Tag Archives: stand-up comedy

The Toy Department – Episode 180

  By toyAdmin | August 28, 2019 - 11:06 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 180, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky mince a minimal amount of words before discussing:

  • A couple of new albums — Sleater-Kinney’s underwhelming The Center Won’t Hold (1:05) and the triumphant Little Brother return May the Lord Watch (7:35)…
  • Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix stand-up special Sticks & Stones (12:40) and how it didn’t land great by Chappelle standards…
  • The new Showtime drama On Becoming a God in Central Florida (27:00) and the greatness of Kirsten Dunst…
  • The Australian comedy The Let Down (34:55) and how it’s only a comedy if you can identify with the infant parenting experience…
  • Homework for next week (40:00), including: the new season of MTV’s The Challenge, the new Tool album Fear Inoculum, the new Netflix show The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (plus Kolsky watching the original Dark Crystal for the first time), the new Travis Scott concert film, also on Netflix, and a little NFL preview discussion…

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The Toy Department – Episode 177

  By toyAdmin | August 7, 2019 - 2:32 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 177, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are trying to get Madden to a baseball game on time, so jump right in to:

  • The first episode of Hard Knocks (2:25), and how much fun this season’s time with the Raiders looks like it will be…
  • Quentin Tarantino’s newest masterpiece, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (15:25) and all the wonderful things that both guys appreciated about it…
  • The return of Dear White People (36:50) on Netflix, and how even though there’s nothing really new here, it’s still good TV…
  • HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show (41:55) and how it has its moments, but Kolsky still struggles to get down with sketch shows…
  • Kolsky’s first experience with Bachelor in Paradise (46:00) and whether he’s ready to hang in there for the full season…
  • A few thoughts on a funny Netflix stand-up special from Whitney Cummings (56:55) and appreciation for her commitment to a bit…
  • Homework for next week (59:25), including: the new Beverly Hills 90210 reunion BH90210, the conclusion of HBO’s Euphoria, plus the returns of GLOW on Netflix, Succession on HBO and Lodge 49 on AMC…

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The Toy Department – Episode 144

  By toyAdmin | November 28, 2018 - 10:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 144, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky jinx the possibility of doing a short show by talking about doing a short show (THE FIRST RULE OF SHORT SHOWS IS— oh, nevermind) and then bring their signature verbosity to bear on:

  • A season wrap-up discussion of MTV’s The Challenge: Final Reckoning (1:35), which the guys agree is a prime specimen of well-executed reality television…
  • Trevor Noah’s new Netflix stand-up special Son of Patricia (21:45) and how it didn’t really connect too well with either of our hosts…
  • Netflix’s Coen Brothers “film” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (26:35) and how the bro’s still bring it, even if neither Madden nor Kolsky loved everything about it…
  • AMC’s new limited series Little Drummer Girl (36:25) and the disagreement between Kolsky and Madden on its level of quality and charm…
  • Homework for next week (49:40), including: the films The Frontrunner and Creed II, the Netflix drama Narcos: Mexico and Anderson .Paak’s new album Oxnard, plus whatever else the guys come up with during the course of the week…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 132

  By toyAdmin | September 4, 2018 - 10:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 132, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are at it early thanks to Kolsky’s new radio schedule, covering:

  • Amazon’s new show Jack Ryan (2:15) and how terribly flat it falls for both guys…
  • The return of Netflix’s Ozark (10:15), the engaging and exciting nature of the characters and the great acting performances it creates space for…
  • The new film To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (16:35) and how Netflix has a huge hit on its hands in the delightful romantic comedy…
  • Drew Michael’s new standup special on HBO (25:30), the ways it is original and interesting, and where it fails to stand out…
  • Nearer My God (36:50), the new album from the indie rock band Foxing, and how both guys think it is one of the year’s best…
  • The return of the NFL (44:15), Derek’s decreasing interest in the league and some thoughts on how the season will turn out…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:05), including: Showtime’s new Jim Carrey/Michel Gondry collab Kidding, the return of The Deuce on HBO, a wrap-up of Orange is the New Black (Season 6) and a check-in on Better Call Saul…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 119

  By toyAdmin | May 21, 2018 - 4:06 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 119, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky actually managed a semi-shortened episode, despite the topic list growing far beyond its original purview to include:

  • Some on-air pre-production (0:55) re: next week’s plans for a Killing Eve pop-in…
  • A brief discussion about the best shows on TV right now (2:30) and just how good Showtime’s Billions is…
  • Kolsky’s new Cheers habit (8:50) and what a delightful tv comfort food that show makes…
  • The news that Barack and Michelle Obama have partnered with Netflix (16:05) on a new production company that will make a variety of different things…
  • The final mini-season of New Girl (22:10) and whether it was worth having…
  • Ali Wong’s new comedy special on Netflix (29:30) and the apparent lack of growth in her comedy since her first special…
  • Homework for next week (35:05), which will be an even SHORTER episode: just the Season 1 wrap-up for Killing Eve and a topic list for the following week…
  • Some quick NBA thoughts (36:05) at the midway point of the conference finals…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 117

  By toyAdmin | May 8, 2018 - 11:23 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 117, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky do a bit of housekeeping from last week’s show (figurative housekeeping, not literal) before addressing:

  • The second season of Dear White People (4:40) on Netflix, and how it manages to be a lot of fun while still speaking to relevant social issues…
  • A return to HBO’s Westworld (13:00) to discuss both Madden and Kolsky’s fading interest in it…
  • The second season premiere of Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here (28:35) and how it succeeds in being a good hang despite some swings and misses on bigger themes…
  • A check-in on Showtime’s Billions (36:00), wherein Kolsky raves about just how wonderful a show it is…
  • Janelle Monáe’s awesome new album Dirty Computer (53:15) and the less-awesome 48-minute video released alongside it…
  • The new Childish Gambino video (1:03:30) and its powerful artistic statement about America…
  • John Mulaney’s Netflix stand-up special Kid Gorgeous (1:08:40) and his skill as a comedy writer…
  • Homework for next week (1:15:55), including: the season finalé of Atlanta, a few episodes of David Letterman’s show on Netflix and possibly a movie or two — come back next week to find out!!

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 101

  By toyAdmin | January 9, 2018 - 4:36 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 101, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky jump right in with a new un-produced segment:

  • What Does Kolsky Think About Some Stuff (2:00): including Making a Murderer and the college football National Championship game…
  • A wild Wild Card Weekend in the NFL (24:00) and a look ahead to the divisional round…
  • Episodes 3 and 4 of Netflix’s new season of Black Mirror (36:35), one very good and one very, very bad…
  • The series debut of The Chi (49:35) on Showtime, and how excited both Madden and Kolsky are for the future of this ambitious new show…
  • The two new Dave Chappelle standup specials (55:40) on Netflix, and the difficulty Kolsky is having with processing comedy in 2018…
  • Homework for next week (1:15:05) including: watching the Oscar-buzzed films Call Me By Your Name and The Post, the Netflix show The End of the Fucking World and the continuing drama of the NFL playoffs…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 65

  By toyAdmin | April 13, 2017 - 1:16 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 65, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky waste no time in jumping into:

  • A quick status check on Better Call Saul (1:10) before putting a deeper discussion off until next week (so Madden can actually watch the season premiere)…
  • Hip hop artist Kweku Collins (7:40) and how Kolsky and Madden have fundamental differences in their musical taste…
  • Father John Misty (16:05) and his new album Pure Comedy…
  • The new IFC show Brockmire (25:25) and its potential for greatness…
  • Louis CK’s new comedy special 2017 (30:25) and his habit of boundary-pushing…
  • An Esquire article about Dave Chappelle (38:00) and how we view what comedians say…
  • A deep dive into the NBA MVP debate (45:20) and how the guys would vote if they had ballots…
  • A couple quick homework assignments for next week (1:12:55): watching the new seasons of Better Call Saul and Fargo…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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