The Toy Department – Episode 384

In Episode 384, Madden and Kolsky open with a long conversation about Kolsky’s visit to The Sphere in Las Vegas to see Phish before snapping out of it to cover:

  • The latest from The Challenge All-Stars 4 (15:55) including an elimination where heavy hitters swung and missed repeatedly…
  • A twisty, dairy-filled week of Top Chef Wisconsin (35:10) wherein two chefs (re)entered the competition and one early star departed…
  • HBO’s new Sunday centerpiece The Sympathizer (49:10) and whether our hosts are impressed after two episodes…
  • A wrap-up discussion on HBO’s The Regime (1:00:25) and what the hell was going on there…
  • Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation of the popular Fallout video game (1:04:25) and whether it actually makes sense as a “television” show…
  • A few NBA thoughts (1:08:15) after a few games from the first round of the playoffs…
  • Homework for next week (1:19:20), including: more Top Chef Wisconsin, more of The Challenge All-Stars 4, the Lily Gladstone-helmed show Under the Bridge and the Kristen Stewart-helmed film Love Lies Bleeding…

The Toy Department – Episode 367

In Episode 367, Madden and Kolsky discuss the arrival of really cold weather in the Midwest and lament their life choices before diving in to:

  • This week on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (2:50), a victorious Big T and the dangling mystery of the third pole in the draw…
  • Hulu’s Nathan Fielder/Emma Stone HGTV spoof The Curse (36:45) and whether it’s more than just an awkward parody…
  • The return of FX/Hulu’s Fargo for its fifth and final season (45:10) and the excitement brewing in both of our hosts after two great episodes to start things off…
  • The Brit Marling-created A Murder at the End of the World (50:45) and whether our hosts are on board for its Gen Z-amateur-sleuth vibe…
  • The biopic Rustin (57:00) and the incredible performance from leading man Colman Domingo that makes it go…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:00), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the Fisher Stevens-directed Netflix documentary Beckham, and the movie Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain from SNL’s video short team…