Tag Archives: television

The Toy Department – Episode 23

  By toyAdmin | May 25, 2016 - 9:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 23, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open up with some follow-up on last week’s homework – Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book album. Then they discuss:

  • The serious business of this week’s Game of Thrones episode (10:15)
  • Michael Wilbon’s screed against analytics on ESPN’s “The Undefeated” website, and the cranky old man viewpoint he represents (31:25), which naturally leads down a road of discussing other outmoded viewpoints
  • Bryan Curtis’ media issues podcast for the Ringer and the interesting style he uses for his storytelling (55:40) and also the specific content of this week’s episode, about the evolution (or perhaps the death?) of the sports highlight

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 22

  By toyAdmin | May 18, 2016 - 10:50 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 22, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky begin by talking about music — or at least, about the way we consume music in 2016… It’s a brave new world with Spotify and their ilk, and these dudes have thoughts on it — thoughts that lead to a 25-minute conversation about music consumption and distribution. They move from there to sports with a conversation about the Rougned Odor-Jose Bautista baseball brawl (29:05) and some NBA Playoff talk (36:25). Then the show heads down Kelly Ripa road for the home stretch as Madden and Kolsky break down the ins and outs of ABC’s TV host debacle (43:50).

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 21

  By toyAdmin | May 11, 2016 - 10:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 21, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dive into the sports world early with a discussion of Steph Curry – his ridiculous playoff comeback, his MVP award, and just his greatness in general – which leads naturally into a broader discussion of the NBA Playoffs (8:30) and some of the officiating issues (12:00), and a quick chat about the outdated notion that players want to go to New York or LA teams (15:05). The podcast shifts to music for the guys to review Radiohead’s new album – A Moon Shaped Pool (21:00), and then to TV for a check-in on Game of Thrones (32:15) and a celebration of the delight of this year’s season of Silicon Valley (41:40).

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 20

  By toyAdmin | May 5, 2016 - 8:16 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 20, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky begin by lamenting their physical fitness – as all aging men are wont to do – before things get serious with Madden’s Beyoncé mea culpa (3:45). The conversation heads deeper into the music world with some discussion of Radiohead’s new single (17:10), which leads them into music release strategies for the modern world. Sports talk takes over  (30:10) with some breakdown of the wild final sequence of Game 2 between the Spurs and Thunder in the NBA Playoffs, and some resulting chatter about referees in general, before Madden and Kolsky address Fox’s hiring of sports “journalist” Skip Bayless (41:35). The show wraps with a little homework assignment from Madden (55:40) and a shout-out to our outgoing President.

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 19

  By toyAdmin | April 27, 2016 - 9:50 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 19, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky waste no time before going deep into a Prince tribute. After paying proper tribute to the Purple Gawd, they move on to another pop superstar with a discussion of Beyoncé and her Lemonade release (24:00) which leads some debate about what a pop star really is in the modern music world (around 48:00). Then some quick-hitters to finish the show: Game of Thrones Season 6 premiere reaction (57:15), the #MoreThanMean video and its important message about women on sports twitter (1:08:20) and the foul ball segment on HBO’s Real Sports (1:16:25).

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 18

  By toyAdmin | April 20, 2016 - 11:32 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 18, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get into a little geography and weather chatter to open things up, before diving headlong into a video entertainment-heavy episode… They talk about TV shows Catastrophe (4:30), House of Lies (11:30), Girls (18:30), and Netflix’s Marvel’s Daredevil – including some discussion of Madden’s superhero fatigue (27:40). Then some quick Happy 420 wishes (38:35) before Kolsky talks about his solo journey to see Jungle Book by himself on a Saturday night (those things may or may not be related). And, as so often happens, the boys return to weed before the end of the show to talk about how the big American sports leagues handle the drug (43:45) and whether that might change soon.

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 14

  By toyAdmin | March 16, 2016 - 9:26 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 14, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky return after a not-so-well-earned week off with HOT TAKES for your cold ears… It begins with an intense discussion of Game of Thrones – which released its first real trailer since the last pod and returns to TV in about a month – and then a short but ardent appeal from Madden in favor of his favorite TV show, The Americans (20:50)… Then sports talk takes over for a bit as the gentlemen discuss Goose Gossage’s response to Bryce Harper and one-man get-off-my-lawn campaign (26:00). Finally, they get into some music (39:50) as both Kolsky and Madden make listening recommendations for pod fans — take their advice, they have excellent taste.

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 13

  By toyAdmin | March 3, 2016 - 9:59 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 13, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky show up a day late… But doesn’t that just mean their thoughts are that much more well-considered?? The boys start with some Oscars talk, breaking down Chris Rock’s performance and some of the award-winners, then shift to hating on Duke basketball (18:30). Then, once the topic is basketball, it’s only natural to talk about the greatness of Steph Curry (26:50). The show closes with some music talk – breaking down the Foo Fighters’ “Band Announcement” (40:20) and talking a little about putting Dave Grohl’s career into context (45:00).

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 12

  By toyAdmin | February 24, 2016 - 10:51 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 12, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk Peak/Prestige TV straight-up for about 45 minutes. We could list all the damn shows they talk about, but there are no spoilers and that seems like an awful lot of listing to do, so probably best to just dive in and listen to the whole thing 🙂

Oh, 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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 11

  By toyAdmin | February 18, 2016 - 12:34 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 11, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get right into the thick of things with a Kanye West deep dive… All jokes aside, there’s a lot to get into with Mr. West – from his music to his internet behavior, he is nothing if not interest-worthy! Then it’s a little bit of a sports injection with a brief discussion of the Duke/UNC rivalry and college sports in general (40:30), before closing with some TV talk (48:50) as the winter/spring season starts to kick into gear!!

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!!  We are also part of the Google Play library of podcasts (and hopefully will have a link to that soon)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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