The Toy Department – Episode 164

In Episode 164, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky obnoxiously reference their off-pod golf debate before getting back to business with:

  • The second episode of the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones (1:50) and why Madden preferred the style of this week’s set-up to the premiere episode, plus an extended breakdown of who is likely to die this weekend…
  • Netflix’s animated anthology Love, Death & Robots (37:15) and how its short run time and ultra-realistic animation make for an interesting watch…
  • Amazon’s show Hanna (40:50) — based on the Saoirsie Ronan/Eric Bana movie of the same name — and what could make it stand out from the average action series or movie…
  • The Gad Elmaleh-starring Netflix series Huge in France (46:55) and whether its charm is enough to carry it without a lot of huge laughs…
  • The ongoing drama of the NBA Playoffs (50:50) with special focus on the greatness of Damian Lillard…
  • Homework for next week (1:06:15), including: Derek getting his act together and watching The New Negroes on BET/Comedy Central, another episode of Game of Thrones and EVEN MORE NBA playoff action…

The Toy Department – Episode 21

In Episode 21, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dive into the sports world early with a discussion of Steph Curry – his ridiculous playoff comeback, his MVP award, and just his greatness in general – which leads naturally into a broader discussion of the NBA Playoffs (8:30) and some of the officiating issues (12:00), and a quick chat about the outdated notion that players want to go to New York or LA teams (15:05). The podcast shifts to music for the guys to review Radiohead’s new album – A Moon Shaped Pool (21:00), and then to TV for a check-in on Game of Thrones (32:15) and a celebration of the delight of this year’s season of Silicon Valley (41:40).

Oh, 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.