The Toy Department – Episode 343

In Episode 343, Madden and Kolsky open with a quick detour about Derek’s friend Steven Hyden and the Seattle grunge scene of the ’90s before focusing on:

  • The latest from The Challenge: World Championships (4:45) and how Sarah was saved from outing herself as a snake by Yes and Emily’s daily win, plus whether our hosts have underestimated her strategic game thus far…
  • A twisty restaurant wars on Top Chef World All-Stars (20:20) and how it didn’t stop Top Chef’s top chef from distinguishing himself as the favorite in the competition…
  • The deeply emotional HBO series Love & Death (35:35) and the heavy lifting its actors are doing over the first few episodes…
  • The Watergate comedy White House Plumbers (40:20) and how the buffoonish nature of conservative operatives…
  • The new Amazon Prime Video thriller/spy drama Citadel (45:05) and the role of action entertainment in our TV landscape…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (52:05) and just how wide open the field is with eight teams still remaining…
  • Homework for next week (1:06:05), including: Apple TV+’s new show Silo and the FX/Hulu show Class of ’09, with a healthy portion of NBA Playoffs on the side… PLUS another week of The Challenge: World Championship on Paramount+ AND Top Chef Season 20 (World All-Stars) on Bravo…

The Toy Department – Episode 311

In Episode 311, Madden and Kolsky have an uncomfortably specific discussion about the Kolsky family’s recent bout with hand-foot-mouth disease before shaking it off and diving into:

  • A few thoughts on the ending of AMC’s Better Call Saul (6:55) and what a truly spectacular show it turned out to be…
  • Apple TV+’s new offering Black Bird (13:55) and how Paul Walter Hauser is a uniquely dynamic performer, particularly in the sort of creepy role he inhabits here…
  • Netflix’s forgettable film offering The Man from Toronto (20:45) and just what exactly is going on with the remarkable quality of bland content on that service…
  • Amazon’s new League of Their Own show (24:05) and how it’s watchable and not bad, but just doesn’t quite come together how one might hope…
  • This week’s episode of The Challenge USA on CBS (29:00) and how Leo deserves some flowers (and also maybe some sympathy for his failing businesses?) plus thoughts on the latest twist in the game…
  • Homework for TWO Fridays from now (41:50), including: HBO’s new Game of Thrones show House of the Dragon, Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings show The Rings of Power, and Netflix’s Manti Te’o doc Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, plus the more of The Challenge USA on CBS…