The Toy Department – Episode 92

In Episode 92, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden waste no time with pleasantries as they jump directly into:

  • A heated debate over the second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things (0:45) and whether it is in fact any good at all…
  • The new Noah Baumbach film The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (27:15) and whether it qualifies as bad-time entertainment or somehow rises above that distinction…
  • Madden’s experience at the Arcade Fire concert (38:40) and how all things must end…
  • The 2017 World Series (48:10), the compelling storylines and the future of baseball…
  • The series finale of HBO’s The Deuce (58:55), Kolsky’s confusion over the length of the season and the storytelling style of David Simon and company…
  • The first two episodes of season eight of The Walking Dead (1:06:30) and how the show seems to have lost its direction and momentum…
  • Homework for next week (1:13:30) including: the new (apparent) network sensation The Good Doctor, the also-about-an-autistic-character Atypical, and finishing Netflix’s Mindhunter before an interview with Stacey Roca, the actress who plays Nancy Tench…

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 91

In Episode 91, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden lament the suddenly crowded entertainment landscape before soldiering on to actually talk about some of it, including:

  • Netflix’s new David Fincher-produced series Mindhunter (7:30) and whether it stands up to the impressive Fincher filmography…
  • Another new Netflix show, American Vandal (21:30) and how it plays to a fan of real crime shows versus someone who does not watch them…
  • Beck’s new album Colors (32:20) which surprised both Madden and Kolsky but only really appealed to one of them…
  • MLB’s World Series (41:30) because yes, it is happening RIGHT NOW, and baseball playoffs are pretty entertaining…
  • The NFL season (48:15) and how it has failed to produce any really good teams or much good football so far… Is this the “parity” we’ve been hearing about?
  • Homework for next week (1:09:00) including: Season 2 of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the Netflix film The Meyerowitz Stories, the return of The Walking Dead and catching up on all the many, many TV shows that have gotten underway this month…

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 45

In Episode 45, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky lament their rapidly-advancing age before diving into discussions about:

  • The World Series, briefly (1:15) acknowledging that the final results will be determined before anyone listens… The conversation tilts more towards the impressive future potential of the Cubs (3:05) and the Hall of Fame career of GM Theo Epstein (5:55)… Ending with a discussion of baseball’s place in the sports media landscape (11:10)…
  • Episode 2 of Netflix’s new Black Mirror season – Play Test (15:40) which had a very different effect on Kolsky than it did on Madden…
  • A quick stop on HBO’s Westworld, which Kolsky failed to successfully watch after a Phish show on Sunday night (29:05)…
  • ROCKTOBER continues, so more concert talk – Kolsky went to see Phish play a Halloween show (32:25)… Madden went to see Yelawolf (35:40)…
  • The season finale (and the first season in sum) of FX’s Atlanta (44:45)… How there’s not enough of it… How well executed it is in the end (45:50) and just in general in delivering a truthful narrative (48:43)…
  • Another FX favorite, You’re the Worst (51:00) and whether it’s struggling a bit in its third season…
  • A couple notes on homework for next week, which involves Bill Simmons’ show Any Given Wednesday (56:20) and the next episode of Black Mirror, “Shut Up and Dance” (58:25)…

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.