Tag Archives: Jordan Wiseley

The Toy Department – Episode 396

  By toyAdmin | August 15, 2024 - 12:29 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

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…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 367

  By toyAdmin | November 24, 2023 - 2:51 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 367, Madden and Kolsky discuss the arrival of really cold weather in the Midwest and lament their life choices before diving in to:

  • This week on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (2:50), a victorious Big T and the dangling mystery of the third pole in the draw…
  • Hulu’s Nathan Fielder/Emma Stone HGTV spoof The Curse (36:45) and whether it’s more than just an awkward parody…
  • The return of FX/Hulu’s Fargo for its fifth and final season (45:10) and the excitement brewing in both of our hosts after two great episodes to start things off…
  • The Brit Marling-created A Murder at the End of the World (50:45) and whether our hosts are on board for its Gen Z-amateur-sleuth vibe…
  • The biopic Rustin (57:00) and the incredible performance from leading man Colman Domingo that makes it go…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:00), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the Fisher Stevens-directed Netflix documentary Beckham, and the movie Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain from SNL’s video short team…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 366

  By toyAdmin | November 16, 2023 - 11:11 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 366, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s propensity for failing to do his homework properly before getting into the things he DIDN’T screw up:

  • The latest episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (2:30) and the arrival of CHAOS, aka Jordan Wiseley…
  • The new David Fincher Netflix film The Killer (38:55) and how it delivered on Fincher-ness but didn’t totally come together in the end…
  • The Australian show Colin From Accounts (55:25) and whether the new Paramount+ property is charming enough to keep our hosts coming back…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the new Hulu show A Murder at the End of the World, the return of Fargo for its fifth and final season on FX, the new film Rustin on Netflix and picking up the forgotten Nathan Fielder/Emma Stone show The Curse on Showtime/Paramount+…

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 364

  By toyAdmin | November 2, 2023 - 9:16 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 364, Madden and Kolsky exchange only brief pleasantries before diving into the week’s homework:

  • A head-spinning week of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (1:20) and another remarkably terrible deliberation speech from the ultimately eliminated competitor…
  • Netflix’s new British thriller Bodies (30:45) and its unique time-jumping framework…
  • The Jennifer Lawrence-led Netflix comedy No Hard Feelings (41:45) and the charm of its leading lady…
  • Homework for next week (49:25), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the movie Quiz Lady on Hulu, the Apple TV+ movie Fingernails and the new Netflix series Neon…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 363

  By toyAdmin | October 26, 2023 - 12:22 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 363, Madden and Kolsky discuss Kolsky’s recent positive COVID test and its myriad of ripple effects before locking in to:

  • A quick sports chat (5:40) covering Chelsea v. Arsenal, the hosts’ relative interest in hockey and the debut of Victor Wembanyama…
  • The premiere episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (12:40) and how a fun first episode and a classic game design set us up for the franchise’s 39th season to be a good one…
  • The Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher (42:00) and how both hosts were impressed and entertained in their first experience with a Mike Flanagan show…
  • Homework for next week (49:10), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the Jennifer Lawrence rom-com vehicle No Hard Feelings (available on Netflix) and Netflix’s new British thriller series Bodies…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 345

  By toyAdmin | May 19, 2023 - 11:44 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 345, Madden and Kolsky have a Challenge final to discuss, so it’s right down to the business:

  • TJ’s Final for The Challenge: World Championship (0:45), the design of an intriguing final, how this CBS/Paramount+ version fits into the Challenge Universe and Jordan’s ascension among the all-time greats…
  • The double-elimination Wellington episode of Top Chef: World All-Stars (22:55) and how brutal it was on all of the chefs, and thoughts on how the competition stacks up heading to Paris…
  • Hulu’s Tupac docu-series Dear Mama (36:50) and how Allen Hughes has crafted a beautiful marriage of historical document and artistic film piece…
  • The Amazon Freevee show Jury Duty (44:25) and how James Marsden and a well-cast unknown centerpiece make this unique show entertaining…
  • Peacock’s new Pete Davidson series Bupkis (48:40) and how the weird state of TV criticism led to unnecessary criticism of a perfectly good show…
  • A couple minutes on the NBA Playoffs (54:20) after two games of each conference finals series…
  • Homework for next week (56:45), including: Hulu’s new White Men Can’t Jump remake (starring Jack Harlow), the Ben Affleck/Matt Damon film Air (available on Amazon Prime) and Shea Serrano’s new show Primo (on Amazon Freevee)… PLUS another week of Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 344

  By toyAdmin | May 12, 2023 - 3:15 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 344, Madden and Kolsky somehow compare Derek to LeBron James before getting back to reality and into:

  • The latest from The Challenge: World Championships (2:20) and how Sarah and Danny’s nutty gameplay somehow worked out for them as we have reached TJ’s Final…
  • This week on Top Chef: World All-Stars (26:15) and an absolutely stacked field heading into the final few weeks…
  • The new FX/Hulu show Class of ’09 (39:00) which features more questions than answers over its first couple of episodes…
  • Apple TV+’s new series Silo (43:55) and how it feels awfully and uncomfortably incomplete in its storytelling…
  • A few thoughts on the continuing drama of the NBA Playoffs (50:45) and some Nikola Jokic appreciation…
  • Homework for next week (1:12:05), including: Pete Davidson’s new Peacock show Bupkis, the new Amazon Freevee show Jury Duty and the Tupac docu-series Dear Mama on Hulu… PLUS the FINAL of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND another week of Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 343

  By toyAdmin | May 5, 2023 - 11:37 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 343, Madden and Kolsky open with a quick detour about Derek’s friend Steven Hyden and the Seattle grunge scene of the ’90s before focusing on:

  • The latest from The Challenge: World Championships (4:45) and how Sarah was saved from outing herself as a snake by Yes and Emily’s daily win, plus whether our hosts have underestimated her strategic game thus far…
  • A twisty restaurant wars on Top Chef World All-Stars (20:20) and how it didn’t stop Top Chef’s top chef from distinguishing himself as the favorite in the competition…
  • The deeply emotional HBO series Love & Death (35:35) and the heavy lifting its actors are doing over the first few episodes…
  • The Watergate comedy White House Plumbers (40:20) and how the buffoonish nature of conservative operatives…
  • The new Amazon Prime Video thriller/spy drama Citadel (45:05) and the role of action entertainment in our TV landscape…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (52:05) and just how wide open the field is with eight teams still remaining…
  • Homework for next week (1:06:05), including: Apple TV+’s new show Silo and the FX/Hulu show Class of ’09, with a healthy portion of NBA Playoffs on the side… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 342

  By toyAdmin | April 28, 2023 - 3:51 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 342, Madden and Kolsky are working around Kolsky’s 20th college reunion, so it’s a quick attack of:

  • This week on The Challenge: World Championship (2:00), the continuing drama of Danny and Sarah’s weird strategy and the hole in our hearts with some of the favorite characters absent…
  • A quick week of Top Chef Season 20 (17:25) and just how high-level the competition is at this point, plus thoughts on the classic mise en place challenge…
  • Peacock’s confounding new show Mrs. Davis (35:50) and whether or not Betty Gilpin can hold our hosts’ interest long enough to figure out what’s going on here…
  • The wildly intense Dead Ringers (40:00) and the remarkable acting job of Rachel Weisz…
  • Keri Russell’s new show The Diplomat (46:05) and what it says about Netflix’s approach to new television content… 
  • Homework for next week (52:40), including: two new HBO shows — Love & Death (with Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons) and White House Plumbers (about Watergate), and also Amazon’s new sci-fi show Citadel… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS