Tag Archives: HBO

The Toy Department – Episode 282

  By toyAdmin | November 19, 2021 - 12:23 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 282, Madden and Kolsky pushed through the technical difficulties common to olds of their age in order to bring you their thoughts on…

  • The newly Disney+-watchable Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2:35) and how it hits all its marks and ends up a highly enjoyable experience…
  • A brief NFL detour (7:55) to discuss some rookie quarterback play…
  • Paramount+’s big prestige TV swing Mayor of Kingstown (11:50) and whether it delivers on the promise of its cast…
  • The thrilling new HBO Max show Yellowjackets (20:55) and the incredible cast of women executing it…
  • Deep analysis of a top-shelf episode of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (27:20) and who controls the game as it speeds towards the surely imminent final…
  • Episode 2 of this season of The Challenge All-Stars (57:05), the gamut of emotions it runs and how the game is shaping up for the old fogies…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:15:55), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, AND more Challenge All-Stars, HBO’s Music Box documentary Jagged (about Alanis Morrisette), the new Netflix film Red Notice, the new season of The Great on Hulu and The Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO Max…

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The Toy Department – Episode 281

  By toyAdmin | November 12, 2021 - 12:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 281, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s morning drinks and Kolsky’s morning show appearance before remembering to talk about…

  • Tom Hanks’ new Apple TV+ film Finch (3:15) which is not a bad movie but forgettable enough that Derek can’t keep the title in his head for more than seven consecutive minutes…
  • The new Netflix western film The Harder They Fall (10:20) and how it’s a highly entertaining bit of popcorn cinema…
  • The return of Netflix’s treasured Big Mouth (23:00) and spoiler alert: it’s still great!
  • Another momentum-shifting week on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (27:40) as the Emerald Cell finally loses a daily challenge and faces infiltration via an overdramatic elimination starring Amanda as one of the great heels in show history…
  • The Season 2 premiere of The Challenge All-Stars (46:35) and how the episode was somewhat disappointing, but there’s still a lot of hope for a good season…
  • Homework for next Thursday (59:00), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, AND more Challenge All-Stars, plus Yellowjackets on Showtime, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Disney+ and Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount+…
  • A few minutes on USA Men’s Soccer (1:00:45) ahead of a critical USA v. Mexico matchup in World Cup Qualifying play…

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The Toy Department – Episode 279

  By toyAdmin | October 28, 2021 - 12:10 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 279, Madden and Kolsky congratulate themselves for managing to record the podcast on schedule before quickly getting down to brass tacks with…

  • The new film Dune on HBO Max (1:20) and how mileage may vary depending on your familiarity with the story…
  • The return of the HBO/Issa Rae series Insecure (14:30) for its final season, and how nice it is to be back in the groove with a show that is founded on being a tremendous vibe…
  • This week’s action on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (26:45), whether anyone will ever infiltrate the Emerald Cell and whose strategic moves are working the best as the game heads into the home stretch…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:01:20), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, the new Netflix show Colin in Black & White from Ava Duvernay and Colin Kaepernick, the new season of Love Life on HBO Max, AND the World Series (“Go Braves,” says Derek) AND AND the early NBA season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 278

  By toyAdmin | October 22, 2021 - 1:28 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 278, Madden and Kolsky talk about Derek’s continuing music-based travels before moving on to…

  • The Todd Haynes documentary Velvet Underground on Apple TV+ (2:20) and how it’s not so good that it demands the attention of non-Velvet Underground fans…
  • The return of HBO’s Succession (8:05) and how the show remains impeccable and utterly unique…
  • The new Paramount Plus film Queenpins (11:40) and how it doesn’t quite deliver on its comedic promise…
  • The latest on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (16:30) and the moves by Ed and Kyle that defined this week’s episode of the game…
  • A few quick sports thoughts with the return of the NBA (35:10) and the continuing MLB Playoffs…
  • Homework for next Thursday (38:10), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, the new film Dune on HBO Max, the return of Issa Rae’s Insecure for its final season, AND the MLB Playoffs AND AND the early NBA season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 276

  By toyAdmin | October 7, 2021 - 11:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 276, Madden and Kolsky get into a little Austin City Limits story time before diving into:

  • HBO’s The Many Saints of Newark (7:20), how much THIS show enjoyed it and how far it goes beyond fan service…
  • Jon Stewart’s new Apple TV+ show (19:15) and how the format it seems to be going with is somewhat exhausting…
  • A turning point episode on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (25:35) and how the game will change moving into the second half of the season…
  • Homework for next Thursday (49:20), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus checking out the Netflix sensation Squid Game and the new Dave Chappelle standup special The Closer (also on Netflix) AND the many exciting sporting events that will happen before we next meet…

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The Toy Department – Episode 261

  By toyAdmin | June 1, 2021 - 11:25 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 261, Madden and Kolsky have a log list of subjects, so time-wasting is eschewed in favor of:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (1:10) and FINALLY the elimination of bad-pasta-Chris, plus thoughts on the recipe challenge and the hosts’ favorites heading down the stretch…
  • The Friends reunion on HBO Max (20:45) and how it aimed for 100 minutes of nostalgia and hit pretty close to the bullseye…
  • The new film Plan B (38:25) and how it’s an absolute home run of an indie high school adventure movie…
  • A wrap-up discussion on Mare of Easttown (43:55) and how HBO has another high-quality limited series in the drama category, filled with tremendous acting performances and a compelling crime mystery…
  • Some NBA playoff thoughts (54:35) at the halfway point (or so) of the first round, re-assessing the favorites after a rash of injuries and some see-sawing series results…
  • A brief discussion about Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open (1:02:50) and the difficult task of respecting metal health while also realizing that media availability is part of the job of a modern professional athlete…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:09:30), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the new Netflix movie Army of the Dead, Bo Burham’s new stand-up special on Netflix and the new British comedy We Are Lady Parts, about an all-female Muslim punk band…

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The Toy Department – Episode 257

  By toyAdmin | April 20, 2021 - 10:59 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 257, Madden and Kolsky endeavor to record a short show, so it’s straight into:

  • The new Disney+ series Big Shot (1:25), which features an interesting John Stamos performance but suffers from mediocre basketball and a weekly release schedule…
  • HBO’s new Kate Winslet vehicle Mare of Easttown (12:20), Winslet’s excellent performance and a richly drawn first episode that has both hosts ready for more…
  • Deep thoughts on another episode of Top Chef (26:25) and the tremendous level of talent that this season is bringing…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (51:05), including: another episode of Top Chef in Portland, the new film Nobody (available on demand) and maybe something else ¯\_(ツ)_/¯… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents finale AND the first season of The Challenge All Stars on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 254

  By toyAdmin | March 30, 2021 - 12:00 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 254, Madden and Kolsky do a little pandemic life check-in before getting into:

  • HBO Max’s Swedish series Beartown (1:25) and how it is both gripping and also somewhat difficult to watch…
  • HBO’s Tina Turner documentary Tina (10:10) and the extraordinary woman whose life story it tells…
  • Nate Bargatze’s Netflix stand-up special The Greatest Average American (30:50) and how it’s a nice, fun time with comedy…
  • Netflix’s documentary The Last Blockbuster (38:20) and how it does a great job of capturing a specific feeling from a specific time, as well as telling an interesting story…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:00:50), including: the new season of Top Chef in Portland, the Netflix movie Bad Trip with Eric Andre and Lil Rel and the new Netflix show The Irregulars… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents AND the first season of The Challenge All Stars on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 244

  By toyAdmin | January 19, 2021 - 10:54 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 244, Madden and Kolsky once again flirt with the concept of a short show before lengthy discussions about:

  • Sports!! Including some NFL postseason thoughts (1:15) and a brief chat about early-season NBA drama (4:20) after a big MLK Day of games…
  • The conclusion of HBO Max’s Tiger Woods documentary (9:00) and how fascinating the story of his rise and fall (and rise again) is…
  • The third film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, called Red, White and Blue (20:15), and why it may have been the least satisfying of the movies so far…
  • The Amazon Prime film One Night in Miami (26:25) and the impressive debut directorial outing of Regina King…
  • The exciting new film Promising Young Woman (34:10) and all the things that make it so fantastic and unique…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (53:50), including: the new HBO Max film Locked Down, the next Small Axe film (called Alex Wheatle) and the new Netflix movie White Tiger; plus the NFL Conference Championship games and more NBA basketball… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 243

  By toyAdmin | January 12, 2021 - 11:03 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 243, Madden and Kolsky are (unsuccessfully, again) aiming for a short episode, so they dive right into:

  • The new Tiger Woods documentary on HBO (2:40) and how it spins a fascinating story around a rather uninteresting personality…
  • The too-widely-acclaimed How To with John Wilson (20:05) and how the odd but unexceptional HBO Max show fails to live up to its billing…
  • The Apple TV+ original Mythic Quest (27:00), where Kolsky stopped watching and why Madden thinks it’s worth sticking with it…
  • The Netflix docu-series History of Swear Words (33:25) and the enjoyable comedy of filthy language…
  • Some quick sports thoughts — on the NBA’s COVID issues (39:50) and the NFL’s first Super Wild Card Weekend (49:25)…
  • Homework for of next Tuesday (1:02:45), including: the second part of HBO’s Tiger documentary, the new film Promising Young Woman (available on VOD), the Amazon Prime film One Night in Miami (directed by Regina King) and the third film in the Small Axe Series — Red, White and Blue; plus MORE NFL playoffs and NBA basketball… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents on Thursday!!!

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