Taylor debacle (52:30)…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:06:50), including: Season 2 of Never Have I Ever and the film Gunpowder Milkshake on Netflix, the new Hulu documentary McCartney 3, 2, 1 and LeBron’s Space Jam on HBO Max…

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