The Toy Department – Episode 420

In Episode 420, Madden and Kolsky get into some dentistry (and periodontistry?) before circling around to:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Destination Canada (3:55), where Tristen Epps is absolutely clobbering the competition…
  • A check-in on season four of Hacks (19:10) which is just a genuinely great television show with two excellent leads…
  • Nathan Fielder’s HBO madness The Rehearsal (22:45) and how spectacularly it confounds Kolsky…
  • Another season of Black Mirror on Netflix (31:15)… or is it Black Mirror? The guys discuss…
  • A couple of quick NBA playoff thoughts (38:15) after a couple games in the first round…
  • Homework for next week (56:50), including: another episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, some more of Black Mirror’s new season, season two of Andor and two action flicks: G20 on Amazon Prime and Havoc on Netflix…

The Toy Department – Episode 419

In Episode 419, Madden and Kolsky are squeezing a taping into a naptime, so it’s right on into:

  • A couple of NBA Playoff thoughts (3:55) as we head into the first weekend of action…
  • The last episode of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (16:45), the appropriate winners and some thoughts on the season as a whole…
  • A surprising elimination on Top Chef: Destination Canada (27:00) and the stranglehold that Tristen seems to have on the competition even with the emergence of a new regular high finisher…
  • The new FX/Hulu series Dying for Sex (39:45), the tremendous lead performances and the overall quality of the network’s output…
  • Apple TV+’s latest offering Your Friends and Neighbors (43:20) and the difficulty of a generally detestable protagonist…
  • The HBO/Max sensation The Pitt (51:45) and Noah Wylie’s return to the emergency room…
  • Homework for next week (58:45), including: another episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, a check-in on the latest season of HBO’s Hacks after four episodes, the first two episodes of Black Mirror’s most recent season and the second season of The Rehearsal…

The Toy Department – Episode 418

In Episode 418, Madden and Kolsky return from an unscheduled absence to revisit the world of pop culture, blasting through:

  • Two episodes of Top Chef: Destination Canada (1:45), including the return of a Last Chance Kitchen champ and the emergence of a pretty clear favorite…
  • Two weeks of action on The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (16:20), with the beginning of TJ’s Finals in the books and an unlikely pair at the top of the leaderboard…
  • A few thoughts on the recently-completed season of The White Lotus (37:15) and an apparently split reaction to the finalé…
  • The action-flick sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (47:50) and the apparent attempt to build an action franchise…
  • Paramount+’s new British crime series MobLand (53:20), with a star-studded cast and a tangled web of plot…
  • The SZA/Keke Palmer movie One of Them Days (59:05), and the enjoyability of a classic buddy caper comedy…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:05), including: the (hopefully) epic conclusion of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals, another episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, FX/Hulu’s new series Dying for Sex, the Apple TV+ show Your Friends and Neighbors and a pod check in on new-ish show The Pitt…