Tag Archives: television

The Toy Department – Episode 103

  By toyAdmin | January 23, 2018 - 5:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 103, Derek Madden has once again failed to do his homework, yet he and Matt Kolsky power through to cover:

  • The nominations (3:25) for the 2018 Academy Awards and how well-represented the year in movies is, for a change…
  • Kolsky’s experience at the St. Vincent concert (26:40) and how incredible her staging is versus other shows…
  • The return of HBO’s Crashing (32:15) and how it’s really cruising in the early parts of its second season…
  • The premiere of this year’s American Crime Story (37:15) and whether the Gianni Versace murder has enough to carry the season…
  • The results of the NFL Playoffs (44:40) and a look forward to Super Bowl LII…
  • A mid-season check-in on the NBA (55:50), including thoughts on the “collapsing” Cavs, Thibodeau’s T-Wolves and the Baby Bulls…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:25) including: Derek actually watching Mudbound and I, Tonya, plus everyone checking out the new Paul Thomas Anderson joint Phantom Thread to prepare for the Oscars, and checking back in on Showtime’s The Chi after four episodes…

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 102

  By toyAdmin | January 16, 2018 - 5:49 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 102, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are a few minutes late and spent a few minutes discussing Kolsky’s new job situation and bad television commercials before jumping into:

  • The new Netflix show The End of the Fucking World (4:25) and whether or not its lead female character is charming or off-putting or a combination of the two…
  • Kolsky’s experience with Making a Murderer (10:20) after finishing the binge last week…
  • The final two episodes of the newest season of Netflix’s Black Mirror (21:15) and whether the show has maintained its high level of execution…
  • The new Steven Spielberg/Meryl Streep/Tom Hanks collab The Post (31:35) and its resonance in 2018 America…
  • The much-ballyhooed film Call Me By Your Name (41:55) and its basic unremarkability despite the efforts of its cast…
  • A quick chat about the NBA (52:50), including the Rockets’ attempted assault on the Clippers and the universal appeal of free t-shirts…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:05) including: the return of American Crime Story (The Murder of Gianni Versace), the return of HBO’s Pete Holmes-created show Crashing, and the movies I, Tonya and Mudbound, if Madden and Kolsky can work up the nerve for the latter…

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 100

  By toyAdmin | January 2, 2018 - 3:45 pm | Uncategorized
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In a very special Episode 100, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky finally see the benefit of starting the episode numbering system at 001, not to mention experience a live and in-person Toy Department recording for the very first time in podcast history as they discuss:

  • What in the hell Kolsky is doing in the far-north winter hellscape (1:50) that is Minneapolis in January…
  • The first two episodes of the new season of Netflix’s Black Mirror (7:15), the resounding success of one and the missteps of the other…
  • The new Netflix documentary/news footage/narrative action series Wormwood (19:05) and how Errol Morris is attempting to advance the documentary form…
  • The Guillermo Del Toro film The Shape of Water (24:35) and how Madden’s response to the movie differed from Kolsky’s…
  • Year-end Spotify playlists!! Madden and Kolsky both made Best of 2017 playlists (31:25) and break down the contents thereof (with assorted digressions); you can find Derek’s playlist here and Matt’s here…
  • The upcoming first round of the NFL Playoffs (1:04:50), with the repulsively messy AFC and the excitingly wide-open NFC…
  • The College Football Playoff (1:16:40) and how the excitement of the first round points towards expanding the field to eight teams…
  • Homework for next week (1:24:00): including Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix specials, two more episodes of Netflix’s Black Mirror (specifically the third and fourth episodes of the new season) and the series premier of Showtime’s Lena Waithe-created show The Chi…

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 99, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

  By toyAdmin | December 26, 2017 - 10:00 am | Uncategorized
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In Part 2 of the Two-Part Holidaytastic Spectacular Episode 99, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are back with the second half of their year-end discussions, covering:

  • The BEST OF 2017 in television (2:05), wherein Madden and Kolsky both struggle mightily to reduce their Top Ten lists to less than twenty shows…
  • The BEST OF 2017 in music (41:55), which turns out to have the most differentiation between the two hosts’ lists…
  • Homework for next week: HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR’S EVE!!! And get ready for Episode 100, which might be somehow special (and will definitely include the announcement of the Toy Department’s 2017 Spotify Playlists) and even if it’s not is a nice, big, round number…

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 98

  By toyAdmin | December 13, 2017 - 8:04 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 98, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have a lot to say, so they begin with purpose and discuss:

  • The new SyFy show Happy (1:15), which one of them REALLY did not like
  • U2’s new album Songs of Experience (10:20) and how it falls completely flat…
  • James Franco’s new film The Disaster Artist (26:20) and what a great job it does of telling a deeply human story…
  • A dip into the sports world (35:45) results in an aborted argument about baseball…
  • Conversation about the NFL proves more fruitful (39:10) and gets into the many problems the league has to confront in its near future…
  • Sports talk continues with some NBA thoughts (51:10), getting into the year’s most compelling storylines and projecting the rest of the season…
  • Homework for this week (1:22:45), including: a Best of the Year episode next week — Top 5 and 10 lists in TV, movies, music and sports, plus watching the new Star Wars film…

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 97

  By toyAdmin | December 5, 2017 - 10:27 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 97, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dispense with the pleasantries and proceed immediately with:

  • Concert stories!! Madden’s experience with Queens of the Stone Age (1:00) and Kolsky’s trip to see Syd from The Internet (11:45)…
  • The new Netflix documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (15:05), which looks back at Jim Carrey’s performance as Andy Kaufman in the film Man on the Moon…
  • Season 2 of Netflix’s Joe Swanberg-directed show Easy (31:35) and how it picks up right where it left off…
  • The Amazon original show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (37:00) and how star Rachel Brosnahan makes it worth your time…
  • New albums from both Noel and Liam Gallagher (43:10) and how they’re definitely better off together…
  • Homework for this week (49:30), including: an upcoming end-of-year-review, the new U2 album, the new film The Disaster Artist and other upcoming releases, and perhaps finishing off Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It on Netflix…

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 96

  By toyAdmin | November 28, 2017 - 10:14 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 96, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have a prettty, prettttttty, prettttttttty good opening before discussions about:

  • Joe Morgan’s letter to the Baseball Hall of Fame (2:10) and how misguided his views on “steroid users” and “cheaters” are…
  • The Martin McDonagh film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (18:05), where it succeeds and where it maybe misses the mark…
  • Netflix’s new western series Godless (28:40) and how it elevates tropes from western films but still doesn’t appeal to Madden…
  • USA’s Mr. Robot (38:10), just what the hell is going on and how an increase in action has not led to an increase in Madden’s enjoyment of episodes…
  • Netflix’s new Spike Lee TV joint She’s Gotta Have It (45:30) and how it hits all the Spike Lee high notes with a great cast and thoughtful commentary…
  • Homework for this week (53:40), including: new albums from both Noel and Liam Gallagher, the Amazon Original show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the Netflix/Joe Swanberg show Easy and the Netflix documentary Jim & Andy about Jim Carrey’s performance as Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon…

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 95

  By toyAdmin | November 21, 2017 - 10:09 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 95, Derek Madden indulges Matt Kolsky’s story from his morning dog walk before they delve into:

  • Madden’s controversial distaste for the eating of pumpkin (3:10) that sweeps the nation every fall…
  • Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird (5:45) and what a great job it does of transporting the viewer to a place and time and telling a compelling story…
  • Kolsky’s entrée into the world of Justified (17:45) and his abiding love for Timothy Olyphant…
  • The season finalé of FX’s You’re the Worst (23:20), Doug Benson’s contributions and where the show may be heading in its upcoming final season…
  • Season 2 of the TBS show Search Party (33:40) and how it seems to be engaging in a major tonal shift…
  • An unwelcome interruption (40:05) as another Hollywood executive is accused of sexual misconduct…
  • Madden’s attempt to watch Deadwood (50:30) and his aversion to westerns in general…
  • Homework for this week and into the future (56:30), including: Kolsky eventually watching The West Wing, Madden catching up on Mr. Robot, the upcoming Season 1 binge-dump of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, another season of Netflix’s Easy, and the movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri…
  • Thanksgiving plans (1:04:45) and other thoughts on the best meal of the year…

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 94

  By toyAdmin | November 14, 2017 - 11:53 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 94, the distinctly non-toy department intrudes yet again, as Derek Madde and Matt Kolsky discuss:

  • The confirmation of Louis CK’s sexual assault (0:55) and whether we can or should separate art from the creator…
  • The new 30 for 30 documentary Nature Boy (32:05) about all-time professional wrestling great Ric Flair…
  • The Showtime show Shameless (43:20) which was tough for a newcomer to get into…
  • Showtime’s new comedy/drama SMILF (48:00) and whether it is standard Showtime fare or something more interesting and impressive…
  • The series finale of HBO’s Vice Principals (52:45) and how the end of the season improved upon its shaky start…
  • Homework for next week (56:45) including: The Toy Department goes to the movies!! (specifically to see the films Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Kolsky is gonna start watching Justified, finally…

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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