Taskmaster: Series 18—the entire run. (Autumn 2024)

September 13, 2024 8:37 PM - Season 18 (Full Season)

The waiting is over! It's time once again to perform wacky random tasks to earn the appreciation of the Taskmaster, thereby being doled out valueless points so we can win a cheap likeness of the Taskmaster's head! ...Or, more accurately, it's time blablablah random tasks vicariously, by watching five unlucky comedians attempting said wacky shit, blablablah etc. Let's welcome to the stage: Andy Zaltzman! Babatunde Aléshé! Emma Sidi! Jack Dee! and Rosie Jones! Their time starts NOW!

And here's the YT link to Series 18, Episode 1: 'The Faceless Facilitators'. All the information they need is written on the task.

posted by not_on_display (31 comments total)

They still got it. I found Rosie Jones' joy particularly infectious, and also enjoyed Emma Sidi's pretence of needling her ("Come onnn!"). Rosie evidently enjoyed these moments too.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:10 PM on September 13 [4 favorites]

I enjoyed the first episode. I hope that Emma and Rosie are on a team—I think they'll be fun together. Not sure if "winning" that first prize task was really much of a win, though... The lungs...
posted by synecdoche at 4:08 PM on September 14 [1 favorite]

Ooooh, Andy Zaltzman, of The Bugle Podcast?! I look forward to this.
posted by Pronoiac at 7:29 PM on September 14 [2 favorites]

I'm historically not a fan of Rosie Jones, whose humor is too crass for my taste. I told my husband that if she resisted the obvious interpretation of the prize task category maybe I'd revise my opinion, and she did, but then she came up with something worse than I imagined, so......... we'll see. Then again, I did laugh heartily at "because Alex is so boring." The others I don't really have established opinions on, and in general I'm attempting to reserve judgment and remember that everyone has the "who are these people and where are my friends" experience at the beginning of pretty much every season, and then it clicks a few episodes in! It hasn't clicked for me yet but we're also simultaneously rewatching 12, possibly the most lovable cast in TM history, so the "where are my friends" factor is strong.
posted by babelfish at 7:40 PM on September 14 [1 favorite]

I already like Big Hair Man, Man Who Went To Art School, Man Who Woke Up Grumpy, Detective Winks, and Overconfident Dirty Jokes Woman.

I also appreciate the general trend towards being a bit more kind to Alex.

I think the general incompetence displayed during the can task bodes well.
posted by Acari at 8:07 AM on September 15 [6 favorites]

Thank god the wait is over. I’m dying to make best friends with five new bumbling incompetents.

More seriously, I’ve been watching some of the international seasons (NZ is particularly good once they get up and running), and the editing staff for the UK version are astonishingly good at their jobs.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:37 AM on September 15 [4 favorites]

I just finished NZ season 5 last week and was so excited to see that the UK season started! No need to wait for more Taskmaster!

The cans task made me legitimately lol (Emma's repeated perfect aim through the middle! The importance of staying on the spot!), and I was so pleased they caught Jack's throwaway "quite" because I was about to protest when they made it seem like they ended the task after he finally got the seal clue.
posted by paisley sheep at 8:58 PM on September 15 [2 favorites]

Enjoyed Episode 1. I really never clicked with last season's cast (still enjoyed it) but I knew Jack and Rosie from other things and Zaltzman is my instant favorite.

I was worried Rosie's disability would make it hard to compete on physical tasks but the can task quickly dispelled that, they're ALL equally terrible.

Rosie's humor doesn't usually work for me but her sheer joy has won me over like Jenny Eclair's in a previous season.

Favorite moment: Rosie trying to gleefully communicate "I just drank vinegar!" while simultaneously trying to swallow vinegar...

Jack is already frustrated and I'm looking forward to him going insane by the end of the series.
posted by mmoncur at 5:38 AM on September 16 [1 favorite]

I really like Rosie Jones; I was wondering how they'd tailor the format so thqat the playing level is even, and I think they're maintaining a good balance so far: the tasks that require a lot of movement don't seem like timed tasks; and, the timed tasks don't require speed, and given TM's track record of treating the guests with dignity (even in the form of humor, and even if the guests themselves break down) I feel pretty confident they won't make things uncomfortable. We also noticed that the studio panel is sitting in chairs with armrests this season, and we're guessing it's so Rosie can stand up as easily/quickly as any of the other panelists.

To us, we found it funny to see contestants that reminded us of past contestants: Jack Dee = Al Murray (with some Stewart Lee energy. I wish Stewart will be a contestant one day.) Emma Sidi is obviously Katy Wix's parallel universe younger sister: so far they have very similar body postures and facial expressions, and while their field uniforms couldn't be more opposite to one another's, their studio clothes could have been from the same closet.

And my partner noticed that Rosie's studio jumper was the same exact same one as TM-NZ's Hailey's field-task outfit.

(I'm enjoying this most recent TM-NZ season too; we're currently in the middle of that series, and Jeremy and that cast seem very kindly (and the guests panelists are a treat), and there's less bullying of Paul, too, much like this cast of TM-UK is treating Alex kindly so far.)
posted by not_on_display at 8:20 AM on September 16 [2 favorites]

And my partner noticed that Rosie's studio jumper was the same exact same one as TM-NZ's Hailey's field-task outfit.

I was just coming here to say that! Though I think it's less "jumper" and more like "coveralls" but in any case, its the same.

I’m dying to make best friends with five new bumbling incompetents.

I love this summary.
posted by jessamyn at 12:18 PM on September 16 [3 favorites]

There's a thing I always wonder about, but would find a pain to track down, is whether there's a relationship between studio banter and how quickly I enjoy the panelists. Like some seasons... I dunno, either it felt like Alex and Greg were pulling teeth or the panelists just weren't up for it, but when they're teasing each other and remembering that they're comedians (mostly), I think I enjoy the show more than when the panel is just there for the tasks?

And this season has started out just fine, that way. Emma teasing Rosie, Andy ribbing himself, Jack Dee being Jack Dee, good times all around.
posted by Kyol at 12:52 PM on September 16 [2 favorites]

I dunno, either it felt like Alex and Greg were pulling teeth or the panelists just weren't up for it, but when they're teasing each other and remembering that they're comedians (mostly), I think I enjoy the show more than when the panel is just there for the tasks?


I have not yet watched this one but I agree completely.

Interaction between the contestants is essential for a great season, be it backing each other up when they think Greg is judging unfairly or selling out the front-runner for that extra point.
Bonus points if one contestant absolutely gets under the skin of another and the Alex/Greg just let it happen.
posted by madajb at 7:50 PM on September 16 [1 favorite]

Jack Dee = Al Murray (with some Stewart Lee energy.

I would have sworn he’s already done TM!

Fun first episode, new incompetent friends yes!
posted by ellieBOA at 10:22 AM on September 17 [2 favorites]

And my partner noticed that Rosie's studio jumper was the same exact same one as TM-NZ's Hailey's field-task outfit.

I noticed this too! It's the Lucy and Yak Ragan jumpsuit if you're feeling inspired (or planning a Halloween costume).

Incidentally, if you're not already asking all your friends what their tasking outfit would be, I recommend it as a topic of conversation (one of my friends picked a Lucy and Yak jumpsuit in a different print).
posted by babelfish at 5:22 PM on September 17 [2 favorites]

...that one montage when the task is not to say anything while reading the task, and to look into the camera and not smile—punctuated by the waves of uncontrolled laughter...
posted by not_on_display at 10:25 PM on September 17 [1 favorite]

I thought this was a great first episode. We got disgusting prizes (Rosie beat the competition out for the most gross), a disqualification, physical comedy, a fantastic filmed task effort, a great guess in the live task, and nice banter. The highlight for me were the interactions between Emma and Rosie. I wonder if they were on a team together--they seemed to have a real connection. The callback with Emma saying she didn't have cerebral palsy was hilarious. Emma is the only one I didn't know going into this and her Inspector Gadget outfit made me lover her immediately.

I also love grumpy Jack Dee. I hope he remains grumpy all the way through. He perked out at the prospect of champagne, but was brought down fast by the vegan non-alcoholic one they gave him.
posted by ceejaytee at 5:50 AM on September 19 [1 favorite]

The quiet adoption of the armrests and lack of any fuss about it strikes me as being typical of the care and forethought that goes into the making of this programme. I'm reminded of Alex quietly using an off-camera moment to remind Greg about Mae Martin's preferred pronouns in a previous series. They never draw attention to it, but they do try to get this stuff right.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:53 AM on September 19 [5 favorites]

The team match-ups are VERY funny. They did a good job, there.

In more accessibility news, I appreciate that the TM team provided the human-generated subtitles immediately with the episode, this week, since there was grumbling in the comment section last week about the four day lag in providing them.
posted by merriment at 5:53 AM on September 23 [1 favorite]

I was hoping Jack and Rosie would be a team! Perfect odd-couple matchup.
posted by mmoncur at 5:59 AM on September 23

I could have done without the pub quiz task at such an extended length, but otherwise a good episode.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:12 PM on September 26 [1 favorite]

Also, what was the significance of the two asterixes in the rocket task's wording?
posted by Paul Slade at 8:32 AM on September 27 [1 favorite]

The art challenge was one of my all time favorites, and I fully agree with the taskmaster’s allotment of points.
posted by moonmilk at 9:35 PM on September 27 [2 favorites]

I firmly believe that the quality of a comedian is inversely related to their score on the show (even Greg complains about the general level of competence during the art re-creation task!), and, as a long time Bugle listener, Zaltzman winning proves it. He even got high points for the pun run prize task.
posted by pwnguin at 11:01 PM on September 27 [1 favorite]

Also, what was the significance of the two asterixes in the rocket task's wording?

I was waiting for that to be cleared up during the in-studio chatter and was surprised it wasn't, so now I'm thinking it was for the additional tasks that were like footnotes (the rocket can't be homemade, and you have to add a rocket for each time you swear). Also my immediate thought was to also check the kitchen to see if they had rocket/arugula in the fridge so I'm glad that passed.
posted by paisley sheep at 10:42 AM on September 28 [1 favorite]

I was wondering there for a while if soul meant something different in the UK
posted by Carillon at 8:04 PM on September 28

Oh, Carillon, you've never listened to The Bugle. To say that Zaltzman will stretch for wordplay is a polite understatement.

Some extras:
* the first set of outtakes for the season
* more of the pub quiz
posted by Pronoiac at 3:21 PM on September 30 [3 favorites]

You know, Rosie is growing on me. This show is giving her the opportunity to do something besides being raunchy, and I find myself genuinely looking forward to her prize tasks. The setup for the tattoo was gold.

Emma revealed on the podcast (though I think not on purpose) that she's the ultra-competitive points craver this series, which I guess makes sense because... who else was it gonna be. Historically that person does well, because they have to for their own self-concept.
posted by babelfish at 7:33 PM on October 4

The setup for the tattoo was gold.

It was funny and on spec, but I half expected someone to point out that it would be hard to award the winner her tattoo. Is there a readily available temporary tattoo version of it?
posted by pwnguin at 11:37 PM on October 4 [1 favorite]

Rosie is definitely growing on me. Her joie de vivre really brings something to the tasks. Loved her commitment to consent in the pocket task followed by blatantly stealing the sound guy's money. Also very funny that she solved the task neatly but lost some ground in the total numbers because her outfit was also covered in pockets.

I'd been struggling a bit with earlier episodes, but for whatever reason, this was the one that really clicked for me and now I'm all in on this season.
posted by merriment at 10:21 AM on October 5

I half expected someone to point out that it would be hard to award the winner her tattoo.

This has also been a point of contention on the podcast, as both Baba and Emma have said that they tried to bring actual things that you might actually want to win, and Ed has pointed out that this is a somewhat retro approach that has fallen out of favor in recent seasons (remember when Nick brought in the concept of putting ice in wine?). I'm not especially surprised that Rosie didn't get any stick for it, but it would have been a nice touch for her to bring a sheet of temp tattoos.
posted by babelfish at 9:37 AM on October 8

Yeah, I kind of miss the "here's the mortgage to my house" and "I got your name tattooed on my foot" prize tasks. I mean, I'm not sure I'd buy them with as much wide eyed credibility as I used to, and I'm sure the show is trying to rein in that sort of prize task anyway, but ... I dunno, I miss them.

And yeah, Rosie is absolutely nailing Taskmaster. I've been kind of ambivalent about her on other panel shows because her humor just always sort of feels out of place on QI or 8oo10cdc or whatever, but here it's doing a good job of disarming Greg, which I wholeheartedly approve of.
posted by Kyol at 12:38 PM on October 8 [1 favorite]