Tag Archives: TJ’s Final

The Toy Department – Episode 410

  By toyAdmin | January 10, 2025 - 10:31 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 410, Madden and Kolsky are both suffering from a little case of winter doldrums, but buck up after a few minutes of whining to get into:

  • The controversial conclusion of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (5:20) and whether Season 40 lived up to the hype, plus some looking ahead to the debut of All-Stars 5 in a few weeks…
  • A frustrated reaction to Oscar hopeful Emilia Perez (37:40) and why movie musicals should cease to exist…
  • The relatively formulaic but reasonably entertaining Carry-On (53:10) and whether Netflix’s ambitions currently rise any higher than this sort of fare…
  • The surprisingly (for one of our hosts) excellent Saturday Night (58:50) and Jason Reitman’s impressive direction of a hectic real-life story…
  • Homework for next week (1:06:50), including: the Oscar hopeful Conclave (available on Peacock), Amazon Prime’s new shows Unstoppable and Cruel Intentions, and Natasha Rothwell’s show How to Die Alone on Hulu, plus revisiting Landman after its conclusion…

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The Toy Department – Episode 409

  By toyAdmin | January 2, 2025 - 12:53 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 409, Madden and Kolsky have a quick post-holiday catch-up before diving right into:

  • An underwhelming Part 1 of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (3:00) and how our hosts agree with Kyland’s take on the overwhelming amount of swimming…
  • The latest in the Taylor Sheridan universe — Landman (16:20) and how Sheridan continues to defy all reason with his level of productivity, plus some tremendous acting from Billy Bob Thornton and company…
  • Netflix’s delightful spy thriller Black Doves (26:05) and the joy of a nicely packaged, easily completed and wildly enjoyable piece of television…
  • The new show No Good Deed (29:50), also on Netflix, and whether it’s doing too much or having the right amount of fun…
  • Hulu’s Interior Chinatown (35:00), a totally original take on well-trodden TV territory, and the brilliance of Ronny Chieng…
  • Homework for next week (44:15), including: the conclusion of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the Netflix movie Carry-On, the Oscar hopeful Emilia Perez (also on Netflix) and the Jason Reitman film Saturday Night, about the lead-up to the first airing of Saturday Night Live…

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The Toy Department – Episode 408

  By toyAdmin | December 19, 2024 - 4:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 408, Madden and Kolsky catch up after a week off, including a brief description of Kolsky’s London Getaway, before locking in on:

  • The last pre-final episodes of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (5:45) and who’s in the best position to excel in the endgame on New Year’s Day…
  • Picking up the pieces on A Man on the Inside (37:45) because Kolsky has thoughts after finishing the series…
  • The brilliant stand-up of Anthony Jeselnik (39:50) and the remarkable density of his short-form comedy in his newest special Bones and All…
  • The WWII film Blitz (43:45) and how Steve McQueen is doing what every film director should be doing — telling engaging stories with compelling characters, no matter the setting…
  • The Amazon Prime detective show Cross (48:05) and whether the series’ attempt to pack in a lot of meaning makes it too tough to digest at once…
  • Homework for next time, two weeks from now (51:15), including: TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the new Netflix spy series Black Doves, Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano in No Good Deed (also on Netflix), Hulu’s Jimmy O. Yang vehicle Interior Chinatown, and Landman (Taylor Sheridan’s latest for Paramount+)…

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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 378

  By toyAdmin | February 22, 2024 - 10:56 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 378, Madden and Kolsky have a lot to cover, so there’s no time for pleasantries before discussions on:

  • TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (0:45), casting a bit of shine on at least two worthy competitors after a season filled with distasteful main characters…
  • The dramatic, intense and somewhat mystical conclusion of True Detective: Night Country (21:40) and the some of the interesting reactions to the series…
  • The Oscar-nominated Oppenheimer (33:15) and how Christopher Nolan’s opus stacks up to the other Best Picture nominees…
  • A fellow potential Best Picture — Past Lives (41:35) — and how it works as a much smaller and quieter film than most of its peers in the category…
  • The exceedingly light Next Goal Wins (49:25) and how Taika Waititi has fun with a story that feels worthwhile despite its frequent silliness…
  • Homework for next week (57:30), including: all the drama of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion reunion show, The Vince Staples show on Netflix, the Best Picture-nominated Anatomy of a Fall and Apple TV+’s new space show Constellation…

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The Toy Department – Episode 377

  By toyAdmin | February 15, 2024 - 11:51 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 377, Madden and Kolsky have an in-depth Kylian Mbappe discussion before pressing record, then address Kolsky’s terrible Valentine’s Day before locking in for:

  • The first episode of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (1:50) and the cathartic joy of seeing Jay sent home with nothing to show for his embarrassing display over the course of the season…
  • Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show (33:20) and whether it’s a worthy pursuit in the depressing chaos of 2024…
  • The new season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud, covering Truman Capote v. The Swans (45:35) and another chapter in the seemingly weekly serial Why Are We Doing This???
  • Apple TV+’s fashion/WWII show The New Look (53:00) and how it distinguishes itself in this current TV landscape simply by feeling like it has something worthwhile to say…
  • Some final thoughts on Super Bowl LVIII (57:45) and whether Kyle Shanahan bears the brunt of responsibility for another 49ers defeat on the biggest stage in sports…
  • Homework for next week (1:09:50), including: the (hopefully) thrilling conclusion of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, two Oscar-nominated films — Oppenheimer and Past Lives — and on a lighter note, the Taika Waititi film Next Goal Wins (now on Hulu)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 362

  By toyAdmin | October 20, 2023 - 8:29 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 362, Madden and Kolsky lament the sickness passing through the Kolsky household (and the overall joys of parenthood) before diving in on:

  • TJ’s Final on The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:40) and a wrap-up discussion on a truly excellent Challenge season that featured arguably the greatest rookie season in the franchise’s history…
  • Netflix’s new thriller Fair Play (48:40), about which our hosts have rather disparate opinions…
  • The unremarkable and in fact largely unpleasant return of Frasier (1:01:40) and how it’s essentially and empty suit of a throwback sitcom…
  • The Brie Larson vehicle Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+ (1:07:25) and how it’s relatively hollow and predictable despite reasonably good acting and directing…
  • Homework for next week’s THURSDAY episode (1:18:25), including: the start of the new season of the flagship Challenge — Battle for a New Champion, and actually getting to The Fall of the House of Usher…

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The Toy Department – Episode 361

  By toyAdmin | October 13, 2023 - 9:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 361, Madden and Kolsky talk about the breakfast tacos that Derek is anxious to get to before locking in to this week’s only subject:

  • The penultimate episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:05) and the always dramatic Josh Martinez, plus a look ahead to what shapes up to be a tremendous final…
  • Homework for next week (28:30), including: TJ’s Final on The Challenge: USA Season 2, the Netflix movie Fair Play, the return of Frasier on Paramount+, the Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher (based on Edgar Allan Poe’s work) and the new Brie Larson film Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+…

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