Tag Archives: soccer

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 368

  By toyAdmin | November 30, 2023 - 3:41 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 368, Madden and Kolsky lament the existence of Daylight Savings Time and the depressing 4:30pm sundown in the Midwest before turning to:

  • The Peacock film Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (2:50) and whether Derek owes Kolsky an apology for bringing it to his attention…
  • The Netflix documentary Beckham (12:10) and Fisher Stevens’ interesting directorial choices, plus the hitherto untold peculiarities of one of soccer’s greatest superstars…
  • The latest from The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (28:40), where another champ showed up to embrace the chaos and break up a couple…
  • Homework for next week (59:15), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the new Netflix show Obliterated, the film May December (also on Netflix) and the Paramount+ show Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?…

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The Toy Department – Episode 357

  By toyAdmin | September 15, 2023 - 10:11 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 357, Madden and Kolsky briefly address their literal physical proximity before diving right into the culture with:

  • The return of Apple TV+’s expensive and totally insane The Morning Show (2:50) and how, ridiculously, it somehow manages to be wildly enjoyable without really having any recommendable qualities…
  • The second season of Welcome to Wrexham (10:35) and how great documentary film-making and a real heart at the center continue to make it one of the best watches on TV, whether you know the results of the soccer games or not…
  • Apple TV+’s new show The Changeling (18:40) and how it turns out to be significantly darker than our hosts may have expected…
  • The most recent episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (25:25) and how Survivor finally got theirs, plus the total domination of the Challenge vets…
  • A look ahead to the coming season of the flagship Challenge (52:40) and the newly-released list of participants…
  • Homework for next week (57:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the return of Netflix’s Sex Education, British heist series The Gold on Paramount+, the new movie A Million Miles Away on Amazon Prime Video and Mitski’s new album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We…

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The Toy Department – Episode 353

  By toyAdmin | August 11, 2023 - 10:03 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 353, Madden and Kolsky discuss the Kolsky family’s bizarre living (and recording) arrangements before moving on to:

  • The return of The Challenge!! It’s the second season of The Challenge: USA (2:35) and it offers a lot of promise, despite a climax-less first episode and a questionable release schedule… The guys discuss some old favorites and some new blood…
  • Max’s Steven Soderbergh-directed kidnapping drama Full Circle (28:35) and how it asks its viewers to remain engaged with obvious puzzle pieces missing…
  • The Netflix docu-series Quarterback (34:50) and just how impressive those who play the position are (even Kirk Cousins)…
  • The return of pod favorite Reservation Dogs (45:40) and how the Hulu series continues to be utterly unique on television and wildly enjoyable…
  • The premiere of season two of Winning Time on HBO (52:15) and the Magic/Kareem relationship that appears to be at its core…
  • A few thoughts on the English Premier League (58:15) and Kolsky’s potentially heartbreaking hope surrounding Chelsea’s season…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:15), including: more of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the Netflix movie They Cloned Tyrone, the Wes Anderson film Asteroid City (now on Peacock) and Netflix’s Untold: Johnny Football doc…

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The Toy Department – Episode 324

  By toyAdmin | December 16, 2022 - 2:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 324, Madden and Kolsky missed each other deeply but equally deeply they long to discuss the two weeks of Challenge action on the docket so it’s straight into:

  • Two action-packed weeks of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:20), whether that name still fits the season and all the various strategic fallout from the game’s big twist(s)…
  • Showtime’s George & Tammy series (24:20) and how neither of our hosts much enjoy the country music but one of them definitely enjoyed this show more than the other…
  • The second season of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses (29:55) and how it remains a highly entertaining spy drama with some really excellent characters and a fantastic lead performance from Gary Oldman…
  • A few World Cup thoughts leading up to Sunday’s final (36:30), from the beauty of Messi to the messiness of Fox’s coverage…
  • Homework for next Friday (50:00), including: the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies… AND NOTHING ELSE!! Because it’s going to be Best of 2022 Week!! But feel free to get started on Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, which Derek forgot to watch this week 🙂

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The Toy Department – Episode 323

  By toyAdmin | December 2, 2022 - 3:36 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 323, Madden and Kolsky discuss Kolsky’s upcoming vacation and the challenges of parenthood before locking into pop culture to cover:

  • The group stage round of the World Cup (5:00) and some thoughts on the USMNT’s overall performance…
  • The Netflix documentary series FIFA Uncovered (16:50) and the rampant corruption that has polluted the soccer world’s governing body…
  • The Netflix documentary film Stutz (30:45), which was a terrible experience for one of our hosts and an intriguing experience for the other…
  • Hulu’s new series Welcome to Chippendales (39:35) and how it takes a couple episodes but becomes an awful lot of fun with some excellent acting performances…
  • Tim Burton’s new Netflix series Wednesday (44:15), whether its charm is enough to carry it and some thoughts on Burton’s poor record with actors of color…
  • The last two episodes of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (50:05), what the guys think of this season’s format after hearing some criticism, the many bad decisions of Nelly T and a look forward to the coming twist…
  • Homework for TWO Friday’s from now (1:17:50), including: the new Paramount+ rom-com show The Flatshare, season two of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion Pinocchio on Netflix, Showtime’s George & Tammy series and OF COURSE the next TWO episodes of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

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The Toy Department – Episode 321

  By toyAdmin | November 11, 2022 - 10:28 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 321, Madden and Kolsky are fighting the clock again, this time thanks to Kolsky’s mediocre parental planning, so it’s straight to the important business of the day:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (2:55) after a Laurel-heavy episode filled with embarrassingly bad strategy from many of the less-experienced players…
  • The new Apple TV+ movie Causeway (31:40) and whether Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry’s performances are enough to carry a very quiet, rather simple film…
  • Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (36:35) and how Daniel Radcliffe’s incredible commitment to the Weird Al role combined with a wildly silly but quite clever script makes for a heck of a fun time…
  • The new Netflix sitcom Blockbuster (43:40) and whether it’s even possible to make a sitcom that’s creative and original…
  • A few thoughts on the World Cup (47:25) with the tournament less than two weeks away and the US roster recently announced…
  • Homework for next Friday (53:35), including: the new Hulu/FX show Fleishman Is In Trouble, HBO Max’s new Sam Rockwell vehicle See How They Run, the new Sylvester Stallone show Tulsa King on Paramount+, the movie Don’t Worry Darling (now available on HBO Max) and OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

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The Toy Department – Episode 318

  By toyAdmin | October 21, 2022 - 1:15 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 318, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s work trip to the casino before locking in on:

  • The latest episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:55), Turbo’s heel turn and the ace strategy from the game’s newest veterans, the notorious Johnny Bananas and his incomparable partner Nany Gonzalez…
  • Netflix’s Redeem Team documentary (35:15) and how it was an enjoyable and entertaining watch despite its somewhat hegeographic tendencies…
  • Apple TV+’s new show Shantaram (46:00) and how Charlie Hunnam makes for an incredibly engaging and watchable center for a show that transports you to 1980’s Bombay (for some not entirely known reason)…
  • The return of Documentary Now! on IFC (50:10) and how the first mockumentary of this season is entertaining and pretty spot-on, but not necessarily enough to suck one of our hosts in…
  • A season wrap-up on FX’s Welcome to Wrexham (59:30) and how the show works on so many levels, ultimately becoming one of the year’s best…
  • A few thoughts on the not-so-inspiring House of the Dragon (1:11:30) and how it so far fails to live up to its predecessor…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:14:40), including: the new Netflix show The Watcher, the new film Raymond and Ray on Apple TV+, the limited series From Scratch on Netflix, and OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies… plus Kolsky will watch Top Gun: Maverick so the guys can finally discuss it!

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The Toy Department – Episode 312

  By toyAdmin | September 9, 2022 - 11:59 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 312, Madden and Kolsky have just a little slander for the recently departed Queen of England before locking into pop culture to go through:

  • The intrigue and excitement from several weeks of The Challenge: USA (5:35), some of the questionable strategic decision-making and the show’s place and role in the larger Challenge universe…
  • The new HBO fantasy epic House of The Dragon (35:40) and how it has engaged our hosts despite a somewhat narrow purview through the first three episodes…
  • Amazon’s big fantasy swing with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (42:55) and how it hits a solid double for Kolsky but strikes out hard for Madden…
  • The delightful documentary series Welcome to Wrexham (49:55) and how it’s much more than just a show about a downtrodden football club (aka soccer team)…
  • Hulu’s new drama The Patient (59:20) and how the lead actors are thriving and the show is throwing cliffhangers at you…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:04:25), including: Madden’s audible into Bad Sisters on Apple TV+, the new Peacock movie Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul, and Showtime’s new American Gigolo series, plus the conclusion of The Challenge USA on CBS/Paramount+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 289

  By toyAdmin | February 4, 2022 - 11:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 289, Madden and Kolsky have a somber philosophical rumination about dogs getting old before snapping out of it and getting into:

  • The film The Last Duel (4:25) and the difference between the hosts’ opinions on whether it’s worth watching…
  • Apple TV+’s new comedy The Afterparty (17:55) and how the deep roster of comedy talent makes for a great time…
  • The new Freeform sitcom Single Drunk Female (25:15) and how the first couple episodes really lean on the charm of the lead actress…
  • Netflix’s new Kristen Bell-led satire The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (29:15) and whether it is caught in-between parody and satire…
  • A check-in with The Book of Boba Fett (33:50) and how the Disney+ series seems to be leveling up in its last couple of episodes…
  • Some NFL talk (43:00) as the league goes through multiple scandals at once…
  • A few quick thoughts on USMNT soccer (1:12:05) and the decision to play in freezing cold Minnesota…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:17:25), including: the new Aziz Ansari stand-up special Nightclub Comedian, Hulu’s new show Pam & Tommy, the new Netflix series Murderville and the new Reacher series on Amazon Prime…

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