In Episode 275, Madden and Kolsky return from an unplanned absence with very little memory of what they intended to talk about when they left each other last, so today:
It’s pretty much all about The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies!!! (2:45) There’s three weeks of content to catch up on, lots of drama and a big turning point for game strategy in the most recent episode…
There’s just a touch of concert talk (42:25) as Derek heads to Austin City Limits…
Homework for next Thursday (47:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark on HBO and the debut of The Problem with John Stewart on Apple Plus…
And a bit of baseball (49:35) to round things off…
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…
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)…
In Episode 136, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly banter about their inability to execute a short version of the podcast before long-winded discussions centering on:
The world of baseball (1:30) as the playoffs begin, which — in a bad sign for baseball — devolves into a brief discussion of the Atlanta Hawks…
An attempt to find new network television worth watching (16:00) which ends with the selection of one new drama and one new comedy that Kolsky and Madden will try out for at least two episodes…
The return of NBC’s The Good Place (30:25) and how incredible a job it does of playing to all audiences while also remaining incredibly smart and original in today’s network climate…
FX’s new Australian offering Mr. In-Between (37:10) which both guys find intriguing after an episode or two…
Lil Wayne’s new album (42:20) and how its highlights show off Wayne’s skills but aren’t enough to prop up 23 tracks…
The season finale of HBO’s Insecure (48:05) and the unique lack of particular excitement or cliffhangers…
Homework for next week (53:40), including: finishing Forever on Amazon, starting The Cool Kids on Fox, the return of Big Mouth on Netflix and the season finale of AMC’s Better Call Saul…
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.
