Tag Archives: NCAA Tournament

The Toy Department – Episode 295

  By toyAdmin | April 1, 2022 - 2:59 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

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…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 160

  By toyAdmin | March 27, 2019 - 2:44 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 160, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky address a recent major life event before discussing:

  • The NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend (2:15) and what the lack of upsets means for the remainder of the event…
  • The Dirt (8:35), Netflix’s Mötley Crüe biopic, and how it moves through the life of one of rock’s wildest bands…
  • Hulu’s new comedy Shrill (27:35) and how Aidy Bryant has created a really honest and honestly hilarious show…
  • The Act (35:05), also on Hulu, the intensity of its acting performances and compelling nature of its mysteries…
  • The career of the recently retired Rob Gronkowski (40:05) and how he stacks up with the all-time greats at the tight end position…
  • Homework for next week (56:10), including: Barry and Veep on HBO, the end of Miracle Workers on TBS and the Adnan Sayed docu-series on HBO, and the premiere of What We Do in the Shadows on FX, plus Derek tries to watch US…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 159

  By toyAdmin | March 20, 2019 - 12:22 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 159, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky literally talk about weather before moving into the world of pop culture to break down:

  • The upcoming NCAA Tournament (1:35) and Kolsky’s decision not to fill out a bracket…
  • The season finalé of Top Chef (9:30), with thoughts on food, contestants, judges and (of course) Padma…
  • Netflix’s new movie Triple Frontier (21:05) and whether it’s worthy of its cast…
  • The return of Showtime’s Billions (26:25) and how well it has developed a big cast of interesting characters…
  • The premiere of the final season of Catastrophe (32:00) on Amazon and whether it is still breaking new ground in season four…
  • The series finale of Pete Holmes’ HBO show Crashing (35:30) and how the guys would have liked to see more…
  • Homework for next week (43:50), including: the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt on Netflix, plus two Hulu shows — The Act and Shrill, and LOTS of college basketball…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 112

  By toyAdmin | March 27, 2018 - 2:25 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 112, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky find themselves in the same time zone — a rare treat — and briefly discuss Madden’s reggaeton horn app before they break down:

  • Netflix’s new Duplass brothers-produced documentary Wild Wild Country (2:40) and what a great job it’s doing of telling a story both guys are surprised not to know more about…
  • A few thoughts on the second season of Amazon’s series Sneaky Pete (13:25) and how much the guys are enjoying it…
  • The premiere of the newest season of HBO’s Silicon Valley (15:30) and how the show needs to evolve if it wants to truly impress…
  • A bizarre tangent into Tiffany Haddish’s story (24:15) about somebody biting Beyoncé in the face at a party, and whether it is worth a deep investigation…
  • HBO’s new dark comedy series Barry (32:25) and just how incredibly well the pilot went over with both Madden and Kolsky, leaving them excited about the possibilities…
  • Another rave session for FX’s Atlanta (39:15), which continues to be the best show on television and executes its vision at the highest possible level…
  • Some NCAA Tournament thoughts (48:30) with the Final Four on the horizon and ideas about how to improve the level of play in American basketball…
  • Homework for next week (59:40), including: the new FX series Trust, the rest of Sneaky Pete, the film Annihilation, Kolsky beginning his Billions catch-up project and the new HBO film Paterno, starring Al Pacino…

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 – Episode 111

  By toyAdmin | March 20, 2018 - 1:59 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 111, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are feeling healthy and fresh as they leap into:

  • The NCAA Tournament (0:50) and whether March Madness is losing its luster…
  • AMC’s new show McMafia (13:30) and all the ways it fails to impress…
  • The Lifetime show UnREAL (16:50) and its success as a prime time soap opera and satire piece…
  • The new limited series Collateral (34:20), which is available on Netflix and potentially not worth the hype it has received, though there are things to like about it…
  • The season finale of Showtime’s The Chi (40:10) and how it represents a step up in show quality for the network and stands out as a great season of television…
  • A wrap-up discussion on Netflix’s Love (46:25), which just dropped its final season, and is a truly excellent show…
  • Homework for next week (50:10), including: the upcoming Bill Heder-starring HBO show Barry, the return of Silicon Valley, some more episodes of Sneaky Pete and Atlanta, and the new Duplass-brothers-produced documentary Wild Wild Country on Netflix, with perhaps some Billions coming down the road…

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 – Episode 63

  By toyAdmin | March 29, 2017 - 9:46 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 63, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky show up for class without completing their homework yet again, but nevertheless provide insightful commentary on:

  • Last week’s homework assignments (or the ones they got to, anyway): the Netflix-available show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2:30)… Amazon’s Pilot Season (6:30) and the five new shows available to watch and vote on… and Derek’s take on the new Drake album (26:20)…
  • The hot new thing in American soccer (31:20), specifically youngster Christian Pulisic and what he means for US Soccer’s future…
  • The NCAA Tournament so far (39:45) and the highly entertaining games we’ve gotten to see…
  • A quick check-in on the NBA (49:15), especially on the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference playoff picture…
  • Homework for next week (56:40): Derek will watch the beginning of the show Jane the Virgin, as he was supposed to last week, and the remainder of the Amazon Pilots… Kolsky will watch the film Mistaken for Strangers, about the band The National, as he was supposed to last week…

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 61

  By toyAdmin | March 15, 2017 - 7:16 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 61, Derek Madden is watching Matt Kolsky on video but hiding his face behind a camera-less computer as they discuss:

  • Last week’s homework assignment: the debut album (Yesterday’s Gone) of British hip-hop artist Loyle Carner (2:10)…
  • The return of the delightful Netflix show Love (12:20) and the excellence of lead actress Gillian Jacobs…
  • A check-in on Kolsky’s supposed binge-watch catch-up of FX’s The Americans (20:25) and how it’s going well but not very quickly…
  • The greatness of FX in general (25:05) and how it has elevated itself over other stations with its original TV programming…
  • Another FX gem, the new Ryan Murphy drama Feud (32:35), as well as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (the movie whose filming the show focuses on) and its tremendous star Susan Sarandon…
  • The NCAA Tournament (47:50) and all the associated accoutrements… From NBA prospects to upset picks, it’s the best in college hoops analysis from one guy who knows nothing and one guy who knows a little…
  • Homework for next week (1:09:35): Kolsky assigns the new Spoon album Hot Thoughts, which comes out on Friday; Madden tells Kolsky to watch the new season of American Crime on ABC…

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