Taskmaster

[defblade]

This has been a strong series
As well as Rhod's Alex fixation, I've thought the banter in the studio has been great, too - Acaster is especially quick and sharp

[FiF]

Kinky said:

FiF said:

Wait for next week! Rhod's trolling of Greg gets ever better.

Truly made me

Greg's face was a picture, genuine reaction I thought.

[Kinky]

FiF said:

Kinky said:

FiF said:

Wait for next week! Rhod's trolling of Greg gets ever better.

Truly made me

Greg's face was a picture, genuine reaction I thought.

I actually paused and replayed that one moment quite a few times, it really made me laugh and, as you say, seemed really genuine

[johnxjsc1985]

just love this show its just so funny in so many different ways

[skinny]

Rhods Alex arse fountain was certainly unexpected! Proper lol-ing

[Baron Greenback]

Was one of the best episode of the season for sure!

[ajprice]

A longer version of Rhod with the creepy video https://youtu.be/XzULrNcrBeY

[Baron Greenback]

ajprice said:

A longer version of Rhod with the creepy video https://youtu.be/XzULrNcrBeY

Greg is going to get his own back for sure, feel sorry for Rod i think!

[CardinalBlue]

Have to agree, really enjoying this series after a poor one last time out.

I've seen James Acaster's 'warm-up' gig of his up-coming tour. If you've enjoyed him on Taskmaster, I recommend you going to see him. His audio book is also great for a long car journey.

[AlexRS2782]

That image of Greg's mum in the bath with the Fez The reaction was hilarious

Phil & James with the Hula Hoop too I think we could have done without the slow motion close up in Phil's case though

[youngsyr]

It's a brilliant show, one of only two I can think of that routinely have me laughing out loud. It deserves to be much more well known than it is and would do well on BBC 2 in a primetime evening slot.

[Doofus]

youngsyr said:

It's a brilliant show, one of only two I can think of that routinely have me laughing out loud. It deserves to be much more well known than it is and would do well on BBC 2 in a primetime evening slot.

No it wouldn't, because they'd stamp all over the language, and the adult nature of a lot of the back-and-forth.

[Kinky]

Does anyone know why the final episode from this series (7) is not on demand (at least on Sky anyway)?

I was looking forward to watching it last night, but no sign of it yet It's usually up at about 10:00pm.

[trooperiziz]

Same thing happened last series, they run a week ahead throughout until the last episode, which doesn't go up till it has been broadcast.

[AlexRS2782]

Doofus said:

youngsyr said:

It's a brilliant show, one of only two I can think of that routinely have me laughing out loud. It deserves to be much more well known than it is and would do well on BBC 2 in a primetime evening slot.

No it wouldn't, because they'd stamp all over the language, and the adult nature of a lot of the back-and-forth.

It would be similar to the difference between the BBC & C4 versions of Bake Off.

C4 get away with far more jokes than the BBC allowed, especially on Extra Slice - i don't think the BBC would have ever allowed Tom Allen's segment.

From memory the BBC did commission a family friendly version of Taskmaster. I think it was called The Box and wen't out in the Friday evening slot and was narrated / produced by Alex Horne and at least 1 or 2 other Taskmaster producers / writers.

[Cold]

Not forgetting, of course, that Dave is, in part, a BBC channel.

[Podie]

AlexRS2782 said:

That image of Greg's mum in the bath with the Fez The reaction was hilarious

was a proper double take

[droopsnoot]

AlexRS2782 said:

From memory the BBC did commission a family friendly version of Taskmaster. I think it was called The Box and wen't out in the Friday evening slot and was narrated / produced by Alex Horne and at least 1 or 2 other Taskmaster producers / writers.

I caught the end of that a few times but it didn't really do anything for me - it just seems funnier when it's "celebs" doing the tasks. I wonder if a similar thing is going on with the forthcoming "Let me get that" or whatever it's called - seems to be quite a similar format to "Alan Davies as yet untitled".

[youngsyr]

droopsnoot said:

AlexRS2782 said:

From memory the BBC did commission a family friendly version of Taskmaster. I think it was called The Box and wen't out in the Friday evening slot and was narrated / produced by Alex Horne and at least 1 or 2 other Taskmaster producers / writers.

I caught the end of that a few times but it didn't really do anything for me - it just seems funnier when it's "celebs" doing the tasks. I wonder if a similar thing is going on with the forthcoming "Let me get that" or whatever it's called - seems to be quite a similar format to "Alan Davies as yet untitled".

What makes Taskmaster funny isn't that there are celebrities doing the tasks, but there are comedians doing the tasks (and commenting on them). They all have a very high sense of comedic timing, turn of phrase, expression and improvisation that elevates the show way beyond what a group of random members of the public could achieve.

The difference becomes starkly obvious on shows like Would I lie to you, which mixes comedians with sports stars and other celebrities. More often than not, the non-comedians are pretty dull "filler" and it's the comedians who really bring the entertainment. The chemistry between Lee Mack, David Mitchell and Rob Brydon carries that show. You could put anyone else on their teams and it would still be funny, but when you add yet another comedian, such as Bob Mortimer, it's hilarious.

[FiF]

youngsyr said:

droopsnoot said:

AlexRS2782 said:

From memory the BBC did commission a family friendly version of Taskmaster. I think it was called The Box and wen't out in the Friday evening slot and was narrated / produced by Alex Horne and at least 1 or 2 other Taskmaster producers / writers.

I caught the end of that a few times but it didn't really do anything for me - it just seems funnier when it's "celebs" doing the tasks. I wonder if a similar thing is going on with the forthcoming "Let me get that" or whatever it's called - seems to be quite a similar format to "Alan Davies as yet untitled".

What makes Taskmaster funny isn't that there are celebrities doing the tasks, but there are comedians doing the tasks (and commenting on them). They all have a very high sense of comedic timing, turn of phrase, expression and improvisation that elevates the show way beyond what a group of random members of the public could achieve.

The difference becomes starkly obvious on shows like Would I lie to you, which mixes comedians with sports stars and other celebrities. More often than not, the non-comedians are pretty dull "filler" and it's the comedians who really bring the entertainment. The chemistry between Lee Mack, David Mitchell and Rob Brydon carries that show. You could put anyone else on their teams and it would still be funny, but when you add yet another comedian, such as Bob Mortimer, it's hilarious.

Exactly, members of the public are motivated by wanting to win, ie the prize money incentive. The best of the comedians don't give a toss about winning, largely, but are motivated by getting the laughs and therefore think of something completely out of the box for the sake of geing funny. Rhod and the fez was a case in point, he didn't fulfil the task by the photo being of Greg's Mum wearing the fez in the bath, the motivation being getting the laughs for trolling Greg. You don't get contestants on quiz shows giving comedy answers, though I once did when didn't know the answer in a club quiz as it was better than being wet and saying I don't know to something that the entire fecking audience did but I didn't.

Q. Who was George Michael's partner in Wham?

A. Walt Disney.