The Toy Department – Episode 348

In Episode 348, Madden and Kolsky are working on a Saturday, one at home and one in a hotel suite with an old man and a toddler (sorry for any weird audio stuff) but it doesn’t deter them from discussing: The season finalé of Top Chef: World All-Stars (2:30) and how it ended essentially where our hosts expected, with an awful lot of good cooking on the way there… HBO’s new Sam Levinson series The Idol (20:10) and how it wasn’t necessarily as provocative as expected in the first episode, but does have some intense moments of sexuality and some interesting things to say about the life of a young, female pop star… The big wave surfing docu-series 100-Foot Wave (28:05) and the pure insanity of the pursuits of its main character Garrett McNamara, along with the wonder of watching people ride a mountain of water… ESPN’s The American Gladiator Documentary (32:35) and how director Ben Berman basically gives the viewer two fascinating and well-told documentaries for the price of one… A few thoughts on the NBA Finals (39:20), which appear to be headed to an early conclusion, but that does not mean the Miami Heat don’t deserve credit for their accomplishments… Homework for next week (49:35), including: revisiting The Idol after Episode 2, the movie Flamin’ Hot on Hulu, the British drama Somewhere Boy (also on Hulu), the Peacock show Based on a True Story and the Tom Holland show The Crowded Room on Apple TV+… and perhaps some NBA Finals talk as well!