Tag Archives: Paramount+

The Toy Department – Episode 341

  By toyAdmin | April 21, 2023 - 3:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 341, Madden and Kolsky are trying to move quickly before Derek’s voice gives out to his cold, so it’s right into:

  • The return of HBO’s Barry (1:40) and how it continues to deliver an utterly unique, genre-bending experience in its fourth season…
  • Netflix’s WWII escape drama Transatlantic (9:05) and how it’s a surprisingly fun show given the subject matter…
  • The gloriously ridiculous Cocaine Bear (15:00) and how one of our hosts gets more mileage out of dumb stuff than the other does…
  • This week on The Challenge: World Championship (21:50) where strange strategy plays and bickering partners continue to dominate the landscape…
  • The latest from Top Chef Season 20 (40:15) where the competition is remarkably fierce and anyone could go home at any time… but usually it’s the chef that goes too far outside their comfort zone!
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (51:50) as the first round rolls along…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:00), including: Peacock’s new show Mrs. Davis, The Diplomat on Netflix and the David Cronenberg show Dead Ringers on Amazon prime… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 340

  By toyAdmin | April 14, 2023 - 3:34 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 340, Madden and Kolsky talk a little grilled cheese before locking in on:

  • This week’s monumental episode of Succession (2:50) and all the little pieces of brilliance that went into it…
  • Hulu’s NYT J Dilla documentary (13:55) which is reasonably interesting and relatively informative but feels like it leaves a lot on the table…
  • HBO’s Music Box documentary about Jason Isbell (23:45) and how it paints a really complete emotional picture of a pretty interesting man and musician…
  • Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things (30:35), the magnetism of Kathryn Hahn and how the series brings together a multi-generational story of moms and daughters…
  • Netflix’s Beef (34:40) and the intensity of watching people attempt to express their ultimately impotent rage…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: World Championship (39:35) and a significant elimination…
  • An apparently easily-judged episode of Top Chef (58:05) and the incredibly high level of talent remaining on this season…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA (1:10:15) as we head into the playoff season…
  • Homework for next week (1:24:45), including: the return of Barry on HBO, Netflix’s new World War II show Transatlantic and Cocaine Bear (now available on Peacock)… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 339

  By toyAdmin | April 7, 2023 - 2:51 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 339, Madden and Kolsky revisit Derek’s mom’s letter to Matt (which you may remember being mentioned a couple weeks ago) before getting to the business of the day:

  • The latest from Top Chef Season 20 (9:25) and how a home cooking challenge put some of the top restaurant chefs on the bottom…
  • This week’s action on The Challenge: World Championship (24:45) and the critical strategy mistakes made by strategy master Wes…
  • Hulu’s delightful new sitcom Unprisoned (46:10) and the positive effects of a powerhouse cast…
  • The new Amazon Prime drama The Power (54:40) and whether this is a superpower show that Derek can stomach…
  • Apple TV+’s new film Tetris (58:55) and the incredible story behind the making of one of the most popular games of all time…
  • The return of FXX’s Dave (1:04:20) and how it seems to be peaking, in part because the show is understanding itself better than ever…
  • Homework for next week (1:11:40), including: Netflix’s new series Beef, Hulu’s new series Tiny Beautiful Things and two music documentaries – Music Box’s Jason Isbel doc on HBO Max and the Hulu/New York Times doc on J Dilla… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 338

  By toyAdmin | March 31, 2023 - 11:42 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 338, Madden and Kolsky complain about the Kolsky children’s germs and the Minneapolis weather before locking in on:

  • This week in The Challenge: World Championship (4:25) and how this season’s penchant for cliffhangers is bothering both of our hosts, despite an episode that was otherwise very entertaining…
  • The latest from Bravo’s Top Chef Season 20 (33:25), the relatively light touch of Tottenham propaganda and the tournament-style challenge that sent a very good chef to Last Chance Kitchen…
  • The return of HBO’s Succession for its final season (51:20), the fact that it is absolutely firing on all cylinders and a couple thoughts on a potential spin-off…
  • The return of Showtime’s Yellowjackets for its second season (1:03:25) and how much faith each of our hosts have in the show’s ability to stay at a high level…
  • Apple TV+’s new charming comedy The Big Door Prize (1:09:55) and how the streamer seem to consistently produce pretty good stuff…
  • A few thoughts on the totality of the first season of Shrinking (1:13:40), how well Bill Lawrence and Jason Segel seem to fit as the creators of this show and Harrison Ford’s tremendous work (especially for an 80-year-old)…
  • Paramount+’s new spy thriller Rabbit Hole (1:22:10) and how Kiefer Sutherland is right in his wheelhouse in the midst of mysterious espionage…
  • Homework for next week (1:27:15), including: Apple TV+’s new movie Tetris, the return of Dave on FXX/Hulu, Amazon Prime Video’s new show The Power and Hulu’s new sitcom Unprisoned… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 335

  By toyAdmin | March 10, 2023 - 11:01 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 335, Madden and Kolsky address Kolsky’s complaint about Bravo’s programming schedule deception and Derek’s potential relationship with Padma before launching into:

  • The debut episode of Top Chef Season 20 (5:25), the old favorites who have returned as All-Stars and the exciting crop of international chefs who have joined the proceedings…
  • The premiere of Paramount+’s The Challenge: World Championship (31:50), a very impressive field of contestants (other than the Argentine contingent) and how the partnerships shaped up after the first night of episodes…
  • The Oscar-nominated film Women Talking (55:40) and how a great cast and heavy premise don’t quite get to the point of making a particularly interesting or exceptional viewing experience…
  • The surprisingly enjoyable and well-executed Daisy Jones and the Six on Amazon Prime Video (1:04:35) and how sometimes just doing an established thing at a really high level is enough to be a really good show…
  • Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part II (1:07:40) and how it’s a lot like Part 1 — which is to say incredibly stupid and pretty damn funny, though one of our hosts enjoyed it more than the other…
  • Homework for next week (1:11:15), including: the end of the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us, the premiere of the final season of Apple’s Ted Lasso and the Luther movie on Netflix… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 317

  By toyAdmin | October 13, 2022 - 2:46 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 317, Madden and Kolsky have a new season of The Challenge to get to, so no time to waste before diving right in to:

  • The premiere of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:00), including thoughts on the Episode 1 surprises, the rookies, the quantity of absentee teams and all the intricacies of the complicated new game design…
  • The new Paramount+ film Significant Other (50:25), and whether its strange blend of thriller, comedy, sci-fi and horror hit home for our hosts…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:05:00), including: the new Apple TV+ show Shantaram, the start of a new season of Documentary Now!, a check-in on Welcome to Wrexham, the Netflix documentary The Redeem Team and OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

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The Toy Department – Episode 316

  By toyAdmin | October 7, 2022 - 3:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 316, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss the soon-to-be-ridiculously-busy sports schedule before moving on to:

  • Netflix’s new Ryan Murphy show Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2:30) and just what exactly is the goal of so close an examination of an admitted monster…
  • The new Interview with the Vampire series on AMC (13:30) and whether this version of the telling stands up to its historical counterparts…
  • The Sanaa Lathan-directed Paramount+ film On The Come Up (19:15) and whether it is interesting enough to stand out in a crowded streaming landscape…
  • The Greatest Beer Run Ever on Apple TV+ (23:50) and the merits of an entertaining and engaging lead actor…
  • The last two episodes of MTV’s The Challenge: Untold History (31:05) and final thoughts on the documentary series, plus some prep for the upcoming start of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:02:20), including: the first episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies and the movie Significant Other on Paramount+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 299

  By toyAdmin | May 13, 2022 - 11:24 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 299, Madden and Kolsky open with a disturbingly detailed discussion of the horrors of vomiting (sorry about that), before moving on to less disgusting topics, including:

  • The Challenge: All-Stars 3 (3:15), how they seem to have really found the sweet spot for the “Senior Circuit,” and the prospects for what looks to be a highly entertaining and dramatic season…
  • The latest from Top Chef: Houston (26:40), or perhaps we should say Top Chef: Galveston, and how the top three chefs continue to distinguish themselves from the rest…
  • The new Showtime show I Love That For You (42:35) and how it just doesn’t feel like a fully realized television program as much as an SNL skit stretched to 30 minutes…
  • The new Paramount+ offering The Offer (46:15) and how it was a pleasant surprise as a really wonderful and entertaining show…
  • The return of Made for Love on HBO Max (51:30), which feels a lot like a slightly less essential extension of Season 1…
  • Homework for next Friday (58:30), including: more Top Chef: Houston, more of The Challenge: All-Stars 3, new music from Kendrick Lamar and The Smile, the return of Hacks on HBO Max and the end of Ozark on Netflix…

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The Toy Department – Episode 251

  By toyAdmin | March 9, 2021 - 11:19 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 251, Madden and Kolsky’s show-opening distraction turned into such a big conversation that it gets its own bullet point below, along with:

  • A contentious conversation about WandaVision (1:20) and the broader contents and implications of the Marvel Cinematic Universe…
  • Disney’s new animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (22:10) and how it’s great, but will probably be equally great in a few months when it’s not an extra $30…
  • The Eddie Murphy sequel Coming 2 America (31:15) and just how far enjoyable nostalgia will get you…
  • Netflix’s Notorious B.I.G. documentary Biggie: I Got A Story to Tell (44:25) and some of its more interesting and enlightening moments…
  • Paramount+’s big new Real World Reunion show (54:55) and how it hit differently for our two hosts based on their age and memories…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:08:20), including: the new high school flick Moxie! on Netflix, finishing up The Morning Show on Apple TV+ and the new season of Last Chance U on Netflix (covering a basketball team for the first time)… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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