The Toy Department – Episode 242

In Episode 242, Madden and Kolsky welcome in the new year with clear eyes and full hearts (and talk a teensy bit of The Challenge) before bidding 2020 adieu with discussions about:

  • The Charlie Brooker dark comedy pseudo-documentary special Death to 2020 (3:45) and the experience of laughing at the horrible events of last year, while trying not to wallow in them…
  • The third season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai (11:35) and the problems that this still-enjoyable show is going to have to work through moving forward…
  • The Steve McQueen film Lovers Rock (21:50), the second in his Small Axe series on Amazon, the director’s impressive execution and the wonderful mood created by a simple and relatively short movie…
  • The new Pixar joint Soul (29:25) and the greatness of Pixar animation in general…
  • The new love story drama Sylvie’s Love (39:35) and the impressive work of lead actors Nnamdi Asomugha and Tessa Thompson in a relatively straightforward dramatic film…
  • A few thoughts on the NFL Playoffs (51:50) with an extra special 6-game Wild Card Weekend on deck…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (1:06:10), including: the HBO Max show How To with John Wilson, the Apple TV+ show Mythic Quest, the new TIger Woods documentary on HBO and the new Netflix film History of Swear Words (narrated by Nic Cage!!!) not to mention NFL playoffs and NBA basketball… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

The Toy Department – Episode 43

In Episode 43, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky fight through a weird Lipton Brisk detour and some audio technology issues to bring you discussions about:

  • Last week’s homework assignment: the new Solange album A Seat at the Table (1:30)… specifically its originality and some general thoughts about the Indie R&B genre, and a new idea about future music homework (10:00)…
  • This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees (12:20) and how the Hall decides who is an appropriate candidate for induction…
  • NFL replay review, specifically with regards to pass interference penalties (19:00) and the disappointing end to last week’s Falcons-Seahawks game… and some thoughts on using technology for sports officiating in general (27:30)…
  • The NBA’s upcoming season (31:00) and whether the fact that the Warriors and Cavaliers are prohibitive favorites is a problem for the entertainment value of the league…
  • A few general thoughts on movies and the movie business (46:55) after Kolsky noticed some things when he went out to see The Accountant…
  • Homework for next week (51:30): Madden assigns a particular episode of the IFC show Documentary Now! to Kolsky…

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.