film noir – The Toy Department

The Toy Department – Episode 401

In Episode 401, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s work-cation and his exclusive property on Haven’t-Seen-Harry-Potter Island before locking in on:

The latest from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (7:00) including the rapid demise of Era 1 and whether or not strategy dictates finishing them off or shifting focus…
Netflix’s enthralling WWE docu-series Mr. McMahon (29:15) and how to reckon with the broader cultural impact of professional wrestling…
The ripped-from-Kolsky’s-heart rom-com Nobody Wants This (43:10) and how Netflix has constructed a show that’s hard to imagine not loving…
The film Killer Heat on Amazon Prime Video (48:00) and the comfort of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s face and propensity for voice-over…
A few random sports thoughts (52:25) as Kolsky eulogizes his baseball fandom…
Homework for next week (57:45), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the Pitt/Clooney movie Wolfs on Apple TV+, the Mark Duplass show Penelope on Netflix, the documentary Will & Harper (also on Netflix) and the new HBO comedy The Franchise…

In Episode 397, Madden and Kolsky are staying up late again, so it’s right on into:

An absolute banger of an episode in Season 40 of The Challenge (1:05) with wall-to-wall physical eliminations that delivered some classic battles and some intriguing upsets…
Vince Vaughn’s new Bill Lawrence-created show Bad Monkey (43:20) and whether we finally have an official “gourmet cheeseburger”…
A few thoughts on Chelsea and the English Premier League (51:30) after Derek drags Kolsky into the conversation…
Homework for two weeks from now (1:00:05), including: two more episodes of The Challenge Season 40, Netflix’s new Greek mythology dark comedy KAOS, the return of Slow Horses on Apple TV+ and the new FX show English Teacher…

In Episode 383, Madden and Kolsky bicker about who bears more responsibility for their bizarre technical difficulties before jumping into:

This week on The Challenge All-Stars 4 (2:10) and old heads showing their muscles…
The latest from Top Chef Wisconsin (24:35) with a rough week for some good chefs and some badly cooked meat…
Michael Douglas’s turn as Ben Franklin for Apple TV+ (45:10) and whether the resulting Franklin makes enough of statecraft to have a worthwhile show…
Colin Farrell’s turn as a noir-style private detective (52:40) and what exactly seems to be going on in a broader sense on the Apple TV+ show Sugar…
The documentary Steve! (57:15) and the wild and crazy (and suddenly serene) life of Steve Martin…
Netflix’s new film Scoop (1:04:45) and the choice to tell a story the Prince Andrew story through the lens of “journalism”…
Homework for next week (1:10:20), including: more Top Chef Wisconsin, more of The Challenge All-Stars 4, HBO’s new Sunday night centerpiece The Sympathizer and Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout adaptation…

In Episode 189, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly discuss Tiffany Haddish’s Netflix offering They Ready before settling in for:

The new Edward Norton film Motherless Brooklyn (3:00) and whether it is too complicated for its own good…
The return of The End of the Fucking World on Netflix (11:30) and how it continues to be oddly and undeniably charming…
HBO’s new show His Dark Materials (17:45) and whether it is too fantastical for Madden to seriously entertain…
The end of HBO’s The Deuce (32:40) and how David Simon has crafted another deep and powerful piece of television entertainment…
A check-in on MTV’s The Challenge (53:45) and all the madness that makes it the best reality show running (and swimming, and hammering)…
Homework for next week (1:07:05), including: probably some more discussion of The Challenge, hopefully the premiere of the Star Wars show The Mandalorian on Disney+, the new cycle of Patriot Act on Netflix and the film Jojo Rabbit…