Taskmaster: Full Season 15
March 31, 2023 7:42 AM - Season 15 (Full Season) - Subscribe
The 15th series kicks off with Frankie Boyle, Jenny Eclair, Ivo Graham, Mae Martin, and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
My bets were on Mae to win the series just based on vibes, and I expected Kiell to be intermittently brilliant and "trying to put helium in an egg" level deranged, but having watched the first episode I now think he may give them a run for their money! Even though he can't count to five. Still hard to top that combo of total poise AND emotional vulnerability that makes Alex uncomfortable, though.
Taskmaster has had many "exactly what show did you think you were going on" moments but Jenny's "why would anyone do that to me" has to be the most charming.
posted by babelfish at 9:43 AM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Taskmaster has had many "exactly what show did you think you were going on" moments but Jenny's "why would anyone do that to me" has to be the most charming.
posted by babelfish at 9:43 AM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Why do they make this so hard to obtain legally and on time in the US? I would gladly pay $50 per season upfront to stream it in the US without digging through shady youtube fake vids etc.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:19 PM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:19 PM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Abehammerb Lincoln, the Taskmaster subreddit posts the episode, usually on Google drive, not long after it has aired. My feeling is that the show doesn't mind, since Alex and the Andys visit the sub frequently. Alex just did an AMA a week ago.
posted by ceejaytee at 12:38 PM on March 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by ceejaytee at 12:38 PM on March 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
After one episode, there's nobody I disliked. That feels rare, but it probably isn't.
I only recognize Kiell from Ghosts, and I think he's pretty good at laughing at himself. The rest are all new to me.
Jenny is so charming; Frankie seems Scottish enough, Ivo seems about 12 years old and also somehow like about 5 other British Panel Show Folk; Mae is quick on their feet and I also think they'll win it all.
The WWI trench [foot] joke was so unexpected, and so good.
posted by Acari at 1:18 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
I only recognize Kiell from Ghosts, and I think he's pretty good at laughing at himself. The rest are all new to me.
Jenny is so charming; Frankie seems Scottish enough, Ivo seems about 12 years old and also somehow like about 5 other British Panel Show Folk; Mae is quick on their feet and I also think they'll win it all.
The WWI trench [foot] joke was so unexpected, and so good.
posted by Acari at 1:18 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Anyone else think the string task flat-out cheated in its wording? It didn't so much add a second task or an interesting twist on the other side of the paper as simply contradict the first side: "Unwind this string/ You don't need to unwind the string". That's the first time in 15 series I've felt Alex wasn't quite playing fair with the contestants.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:54 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 2:54 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think it's fine. I don't see it as hugely different from the morse code balloon popping task except that it was required instead of optional.
posted by juv3nal at 3:19 PM on March 31, 2023
posted by juv3nal at 3:19 PM on March 31, 2023
I am grinning wickedly at someone's first exposure to Frankie Boyle being through Taskmaster.
posted by Merus at 6:01 PM on March 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Merus at 6:01 PM on March 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
I believe (?) Mae is the first nonbinary contestant which, while it may be total coincidence (and accepting that it's taken long enough), is pretty cool for a series starting on the trans day of visibility.
posted by juv3nal at 6:29 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by juv3nal at 6:29 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Brace!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:35 PM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:35 PM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think it's fine. I don't see it as hugely different from the morse code balloon popping task except that it was required instead of optional.
I agree the difference is not huge, but for me it was just enough to edge that string task over the line from "harsh but fair" into just plain unfair. "Required instead of optional" is a pretty fundamental distinction in adding secondary elements to any of the programme's tasks and that's what bothered me about the string task.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:52 PM on March 31, 2023
I agree the difference is not huge, but for me it was just enough to edge that string task over the line from "harsh but fair" into just plain unfair. "Required instead of optional" is a pretty fundamental distinction in adding secondary elements to any of the programme's tasks and that's what bothered me about the string task.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:52 PM on March 31, 2023
Abehammerb Lincoln, you can watch Channel4.com with a UK VPN too.
posted by ellieBOA at 3:51 AM on April 1, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 3:51 AM on April 1, 2023
I believe (?) Mae is the first nonbinary contestant which, while it may be total coincidence (and accepting that it's taken long enough), is pretty cool for a series starting on the trans day of visibility.
It warmed my lil queer heart to hear everyone using their pronouns correctly, and someone commented this in the TM reddit:
I was at the taping of this episode! Greg made one slip with pronouns early on and, at the next break, Alex whispered something to him behind his clipboard. We clocked that it was probably a friendly reminder and everyone used they/them for the rest of the episode.
And then a follow up:
Yeah, it didn't come across as malicious at all. He was just in the flow chatting and didn't realise. As a non binary person myself, I don't find small mistakes offensive as long as the person is open to correction which he definitely seemed to be!
posted by ellieBOA at 4:02 AM on April 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
It warmed my lil queer heart to hear everyone using their pronouns correctly, and someone commented this in the TM reddit:
I was at the taping of this episode! Greg made one slip with pronouns early on and, at the next break, Alex whispered something to him behind his clipboard. We clocked that it was probably a friendly reminder and everyone used they/them for the rest of the episode.
And then a follow up:
Yeah, it didn't come across as malicious at all. He was just in the flow chatting and didn't realise. As a non binary person myself, I don't find small mistakes offensive as long as the person is open to correction which he definitely seemed to be!
posted by ellieBOA at 4:02 AM on April 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
The live task was fantastic! I had said to my wife "someone should take their ball and ..." And then Ivo did it! Shocking! And the Kiell got him back!
I would assume Alex and Co might have considered the possibility but the fact two contestants sabotaged each other had everyone in a tizzy!
posted by jazon at 4:33 PM on April 1, 2023
I would assume Alex and Co might have considered the possibility but the fact two contestants sabotaged each other had everyone in a tizzy!
posted by jazon at 4:33 PM on April 1, 2023
I would assume Alex and Co might have considered the possibility but the fact two contestants sabotaged each other had everyone in a tizzy!
I recommend the podcast always, but in this case for Dara Ó Briain's hyperbolic coverage of that moment, which he compared to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and said would require "thicker history books."
posted by babelfish at 4:52 PM on April 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
I recommend the podcast always, but in this case for Dara Ó Briain's hyperbolic coverage of that moment, which he compared to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and said would require "thicker history books."
posted by babelfish at 4:52 PM on April 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
I only discovered Taskmaster this year, and I'm slowly working my way through the first ten seasons which are free to watch on YouTube. I am rubbing my hands together in excitement imagining Frankie Boyle's comedy style untidily colliding with Alex Horne's uneasy behind the scenes orchestration.
posted by seasparrow at 8:42 PM on April 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by seasparrow at 8:42 PM on April 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
via the taskmaster subreddit, someone's gone and edited in all the songs for the dancing task.
posted by juv3nal at 2:59 AM on April 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by juv3nal at 2:59 AM on April 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
Dara Ó Briain's hyperbolic coverage of that moment
For the record, he was (presumably knowingly) quoting Steve Coogan in The Day Today
posted by chill at 5:30 AM on April 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
For the record, he was (presumably knowingly) quoting Steve Coogan in The Day Today
posted by chill at 5:30 AM on April 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
I enjoyed the use of the Horne Section this week, and Kiell has already written his second song with lyrics and we're only in week 2. I cannot believer that Ivo won this week, especially after his pitiful breath task--he couldn't even make the most of Ed's cameo appearance. Jenny and Kiell continue to be my favorite off the wall competitors, with Jenny fully inhabiting the crazy aunt role and Kiell the role of self-confident, argumentative, and ultimately unsuccessful contestant; sort of a combination of Munya Chuwawa and Ardal O'Hanlon.
The off-camera fire brigade was hilarious.
posted by ceejaytee at 7:58 AM on April 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
The off-camera fire brigade was hilarious.
posted by ceejaytee at 7:58 AM on April 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
And I was wondering whether he could actually be Ivo’s dad, age-wise, and there is 18 years between them (50 and 32) so just! Frankie looks younger than he is and Ivo looks older so I wasn’t sure.
posted by ellieBOA at 5:56 AM on April 8, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 5:56 AM on April 8, 2023
Are you sure you aren't just jaded with the concept of the show?
posted by curious nu at 5:47 PM on April 8, 2023
posted by curious nu at 5:47 PM on April 8, 2023
Anyone else pleasantly surprised by the teams? I saw Jenny and Mae together in the trailer so I figured "oh, the men and the non-men," so on some level I was expecting a lot of competitive masculine energy on the other team a la Phil/Rhod/James. Which is funny but also kind of stressful! I was really happy to see Kiell walk in and immediately be handed a potato. (I'm all in for Kiell at this point—I think he's the total package as far as Taskmaster contestants go, and I want to see him win so he can go up against Dara in CoC.)
posted by babelfish at 6:29 AM on April 12, 2023
posted by babelfish at 6:29 AM on April 12, 2023
I have now listened to the most recent podcast and remembered that I was pretty sleepy when I watched e2 and kind of forgot about the whole "trying to blow a golf ball down a pipe" fiasco... perhaps I was too generous with my "total package" assessment and should go back to my initial prediction that Kiell would be a Mawaan (occasionally brilliant, occasionally trying to put helium in an egg).
posted by babelfish at 6:44 AM on April 13, 2023
posted by babelfish at 6:44 AM on April 13, 2023
POTATO HAT TASK: Greg's getting soft in his old age. "Let it slide", my arse!!!
40 WORDS TASK: According to the captions we saw on screen, task winner Ivo moved directly from "Sit" to "Pest"- breaking the "same length or shorter" rule that got two other contestants disqualified. Even if we assume there were intervening Ivo words we didn't see, how does that work?
Good episode, though. Jenny's joy at the potato hat task was delightful. Mae once again showed calm intelligence here, which impressed me no end.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:20 PM on April 13, 2023
40 WORDS TASK: According to the captions we saw on screen, task winner Ivo moved directly from "Sit" to "Pest"- breaking the "same length or shorter" rule that got two other contestants disqualified. Even if we assume there were intervening Ivo words we didn't see, how does that work?
Good episode, though. Jenny's joy at the potato hat task was delightful. Mae once again showed calm intelligence here, which impressed me no end.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:20 PM on April 13, 2023
Random trivia: this series features two of Charlotte RItchie's on-screen partners in Kiell (Ghosts) and Mae (Feel Good)
posted by juv3nal at 11:10 PM on April 13, 2023
posted by juv3nal at 11:10 PM on April 13, 2023
The range from dead dad’s DNA to superhero porn fan art in the opener! I missed British sausages as an expat until the the facts from the sausage exam 😂
posted by ellieBOA at 9:54 AM on April 14, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 9:54 AM on April 14, 2023
Oh, Charlotte Richie!
I loved her, I'm loving Kiell, and Mae, too. Maybe all of her other coworkers and friends should come on the show.
Ivo went from (it sounded like) tits to pest, so that's okay.
the written part (looks like) pots, stop, pest, which is okay, too.
"this sounds brilliant! I'll be so bad at this" -- Jenny (on what would become one of the best moments of her life)
posted by Acari at 3:01 PM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I loved her, I'm loving Kiell, and Mae, too. Maybe all of her other coworkers and friends should come on the show.
Ivo went from (it sounded like) tits to pest, so that's okay.
the written part (looks like) pots, stop, pest, which is okay, too.
"this sounds brilliant! I'll be so bad at this" -- Jenny (on what would become one of the best moments of her life)
posted by Acari at 3:01 PM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
We already knew that Alex knew about the slash fanfic (my favorite tag on my favorite Taskmaster fic is, "Don't read this Alex Horne you little shit") but I nearly went under my couch when he started listing titles on air OMG.
Absolutely love this cast. They are so sweet and so chaotic!
posted by merriment at 4:11 PM on April 14, 2023
Absolutely love this cast. They are so sweet and so chaotic!
posted by merriment at 4:11 PM on April 14, 2023
Ivo went from (it sounded like) tits to pest, so that's okay.
the written part (looks like) pots, stop, pest, which is okay, too.
I owe Ivo an apology - I must have been thinking of my TV's own subtitle captions (which are far from reliable at the best of times), and in this case gave "hits" as "sit". Listening back to the audio alone at about 20mins into the programme, I hear his sequence as "Establishment, establishing, tats, tots, hits pest, post". Fair play to the lad.
posted by Paul Slade at 10:24 AM on April 15, 2023
the written part (looks like) pots, stop, pest, which is okay, too.
I owe Ivo an apology - I must have been thinking of my TV's own subtitle captions (which are far from reliable at the best of times), and in this case gave "hits" as "sit". Listening back to the audio alone at about 20mins into the programme, I hear his sequence as "Establishment, establishing, tats, tots, hits pest, post". Fair play to the lad.
posted by Paul Slade at 10:24 AM on April 15, 2023
Episode 4 was absolutely incredible. It had everything--Ivo making a total hash out of the Bingo task (sit for three minutes in the shed? Oh, Ivo); Greg giving Mae points they didn't deserve, probably because every other contestant spent what Frankie Boyle said on the TM podcast was over 15 minutes arguing over the definition of "throw" and he thought it would be funny to make them all mad; THEN having another semantic argument about what a "banana" is, which somehow ended up with Greg discussing urinating on a bathroom door; Greg doing everything he could to make Kiell angry because that was also funny; Frankie getting robbed (see the previous throwing discussion); the world's most exciting egg boat race, and a quintuple disqualification.
Frankie was a revelation to me this week. Everything from multiple mentions of art therapy to semantic arguments over language and meaning to a perfect drum task--he was funny and sweet and hilarious.
posted by ceejaytee at 10:19 AM on April 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Frankie was a revelation to me this week. Everything from multiple mentions of art therapy to semantic arguments over language and meaning to a perfect drum task--he was funny and sweet and hilarious.
posted by ceejaytee at 10:19 AM on April 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Ivo's bingo meltdown was so goddamn funny.
posted by merriment at 12:13 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by merriment at 12:13 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Historically, in-studio rules lawyers tick me off. I absolutely couldn't stand Ardal because of his constant, irritating attempts to do other contestants out of points. For some reason, though, when this cast does it, it's always hilarious and fun. Just the alchemy of this particular group, I guess.
posted by merriment at 2:25 PM on April 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by merriment at 2:25 PM on April 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
I tend to be broadly ok with the rules lawyering in the past, I think mostly because Greg's capricious enough that it doesn't always work out the way they were hoping.
This has been a great season, there's no real clear loser and no clear Type A winner, it feels like anything's possible. Which I know is 100% in the edit, but some seasons it's pretty much a foregone conclusion by this point.
posted by Kyol at 6:28 PM on April 23, 2023
This has been a great season, there's no real clear loser and no clear Type A winner, it feels like anything's possible. Which I know is 100% in the edit, but some seasons it's pretty much a foregone conclusion by this point.
posted by Kyol at 6:28 PM on April 23, 2023
Another great episode. Ivo's faking twist was excellent, the team spoon task was fantastic, and that was an incredible team final task. Frankie's comments to Ivo after their team spoon task were heartbreakingly hilarious. I'm enjoying this group so much.
posted by ceejaytee at 5:03 AM on April 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by ceejaytee at 5:03 AM on April 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
So good!
I’ve not had an easy couple of months health wise (although this week I got a new diagnosis with a good treatment plan) and this show brings me so much joy! Also why I’ve been posting so many TV shows 😂
posted by ellieBOA at 12:16 PM on April 28, 2023
I’ve not had an easy couple of months health wise (although this week I got a new diagnosis with a good treatment plan) and this show brings me so much joy! Also why I’ve been posting so many TV shows 😂
posted by ellieBOA at 12:16 PM on April 28, 2023
What a great episode! I have been a little on the fence about Mae—sometimes they're so good at tasks that it seems like they're not having any fun or thinking about making good TV. Very "I'm going to get an A in Taskmaster, which is both normal to want and possible to achieve." But that psychic show was top notch and finding out they'd called Alex's wife was the icing on the cake (I just thought they were really good at cold reading!). I'm also really loving the Frankie-Ivo chemistry, which was only enhanced by Frankie's British dowager impression and the fact that Ivo couldn't stop himself from mirroring it.
posted by babelfish at 5:19 PM on April 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 5:19 PM on April 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
(I just thought they were really good at cold reading!)
Before the reveal, I was torn between "Wow!" and "It's not a bad bet to guess Alex would rhyme his pet names."
posted by MaritaCov at 12:39 PM on April 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Before the reveal, I was torn between "Wow!" and "It's not a bad bet to guess Alex would rhyme his pet names."
posted by MaritaCov at 12:39 PM on April 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
sometimes they're so good at tasks that it seems like they're not having any fun or thinking about making good TV. Very "I'm going to get an A in Taskmaster, which is both normal to want and possible to achieve."
I knew there was a reason they've been one of my favorites. It's the way I identify with them on a deep and important level.
posted by curious nu at 5:19 PM on April 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I knew there was a reason they've been one of my favorites. It's the way I identify with them on a deep and important level.
posted by curious nu at 5:19 PM on April 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I was a few episodes behind, but I'm caught up now.
The chemistry of this cast keeps getting better! Just delightful.
Fake psychic should get disqualified, though, since they're all fake and therefore mae was as real as they come.
posted by Acari at 5:15 PM on May 4, 2023
The chemistry of this cast keeps getting better! Just delightful.
Fake psychic should get disqualified, though, since they're all fake and therefore mae was as real as they come.
posted by Acari at 5:15 PM on May 4, 2023
I screamed, "Ivo! No!" when he set the podium down on the grass. Then it didn't matter at all.
posted by MaritaCov at 5:19 PM on May 5, 2023
posted by MaritaCov at 5:19 PM on May 5, 2023
He got disqualified for stepping on the actual grass earlier, like the others. The podium faux pas was after it was a foregone conclusion.
posted by janell at 8:18 AM on May 6, 2023
posted by janell at 8:18 AM on May 6, 2023
So the thing that kills me is -- could any of them have walked over the green, since it wasn't literally grass?
posted by curious nu at 4:45 PM on May 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by curious nu at 4:45 PM on May 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
Another great episode. Mae is clearly an escape room champion. They were on the solution to that in seconds. Kiell is so hilariously like a little boy who doesn't want to eat yucky stuff and really wants to know what a pulper is and why won't anyone tell him? The team task was great, the live task was fantastic, especially the impressions of Jenny's walk and the fact that Ivo did it too, even though she wasn't on his card, just because it looked like fun. He got robbed on the prize task though. That should have taken 5 points. I have no idea what Greg was thinking, giving those points to yet another weird painting from Frankie.
posted by ceejaytee at 6:15 AM on May 12, 2023
posted by ceejaytee at 6:15 AM on May 12, 2023
That team task with the handcuffs and the periodic table may have been the toughest in Taskmaster history. So impressed that both teams managed to solve it - despite their respective handicaps of Kiel's squeamishness and Frankie's wrong steer.
Also, I thought this might finally be the week Frankie won an episode. Mae's still my pick for the series as a whole - that calm intelligence again - but I'd hate to see Frankie come out of it without a single episode on the board.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:07 PM on May 12, 2023
Also, I thought this might finally be the week Frankie won an episode. Mae's still my pick for the series as a whole - that calm intelligence again - but I'd hate to see Frankie come out of it without a single episode on the board.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:07 PM on May 12, 2023
I want Mae to win, but without looking at/remembering the overall tally, I reckon Ivo has been quietly picking up a lot of points .
posted by juv3nal at 8:46 PM on May 12, 2023
posted by juv3nal at 8:46 PM on May 12, 2023
Sadly, Ivo is currently holding down the bottom of the leader board because of a couple of shows where he didn't even break 10 points. He's a favorite of mine and I love the way his mind works, but he is not very good at Taskmaster, bless him
posted by merriment at 3:42 PM on May 14, 2023
posted by merriment at 3:42 PM on May 14, 2023
aw boo. he's had some brilliant moments, but I guess when he's failed he's failed spectacularly.
posted by juv3nal at 7:23 PM on May 14, 2023
posted by juv3nal at 7:23 PM on May 14, 2023
Seeing as there's no general taskmaster thread, I'll just drop this here: Rose Matafeo has been announced as Junior Taskmaster with Mike Wozniak as her sidekick.
posted by juv3nal at 4:12 PM on May 16, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by juv3nal at 4:12 PM on May 16, 2023 [6 favorites]
I will absolutely watch the hell out of that.
posted by merriment at 4:22 AM on May 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by merriment at 4:22 AM on May 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Same!
posted by ellieBOA at 4:35 AM on May 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 4:35 AM on May 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
So the thing that stood out to me about the escape room task is that that was probably the first time someone with functional tastebuds was engaged in a tasting task. I mean it might have been editing, it might have been that they had a prompt on the wall so it wasn't entirely guesswork, but Mae seemed to just nail all of the flavors pretty quickly.
posted by Kyol at 5:19 AM on May 17, 2023
posted by Kyol at 5:19 AM on May 17, 2023
it might have been that they had a prompt on the wall so it wasn't entirely guesswork
I thought that, and then Ivo and Frankie promptly totally bungled "mint and gravy" so I reconsidered. (Full list of flavors on the wiki if anyone wants to barf mentally! I think some of these would be very hard even with a prompt.)
However:
that was probably the first time someone with functional tastebuds was engaged in a tasting task
This is Tarbuck erasure!
posted by babelfish at 6:25 AM on May 17, 2023
I thought that, and then Ivo and Frankie promptly totally bungled "mint and gravy" so I reconsidered. (Full list of flavors on the wiki if anyone wants to barf mentally! I think some of these would be very hard even with a prompt.)
However:
that was probably the first time someone with functional tastebuds was engaged in a tasting task
This is Tarbuck erasure!
posted by babelfish at 6:25 AM on May 17, 2023
Oh cool, the wiki answers my other question about that task, I wasn't clear on how they went from jelly babies to code, I thought every flavor on the menu was available and maybe they just worked out a lot of M & G flavors and a lot of W flavors and B flavors and P & B flavors and S flavors, but seeing the list and the code it's clear it wasn't that.
posted by Kyol at 6:44 AM on May 17, 2023
posted by Kyol at 6:44 AM on May 17, 2023
on the wiki
In case anyone else is fandom averse for reasons, this is a PSA that the very thorough taskmaster.info exists.
posted by juv3nal at 10:17 PM on May 17, 2023
In case anyone else is fandom averse for reasons, this is a PSA that the very thorough taskmaster.info exists.
posted by juv3nal at 10:17 PM on May 17, 2023
Another great episode. I particularly enjoyed how Ivo's moment of triumph in the pineapples task was so quickly followed by disaster as he steered his remote control boat straight under the dock. That's the Ivo we've come to know and love!
Still no win for Frankie, though ...
posted by Paul Slade at 4:09 AM on May 19, 2023
Still no win for Frankie, though ...
posted by Paul Slade at 4:09 AM on May 19, 2023
Can I get a "where's my chunks" going in the chat
posted by babelfish at 7:03 AM on May 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 7:03 AM on May 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
I enjoyed the redux of the "the word banana is a banana" argument in the "picture of a pineapple is a pineapple" discussion. Greg showed his delightful inconsistency by giving Mae the points after denying them in the banana argument to Frankie and Jenny. I think the "is a drawing of a pineapple is a pineapple" problem falls squarely on the shoulders of Alex Horne, though, who should not have given Mae the pen and paper in the first place. The tools they were all given were right there on Mae's side of the rope and Alex should not have given them something else.
The Braveheart duck family was, for me, the best thing in the episode, followed by Frankie's sexy pole-dancing, and Mae's excellent Border Brolly . I've now decided that Kiell must win the series just so I can watch him more. He had everything in this episode--annoyance that Jenny's ridiculous air mattress got more points that his more reasonable chair, kicking the pot after discovering the extra pineapples, his utter disbelief that Mae's pineapples won, his enjoyment of the jelly task and hanging out with Alex in the lab and then chucking balls at Frankie Boyle, and his absolutely fantastic "reminds me of Fern Brady" Scottish accent during his equally fantastic re-imagining of an umbrella. I could watch his facial expressions all day.
posted by ceejaytee at 9:48 AM on May 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Braveheart duck family was, for me, the best thing in the episode, followed by Frankie's sexy pole-dancing, and Mae's excellent Border Brolly . I've now decided that Kiell must win the series just so I can watch him more. He had everything in this episode--annoyance that Jenny's ridiculous air mattress got more points that his more reasonable chair, kicking the pot after discovering the extra pineapples, his utter disbelief that Mae's pineapples won, his enjoyment of the jelly task and hanging out with Alex in the lab and then chucking balls at Frankie Boyle, and his absolutely fantastic "reminds me of Fern Brady" Scottish accent during his equally fantastic re-imagining of an umbrella. I could watch his facial expressions all day.
posted by ceejaytee at 9:48 AM on May 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Where's my chunkz?
posted by Acari at 10:39 AM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Acari at 10:39 AM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
The editing on the whole pineapple task was just god-tier. The moment where Kiell's magnet re-attached, the off-camera expression of disgust from Mae... I was sobbing with laughter by the end.
posted by merriment at 5:26 AM on May 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by merriment at 5:26 AM on May 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Where’s me chunks! Frankie lamenting his joke scandals leading to him being on Taskmaster and pole dancing in the final task had me crying with laughter!
posted by ellieBOA at 11:13 AM on May 20, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 11:13 AM on May 20, 2023
I think this may have been the best episode of the series! The prize task was absolutely amazing, beginning to end. The team task, from Jenny's "fucking brilliant" when Kiell was going to stomp on the paint bottle to "toss me the easel, old chap" from Ivo, to Frankie in the studio saying that Ivo's stomping improved when Frankie told him to picture his father, was so good. Mae immediately messing up the hole punch task and apologizing to their parents while Jenny insisted on completing the task even after she was disqualified. And Jenny's 5 minute 28 second lecture on absolutely nothing, followed by a great live task that Frankie clearly threw on purpose so either he wouldn't win the episode or just to make fun of Greg's height, who knows? So great.
posted by ceejaytee at 7:50 AM on May 26, 2023
posted by ceejaytee at 7:50 AM on May 26, 2023
"Water was not invented in 1500, but it was being used" had me ROLLING.
posted by babelfish at 1:33 PM on May 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 1:33 PM on May 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
Frankie just doesn’t care about winning! Best prize task in a while, great episode overall!
posted by ellieBOA at 8:18 AM on May 28, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 8:18 AM on May 28, 2023
OH MY GOD RUBBER BAND FACE
NO
AUGH
THIS IS THE WORST THING I'VE EVER SEEN
posted by curious nu at 7:05 PM on June 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
NO
AUGH
THIS IS THE WORST THING I'VE EVER SEEN
posted by curious nu at 7:05 PM on June 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
Guys I cannot cope with how natural Kiell looked in that getup??
Frankie said on the podcast that he wanted them all to take psychedelics for the final but this is what they settled on instead.
posted by babelfish at 7:25 PM on June 1, 2023
Frankie said on the podcast that he wanted them all to take psychedelics for the final but this is what they settled on instead.
posted by babelfish at 7:25 PM on June 1, 2023
Also, I really enjoy that skipping anything in the chess task would really fuck you on a subsequent item (not sharpening the pencil means you can't do the math, not doing the math means you can't open the box, not opening the box means you get vaseline hands and can't make a balloon animal, etc.) except the rubber bands. As far as I can tell the rubber bands were purely decorative.
posted by babelfish at 8:25 PM on June 1, 2023
posted by babelfish at 8:25 PM on June 1, 2023
Rubber band face was horrible!! But yay Mae! And the season 16 lineup is great!
posted by ellieBOA at 6:10 AM on June 2, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 6:10 AM on June 2, 2023
That Mimic Alex chess match was one of the greatest tasks ever. So many terrible horrible things. And Jenny called Alex "a fucking freak". My god, it was so good.
Also an incredible prize task round, especially Mae's dad's puppet, which was fantastic, and Frankie's Greg Davies brand euthanasia bean bag chair.
Congrats to Mae! Someone on Reddit noted that Champion of Champions III will be very queer, with Mae, Sophie Duker, and Sarah Kendall, who just came out.
posted by ceejaytee at 11:30 AM on June 2, 2023
Also an incredible prize task round, especially Mae's dad's puppet, which was fantastic, and Frankie's Greg Davies brand euthanasia bean bag chair.
Congrats to Mae! Someone on Reddit noted that Champion of Champions III will be very queer, with Mae, Sophie Duker, and Sarah Kendall, who just came out.
posted by ceejaytee at 11:30 AM on June 2, 2023
At least two shots at a queer champion next season too! (Congrats to Sarah!)
posted by babelfish at 11:41 AM on June 2, 2023
posted by babelfish at 11:41 AM on June 2, 2023
SUE PERKINS
Taskmaster is the only thing I regularly watch, and it never disappoints.
posted by curious nu at 5:30 PM on June 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
Taskmaster is the only thing I regularly watch, and it never disappoints.
posted by curious nu at 5:30 PM on June 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
I just watched the one with the sneakiest prize task, and it was great!
I enjoyed the hole punching task, but I hope that Alex never actively interrupts or interferes during tasks again.
Frankie/Ivo and Kiell/Alex are fun pairings.
posted by Acari at 9:47 AM on June 8, 2023
I enjoyed the hole punching task, but I hope that Alex never actively interrupts or interferes during tasks again.
Frankie/Ivo and Kiell/Alex are fun pairings.
posted by Acari at 9:47 AM on June 8, 2023
Frankie said on the podcast that he wanted them all to take psychedelics for the final but this is what they settled on instead.
You mean Jenny isn't on psychedelics?
posted by Paul Slade at 11:47 PM on June 8, 2023
You mean Jenny isn't on psychedelics?
posted by Paul Slade at 11:47 PM on June 8, 2023
We finally caught up to the end of the season, so now I can google Taskmaster without everything being revealed!
I thought it was a solid season, a totally wonderful cast. I've seen Ivo on Frankie Boyle's panel show among other places, so that was a great pairing.
The only problem I had with this season was that it felt uneven in both the creativity of the tasks Alex and Co. wrote, and also in the scoring of the contestants' efforts. It was uneven so much that my TM-date and I would comment to each other how lackluster one episode was, and then the next episode would have the best of everything, ever.
But lackluster TM is like lackluster pizza... it's still great. I think the last Prize Task may have been one of the best ever. And I know I'm going to google Jenny Eclair and Mae Martin pretty soon. I've seen Niall on Stath Lets Flats—he nailed that feeling of a contestant simmering with anger while also being totally in on the joke being on him. I figured Ivo and Frankie were both there to be the LOLzers, but at the beginning of the season I had no idea who would do the best. I had my bet on Frankie, given how well Dara did in Season 14, and given that I think they're both the same person.
Alex was a bit cruel in places, and lenient in others. But when he started reciting random numbers during the "punch 99 holes in the paper" task, Oooo that made my blood angry. In a fun way but OOOO.
I liked the Sgt Peppers outfits in the last episode too. And Ivo's outfit on the penultimate episode, and his remarking on that in contrast to Mae's plainclothes while admitting they were on acid all throughout high school.
(Next season the only person I will have known going into it will be Sue Perkins, and I have wished for ages that she'd show up on TM—will definitely not take shit from Greg! And I bet her interactions with Alex during the tasks will be classic.)
Oh yeah, and now I can watch the outtakes that Youtube's algo has been pushing toward me for the past 3 months! By the way, did I miss the usual "we gave this task to one person only" easter egg?
I can't wait for the CoC-3! Does this also mean we'll have to wait another ten seasons for a Championship Champion of Champs? Well, I'm up for watching ten more seasons.
posted by not_on_display at 7:54 PM on July 4, 2023
I thought it was a solid season, a totally wonderful cast. I've seen Ivo on Frankie Boyle's panel show among other places, so that was a great pairing.
The only problem I had with this season was that it felt uneven in both the creativity of the tasks Alex and Co. wrote, and also in the scoring of the contestants' efforts. It was uneven so much that my TM-date and I would comment to each other how lackluster one episode was, and then the next episode would have the best of everything, ever.
But lackluster TM is like lackluster pizza... it's still great. I think the last Prize Task may have been one of the best ever. And I know I'm going to google Jenny Eclair and Mae Martin pretty soon. I've seen Niall on Stath Lets Flats—he nailed that feeling of a contestant simmering with anger while also being totally in on the joke being on him. I figured Ivo and Frankie were both there to be the LOLzers, but at the beginning of the season I had no idea who would do the best. I had my bet on Frankie, given how well Dara did in Season 14, and given that I think they're both the same person.
Alex was a bit cruel in places, and lenient in others. But when he started reciting random numbers during the "punch 99 holes in the paper" task, Oooo that made my blood angry. In a fun way but OOOO.
I liked the Sgt Peppers outfits in the last episode too. And Ivo's outfit on the penultimate episode, and his remarking on that in contrast to Mae's plainclothes while admitting they were on acid all throughout high school.
(Next season the only person I will have known going into it will be Sue Perkins, and I have wished for ages that she'd show up on TM—will definitely not take shit from Greg! And I bet her interactions with Alex during the tasks will be classic.)
Oh yeah, and now I can watch the outtakes that Youtube's algo has been pushing toward me for the past 3 months! By the way, did I miss the usual "we gave this task to one person only" easter egg?
I can't wait for the CoC-3! Does this also mean we'll have to wait another ten seasons for a Championship Champion of Champs? Well, I'm up for watching ten more seasons.
posted by not_on_display at 7:54 PM on July 4, 2023
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posted by ceejaytee at 8:15 AM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]