Monthly Archives: March 2017

The Toy Department – Episode 63

  By toyAdmin | March 29, 2017 - 9:46 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 63, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky show up for class without completing their homework yet again, but nevertheless provide insightful commentary on:

  • Last week’s homework assignments (or the ones they got to, anyway): the Netflix-available show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2:30)… Amazon’s Pilot Season (6:30) and the five new shows available to watch and vote on… and Derek’s take on the new Drake album (26:20)…
  • The hot new thing in American soccer (31:20), specifically youngster Christian Pulisic and what he means for US Soccer’s future…
  • The NCAA Tournament so far (39:45) and the highly entertaining games we’ve gotten to see…
  • A quick check-in on the NBA (49:15), especially on the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference playoff picture…
  • Homework for next week (56:40): Derek will watch the beginning of the show Jane the Virgin, as he was supposed to last week, and the remainder of the Amazon Pilots… Kolsky will watch the film Mistaken for Strangers, about the band The National, as he was supposed to last week…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 62

  By toyAdmin | March 23, 2017 - 1:15 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 62, Derek Madden is suffering from a physical malady but nevertheless braves the spiritual danger of recording with Matt Kolsky, and they endeavor to share opinions on:

  • Last week’s homework assignments: the new Spoon album Hot Thoughts (2:15) with some thoughts on rock music in general over the past 15 years [also a brief interlude on Drake’s new “mixtape” More Life (9:50) and a less brief interlude about the NBA (15:25)] … and ABC’s drama American Crime (25:25)…
  • Dave Chappelle (33:20) and his two new hour-long comedy specials on Netflix, as well as his place in the pantheon of comedy’s greats…
  • Podcasts! (46:05) … wherein the guys discuss various programs they enjoy, including WTF, Doug Loves Movies, Pod Save America, Celebration Rock and more…
  • Speaking of the Celebration Rock podcast, a brief discussion of Pearl Jam v. Foo Fighters (57:15)…
  • A quick check-in on Madness brackets (1:00:55) and the joy of Duke losing…
  • Another note on Drake (1:02:04), specifically a recommendation of some hilarious online writing (which you can find here: Drake Watch 1, 2 and 3)…
  • Homework for next week, including: the aforementioned Drake album (1:04:30)… Mistaken for Strangers (1:04:45), the movie about the band The National… and Netflix-available TV shows Jane the Virgin (1:05:45) and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (1:06:25)…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 61

  By toyAdmin | March 15, 2017 - 7:16 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 61, Derek Madden is watching Matt Kolsky on video but hiding his face behind a camera-less computer as they discuss:

  • Last week’s homework assignment: the debut album (Yesterday’s Gone) of British hip-hop artist Loyle Carner (2:10)…
  • The return of the delightful Netflix show Love (12:20) and the excellence of lead actress Gillian Jacobs…
  • A check-in on Kolsky’s supposed binge-watch catch-up of FX’s The Americans (20:25) and how it’s going well but not very quickly…
  • The greatness of FX in general (25:05) and how it has elevated itself over other stations with its original TV programming…
  • Another FX gem, the new Ryan Murphy drama Feud (32:35), as well as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (the movie whose filming the show focuses on) and its tremendous star Susan Sarandon…
  • The NCAA Tournament (47:50) and all the associated accoutrements… From NBA prospects to upset picks, it’s the best in college hoops analysis from one guy who knows nothing and one guy who knows a little…
  • Homework for next week (1:09:35): Kolsky assigns the new Spoon album Hot Thoughts, which comes out on Friday; Madden tells Kolsky to watch the new season of American Crime on ABC…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 60

  By toyAdmin | March 7, 2017 - 8:45 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 60, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky kvetch about their various ailments like the couple of aging Jews that they are before jumping into deep discussions of:

  • The diverse television landscape (1:55) including chats about: FX’s The Americans & Legion (10:30), NBC’s The Good Place (12:45), the new Ryan Murphy series Feud (16:25), the new CW Archie adaptation Riverdale (22:10) and the reboot of Must-See-TV’s Will & Grace (27:45)…
  • A week at the movies!! Kolsky saw Logan (32:45) and gives a quick review before an in-depth discussion of the new horror darling Get Out (35:30) which both guys saw and enjoyed…
  • Cleaning up some old homework (49:40) as Madden failed to listen to the new Loyle Carner album but both guys are ready to discuss the new Cloud Nothings album Life Without Sound, which was the previous week’s homework assignment…
  • The World Baseball Classic (57:55) and exactly what the hell baseball is trying to do here… with a little bit of discussion about international sporting tournaments in general…
  • Next week’s homework (1:07:05) wherein Madden promises to listen to Loyle Carner and a couple of new TV shows will be back on the table as well…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 59

  By toyAdmin | March 1, 2017 - 7:21 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 59, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky use the Berkeley weather as a detour before briefly addressing Kolsky’s unemployment status, then dive into a variety of subjects including:

  • FX’s The Americans (6:45) which Kolsky can now use his widely expanded free time to watch, much to Madden’s delight… which expands to a discussion of TV in general…
  • The Oscars (17:15) including: why Kolsky’s mom is unhappy with him, sad movies, Michelle Williams and Busy Phillips, Emma Stone, Jimmy Kimmel, Matt Damon and the Best Picture SNAFU…
  • The Ringer’s Top 50 Fast-Food Items (35:30) which you can find here: http://fastfood.theringer.com/ and which has a lot of explaining to do…
  • Some homework for next week (53:30): Kolsky assigns the new album Yesterday’s Gone by British hip hop artist Loyle Carner… PLUS make sure you’re watching The Americans because Kolsky is about to blast through it and it will be discussed…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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