Tag Archives: Hulu

The Toy Department – Episode 199

  By toyAdmin | January 30, 2020 - 11:55 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 199, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky check in on Kolsky’s radio schedule and the mood in Minnesota in the run-up to Super Bowl LIV before sprinting through:

  • The new Aaron Hernandez docu-series on Netflix (3:25) and how it leaves a little something to be desired when compared to the golden age of documentaries…
  • Comedy Central’s Awkwafina vehicle Nora From Queens (12:20) and whether it has any really redeeming qualities…
  • Tiffany Haddish’s new Netflix stand-up Black Mitzvah (17:00) and how it’s always fun to laugh with Tiffany but there’s nothing special here…
  • Guy Ritchie’s new film The Gentlemen (19:20) and how both guys had a great time at the theater…
  • Season two of Hulu’s Shrill (27:20) and how it seems to be even more enjoyable than the first season…
  • A nice, big Super Bowl LIV discussion (34:20) with both a game preview and a nice prop bet breakdown…
  • Homework for next week (1:09:30), including: the new docu-series Cheer on Netflix, McMillions on HBO, Amazon’s Troop Zero, the new season of Miracle Workers on TBS, the series finale of The Good Place and of course a Super Bowl wrap-up discussion…

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The Toy Department – Episode 191

  By toyAdmin | November 21, 2019 - 11:41 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 191, Derek Madden teases a non-existent show drama before exposing the rather dull truth, then he and Matt Kolsky basically agree on:

  • The new film Ford vs. Ferrari (2:10) and how it was somewhat unexceptional but the sort of film the guys would like to see more of…
  • The debut of The Mandalorian on Disney+ (14:45) and how the first two episodes were great, but the guys are ready for some plot…
  • The new Hulu show Dollface (24:40) and how it is utterly watchable but not especially deep or thoughtful…
  • The Netflix film Earthquake Bird (33:30) and how neither host much enjoyed it or understood the point of it…
  • A brief detour out of the Toy Department (39:15) because Madden wants to discuss the impeachment hearings, but Kolsky is not watching or interested…
  • More thoughts on The Challenge (43:50) which saw another excellent episode filled with perfect twists in the War of the Worlds II season, plus Kolsky’s analysis of old seasons as he learns some history…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (59:00), including: the new film Knives Out in theaters, the new film The Irishman on Netflix, the new film Brittany Runs A Marathon on Amazon Prime and Mike Birbiglia’s new Netflix stand-up special, plus check-ins on Watchmen and Mrs. Fletcher…

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The Toy Department – Episode 182

  By toyAdmin | September 11, 2019 - 11:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 182, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky share an awkward moment over who loves the podcast most before getting to it with:

  • The new Bill Burr special on Netflix (1:50) and how the guys vary in their reception of his complaints about modern society…
  • The new Amazon Prime comedy Late Night (28:30) and how Mindy Kaling wrote a good, funny movie that was executed well…
  • The premiere of the final season of HBO’s The Deuce (36:25) and David Simon’s particularly incredible TV career…
  • Hulu’s new show Wu-Tang: An American Saga (45:30) and the overwhelming quantity of Wu-Tang content in the world right now…
  • Homework for next week (54:15), including: the Dennis Rodman 30 for 30 documentary, Good Talk with Anthony Jeselnik on Comedy Central, a check-in on MTV’s The Challenge and probably other stuff too…

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The Toy Department – Episode 175

  By toyAdmin | July 24, 2019 - 4:08 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 175, Derek Madden finds Matt Kolsky STILL on paternity leave and STILL without a high quality microphone to record into, but nevertheless they persist with:

  • The conclusion of the second season of Big Little Lies (1:55), and whether the HBO drama had enough to justify coming back…
  • HBO’s teen drama Euphoria (14:15) and how it’s a unique and impressive work of prestige television…
  • Toy Department hits the movies, as Madden saw Stuber (25:05) and Kolsky saw the new Lion King (27:50)…
  • Hulu’s surprise early drop of the fourth season of Veronica Mars (36:15), and how it takes us right back to that Veronica Mars place in our hearts…
  • The new album Help Us Stranger by the Raconteurs (39:45) and how the influence of Brendan Benson tames the genius of Jack White in an appealing way…
  • Homework for next week (48:40), including: the premiere of Bachelor in Paradise, the return of Orange is the New Black on Netflix, and the new Amazon show The Boys (from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 160

  By toyAdmin | March 27, 2019 - 2:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 160, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky address a recent major life event before discussing:

  • The NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend (2:15) and what the lack of upsets means for the remainder of the event…
  • The Dirt (8:35), Netflix’s Mötley Crüe biopic, and how it moves through the life of one of rock’s wildest bands…
  • Hulu’s new comedy Shrill (27:35) and how Aidy Bryant has created a really honest and honestly hilarious show…
  • The Act (35:05), also on Hulu, the intensity of its acting performances and compelling nature of its mysteries…
  • The career of the recently retired Rob Gronkowski (40:05) and how he stacks up with the all-time greats at the tight end position…
  • Homework for next week (56:10), including: Barry and Veep on HBO, the end of Miracle Workers on TBS and the Adnan Sayed docu-series on HBO, and the premiere of What We Do in the Shadows on FX, plus Derek tries to watch US…

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The Toy Department – Episode 155

  By toyAdmin | February 20, 2019 - 9:25 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 155, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly discuss their irregular recording time before spreading out over:

  • The question of Netflix programming v. Hulu programming (1:30) and what that even means…
  • Hulu’s new middle school comedy/drama PEN15 (5:10) and how it has some appeal but falls flat in comparison to other shows covering similar territory…
  • Netflix’s new sci-fi/fantasy drama The Umbrella Academy (12:40), which Kolsky talks himself even more into as he attempts to convince Derek it’s worthwhile…
  • Hugo Blick’s Black Earth Rising (20:05), also available on Netflix, and how the high level of execution on all parts does little to make it easier to watch…
  • A check-in on Top Chef (27:45) after the fried chicken and Muhammad Ali episode…
  • Some NBA chatter (42:00) as the league heads out of the All-Star Break and into the home stretch, including whether or not the league has a player empowerment problem…
  • Homework for next week (56:55), including: actually seeing Fighting With My Family in theaters, the end of True Detective’s third season, an episode of Documentary Now (allegedly mocking Wild Wild Country), the premiere of Desus and Mero on Showtime and the new HBO Film O.G…

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The Toy Department – Episode 134

  By toyAdmin | September 18, 2018 - 11:08 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 134, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky belabor their show introduction before jumping headlong into:

  • Amazon’s new streaming show Forever (2:15) and why they guys’ views on it differ so extremely…
  • Hulu’s new Sean Penn vehicle The First (27:05), where Penn plays a very muscular (former?) astronaut and brings a dramatic weight that is not necessarily enjoyable…
  • Some thoughts on (probably) bad new shows (34:15) including A Million Little Things and Rel, plus plenty of re-made “classics”…
  • A check-in on Derek’s active-ish (40:00) NFL boycott and the league’s many problems, starting with its commissioner…
  • Season 2 of Netflix’s American Vandal (49:20) and how the mock-umentary is still immensely enjoyable despite somewhat diminishing returns on the concept…
  • A quick check-in on Season 2 of Ozark (54:55) and how both guys are having a blast with it despite a less glowing critical reception than Season 1…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:05), including: finishing the aforementioned season of Ozark, the premiere of Maniac on Netflix, the album Master Volume by The Dirty Nil and an attempt to get to the theater for the new Predator movie…

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 127

  By toyAdmin | July 31, 2018 - 4:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 127, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky return from a week off with a brief analysis of their podcast introduction, then focus in and banter about:

  • The return of Orange is the New Black (2:40) on Netflix and how the show has once again gone through a paradigm shift in the situations of the characters…
  • Derek tries to convince Kolsky to dive into watching NBC’s classic The West Wing (13:20) and the more recent Halt & Catch Fire (18:35)…
  • A short aside into Kolsky’s recent binge experience with Love Island (22:35), a British sex/competition show currently available on Hulu…
  • The Robin Williams documentary Come Inside My Mind (27:15) currently airing on HBO, and how it does a good job of surveying Williams’ life but doesn’t really get all the way into his mind…
  • A brief detour into Jack Nicholson and the Lakers (37:05) which diverges into Kobe Bryant conversation…
  • A discussion of HBO’s Sharp Objects (45:00) at the halfway point, covering how much faith the guys have in it coming together in a meaningful way through its second half…
  • Homework for next week (56:20), including: the films Mission Impossible: Fallout and Eighth Grade, both in theaters now, as well as Kolsky checking out The West Wing and Halt & Catch Fire and Madden sampling Love Island on Hulu, plus Madden is heading to Lollapalooza so concert stories coming…

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 125

  By toyAdmin | July 10, 2018 - 11:35 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 125, please excuse any audio issues on the part of Matt Kolsky, as he joins Derek Madden live (to tape) from a road trip, specifically from the side of the road near Needles, CA after a car breakdown, so they can discuss:

  • Kolsky’s absurd roadside predicament and dodgy recording situation…
  • The off-air Toy Department Experience (4:30) that took place in Chicago after an excellent Radiohead show on Friday (and some details about the concert itself)…
  • The soon-to-be-completed second season of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu (15:15) and how it’s got some great stuff going on if you can handle the gut punch of its content…
  • A wrap-up discussion of the second season of Netflix’s GLOW (21:25), the many exciting possibilities heading into Season 3 and the greatness of Alison Brie…
  • A chat about HBO’s goal to increase content production (28:15) and what it says about the world of television…
  • HBO’s new limited series Sharp Objects (32:40) and how promising it feels after one episode…
  • Some brief thoughts on the World Cup (37:40)… until the tow truck shows up (40:50)…
  • Homework for next week (43:00), including: the Hannah Gadsby stand-up special Nanette and the new Boots Riley-directed film Sorry to Bother You plus perhaps another movie in theaters (like Ant Man & The Wasp, Jurassic World 2, The Incredibles 2, Sicario 2 or Tag)…

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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