The Toy Department – Episode 270

In Episode 270, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk a little about the crowded sports calendar before turning their focus to:

  • The return of Behind the Music (7:15) and whether the now-MTV property is doing enough with new content to be worth watching…
  • The new Iliza Schlesinger Netflix movie Good on Paper (17:40) and how it’s a relatively original twist on what is basically a romantic comedy format…
  • The new HBO Max comedy special Tig Notaro: Drawn (22:20) and whether the animation gimmick adds to Tig’s particular brand of stand-up…
  • The surprisingly compelling Peacock show Dr. Death (28:10) and how the lead actors and a shocking true story help create an engrossing experience…
  • Homework for next THURSDAY (37:15), including: the return of The Challenge!!! — Spies, Lies and Allies debuts on Wednesday and the guys will go deep on next week’s THURSDAY pod, plus HBO Max’s goofy new dating show FBOY Island, the new Suicide Squad movie (also on HBO Max) and hopefully an episode or two of Apple TV+’s Joseph-Gordon Levitt vehicle Mr. Corman…

The Toy Department – Episode 186

In Episode 186, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky apologize for any audio quality issues as Kolsky is en route from Sacramento to San Francisco, and then get into:

  • The new film Joker (2:30) and how both guys ended up confused and disappointed after watching it…
  • A much more enjoyable film, Netflix’s El Camino (20:45), the story of Jesse Pinkman and the delightful fan service of Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan…
  • The season finalĂ© of HBO’s Succession (27:30) and how it is functioning at a tremendously high level, particularly given how difficult it is to describe…
  • Season 4 of USA’s Mr. Robot (45:10) and whether there’s anything new or interesting to see there…
  • A new album from a new band — the self-titled Black Pumas (48:40) — and whether they are worth following into the future…
  • A new album from an older band — Sturgill Simpson’s Sound & Fury (52:15) — and whether the guys are into his southern rock turn, plus some pretty unnecessary shots at country music…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:10), including: HBO’s new series Watchmen (from Damon Lindelof), Amazon Prime’s new series Modern Love, Jenny Slate’s stand-up special on Netflix and probably a check-in on MTV’s The Challenge, plus (not mentioned) a BIG NBA PREVIEW…