January 2023 – The Toy Department

The Toy Department – Episode 330

In Episode 330, Madden and Kolsky do a LITTLE bit of housekeeping before jumping right into:

The fact that Derek failed to complete his homework when he forgot about Treason (1:40) which is a nice little spy drama/thriller that Kolsky can still tell us a bit about…
The most recent episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (5:40), including thoughts on elimination selection strategy, some great Burns of the Week and a preview of what looks to be a GRUELING final…
The new horror/satire/comedy film The Menu (39:55) and how it is carried along by a group of excellent acting performances…
The Billy Eichner/Judd Apatow-created rom com Bros (45:50) and how both hosts thought it hit all the Romantic Comedy pleasure spots…
Homework for TWO WEEKS from now (52:15), including: the new Netflix comedy You People, the new Peacock show Poker Face, Apple TV+’s new show Shrinking, Hulu’s British superpower show Extaordinary and OF COURSE the final of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…
A few quick thoughts on this weekend’s NFL Conference Championship games (56:35)…

In Episode 329, Madden and Kolsky have a brief bundt cake discussion before getting down to the business of the day:

HBO’s new Sunday night series The Last of Us (3:40), and how it was perfectly watchable but didn’t totally live up to the hype for either of our hosts…
The despicably bad NBC Night Court reboot (10:55) and how disappointing it was…
The warm, inviting Netflix re-imagining that is That 90’s Show (15:25) and how it proves the concept of a nostalgic sitcom reboot…
Netflix’s new tennis docu-series Break Point (22:10) and how it worked much better for one of our hosts than it did for the other…
The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (29:10) which is NOT yet at TJ’s final, but still gave us a highly entertaining episode this week… and also the latest from Kolsky’s experience with one of Rachel’s Challenge Workouts…
Homework for next Friday (53:30), including: the movie The Menu on HBO Max, the comedy Bros on Peacock and the limited series Treason on Netflix… plus, OF COURSE, the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies!!

In Episode 328, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s tough day at the office before getting into the pop culture content of the week:

The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (2:50) as we have reached the doorstep of TJ’s Final and likely seen our final major twist of the season…
The new season of Last Chance U (35:55) on Netflix, which stays with East LA College and coach John Mosley as he rebuilds the program after COVID killed their previous season…
The film She Said (41:20), now available on Peacock, and how it takes a specific and successful angle on covering the reprehensible Harvey Weinstein, plus some thoughts on the excellent lead performances…
The new Netflix show Kaleidoscope (49:35) and how when its elaborate gimmick turns out to be nothing special, what’s left is a decidedly not special heist show…
A few thoughts on the impending Wild Card Weekend (59:45) and who the guys see ending up in the Super Bowl in February…
Homework for next Friday (1:09:40), including: HBO’s new show The Last of Us (), Netflix’s new tennis docu-series Break Point, the NBC reboot of Night Court and Netflix’s 70’s Show reboot That 90’s Show… plus, OF COURSE, the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies!!

In Episode 327, Madden and Kolsky debrief on Kolsky’s weird morning before locking in on:

The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (2:40) and the critical error made by the Underdogs in the latest daily challenge…
The documentary Woooooo! Becoming Ric Flair on Peacock (19:20) and how the apparently-still-not-retired wrestler makes for a very compelling subject, even if many of the stories have been told before…
The Netflix film White Noise (27:05) from director Noah Baumbach and how it fails to really finish any thoughts despite starting an awful lot of them…
Netflix’s new spy series The Recruit (32:35) and Noah Centineo as a leading man/action star…
Homework for next Friday (37:00), including: the movie She Said on Peacock, the new series Kaleidoscope and the newest season of Last Chance U (both on Netflix)… and OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…