The Toy Department – Episode 366

In Episode 366, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s propensity for failing to do his homework properly before getting into the things he DIDN’T screw up:

  • The latest episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (2:30) and the arrival of CHAOS, aka Jordan Wiseley…
  • The new David Fincher Netflix film The Killer (38:55) and how it delivered on Fincher-ness but didn’t totally come together in the end…
  • The Australian show Colin From Accounts (55:25) and whether the new Paramount+ property is charming enough to keep our hosts coming back…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the new Hulu show A Murder at the End of the World, the return of Fargo for its fifth and final season on FX, the new film Rustin on Netflix and picking up the forgotten Nathan Fielder/Emma Stone show The Curse on Showtime/Paramount+…

The Toy Department – Episode 365

In Episode 365, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s rock-and-roll travels before getting to today’s pod business:

  • The latest from a double-episode week of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (3:20), including the impending chaos portion of the game and thoughts on the exciting crop of developing you lady contestants…
  • The Hulu movie Quiz Lady (43:05) and how it doesn’t make good enough use of its two leading ladies or its big-name guest star…
  • The new Apple TV+ film Fingernails (48:50) and yet another project that tragically fails to add up to the appropriate sum of its parts…
  • Netflix’s new Shea Serrano-created series Neon (57:15) and how he once again delivers a joyful series with clever writing and a deeply endearing heart…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:20), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the new David Fincher movie The Killer on Netflix, the new Nathan Fielder/Emma Stone show The Curse on Showtime/Paramount+ and the Australian show Colin from Accounts on Paramount+…

The Toy Department – Episode 364

In Episode 364, Madden and Kolsky exchange only brief pleasantries before diving into the week’s homework:

  • A head-spinning week of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (1:20) and another remarkably terrible deliberation speech from the ultimately eliminated competitor…
  • Netflix’s new British thriller Bodies (30:45) and its unique time-jumping framework…
  • The Jennifer Lawrence-led Netflix comedy No Hard Feelings (41:45) and the charm of its leading lady…
  • Homework for next week (49:25), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the movie Quiz Lady on Hulu, the Apple TV+ movie Fingernails and the new Netflix series Neon…

The Toy Department – Episode 363

In Episode 363, Madden and Kolsky discuss Kolsky’s recent positive COVID test and its myriad of ripple effects before locking in to:

  • A quick sports chat (5:40) covering Chelsea v. Arsenal, the hosts’ relative interest in hockey and the debut of Victor Wembanyama…
  • The premiere episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion (12:40) and how a fun first episode and a classic game design set us up for the franchise’s 39th season to be a good one…
  • The Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher (42:00) and how both hosts were impressed and entertained in their first experience with a Mike Flanagan show…
  • Homework for next week (49:10), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion, the Jennifer Lawrence rom-com vehicle No Hard Feelings (available on Netflix) and Netflix’s new British thriller series Bodies…

The Toy Department – Episode 319

In Episode 319, Madden and Kolsky have a few not-so-spooky Halloween thoughts before they circle back to pop culture and get into:

  • The new Apple TV+ film Raymond and Ray (7:50) and how enjoyable it is to watch a fun, quirky movie for adults (particularly when it features such enjoyable performances)…
  • The limited Netflix series From Scratch (17:45) and how it’s a perfectly good romance novel on screen if that’s the sort of thing that you’re into…
  • Netflix’s The Watcher (23:00), complete with explosive acting and very creepy vibes…
  • Kolsky’s experience with Top Gun: Maverick (27:45), whether it’s a “good movie” and whether that even matters in this case…
  • The week’s episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (38:55), featuring some rookie upstarts, Messy Fessy (whether he likes it or not) and an epic elimination…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:14:30), including: the movie The Stranger on Netflix, the return of The White Lotus on HBO, the BBC series Inside Man (now on Netflix) and the film The Good Nurse (alo on Netflix!!), plus OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies… and maybe a quick check-back on House of the Dragon for Kolsky to be upset about it again 🙂

The Toy Department – Episode 318

In Episode 318, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s work trip to the casino before locking in on:

  • The latest episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:55), Turbo’s heel turn and the ace strategy from the game’s newest veterans, the notorious Johnny Bananas and his incomparable partner Nany Gonzalez…
  • Netflix’s Redeem Team documentary (35:15) and how it was an enjoyable and entertaining watch despite its somewhat hegeographic tendencies…
  • Apple TV+’s new show Shantaram (46:00) and how Charlie Hunnam makes for an incredibly engaging and watchable center for a show that transports you to 1980’s Bombay (for some not entirely known reason)…
  • The return of Documentary Now! on IFC (50:10) and how the first mockumentary of this season is entertaining and pretty spot-on, but not necessarily enough to suck one of our hosts in…
  • A season wrap-up on FX’s Welcome to Wrexham (59:30) and how the show works on so many levels, ultimately becoming one of the year’s best…
  • A few thoughts on the not-so-inspiring House of the Dragon (1:11:30) and how it so far fails to live up to its predecessor…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:14:40), including: the new Netflix show The Watcher, the new film Raymond and Ray on Apple TV+, the limited series From Scratch on Netflix, and OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies… plus Kolsky will watch Top Gun: Maverick so the guys can finally discuss it!

The Toy Department – Episode 317

In Episode 317, Madden and Kolsky have a new season of The Challenge to get to, so no time to waste before diving right in to:

  • The premiere of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:00), including thoughts on the Episode 1 surprises, the rookies, the quantity of absentee teams and all the intricacies of the complicated new game design…
  • The new Paramount+ film Significant Other (50:25), and whether its strange blend of thriller, comedy, sci-fi and horror hit home for our hosts…
  • Homework for next Friday (1:05:00), including: the new Apple TV+ show Shantaram, the start of a new season of Documentary Now!, a check-in on Welcome to Wrexham, the Netflix documentary The Redeem Team and OF COURSE the next episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…