The Toy Department – Episode 427

In Episode 427, Madden and Kolsky chat a bit about Kolsky’s new recording setup (which did not work as well as hoped) and recent oral surgery before homing in on:

  • Netflix’s Charlize Theron action sequel The Old Guard 2 (3:40) and whether it deserves a Part 3, plus thoughts on Netflix’s ouevre…
  • Michael C. Hall’s return to old haunts on Dexter: Resurrection (10:25) and streamer’s looking for mileage on friendly, well-worn trails…
  • Amazon Prime Video’s Bosch spin-off Ballard (17:40) and how it landed with two dudes who never watched Bosch…
  • Lena Dunham’s new Netflix show Too Much (22:50) and the goofy fun of Meg Stalter, plus the difference between Netflix and HBO…
  • A few pre-season comments on The Challenge (28:15) and what our hosts are looking for in Season 41…
  • Homework for next week (38:15), including: the return of The Challenge for Season 41, the new Happy Gilmore sequel on Netflix, the British show Assassin on Amazon Prime and the Sterling K. Brown show Washington Black on Hulu…
  • Some English Premier League thoughts (40:40) before preseason gets fully underway…

The Toy Department – Episode 235

In Episode 235, Madden and Kolsky are taking advantage of Baby Kolsky’s nap, so they get right into:

  • Showtime’s new space comedy Moonbase 8 (3:25) and how it’s funny at times but doesn’t seem to amount to much…
  • The new Song Exploder show on Netflix (11:55) and how interesting and worthwhile the show remains in visual form…
  • HBO’s The Undoing (19:30) and how it’s an intriguing mystery at the three week mark…
  • HBO’s new financial world show Industry (25:30) and the surprising directorial effort in the first episode…
  • Homework for next week (3:50), including: catching up on The Bachelorette and checking out the big controversy, the debut of the newest season of The Crown on Netflix, a catch-up on the current season of Fargo, a check-in on Good Lord Bird and a wrap-up of The Queen’s Gambit… plus Week 10 of the NFL season…

The Toy Department – Episode 58

In Episode 58, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky work through physical and mental illness, respectively, to bring you discussions about:

  • HBO’s Girls (3:20) and the greatness of Lena Dunham…
  • HBO’s new 30-minute comedy Crashing (13:45) and how it feels true-to-life as it tells the story of comic Pete Holmes’ life…
  • The first full album from Wondaland Records artist Jidenna (26:40) and whether the LP itself lives up to Jidenna’s talent…
  • Some musical homework (33:30) as Kolsky asks Madden to listen to Roman GianArthur’s OK Lady album, a sort of Radiohead/D’Angelo tribute album… and Madden asks Kolsky to listen to the latest album from Cloud Nothings, called Life Without Sound…
  • Lego Batman (38:00) which Kolsky saw on purpose and Madden saw essentially by mistake…
  • The National Basketball Association’s silly season, from the DeMarcus Cousins trade (43:30) and the Sacramento Kings’ ineptitude to the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office restructuring (1:00:20)…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

The Toy Department – Episode 57

In Episode 57, Derek Madden allows Matt Kolsky to sneak in a bizarre tribute to Morris Day & the Time before diving in to:

  • General discussion of the Grammy Awards (2:10) and what an awards show is really for in our current popular culture landscape…
  • The new FX show Legion (23:55) and whether Madden was able to get past his anti-superhero stance and enjoy some high-quality new television…
  • The return of HBO’s Girls (33:20) and what exactly is going on with people who don’t like Lena Dunham…
  • The NBA’s recent twists and turns and soap operas: the return of Kevin Durant to Oklahoma City (40:10) and Charles Oakley’s tiff with the Knicks (49:10)

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.