Tag Archives: AMC

The Toy Department – Episode 337

  By toyAdmin | March 24, 2023 - 3:12 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 337, Madden and Kolsky recognize the longevity of American Dad and engage in a quick detour about British tv-watching habits before locking into today’s primary subjects:

  • Donald Glover’s new Amazon Prime Video horror show Swarm (6:30) and just how bizarre the first couple/few episodes are…
  • The new AMC/Bob Odenkirk show Lucky Hank (18:30) and how it seems to be a sort of meditation on middle age and mediocrity that happens to take place at a middling university, which both our hosts are on board for…
  • Disney+’s teen flick Chang Can Dunk (22:20) and how it’s a near-flawless execution of a high school basketball dramedy…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: World Championship (27:40) and the remarkable talent level of the remaining teams…
  • The latest from Top Chef Season 20 (48:15) and how even pub food turns into a beautiful thing in the hands of a remarkable group of chefs…
  • Homework for next week (1:03:45), including: the return of Succession on HBO & Yellowjackets on Showtime, the new Paramount+ spy thriller Rabbit Hole and Apple TV+’s The Big Door Prize… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…
  • A few thoughts on Major League Baseball (1:06:05) and the rule changes heading into the start of the 2023 regular season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 316

  By toyAdmin | October 7, 2022 - 3:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 316, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss the soon-to-be-ridiculously-busy sports schedule before moving on to:

  • Netflix’s new Ryan Murphy show Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2:30) and just what exactly is the goal of so close an examination of an admitted monster…
  • The new Interview with the Vampire series on AMC (13:30) and whether this version of the telling stands up to its historical counterparts…
  • The Sanaa Lathan-directed Paramount+ film On The Come Up (19:15) and whether it is interesting enough to stand out in a crowded streaming landscape…
  • The Greatest Beer Run Ever on Apple TV+ (23:50) and the merits of an entertaining and engaging lead actor…
  • The last two episodes of MTV’s The Challenge: Untold History (31:05) and final thoughts on the documentary series, plus some prep for the upcoming start of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:02:20), including: the first episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies and the movie Significant Other on Paramount+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 311

  By toyAdmin | August 19, 2022 - 2:41 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 311, Madden and Kolsky have an uncomfortably specific discussion about the Kolsky family’s recent bout with hand-foot-mouth disease before shaking it off and diving into:

  • A few thoughts on the ending of AMC’s Better Call Saul (6:55) and what a truly spectacular show it turned out to be…
  • Apple TV+’s new offering Black Bird (13:55) and how Paul Walter Hauser is a uniquely dynamic performer, particularly in the sort of creepy role he inhabits here…
  • Netflix’s forgettable film offering The Man from Toronto (20:45) and just what exactly is going on with the remarkable quality of bland content on that service…
  • Amazon’s new League of Their Own show (24:05) and how it’s watchable and not bad, but just doesn’t quite come together how one might hope…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge USA on CBS (29:00) and how Leo deserves some flowers (and also maybe some sympathy for his failing businesses?) plus thoughts on the latest twist in the game…
  • Homework for TWO Fridays from now (41:50), including: HBO’s new Game of Thrones show House of the Dragon, Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings show The Rings of Power, and Netflix’s Manti Te’o doc Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, plus the more of The Challenge USA on CBS…

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The Toy Department – Episode 301

  By toyAdmin | May 27, 2022 - 11:55 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 301, Madden and Kolsky are dealing with the world in their own ways and also by focusing on the toy department of life, specifically:

  • The return of the Kids in the Hall (2:25) and how their stuff is just as good and funny as it was the first time around…
  • A check-in on Better Call Saul (10:55), the guys’ reactions to the first half of the final season and expectations for the final six episodes…
  • The Hulu series Conversations with Friends (23:50) and how it is from the same vein as Lenny Abrahamson’s previous series Normal People, which is to say very deep and interesting…
  • The latest from The Challenge: All Stars 3 (35:30) after an epic elimination and an unwelcome addition to the cast…
  • The penultimate episode of Top Chef: Houston (51:00) and the incredibly high level of cookery that has characterized the last few weeks…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA (59:55) as we head towards a likely Finals matchup between the Celtics and Warriors…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:13:00), including: the finalé of Top Chef: Houston, more of The Challenge: All-Stars 3, the Rhys Darby stand-up special Mystic Time Bird on Amazon Prime, the HBO Max show Our Flag Means Death and Disney+’s new Obi-Wan Kenobi show…

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The Toy Department – Episode 297

  By toyAdmin | April 22, 2022 - 11:27 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 297, Madden and Kolsky have been extremely busy since we last spoke, but managed to find time to watch:

  • The start of the final season of Better Call Saul (2:55), its continuing tremendous qualities and just how thrilling the show has become…
  • A few thoughts on the controversy surrounding the HBO Max show Winning Time (12:50), and specifically the unhappy reactions of the people the characters are based on…
  • Some thoughts on two different season 2’s — Netflix’s Russian Doll and Hulu’s Woke (21:43), how one is more successful than the other and why…
  • HBO Max’s new Ansel Elgort vehicle Tokyo Vice (28:25) and how it is a surprisingly interesting and compelling show about a very richly drawn early-2000’s Tokyo…
  • Apple TV+’s latest show ROAR (34:10) and how it’s a really well-executed set of feminist fables starring some of the best women in acting right now…
  • Top Chef: Houston’s restaurant wars (39:55), featuring a chef who only tastes salt and arguably the greatest restaurant wars restaurant in Top Chef history…
  • A few early thoughts on a WIDE OPEN NBA Playoffs (55:20) after a few games in the first round…
  • Homework for TWO Fridays from now (59:30), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of The Flight Attendant on HBO Max, the return of Barry on regular HBO, the new David Simon show We Own This City (ALSO on HBO), Showtime’s new show The Man Who Fell to Earth and Hulu’s Jon Krakauer adaptation Under the Banner of Heaven…

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The Toy Department – Episode 231

  By toyAdmin | October 13, 2020 - 11:55 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 231, Madden and Kolsky dally briefly over Madden’s new family member and his failure to complete the homework assignment before getting into:

  • The new AMC series Soulmates (2:20) and whether its premise is enough to carry a whole anthology series…
  • HBO Max’s original movie Charm City Kings (14:20) and how a good script and quality acting aren’t enough to make it stand out much…
  • The new Showtime series The Good Lord Bird (21:30) and its explosive and complicated portrayal of abolitionist John Brown…
  • The Netflix indie movie The 40-Year-Old Version (32:25) and what writer/director/star Radha Blank is saying with a very personal film…
  • A few thoughts on the conclusion of the NBA Finals (43:20) and LeBron James’ greatness…
  • Some brief NFL discussion (1:03:05) as the season teeters on the edge of viability…
  • Homework for next week (1:06:20), including: Madden actually getting to The Comedy Store docu-series on Showtime, the season finale of Lovecraft Country, the Netflix/Aaron Sorkin film The Trial of the Chicago 7, David Byrne’s American Utopia (directed by Spike Lee) on HBO and the show Ted Lasso on Apple TV+… plus more MLB playoffs and Week 6 of the NFL season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 211

  By toyAdmin | April 30, 2020 - 11:32 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 211, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky literally discuss the weather and their pets before navigating through:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef (2:20) and Leanne’s impressive cockroach impersonation…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: Total Madness (15:05) and the incredible level of danger this season’s challengers are facing…
  • Episodes 3 & 4 of the Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance (31:25) and the Bulls’ epic battles with Detroit…
  • The season finale of Jason Segel’s Dispatches from Elsewhere (47:10) and what to take away from a bizarre adventure…
  • Mindy Kaling’s new Netflix creation Never Have I Ever (54:10) and whether it distinguishes itself in a crowded landscape of high school-based entertainment…
  • A very special quarantine episode of Parks & Recreation (57:30) and how much fun it is to hang with the characters we love so much…
  • The HBO movie Bad Education (1:01:15) and whether good performances can elevate a story without a lot to like…
  • Homework for next week (1:06:45), including: new episodes of Top Chef & The Challenge, two more episodes of The Last Dance, Hulu’s new show Normal People, HBO’s new skater show Betty, and Upload on Amazon Prime, plus the return of Billions on Showtime…

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The Toy Department – Episode 206

  By toyAdmin | March 27, 2020 - 10:53 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 206, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are still surviving somehow, and find time to discuss:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef (4:20) and its great Jonathan Gold-inspired LA food tour…
  • The new Hulu movie Big Time Adolescence (19:45) and how it turned out to be strangely moving…
  • AMC’s Dispatches From Elsewhere (24:30) and how its madcap plot and general insanity don’t hinder its charm…
  • AMC’s Better Call Saul (33:05) and the near-fever pitch it has reached as it builds towards a final season…
  • The new Amazon film Blow the Man Down (39:15) and the guys’ differing views on its enjoyability…
  • The old FX show Terriers (42:50) and how it makes a great binge during our time of quarantine…
  • Homework for next week (47:15), including: another episode of Top Chef, Tiger King on Netflix, the return of Netflix’s Ozark, the new season of The Challenge, the new Pearl Jam record Gigaton and a check-in with political comedy shows Last Week Tonight and Patriot Act, which should be very interesting given where we’re at as a world…

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The Toy Department – Episode 203

  By toyAdmin | March 5, 2020 - 7:17 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 203, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have MUCH to discuss, so dive right into:

  • The HBO Sports documentary Ali & Cavett: Tale of the Tapes (1:25) and how it adds something to the historical record on a well-covered sports titan…
  • Dwyane Wade’s documentary Life Unexpected (8:00) and how it is very much the Dwyane Wade version of the Dwyane Wade story…
  • PBS’ American Masters episode on Miles Davis, entitled Birth of the Cool (14:55) and what a complete picture it painted of a complicated man who was truly one of the great musicians in human history…
  • The return of Better Call Saul on AMC (24:00) and how it is probably the best show on television right now…
  • The new Amazon show Hunters (30:55) and the surprisingly understated performance of Al Pacino…
  • AMC’s new show Dispatches from Elsewhere (37:00) and how producer/writer/director/star Jason Segel has created a fascinating and exciting curiosity through two oddball episodes…
  • The new Netflix comedy Gentefied (44:55) and how it fails to really grab the viewer in its first couple episodes…
  • Pete Davidson’s Netflix standup special (48:10) and how he’s a promising young comedic talent…
  • Homework for next week (57:40), including: the return of Better Things on FX, the end of The Outsider on HBO, Devs on FX/Hulu, Dave on FXX (it’s an FX-heavy week), the Netflix Lil Peep documentary Everbody’s Everything, Netflix’s I Am Not Okay With This, the HBO Sports documentary Women of Troy and Marc Maron’s new special End Times Fun…

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The Toy Department – Episode 178

  By toyAdmin | August 15, 2019 - 9:50 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 178, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky discuss the weather in their respective climates before hustling through:

  • The new show BH90210 (2:55) and how interesting the idea behind it is, even for someone who didn’t watch the original 90210…
  • The return of HBO’s Succession (10:25) and how it picks up right where it left off with high-stakes billionaire family drama…
  • The end of the first season of HBO’s Euphoria (18:05) and what an incredibly unique and well-acted show it was…
  • The return of Netflix’s GLOW (27:25) and how it remains one of the most enjoyable shows to spend time with…
  • AMC’s Lodge 49’s second season premiere (34:50) and what exactly it is that Kolsky finds so charming about this show…
  • A few random thoughts on the Raiders (42:00) and Antonio Brown as Hard Knocks continues…
  • Homework for next week (46:10), including: the new movie Good Boys, the return of Netflix’s Mindhunter and the premiere of The Righteous Gemstones on HBO, plus whatever else they come up with during the week (including hopefully finishing Amazon’s The Boys)…

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