The Toy Department – Episode 255

In Episode 255, Madden and Kolsky discuss potential audio issues resulting from Kolsky’s excitable 2-year-old and the zoom-related behavior of certain dogs before getting into:

  • A basketball check-in (2:35) mostly focused on the NCAA tournament, with a little NBA detour to start…
  • Netflix’s new Sherlock Holmes-adjacent series The Irregulars (17:15) and how it’s somewhat confounding — and not Madden’s shit — but also kind of interesting, engaging and ultimately watchable… with some discussion about the colorblind casting…
  • Netflix’s road trip/prank show movie Bad Trip (32:25) and how Eric Andre, Lil Rel and Tiffany Haddish pull some hilarious pranks (if you’re into that sort of thing)…
  • The season premiere of Top Chef (40:10) and all the machinations therein, including the elimination of a potential show favorite and some early favorites and villains…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:11:15), including: another episode of Top Chef in Portland, the Netflix movie Thunder Force with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer and the new HBO Max show Made for Love starring Cristin Milioti… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents AND the first season of The Challenge All Stars on Thursday!!!

The Toy Department – Episode 220

In Episode 220, Madden and Kolsky discuss the fact that one of them will be finishing a bottle of rosé (or is it rosado?) throughout the program before getting into:

  • This week’s season finale of The Challenge: Total Madness (2:30) and the anticlimax that was a one-episode, less-insanely-difficult-than-imagined final…
  • A turn to the world of movies (22:55) starting with the Charlize Theron action vehicle The Old Guard…
  • An examination of the Andy Samberg/Cristin Milioti film Palm Springs (30:40) and its unique take on a well-worn concept…
  • Eric Andre’s Netflix stand-up special Legalize Everything (43:35) and how both guys might appreciate a little more deep thinking from a talented comedian…
  • Homework for next week (50:20), including: the reunion episode of The Challenge, the new Peacock app show Brave New World, the new HBO documentary Showbiz Kids and Amy Schumer’s new HBO Max series Expecting Amy…
  • A detour into some return-of-sports discussion (53:20) with MLB set to start in a week…
  • Some more thoughts on The Challenge (1:01:05) and the upcoming reunion before saying goodbye…