Tag Archives: music

The Toy Department – Episode 442

  By toyAdmin | January 16, 2026 - 12:23 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 442, Madden and Kolsky are FINALLY back after a LOOOOONG winter break to bring you the best in pop culture conversation, specifically regarding:

  • A couple minutes on the Toy Department Derby—Chelsea v Arsenal—that happened shortly before our return (2:30) and how nobody left satisfied…
  • The HBO documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (6:50) and Kolsky’s bizarre cultural blind spot when it comes to this particular musician…
  • HBO’s other music documentary from the holidays, Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately (15:15) and how the film was less impactful despite a greater love for the band…
  • The movie F1 (30:10) and how it is essentially a classic sports film with plenty of good-looking and entertaining actors and also pretty predictable and not particularly memorable…
  • Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film Bugonia (36:10), how it differs from some of his previous work, and how much both of our hosts enjoyed it…
  • Dave Chappelle’s new special (43:40) and how he still has his fastball but he’s also still making some frustrating and disappointing choices…
  • Homework for next week (53:45), including: getting into The Night Manager (ten years late but on time for Season 2, on Amazon Prime Video), Netflix’s thriller series His & Hers, HBO’s latest Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and the new 70’s spy thriller show PONIES on Peacock…

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The Toy Department – Episode 432

  By toyAdmin | September 12, 2025 - 10:26 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 432, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s imminent vacation to Vegas, and general Vegas strategy, before diving into:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (5:00) where, as so often happens, the rookies are flailing and failing at forming a working alliance to oppose the vets…
  • Peacock’s Office spin-off The Paper (22:00) and the potential pitfalls of trying to re-capture the magic…
  • Amazon Prime Video’s teen band dramedy The Runarounds (25:55) and how one of our hosts (bet you can guess which) is an instant Stan…
  • HBO’s new Sunday night offering Task (34:00) and the mysteries that abound in the first episode of the new show from the creator of Mare of Easttown…
  • Homework for next week (47:55), including: the next episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, the new Spike Lee joint Highest 2 Lowest on Apple TV+, and two Amazon Prime Video shows: Season 2 of Gen V and the new show The Girlfriend…

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The Toy Department – Episode 429

  By toyAdmin | August 8, 2025 - 6:22 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 429, Madden and Kolsky get into their relative appreciation of getting pounded with heavy metal before they buckle down on:

  • The new FX show Welcome to Necaxa (3:20) and how the Eva Longoria project resembles but is also very different from the Rob & Ryan project in Wrexham…
  • Kolsky’s failure to watch Chief of War (15:00) thanks to a miscommunication on last pod (so maybe it’s homework now?)…
  • Netflix’s bat-guano insane The Hunting Wives (16:30) and the utter mediocrity of its nudity-heavy nonsense…
  • The five hours of Billy Joel documentary on HBO (22:05), whether he deserved that length and where his legacy lands…
  • Amazon Prime Video’s teen drama sensation The Summer I Turned Pretty (46:35) and whether our hosts should suffer through the first season or two to get to the apparently very good third season… or are we just very old and out of touch?
  • Another exciting episode of The Challenge 41: Vets & New Threats (54:45) and an absolute banger of an elimination between two small rookie women who left everything they had in the ring…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (1:09:35), including: the next two episodes of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, perhaps revisiting the well-reviewed Chief of War, Noah Hawley’s new FX show Alien Earth, the John Grisham television adaptation The Rainmaker on USA/Peacock and the new Dallas Cowboys/Jerry Jones documentary on Netflix…

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The Toy Department – Episode 425

  By toyAdmin | June 19, 2025 - 10:00 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 425, Madden and Kolsky wish everyone a Happy Juneteenth before jumping into a holiday recording with:

  • The excellent documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin on Netflix (2:50) and how it tells a fascinating and compelling story about a great rock band…
  • The harmless Amazon Prime film Deep Cover (12:45) and why it seems to be getting so much love…
  • The Netflix series Tires (15:50) and a general discussion about Shane Gillis…
  • A few NBA thoughts on the way out (23:05) as our hosts just want everyone to get to the offseason safely…
  • Homework for THREE weeks from now (28:50), including: the newest season of The Bear on FX, the new Apple TV+ show Smoke and probably some other stuff to be determined later…

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The Toy Department – Episode 404

  By toyAdmin | November 1, 2024 - 10:09 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 404, Madden and Kolsky hit the ground running after an off-air election conversation with a little Halloween recap before getting into:

  • The twists and turns on this week of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (5:20) and how sides are being taken as the season careens towards what promises to be an incredibly competitive final…
  • The new documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (26:40) and the deeply disturbing violations of the singers’ privacy that continue to this day…
  • The new film Woman of the Hour (38:30), an impressive directorial debut from Anna Kendrick and the spin-shiver-inducing true story it’s based on…
  • Apple TV+’s new drama/thriller Before (46:25) and Billy Crystal taking on a big dramatic role…
  • Homework for next week (50:50), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the new film Emilia Perez on Netflix, the return of Lioness on Paramount+ and the new Seth Myers stand-up special Dad Man Walking…

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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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The Toy Department – Episode 388

  By toyAdmin | May 23, 2024 - 4:19 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 388, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s busy schedule before locking right into:

  • The latest from The Challenge: All-Stars 4 (2:45) where Killa Queen Kam is making moves and dominating political gameplay (not to mention a bouncy elimination challenge) as the show heads into the home stretch…
  • This week’s Savannah roller coaster on Top Chef Wisconsin (24:00) plus the dominance of Danny and what to expect from the second Last Chance Kitchen winner…
  • The utterly bizarre (and possibly sneaky Christian?) The Book of Clarence (39:50) and what exactly the cast and crew set out to do when they started this film…
  • The feels-inducing delight of Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza (47:30) and the incredible musical legacy of Perry Farrell…
  • A quick chat about the end of the Premier League season (1:07:10) and Chelsea FC’s Commitment to ChaosTM…
  • Some thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (1:13:30) with the conference finals in progress…
  • Homework for next week (1:23:10), including: new episodes of Top Chef Wisconsin and The Challenge All-Stars 4, the now-rentable The Fall Guy and The Big Cigar on Apple TV+…

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The Toy Department – Episode 369

  By toyAdmin | December 7, 2023 - 12:05 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 369, Madden and Kolsky spend a few minutes on Derek’s immediate future, including a rock concert and programming a Christmas music station, before launching into:

  • A relatively lackluster week on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (7:25) and how the loss of one of our hosts’ favorite characters doesn’t necessarily project particularly well for the second half of the season (but there’s hope!)…
  • The Netflix series Obliterated (32:15) and how its lack of particular ambition or excellence does not stop it from being watchable…
  • The film May December (42:05) and how Netflix’s Oscar bait probably falls a little short despite some excellent acting performances…
  • The entirely adorable Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? (52:30) and the joys of watching nerds talk about stuff…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (59:50), including: two episodes of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the film Maestro (available on Netflix), the new season of Slow Horses on Apple TV+ and Eddie Murphy’s new Christmas movie Candy Cane Lane…

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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 340

  By toyAdmin | April 14, 2023 - 3:34 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 340, Madden and Kolsky talk a little grilled cheese before locking in on:

  • This week’s monumental episode of Succession (2:50) and all the little pieces of brilliance that went into it…
  • Hulu’s NYT J Dilla documentary (13:55) which is reasonably interesting and relatively informative but feels like it leaves a lot on the table…
  • HBO’s Music Box documentary about Jason Isbell (23:45) and how it paints a really complete emotional picture of a pretty interesting man and musician…
  • Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things (30:35), the magnetism of Kathryn Hahn and how the series brings together a multi-generational story of moms and daughters…
  • Netflix’s Beef (34:40) and the intensity of watching people attempt to express their ultimately impotent rage…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge: World Championship (39:35) and a significant elimination…
  • An apparently easily-judged episode of Top Chef (58:05) and the incredibly high level of talent remaining on this season…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA (1:10:15) as we head into the playoff season…
  • Homework for next week (1:24:45), including: the return of Barry on HBO, Netflix’s new World War II show Transatlantic and Cocaine Bear (now available on Peacock)… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

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