Victor Wembanyama – The Toy Department

The Toy Department – Episode 457

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…

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…

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…

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)…