Tag Archives: action

The Toy Department – Episode 461

  By toyAdmin | July 17, 2026 - 9:20 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 461, Madden and Kolsky begin by acknowledging a first-time occurrence in pod history as they get into:

  • Steven Soderbergh’s Full Circle (2:05) which as it turns out, our hosts watched several years ago when it was released and simply forgot about…
  • Apple TV+’s new action show Lucky (8:05) and how it has a lot of good qualities—Anya Taylor-Joy, an interesting story, some good characters—but in light of the Full Circle experience it’s hard to say whether it will be memorable…
  • The film Project Hail Mary (13:25) and how it is an absolute home run of a summer blockbuster, with an incredible acting performance from Ryan Gosling and pitch-perfect storytelling that left both our hosts in tears…
  • Some sports talk (20:25) with Derek’s disgust for the Argentine National Team and a look forward to an exciting World Cup final and Kolsky’s excitement about the Caleb Era in Chicago sports…
  • Homework for THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY (8/7), after a well deserved break (39:50), including: the newest season of The Challenge with a return to the Cuthroat format, the new Christopher Nolan film The Odyssey, the returns of beloved TV shows Ted Lasso and Special Ops: Lioness, and the new Amazon Prime show Ride or Die… Enjoy the rest of July!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 458

  By toyAdmin | June 11, 2026 - 4:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 458, Madden and Kolsky figured out a way to get this thing on tape, which should be enough, as they talk through:

  • The somewhat underwhelming season finalé of Top Chef (0:50) and how not leaving the Carolinas for the final felt strange…
  • The new Apple TV+ series Cape Fear (16:30) and how one of our hosts just isn’t here for this sort of thing, but the other is ALL IN…
  • A look back at a few show-favorite series that wrapped up for good in the last couple weeks: the enjoyable endpoint of The Boys (26:05), the only-sometimes-beautiful mess that was Euphoria’s last season (29:55) and the triumph of Hacks (41:30)…
  • Homework for some time in a couple weeks (48:30), which is TOTALLY UP IN THE AIR other than World Cup and NBA Finals (if necessary), but may also include the return of Colin Farrell’s Apple TV+ show Sugar…

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The Toy Department – Episode 454

  By toyAdmin | May 6, 2026 - 1:45 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 454, Madden and Kolsky poo-poo Derek’s birthday before hustling through:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Carolinas (1:45) where there was too much mayo for one of our hosts and too much heat for some of the chefs…
  • Netflix’s new action show Man on Fire (19:50) and all the things it gets right…
  • HBO’s new drama Half Man (21:15), from the creator of the highly-acclaimed Baby Reindeer, and how it’s very well done but relentlessly traumatic…
  • Apple TV+’s new show Widow’s Bay (34:10) and whether it can truly be called a mystery or whether it’s a comedy or what the heck is generally happening here…
  • NBA Playoff thoughts (43:10) after a wild first round and a big upset at the start of the second round…
  • Homework for next week (1:08:35), including: the next episode of Top Chef, GARY (Hulu’s surprise drop from The Bear universe), BBC’s Lord of the Flies adaptation on Netflix, and the new Noah Kahan documentary Out of Body (also on Netflix), plus—of course—more playoff hoops…

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The Toy Department – Episode 392

  By toyAdmin | June 27, 2024 - 9:39 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 392, Madden and Kolsky nail down what day it is and what city Derek is in, talk a little about Soul Coughing and concerts, and then get into:

  • The return of The Boys on Amazon Prime (4:40) and some how an even darker tone that finally gave some morons a wake-up call about the themes…
  • Hacks star Hannah Einbinder’s stand-up special (14:45) and comparing her stage persona to her television character…
  • The Andrew McCarthy-led documentary Brats (18:10), all the feels of the Brat Pack Era and some interesting filmmaking choices…
  • The new AMC series Orphan Black: Echoes (42:05) and how it appears to stand up to the original Orphan Black series after just one episode…
  • Apple TV+’s sexed up thriller Presumed Innocent (45:25) and Jake Gyllenhaal’s fascinating career…
  • The Dev Patel feature Monkey Man (57:45) and the industry’s commitment to the revenge tour action flick…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:25), including: THE BEAR is back on Hulu, the Dakota Johnson film Am I Ok? on Max, the British superpowers show Supacell on Netflix and Ali Siddiq’s stand-up specials on YouTube…

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The Toy Department – Episode 385

  By toyAdmin | May 2, 2024 - 11:00 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 385, Madden and Kolsky discuss the baking project happening in Kolsky’s house before locking in and moving through:

  • A baseball-themed team challenge on Top Chef Wisconsin (3:25) and an episode that ended with a classic good-food-goes-home moment…
  • A spicy elimination matchup on The Challenge All-Stars 4 (18:35), the perils of making enemies in the game and a format that takes some power from the winners…
  • The Lily Gladstone-starring series Under the Bridge (35:50) and whether it transcends a potential bad time TV designation…
  • The 80s-style thriller Love Lies Bleeding (41:00) and Kristen Stewart’s interesting career choices…
  • Some NBA Playoffs chatter (51:10) as the first round is beginning to wrap up…
  • Homework for next week (1:07:10), including: another episode of Top Chef Wisconsin, more of The Challenge All-Stars 4, John Mulaney’s “live” show on Netflix, the buzzy Baby Reindeer (available on Netflix) and the Elisabeth Moss series The Veil on FX/Hulu…

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