Tag Archives: NBA

The Toy Department – Episode 457

  By toyAdmin | June 3, 2026 - 2:27 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 457, Madden and Kolsky missed a week, so no time is wasted before discussions of:

  • An eventful two weeks on Top Chef (1:00), which sets us up for a humdinger of a finalé next week…
  • Tatiana Maslany’s new Apple TV+ show Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (30:50) and how her magnetism is at the center of an entertaining experience…
  • Netflix’s new Duffer Brothers-produced series The Boroughs (35:00) and how there are some pretty good pieces but neither host is particularly interested in the central storyline…
  • Netflix’s new crime thriller Nemesis (39:05) and how it’s a good version of a broad, good v. evil sort of populist TV show…
  • A look at the world of sports (45:45) with the NBA set for a Spurs-Knicks Finals, Arsenal winning the Premier League (but not the Champions League!) and the World Cup on deck…
  • Homework for some time next week (1:04:20), including: the finalé of Top Chef, the new Apple TV+ series Cape Fear and Kolsky catching up on the series finalés of Hacks, Euphoria and The Boys…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 455

  By toyAdmin | May 13, 2026 - 2:06 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 455, Madden and Kolsky navigate a new recording system as they meander through:

  • A fish-themed episode of Top Chef (1:40), the danger of a simple error and the race to the finish with a good collection of chefs…
  • The brilliance of The Bear’s new mini-movie Gary (25:40) and how the show’s creators continue to build beautiful, vibrant stories…
  • BBC’s Lord of the Flies adaptation on Netflix (31:35) and how it feels like a direct page-to-screen printing of William Golding’s book…
  • The Noah Kahan documentary Out of Body (38:25) and how it does nothing to explain the Noah Kahan phenomenon…
  • Sports talk (44:05) with a bit of Premier League and some NBA playoff thoughts…
  • Homework for next week (1:00:30), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the Amazon Prime movie Crime 101, the Martin Short documentary Marty: Life is Short on Netflix, Untold UK: Jamie Vardy (also on Netflix), and—naturally—more playoff hoops…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 454

  By toyAdmin | May 6, 2026 - 1:45 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 454, Madden and Kolsky poo-poo Derek’s birthday before hustling through:

  • The latest from Top Chef: Carolinas (1:45) where there was too much mayo for one of our hosts and too much heat for some of the chefs…
  • Netflix’s new action show Man on Fire (19:50) and all the things it gets right…
  • HBO’s new drama Half Man (21:15), from the creator of the highly-acclaimed Baby Reindeer, and how it’s very well done but relentlessly traumatic…
  • Apple TV+’s new show Widow’s Bay (34:10) and whether it can truly be called a mystery or whether it’s a comedy or what the heck is generally happening here…
  • NBA Playoff thoughts (43:10) after a wild first round and a big upset at the start of the second round…
  • Homework for next week (1:08:35), including: the next episode of Top Chef, GARY (Hulu’s surprise drop from The Bear universe), BBC’s Lord of the Flies adaptation on Netflix, and the new Noah Kahan documentary Out of Body (also on Netflix), plus—of course—more playoff hoops…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 453

  By toyAdmin | April 29, 2026 - 1:21 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 453, Madden and Kolsky react to another missed show countdown before diving right into:

  • The long-awaited and pretty weird Restaurant Wars episode of Top Chef: Carolinas (1:15) and the outlook for the remainder of the season…
  • Netflix’s new series This Is A Gardening Show (24:05), which is DEFINITELY a gardening show, but also a Zach Galifianakis show, and rather delightful if you’re into that sort of thing…
  • The new Sandler Family comedy Roommates (29:00) and how it’s a pretty good version of a particular type of Netflix fodder…
  • Glen Powell’s The Running Man (35:15) and how it’s a little more self-serious than our hosts would hope, particularly from director Edgar Wright…
  • A few sports thoughts (46:20) as the NBA rolls along through the first round of playoff action…
  • Homework for next week (56:30), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the new HBO show Half Man from the creator of Baby Reindeer, the new Apple TV+ show Widow’s Bay, Netflix’s new Man on Fire series, and much more playoff basketball…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 452

  By toyAdmin | April 22, 2026 - 12:25 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 452, Madden and Kolsky are HAVING A WEIRD DAY, independently and also together, complete with technological difficulties as they attempt to fully attend to:

  • The most recent episode of Top Chef (1:05), featuring weird departures and weirder returns and the weirdest quickfire challenge…
  • The return of the Netflix series Beef (23:30) for its second season, and what distinguishes the anthology-style series from its first go-round…
  • Apple TV+’s new Elle Fanning vehicle Margo’s Got Money Troubles (28:15), its somewhat unexpected delights, and how Apple seems to be doing much of its best work in the complicated comedy zone…
  • Sports thoughts—on Chelsea and Arsenal competing in Premier League misery (34:35) and a so-far-so-good first round of NBA Playoff action (42:25)…
  • Homework for next week (47:00), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the new Netflix series This Is A Gardening Show (with Zach Galifianakis), the new movie Roommates (also on Netflix), Glen Powell’s The Running Man on Amazon Prime, and much more playoff basketball…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 451

  By toyAdmin | April 15, 2026 - 6:46 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 451, Madden and Kolsky are up late for a special after-dark edition, so don’t worry if everyone sounds a little punchy as they chat about:

  • The latest from Top Chef (2:45) where a BIG BBQ challenge brought out the best in the chefs and there’s a hanging mystery heading into next week…
  • The Netflix doc UNTOLD: The Death and Life of Lamar Odom (24:10) which has a fascinating subject but doesn’t entirely come together as a documentary…
  • The new Jonah Hill-directed movie Outcome (32:15) on Apple TV+, where the camp is high, the ambitions are relatively low, and one of our hosts is very annoyed…
  • Netflix’s new Dan Levy comedy Big Mistakes (41:50) and how the frantic nature of the whole thing makes it tough to enjoy…
  • A hard pass on talking soccer (47:30), but a few thoughts on the NBA as we head into the playoffs…
  • Homework for next week (53:35), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the Apple TV+ series Margo’s Got Money Troubles, the return of Netflix’s show Beef (as an anthology series) and a WHOLE LOT of playoff basketball…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 450

  By toyAdmin | April 8, 2026 - 6:33 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 450, Madden and Kolsky return from an extended, travel-filled layoff to get into:

  • The last few episodes of Top Chef: Carolinas (3:25) and how the group is seemingly not living up to its own standards over that time…
  • Apple TV+’s new sexy psychological drama Imperfect Women (26:35) and the sudden plethora of sexy psychological dramas on streaming services…
  • The third season of Lisa Kudrow’s HBO series The Comeback (37:45) and how it’s mostly more of the same (other than a clever little AI storyline) but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing…
  • The return of Amazon Prime’s “Jury Duty” with Company Retreat (41:35) and how it’s quite funny even if it can’t quite reach the hilarity of the original season…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA (44:50) as we head into the postseason…
  • Homework for next week (57:55), including: the next episode of Top Chef, AMC’s new show The Audacity, the new Dan Levy comedy Big Mistakes on Netflix, and UNTOLD: The Death and Life of Lamar Odom (also on Netflix)…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 449

  By toyAdmin | March 18, 2026 - 12:04 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 449, Madden and Kolsky have a brief and unfortunate conversation about Arsenal’s star-in-the-making Max Dowman before putting soccer away to discuss:

  • The second episode of Top Chef: Carolinas (2:15), with a very high level of cooking all around and an emerging favorite, plus a few thoughts on Padma’s new show America’s Culinary Cup…
  • HBO’s new Bill Lawrence/Steve Carrell show Rooster (31:10) and its charming combination of comedy and drama…
  • Netflix’s new horny dramedy Vladimir (35:25) and the now-incredibly-overused trick of showing us a potential endpoint in the first ten minutes of a series…
  • Nicole Kidman’s new Amazon show Scarpetta (43:05) and the weird middle ground it finds between police procedural and family drama…
  • The ABA docu-series Soul Power (50:50), the wild and crazy ’70s times in basketball’s upstart league and where the show may have missed some things…
  • Homework for THREE weeks from now, April 8 (1:04:05), including: the next few episodes of Top Chef, Apple TV+’s Imperfect Women, Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat and the third season of Lisa Kudrow’s HBO series The Comeback…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 445

  By toyAdmin | February 6, 2026 - 11:18 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 445, Madden and Kolsky briefly address the results of the Toy Department Derby (if it can be so called) before moving into:

  • Kolsky’s dad’s recommendation, the Bert Kreischer show Free Bert on Netflix (4:15), which neither of our hosts disliked, per se, but nobody here can exactly recommend…
  • This week’s Oscar film Sentimental Value (11:25) and how Madden and Kolsky’s differing expectations may have contributed to their differing experiences with the film…
  • The good-time action flick The Wrecking Crew (24:25) and the value of having some fun at the movies…
  • The return of Shrinking (33:05), the emotional journey that makes it one of the best shows out right now, and the work of creator/showrunner Bill Lawrence…
  • Some sports thoughts (40:00) with the Super Bowl on deck and the NBA’s trade deadline just passed…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (53:10), including: the Richard Linklater film Blue Moon (with Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke), the Best Picture-nominated Brazilian film The Secret Agent, the new-to-Netflix Ethan Coen movie Honey Don’t, and the new Netflix series How To Get To Heaven From Belfast…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The Toy Department – Episode 438

  By toyAdmin | November 14, 2025 - 1:16 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

In Episode 438, Madden and Kolsky get right down to business to avoid Kolsky’s scheduling conflicts:

  • The last two weeks of action on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (1:11) where the latest episode featured some delightful high drama, continuing rookie behavior from a vet and a fascinating new elimination… and we are set up for a heck of stretch run!
  • Tracy Morgan’s new Paramount+ sitcom Crutch (23:25) and how it is really for people who love the old-school, traditional sitcom format (and apparently the show The Neighborhood with Cedric the Entertainer)…
  • The new HBO Max comedy I Love LA (26:30), Derek’s developing distaste for Rachel Sennott and an interesting comparison to a long-running and beloved show in a different city…
  • Netflix’s new Colin Farrell film Ballad of a Small Player (30:25) and how our hosts wish the movie was better, because Farrell’s performance is typically awesome…
  • Vince Gilligan’s new Apple TV+ show Pluribus (35:25) and how Rhea Seehorn should be in everything and we should cherish our television masters while we have them…
  • A few thoughts on Victor Wembenyama (55:15) and the place of dynasties in sports…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:05), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, the Eddie Murphy docu-series Being Eddie on Netflix, the return of Landman on Paramount+ and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (also on Netflix), plus MAYBE season 2 of A Man on the Inside (time permitting) and Sinners (Derek-watching-it permitting)…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS