Tag Archives: 30 for 30

The Toy Department – Episode 348

  By toyAdmin | June 10, 2023 - 3:03 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 348, Madden and Kolsky are working on a Saturday, one at home and one in a hotel suite with an old man and a toddler (sorry for any weird audio stuff) but it doesn’t deter them from discussing:

  • The season finalé of Top Chef: World All-Stars (2:30) and how it ended essentially where our hosts expected, with an awful lot of good cooking on the way there…
  • HBO’s new Sam Levinson series The Idol (20:10) and how it wasn’t necessarily as provocative as expected in the first episode, but does have some intense moments of sexuality and some interesting things to say about the life of a young, female pop star…
  • The big wave surfing docu-series 100-Foot Wave (28:05) and the pure insanity of the pursuits of its main character Garrett McNamara, along with the wonder of watching people ride a mountain of water…
  • ESPN’s The American Gladiator Documentary (32:35) and how director Ben Berman basically gives the viewer two fascinating and well-told documentaries for the price of one…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Finals (39:20), which appear to be headed to an early conclusion, but that does not mean the Miami Heat don’t deserve credit for their accomplishments…
  • Homework for next week (49:35), including: revisiting The Idol after Episode 2, the movie Flamin’ Hot on Hulu, the British drama Somewhere Boy (also on Hulu), the Peacock show Based on a True Story and the Tom Holland show The Crowded Room on Apple TV+… and perhaps some NBA Finals talk as well!

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The Toy Department – Episode 247

  By toyAdmin | February 9, 2021 - 10:37 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 247, Madden and Kolsky once again confront Kolsky’s infirmity before attempting an elusive short episode covering:

  • ESPN’s embarrassing 30 for 30 film Al Davis vs. the NFL (2:45) and how a goofy gimmick torpedoed what could have been a tremendous documentary…
  • Marvel’s new TV series WandaVision (9:45) and whether a creative approach is enough to soften Madden’s distaste for superhero content…
  • The new Netflix film Malcom & Marie (18:30) and what exactly director Sam Levinson and star Zendaya (who reportedly had significant input) are going for…
  • Some thoughts on the new NBC sitcom Mr. Mayor (27:10) and what makes it funnier than the average network fare…
  • A few quick thoughts on the Super Bowl (32:40) and what an unpleasant experience it was…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (35:35), including: the NYT-made documentary Framing Britney Spears, the third To All The Boys movie (which drops Friday on Netflix) and the new film Judas & the Black Messiah (available Friday on HBO Max)… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 217

  By toyAdmin | June 18, 2020 - 11:17 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 217, Madden and Kolsky somehow get into Frank Zappa’s Baby Snakes before focusing in on:

  • The Top Chef All-Stars LA finale (2:55) and its many moving moments…
  • An odd detour into the idea of the universal DH in baseball (13:15) before a return to Top Chef chatter…
  • ESPN’s 30 for 30 doc Long Gone Summer (24:40) and its perplexingly fluffy coverage of the Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run race of 1998…
  • Another episode of The Challenge: Total Madness (38:10), the awkwardness of the Dee edits and the (fast-approaching?) final…
  • The new Spike Lee joint Da 5 Bloods (50:00) and the greatness of Delroy Lindo…
  • Judd Apatow’s new movie The King of Staten Island (57:40) and the prospect of Pete Davidson as a leading man…
  • Dave Chappelle’s surprise special 8:46 (1:07:45) and the value of his voice at this time in America…
  • Homework for next week (1:17:35), including: another episode of The Challenge, the return of The Chi on Showtime, the debut of Perry Mason on HBO and the new season of Search Party on HBO Max…

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The Toy Department – Episode 216

  By toyAdmin | June 11, 2020 - 10:57 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 216, Madden and Kolsky are once again compelled to briefly address the issues of the day before spinning off into less pressing concerns:

  • This week’s penultimate episode of Top Chef (7:50) and how a stacked final stacks up…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge (23:40), the many dramas of Dee Nguyen and the prospects for the home stretch of this season…
  • HBO’s new series I May Destroy You (41:05) from Michaela Coel and how interesting it appears at first blush…
  • ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 doc Be Water (44:10) and whether it does its subject (Bruce Lee) justice…
  • The new Run the Jewels record (56:15) and its potential place as a soundtrack to what is hopefully a pivotal time in history…
  • Homework for next week (1:03:25), including: the season finale of Top Chef, another Challenge episode, ESPN’s new 30 for 30 Long Gone Summer about Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, the new Spike Lee joint Da 5 Bloods, and the new Judd Apatow/Pete Davidson collab The King of Staten Island…

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The Toy Department – Episode 183

  By toyAdmin | September 18, 2019 - 10:34 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 183, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly address Madden’s recent travels before flying through:

  • Good Talk with Anthony Jeselnik on Comedy Central (2:10) and how he combines a podcast-like chat show with his signature evil humor…
  • ESPN’s new 30 for 30 on Dennis Rodman (8:05) — called Dennis Rodman: For Better or Worse — and the incredible story it tells…
  • Amazon’s trippy new series Undone (22:10), the effect of the animation style and the magnetism of Rosa Salazar…
  • A check-in on MTV’s The Challenge (29:35) which is absolutely thriving right now and providing peak reality entertainment…
  • A brief detour into social media (42:05) and sports commentary…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now, after an off-week (45:00), including: Netflix’s Sacha Baron-Cohen drama The Spy, new network TV shows Stumptown and Mixed-ish, the return of The Good Place and NOT watching Shane Gillis on SNL…

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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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