Tag Archives: Netflix

The Toy Department – Episode 281

  By toyAdmin | November 12, 2021 - 12:44 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 281, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s morning drinks and Kolsky’s morning show appearance before remembering to talk about…

  • Tom Hanks’ new Apple TV+ film Finch (3:15) which is not a bad movie but forgettable enough that Derek can’t keep the title in his head for more than seven consecutive minutes…
  • The new Netflix western film The Harder They Fall (10:20) and how it’s a highly entertaining bit of popcorn cinema…
  • The return of Netflix’s treasured Big Mouth (23:00) and spoiler alert: it’s still great!
  • Another momentum-shifting week on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (27:40) as the Emerald Cell finally loses a daily challenge and faces infiltration via an overdramatic elimination starring Amanda as one of the great heels in show history…
  • The Season 2 premiere of The Challenge All-Stars (46:35) and how the episode was somewhat disappointing, but there’s still a lot of hope for a good season…
  • Homework for next Thursday (59:00), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, AND more Challenge All-Stars, plus Yellowjackets on Showtime, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Disney+ and Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount+…
  • A few minutes on USA Men’s Soccer (1:00:45) ahead of a critical USA v. Mexico matchup in World Cup Qualifying play…

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The Toy Department – Episode 280

  By toyAdmin | November 4, 2021 - 12:07 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 280, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s exuberance in the afterglow of his Braves’ World Series Championship before moving into…

  • Netflix’s new show Colin in Black & White (6:05) from Colin Kaepernick and Ava Duvernay, and how it doesn’t quite live up to the expectations that collaboration might inspire…
  • HBO Max’s new season of Love Life (16:35) starring William Jackson Harper and how it compares to the original Anna Kendrick season…
  • The latest action and drama from The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (21:30), how the Emerald Cell keeps avoiding infiltration and who’s in control of the game at this critical late-season juncture…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:00:30), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, the new season of Netflix’s Big Mouth, the new Netflix western film The Harder They Fall and the new Apple TV+ film Finch (starring Tom Hanks)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 278

  By toyAdmin | October 22, 2021 - 1:28 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 278, Madden and Kolsky talk about Derek’s continuing music-based travels before moving on to…

  • The Todd Haynes documentary Velvet Underground on Apple TV+ (2:20) and how it’s not so good that it demands the attention of non-Velvet Underground fans…
  • The return of HBO’s Succession (8:05) and how the show remains impeccable and utterly unique…
  • The new Paramount Plus film Queenpins (11:40) and how it doesn’t quite deliver on its comedic promise…
  • The latest on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (16:30) and the moves by Ed and Kyle that defined this week’s episode of the game…
  • A few quick sports thoughts with the return of the NBA (35:10) and the continuing MLB Playoffs…
  • Homework for next Thursday (38:10), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, the new film Dune on HBO Max, the return of Issa Rae’s Insecure for its final season, AND the MLB Playoffs AND AND the early NBA season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 277

  By toyAdmin | October 14, 2021 - 12:10 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 277, Madden and Kolsky are anxious to get to the Challenge, so get right down to business with…

  • Dave Chappelle’s controversial new Netflix stand-up special The Closer (1:45) and how it’s all mostly just disappointing and a little frustrating…
  • The Netflix sensation that’s sweeping the nation, Squid Game (11:00) and how it’s clearly compelling but perhaps not ESPECIALLY good…
  • A tremendous episode of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (19:05) and all the ways the game has changed heading into the season’s second half…
  • Homework for next Thursday (56:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the return of Succession on HBO, a new Velvet Underground documentary from Todd Haynes on Apple TV+, the new film Queenpins on Paramount+ AND the MLB Playoffs AND AND the start of the NBA season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 274

  By toyAdmin | September 9, 2021 - 12:12 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 274, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss Kolsky’s plan to head off marital distress at the pass with a football babysitter before moving to more pop-culture-relevant concerns, including:

  • The new season of American Crime Story on FX/Hulu — Impeachment (3:15) and how one episode may not be enough to say a lot more than “there’s some good acting here…”
  • Netflix’s John David Washington film Beckett (11:15) and how it is mediocre enough to make the hosts wonder why Denzel’s very talented son isn’t getting better material to work with…
  • A few quick thoughts on the return of Billions on Showtime (14:40) and how it continues to be the fun-times-with-bad-billionaires favorite that it has been for several seasons…
  • LOTS of stuff from The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (16:20) and how the rookies have now turned on each other as vets continue to cruise along, plus lots of great Devin moments and a heartbreaking injury disqualification…
  • Homework for next Thursday (47:05), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus HBO’s new show Scenes from a Marriage, Hulu’s new comic-book based show Y: The Last Man, the debut of Top Chef: Family Style and plenty of response to the start of the NFL season…

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The Toy Department – Episode 272

  By toyAdmin | August 26, 2021 - 1:22 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 272, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are interrupting Kolsky’s family bonding leave to nitpick with each other about:

  • Netflix’s new Sandra Oh vehicle The Chair (1:45) which is entertaining and features a charming performance from the lead actress but also troubles one of our hosts from a thematic perspective…
  • The documentary Untold: Malice at the Palace (27:20) and how it does a great job of telling the story and addressing the may angles of a singular moment in sports history…
  • FX’s new triumph Reservation Dogs (37:20) and how quickly it sucks you in to a story about characters who feel extremely real…
  • The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies is through another week (41:40) and these rookies can’t get their heads out of their rears…
  • Homework for next Thursday (1:08:35), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus a bunch of things on Hulu — the new Lil Rel/John Cena movie Vacation Friends, the Nicole Kidman show Nine Perfect Strangers and the Steve Martin/Martin Short collab Only Murders in the Building…

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The Toy Department – Episode 270

  By toyAdmin | August 3, 2021 - 11:06 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 270, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk a little about the crowded sports calendar before turning their focus to:

  • The return of Behind the Music (7:15) and whether the now-MTV property is doing enough with new content to be worth watching…
  • The new Iliza Schlesinger Netflix movie Good on Paper (17:40) and how it’s a relatively original twist on what is basically a romantic comedy format…
  • The new HBO Max comedy special Tig Notaro: Drawn (22:20) and whether the animation gimmick adds to Tig’s particular brand of stand-up…
  • The surprisingly compelling Peacock show Dr. Death (28:10) and how the lead actors and a shocking true story help create an engrossing experience…
  • Homework for next THURSDAY (37:15), including: the return of The Challenge!!! — Spies, Lies and Allies debuts on Wednesday and the guys will go deep on next week’s THURSDAY pod, plus HBO Max’s goofy new dating show FBOY Island, the new Suicide Squad movie (also on HBO Max) and hopefully an episode or two of Apple TV+’s Joseph-Gordon Levitt vehicle Mr. Corman…

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The Toy Department – Episode 269

  By toyAdmin | July 27, 2021 - 11:28 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 269, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky start by chatting about recent Olympic events and the recent trend of athletes stepping away to prioritize their mental health, then move through:

  • Season 2 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ (16:20) and how the show remains tremendously charming but the release schedule is an unanticipated annoyance…
  • Another Apple TV+ original, Schmigadoon! (22:35) and whether it is a parody musical or just a mediocre musical…
  • The new documentary Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love and Rage (28:05) from the Music Box series, a very well-made doc that tells a story about the past but ties directly to our present…
  • The new season of TBS’ Miracle Workers (48:35) and how the show retains a lot of its charm but definitely has some diminishing returns…
  • Hulu’s docu-series McCartney 3, 2, 1 (54:10) and how much mileage each of our hosts get out of old men telling stories — spoiler alert, it varies…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (1:04:05), including: Tig Notaro: Drawn on HBO Max, the Behind the Music revival on Paramount+, the Iliza Schlesinger Netflix rom-com Good on Paper and Dr. Death on Peacock; plus, LOTS of sports content between the Olympics, the NBA Draft and the MLB trade deadline…

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The Toy Department – Episode 268

  By toyAdmin | July 20, 2021 - 12:26 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 268, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with some Ted Lasso Season 2 excitement before discussing some currently available pop culture, including:

  • The new season of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever (3:40) and how it remains charming and enjoyable but doesn’t necessarily feel essential…
  • LeBron’s Space Jam (8:15) and how it’s a perfectly decent kids movie with a non-actor (but also non-terrible) star…
  • Netflix’s new action flick Gunpowder Milkshake (24:40) and how it’s basically the best version of exactly what you would expect it to be…
  • A few thoughts on an NBA Finals series (31:40) that has changed a lot since we last spoke…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (44:20), including: the new Hulu documentary McCartney 3, 2, 1, Apple TV+’s new musical satire Schmigadoon!, the new season of Miracle Workers (set on the Oregon Trail), the new HBO documentary Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love and Rage and the second season of Ted Lasso…

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The Toy Department – Episode 265

  By toyAdmin | June 29, 2021 - 11:16 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 265, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky briefly discuss a soccer game that will be long over by the time you listen to this podcast, then get into:

  • The latest episode of Top Chef in Portland (3:40), whether or not the non-elimination elimination was the right decision and thoughts on the final three chefs…
  • FX’s new talk show Choe Show (30:55), the bizarre brilliance of David Choe and how the show represents a kind of peak version of a modern television talk show…
  • Netflix’s docu-series This Is Pop (43:25) and its place as as sort of documentary innings-eater…
  • The special extra episode of HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (48:45) and what purpose it was intended to serve…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (54:55), including: the FINALÉ of Top Chef in Portland, the premiere of Top Chef: Amateurs, the start of the NBA Finals, the USWNT documentary LFG on HBO Max, the new Questlove film Summer of Soul on Hulu and the new Steven Soderbergh joint No Sudden Move…

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