Tag Archives: Johnny Bananas

The Toy Department – Episode 400

  By toyAdmin | September 27, 2024 - 10:49 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 400, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s San Francisco escapades and marvel at the longevity of this silly podcast before getting into:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (6:10) where Era I continues to burn to the ground, despite Rachel’s best efforts, and Era II continues to weather the storm that is Cara Maria and Laurel…
  • The baffling film Challengers (33:05) and what the people involved thought they were doing…
  • Netflix’s new action movie Rebel Ridge (38:45), the increasingly popular one-man-with-a-grudge format and the leading man ascension of Aaron Pierre…
  • A check-in on FX’s The Old Man (43:10) and whether the story of Jeff Bridges’ chaotic past is enough to carry a second season…
  • The Max/DC series The Penguin (45:50) and whether the gritty, gangster-noir style and transformative performance from Colin Farrell were able to draw in our resident comic skeptic…
  • Homework for next week (49:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, Netflix’s new Adam Brody/Kristen Bell series Nobody Wants This, the WWE documentary series Mr. McMahon (also on Netflix), and the film Killer Heat on Amazon Prime Video…

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The Toy Department – Episode 399

  By toyAdmin | September 19, 2024 - 9:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 399, Madden and Kolsky prepare to overcome a late recording time and Derek’s long week before diving into:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (1:50), CT falling, Laurel spiraling and whether the 40th season is living up to expectations so far…
  • The Alex Garland film Civil War (25:50) — how it is ultimately just a movie about photo-journalism and whether it leaves things on the table by not wading deeper into more significant themes…
  • Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber’s rote Netflix rich-people-and-murder drama (35:35) and whether its insignificance hurts its watchability…
  • Peacock’s Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist (41:50) and our hosts curiously split views on the end product…
  • The spectacular Alex Gibney documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (46:55), all the wonderful tidbits it delivers on one of the greatest television shows of all time and the price of genius…
  • Homework for next week (57:50), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, actually watching the film Challengers, Netflix’s new action flick Rebel Ridge, Max’s new DC Comics effort The Penguin and a check-in on the second season of FX’s The Old Man…

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The Toy Department – Episode 398

  By toyAdmin | September 5, 2024 - 10:25 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 398, Madden and Kolsky are doing it after dark again, with LOTS to catch up on, beginning with a recap of their IRL meetup for a Pearl Jam concert, but moving on to:

  • Two episodes of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (7:50) and dealing with the fact that heavy hitters (or at least major characters) will be headed home on a weekly basis…
  • Jeff Goldblum & Co.’s interpretation of Greek mythology in the Netflix show KAOS (41:15) and whether our hosts could deal with the chaotic nature of the show’s storytelling…
  • FX’s new comedy English Teacher (46:05) and what a high-quality sitcom looks like in 2024…
  • The return of the undeniable Slow Horses (51:35) and the many joys of Jackson Lamb…
  • Homework for next week (57:50), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the Peacock show Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, Nicole Kidman’s new Netflix effort The Perfect Couple and checking out the film Challengers, now available on Amazon Prime…

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The Toy Department – Episode 397

  By toyAdmin | August 21, 2024 - 10:04 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 397, Madden and Kolsky are staying up late again, so it’s right on into:

  • An absolute banger of an episode in Season 40 of The Challenge (1:05) with wall-to-wall physical eliminations that delivered some classic battles and some intriguing upsets…
  • Vince Vaughn’s new Bill Lawrence-created show Bad Monkey (43:20) and whether we finally have an official “gourmet cheeseburger”…
  • A few thoughts on Chelsea and the English Premier League (51:30) after Derek drags Kolsky into the conversation…
  • Homework for two weeks from now (1:00:05), including: two more episodes of The Challenge Season 40, Netflix’s new Greek mythology dark comedy KAOS, the return of Slow Horses on Apple TV+ and the new FX show English Teacher…

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The Toy Department – Episode 396

  By toyAdmin | August 15, 2024 - 12:29 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 396, Madden and Kolsky don’t bother with small talk because somebody is UPSET as they get into:

  • The opening episode of The Challenge’s 40th season (1:05) and how the opening salvo (or lack thereof) in the Battle of the Eras left one of our hosts quite upset…
  • The Matt Damon/Casey Affleck film The Instigators (43:15) and whether it qualifies for the much-discussed (on this pod, anyway) “gourmet cheeseburger” designation…
  • Steph Curry as Steph Curry in Mr. Throwback (48:45) and whether or not Steph Curry should quit his day job 🙂 …
  • A few thoughts on Steph Curry at his day job (56:35) or whatever you would call what he did at the Olympics…
  • Some distinctly non-expert opinions on Olympic Breaking (1:09:05) and the apparent controversy around it…
  • Probably more talk about USMNT soccer and Chelsea Football Club (1:12:10) than anyone asked for…
  • Homework for a light show next week (1:28:30), including: another episode of The Challenge Season 40 and the new Apple TV+ show Bad Monkey…

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The Toy Department – Episode 362

  By toyAdmin | October 20, 2023 - 8:29 pm | Uncategorized
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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…

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The Toy Department – Episode 361

  By toyAdmin | October 13, 2023 - 9:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 361, Madden and Kolsky talk about the breakfast tacos that Derek is anxious to get to before locking in to this week’s only subject:

  • The penultimate episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:05) and the always dramatic Josh Martinez, plus a look ahead to what shapes up to be a tremendous final…
  • Homework for next week (28:30), including: TJ’s Final on The Challenge: USA Season 2, the Netflix movie Fair Play, the return of Frasier on Paramount+, the Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher (based on Edgar Allan Poe’s work) and the new Brie Larson film Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 360

  By toyAdmin | October 6, 2023 - 11:13 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 360, Madden and Kolsky talk a little bit of Chicago Bears football and Wrexham soccer before getting down to business with last week’s homework:

  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (8:25), including the antics of Michaela and the Michele-tdown that ended with elimination…
  • The incredibly disappointing film Heist 88 (28:05) and how seemingly every choice made by the producers and director fell flat…
  • Wes Anderson’s new Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (34:10) and how Anderson’s signature nonsense has officially pushed one of our hosts over the edge…
  • The wildly enjoyable Gen V (39:40) and all the things that make it a welcome addition to The Boys’ universe…
  • Homework for next week’s short show (46:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, and … … THAT’S IT, THAT’S THE HOMEWORK…

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The Toy Department – Episode 359

  By toyAdmin | September 29, 2023 - 10:58 am | Uncategorized
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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…

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The Toy Department – Episode 358

  By toyAdmin | September 22, 2023 - 10:45 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky lament Derek’s illness before he pushes through to discuss:

  • The new Mitski album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2:20), how it differs from Mitski’s past output and the deep darkness and moments of bright light within it…
  • The return of pod favorite Sex Education (14:30) and its undeniable charm, plus how its end coincides with a desperate lack of similar quality on Netflix…
  • A few thoughts on Winning Time (24:10) and its cancellation…
  • The based-on-a-true-story film A Million Miles Away (37:40) and the remarkable life of astronaut Jose Hernandez…
  • British true-story-heist series The Gold on Paramount+ (41:30) and whether the first two episodes are enough to draw our hosts into what is undeniably an interesting real life tale…
  • A mile marker episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (46:20) and the end (at least for now) of one of the Challenge Universe’s truly legendary careers…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the British rom-com Still Up on Apple TV+, the movie Bottoms (available on VOD of your choice) and the Amazon Prime Video film Cassandro, plus Kolsky said will try to listen to The National…

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