Tag Archives: Netflix

The Toy Department – Episode 341

  By toyAdmin | April 21, 2023 - 3:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 341, Madden and Kolsky are trying to move quickly before Derek’s voice gives out to his cold, so it’s right into:

  • The return of HBO’s Barry (1:40) and how it continues to deliver an utterly unique, genre-bending experience in its fourth season…
  • Netflix’s WWII escape drama Transatlantic (9:05) and how it’s a surprisingly fun show given the subject matter…
  • The gloriously ridiculous Cocaine Bear (15:00) and how one of our hosts gets more mileage out of dumb stuff than the other does…
  • This week on The Challenge: World Championship (21:50) where strange strategy plays and bickering partners continue to dominate the landscape…
  • The latest from Top Chef Season 20 (40:15) where the competition is remarkably fierce and anyone could go home at any time… but usually it’s the chef that goes too far outside their comfort zone!
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (51:50) as the first round rolls along…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:00), including: Peacock’s new show Mrs. Davis, The Diplomat on Netflix and the David Cronenberg show Dead Ringers on Amazon prime… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 340

  By toyAdmin | April 14, 2023 - 3:34 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 340, Madden and Kolsky talk a little grilled cheese before locking in on:

  • This week’s monumental episode of Succession (2:50) and all the little pieces of brilliance that went into it…
  • Hulu’s NYT J Dilla documentary (13:55) which is reasonably interesting and relatively informative but feels like it leaves a lot on the table…
  • HBO’s Music Box documentary about Jason Isbell (23:45) and how it paints a really complete emotional picture of a pretty interesting man and musician…
  • Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things (30:35), the magnetism of Kathryn Hahn and how the series brings together a multi-generational story of moms and daughters…
  • Netflix’s Beef (34:40) and the intensity of watching people attempt to express their ultimately impotent rage…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: World Championship (39:35) and a significant elimination…
  • An apparently easily-judged episode of Top Chef (58:05) and the incredibly high level of talent remaining on this season…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA (1:10:15) as we head into the playoff season…
  • Homework for next week (1:24:45), including: the return of Barry on HBO, Netflix’s new World War II show Transatlantic and Cocaine Bear (now available on Peacock)… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 336

  By toyAdmin | March 17, 2023 - 3:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 336, Madden and Kolsky chat about Kolsky’s crowded house before distracting him with:

  • A few thoughts on the Oscars (1:50) and what was a largely satisfying — if unremarkable — experience…
  • The return of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso (8:40), the heel turn of Nate the Great and what is in store for the final season…
  • A wrap-up of the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us (16:20) and what an excellent season of television it turned out to be…
  • Netflix’s Luther film (26:30) and how it is essentially just a longer episode of Luther, which is perfectly good!
  • The second week of Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo (30:55), the rise of May and the fall of Dawn…
  • A rather lackluster episode of The Challenge: World Championship (51:15) and the impending (and insane) Wrath of KellyAnne…
  • Homework for next week (1:07:15), including: Amazon Prime Video’s new Donald Glover comedy/drama/thriller/horror show Swarm, Bob Odenkirk’s new AMC show Lucky Hank and the Disney movie Chang Can Dunk… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 334

  By toyAdmin | March 3, 2023 - 2:32 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 334, Madden and Kolsky toy with the concept of a baseball discussion they are not yet ready to have before getting into today’s business:

  • The conclusion of The Challenge: Ride or Dies Reunion (2:50) and a look ahead to next week’s debut of The Challenge: World Championship…
  • The return of Party Down on Starz (18:40) and how it is just as laugh-out-loud funny as it ever was, with some exciting new guest appearances to boot…
  • The Oscar-nominated film The Woman King (23:00) and how — like most of this year’s nominees — it left our hosts wanting more and wondering if there was a standout film to be had in the bunch…
  • Amazon Prime’s incomprehensible thriller-comedy The Consultant (27:00) and whether anything has ever made less sense…
  • Homework for next week (34:55), including: the Oscar-nominated Women Talking (rentable for streaming), Hulu’s The History of the World Part II from Mel Brooks and company, and the fake-band bio-series Daisy Jones and the Six… PLUS the premiere of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND the premiere of Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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The Toy Department – Episode 333

  By toyAdmin | February 23, 2023 - 6:32 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 333, Madden and Kolsky are on a deadline, so they jump straight into:

  • Part 1 of The Challenge: Ride or Dies Reunion (1:20) and all the many dramatic spats therein…
  • Netflix’s new teen crime series Fakes (18:25) and how it’s going for a quirky-and-lovable style that it simply doesn’t execute as well as some recent British comedies of a similar ilk…
  • Marc Maron’s new HBO stand-up special From Bleak to Dark (25:30) and how he is operating at an incredibly high level as a comedian…
  • Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical film The Fabelmans (30:00) and how it is exceptionally well-executed but not particularly ambitious or interesting beyond it being the story of a very famous filmmaker…
  • Homework for next week (36:20), including: Oscar-nominated The Woman King (now on Netflix), Amazon Prime’s new thriller-comedy The Consultant and the return of Party Down on Starz… PLUS the second reunion episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

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The Toy Department – Episode 331

  By toyAdmin | February 10, 2023 - 3:52 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 331, Madden and Kolsky do a quick debrief on their long time apart before shifting into gear to discuss:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:40) where we seem to be past the halfway point of TJ’s Final and there are LOTS of incidents and accidents to discuss…
  • A quick check-in on The Last of Us (33:40) to acknowledge the excellence of Episode 3…
  • Peacock’s new Natasha Lyonne vehicle Poker Face (35:10) and how her charm carries the viewer to an awful lot of fun…
  • Hulu’s superpower show Extraordinary (38:45) and how it really is extraordinarily enjoyable, with excellent writing and some delightful young unknown performers…
  • Apple TV+’s Bill Lawrence/Jason Segel joint Shrinking (44:05) and how the combination of its two creators makes for an oddly enjoyable cocktail, plus — Harrison Ford…
  • The Netflix rom-com You People (51:30) and how there’s not much Rom and Eddy Murphy is largely wasted but it’s not so terrible in the end…
  • A few thoughts on the upcoming Super Bowl LVII (1:00:55) and the recently passed NBA Trade Deadline (1:05:10)…
  • Homework for next week (1:16:25), including: four movies — TÁR (streaming on Peacock), Wakanda Forever (streaming on Disney+), Meet Me in the Bathroom (streaming on Showtime and Paramount+) and Somebody I Used to Know (streaming on Amazon)… and OF COURSE the last episode (we think) of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

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The Toy Department – Episode 330

  By toyAdmin | January 26, 2023 - 3:18 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 330, Madden and Kolsky do a LITTLE bit of housekeeping before jumping right into:

  • The fact that Derek failed to complete his homework when he forgot about Treason (1:40) which is a nice little spy drama/thriller that Kolsky can still tell us a bit about…
  • The most recent episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (5:40), including thoughts on elimination selection strategy, some great Burns of the Week and a preview of what looks to be a GRUELING final…
  • The new horror/satire/comedy film The Menu (39:55) and how it is carried along by a group of excellent acting performances…
  • The Billy Eichner/Judd Apatow-created rom com Bros (45:50) and how both hosts thought it hit all the Romantic Comedy pleasure spots…
  • Homework for TWO WEEKS from now (52:15), including: the new Netflix comedy You People, the new Peacock show Poker Face, Apple TV+’s new show Shrinking, Hulu’s British superpower show Extaordinary and OF COURSE the final of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…
  • A few quick thoughts on this weekend’s NFL Conference Championship games (56:35)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 329

  By toyAdmin | January 20, 2023 - 2:47 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 329, Madden and Kolsky have a brief bundt cake discussion before getting down to the business of the day:

  • HBO’s new Sunday night series The Last of Us (3:40), and how it was perfectly watchable but didn’t totally live up to the hype for either of our hosts…
  • The despicably bad NBC Night Court reboot (10:55) and how disappointing it was…
  • The warm, inviting Netflix re-imagining that is That 90’s Show (15:25) and how it proves the concept of a nostalgic sitcom reboot…
  • Netflix’s new tennis docu-series Break Point (22:10) and how it worked much better for one of our hosts than it did for the other…
  • The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (29:10) which is NOT yet at TJ’s final, but still gave us a highly entertaining episode this week… and also the latest from Kolsky’s experience with one of Rachel’s Challenge Workouts…
  • Homework for next Friday (53:30), including: the movie The Menu on HBO Max, the comedy Bros on Peacock and the limited series Treason on Netflix… plus, OF COURSE, the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 328

  By toyAdmin | January 13, 2023 - 3:26 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 328, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s tough day at the office before getting into the pop culture content of the week:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (2:50) as we have reached the doorstep of TJ’s Final and likely seen our final major twist of the season…
  • The new season of Last Chance U (35:55) on Netflix, which stays with East LA College and coach John Mosley as he rebuilds the program after COVID killed their previous season…
  • The film She Said (41:20), now available on Peacock, and how it takes a specific and successful angle on covering the reprehensible Harvey Weinstein, plus some thoughts on the excellent lead performances…
  • The new Netflix show Kaleidoscope (49:35) and how when its elaborate gimmick turns out to be nothing special, what’s left is a decidedly not special heist show…
  • A few thoughts on the impending Wild Card Weekend (59:45) and who the guys see ending up in the Super Bowl in February…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:09:40), including: HBO’s new show The Last of Us (), Netflix’s new tennis docu-series Break Point, the NBC reboot of Night Court and Netflix’s 70’s Show reboot That 90’s Show… plus, OF COURSE, the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 327

  By toyAdmin | January 6, 2023 - 2:49 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 327, Madden and Kolsky debrief on Kolsky’s weird morning before locking in on:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (2:40) and the critical error made by the Underdogs in the latest daily challenge…
  • The documentary Woooooo! Becoming Ric Flair on Peacock (19:20) and how the apparently-still-not-retired wrestler makes for a very compelling subject, even if many of the stories have been told before…
  • The Netflix film White Noise (27:05) from director Noah Baumbach and how it fails to really finish any thoughts despite starting an awful lot of them…
  • Netflix’s new spy series The Recruit (32:35) and Noah Centineo as a leading man/action star…
  • Homework for next Friday (37:00), including: the movie She Said on Peacock, the new series Kaleidoscope and the newest season of Last Chance U (both on Netflix)… and OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

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