Tag Archives: Fessy

The Toy Department – Episode 275

  By toyAdmin | September 30, 2021 - 11:33 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 275, Madden and Kolsky return from an unplanned absence with very little memory of what they intended to talk about when they left each other last, so today:

  • It’s pretty much all about The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies!!! (2:45) There’s three weeks of content to catch up on, lots of drama and a big turning point for game strategy in the most recent episode…
  • There’s just a touch of concert talk (42:25) as Derek heads to Austin City Limits…
  • Homework for next Thursday (47:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark on HBO and the debut of The Problem with John Stewart on Apple Plus…
  • And a bit of baseball (49:35) to round things off…

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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 – 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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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 16 AND the debut of The Challenge All-Stars!!!

  By toyAdmin | April 1, 2021 - 11:17 pm | Uncategorized
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The twists and turns of The Challenge Double Agents Episode 16 have Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky in knots over all the permutations of potential elimination decisions as they dive deep into the strategy of this season’s endgame… Then it’s a BRAND NEW SEASON as The Challenge All-Stars debuts on Paramount+, and it should be a doozy (even if “All-Stars” is pushing it a little bit).

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 15

  By toyAdmin | March 25, 2021 - 11:50 am | Uncategorized
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Episode 15 of The Challenge: Double Agents was a DOOZY, and Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky break down all the drama of a thrilling daily challenge and a heartbreaking elimination… Some great Burn of the Week candidates, tremendous in-game analysis by Nany and a clear power dynamic setting us up for at least one more elimination before the final. NOT TO MENTION, we are only a week away from the debut of The Challenge All Stars/OGs on Paramount Plus… It’s an EXCITING TIME for Challenge-heads!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 14

  By toyAdmin | March 18, 2021 - 10:15 am | Uncategorized
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The 14th episode of The Challenge: Double Agents is 90 minutes of solid, if unspectacular, fun — so Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are here to cover all the intrigue!! TJ is being cagey, so the guys wonder how much longer this season will run, and briefly get into the coming premiere of The Challenge: All Stars, featuring Mark Long’s biceps… Also thoughts on the way teams are breaking out for the final stretch, and OF COURSE an MVP and Burn of the Week!!

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The Toy Department – The Challenge 36 – Episode 13

  By toyAdmin | March 11, 2021 - 10:51 am | Uncategorized
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This week brought a fairly straightforward episode of The Challenge: Double Agents, but one that lays out the path to the final pretty clearly… Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky get into what happens from here, who’s still in jeopardy and how long the road to completion will be… Plus, as always, a Burn of the Week and Episode MVP!!

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