The Toy Department – Episode 290

In Episode 290, Madden and Kolsky get straight into the content because Derek is having a tough day and Matt doesn’t want to make it worse:

  • Netflix’s new Aziz Ansari stand-up special Nightclub Comedian (2:50) and how it has it’s hilarious moments but isn’t particularly personal or essential…
  • Hulu’s new show Pam & Tommy (19:30) and how it is incredibly well-cast and highly entertaining but seems to be focused more on the specific story of the sex tape than the relationship in general…
  • The new Netflix series Murderville (35:35) and how mileage may vary but Marshawn Lynch is spectacular…
  • The Amazon series Reacher (45:25) and how it’s a hell of a good time…
  • Some NFL prop bets (49:30) to prepare you for Sunday’s big game…
  • Thoughts on the NBA trade deadline (1:06:35) especially the James Harden/Ben Simmons trade…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:24:00), including: getting into some Oscars content with The Power of the Dog on Netflix, plus the new HBO Max show The Girl Before, the new Soderbergh film Kimi (also on HBO Max) and the new Netflix series Inventing Anna (starring Julia Garner)…

The Toy Department – Episode 32

In Episode 32, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly revisit their intense golf argument from last week, but avoid falling too deeply down that hole… Instead they get in some quick hitters on:

  • The new HBO drama The Night Of (3:00) and Derek’s confidence in it compared to Kolsky’s early questions about its quality…
  • USA Network’s hotshot cyberdrama Mr. Robot (8:55) – where Kolsky has faith but Derek is developing some quality questions…
  • The upcoming Rio Olympics (17:30) – will you watch? what will you watch? why will you watch? Madden and Kolsky discuss these questions and more…
  • The only-a-few-days-away MLB trade deadline (27:15) and the appropriate philosophy for teams heading into it…
  • A brief survey of the movie and music worlds (39:40) because those venues have been ignored by this podcast for far too long – Madden and Kolsky both recommend some tunes and flicks for you before assigning some homework and hitting the road…

Oh, 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.