The Toy Department – Episode 84

In Episode 84, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky debrief on the latter’s recent travel before dispensing with:

  • A brief preview of the excitement of the coming week (3:15), including the NFL and HBO’s new show The Deuce, from producer David Simon (of The Wire fame)…
  • A more extended NFL preview (8:45), including discussion of the impending Roger Goodell extension, a debate about the third-best QB in the league and a breakdown of the wide range of potential contenders…
  • The disappointing new Netflix series Disjointed (38:15)…
  • Recent developments on HBO’s Insecure (50:05)…
  • An interesting storyline on HBO’s Ballers (55:15) and how it mirrors some of our feelings about the real-world NFL…
  • The new LCD Soundsystem album American Dream (1:00:30) and Kolsky’s curious reaction to the band in general…
  • Homework for next week (1:11:10): including the opening week of the NFL, the premiere episode of The Deuce, the new Steven Soderbergh film Logan Lucky and the season premiere of the FXX comedy and pod favorite You’re the Worst…

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 55

Episode 55 is OFFICIALLY the longest Toy Department podcast episode OF ALL TIME!!! (and by OFFICIALLY we mean that it felt super long and we didn’t bother to actually check) It may also be the BEST Toy Department podcast episode of all time, so don’t miss a minute as Derek Madden & Matt Kolsky dive into:

  • A few minutes on Russell Westbrook, the Thunder and the first half of the NBA season (1:30)…
  • Last week’s homework assignment – an episode of ABC’s Black-ish (6:30) specifically Episode 12 of Season 3, entitled “Lemons,” which deals with the aftermath of the recent presidential election… FAIR WARNING – THIS PORTION OF TODAY’S EPISODE MAKES A SIGNIFICANT DETOUR OUTSIDE OF THE TOY DEPARTMENT!!!!
  • One of the most-discussed albums of early 2017 – Culture, by Migos (20:15)… Kolsky has officially become a die-hard Migos fan, and Madden is prepared to tolerate that, at least…
  • Another major music topic, specifically the pop/EDM group The Chainsmokers (28:45) and how Madden views some criticism of them as unfair… Which takes them down a road of more general pop music discussion (40ish)…
  • The new Amazon show Sneaky Pete (43:25) – with thoughts on the show, its star Giovanni Ribisi and also the lead character’s resemblance to one of Kolsky’s favorite short stories, Roald Dahl’s The Hitchhiker (which you can read online here: http://www.netprof.pt/Ingles/PDF/TheHitchhikerb.pdf)…
  • SUPER BOWL LI!!! Madden’s favorite football team is actually playing in this game (52:50), so with special focus and dedication the guys discuss some favorite goofy prop bets (56:45) and then dive a little deeper into the game itself with football bets (1:15:00).

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… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

The Toy Department – Episode 54

In Episode 54, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky return after a week off due to Kolsky’s infirmity to discuss MANY pressing issues, including:

  • Brent Musburger’s sudden retirement announcement (1:45) and his legacy as one of our greatest sports broadcasters…
  • Matt Ryan’s place in the NFL’s quarterback pantheon (8:10) and his MVP candidacy, as we head towards next weekend’s Super Bowl 51…
  • A favorite show of the show, The Good Place (17:35), and how it flipped its own narrative on its head in the season finalé… SPOILER ALERT: This conversation will spoil said finalé, so if you want to skip it, the short version is – Madden and Kolsky both liked it!!
  • HBO’s new series The Young Pope (24:10) and whether the visual spectacle of its first few episodes makes it worth sticking with as it finds its footing from a narrative perspective…
  • 2016 in Movies (33:50), viewed through the perspective of Tuesday’s Oscar nominations… Including thoughts on La La Land, Deadpool, Hidden Figures, Moonlight, Lion and Fences, among others…
  • Some homework for next week (59:15): trying to get Derek to watch La La Land and/or Lion and/or Hell or High Water… and an episode of Blackish (specifically – Season 3, Episode 12, entitled Lemons)…

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… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

The Toy Department – Episode 52

In Episode 52, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky jump right into a music-heavy edition of the podcast, including chats about:

  • Before the music, a few thoughts on the NFL – the playoff situation, particularly the lack of exceptional teams and QB’s (1:40) and the MVP race (7:10)…
  • Madden finally watched the documentary film Scratch (14:20) and the boys discuss the finer points of the movie and the art of turntablism…
  • The Clash’s classic album London Calling (22:00) which Madden and Kolsky totally forgot to talk about last week… SPOILER ALERT: they both like it a lot…
  • 25 Songs for 2016 Playlists (31:15): both Madden (https://open.spotify.com/user/maddendisaster/playlist/61hD5YoG3IE6iqFITBIw6N) and Kolsky (https://open.spotify.com/user/kolsky/playlist/5zzn6BRGBU12yyqIZl887Y …) put together playlists on Spotify to represent their feelings and likes from 2016 in music… They break down the lists and discuss some of their particular favorites…

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… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.