The Toy Department – Episode 134

In Episode 134, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky belabor their show introduction before jumping headlong into:

  • Amazon’s new streaming show Forever (2:15) and why they guys’ views on it differ so extremely…
  • Hulu’s new Sean Penn vehicle The First (27:05), where Penn plays a very muscular (former?) astronaut and brings a dramatic weight that is not necessarily enjoyable…
  • Some thoughts on (probably) bad new shows (34:15) including A Million Little Things and Rel, plus plenty of re-made “classics”…
  • A check-in on Derek’s active-ish (40:00) NFL boycott and the league’s many problems, starting with its commissioner…
  • Season 2 of Netflix’s American Vandal (49:20) and how the mock-umentary is still immensely enjoyable despite somewhat diminishing returns on the concept…
  • A quick check-in on Season 2 of Ozark (54:55) and how both guys are having a blast with it despite a less glowing critical reception than Season 1…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:05), including: finishing the aforementioned season of Ozark, the premiere of Maniac on Netflix, the album Master Volume by The Dirty Nil and an attempt to get to the theater for the new Predator movie…

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.

The Toy Department – Episode 99, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

In Part 2 of the Two-Part Holidaytastic Spectacular Episode 99, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are back with the second half of their year-end discussions, covering:

  • The BEST OF 2017 in television (2:05), wherein Madden and Kolsky both struggle mightily to reduce their Top Ten lists to less than twenty shows…
  • The BEST OF 2017 in music (41:55), which turns out to have the most differentiation between the two hosts’ lists…
  • Homework for next week: HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR’S EVE!!! And get ready for Episode 100, which might be somehow special (and will definitely include the announcement of the Toy Department’s 2017 Spotify Playlists) and even if it’s not is a nice, big, round number…

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.

The Toy Department – Episode 93

In Episode 93, Matt Kolsky is on the road for the first chunk of the podcast, then Derek Madden is at home for the final portion — it’s a real adventure!! Topics discussed include:

  • Revisiting Netflix’s American Vandal (4:00) and concluding that it really is quite enjoyable…
  • A check-in on FX’s Better Things (6:10) and how it is one of the best shows on television and deserves more attention…
  • The release of a new N*E*R*D song (11:20) and Madden’s experience interviewing Pharrell…
  • The new hit television show The Good Doctor (19:20), dealing with autism in television and how network shows can really be good…
  • The Netflix show Atypical (30:45), another show featuring a central character with autism, and Michael Rappaport’s surprising performance…
  • A few thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok (36:30) from Kolsky, the designated comic book movie viewer…
  • Homework for next week (39:20) including: the new 30 for 30 documentary Nature Boy about Ric Flair, and the Showtime shows Shameless and SMILF…
  • An interview with Emma Kolsky (44:15), Matt’s sister and an autism specialist, about the portrayal of people with autism in The Good Doctor and Atypical…

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.

The Toy Department – Episode 91

In Episode 91, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden lament the suddenly crowded entertainment landscape before soldiering on to actually talk about some of it, including:

  • Netflix’s new David Fincher-produced series Mindhunter (7:30) and whether it stands up to the impressive Fincher filmography…
  • Another new Netflix show, American Vandal (21:30) and how it plays to a fan of real crime shows versus someone who does not watch them…
  • Beck’s new album Colors (32:20) which surprised both Madden and Kolsky but only really appealed to one of them…
  • MLB’s World Series (41:30) because yes, it is happening RIGHT NOW, and baseball playoffs are pretty entertaining…
  • The NFL season (48:15) and how it has failed to produce any really good teams or much good football so far… Is this the “parity” we’ve been hearing about?
  • Homework for next week (1:09:00) including: Season 2 of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the Netflix film The Meyerowitz Stories, the return of The Walking Dead and catching up on all the many, many TV shows that have gotten underway this month…

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.