Tag Archives: Luke Kolpin

The Toy Department – Episode 297

  By toyAdmin | April 22, 2022 - 11:27 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 297, Madden and Kolsky have been extremely busy since we last spoke, but managed to find time to watch:

  • The start of the final season of Better Call Saul (2:55), its continuing tremendous qualities and just how thrilling the show has become…
  • A few thoughts on the controversy surrounding the HBO Max show Winning Time (12:50), and specifically the unhappy reactions of the people the characters are based on…
  • Some thoughts on two different season 2’s — Netflix’s Russian Doll and Hulu’s Woke (21:43), how one is more successful than the other and why…
  • HBO Max’s new Ansel Elgort vehicle Tokyo Vice (28:25) and how it is a surprisingly interesting and compelling show about a very richly drawn early-2000’s Tokyo…
  • Apple TV+’s latest show ROAR (34:10) and how it’s a really well-executed set of feminist fables starring some of the best women in acting right now…
  • Top Chef: Houston’s restaurant wars (39:55), featuring a chef who only tastes salt and arguably the greatest restaurant wars restaurant in Top Chef history…
  • A few early thoughts on a WIDE OPEN NBA Playoffs (55:20) after a few games in the first round…
  • Homework for TWO Fridays from now (59:30), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of The Flight Attendant on HBO Max, the return of Barry on regular HBO, the new David Simon show We Own This City (ALSO on HBO), Showtime’s new show The Man Who Fell to Earth and Hulu’s Jon Krakauer adaptation Under the Banner of Heaven…

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The Toy Department – Episode 296

  By toyAdmin | April 8, 2022 - 11:19 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 296, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s hangover and potential parody songs about it before getting their act together to talk about:

  • The completely watchable but generally unimpressive Moonshot (2:50), a middle-of-the-road-to-the-moon romantic comedy that’s nothing special but not awful, though it does threaten to pigeonhole Lana Condor into a remarkably small niche…
  • The utterly awful Netflix movie The Bubble (9:20) and just how bafflingly bad it is, particularly given the often funny and definitely talented people involved…
  • The new Disney+ entry to the MCU — Moon Knight (16:40) and how it definitely leaves a lot of unanswered questions through two episodes, led by Oscar Isaac’s madcap performance as the central character…
  • This week’s episode of Top Chef: Houston (30:20), the new leaderboard, the remarkably high level of competition and a very cool challenge honoring trailblazing women from Texas…
  • Homework for TWO Fridays from now (51:10), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of Better Call Saul, the new Apple TV+ series Roar, the new season of Netflix’s Natasha Lyonne vehicle Russian Doll, Hulu’s second season of Woke (starring Lamorne Morris) and the new HBO Max joint Tokyo Vice…

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The Toy Department – Episode 295

  By toyAdmin | April 1, 2022 - 2:59 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 295, Madden and Kolsky spend a couple minutes on the pitfalls of parenting before hustling through:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef: Houston (2:00), and epic barbecue challenge and who’s thriving so far this season…
  • The return of Donald Glover’s Atlanta (15:30) and how it continues to be one of the best and most unique things on television…
  • Amy Schumer’s new Hulu show Life & Beth (22:30) and how the first two episodes are not particularly compelling but there’s hope for the future with Michael Cera still yet to show up…
  • A few minutes on The Oscars (25:00) without a mention of the slap…
  • HBO Max’s new DC-based series DMZ (31:25) and how Rosario Dawson in a post-apocalyptic war zone makes for very compelling television entertainment…
  • Homework for next Friday (35:45), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the new Marvel series Moon Knight, the HBO Max rom-com Moonshot and the new Netflix movie The Bubble…
  • Some thoughts on the upcoming Final Fours (40:15), particularly the big UNC-Duke matchup…

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The Toy Department – Episode 294

  By toyAdmin | March 25, 2022 - 2:23 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 294, Madden and Kolsky briefly address Derek’s disappointment with US Soccer before moving through:

  • Reaction to last night’s Top Chef: Houston episode (2:30), the remarkable technical skills needed for the doppelgänger challenge and who’s in the driver’s seat moving forward…
  • The absurdity of the psycho-erotic thriller Deep Water (25:25) and just how little sense the whole messy mess made…
  • The wonderful and rightfully Oscar-nominated CODA (32:15) and how this little movie charmed it’s way to big success…
  • HBO Max’s new Jake Johnson showcase Minx (41:50) and what a fun ride it is…
  • The Big Mouth spinoff Human Resources (46:40) and how it’s funny enough to watch but missing a lot of the original’s best features…
  • The latest in real-life-entrepreneur-gone-bad television, Hulu’s The Dropout (49:35), and how Amanda Seyfried’s phenomenal work is not enough to suck in one of our hosts…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:02:30), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of Donald Glover’s Atlanta on FX, the new Hulu show Life and Beth (starring Amy Schumer and Michael Cera), and HBO Max’s new limited series DMZ (starring Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 293

  By toyAdmin | March 18, 2022 - 11:47 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 293, Madden and Kolsky touch a little bit on a thrilling Day 1 of the college basketball tournament before moving on to:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef (2:50), Sam Kang’s potato problems and just how competitive this season is after just three episodes…
  • Apple TV+’s Ben Stiller-directed show Severance (21:15) and how fascinating it is, both in concept and in execution…
  • Another Apple show, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (28:00) and how it comes together over the first two episodes with an interesting premise and some really good performances from Samuel L. Jackson and Dominique Fishback in particular…
  • Showtime’s based-on-reality SuperPumped (35:55) and how Kolsky’s disgust with the people this show is based on makes it tough for him to enjoy it…
  • The new Paul Thomas Anderson joint Licorice Pizza (47:50), how much fun it was, and why it is so much better than some of the over-celebrated Oscar movies we’ve talked about on past shows…
  • Some Oscars thoughts (58:40) about the nominees and also the changes to the television show, which somehow leads us to Derek’s dissatisfaction with the Atlanta Braves…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:08:35), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the Oscar-nominated film CODA on Apple TV+, the new Jake Johnson show Minx on HBO/HBO Max, the new Big Mouth spinoff Human Resources on Netflix, the new erotic thriller Deep Water on Hulu and the new Hulu show The Dropout about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos…

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The Toy Department – Episode 292

  By toyAdmin | March 11, 2022 - 11:07 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 292, Madden and Kolsky briefly address the sad news of the passing of Derek’s dog before brightening everyone’s spirits with:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef: Houston (1:50) and just how high the level of execution appears to be in the early part of the season…
  • HBO’s new Lakers-focused show Winning Time (22:20), how much fun it is and some of the excellent performances in the first episode…
  • The Oscar-nominated Guillermo Del Toro film Nightmare Alley (33:50) and how it sucked both hosts in with a gripping and visually striking noir story…
  • The return of the original Law & Order (41:35) and what makes the OG the best version of the now widely spun-off concept…
  • The new cartoon short series The Boys: Diabolical (49:00) and how it’s more or less exactly what you’d expect and not particularly important for any reason…
  • Homework for next Friday (51:25), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the Apple TV+ series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (starring Sam Jackson) and Severance (directed by Ben Stiller), the Oscar-nominated Paul Thomas Anderson film Licorice Pizza and the Showtime show SuperPumped about the battle for Uber…

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