The Toy Department – Episode 391

In Episode 391, Madden and Kolsky are back from an unplanned hiatus (thanks to Derek’s unnamed coworkers) to dive deep into:

  • The last two episodes of Top Chef (2:05) including a cheese-and-fishy quickfire, great chefs cooking scared in the pre-final and a final cook that saw three great chefs do their thing…
  • The the end of The Challenge All-Stars 4 (22:40) including a purge, a rad paintball shooting challenge to kick off TJ’s Final, a friend-ly twist to end it and a big win for a bigger legend…
  • The HBO docu-series Ren Faire (36:05) and whether the Succession comparisons go deeper than the obvious surface narrative…
  • The intense and emotional Godzilla Minus One (44:00) and whether it transcends the standard monster-flick label…
  • Bob Marley: One Love (49:15) and the life and legacy of reggae music’s GOAT…
  • The Glen Powell/Richard Linklater team-up Hit Man (55:45) and what a winning rom-com it ends up being…
  • A few thoughts on the end of the NBA season (1:00:30) and the championship-winning Boston Celtics…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:55), including: Hannah Einbinder’s stand-up special (on Max), the documentary Brats on Hulu, Ophan Black: Echoes on AMC, Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent, the Dev Patel feature Monkey Man (now on Peacock) and the return of The Boys on Amazon Prime Video…

The Toy Department – Episode 35

In Episode 35, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with Madden’s impending death via Metallica (you’ll see) before getting into:

  • The idea of a single band or artist (like the aforementioned Metallica) transcending their genre to the point that they fully represent it (3:15)… And whether the genre of “rock” has faded to the point where it needs a representative artist (11:00)…
  • Movies!! Madden went and saw Sausage Party (17:00)… while Kolsky went to the drive-in (20:15) and checked out Suicide Squad (21:10) and Bad Moms (26:15)…
  • The HBO Show Vice Principals (29:30), which has kicked things up a gear and gotten Madden engaged…
  • The new Netflix show The Get Down (33:30), which neither Madden nor Kolsky have watched yet… But they discuss the show’s creator, Baz Luhrmann, and assign the pilot to each other for homework…
  • More Netflix with a final breakdown of this season of Orange is the New Black (38:30)… No spoilers in this text, but there ARE spoilers in the discussion so BEWARE!!
  • HBO’s The Night Of (50:11) and its latest episode, which may have raised some questions about the truth and the background of the main character…

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