Taskmaster: Series 5
March 16, 2021 5:33 PM - Season 5 (Full Season) - Subscribe

Greg Davies is the Taskmaster. Little Alex Horne is the Taskmaster's assistant. Aisling Bea, Bob Mortimer, Mark Watson, Nish Kumar and Sally Phillips are the contestants. Episodes are available in the USA on the Taskmaster YouTube channel, and in the UK on the Channel 4 website.
posted by Huffy Puffy (21 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Nish and Mark's friendship this series was a great thing to watch. Also, I only knew Sally Phillips from her role as Sophie in I'm Alan Partridge so I had a hard time not thinking her name was Sophie while watching this.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:21 PM on March 16, 2021


I’d first seen Sally Phillips in Veep, and had seen her and Aisling Bea on Travel Man.

(Bea: “I have no doubt in my mind, that all these children are ghosts.”)
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:13 PM on March 16, 2021 [1 favorite]


Sally's clothes are amazing, and I have a huge crush on Nish and Mark’s bromance. ❤️
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:18 PM on March 16, 2021


Bob Mortimer is a gift, and to those unacquainted, I bless you with Let Bob Tell Us a Story.
posted by provoliminal at 8:36 PM on March 16, 2021 [5 favorites]


He's also the genius behind this gem which oft I refrain from posting for fear it will be taken down.

Brits helped me survive the Trump administration. Sometimes the only defense from absurdity is a distinctly different absurdity.
posted by provoliminal at 8:47 PM on March 16, 2021 [2 favorites]


This is a favorite cast of mine, not least because Sally and Bob, the “grownups,” both reveal themselves to have deadpan dark and oblique humor of a sort I love. Bob’s commitment to his explanation of his misconfigured anus, for instance, is so matter-of-fact that I actually partly believe him. And of course the songs to Rosalind are absolutely peak Taskmaster.

This season is also the one in which Greg’s falsetto “little Alex Horne” began to wear on me, along with the Alex-abuse shtick. That’s always a delicate comedic line to walk, and sometimes they lose it and I just feel bad for Alex.

(Also, I probably wouldn’t have thought of it on the spot either, but in the “retrace your steps” challenge of the last episode — throw your jacket down to mark your spot. That wouldn’t have broken the rules, would it?)
posted by argybarg at 10:19 PM on March 16, 2021 [3 favorites]


This has been my favorite season of TM so far, just because all five contestants are wonderfully weird on their own but in completely different ways.
posted by wanderingmind at 11:29 PM on March 16, 2021 [1 favorite]


The special cuddle task is one that I still, more often than you'd think, just find myself thinking about.
posted by grandiloquiet at 7:47 AM on March 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


The following task is not featured in Series 5 of Taskmaster because the attempts were so poor Alex didn't want to risk Greg's wrath by showing him them.
I mean that's fair, it's a bit underwhelming (but then we don't get the studio banter).
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:13 AM on March 17, 2021


'Reinvent the macarena': Taskmaster's Alex Horne sets us four fiendish new challenges
(interview with Alex Horne in the Guardian)
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:15 AM on March 18, 2021 [1 favorite]


If you want the challenges before you read the article, they are:
1. Use 100 pictures of one animal to make a picture of a very different animal;
2. Receive a photo of a famous person wearing a little pink hat, winking and holding up a photo of you. You may not use Photoshop. (probably a bit hard if you're not an entertainment journalist);
3. Recreate the ending of a famous film using only items from your kitchen;
4. Demonstrate a brand new dance to the tune of Macarena that is better than the original Macarena dance.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:21 AM on March 18, 2021


Thanks to the Bob video link above, now I’ve discovered Would I Lie To You?, which is another delight.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:12 PM on March 18, 2021 [1 favorite]


If you haven't seen Greg and Rhod on WILTY, you're in for some hours of unexpectable giggling. Bob is the definite king of that show if anyone can be said to rule, but Greg is possibly second in line.
posted by provoliminal at 10:02 PM on March 18, 2021 [1 favorite]


My god, if you are a Bob fan, you have to watch the Champion of Champions series (also on youtube), and look for the "Mask" task. It was bob at his weirdest. He seems like such an ordinary guy but then says something and goes off on a wild tangent, and it's brilliant.

Nish and Mark's song was pretty incredible, and a fit cap to the friendship that they'd forged. Sally reminded me of a Vanessa Bayer character, maybe ten years from now.

And Aisling Bea, I'd vaguely known of her. Now I think she's the cutest button I never ever ever want to meet. Cute and smart as a whip, but get out of her way. I have no idea if this is a public face she is putting on,or what she's really-really like, but she was hilarious when sometimes the stern angry facade would crack. Still, when she dressed Alex down, it was the most frightened I'd been all series long. Also I don't think she or Mark like balloons for good reason, and the series kinda didn't give a shit about their particular health issues.

Still I liked the series, I am surprised they keep coming up with interesting new puzzles, and it's great to watch the panelists work them out. This is a very well-edited and concise show: funny and revealing, and addictive as hell. I just finished the Champs season, and I'm off to season six, seeya there! Time starts now!
posted by not_on_display at 11:56 PM on March 23, 2021


Oh, don’t worry, Champion of Champions is next.

(Unless I pause on these whole seasons to post individual season 11 shows as they air, but I probably won’t.)
posted by Huffy Puffy at 12:43 PM on March 24, 2021


Champion of Champions? YouTube just went straight from Season 5 to 6. Not complaining though, having more Taskmaster to watch is always a good thing.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:17 PM on March 24, 2021


Oh, god, Aisling-- I first knew her as a comedian so when I saw her on The Fall, I kept waiting for her to break out into a bit about how she could see right through him. "Dya think I'ma fuckin' eejit?"
posted by provoliminal at 1:31 PM on March 25, 2021


So many wonderful moments in this season, but I was especially fascinated by how, on a male dominated show, Aisling’s sardonic vigilance against sexual harassment created a comic frisson with Sally’s cheerful horniness.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 5:16 PM on March 29, 2021 [5 favorites]


This was another season where it was better on a second watch because I was able to appreciate the humor and creativity more. Another great cast that all got on really well with one another and love the Mark/Nish friendship! Their song is arguably the best moment in Taskmaster history. It's a genuine bop!
posted by wasabifooting at 6:31 AM on April 5, 2021 [1 favorite]


I'm halfway through season eight now. I'm always surprised that using such spare rules and items, they can come up with a multitude of tasks, and just as many differing attempts at completing them. It's fascinating as anthropology even. That the tasks are also always funny is what really amazes me. I've dropped all the other programs I watch regularly, and I only. watch. this.

.... this rubbish.
posted by not_on_display at 10:28 PM on April 20, 2021 [3 favorites]




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