Tag Archives: Michaela Bradshaw

The Toy Department – Episode 429

  By toyAdmin | August 8, 2025 - 6:22 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 429, Madden and Kolsky get into their relative appreciation of getting pounded with heavy metal before they buckle down on:

  • The new FX show Welcome to Necaxa (3:20) and how the Eva Longoria project resembles but is also very different from the Rob & Ryan project in Wrexham…
  • Kolsky’s failure to watch Chief of War (15:00) thanks to a miscommunication on last pod (so maybe it’s homework now?)…
  • Netflix’s bat-guano insane The Hunting Wives (16:30) and the utter mediocrity of its nudity-heavy nonsense…
  • The five hours of Billy Joel documentary on HBO (22:05), whether he deserved that length and where his legacy lands…
  • Amazon Prime Video’s teen drama sensation The Summer I Turned Pretty (46:35) and whether our hosts should suffer through the first season or two to get to the apparently very good third season… or are we just very old and out of touch?
  • Another exciting episode of The Challenge 41: Vets & New Threats (54:45) and an absolute banger of an elimination between two small rookie women who left everything they had in the ring…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (1:09:35), including: the next two episodes of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, perhaps revisiting the well-reviewed Chief of War, Noah Hawley’s new FX show Alien Earth, the John Grisham television adaptation The Rainmaker on USA/Peacock and the new Dallas Cowboys/Jerry Jones documentary on Netflix…

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The Toy Department – Episode 428

  By toyAdmin | August 1, 2025 - 11:43 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 428, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s visit to Chicago and assign some extra homework that they forgot about before locking into:

  • The first episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (5:55) and also the weird and mostly annoying 0th episode, with lots of excitement for the season to come…
  • The reasonably enjoyable Happy Gilmore 2 (30:55), how far you can fly on the wings of cameo appearances from terrible actors and Adam Sandler’s career choices…
  • Hulu’s new show Washington Black (39:50) and the relative usefulness of fantastical historical fiction…
  • Homework for next week (44:05), including: the next episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, checking in on the apparently very popular The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix’s new series The Hunting Wives, Eva Longoria’s Wrexham spinoff Necaxa and the Billy Joel documentary And So It Goes on HBO Max…

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The Toy Department – Episode 362

  By toyAdmin | October 20, 2023 - 8:29 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 362, Madden and Kolsky lament the sickness passing through the Kolsky household (and the overall joys of parenthood) before diving in on:

  • TJ’s Final on The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:40) and a wrap-up discussion on a truly excellent Challenge season that featured arguably the greatest rookie season in the franchise’s history…
  • Netflix’s new thriller Fair Play (48:40), about which our hosts have rather disparate opinions…
  • The unremarkable and in fact largely unpleasant return of Frasier (1:01:40) and how it’s essentially and empty suit of a throwback sitcom…
  • The Brie Larson vehicle Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+ (1:07:25) and how it’s relatively hollow and predictable despite reasonably good acting and directing…
  • Homework for next week’s THURSDAY episode (1:18:25), including: the start of the new season of the flagship Challenge — Battle for a New Champion, and actually getting to The Fall of the House of Usher…

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The Toy Department – Episode 361

  By toyAdmin | October 13, 2023 - 9:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 361, Madden and Kolsky talk about the breakfast tacos that Derek is anxious to get to before locking in to this week’s only subject:

  • The penultimate episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:05) and the always dramatic Josh Martinez, plus a look ahead to what shapes up to be a tremendous final…
  • Homework for next week (28:30), including: TJ’s Final on The Challenge: USA Season 2, the Netflix movie Fair Play, the return of Frasier on Paramount+, the Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher (based on Edgar Allan Poe’s work) and the new Brie Larson film Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 360

  By toyAdmin | October 6, 2023 - 11:13 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 360, Madden and Kolsky talk a little bit of Chicago Bears football and Wrexham soccer before getting down to business with last week’s homework:

  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (8:25), including the antics of Michaela and the Michele-tdown that ended with elimination…
  • The incredibly disappointing film Heist 88 (28:05) and how seemingly every choice made by the producers and director fell flat…
  • Wes Anderson’s new Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (34:10) and how Anderson’s signature nonsense has officially pushed one of our hosts over the edge…
  • The wildly enjoyable Gen V (39:40) and all the things that make it a welcome addition to The Boys’ universe…
  • Homework for next week’s short show (46:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, and … … THAT’S IT, THAT’S THE HOMEWORK…

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The Toy Department – Episode 359

  By toyAdmin | September 29, 2023 - 10:58 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky celebrate a (relatively) problem-free recording environment before getting right into:

  • Kolsky’s misadventures with the National (1:25) and the development of an understanding of why he struggles so much to listen to them…
  • The high school comedy Bottoms (7:05) and why one of our hosts HATED it and the other really quite enjoyed it…
  • The underwhelming film Cassandro (21:45) and how both hosts were left feeling unsatisfied and wishing they knew more about the movie’s subject…
  • The crown jewel of this week’s culture, Apple TV+’s British rom-com Still Up (27:25) and the undeniable charm of the relationship at its center…
  • Another week of action from The Challenge USA: Season 2 (32:00) which continues to deliver excellent daily and elimination challenges and has no shortage of drama as we careen towards the TJ’s Final…
  • Homework for next week (58:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the new show Gen V (a spinoff of The Boys) on Amazon Prime Video, the Paramount+/Showtime movie Heist 88 and the Wes Anderson-directed Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on Netflix…

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The Toy Department – Episode 358

  By toyAdmin | September 22, 2023 - 10:45 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky lament Derek’s illness before he pushes through to discuss:

  • The new Mitski album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2:20), how it differs from Mitski’s past output and the deep darkness and moments of bright light within it…
  • The return of pod favorite Sex Education (14:30) and its undeniable charm, plus how its end coincides with a desperate lack of similar quality on Netflix…
  • A few thoughts on Winning Time (24:10) and its cancellation…
  • The based-on-a-true-story film A Million Miles Away (37:40) and the remarkable life of astronaut Jose Hernandez…
  • British true-story-heist series The Gold on Paramount+ (41:30) and whether the first two episodes are enough to draw our hosts into what is undeniably an interesting real life tale…
  • A mile marker episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (46:20) and the end (at least for now) of one of the Challenge Universe’s truly legendary careers…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the British rom-com Still Up on Apple TV+, the movie Bottoms (available on VOD of your choice) and the Amazon Prime Video film Cassandro, plus Kolsky said will try to listen to The National…

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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 356

  By toyAdmin | September 8, 2023 - 9:24 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 356, Madden and Kolsky are both exhausted and threatening each other with falling asleep mid-sentence as they prepare to discuss:

  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (2:15) and how the change to an individual game changed the dynamic in the house…
  • A trip to the movie theater to see Barbie (22:55) and how Greta Gerwig snuck a feminist text into the brains of the masses…
  • Adam Sandler and family in the Netflix movie You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (35:15) and how it’s the most Jewish teen comedy our hosts have ever seen (and also very enjoyable)…
  • The surprising and intense Special Ops: Lioness (45:55) and how the Taylor Sheridan/Paramount+ galaxy continues to be more than expected…
  • Some disparate thoughts on the various Hollywood strikes (50:45) and some of the issues at hand…
  • Homework for next week (1:03:15), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, The Changeling on Apple TV+, the second season of Welcome to Wrexham on Hulu and another season of The Morning Show on Apple TV+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 355

  By toyAdmin | September 3, 2023 - 6:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 355, Madden and Kolsky lament some technical issues before jumping right into:

  • The last two weeks of action from The Challenge: USA Season 2 (1:45); and there is A LOT of action to cover!
  • Tracy Morgan’s new stand-up special Takin’ It Too Far (38:40) which is pretty quintessential Tracy Morgan content…
  • The Ringer-produced documentary Destination NBA: A G-League Odyssey (40:20) and how it was interesting and informative but didn’t quite come together as brilliantly as our hosts hoped…
  • The latest Star Wars series, Ahsoka (47:10) and how Rosario Dawson and a generally good cast is not necessarily enough to save the franchise for our less sci-fi-inclined host…
  • Homework for next week (51:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, Special Ops: Lioness on Paramount+, the Netflix film You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah and the boys are gonna head to the theaters to see Barbie(!!)…

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