Tag Archives: TJ Lavin

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 – Challenge All-Stars Finale Pt 2

  By toyAdmin | May 27, 2021 - 11:01 pm | Uncategorized
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It’s Part 2 of the Challenge All-Stars final, and they’re putting these old folks through the ringer… Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk about the mild upset winner, which competitors are really up to the Challenge and what the future of the franchise might look like, plus lots of other wild speculation…

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The Toy Department – Challenge All-Stars Episode 8

  By toyAdmin | May 20, 2021 - 11:19 pm | Uncategorized
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It’s Part 1 of the somewhat sudden Challenge All-Stars final, and it is no joke… Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get into the tragic early elimination of Derrick (and Jisela), the various strategic approaches and their relative ability to consume spicy foods, among many other things…

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 18 AND Episode 3 of The Challenge All-Stars!!!

  By toyAdmin | April 15, 2021 - 9:09 pm | Uncategorized
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The Challenge: Double Agents final has begun, and it was action-packed in its first day!! There are new versions of old challenges, a dramatic injury, a gigantic wimp and of course some off-field drama, and Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are here to break it all down, with an eye forwards towards next week’s sure-to-be-thrilling conclusion… PLUS, it’s Week 3 of The Challenge All-Stars and the old folks are getting after it… AND an exciting lizard/reptile tangent that you don’t yet know you need… It’s all right here at The Toy Department podcast!!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 16 AND the debut of The Challenge All-Stars!!!

  By toyAdmin | April 1, 2021 - 11:17 pm | Uncategorized
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The twists and turns of The Challenge Double Agents Episode 16 have Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky in knots over all the permutations of potential elimination decisions as they dive deep into the strategy of this season’s endgame… Then it’s a BRAND NEW SEASON as The Challenge All-Stars debuts on Paramount+, and it should be a doozy (even if “All-Stars” is pushing it a little bit).

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 15

  By toyAdmin | March 25, 2021 - 11:50 am | Uncategorized
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Episode 15 of The Challenge: Double Agents was a DOOZY, and Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky break down all the drama of a thrilling daily challenge and a heartbreaking elimination… Some great Burn of the Week candidates, tremendous in-game analysis by Nany and a clear power dynamic setting us up for at least one more elimination before the final. NOT TO MENTION, we are only a week away from the debut of The Challenge All Stars/OGs on Paramount Plus… It’s an EXCITING TIME for Challenge-heads!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 14

  By toyAdmin | March 18, 2021 - 10:15 am | Uncategorized
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The 14th episode of The Challenge: Double Agents is 90 minutes of solid, if unspectacular, fun — so Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are here to cover all the intrigue!! TJ is being cagey, so the guys wonder how much longer this season will run, and briefly get into the coming premiere of The Challenge: All Stars, featuring Mark Long’s biceps… Also thoughts on the way teams are breaking out for the final stretch, and OF COURSE an MVP and Burn of the Week!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 13

  By toyAdmin | March 11, 2021 - 10:51 am | Uncategorized
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This week brought a fairly straightforward episode of The Challenge: Double Agents, but one that lays out the path to the final pretty clearly… Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get into what happens from here, who’s still in jeopardy and how long the road to completion will be… Plus, as always, a Burn of the Week and Episode MVP!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 12

  By toyAdmin | March 4, 2021 - 10:27 am | Uncategorized
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Another jam-packed episode of The Challenge: Double Agents, and Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are here to break down CT’s social miscues, Big T’s upsetting tears, Darrell’s smooth gameplay and Devin and Josh being Devin and Josh… Come for the Burn of the Week, stay for the high-level game analysis!!!

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