Tag Archives: Paul Giamatti

The Toy Department – Episode 422

  By toyAdmin | May 30, 2025 - 12:35 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 422, Madden and Kolsky have a quick Chelsea FC digression before they dive on in to:

  • A semifinal to remember on Top Chef: Destination Canada (4:05) and how the scenery and cookery combined with emotional moments for a tremendous episode of television…
  • The new Max show Duster (17:50) and how it makes you wonder why we haven’t seen more of Josh Holloway…
  • The disappointing new Guy Ritchie movie Fountain of Youth (22:50) and how it could have come to exist…
  • The enjoyable and well-executed Black Bag (28:40) and how Steven Soderbergh is always good for 90 minutes of quality…
  • Apple TV+’s new comedy Murderbot (33:40) and Alexander Skarsgård’s hilarious turn as an android with a television addiction…
  • Two more really good episodes of Black Mirror (36:35) featuring a tour de force from Paul Giamatti and a satisfying sequel to USS Callister…
  • Homework for next week (49:55), including: the finalé of Top Chef: Destination Canada, the new HBO Max film Mountainhead, the new Apple TV+ show Stick and Hulu’s new 20-something sitcom Adults…

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The Toy Department – Episode 371

  By toyAdmin | January 4, 2024 - 12:35 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 371, Madden and Kolsky totally forget to wish each other (or you) a Happy New Year and instead discuss the elastic nature of time before getting into:

  • A more eventful episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (3:10) that nevertheless failed to improve the entertainment value of an increasingly frustrating season…
  • The new Dave Chappelle special The Dreamer (23:20), his addiction to touching the third rail and enjoying a comedian without loving all of his jokes…
  • The utterly confounding film Saltburn (31:30) and the very specific (and wildly bizarre) visionn of Emerald Fennell…
  • The new Alexander Payne film The Holdovers (41:15) and how it’s just a really damn good movie and you should all watch it…
  • Season two of Dr. Death (44:50) and how one of our hosts is just a hard out on this type of show…
  • Homework for next week (55:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, finishing the Hulu series Murder at the End of the World, and two Netflix properties — the Zack Snyder movie Rebel Moon and the new Michelle Yeoh series The Brothers Sun…

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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 113

  By toyAdmin | April 3, 2018 - 4:43 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 113, Derek Madden teaches Matt Kolsky about the history of One Shining Moment before they discuss a variety of television entertainment, including:

  • Judd Apatow’s Garry Shandling documentary on HBO (5:10), The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, which both guys found gripping and moving, and leads to some discussion of the impressive quality of recent documentaries…
  • A check-in on Kolsky’s project of catching up with Showtime’s Billions (24:35), which is going swimmingly and has him very excited about getting current with the show…
  • The new FX series Trust (35:45), which examines the Getty kidnapping story — the debut impressed both Madden and Kolsky considerably, particularly the performance of legendary actor Donald Sutherland (make sure you listen to the end of the pod for additional thoughts on Danny Boyle’s direction)…
  • The conclusion of season 2 of Amazon’s Sneaky Pete (41:20), whether the show held the level of season 1 and where it may be headed in the future…
  • The new Alex Garland film Annihilation (48:00) and how it succeeds as a sci-fi thriller without drawing too much attention to its own accomplishments in diversity…
  • Homework for next week (56:50), including: the season 2 premiere of Legion on FX, the series premiere of The Last OG (starring Tiffany Haddish and Tracy Morgan), finishing Wild Wild Country on Netflix, and the new HBO film Paterno (starring Al Pacino)…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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