The Toy Department

The Toy Department

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The Toy Department episodes

  • The Toy Department -Episode 444

    In Episode 444, Madden and Kolsky have a breezy chat about whether or not they’ll have a breezy chat about some not-so-breezy content (does that make sense?) before having an [arguably breezy] chat about:

    • The Oscar-nominated Train Dreams (1:35) and how it does a lot of things right, even if it ultimately is more of a tone poem than a narrative film…
    • The distinctly not-a-tone-poem Netflix film The Rip (20:10) and the value of the Damon/Affleck let’s-have-a-good-time-at-the-theater attempt…
    • Amazon Prime Video’s crime thriller series Steal (28:05) and how it has all the pieces to be a good show but somehow isn’t quite coming together…
    • The new Marvel series Wonder Man (32:25), the enjoyability of a different sort of show within the context of the broader universe, and Derek’s continued distaste for MCU content…
    • A few thoughts on the upcoming Toy Department Derby (41:05) and the prospects of Chelsea and Arsenal…
    • Homework for next week (46:05), including: the third season of Shrinking on Apple TV+, the new Bert Kreischer sitcom Free Bert on Netflix (recommended by Kolsky’s father), the Amazon Prime Video action flick The Wrecking Crew and the Oscar contender Sentimental Value…
      • 53 min
    • The Toy Department – Episode 443

      In Episode 443, Madden and Kolsky discuss the various challenges presented by the sub-zero temperatures they’re experiencing before launching into:

      • Netflix’s new dramatic thriller His & Hers (5:30), and how it fails to reach the quality of a lifetime movie despite some heavy hitters in the cast…
      • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (13:20) and the wisdom of major IP properties telling small, disconnected stories…
      • The Night Manager (19:20), which came out ten years ago, but is really great and the guys needed to watch Season 1 before they could get to the brand new Season 2…
      • Peacock’s new Moscow spy series Ponies (23:55), the indelible charm of its leads and the desire for more high-quality shows like this one…
      • Some thoughts on the Oscar nominations (34:00) and what they say about the state of movies in 2026…
      • Homework for next week (44:45), including: the Oscar-nominated Train Dreams on Netflix, the new Damon/Affleck movie The Rip (also on Netflix), the Amazon Prime Video show Steal, and the new Marvel series Wonder Man…
        • 54 min
      • The Toy Department – Episode 442

        In Episode 442, Madden and Kolsky are FINALLY back after a LOOOOONG winter break to bring you the best in pop culture conversation, specifically regarding:

        • A couple minutes on the Toy Department Derby—Chelsea v Arsenal—that happened shortly before our return (2:30) and how nobody left satisfied…
        • The HBO documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (6:50) and Kolsky’s bizarre cultural blind spot when it comes to this particular musician…
        • HBO’s other music documentary from the holidays, Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately (15:15) and how the film was less impactful despite a greater love for the band…
        • The movie F1 (30:10) and how it is essentially a classic sports film with plenty of good-looking and entertaining actors and also pretty predictable and not particularly memorable…
        • Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film Bugonia (36:10), how it differs from some of his previous work, and how much both of our hosts enjoyed it…
        • Dave Chappelle’s new special (43:40) and how he still has his fastball but he’s also still making some frustrating and disappointing choices…
        • Homework for next week (53:45), including: getting into The Night Manager (ten years late but on time for Season 2, on Amazon Prime Video), Netflix’s thriller series His & Hers, HBO’s latest Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and the new 70’s spy thriller show PONIES on Peacock…
          • 57 min
        • The Toy Department – Episode 441

          In Episode 441, Madden and Kolsky are in a REAL time crunch, so after briefly addressing Kolsky’s predictable failure with a specific (Jeff Buckley-sized) portion of the homework, it’s right into:

          • The 50 Cent-produced Sean Combs: The Reckoning () on Netflix and whether it paints a complete picture of the monster that is Puffy/Diddy/Whatever you wanna call him…
          • George Clooney’s excellent performance in the Noah Baumbach Netflix film Jay Kelly (13:50) and whether the movie around him stands up to it…
          • The Darren Aronofsky movie Caught Stealing (20:00) and how it’s quite a departure from his usual fare, in that it’s more just fun than weird or interesting…
          • The latest Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man (22:30) and how there’s not much to complain about other than the length of it…
          • HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! We don’t have HOMEWORK per se, but We WILL BE BACK in the New Year, some time in mid-January, to talk about a variety of pop culture goodness—likely including the Jeff Buckley and Counting Crows documentaries on HBO, the full season of Pluribus on Apple TV+ and some festive fixtures in the English Premier League…
            • 31 min
          • The Toy Department – Episode 440

            In Episode 440, Madden and Kolsky have a lot to discuss and very little time, so it’s right into:

            • The two episodes of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (1:00), wrapping up an excellent 41st season with some high drama…
            • Netflix’s surprisingly delightful historical drama Death By Lightning (28:35) and the bizarre nature of history and legacy…
            • The second season of A Man on the Inside (34:50) which picks up right where the lovable first season left off…
            • The new Netflix thriller The Beast in Me (36:35) and how Claire Danes’ character (along with most of the others, frankly) is pretty unpleasant to be around…
            • Peacock’s missing child drama All Her Fault (40:15) and how it’s All Just Bad…
            • The Benedict Cumberbatch/Olivia Coleman rom/hate-com The Roses (45:05) and why one of our hosts liked it more than the other…
            • A few thoughts on last weekend’s Toy Department Derby (52:10) where Chelsea managed to fight to a draw despite going a man down in the first half…
            • Homework for TWO weeks from now (1:00:10) including: Noah Baumbach’s new Netflix movie Jay Kelly, the new Darren Aronofsky film Caught Stealing (also on Netflix), Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (yes, it’s on Netflix too), the HBO Music Box documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley and the 50 Cent-produced docu-series Sean Combs: The Reckoning (say it with me—IT’S ON NETFLIX)…
              • 1 hr 3 min
            • The Toy Department – Episode 439

              In Episode 439, Madden and Kolsky get started with Derek issuing the dreaded short-show curse before a futile attempt to break it while discussing:

              • The last pre-final episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (1:15) where Nany’s determination to play the game “honorably” got the best of her, leaving a stacked field for TJ’s Final…
              • The return of Landman on Paramount+ (22:05) and how it’s one of the most enjoyable and well-written shows available, whatever you might think about its oil politics…
              • Netflix’s documentary Being Eddie (27:15) and whether the filmmakers managed to get deep enough with the enigmatic and private Eddie Murphy…
              • Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (44:15) and how it utterly failed to reach either of our hosts…
              • Derek finally watched Sinners! (51:00) He didn’t love it.
              • Homework for TWO weeks from now [we are off for Thanksgiving, and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU] (58:50), including: a final report on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, Netflix’s Claire Danes show The Beast in Me, Peacock’s missing child drama All Her Fault, the Cumberbatch/Coleman film The Roses (available on Hulu), Netflix’s historical drama Death By Lightning, and the second season of A Man on the Inside…
                • 1 hr 2 min
              • The Toy Department – Episode 438

                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)…
                  • 1 hr 13 min
                • The Toy Department – Episode 437

                  In Episode 437, Madden and Kolsky hurry through an intro after Derek applies the dreaded short-show curse, so they can get to:

                  • This week’s action from The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (2:35) and how bizarre it is to see the vets panic over gameplay when the rookies are handling it reasonably well…
                  • The second season of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This (26:20) and how it remains compulsively watchable and driven by excellent characters…
                  • Netflix’s new Kathryn Bigelow film A House of Dynamite (33:05) and how it’s a dynamite mood piece that doesn’t totally come together as a narrative film…
                  • DEREK FINALLY SAW One Battle After Another (41:10) and both our hosts loved it, so that’s the conversation…
                  • Homework for next week (53:10), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, the new HBO Max comedy I Love LA, Tracy Morgan’s new sitcom Crutch on Paramount+ and the new Netflix movie Ballad of a Small Player…
                    • 55 min
                  • The Toy Department – Episode 436

                    In Episode 436, Madden and Kolsky must address Derek’s continued truancy at the movie theater before they can get deeper into:

                    • The latest from The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (4:35) where there are increasingly fewer vets (especially on the men’s side) but plenty of threats all over…
                    • The Shane Black film Play Dirty (20:50) and the joys of watching Lakeith Stanfield, plus a spoiler that we forgot to pre-alert, so look alive …
                    • The Hulu documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (26:15) and the importance of the festival, in retrospect, plus Kolsky’s irrational distaste for Sarah McLachlan…
                    • Colin Hanks’ documentary John Candy: I Like Me (36:10) and the relative ambitions of a bio-doc versus an event doc…
                    • The new Naked Gun movie on Paramount+ (43:45) and how Liam Neeson & Co. did well to capture the essence of the franchise but could have provided a few more laughs…
                    • A handful of sports thoughts (48:20) from gambling in the NBA to Arsenal’s spot atop the EPL favorites…
                    • Homework for next week (1:10:00), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, actually making Derek get to the theater to see One Battle After Another, plus Season 2 of Nobody Wants This and the new Kathryn Bigelow movie A House of Dynamite, both on Netflix…
                      • 1 hr 14 min
                    • The Toy Department – Episode 435

                      In Episode 435, Madden and Kolsky return from an extended absence with Derek running on fumes to discuss:

                      • Three weeks of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (4:15) which featured lots of content but maybe not a whole lot of action…
                      • The Chair Company on HBO (26:05) and why both of our hosts are all the way out on Tim Robinson…
                      • Hulu’s football comedy Chad Powers (33:35) and what it looks like when a movie star is in a middling TV comedy…
                      • Netflix’s new period drama House of Guinness (38:05) and whether it will pick up enough to draw one of our hosts in…
                      • Mae Martin’s new Netflix thriller Wayward (43:25) and its extremely chaotic energy…
                      • Derek’s failure (49:30) to watch One Battle After Another…
                      • Homework for next week (51:30), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, actually getting to talk about One Battle After Another, the new Naked Gun movie on Paramount+, the new Shane Black movie Play Dirty on Amazon Prime Video, the Hulu documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (despite Kolsky’s sexism) and the Colin Hanks-directed documentary John Candy: I Like Me on Amazon Prime Video…
                        • 1 hr 1 min

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