Tag Archives: Cassidy Clark

The Toy Department – Episode 464

  By toyAdmin | September 11, 2026 - 11:34 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 464, Madden and Kolsky have some tough truths to announce before they can reckon with:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Cutthroat (4:20) where the most recent episode ended with the group coming together to support a competitor with a real life situation to deal with but there has been plenty of explosive drama and silliness…
  • The new Disney+ exclusive episode of The Simpsons (32:55), entitled Yellow Mirror but not living up to its parody target in any noticeable way…
  • The Apple TV+ docu-series The Dynasty: UConn Huskies (37:35) and how one of our hosts couldn’t get past his distaste for Geno Auriemma…
  • Hulu’s excellent new show Furious (44:25) and the dynamic performances of its leading women…
  • The new movie Mother Mary (48:20) and how it’s a very specific and bizarre and surreal film but also fascinating and featuring two compelling leads…
  • A few soccer thoughts (we can only be ourselves) in the wake of an Arsenal-Chelsea game (51:25) that somehow has the loser feeling better about himself…
  • Thoughts for our FINAL EPISODE, in about a month or two (1:00:15) where we will discuss some Challenge and probably some English Football and probably some shit we watched and enjoyed and MAYBE, if you reach out, literally anything you want us to talk about… STAY TUNED!!!

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The Toy Department – Episode 463

  By toyAdmin | August 21, 2026 - 10:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 463, Madden and Kolsky’s summer of mess continues with a JAM PACKED episode, following an unexpected off-week (and a censored show intro) with an attempt to squeeze in conversations about:

  • Chirstopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (3:45) which both hosts enjoyed when they watched it weeks ago and have been chomping at the bit to discuss since…
  • The return of Apple TV+’s comedy gem Ted Lasso (11:50), the brilliance of the story they chose to tell and how some people need to chill out about some of its perceived feminist flaws…
  • Amazon Prime’s new buddy action-dramedy Ride or Die (21:10), a fun show driven by the enjoyability of the Hannah Waddingham/Octavia Spencer relationship at its center…
  • The continuing excellence and sometimes confounding politics of Special Ops: Lioness (23:45) and how the new season brings much more of the same…
  • The last two weeks of The Challenge: Cutthroat (34:55), where the veteran players are struggling to compete physically and some of the newer players are having off-the-field slip-ups…
  • A few thoughts on the Premier League (45:10) as the 2026-27 season begins with Derek’s Arsenal squad as the clear favorites and Kolsky’s Chelsea in hot pursuit…
  • Homework for next week (52:50), including: more of The Challenge: Cutthroat, HBO’s new DC Universe show Lanterns (written by Damon Lindelof), a very special episode of The Simpsons called Yellow Mirror (on Disney+), Apple TV+’s documentary The Dynasty: UConn Huskies, and the Anne Hathaway/Michaela Coel film Mother Mary on HBO Max (plus the Hulu show Furious, since we forgot to discuss it this week)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 462

  By toyAdmin | August 7, 2026 - 11:30 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 462, Madden and Kolsky are having a hell of a week, so it’s an ACTUAL SHORT EPISODE, focusing on:

  • The return of THE CHALLENGE: CUTTHROAT (1:35)!! That’s it, that’s all, with thoughts on the format, the new contestants and all the shenanigans that have already gone down in the first two episodes…
  • Homework for next week (31:15): which is mostly just last week’s homework, but adding the Hulu show Furious to the slate…

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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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