The Toy Department – Episode 261

In Episode 261, Madden and Kolsky have a log list of subjects, so time-wasting is eschewed in favor of:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (1:10) and FINALLY the elimination of bad-pasta-Chris, plus thoughts on the recipe challenge and the hosts’ favorites heading down the stretch…
  • The Friends reunion on HBO Max (20:45) and how it aimed for 100 minutes of nostalgia and hit pretty close to the bullseye…
  • The new film Plan B (38:25) and how it’s an absolute home run of an indie high school adventure movie…
  • A wrap-up discussion on Mare of Easttown (43:55) and how HBO has another high-quality limited series in the drama category, filled with tremendous acting performances and a compelling crime mystery…
  • Some NBA playoff thoughts (54:35) at the halfway point (or so) of the first round, re-assessing the favorites after a rash of injuries and some see-sawing series results…
  • A brief discussion about Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open (1:02:50) and the difficult task of respecting metal health while also realizing that media availability is part of the job of a modern professional athlete…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:09:30), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the new Netflix movie Army of the Dead, Bo Burham’s new stand-up special on Netflix and the new British comedy We Are Lady Parts, about an all-female Muslim punk band…

The Toy Department – Episode 9

In Episode 9, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a little breakdown of the media madness surrounding the Super Bowl – mostly because Kolsky is stranded in a sea of Super Shenanigans… Then it’s a discussion of the great new TV series The People vs. OJ Simpson, and the success of FX in general (5:30) plus a minute or two about another new FX show, Zach Galifianakis’ Baskets. Of course today’s pod also includes a long Super Bowl Prop Bets segment (25:00) – you’re covered if you want to bet on earthquakes or whether Peyton Manning retires immediately after the game. Make sure you listen for your homework assignment(s) and stay tuned for the exciting tease ahead to next week’s episode!!

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!!  We are also part of the Google Play library of podcasts (and hopefully will have a link to that soon)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.