The Toy Department – Episode 131

In Episode 131, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open the show with an announcement about Kolsky’s life and career that you won’t want to miss before diving into less pressing concerns in the world of pop culture, including:

  • The season/series finalé of HBO’s Sharp Objects (6:25), how the last-minute twist felt for each of the guys and how they view the series as a whole…
  • A check-in on HBO’s Insecure (26:15) and whether it has gotten a little bogged down over the last couple of episodes…
  • AMC’s new show Lodge 49 (29:05) and whether it has piqued the interest of Madden and Kolsky…
  • Travis Scott’s new album Astroworld (38:40) and what it says about him as a popular artist and rapper…
  • Some thoughts on Louis CK’s return to the comedy stage (46:15) and whether the guys are interested in new material or willing to watch another act from him…
  • Homework for next week (55:50), including: the return of Ozark on Netflix, an NFL preview coming next week, Amazon’s new show Jack Ryan, the Netflix film To All the Boys I Loved Before, music from Foxing and a standup set from Drew Michael… GET BUSY WATCHING!!!
  • A quick report on Derek’s experience seeing Hamilton (1:00:05) and discussion of the art form of musicals in general…

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 127

In Episode 127, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky return from a week off with a brief analysis of their podcast introduction, then focus in and banter about:

  • The return of Orange is the New Black (2:40) on Netflix and how the show has once again gone through a paradigm shift in the situations of the characters…
  • Derek tries to convince Kolsky to dive into watching NBC’s classic The West Wing (13:20) and the more recent Halt & Catch Fire (18:35)…
  • A short aside into Kolsky’s recent binge experience with Love Island (22:35), a British sex/competition show currently available on Hulu…
  • The Robin Williams documentary Come Inside My Mind (27:15) currently airing on HBO, and how it does a good job of surveying Williams’ life but doesn’t really get all the way into his mind…
  • A brief detour into Jack Nicholson and the Lakers (37:05) which diverges into Kobe Bryant conversation…
  • A discussion of HBO’s Sharp Objects (45:00) at the halfway point, covering how much faith the guys have in it coming together in a meaningful way through its second half…
  • Homework for next week (56:20), including: the films Mission Impossible: Fallout and Eighth Grade, both in theaters now, as well as Kolsky checking out The West Wing and Halt & Catch Fire and Madden sampling Love Island on Hulu, plus Madden is heading to Lollapalooza so concert stories coming…

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 125

In Episode 125, please excuse any audio issues on the part of Matt Kolsky, as he joins Derek Madden live (to tape) from a road trip, specifically from the side of the road near Needles, CA after a car breakdown, so they can discuss:

  • Kolsky’s absurd roadside predicament and dodgy recording situation…
  • The off-air Toy Department Experience (4:30) that took place in Chicago after an excellent Radiohead show on Friday (and some details about the concert itself)…
  • The soon-to-be-completed second season of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu (15:15) and how it’s got some great stuff going on if you can handle the gut punch of its content…
  • A wrap-up discussion of the second season of Netflix’s GLOW (21:25), the many exciting possibilities heading into Season 3 and the greatness of Alison Brie…
  • A chat about HBO’s goal to increase content production (28:15) and what it says about the world of television…
  • HBO’s new limited series Sharp Objects (32:40) and how promising it feels after one episode…
  • Some brief thoughts on the World Cup (37:40)… until the tow truck shows up (40:50)…
  • Homework for next week (43:00), including: the Hannah Gadsby stand-up special Nanette and the new Boots Riley-directed film Sorry to Bother You plus perhaps another movie in theaters (like Ant Man & The Wasp, Jurassic World 2, The Incredibles 2, Sicario 2 or Tag)…

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 48

In Episode 48, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a digression into mid-90’s pager logistics before diving into:

  • PBS’ show Soundbreaking – specifically the episode entitled The World Is Yours, about sampling in hip hop – which was one of last week’s homework assignments (4:30)… The guys discuss the show itself, and also early hip hop in general, which leads to…
  • A reviewing and rehashing of the classic A Tribe Called Quest album The Low End Theory (15:00)… An honorific segment about one of the seminal albums of 1990’s hip hop, though Madden and Kolsky come at it from slightly different perspectives…
  • Some discussion of the current state of television (26:40) and the fact that we seem to be faced with a dearth of quality television despite living in the middle of the Peak TV movement… What does it all mean? Or is it just a temporary lull?
  • The Toy Department WENT TO THE MOVIES!! (36:35) Not together, but both Kolsky and Madden went and saw the new film Arrival, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner… They have similar feelings but draw slightly different final conclusions…
  • Season 3, Episode 5 of Black Mirror – called Men Against Fire – as we continue to make our way through the series (56:30)… Neither Madden nor Kolsky loved it, but they have differing perspectives on the central issue and the future of the series…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! 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.