Tag Archives: music

The Toy Department – Episode 404

  By toyAdmin | November 1, 2024 - 10:09 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 404, Madden and Kolsky hit the ground running after an off-air election conversation with a little Halloween recap before getting into:

  • The twists and turns on this week of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (5:20) and how sides are being taken as the season careens towards what promises to be an incredibly competitive final…
  • The new documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (26:40) and the deeply disturbing violations of the singers’ privacy that continue to this day…
  • The new film Woman of the Hour (38:30), an impressive directorial debut from Anna Kendrick and the spin-shiver-inducing true story it’s based on…
  • Apple TV+’s new drama/thriller Before (46:25) and Billy Crystal taking on a big dramatic role…
  • Homework for next week (50:50), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the new film Emilia Perez on Netflix, the return of Lioness on Paramount+ and the new Seth Myers stand-up special Dad Man Walking…

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The Toy Department – Episode 391

  By toyAdmin | June 20, 2024 - 11:21 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 391, Madden and Kolsky are back from an unplanned hiatus (thanks to Derek’s unnamed coworkers) to dive deep into:

  • The last two episodes of Top Chef (2:05) including a cheese-and-fishy quickfire, great chefs cooking scared in the pre-final and a final cook that saw three great chefs do their thing…
  • The the end of The Challenge All-Stars 4 (22:40) including a purge, a rad paintball shooting challenge to kick off TJ’s Final, a friend-ly twist to end it and a big win for a bigger legend…
  • The HBO docu-series Ren Faire (36:05) and whether the Succession comparisons go deeper than the obvious surface narrative…
  • The intense and emotional Godzilla Minus One (44:00) and whether it transcends the standard monster-flick label…
  • Bob Marley: One Love (49:15) and the life and legacy of reggae music’s GOAT…
  • The Glen Powell/Richard Linklater team-up Hit Man (55:45) and what a winning rom-com it ends up being…
  • A few thoughts on the end of the NBA season (1:00:30) and the championship-winning Boston Celtics…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:55), including: Hannah Einbinder’s stand-up special (on Max), the documentary Brats on Hulu, Ophan Black: Echoes on AMC, Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent, the Dev Patel feature Monkey Man (now on Peacock) and the return of The Boys on Amazon Prime Video…

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The Toy Department – Episode 388

  By toyAdmin | May 23, 2024 - 4:19 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 388, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s busy schedule before locking right into:

  • The latest from The Challenge: All-Stars 4 (2:45) where Killa Queen Kam is making moves and dominating political gameplay (not to mention a bouncy elimination challenge) as the show heads into the home stretch…
  • This week’s Savannah roller coaster on Top Chef Wisconsin (24:00) plus the dominance of Danny and what to expect from the second Last Chance Kitchen winner…
  • The utterly bizarre (and possibly sneaky Christian?) The Book of Clarence (39:50) and what exactly the cast and crew set out to do when they started this film…
  • The feels-inducing delight of Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza (47:30) and the incredible musical legacy of Perry Farrell…
  • A quick chat about the end of the Premier League season (1:07:10) and Chelsea FC’s Commitment to ChaosTM…
  • Some thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (1:13:30) with the conference finals in progress…
  • Homework for next week (1:23:10), including: new episodes of Top Chef Wisconsin and The Challenge All-Stars 4, the now-rentable The Fall Guy and The Big Cigar on Apple TV+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 369

  By toyAdmin | December 7, 2023 - 12:05 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 369, Madden and Kolsky spend a few minutes on Derek’s immediate future, including a rock concert and programming a Christmas music station, before launching into:

  • A relatively lackluster week on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (7:25) and how the loss of one of our hosts’ favorite characters doesn’t necessarily project particularly well for the second half of the season (but there’s hope!)…
  • The Netflix series Obliterated (32:15) and how its lack of particular ambition or excellence does not stop it from being watchable…
  • The film May December (42:05) and how Netflix’s Oscar bait probably falls a little short despite some excellent acting performances…
  • The entirely adorable Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? (52:30) and the joys of watching nerds talk about stuff…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (59:50), including: two episodes of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the film Maestro (available on Netflix), the new season of Slow Horses on Apple TV+ and Eddie Murphy’s new Christmas movie Candy Cane Lane…

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The Toy Department – Episode 358

  By toyAdmin | September 22, 2023 - 10:45 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky lament Derek’s illness before he pushes through to discuss:

  • The new Mitski album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2:20), how it differs from Mitski’s past output and the deep darkness and moments of bright light within it…
  • The return of pod favorite Sex Education (14:30) and its undeniable charm, plus how its end coincides with a desperate lack of similar quality on Netflix…
  • A few thoughts on Winning Time (24:10) and its cancellation…
  • The based-on-a-true-story film A Million Miles Away (37:40) and the remarkable life of astronaut Jose Hernandez…
  • British true-story-heist series The Gold on Paramount+ (41:30) and whether the first two episodes are enough to draw our hosts into what is undeniably an interesting real life tale…
  • A mile marker episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (46:20) and the end (at least for now) of one of the Challenge Universe’s truly legendary careers…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the British rom-com Still Up on Apple TV+, the movie Bottoms (available on VOD of your choice) and the Amazon Prime Video film Cassandro, plus Kolsky said will try to listen to The National…

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The Toy Department – Episode 340

  By toyAdmin | April 14, 2023 - 3:34 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 340, Madden and Kolsky talk a little grilled cheese before locking in on:

  • This week’s monumental episode of Succession (2:50) and all the little pieces of brilliance that went into it…
  • Hulu’s NYT J Dilla documentary (13:55) which is reasonably interesting and relatively informative but feels like it leaves a lot on the table…
  • HBO’s Music Box documentary about Jason Isbell (23:45) and how it paints a really complete emotional picture of a pretty interesting man and musician…
  • Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things (30:35), the magnetism of Kathryn Hahn and how the series brings together a multi-generational story of moms and daughters…
  • Netflix’s Beef (34:40) and the intensity of watching people attempt to express their ultimately impotent rage…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: World Championship (39:35) and a significant elimination…
  • An apparently easily-judged episode of Top Chef (58:05) and the incredibly high level of talent remaining on this season…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA (1:10:15) as we head into the playoff season…
  • Homework for next week (1:24:45), including: the return of Barry on HBO, Netflix’s new World War II show Transatlantic and Cocaine Bear (now available on Peacock)… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 335

  By toyAdmin | March 10, 2023 - 11:01 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 335, Madden and Kolsky address Kolsky’s complaint about Bravo’s programming schedule deception and Derek’s potential relationship with Padma before launching into:

  • The debut episode of Top Chef Season 20 (5:25), the old favorites who have returned as All-Stars and the exciting crop of international chefs who have joined the proceedings…
  • The premiere of Paramount+’s The Challenge: World Championship (31:50), a very impressive field of contestants (other than the Argentine contingent) and how the partnerships shaped up after the first night of episodes…
  • The Oscar-nominated film Women Talking (55:40) and how a great cast and heavy premise don’t quite get to the point of making a particularly interesting or exceptional viewing experience…
  • The surprisingly enjoyable and well-executed Daisy Jones and the Six on Amazon Prime Video (1:04:35) and how sometimes just doing an established thing at a really high level is enough to be a really good show…
  • Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part II (1:07:40) and how it’s a lot like Part 1 — which is to say incredibly stupid and pretty damn funny, though one of our hosts enjoyed it more than the other…
  • Homework for next week (1:11:15), including: the end of the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us, the premiere of the final season of Apple’s Ted Lasso and the Luther movie on Netflix… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND 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 286

  By toyAdmin | December 17, 2021 - 12:20 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 286, Madden and Kolsky are wrapping up another hideous year in style with a loooong episode, covering:

  • The best, most thoughtful and considered coverage of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (2:05) and arguably the greatest final in the tremendous history of the series…
  • Some thoughts on The Challenge All-Stars 2 (44:20) as the competition (hopefully) heats up heading down the stretch…
  • Best of 2021 lists!!! Madden and Kolsky share their favorites (58:40) from a weird year of pop culture content…
  • Homework for next year (1:31:40) as the boys will reconvene in January, including: Station 11 on HBO Max, the new film The Matrix Resurrections (also on HBO Max), the new Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+, the film Being the Ricardos on Amazon Prime and the Apple TV+ movie Swan Song… Happy Holidays everyone!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 285

  By toyAdmin | December 10, 2021 - 1:55 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 285, Madden and Kolsky have far too much to talk about to be “jerking off” in the studios (you’ll get that joke later) so it’s straight on into:

  • A few quick thoughts on musician Jacob Collier (2:10) and how Madden failed to follow the instructions for his homework assignment…
  • An extended debate about the Beatles docu-series Get Back (5:15), exactly what it is and whether it is worth the time for viewers…
  • A very short review of the new Amazon Prime show Harlem (34:00) and how it just isn’t too appealing to either of our hosts…
  • A few thoughts on the debut episode of Landscapers (36:30) and how David Thewliss and Olivia Coleman are enthralling enough to keep an audience watching while the show settles in…
  • A big talk about a BIG episode of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (41:40) and where things stand after the beginning of the final…
  • Some thoughts on the lackluster second season of The Challenge All-Stars (1:03:50) and how the show hasn’t really found its footing in terms of the competition aspect…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:15:10), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, AND more Challenge All-Stars, plus a year-in-review chat to put a cap on 2021…

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