The Toy Department – Episode 277

In Episode 277, Madden and Kolsky are anxious to get to the Challenge, so get right down to business with…

  • Dave Chappelle’s controversial new Netflix stand-up special The Closer (1:45) and how it’s all mostly just disappointing and a little frustrating…
  • The Netflix sensation that’s sweeping the nation, Squid Game (11:00) and how it’s clearly compelling but perhaps not ESPECIALLY good…
  • A tremendous episode of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (19:05) and all the ways the game has changed heading into the season’s second half…
  • Homework for next Thursday (56:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the return of Succession on HBO, a new Velvet Underground documentary from Todd Haynes on Apple TV+, the new film Queenpins on Paramount+ AND the MLB Playoffs AND AND the start of the NBA season…

The Toy Department – Episode 276

In Episode 276, Madden and Kolsky get into a little Austin City Limits story time before diving into:

  • HBO’s The Many Saints of Newark (7:20), how much THIS show enjoyed it and how far it goes beyond fan service…
  • Jon Stewart’s new Apple TV+ show (19:15) and how the format it seems to be going with is somewhat exhausting…
  • A turning point episode on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (25:35) and how the game will change moving into the second half of the season…
  • Homework for next Thursday (49:20), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus checking out the Netflix sensation Squid Game and the new Dave Chappelle standup special The Closer (also on Netflix) AND the many exciting sporting events that will happen before we next meet…

The Toy Department – Episode 275

In Episode 275, Madden and Kolsky return from an unplanned absence with very little memory of what they intended to talk about when they left each other last, so today:

  • It’s pretty much all about The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies!!! (2:45) There’s three weeks of content to catch up on, lots of drama and a big turning point for game strategy in the most recent episode…
  • There’s just a touch of concert talk (42:25) as Derek heads to Austin City Limits…
  • Homework for next Thursday (47:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark on HBO and the debut of The Problem with John Stewart on Apple Plus…
  • And a bit of baseball (49:35) to round things off…