Tag Archives: Apple TV+

The Toy Department – Episode 382

  By toyAdmin | April 11, 2024 - 11:19 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 382, Madden and Kolsky have a LOT to catch up on, from Matt’s new debilitating addiction to Derek’s busy concert schedule (with plenty of stops in between) but eventually get around to:

  • A new season of Top Chef (10:20), a midwest location that infuriates Derek and all the insight our hosts have gleaned over the first four episodes…
  • A two-episode debut of The Challenge All-Stars Season 4 (31:40) and a cast of true stars that reaches all the way back to the very first season of the Challenge universe…
  • The surprisingly entertaining BlackBerry (55:45) and the simple pleasure of a good story told with good acting, writing and directing…
  • Netflix’s new sci-fi big swing 3 Body Problem (1:02:30) and whether (to torture the idiom) it makes contact with the ball…
  • Apple TV+’s new Kristen Wiig vehicle Palm Royale (1:13:15) and what exactly they’re trying to do here…
  • The Jake Gyllenhaal-helmed Roadhouse remake (1:17:10) and how it swings and misses (to further torture the same idiom from before)…
  • Homework for next week (1:26:55), including: more Top Chef Wisconsin and The Challenge All-Stars 4, a gaggle of Apple TV+ content — the shows Sugar (with Colin Farrell as a detective) and Franklin (with Michael Douglas as Ben Franklin); and the documentary Steve! (about Steve Martin) — and the Netflix movie Scoop…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 379

  By toyAdmin | February 29, 2024 - 9:18 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 379, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s busy schedule and Matt’s various maladies before jumping into:

  • The first of two reunion episodes for The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (2:20) and how one week probably would have been enough to cover everything if they had just limited some of the shouting matches…
  • The Vince Staples Show (19:00) and how it’s difficult not to see it as a second-rate version of our beloved Atlanta…
  • Apple TV+’s new show Constellation (22:40) and whether it is compelling enough to stick around for answers to the its many mysterious questions…
  • The Oscar-nominated Anatomy of a Fall (25:45) and how it is very French and pretty good but not necessarily on par with some of its opponents in the Best Picture category…
  • Homework for next week (32:05), including: the conclusion of the reunion for The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, Hulu/FX’s Shogun, the remaining two Best Picture nominees — Zone of Interest and Poor Things — and the new Apple TV+ comedy The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 377

  By toyAdmin | February 15, 2024 - 11:51 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 377, Madden and Kolsky have an in-depth Kylian Mbappe discussion before pressing record, then address Kolsky’s terrible Valentine’s Day before locking in for:

  • The first episode of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (1:50) and the cathartic joy of seeing Jay sent home with nothing to show for his embarrassing display over the course of the season…
  • Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show (33:20) and whether it’s a worthy pursuit in the depressing chaos of 2024…
  • The new season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud, covering Truman Capote v. The Swans (45:35) and another chapter in the seemingly weekly serial Why Are We Doing This???
  • Apple TV+’s fashion/WWII show The New Look (53:00) and how it distinguishes itself in this current TV landscape simply by feeling like it has something worthwhile to say…
  • Some final thoughts on Super Bowl LVIII (57:45) and whether Kyle Shanahan bears the brunt of responsibility for another 49ers defeat on the biggest stage in sports…
  • Homework for next week (1:09:50), including: the (hopefully) thrilling conclusion of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, two Oscar-nominated films — Oppenheimer and Past Lives — and on a lighter note, the Taika Waititi film Next Goal Wins (now on Hulu)…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 376

  By toyAdmin | February 8, 2024 - 10:52 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 376, Madden and Kolsky pause to celebrate Chelsea FC’s successful FA Cup match before focusing on today’s topics:

  • An action-packed episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (6:05) and the Challenge-fan-villain origin story that transpired this week for one of our hosts…
  • The latest entry in the ever-expanding why?! canon, Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air (28:15) and how maybe it’s time to usher Hollywood’s old guard into a not-even-actually-early retirement…
  • Donald Glover’s new take on Mr. & Mrs. Smith (34:00) and how his art continues to surprise and delight…
  • Jake Johnson’s bizarre opus Self Reliance (39:25) and the value of full commitment to a wacky premise…
  • Netflix’s new (old) dour addiction recovery comedy Loudermilk (44:25) and the all-time That Guy rankings, featuring Ron Livingston…
  • Homework for next week (48:45), including: the long-awaited arrival of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, Apple TV+’s fashion/WWII show The New Look, Ryan Murphy’s new show Feud: Capote v. The Swans and Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show…
  • A few football thoughts (50:20) as we head into what should be ann extremely entertaining Super Bowl weekend…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 370

  By toyAdmin | December 28, 2023 - 12:49 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 370, Madden and Kolsky have an in-depth discussion of sinus procedures and overall nasal health before ending their year with:

  • ALLLLLL the action from the last THREE episodes of The. Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (5:30) including the (questionable?) toppling of some all-time greats and a collection of some of the most stupefying game moves that 25 years of The Challenge Universe has seen…
  • The new season of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses (27:35) and the continuing brilliance of lead actors Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden…
  • Netflix’s much-ballyhooed Bradley Cooper vehicle Maestro (32:05) and how it wasn’t as much of a Leonard Bernstein biopic as our hosts would have liked…
  • The new Eddie Murphy Christmas movie Candy Cane Lane (42:10) and whether it’s good enough to slide into a regular holiday viewing rotation…
  • A fresh season of Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher (48:25) and how a new cast of characters stacks up around the mountain of Alan Ritchson…
  • Homework for next week (55:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the Emerald Fenell movie Saltburn, the Alexander Payne movie The Holdovers (available on Peacock), Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix special The Dreamer and Peacock’s new season of Dr. Death…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 365

  By toyAdmin | November 10, 2023 - 3:43 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 365, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s rock-and-roll travels before getting to today’s pod business:

  • The latest from a double-episode week of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (3:20), including the impending chaos portion of the game and thoughts on the exciting crop of developing you lady contestants…
  • The Hulu movie Quiz Lady (43:05) and how it doesn’t make good enough use of its two leading ladies or its big-name guest star…
  • The new Apple TV+ film Fingernails (48:50) and yet another project that tragically fails to add up to the appropriate sum of its parts…
  • Netflix’s new Shea Serrano-created series Neon (57:15) and how he once again delivers a joyful series with clever writing and a deeply endearing heart…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the new David Fincher movie The Killer on Netflix, the new Nathan Fielder/Emma Stone show The Curse on Showtime/Paramount+ and the Australian show Colin from Accounts on Paramount+…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 362

  By toyAdmin | October 20, 2023 - 8:29 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 362, Madden and Kolsky lament the sickness passing through the Kolsky household (and the overall joys of parenthood) before diving in on:

  • TJ’s Final on The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:40) and a wrap-up discussion on a truly excellent Challenge season that featured arguably the greatest rookie season in the franchise’s history…
  • Netflix’s new thriller Fair Play (48:40), about which our hosts have rather disparate opinions…
  • The unremarkable and in fact largely unpleasant return of Frasier (1:01:40) and how it’s essentially and empty suit of a throwback sitcom…
  • The Brie Larson vehicle Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+ (1:07:25) and how it’s relatively hollow and predictable despite reasonably good acting and directing…
  • Homework for next week’s THURSDAY episode (1:18:25), including: the start of the new season of the flagship Challenge — Battle for a New Champion, and actually getting to The Fall of the House of Usher…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 359

  By toyAdmin | September 29, 2023 - 10:58 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky celebrate a (relatively) problem-free recording environment before getting right into:

  • Kolsky’s misadventures with the National (1:25) and the development of an understanding of why he struggles so much to listen to them…
  • The high school comedy Bottoms (7:05) and why one of our hosts HATED it and the other really quite enjoyed it…
  • The underwhelming film Cassandro (21:45) and how both hosts were left feeling unsatisfied and wishing they knew more about the movie’s subject…
  • The crown jewel of this week’s culture, Apple TV+’s British rom-com Still Up (27:25) and the undeniable charm of the relationship at its center…
  • Another week of action from The Challenge USA: Season 2 (32:00) which continues to deliver excellent daily and elimination challenges and has no shortage of drama as we careen towards the TJ’s Final…
  • Homework for next week (58:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the new show Gen V (a spinoff of The Boys) on Amazon Prime Video, the Paramount+/Showtime movie Heist 88 and the Wes Anderson-directed Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on Netflix…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 357

  By toyAdmin | September 15, 2023 - 10:11 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 357, Madden and Kolsky briefly address their literal physical proximity before diving right into the culture with:

  • The return of Apple TV+’s expensive and totally insane The Morning Show (2:50) and how, ridiculously, it somehow manages to be wildly enjoyable without really having any recommendable qualities…
  • The second season of Welcome to Wrexham (10:35) and how great documentary film-making and a real heart at the center continue to make it one of the best watches on TV, whether you know the results of the soccer games or not…
  • Apple TV+’s new show The Changeling (18:40) and how it turns out to be significantly darker than our hosts may have expected…
  • The most recent episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (25:25) and how Survivor finally got theirs, plus the total domination of the Challenge vets…
  • A look ahead to the coming season of the flagship Challenge (52:40) and the newly-released list of participants…
  • Homework for next week (57:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the return of Netflix’s Sex Education, British heist series The Gold on Paramount+, the new movie A Million Miles Away on Amazon Prime Video and Mitski’s new album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 350

  By toyAdmin | June 30, 2023 - 12:57 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 350, Madden and Kolsky discuss the moving process for Kolsky’s family and the generally unsettled nature of his life before zeroing in on:

  • Whether or not it’s worth slowing yourself down (3:50) and savoring the shows you love, even if they are available all at once…
  • Season 2 of Hulu’s The Bear (6:40) and how absolutely excellent it is, thanks to the incredible narrative tension and wonderful acting throughout…
  • The return of Black Mirror on Netflix (14:00) and how it’s not quite the Black Mirror you might remember, but remains quite effective…
  • Boots Riley’s new Amazon Prime show I’m A Virgo (23:15) and how it is pretty direct and even heavy-handed with some of its thematic messaging, but also fantastical and enjoyable and really very funny…
  • Idris Elba’s plane thriller Hijack on Apple TV+ (31:30) and the delight of high-quality popcorn programming…
  • The television industry’s need for better decision-making on which shows to make binge-able (35:20) and how our hosts are available to fill that need if necessary…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (40:20), including: finishing Black Mirror on Netflix and also The Bear on Hulu, the new Marvel show Secret Invasion on Disney+, the return of The Afterparty on Apple TV+ and the new Netflix film The Out-Laws…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS