Taskmaster

[Stopharage]

I’m not really feeling this series so far. It’s enjoyable, as ever, but I don’t think the tasks have been that great and the contestants haven’t particularly shone. Often I think it needs a good running grudge between a couple of contestants or some stitch ups and it’s all been pretty safe so far. Not sure that any of them have had the opportunity to come up with innovative solutions or batshit approaches to tasks, which always go down well. 

[Darren]

The thing that’s missing this series is an an utterly inept contestant a la Baddiel or Parkinson. There’s usually a contrast between the ones managing the tasks in competent and/or amusing ways and the one who routinely fails to grasp even the basic concepts and makes themself look more of an idiot as the series progresses. This time it’s a decent bunch but they’re all too good - they need a clueless one to balance it out.

[Art Vandelay]

Morgana is terminally unfunny, I just cannot get past that fact.

[davidcotton]

Quite a weak episode this week after the strong start.  Did like the space hopper task.  Never like the food ones. 

[Made of Ghosts]

Victoria is great value. Not feeling Morgana so far. She’s giving me tryhard cool mum who lets her kids swear and drink in the house. 

[chris on the moon]

I think morgana could play Mrs. Bean if she wanted to. 

Like a female Mr. Bean if that first sentence didn't make sense.

[chris on the moon]

Great post chris. I basically thought she looked a bit like Rowan Atkinson.
I didn't think last nights episode was very good... The tasks weren't particularly inspired and the contestants didn't do anything that out of the ordinary.

[Kryptonian]

For some reason it's not showing 'on demand' on Sky for me and someone cancelled the recording  

[davidcotton]

14 minutes ago, Kryptonian said:

For some reason it's not showing 'on demand' on Sky for me and someone cancelled the recording  

Try the all4 app?   Something has really broken channel 4 lately. Went to watch series 4 last night and wouldn’t stream or download.

[Kryptonian]

9 minutes ago, davidcotton said:

Try the all4 app?   Something has really broken channel 4 lately. Went to watch series 4 last night and wouldn’t stream or download.

 

Cheers - we don't have the app on the TV but the episode is on there on my phone. We might have to wait for the repeat unless I can do some technical workaround

[Yobo Ahoy]

Man Thursday's was poor. That 'copy Alex' was one of the all time bad tasks. 

 

It seems like they really front loaded the good tasks into the first episode because the last two have been crap. 

[El Pibe]

Aye, I really don't like tasks like that copy Alex one and the welly boot videos were all really disappointing, as well.

 

The sand bridge task just felt like a repeat of previous tasks and the "Troy" clue was way too obscure.

 

Overall, it felt like a poor episode.

[PK]

I'm enjoying the studio segments of this season but the UK producers seem to have forgotten how to write open-ended tasks that lend themselves to improvisation. There's only so many times I can watch the cast doing the same thing with tiny variations and still find it entertaining.

 

I miss the types of task where they'd each read it and then go 'fetch me an X, y and a z' and you got 5 completely different insane approaches. Happily the NZ version is full of them!

[Fry Crayola]

44 minutes ago, El Pibe said:

the "Troy" clue was way too obscure.

 

Definitely. If Alex hadn't deliberately discussed it, I don't think it'd ever have been discovered.

 

"Debajo de la mesa" was so much more blatant, not in the literal translation but the fact that everything you'd need was entirely visible from the right vantage point, not hidden away.

[glb]

Thursdays episode was the first episode I’ve not finished. That copy Alex task was utter, utter shite, made worse by the irritating music.

 

As others have said, there’s hardly any variance to the outcomes of tasks this series, compounded by the cast not being particularly spontaneously funny so far (think the lack of a crowd contributes to this, the studio bits feel pretty flat)

 

Other than that, enjoying it.

[Yobo Ahoy]

1 hour ago, El Pibe said:

Aye, I really don't like tasks like that copy Alex one and the welly boot videos were all really disappointing, as well.

 

The sand bridge task just felt like a repeat of previous tasks and the "Troy" clue was way too obscure.

 

Overall, it felt like a poor episode.

 

It felt like a repeat, to be honest. Like you say they've done the bridge task before and the boot camera was essentially exactly the same as the head camera a few years back (the 'Alex being born' video among others).

 

A crying shame, and it was inevitable, but it seems like the imagination has deserted it somewhat. 

[chris on the moon]

Victoria CMs approach to the welly cam task was especially bad.

Hey Victoria, what do you think the unique selling point of the welly cam is?

It's a welly! You can wear it as a welly!
Fuck that I'm showing it some pictures that I drew!

[Darren]

Earlier in the current series of Only Connect, Victoria wore a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses for the entire episode without comment. Last night, she had a (temporary (I assume)) flower tattoo on her face which was also never mentioned. I'm sure there's been at least one other episode where she was wearing something a bit odd but I can't remember what - deely boppers or cat ears perhaps (or did I dream it?)

 

Anyway our theory is that she's been set one of those special "only for one contestant" tasks which she is fulfilling on her own show. Either that or Alex has given her a nervous breakdown.

[Fry Crayola]

She wore a red wig one episode. 

 

It's surely Taskmaster related.

[evilwallpaper]

She said it isn't related last week.

 

 

[Fry Crayola]

That's what I'd say too if I was doing stuff I've never done before.

[Darren]

I assume part of the task is "you must never acknowledge that you are doing this."

 

Or my alternative theory is correct and the Taskmaster experience has broken her mind.

[Stopharage]

Anything VCM to liven this series up would be gratefully appreciated. Think it’s the weakest one I can remember. 
 

In every previous series, at least one of the ‘roles’ has featured a star turn. The slightly cynical contestant, the quirky contestant, the old git contestant etc. They’re all nice enough in this series but they all pale into insignificance compared to their predecessors. Like others have said, a lot of this is due to some fairly limited tasks. 

[PK]

Fucking hell the

 

Spoiler

bikes task

 

 was terrible

[JamesC]

Victoria cracking the code was brilliant. 

[Stopharage]

That was a much better episode. Riddle task was an absolute belter. Guz, Desiree and VCM were especially good in that one. Alex’s cracking up was lovely to see too. 100th episode next week so hoping they build on this and have another decent showing. 

[RFT]

12 hours ago, JamesC said:

Victoria cracking the code was brilliant. 

 

I honestly wondered if she'd just skip to cracking it without the key at all- SImple substituion cipher, some repeated words, you know it's a riddle, wouldn't have been that hard to brute force through it.

[Bazjam]

Me and my wife laughed the whole way through. Thought it was a great episode.

[wev]

It had some really good bits and Greg got to be cruel, not a classic but still good entertainment.

[Fry Crayola]

Thought the football task was inspired. Some good lateral thinking from Guz, Morgana and Alan, and fun to see Alex actively try to undermine them right back.