Tag Archives: Janelle Monae

The Toy Department – Episode 214

  By toyAdmin | May 29, 2020 - 11:52 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 214, Madden and Kolsky spend a few minutes lamenting the state of America before turning to the lighter fare of:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef (4:05) and how things look as we head to a new country and towards the finalé…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge (22:45) and the prospects for players still in search of their red skull…
  • Hulu’s new show The Great (44:15) and how it is a bundle of fun in the vein of The Favourite, among other things…
  • A few quick words on Patton Oswalt’s new comedy special (52:30), but it’s nothing special…
  • Far more words on Hannah Gadsby (54:40), her new special Douglas and the excitement of a talented new comedic voice…
  • Season 2 of Homecoming (1:06:05) and whether or not it even really needs to exist…
  • TNT’s Snowpiercer (1:10:20) and whether its potential is weighed down by its TNT-ishness…
  • Homework for next week (1:15:05), including: more from both Top Chef and The Challenge, HBO Max’s initial offering Love Life (with Anna Kendrick), Netflix’s new show Space Force, the return of Ramy on Hulu and ESPN’s 30 for 30 on Lance Armstrong…

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The Toy Department – Episode 117

  By toyAdmin | May 8, 2018 - 11:23 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 117, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky do a bit of housekeeping from last week’s show (figurative housekeeping, not literal) before addressing:

  • The second season of Dear White People (4:40) on Netflix, and how it manages to be a lot of fun while still speaking to relevant social issues…
  • A return to HBO’s Westworld (13:00) to discuss both Madden and Kolsky’s fading interest in it…
  • The second season premiere of Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here (28:35) and how it succeeds in being a good hang despite some swings and misses on bigger themes…
  • A check-in on Showtime’s Billions (36:00), wherein Kolsky raves about just how wonderful a show it is…
  • Janelle Monáe’s awesome new album Dirty Computer (53:15) and the less-awesome 48-minute video released alongside it…
  • The new Childish Gambino video (1:03:30) and its powerful artistic statement about America…
  • John Mulaney’s Netflix stand-up special Kid Gorgeous (1:08:40) and his skill as a comedy writer…
  • Homework for next week (1:15:55), including: the season finalé of Atlanta, a few episodes of David Letterman’s show on Netflix and possibly a movie or two — come back next week to find out!!

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.

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The Toy Department – Episode 58

  By toyAdmin | February 23, 2017 - 4:08 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 58, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky work through physical and mental illness, respectively, to bring you discussions about:

  • HBO’s Girls (3:20) and the greatness of Lena Dunham…
  • HBO’s new 30-minute comedy Crashing (13:45) and how it feels true-to-life as it tells the story of comic Pete Holmes’ life…
  • The first full album from Wondaland Records artist Jidenna (26:40) and whether the LP itself lives up to Jidenna’s talent…
  • Some musical homework (33:30) as Kolsky asks Madden to listen to Roman GianArthur’s OK Lady album, a sort of Radiohead/D’Angelo tribute album… and Madden asks Kolsky to listen to the latest album from Cloud Nothings, called Life Without Sound…
  • Lego Batman (38:00) which Kolsky saw on purpose and Madden saw essentially by mistake…
  • The National Basketball Association’s silly season, from the DeMarcus Cousins trade (43:30) and the Sacramento Kings’ ineptitude to the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office restructuring (1:00:20)…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 49

  By toyAdmin | December 7, 2016 - 11:04 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 49, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky jump right in off the top rope to discuss:

  • NBA basketball – specifically the Warriors’ recent run of impressive offense (2:05) and their head coach Steve Kerr’s take on marijuana in sports (8:00) and how it helps advance the conversation about responsible medication for athletes…
  • The season finalé of HBO’s Westworld (19:50) and how it projects forward to the eventual second season of the show…
  • The new film Moonlight (33:15), which both Madden and Kolsky enjoyed… They attempt to preview and review it without spoiling it for you…
  • The Season 3 finalé of Netflix’s Black Mirror, Hated in the Nation (42:20) and how it reinforces the fact that Season 3 is relatively distinct from the first two seasons of the series…
  • The Toy Department Considers A Classic again, as they talk about last week’s homework – the Beastie Boys album Paul’s Boutique (52:20)…
  • A look ahead to homework for next week (1:02:35) which includes two albums in Childish Gambino’s Awaken, My Love! and Metallica’s Hardwired… to Self Destruct, plus one television show in the TBS streaming effort Search Party…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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