The Toy Department – Episode 380

In Episode 380, Madden and Kolsky discuss the big house-dad day at the Kolsky home and Matt’s various dad behaviors before locking in to cover:

  • The second and final episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion reunion (4:00) and a wrap-up on a less-than-thrilling season of the pod’s favorite competition show…
  • The Zone of Interest (31:15) which Kolsky couldn’t bring himself to watch and Madden didn’t particularly enjoy…
  • The bizarre and oversexed Poor Things (40:30) and our hosts very different views on a very weird movie…
  • The new Hulu/FX adaptation of Shogun (1:03:00) and how it won over a skeptical and reluctant Derek Madden…
  • Apple TV+’s new comedy The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (1:06:50) and the varying mileage of incredibly stupid jokes…
  • Homework for next week (1:11:45), including: the Oscars broadcast, HBO’s new Kate Winslet-starring miniseries The Regime, Netflix’s new Guy Ritchie series The Gentlemen, Amazon’s new British thriller-comedy Dead Hot and the Peter Farrelly movie Ricky Stanicky…

The Toy Department – Episode 377

In Episode 377, Madden and Kolsky have an in-depth Kylian Mbappe discussion before pressing record, then address Kolsky’s terrible Valentine’s Day before locking in for:

  • The first episode of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (1:50) and the cathartic joy of seeing Jay sent home with nothing to show for his embarrassing display over the course of the season…
  • Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show (33:20) and whether it’s a worthy pursuit in the depressing chaos of 2024…
  • The new season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud, covering Truman Capote v. The Swans (45:35) and another chapter in the seemingly weekly serial Why Are We Doing This???
  • Apple TV+’s fashion/WWII show The New Look (53:00) and how it distinguishes itself in this current TV landscape simply by feeling like it has something worthwhile to say…
  • Some final thoughts on Super Bowl LVIII (57:45) and whether Kyle Shanahan bears the brunt of responsibility for another 49ers defeat on the biggest stage in sports…
  • Homework for next week (1:09:50), including: the (hopefully) thrilling conclusion of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, two Oscar-nominated films — Oppenheimer and Past Lives — and on a lighter note, the Taika Waititi film Next Goal Wins (now on Hulu)…

The Toy Department – Episode 341

In Episode 341, Madden and Kolsky are trying to move quickly before Derek’s voice gives out to his cold, so it’s right into:

  • The return of HBO’s Barry (1:40) and how it continues to deliver an utterly unique, genre-bending experience in its fourth season…
  • Netflix’s WWII escape drama Transatlantic (9:05) and how it’s a surprisingly fun show given the subject matter…
  • The gloriously ridiculous Cocaine Bear (15:00) and how one of our hosts gets more mileage out of dumb stuff than the other does…
  • This week on The Challenge: World Championship (21:50) where strange strategy plays and bickering partners continue to dominate the landscape…
  • The latest from Top Chef Season 20 (40:15) where the competition is remarkably fierce and anyone could go home at any time… but usually it’s the chef that goes too far outside their comfort zone!
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (51:50) as the first round rolls along…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:00), including: Peacock’s new show Mrs. Davis, The Diplomat on Netflix and the David Cronenberg show Dead Ringers on Amazon prime… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…