Tag Archives: Jason Bateman

The Toy Department – Episode 346

  By toyAdmin | May 25, 2023 - 11:24 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 346, Madden and Kolsky convene early for a late-night-Thursday episode, giving you the goods on:

  • The final London week of Top Chef: World All-Stars (1:25), a microwaved sponge cake, tricks of the eye and what to look for in the upcoming trip to Paris…
  • Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s new movie Air (17:55) and how it manages to create tension, suspense and drama out of a true story that everyone knows the ending of…
  • Hulu’s Jack Harlow-starring White Men Can’t Jump (24:55), watchable mediocrity and the remake-obsessed world we are all living in…
  • The Shea Serrano-penned series Primo (30:10) and the delight of a family comedy written with love…
  • A few NBA playoff thoughts as we sit on the doorstep of the Finals (34:55), whether the Heat can finish off the Celtics and whether either of them have a shot against the Nuggets…
  • Homework for next week (43:15), including: the series finale of Succession, the new Apple TV+ shows Platonic and High Desert and the HBO movie Reality… PLUS the first episode of the Paris Portion of Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 300!!

  By toyAdmin | May 20, 2022 - 12:13 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 300 (!!!) Madden and Kolsky have too much to talk about for idle banter, so it’s directly into:

  • The series finale of Ozark (0:45) which has Kolsky DEEP in his feelings…
  • The return of Hacks on HBO Max (28:20) and the specific lane that it fills to great effect…
  • The new album A Light for Attracting Attention (32:05) from The Smile, the newest project from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood (featuring a tremendous drummer named Tom Skinner)…
  • Kendrick Lamar’s new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (36:30) and how Kendrick continues to make compelling, interesting, deep music, warts and all…
  • The latest from The Challenge: All-Stars 3 (54:15), the mystery of potential replacement players and how some competitors need to lock in or go home…
  • The last Top Chef: Houston episode before a venue change (1:10:55), and the no-good-very-bad week that ended one lovable chef’s run…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:25:05), including: more Top Chef: Houston, more of The Challenge: All-Stars 3, Amazon’s new The Kids In The Hall series, the Hulu series Conversations with Friends and a check-in on Better Call Saul after its mid-season finale…

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The Toy Department – Episode 288

  By toyAdmin | January 25, 2022 - 11:34 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 288, Madden and Kolsky have a little laugh about the sadness of missing The Challenge before getting networky with:

  • The underwhelming How I Met Your Father on Hulu (2:20) and how it’s super networky, despite being a streaming-only show, and mediocre-at-best…
  • The more enjoyable Abbott Elementary on ABC/Hulu (8:25) and where it succeeds, though mileage may vary person to person on really loving it…
  • Fox/Hulu’s Pivoting (13:15) and the irrepressible charm of its cast…
  • The new Duplass joint Somebody Somewhere on HBO (20:25) and how nice it is to have the brothers back in their sincere, heartwarming wheelhouse…
  • The beginning of the final season of Netflix’s Ozark (29:00) and how the stakes just keep getting higher on a really great TV program…
  • Some thoughts on arguably the greatest weekend of NFL playoff football ever (40:55) and where we’re headed now that it’s down to the final four…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (59:15), including: Single Drunk Female on Freeform/Hulu, the film The Last Duel (now on HBO Max), The Afterparty on Apple TV+ and Netflix’s new Kristen Bell show The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window… plus hopefully another great weekend of NFL Playoffs!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 208

  By toyAdmin | April 9, 2020 - 10:53 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 208, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky discuss the younger Kolsky’s new walking ability before moving on to:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef (3:35), how Derek’s fantasy team is falling apart and the Mount Rushmore of potential winners…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: Total Madness (23:05) and how it left the guys wanting more of the show’s mainstays…
  • The HBO Sports documentary The Scheme (38:05) and how the main takeaway was an embarrassing job by federal authorities…
  • The Netflix sports documentary Screwball (48:15) and how it told an insane story in an interesting and enjoyable way…
  • The film The End of the Tour (56:15) and how it’s a heck of a good watch if you like watching a couple of dudes talk for two hours…
  • The old Showtime/Spike Lee pilot Sucker Free City (1:00:10) and how it makes you long for a series that never happened…
  • The end of the third season of Netflix’s Ozark (1:03:40) and how wonderful and entertaining a show it continues to be…
  • Homework for next week (1:12:35), including: new episodes of Top Chef & The Challenge, the return of Killing Eve, the fourth season of HBO’s Insecure, the new HBO series Run, FX/Hulu’s new Cate Blanchett show Mrs. America, and the Netflix comedy Brews Brothers…

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The Toy Department – Episode 198

  By toyAdmin | January 23, 2020 - 11:10 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 198, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky address the reverb on Madden’s microphone before settling in to discuss:

  • The return of Netflix’s Sex Education (2:00) and what a delight it continues to be in its second season…
  • HBO’s new Armando Iannucci comedy Avenue 5 (17:20) and how both guys see the potential for a good show in its pilot…
  • The new HBO Stephen King adaptation The Outsider (21:55) and how it is spooky and gripping and is bound to get more and more intense and action-packed as the season goes on…
  • The film 1917 (32:05) and how it stacks up with other recent (and not-so-recent) war films…
  • Homework for next week (42:25), including: actually watching the new Awkwafina show Nora From Queens on Comedy Central, the new movie The Gentlemen, Tiffany Haddish’s new stand-up special, season two of Shrill on Hulu and perhaps the Aaron Hernandez docu-series on Netflix…
  • A few thoughts on the upcoming Super Bowl (50:35) and a preview of more football discussion next week…

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The Toy Department – Episode 134

  By toyAdmin | September 18, 2018 - 11:08 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 134, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky belabor their show introduction before jumping headlong into:

  • Amazon’s new streaming show Forever (2:15) and why they guys’ views on it differ so extremely…
  • Hulu’s new Sean Penn vehicle The First (27:05), where Penn plays a very muscular (former?) astronaut and brings a dramatic weight that is not necessarily enjoyable…
  • Some thoughts on (probably) bad new shows (34:15) including A Million Little Things and Rel, plus plenty of re-made “classics”…
  • A check-in on Derek’s active-ish (40:00) NFL boycott and the league’s many problems, starting with its commissioner…
  • Season 2 of Netflix’s American Vandal (49:20) and how the mock-umentary is still immensely enjoyable despite somewhat diminishing returns on the concept…
  • A quick check-in on Season 2 of Ozark (54:55) and how both guys are having a blast with it despite a less glowing critical reception than Season 1…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:05), including: finishing the aforementioned season of Ozark, the premiere of Maniac on Netflix, the album Master Volume by The Dirty Nil and an attempt to get to the theater for the new Predator movie…

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 132

  By toyAdmin | September 4, 2018 - 10:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 132, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are at it early thanks to Kolsky’s new radio schedule, covering:

  • Amazon’s new show Jack Ryan (2:15) and how terribly flat it falls for both guys…
  • The return of Netflix’s Ozark (10:15), the engaging and exciting nature of the characters and the great acting performances it creates space for…
  • The new film To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (16:35) and how Netflix has a huge hit on its hands in the delightful romantic comedy…
  • Drew Michael’s new standup special on HBO (25:30), the ways it is original and interesting, and where it fails to stand out…
  • Nearer My God (36:50), the new album from the indie rock band Foxing, and how both guys think it is one of the year’s best…
  • The return of the NFL (44:15), Derek’s decreasing interest in the league and some thoughts on how the season will turn out…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:05), including: Showtime’s new Jim Carrey/Michel Gondry collab Kidding, the return of The Deuce on HBO, a wrap-up of Orange is the New Black (Season 6) and a check-in on Better Call Saul…

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 82

  By toyAdmin | August 16, 2017 - 8:50 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 82, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky revisit Madden’s diet before chopping it up about:

  • Madden’s trip to San Francisco for the Outside Lands festival (5:50), some highlights and whether the lineup was worth seeing overall…
  • Season 7, Episode 5 of Game of Thrones (17:15), rejecting the binary distinction of “action episode = good, exposition episode = meh…” and the joy of the week-to-week pop culture discussion around the show…
  • HBO’s Insecure (29:20), what a joy it has been throughout Season 2 so far and how it sets itself apart from lighter Sunday night fare like Ballers…
  • Netflix’s Ozark (36:20) and how a show that was initially panned by critics has developed a massive following…
  • Homework for next week (43:10): Kolsky is heading to Borneo (google it) so next pod is two weeks away, and the guys will be taking in a ton of media, including the last two episodes of Game of Thrones, the podcast Road Trippin’ with Richard Jefferson, the end of the clone-crazy series Orphan Black and Louis CK’s Horace & Pete…
  • A quick discussion on HBO’s Hard Knocks (50:40) which both Madden and Kolsky heartily recommend and will revisit on the next pod…

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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