Tag Archives: NBA

The Toy Department – Episode 229

  By toyAdmin | September 24, 2020 - 11:46 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 229, Madden and Kolsky are alive and employed, which means good in 2020, and ready to discuss:

  • The new season of PEN15 on Hulu (3:05) and how one of our hosts has really come around on the show…
  • The new Ryan Murphy show Ratched (10:35) and just what exactly he is doing with all of Netflix’s money…
  • Fox’s new show LA’s Finest (19:40) and how it follows a pretty successful formula to being exactly what you think it is…
  • A check-in on HBO’s Lovecraft Country (36:00) after a bottle episode starring an old veteran of The Challenge…
  • A brief NFL chat (48:50) about quick takeaways from the first two weeks of pro football…
  • Some thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (51:45) with particular focus on Tyler Herro’s tremendous performance…
  • Homework for our next show, on October 6 (1:07:35), including: the new Netflix show Sneakerheads, season four of Fargo on FX, Showtime’s new movie The Comey Rule and the new Amazon show Utopia… plus EVEN MOAR NBA Playoffs and Weeks 3 & 4 of the NFL season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 228

  By toyAdmin | September 17, 2020 - 11:53 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 228, Madden and Kolsky steel themselves to work through arguably the weirdest content week in Toy Department history, featuring:

  • The exceedingly weird Netflix film I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2:05) from the mind of Charlie Kaufman…
  • The new HBO series We Are Who We Are (25:20) and what the guys make of some weird vibes and a lack of background or explication in the first episode…
  • The new HBO mini-series The Third Day (36:25) and what exactly is happening with both the airing of the show and the content…
  • Hulu’s new Lamorne Morris-starring show Woke (46:25) and how it’s a nice place to spend some time…
  • The topsy-turvy NBA Playoffs (52:10) and what the Nuggets’ big upset of the Clippers means…
  • A few thoughts on Week One of NFL action (1:19:35), featuring the San Francisco 49ers’ somewhat surprising loss to Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals…
  • Homework for next week (1:25:55), including: the probably terrible new Fox show LA’s Finest, the new season of PEN15 on Hulu and the new Netflix/Ryan Murphy show Ratched… plus MOAR NBA Playoffs and Week 2 of the NFL season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 227

  By toyAdmin | September 10, 2020 - 11:56 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 227, Madden and Kolsky discuss the apocalypse weather in California and the movie Madden DIDN’T watch before sliding into:

  • The new Bill & Ted movie (5:25) and how it doesn’t give you much beyond a few laughs and a lot of references to the originals…
  • The new Netflix show Away (14:10) and how it’s less mission to Mars space show than it is interpersonal drama…
  • Amazon’s The Boys (23:40) and how the second season looks in the early going, plus thoughts on the three-per-week release schedule…
  • Amazon’s soccer docu-series All or Nothing (30:25), which focuses on Tottenham Hotspur and got very lucky with a mid-season coaching change…
  • A bit of NBA discussion (45:45) as the playoffs wind towards the conference finals…
  • Some NFL preview talk (1:02:50) on the eve of what should be a very strange season…
  • Homework for next week (1:19:55), including: the new Lamorne Morris series Woke on Hulu, Madden actually watching I’m Thinking of Ending Thigs, the new HBO series We Are Who We Are, the new HBO miniseries The Third Day and LOTS MORE sports action with the NBA Playoffs and the opening of the NFL season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 226

  By toyAdmin | September 3, 2020 - 11:58 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 226, Madden and Kolsky briefly get into the misery of the outside world before entering the toy department of life to discuss:

  • The new Netflix cartoon Hoops (3:50) and how absolutely awful it is…
  • The HBO Max reality dating series Singletown (9:20), which went over far better with one host than with the other…
  • The Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai (19:10) and what a good job the creators and writers have done with the source material…
  • The Amazon movie Get Duked (28:50) and how much fun it was to traipse through the Scottish Highlands with some weird teens…
  • A check-in on HBO’s Lovecraft Country (35:50) as the guys try to pin down exactly what is going on there…
  • The NBA Playoffs (42:30), with some thoughts on the Rockets’ Game 7 win and their prospects against the Lakers, the potential Celtics/Heat matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals, and a little bit of NBA draft chatter…
  • Homework for next week (1:12:20), including: the return of The Boys on Amazon, the new Netflix series Away (about a Mars mission), the new Charlie Kaufman movie I’m Thinking of Ending Things (also on Netflix), and LOTS MORE NBA Playoff action… plus the new Bill and Ted movie, which the hosts forgot to mention…
  • A few quick thoughts on baseball (1:15:20), especially the White Sox and Braves, both of whom are very exciting…

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The Toy Department – Episode 225

  By toyAdmin | August 20, 2020 - 11:37 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 225, Madden and Kolsky open another attempt at a short pod with an unnecessary detour into sparkling water v. still water before moving on to:

  • HBO’s new series Lovecraft Country (6:55) and the wild, occasionally disturbing ride of the first episode…
  • The new Netflix movie Project Power (19:40), which might be a B movie, and whether the tone fit the quality…
  • A few thoughts on baseball (29:50) and its stupid unwritten rules…
  • Some NBA Playoff chatter (36:25) with thoughts on what happens moving forward…
  • Homework for next week (57:25), including: the new Netflix cartoon Hoops, the new HBO Max reality dating series Singletown and LOTS MORE NBA Playoff action…

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The Toy Department – Episode 224

  By toyAdmin | August 13, 2020 - 10:52 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 224, Madden and Kolsky already talked about the weather pre-pod, so they dive right into:

  • The totality of HBO’s Perry Mason (1:25) and whether the guys are interested in a second season…
  • The current season of The Chi on Showtime (13:15) and how it has changed from what it seemed to be in its first season…
  • The new Seth Rogen film American Pickle (18:10), available on HBO Max, and how it is exceptionally bizarre and really quite enjoyable…
  • The return of HBO’s Hard Knocks (25:50) and the challenges the show is dealing with in this strange season…
  • Some NBA talk (33:55) as the bubble games give way to the official playoffs and Damian Lillard makes us all gaze on in wonder…
  • A little bit of MLB discussion (1:05:50) as we hit the 20-game mark, which is one third of this weird season…
  • Homework for next week (1:16:05), including: the new Netflix movie Project Power, HBO’s new show Lovecraft Country and LOTS of NBA Playoff action (with maybe some other stuff added mid-week)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 222

  By toyAdmin | July 30, 2020 - 11:02 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 222, Madden and Kolsky start with a discussion of babies and zoos before getting into:

  • The second week of The Challenge: Total Madness Reunion (5:00) and the general let-down of this season’s end…
  • The return of HBO’s Room 104 (21:10) and just how delightful the first episode of this season was, even if it doesn’t make the show feel essential…
  • The new Amazon Prime film Radioactive (28:20) and some of the curious choices made by the filmmakers…
  • The return of sports (32:45) with MLB already underway (for now, at least), the NBA set to start and the NFL opening training camps…
  • Homework for next week (52:45), including: the new season of Umbrella Academy on Netflix, the fifth season of the Netflix docu-series Last Chance U, the new Go-Go’s documentary on Showtime, the end of HBO’s docu-series I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and revisiting HBO’s Perry Mason…
  • The new Taylor Swift record Folklore (57:15) and how it doesn’t quite resonate with either of our hosts…

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The Toy Department – Episode 220

  By toyAdmin | July 16, 2020 - 11:25 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 220, Madden and Kolsky discuss the fact that one of them will be finishing a bottle of rosé (or is it rosado?) throughout the program before getting into:

  • This week’s season finale of The Challenge: Total Madness (2:30) and the anticlimax that was a one-episode, less-insanely-difficult-than-imagined final…
  • A turn to the world of movies (22:55) starting with the Charlize Theron action vehicle The Old Guard…
  • An examination of the Andy Samberg/Cristin Milioti film Palm Springs (30:40) and its unique take on a well-worn concept…
  • Eric Andre’s Netflix stand-up special Legalize Everything (43:35) and how both guys might appreciate a little more deep thinking from a talented comedian…
  • Homework for next week (50:20), including: the reunion episode of The Challenge, the new Peacock app show Brave New World, the new HBO documentary Showbiz Kids and Amy Schumer’s new HBO Max series Expecting Amy…
  • A detour into some return-of-sports discussion (53:20) with MLB set to start in a week…
  • Some more thoughts on The Challenge (1:01:05) and the upcoming reunion before saying goodbye…

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The Toy Department – Episode 188

  By toyAdmin | October 31, 2019 - 11:26 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 188, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dive directly into:

  • The new Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name (1:35) starring Eddie Murphy, and how it’s nice to have Eddie back in our lives…
  • The other new Netflix film The Laundromat (10:55) from the mind of Steven Soderbergh, and how it finds focus and a pointed message in a last-minute twist…
  • The return of The Kominsky Method (22:10) and why the guys still enjoy Chuck Lorre’s Netflix comedy…
  • The return of HBO’s Silicon Valley for its final season (24:30) and how it feels as it heads for the finish…
  • HBO’s new show Mrs. Fletcher (33:00) and the enduring appeal of Kathryn Hahn despite the show’s overly pilot-y opening episode…
  • Some thoughts on why and how the Golden State Warriors should tank their season (37:05) following the unfortunate injury to Steph Curry and some other NBA considerations…
  • Homework for next week (54:25), including: His Dark Materials on HBO, Season 2 of End of the Fucking World on Netflix, the Ed Norton film Motherless Brooklyn, a re-up on MTV’s The Challenge and a discussion about the end of HBO’s The Deuce…

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The Toy Department – Episode 187

  By toyAdmin | October 23, 2019 - 11:52 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 187, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky waste no time getting down to their many topics, specifically:

  • HBO’s new series Watchmen (1:20) and how an interesting premise, Damon Lindelof’s writing and Regina King’s ass-kicking are more than enough to hold your attention…
  • Netflix’s Living With Yourself (14:40) and its lead Paul Rudd, plus the enjoyable sports-related cameo…
  • The new Amazon series Modern Love (25:05) and how it succeeds at being both delightful and heart-yanking…
  • Jenny Slate’s stand-up special on Netflix (29:50) and how it delivers a uniquely Jenny Slate experience more than a set of jokes…
  • Some thoughts on the tip-off of NBA season (39:10) including some talk about the first two games, the favorites and the overall theme…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:20), including: the return of the Kominsky Method on Netflix, the return of Silicon Valley on HBO, the debut of Mrs. Fletcher on HBO, and two Netflix films — The Laundromat and Dolemite is My Name…

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