The Toy Department – Episode 266

  By toyAdmin | July 6, 2021 - 11:34 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 266, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky CAN’T WAIT to start talking pop culture, so it’s straight into:

  • The finalé of Top Chef in Portland (1:00) and the post-series drama surrounding the winner, plus the premiere of Top Chef: Amateurs (23:45) and the impressive talent and quirky personalities therein…
  • The USWNT documentary LFG (33:10) and the team’s long fight for equal pay…
  • The new Steven Soderbergh film No Sudden Move (56:45) and whether the great director still has his fastball…
  • The first Questlove jawn, Summer of Soul (1:01:30) and all of the many takeaways from an excellent documentary film…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:11:35), including: the reboot of Gossip Girl on HBO Max/CW, the New Zealand(ish?) show Wellington Paranormal (produced by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement) on The CW and the new Mike White show The White Lotus on HBO, plus a couple other pieces of pop culture, potentially…

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The Toy Department – Episode 265

  By toyAdmin | June 29, 2021 - 11:16 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 265, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly discuss a soccer game that will be long over by the time you listen to this podcast, then get into:

  • The latest episode of Top Chef in Portland (3:40), whether or not the non-elimination elimination was the right decision and thoughts on the final three chefs…
  • FX’s new talk show Choe Show (30:55), the bizarre brilliance of David Choe and how the show represents a kind of peak version of a modern television talk show…
  • Netflix’s docu-series This Is Pop (43:25) and its place as as sort of documentary innings-eater…
  • The special extra episode of HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (48:45) and what purpose it was intended to serve…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (54:55), including: the FINALÉ of Top Chef in Portland, the premiere of Top Chef: Amateurs, the start of the NBA Finals, the USWNT documentary LFG on HBO Max, the new Questlove film Summer of Soul on Hulu and the new Steven Soderbergh joint No Sudden Move…

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The Toy Department – Episode 264

  By toyAdmin | June 22, 2021 - 11:20 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 264, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get into some NBA Playoffs issues before jumping out of the sports world and into some television to move through:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (11:40), and how it took a miscarriage of justice to get us to the final three we probably wanted all along…
  • A comparison between the two new shows Physical (on Apple TV+) and AMC’s Kevin Cann F*** Himself (22:30) and how neither is entirely successful but each of our hosts has a preference for one over the other…
  • A comparison between two returning pod favorites in FX’s Dave and HBO’s Betty (34:15) and how both are wildly enjoyable and have very specific (and endearing) vibes…
  • A thorough breakdown of Entertainment Weekly’s (often misguided) list of the best Challenge contestants of all time (48:15) and where and how they went wrong in their rankings…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:03:25), including: more Top Chef in Portland, more NBA Playoffs action, a Netflix documentary called This Is Pop, HBO’s new special episode of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and The Choe Show on FX/Hulu…

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The Toy Department – Episode 263

  By toyAdmin | June 15, 2021 - 11:20 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 263, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly discuss Madden’s challenging recording circumstances before jumping into the week’s content, including:

  • The Michael B. Jordan movie Without Remorse (2:15) and how the Tom Clancy film formula falls a little flat in 2021…
  • The show Startup (9:55), how it is exactly the kind of existing-show-investment that makes sense for Netflix, and should make for a delightful slow-burn binge…
  • The new HBO Max show Starstruck (17:30) and how delightfully charismatic Rose Matafeo is as the lead character…
  • This week’s action on Top Chef: Portland (25:05), arguably the teariest Top Chef ever, and the clear three-way competition developing as we head into the final few episodes…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (49:01), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the return of HBO’s Betty (which Kolsky forgot last week), the return of Lil’ Dicky’s FX show Dave, the new Apple TV+ show Physical and the new AMC show Kevin Can F*** Himself… plus, Madden and Kolsky will break down EW’s list of the best Challenge contestants of all time…

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The Toy Department – Episode 262

  By toyAdmin | June 8, 2021 - 11:31 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 262, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky plunge immediately into this week’s content, because Kolsky has a take he’s been anxious to share about:

  • The new Peacock series We Are Lady Parts (1:20) which is Kolsky’s clubhouse leader for SHOW OF THE YEAR in 2021…
  • Some thoughts on The Challenge: All Stars reunion (10:10) and what the future of the franchise may hold…
  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (20:50) and the heavy hitters heading down the stretch of the competition…
  • Netflix’s new Zack Snyder film Army of the Dead (31:55) and just how terrible it actually is…
  • Bo Burnham’s new Netflix comedy special (41:35) and the incredibly creative and innovative style that captures the essence of our year of pandemic life…
  • A few sports thoughts (55:05), covering the NBA Playoffs, health vis a vis rest and some USMNT soccer talk…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:01:01), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the new Netflix show Startup, the new Michael B Jordan movie Without Remorse on Amazon Prime, the new HBO Max show Starstruck and the return of HBO’s Betty (a pod favorite… plus, Madden and Kolsky will break down EW’s list of the best Challenge contestants of all time…

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The Toy Department – Episode 261

  By toyAdmin | June 1, 2021 - 11:25 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 261, Madden and Kolsky have a log list of subjects, so time-wasting is eschewed in favor of:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (1:10) and FINALLY the elimination of bad-pasta-Chris, plus thoughts on the recipe challenge and the hosts’ favorites heading down the stretch…
  • The Friends reunion on HBO Max (20:45) and how it aimed for 100 minutes of nostalgia and hit pretty close to the bullseye…
  • The new film Plan B (38:25) and how it’s an absolute home run of an indie high school adventure movie…
  • A wrap-up discussion on Mare of Easttown (43:55) and how HBO has another high-quality limited series in the drama category, filled with tremendous acting performances and a compelling crime mystery…
  • Some NBA playoff thoughts (54:35) at the halfway point (or so) of the first round, re-assessing the favorites after a rash of injuries and some see-sawing series results…
  • A brief discussion about Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open (1:02:50) and the difficult task of respecting metal health while also realizing that media availability is part of the job of a modern professional athlete…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:09:30), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the new Netflix movie Army of the Dead, Bo Burham’s new stand-up special on Netflix and the new British comedy We Are Lady Parts, about an all-female Muslim punk band…

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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 – Episode 260

  By toyAdmin | May 25, 2021 - 12:38 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 260, Madden and Kolsky are attempting a short episode per scheduling needs, so they dive immediately into:

  • The new Tina Fey/Peacock show GIRLS5EVA (1:20) and how the one episode available to non-subscribers isn’t quite enough to draw in our non-subscriber host…
  • The new HBO Max show Hacks (6:05) and the greatness of Jean Smart…
  • Angelina Jolie’s movie Those Who Wish Me Dead (11:35) and just how little sense any aspect of it makes…
  • Season 3 of Netflix’s Master of None (19:20) which focuses almost entirely on Lena Waithe’s character Denise and her wife, and continues to be an intriguing made-for-streaming art film sort of piece…
  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (30:35), which is heading down the home stretch with a ton of talent in play after a completely unique restaurant wars…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (45:10), including: more Top Chef in Portland, the end of HBO’s Mare of Easttown, the new film Plan B on Hulu and the Friends reunion on HBO Max… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: All Stars FINALÉ on Thursday night!!!
  • A few NBA thoughts (47:40) as the Playoffs have commenced…

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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 – Episode 259

  By toyAdmin | May 18, 2021 - 10:52 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 259, Madden and Kolsky are back from a Kolsky Paternity Break to catch up on their favorite pop culture, specifically:

  • A couple weeks of thrilling action on Top Chef (5:30) with the elimination of the much-hated Gabriel and a pretty distinct top four chefs emerging; now restaurant week is on deck, with a new open kitchen design!!
  • The old Cinemax show Banshee (26:00) which is now available on HBO Max and makes a hell of an enjoyable binge…
  • Catching up on The Challenge: All Stars (34:10) which is heading into the final with an awful lot of competitors but only a few competitors, if you catch our drift…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (58:45), including: more Top Chef in Portland, the new Tina Fey/Peacock show GIRLS5EVA, HBO Max’s Jean Smart vehicle Hacks, the new Angelia Jolie movie Those Who Wish Me Dead and the debut of season three of Netflix’s Master of None (which focuses on Lena Waithe’s character)… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: All Stars on Thursday!!!

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