The Toy Department – Episode 331

In Episode 331, Madden and Kolsky do a quick debrief on their long time apart before shifting into gear to discuss:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:40) where we seem to be past the halfway point of TJ’s Final and there are LOTS of incidents and accidents to discuss…
  • A quick check-in on The Last of Us (33:40) to acknowledge the excellence of Episode 3…
  • Peacock’s new Natasha Lyonne vehicle Poker Face (35:10) and how her charm carries the viewer to an awful lot of fun…
  • Hulu’s superpower show Extraordinary (38:45) and how it really is extraordinarily enjoyable, with excellent writing and some delightful young unknown performers…
  • Apple TV+’s Bill Lawrence/Jason Segel joint Shrinking (44:05) and how the combination of its two creators makes for an oddly enjoyable cocktail, plus — Harrison Ford…
  • The Netflix rom-com You People (51:30) and how there’s not much Rom and Eddy Murphy is largely wasted but it’s not so terrible in the end…
  • A few thoughts on the upcoming Super Bowl LVII (1:00:55) and the recently passed NBA Trade Deadline (1:05:10)…
  • Homework for next week (1:16:25), including: four movies — TÁR (streaming on Peacock), Wakanda Forever (streaming on Disney+), Meet Me in the Bathroom (streaming on Showtime and Paramount+) and Somebody I Used to Know (streaming on Amazon)… and OF COURSE the last episode (we think) of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

The Toy Department – Episode 210

In Episode 210, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk a little NFL Draft before blazing through:

  • The first two episodes of the new Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance (6:40) and what we have to look forward to in the 10-part series…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: Total Madness (17:25) and Ashley’s implosion in the bunker…
  • This week’s episode of Top Chef (26:40) and the elimination of some Toy Department favorites…
  • The season finale of AMC’s Better Call Saul (34:25) and how it sets us up for an explosive final season…
  • The new Netflix show #BlackAF (39:45) and how Kenya Barris is embracing his new home on a streaming network…
  • Netflix’s new comedy specials from Middleditch & Schwartz (45:30) and whether the improv format translates to a streaming comedy special…
  • A few thoughts on Netflix’s new sex-ban reality show Too Hot to Handle (48:20) and how stupidity can be incredibly watchable…
  • The new Steve Kerr/Pete Carroll podcast Flying Coach (51:30) and the insights two champion coaches can offer in audio format…
  • Homework for next week (53:55), including: new episodes of Top Chef & The Challenge, two more episodes of The Last Dance, the season finale of Dispatches from Elsewhere, the HBO movie Bad Education, Mindy Kaling’s new show Never Have I Ever on Netflix and a very special episode of Parks and Recreation…

The Toy Department – Episode 184 (a mini)

In Episode 184, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are on the clock for a quickie so they dive right into:

  • The first network TV show of the week, as The Good Place (2:40) returns for it’s fourth and final season…
  • Network TV show 2 — Stumptown (8:30) starring the charismatic and convincing Cobie Smulders…
  • Wrapping up network TV with Mixed-ish (16:50), a thoughtful comedy about race in America…
  • The new film Hustlers (23:20) and how it does a phenomenal job of exactly what it sets out to do (and also DAAAAAAMN J-Lo!!)…
  • Homework for next week (30:35), including: Netflix’s Sacha Baron-Cohen drama The Spy (seriously, we’re really gonna watch it this time), the new season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the return of Big Mouth on Netflix, the new Diego Maradona documentary on HBO, plus the show The Politician and the Between Two Ferns movie (both on Netflix)…