Tag Archives: Amazon

The Toy Department – Episode 332

  By toyAdmin | February 17, 2023 - 11:38 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 332, Madden and Kolsky get stuck in a lengthy discussion of playing FIFA and watching the English Premiere League before focusing in on the topic(s) at hand:

  • The season finalé of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (15:10) and the crowning of two new champs in Devin and Tori, plus a look forward to the jam-packed future of The Challenge Universe…
  • The critically celebrated film Tár (58:00) and just what exactly it has to offer other than a predictably incredible performance from Cate Blanchett…
  • The Ryan Coogler-directed superhero film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (1:03:55) and how it doesn’t live up to its predecessor but still makes for a pretty good time…
  • Showtime’s new 90s/00s indie rock scene documentary Meet Me in the Bathroom (1:08:35) and how it has some great shots and archived footage but not enough information about its subjects…
  • The Dave Franco-directed Somebody I Used to Know (1:21:05) and the magnetic lead actor energy of his wife and star Allison Brie…
  • Homework for next week (1:26:50), including: the Oscar-nominated Spielberg film The Fabelmans, a new Netflix series called Fakes and Marc Maron’s new HBO special From Bleak to Dark… PLUS the reunion episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

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The Toy Department – Episode 263

  By toyAdmin | June 15, 2021 - 11:20 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 263, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly discuss Madden’s challenging recording circumstances before jumping into the week’s content, including:

  • The Michael B. Jordan movie Without Remorse (2:15) and how the Tom Clancy film formula falls a little flat in 2021…
  • The show Startup (9:55), how it is exactly the kind of existing-show-investment that makes sense for Netflix, and should make for a delightful slow-burn binge…
  • The new HBO Max show Starstruck (17:30) and how delightfully charismatic Rose Matafeo is as the lead character…
  • This week’s action on Top Chef: Portland (25:05), arguably the teariest Top Chef ever, and the clear three-way competition developing as we head into the final few episodes…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (49:01), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the return of HBO’s Betty (which Kolsky forgot last week), the return of Lil’ Dicky’s FX show Dave, the new Apple TV+ show Physical and the new AMC show Kevin Can F*** Himself… plus, Madden and Kolsky will break down EW’s list of the best Challenge contestants of all time…

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The Toy Department – Episode 230

  By toyAdmin | October 6, 2020 - 11:37 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 230, Madden and Kolsky compare themselves to playoff baseball before moving into the realm of popular fiction to cover:

  • The new Netflix show Sneakerheads (4:10) and how it just fails to distinguish itself in any way…
  • Showtime’s two-part movie The Comey Rule (9:40) and the hosts’ drastically differing opinions on it…
  • The start of Season 4 of Fargo on FX (31:40) and how the show retains its signature charms…
  • Amazon’s new show Utopia (54:10) and what a creative and original project it seems to be…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Finals (1:02:15) and the last couple weeks of NFL football (1:05:10)…
  • Homework for next week (1:13:45), including: Showtime’s new series The Good Lord Bird (starring Ethan Hawke), HBO Max’s original movie Charm City Kings (starring Meek Mill), AMC’s new series Soulmates, the new Netflix movie 40-Year-Old Version and the first couple episodes of The Comedy Store docu-series on Showtime… plus the potential end of the NBA Finals and Week 5 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 200

  By toyAdmin | February 6, 2020 - 11:35 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 200, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky eschew a special ceremony to celebrate their longevity in the interest of discussing:

  • A run-through of the major Oscars (1:50) and who the guys expect and want to win…
  • HBO’s new docu-series McMillions (25:40) and how it turns out to be a delightful tale of the most charming criminal conspiracy…
  • The docu-series Cheer on Netflix (31:45) and how appealing so many of its characters are…
  • Amazon’s new film Troop Zero (37:10) and the difference of opinion between the hosts on its worthwhileness…
  • Season two of the anthology show Miracle Workers on TBS (39:55) and whether it’s worth getting back into…
  • A few words about The Outsider on HBO (43:35) and how much both guys are enjoying it…
  • The series finale of The Good Place (46:30) and how we will never see its like again…
  • The Andrew Wiggins/D’Angelo Russel trade (56:40) breaks mid-recording and the guys discuss…
  • Homework for next week (0:0), including: Brooklyn 99’s return, the premiere of Briarpatch on USA, the new Netflix movie To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and the new movie Birds of Prey in theaters…

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The Toy Department – Episode 197

  By toyAdmin | January 16, 2020 - 7:20 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 197, Derek Madden struggles to remember which host is which before properly identifying Matt Kolsky and jumping into:

  • A conversation about Oscar nominees (1:40) where the Academy did well and where they’re screwing the pooch…
  • The new Netflix comedy Medical Police (22:25) and how well it executes its particular brand of stupid comedy…
  • John Mulaney’s Netflix special The Sack Lunch Bunch (26:35) and how it artfully parodies a weekend children’s special…
  • Leslie Jones’ new standup special (31:15) also on Netflix, and how she’s very funny even if this is not necessarily a standout stand-up set…
  • The film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (35:05), currently available on Amazon, and what an oddly beautiful movie it is…
  • Homework for next week (41:40), including: Avenue 5 and The Outsider on HBO, the film 1917, the new Awkwafina show Nora From Queens on Comedy Central and season two of Netflix’s Sex Education…

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The Toy Department – Episode 196

  By toyAdmin | January 10, 2020 - 11:11 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 196, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are pressed for time (and Kolsky has a sick baby again) but they still manage to get through:

  • The new film Parasite (2:50) and how director Bong Joon-ho told an incredibly engaging and meaningful story about class in Korea…
  • The film Bombshell (9:05) and how Madden and Kolsky processed the story of rampant sexual misconduct at Fox News…
  • The new NBC show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (24:00) and whether the pilot showed enough promise to keep either of the hosts’ attention…
  • Some thoughts on Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (32:25) after the end of its third season…
  • A wrap-up of Disney+’s The Mandalorian (34:05) and why both guys thought it was the best Star Wars content of the year…
  • Homework for next week (36:35), including: NFL PLAYOFFS!!! (and probably some other stuff but really this section of the pod is just an NFL playoffs discussion and whatever else the guys watch will be determined during the week)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 193

  By toyAdmin | December 13, 2019 - 9:32 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 193, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky deliver Toy Department After Dark (and a day late) and get into:

  • The film Brittany Runs A Marathon on Amazon Prime (1:30) and what a surprisingly heartfelt and well-made film it turned out to be…
  • The new film Queen & Slim (9:15) and the importance of diverse and interesting voices in the film world…
  • The reboot of Showtime’s The L Word (22:20) and how it’s just way too far over the top for Kolsky to get into as a newcomer…
  • The return of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (29:00) and how both guys are still enjoying it, but it may be running out of road if it doesn’t grow somewhat…
  • The season (and maybe series) finale of HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher (32:40) and how it hit the guys very differently…
  • The last episode of The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 (39:05), some favorite moments and all the incredible drama that went down…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:40), including: 2019 year-end favorites, the end of Watchmen on HBO, some thoughts on the Challenge Reunion special and the new Netflix film Marriage Story…
  • Thirty seconds on Mike Birbiglia’s new Netflix stand-up special (1:08:00) which was good…

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