Tag Archives: Gail Simmons

The Toy Department – Episode 424

  By toyAdmin | June 13, 2025 - 11:32 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 424, Madden and Kolsky are aiming for a short show, so it’s more or less right into:

  • A predictable but nevertheless emotional finalé for Top Chef: Destination Canada (1:30) and the remarkable run of Tristen Epps…
  • The Bong Joon Ho film Mickey 17 (15:35) and how it just never totally comes together or manages to live up to a very appealing trailer…
  • Amazon Prime’s new thriller The Better Sister (23:05) and streamers’ new obsession with the family-drama-murder-thriller niche…
  • A couple quick NBA thoughts on the way out (31:10) as the Pacers-Thunder Finals has been thrilling and surprising…
  • Homework for next week (38:45), including: the Amazon Prime film Deep Cover, the Netflix series Tires in its second season and the documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin (also on Netflix)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 423

  By toyAdmin | June 6, 2025 - 10:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 423, Madden and Kolsky make haste with pleasantries and hustle their way through:

  • The penultimate episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada (2:25) where one of Kolsky’s beloved Chicago chefs headed home from Milan…
  • The HBO Max film Mountainhead (7:25) and the Succession team’s take on the tech bro-pocalypse…
  • Hulu’s new 20-somethings-in-the-city sitcom Adults (16:35) and whether our hosts are too old to reasonably evaluate it…
  • Apple TV+’s frivolous new show Stick (23:35) and the ever-confounding question of what Apple TV+ is doing as a studio…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Finals (29:40) after a remarkable Game 1 upset by Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers…
  • Homework for next week (40:20), including: the final finalé of Top Chef: Destination Canada, the Bong Joon Ho film Mickey 17 on HBO Max, a discussion on Sinners now that Derek can see it at home, and the thriller series The Better Sister on Amazon Prime…

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The Toy Department – Episode 422

  By toyAdmin | May 30, 2025 - 12:35 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 422, Madden and Kolsky have a quick Chelsea FC digression before they dive on in to:

  • A semifinal to remember on Top Chef: Destination Canada (4:05) and how the scenery and cookery combined with emotional moments for a tremendous episode of television…
  • The new Max show Duster (17:50) and how it makes you wonder why we haven’t seen more of Josh Holloway…
  • The disappointing new Guy Ritchie movie Fountain of Youth (22:50) and how it could have come to exist…
  • The enjoyable and well-executed Black Bag (28:40) and how Steven Soderbergh is always good for 90 minutes of quality…
  • Apple TV+’s new comedy Murderbot (33:40) and Alexander Skarsgård’s hilarious turn as an android with a television addiction…
  • Two more really good episodes of Black Mirror (36:35) featuring a tour de force from Paul Giamatti and a satisfying sequel to USS Callister…
  • Homework for next week (49:55), including: the finalé of Top Chef: Destination Canada, the new HBO Max film Mountainhead, the new Apple TV+ show Stick and Hulu’s new 20-something sitcom Adults…

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The Toy Department – Episode 421

  By toyAdmin | May 16, 2025 - 11:38 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 421, Madden and Kolsky return after too long of a break to get into a wealth of pop culture, some of it very excellent, at least whatever they can remember of:

  • The last few weeks of action on Top Chef: Destination Canada (2:55), where a top dog almost fell and the competition is fierce heading into the semi-finals…
  • The first of the week’s two mediocre action flicks, Havoc (16:25) and how it succeeds in little other than being extremely overly self-serious…
  • The second MAF, Viola Davis’s G20 (20:05) and how it at least understands what it is and wins within its limits…
  • Episodes 3 and 4 of the new Black Mirror season (24:00) and how they better fit the brief of the show than the first two did, much to Kolsky’s delight…
  • The second season of Andor (33:10), which places it among the best works in the entire Star Wars canon…
  • A check-in on The Last of Us (39:35), which has taken a couple of pretty dramatic turns over the course of the season…
  • The new season of Natasha Lyonne’s Poker Face (46:05) and what a joy it is to have her (and the guest stars) in our lives again…
  • The new Netflix series The Four Seasons (48:55) and how it made two aging men laugh and also think a lot about their lives and decisions…
  • Homework for next week (57:15), including: the semifinals on Top Chef: Destination Canada, the last two episodes of Black Mirror’s new season, the new JJ Abrams show Duster on (HBO) Max, the new Guy Ritchie movie Fountain of Youth on Apple TV+, the Steven Soderbergh film Black Bag on Peacock and the new Apple TV+ series Murderbot…

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The Toy Department – Episode 420

  By toyAdmin | April 25, 2025 - 12:48 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 420, Madden and Kolsky get into some dentistry (and periodontistry?) before circling around to:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Destination Canada (3:55), where Tristen Epps is absolutely clobbering the competition…
  • A check-in on season four of Hacks (19:10) which is just a genuinely great television show with two excellent leads…
  • Nathan Fielder’s HBO madness The Rehearsal (22:45) and how spectacularly it confounds Kolsky…
  • Another season of Black Mirror on Netflix (31:15)… or is it Black Mirror? The guys discuss…
  • A couple of quick NBA playoff thoughts (38:15) after a couple games in the first round…
  • Homework for next week (56:50), including: another episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, some more of Black Mirror’s new season, season two of Andor and two action flicks: G20 on Amazon Prime and Havoc on Netflix…

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The Toy Department – Episode 419

  By toyAdmin | April 18, 2025 - 1:19 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 419, Madden and Kolsky are squeezing a taping into a naptime, so it’s right on into:

  • A couple of NBA Playoff thoughts (3:55) as we head into the first weekend of action…
  • The last episode of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (16:45), the appropriate winners and some thoughts on the season as a whole…
  • A surprising elimination on Top Chef: Destination Canada (27:00) and the stranglehold that Tristen seems to have on the competition even with the emergence of a new regular high finisher…
  • The new FX/Hulu series Dying for Sex (39:45), the tremendous lead performances and the overall quality of the network’s output…
  • Apple TV+’s latest offering Your Friends and Neighbors (43:20) and the difficulty of a generally detestable protagonist…
  • The HBO/Max sensation The Pitt (51:45) and Noah Wylie’s return to the emergency room…
  • Homework for next week (58:45), including: another episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, a check-in on the latest season of HBO’s Hacks after four episodes, the first two episodes of Black Mirror’s most recent season and the second season of The Rehearsal…

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The Toy Department – Episode 418

  By toyAdmin | April 11, 2025 - 11:30 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 418, Madden and Kolsky return from an unscheduled absence to revisit the world of pop culture, blasting through:

  • Two episodes of Top Chef: Destination Canada (1:45), including the return of a Last Chance Kitchen champ and the emergence of a pretty clear favorite…
  • Two weeks of action on The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (16:20), with the beginning of TJ’s Finals in the books and an unlikely pair at the top of the leaderboard…
  • A few thoughts on the recently-completed season of The White Lotus (37:15) and an apparently split reaction to the finalé…
  • The action-flick sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (47:50) and the apparent attempt to build an action franchise…
  • Paramount+’s new British crime series MobLand (53:20), with a star-studded cast and a tangled web of plot…
  • The SZA/Keke Palmer movie One of Them Days (59:05), and the enjoyability of a classic buddy caper comedy…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:05), including: the (hopefully) epic conclusion of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals, another episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, FX/Hulu’s new series Dying for Sex, the Apple TV+ show Your Friends and Neighbors and a pod check in on new-ish show The Pitt…

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The Toy Department – Episode 417

  By toyAdmin | March 28, 2025 - 9:32 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 417, Madden and Kolsky get right down to business because Kolsky has important activities to get to (specifically a 3-year-old’s dance performance):

  • Two weeks of Canadian cooking on Top Chef: Destination Canada (1:20) including some distinctly north-of-the-border challenges and a couple of understated standouts…
  • Two weeks of action on The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (9:15) including some legends falling and setting the scene for an imminent final…
  • The deeply mediocre Netflix/Russo Brothers film The Electric State (20:00) and what its remarkably bad critical reception says about the state of movie criticism…
  • Seth Rogen’s new Apple TV+ show The Studio (25:55) and how it’s failing to find its footing through two episodes…
  • Netflix’s deeply disturbing and ambitiously shot family drama Adolescence (31:05) and how British TV seems to have settled on a specific model (or two) for its shows…
  • Apple TV+’s crime drama Dope Thief (37:05) and the sheer magnetism of Brian Tyree Henry…
  • Homework for next week (40:35), including: new episodes of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals & Top Chef: Destination Canada, the SZA/Keke Palmer movie One of Them Days, the Paramount+ series MobLand and the action sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera…

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The Toy Department – Episode 416

  By toyAdmin | March 14, 2025 - 10:40 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 416, Madden and Kolsky get into the transition from winter to spring and the many traps this season presents before shifting over to:

  • The season premiere of Top Chef (3:30) where it’s Destination Canada and they have the tuxedos to prove it…
  • The latest on The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (24:25) where another team of heavy hitters heads home and the ladies of Era 1 seem to be in full control of the house…
  • The new documentary series Celtics City (38:40) and whether there’s a trick to watching great content about incredibly annoying stuff…
  • Hulu’s new comedy Deli Boys (46:35) and the abounding silliness therein…
  • A few thoughts on the upcoming (and uninspiring) Toy Department Derby (51:30) and our hosts’ respective Premier League teams…
  • Homework for two weeks from now (56:30), including: another two episodes of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals, more Top Chef: Destination Canada, the new Netflix series Adolescence, the new Apple TV+ drama Dope Thief, the new Seth Rogen show The Studio and the new Netflix/Russo Brothers film The Electric State…

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The Toy Department – Episode 391

  By toyAdmin | June 20, 2024 - 11:21 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 391, Madden and Kolsky are back from an unplanned hiatus (thanks to Derek’s unnamed coworkers) to dive deep into:

  • The last two episodes of Top Chef (2:05) including a cheese-and-fishy quickfire, great chefs cooking scared in the pre-final and a final cook that saw three great chefs do their thing…
  • The the end of The Challenge All-Stars 4 (22:40) including a purge, a rad paintball shooting challenge to kick off TJ’s Final, a friend-ly twist to end it and a big win for a bigger legend…
  • The HBO docu-series Ren Faire (36:05) and whether the Succession comparisons go deeper than the obvious surface narrative…
  • The intense and emotional Godzilla Minus One (44:00) and whether it transcends the standard monster-flick label…
  • Bob Marley: One Love (49:15) and the life and legacy of reggae music’s GOAT…
  • The Glen Powell/Richard Linklater team-up Hit Man (55:45) and what a winning rom-com it ends up being…
  • A few thoughts on the end of the NBA season (1:00:30) and the championship-winning Boston Celtics…
  • Homework for next week (1:10:55), including: Hannah Einbinder’s stand-up special (on Max), the documentary Brats on Hulu, Ophan Black: Echoes on AMC, Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent, the Dev Patel feature Monkey Man (now on Peacock) and the return of The Boys on Amazon Prime Video…

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