Tag Archives: Aneesa

The Toy Department – Episode 274

  By toyAdmin | September 9, 2021 - 12:12 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 274, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss Kolsky’s plan to head off marital distress at the pass with a football babysitter before moving to more pop-culture-relevant concerns, including:

  • The new season of American Crime Story on FX/Hulu — Impeachment (3:15) and how one episode may not be enough to say a lot more than “there’s some good acting here…”
  • Netflix’s John David Washington film Beckett (11:15) and how it is mediocre enough to make the hosts wonder why Denzel’s very talented son isn’t getting better material to work with…
  • A few quick thoughts on the return of Billions on Showtime (14:40) and how it continues to be the fun-times-with-bad-billionaires favorite that it has been for several seasons…
  • LOTS of stuff from The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (16:20) and how the rookies have now turned on each other as vets continue to cruise along, plus lots of great Devin moments and a heartbreaking injury disqualification…
  • Homework for next Thursday (47:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus HBO’s new show Scenes from a Marriage, Hulu’s new comic-book based show Y: The Last Man, the debut of Top Chef: Family Style and plenty of response to the start of the NFL season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 273

  By toyAdmin | September 2, 2021 - 1:41 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 273, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky chat a little about QB depth charts before getting into the weeds with:

  • The Hulu film Vacation Friends (3:15) and how the highly enjoyable cast of John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji and Meredith Hagner makes it a highly enjoyable watch…
  • Hulu’s new show Only Murders in the Building (8:55) and how Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez draw viewers in to a hijinks-filled murder mystery story…
  • The Nicole Kidman-led Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu (14:40) and the incredible cast that holds it up as its central mystery develops…
  • ALL THE LATEST on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (25:30) and the tragically stupid strategic decisions of Fessy, plus Burns of the Week and Episode MVP!!!
  • Homework for next Thursday (58:50), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the new Netflix film Beckett (starring John David Washington) and the new American Crime Story on FX/Hulu (focusing on the impeachment of Bill Clinton)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 272

  By toyAdmin | August 26, 2021 - 1:22 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 272, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are interrupting Kolsky’s family bonding leave to nitpick with each other about:

  • Netflix’s new Sandra Oh vehicle The Chair (1:45) which is entertaining and features a charming performance from the lead actress but also troubles one of our hosts from a thematic perspective…
  • The documentary Untold: Malice at the Palace (27:20) and how it does a great job of telling the story and addressing the may angles of a singular moment in sports history…
  • FX’s new triumph Reservation Dogs (37:20) and how quickly it sucks you in to a story about characters who feel extremely real…
  • The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies is through another week (41:40) and these rookies can’t get their heads out of their rears…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:08:35), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus a bunch of things on Hulu — the new Lil Rel/John Cena movie Vacation Friends, the Nicole Kidman show Nine Perfect Strangers and the Steve Martin/Martin Short collab Only Murders in the Building…

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The Toy Department – Episode 271

  By toyAdmin | August 19, 2021 - 11:55 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 271, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky reconvene after a week off with a MASSIVE list of pop culture topics, including:

  • The just-completed HBO Max series The White Lotus (3:25) and how the soundtrack and the acting were both tremendous, even if our hosts had different views of the series overall…
  • HBO Max’s dating series FBOY Island (17:25) and how Madden and Kolsky received the show in tremendously different ways, though they agree that saying “F Boy” over and over again is a terrible idea…
  • A couple brief thoughts on Apple TV+’s Mr. Corman (25:45) and how neither host has much to say about it yet, but both are in to see where Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes this thing…
  • James Gunn’s Suicide Squad (26:20) and how it succeeded in being largely entertaining, even if there aren’t a lot of meaningful takeaways…
  • THE RETURN of The Challenge (34:35), and all the intrigue from the first two episodes of Spies, Lies and Allies — from the eccentric Romanians Emy and Emanuel to Hurricane Ashley and everything in between…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:17:10), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the Netflix documentary Untold: Malice at the Palace, the new FX (on Hulu) show Reservation Dogs and the Sandra Oh show The Chair (also on Netflix)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 262

  By toyAdmin | June 8, 2021 - 11:31 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 262, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky plunge immediately into this week’s content, because Kolsky has a take he’s been anxious to share about:

  • The new Peacock series We Are Lady Parts (1:20) which is Kolsky’s clubhouse leader for SHOW OF THE YEAR in 2021…
  • Some thoughts on The Challenge: All Stars reunion (10:10) and what the future of the franchise may hold…
  • The latest from Top Chef: Portland (20:50) and the heavy hitters heading down the stretch of the competition…
  • Netflix’s new Zack Snyder film Army of the Dead (31:55) and just how terrible it actually is…
  • Bo Burnham’s new Netflix comedy special (41:35) and the incredibly creative and innovative style that captures the essence of our year of pandemic life…
  • A few sports thoughts (55:05), covering the NBA Playoffs, health vis a vis rest and some USMNT soccer talk…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:01:01), including: more Top Chef in Portland (and probably more NBA Playoffs action), the new Netflix show Startup, the new Michael B Jordan movie Without Remorse on Amazon Prime, the new HBO Max show Starstruck and the return of HBO’s Betty (a pod favorite… plus, Madden and Kolsky will break down EW’s list of the best Challenge contestants of all time…

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The Toy Department – Challenge All-Stars Finale Pt 2

  By toyAdmin | May 27, 2021 - 11:01 pm | Uncategorized
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It’s Part 2 of the Challenge All-Stars final, and they’re putting these old folks through the ringer… Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk about the mild upset winner, which competitors are really up to the Challenge and what the future of the franchise might look like, plus lots of other wild speculation…

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The Toy Department – Challenge All-Stars Episode 8

  By toyAdmin | May 20, 2021 - 11:19 pm | Uncategorized
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It’s Part 1 of the somewhat sudden Challenge All-Stars final, and it is no joke… Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get into the tragic early elimination of Derrick (and Jisela), the various strategic approaches and their relative ability to consume spicy foods, among many other things…

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The Toy Department – Episode 259

  By toyAdmin | May 18, 2021 - 10:52 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 259, Madden and Kolsky are back from a Kolsky Paternity Break to catch up on their favorite pop culture, specifically:

  • A couple weeks of thrilling action on Top Chef (5:30) with the elimination of the much-hated Gabriel and a pretty distinct top four chefs emerging; now restaurant week is on deck, with a new open kitchen design!!
  • The old Cinemax show Banshee (26:00) which is now available on HBO Max and makes a hell of an enjoyable binge…
  • Catching up on The Challenge: All Stars (34:10) which is heading into the final with an awful lot of competitors but only a few competitors, if you catch our drift…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (58:45), including: more Top Chef in Portland, the new Tina Fey/Peacock show GIRLS5EVA, HBO Max’s Jean Smart vehicle Hacks, the new Angelia Jolie movie Those Who Wish Me Dead and the debut of season three of Netflix’s Master of None (which focuses on Lena Waithe’s character)… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: All Stars on Thursday!!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 18 AND Episode 3 of The Challenge All-Stars!!!

  By toyAdmin | April 15, 2021 - 9:09 pm | Uncategorized
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The Challenge: Double Agents final has begun, and it was action-packed in its first day!! There are new versions of old challenges, a dramatic injury, a gigantic wimp and of course some off-field drama, and Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are here to break it all down, with an eye forwards towards next week’s sure-to-be-thrilling conclusion… PLUS, it’s Week 3 of The Challenge All-Stars and the old folks are getting after it… AND an exciting lizard/reptile tangent that you don’t yet know you need… It’s all right here at The Toy Department podcast!!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 17 AND Episode 2 of The Challenge All-Stars!!!

  By toyAdmin | April 8, 2021 - 11:20 pm | Uncategorized
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Another two-Challenge week, and Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are here to break down all the action and intrigue… A tremendous episode of The Challenge: Double Agents produced an epic week for Kyle and a pathetic week for Fessy, despite their ultimate fates. We’ve got at least one challenger who needs remedial math classes and another in need of an orthopedist… Meanwhile on All-Stars, the competition is at a lower level but the drama remains at a high with Trishelle’s antics and Beth’s insistence on using the word “tenderoni.” It’s a big bundle of wonderful, and there’s no better place to hear about it!!!

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