Tag Archives: Mahershala Ali

The Toy Department – Episode 287

  By toyAdmin | January 18, 2022 - 12:00 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 287, Madden and Kolsky are BACK (at long last!) to cover a MYRIAD of pop culture topics… and don’t worry, we cut out most of the COVID conversation so it’s basically straight into:

  • Aaron Sorkin’s Amazon Prime film Being the Ricardos (4:35) and how it’s a poorly cast, oddly framed and ultimately kind of pointless look at Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz…
  • The Matrix Resurrections on HBO Max (8:35) and how it was a pretty enjoyable action flick but not really anything special or mind-blowing…
  • Disney+’s The Book of Boba Fett (13:10) and how it doesn’t live up to The Mandalorian’s high standard in the first couple episodes, but it probably deserves some time to achieve that level…
  • The Apple TV+ film Swan Song (15:00) and how tremendous performances from Mahershala Ali, Glenn Close and Awkwafina bring an incredibly subtle but deeply moving film to life…
  • The HBO Max post-apocalyptic series Station 11 (21:30) and how it really came together beautifully and is, in the end, a hopeful and uplifting version of the world…
  • The return of HBO’s Euphoria (33:25) and how it delivers the same beautiful cinematography and fascinating storytelling that you may remember from its first season…
  • The end of Season 1 of Showtime’s Yellowjackets (40:50) and how thrilling and entertaining and well-acted it was, plus some excitement over the potential for Season 2…
  • The end of The Challenge All-Stars 2 (50:10) and the new level we expect the Challenge’s senior circuit to hit with the quickly-coming Season 3…
  • A few thoughts on the NFL Playoffs (1:10:00) after a largely boring “Super” Wild Card Weekend…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:16:40), including: Abbott Elementary on ABC/Hulu, Pivoting on Fox/Hulu, How I Met Your Father on JUST Hulu and HBO’s new Duplass show Somebody Somewhere, plus the new season of Netflix’s Ozark… (and don’t miss the post-show out-take, we say the F word a lot 🙂

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 156

  By toyAdmin | February 27, 2019 - 11:23 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 156, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky rap briefly about Kolsky’s bizarre schedule before delving into:

  • Some debriefing on Sunday’s 91st Academy Awards (1:20) including winners, losers and over-reactors…
  • The premiere of the third season of Documentary Now on IFC (30:30) and what turned out to be a hilarious take on Wild Wild Country…
  • A wrap-up discussion of HBO’s True Detective Season 3 (37:00) and why Derek really didn’t like it at all…
  • The new film Fighting With My Family (46:55) and how it was a charming, if not entirely true-to-life, look at the early life and career of WWE’s Paige…
  • The first episode of Desus & Mero in their new home on Showtime (56:35) and how both guys think it can be a huge success and will make an interesting test case for new-look late night television…
  • Homework for next week (1:01:55), including: actually seeing the new HBO film O.G, the return of Pamela Adlon’s Better Things on FX, and the Netflix movie Paddleton (plus whatever else pops up during the week)…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 152

  By toyAdmin | January 23, 2019 - 1:19 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 152, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky set the scene — a scene where Kolsky is podcasting from a hot tub in an undisclosed location — before bathing in topics such as:

  • Oscar nominations (2:40) — who’s missing, what’s interesting and what the guys hope to see…
  • Netflix’s documentary Fyre (15:10), covering the failed Fyre Festival, including some thoughts about the simultaneous Hulu film on the same subject and who the real victims of the disaster are…
  • Kolsky goes solo for a quick review of Showtime’s SMILF (26:50) and encourages everyone to give it a look…
  • Showtime’s new comedy Black Monday (28:35) and how it was a surprising delight for both guys…
  • Netflix’s Sex Education (33:40), which is another strong recommend from both guys and features the music of previously mentioned Kolsky favorite Ezra Furman…
  • A quick check-in on Top Chef (38:15), featuring the CARNÉ man and thoughts on show favorite Justin…
  • Homework for next week (40:55), including: the return of Broad City on Comedy Central, and a new show that follows it called The Other Two, plus a couple of Netflix shows — Killer Mike’s Trigger Warning and the Penn Badgley stalker drama YOU…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 151

  By toyAdmin | January 16, 2019 - 10:48 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 151, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky once again tempt fate by suggesting they might produce a short podcast, then engage in lengthy discussions of:

  • Season 2 of Netflix’s Friends from College (1:30) and how the guys have slightly different reactions to a highly enjoyable television program…
  • Season 3 of HBO’s True Detective (14:55), the brilliance of Mahershala Ali and whether the show is worthy of its current cultural attention…
  • The Season 5 premiere of You’re the Worst (30:45) and how the guys are feeling about the pod favorite as it heads into its final handful of episodes…
  • A check in on the NFL Playoffs (35:55) after a fun Divisional Round set us up for the final four we expected all year long…
  • Homework for next week (46:50), including: Netflix’s Fyre Festival documentary Fyre, and the new show Sex Education (also on Netflix), Showtime’s Black Monday and the return of Crashing on HBO…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 143

  By toyAdmin | November 21, 2018 - 11:05 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 143, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky debate the finer points of the many flavors of M&M’s before focusing in on:

  • The new film Widows (6:25) and a mild disagreement over its overall quality but general agreement about a lot of excellent performances…
  • The new film Green Book (21:30) and how it is effectively a perfect holiday-time, Oscar-bait movie…
  • Netflix’s new Chuck Lorre dramedy The Kominsky Method (32:55) and how it represents an impressive turn to quality for the prolific producer…
  • Showtime’s Escape At Dannemora (38:00) and how it’s tough to say too much about a show after one oddly paced episode…
  • The 13th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (41:20), particularly the season finalĂ©, and where the show goes from here…
  • Homework for next week (49:15), including: the Coen Brothers/Netflix film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the limited series Little Drummer Girl on AMC, Trevor Noah’s new standup special (available on Netflix) and a season wrap-up discussion of The Challenge: Final Reckoning…

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – EMERGENCY OSCAR PREVIEW

  By toyAdmin | February 24, 2017 - 9:23 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

This un-numbered episode finds Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky scrambling to a recording device to talk Oscars before Sunday’s ceremony… after tragically forgetting to mention them in the regular weekly pod. Enjoy!!

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 49

  By toyAdmin | December 7, 2016 - 11:04 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

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 finalĂ© 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 finalĂ© 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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS