Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 18

Series 18 is a good cast but one contestant stands out.

Taskmaster:  UK Series 18

Year:  2024

Channel:  Channel 4

Contestants:  

Andy Zaltzman

Babatunde Aleshe

Emma Sidi

Jack Dee

Wildly Inappropriate Rosie Jones

Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

The cast is fun- Andy Zaltzman takes the role of the person trying very hard to win, Emma Sidi is extremely hit or miss on the tasks, Jack Dee does well but acts like the sardonic old guy who doesn't want to be there, and Babatunde Aleshe doesn't seem to be aware of what show he is on.

The standout of the cast is Rosie Jones, who is inappropriate and hysterical.  She is having a blast on the show, and carries the season.  She breaks Greg, Alex and the other contestants a half dozen times.  As funny as the other four are, Rosie takes the spotlight.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 18 had a nautical theme, and Greg Davies was decked out as an admiral in the office portrait:

Best task of the season:

"Wear this outfit throughout one future task and your points will be doubled for that task."  I love this concept- the contestants pick a task and wear a special outfit, and for that task only, the points are doubled.  Of course, they have to choose before finding out what the task is.  

Worst task of the season:

"Create, handle and voice the most charismatic new children's television puppet sidekick for Alex.."

This was going all right until Wildly Inappropriate Rosie Jones...

And I am amazed that the smell task of episode 5 is not here...

Trivia:

* The location tasks were at Thorpe Park

* Widlly Inappropriate Rosie Jones has Cerebal Palsy, and the tasks were adjusted for her condition.

* There's a couple of meta-tasks; one task punishes the players for outside the box thinking, which is unusual. 

Contestant Rankings:

1. Dara O'Briain (Series 14)
2. Kiell Smith-Boyle (Series 15)
3. Mel Giedroyc (Series 4)
4. Rhod Gilbert (Series 7)
5. Ed Gamble (Series 9)
6. James Acaster (Series 7)
7. Sarah Millican (Series 14)
8. Wildly Inappropriate Rosie Jones (Series 18)
9. Mike Wozniak (Series 11)
10. Rose Matefeo (Series 9)

Series Ranking:

1. Series 14
2. Series 9
3. Series 7
4. Series 15
5. Series 13
6. Series 18
7. Series 17
8. Series 12
9. Series 16
10. Series 4
11. Series 11
12. Series 5
13. Series 10
14. Series 8
15. Series 6
16. Series 2
17. Series 1
18. Series 3

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 17

Series 17 is a good series that never quite reaches the heights of the best series.

Taskmaster:  UK Series 17

Year:  2024

Channel:  Channel 4

Contestants:  

Joanne McNally

John Robins

Nick Mohammed

Sophie Willan

Steve Pemberton

Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

You have some good casting- John Robins and Steve Pemberton are working hard on the tasks (one is consistently good; the other is very hit-or-miss), Sophie Willan and Joanne McNally are chaos agents, and Nick Mohammed is both having a blast and takes the Nish Kumar role of being terrible at tasks.  Everyone is good, and the tasks are enjoyable.  What it's missing is an S-tier moment that would put the series at the top of the rankings, IMHO.

One reason Series 17 doesn't quite reach top tier is that the show is so dominated by the eventual winner, who wins half the episodes, ties for the top in another episode, and never finished worse than tied for third.  With two people doing objectively terrible on the tasks, the winner becomes very obvious.

It's a fun season- everyone is having a blast.  And if there's ever a 'Loser of losers' show, with the most entertaining bad contestants, there's two top choices here.  I'd argue that this is the series that separates the good series from the great ones.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 17 went with a Victorian theme, and the portrait of the Greg Davies had him in a long beard, top hat, and suit:

Best task of the season:

"Team: Put the watermelon on this table. The table may not be moved. Once you leave this room, you may not re-enter this room. Also, you may not step on the stage and the watermelon may not touch the stage, floor or ground. Finally, you must speak into your hand-held microphones at all times."  This is a fun task for two reasons- first, everyone is given a secret task that they try to complete while also doing the Team task.  And second, one team is very very good at the Team Task.  And the other is... not.

Worst task of the season:

"Team: Present the best new short-form shiny floor American gameshow. Alex will be the contestant, one of you must be his rival and somebody must win."

Once again, one team does really well, and the other team is awful.  And I really, really, REALLY, do not like disgusting tasks...

Trivia:

* The location tasks were at the Kennel Farm in Buckinghamshire

* It say something about the show that at no time do Alex or Greg ever mention that Nick Mohammed is dressed as Dracula

Contestant Rankings:

1. Dara O'Briain (Series 14)
2. Kiell Smith-Boyle (Series 15)
3. Mel Giedroyc (Series 4)
4. Rhod Gilbert (Series 7)
5. Ed Gamble (Series 9)
6. James Acaster (Series 7)
7. Sarah Millican (Series 14)
8. Mike Wozniak (Series 11)
9. Rose Matefeo (Series 9)
10. Sophie Duker (Series 13)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 14
2. Season 9
3. Season 7
4. Season 15
5. Season 13
6. Season 17
7. Season 12
8. Season 16
9. Season 4
10. Season 11
11. Season 5
12. Season 10
13. Season 8
14. Season 6
15. Season 2
16. Season 1
17. Season 3

NFL Predictions: 2026-2027

As always, remember that I am a casual fan who really doesn't know what he's talking about.  

Rather that be a fan of one team, I pick a different NFL team to root for every year.  In the past, it's been Buffalo and Detroit.  This year, I was torn between three teams- Chicago, Atlanta, and the team I ended up with- the Houston Texans.  On the off chance I really am a sports curse, I apologize in advance to the Texans.

Looking over this season... the separation between the good teams and bad teams isn't that wide.  I think most teams win between 7-10 games.  I don't think anyone will win 13 games or win just 3 games.

In the NFC, there are three divisions that look absolutely brutal, with 3 or more possible playoff teams.  Only the South doesn't have a lot of contenders, and none of them look bad.  The Rams, on paper, look the strongest- and I have them making the Super Bowl.  It won't be easy

I think the AFC is the weaker conference.  The North no longer looks like a powerhouse, Kansas City is getting old, and the East is only a two team race.  I have Buffalo coming out of the AFC, though I have a coin flip between them and Denver.

And in the Super Bowl?  The Rams have the defense.  But in one game, after overcoming their demons... I like Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.  Super Bowl LXI ends the curse for one franchise.

NFC

East:

Philadelphia   10-7

Dallas   10-7 (Wild Card)

NY Giants   8-9

Washington   7-10

North:

Detroit   11-6

Chicago   10-7 (Wild Card)

Green Bay   9-8 

Minnesota   7-10

South:

Atlanta   10-7

Carolina   8-9

New Orleans   8-9

Tampa Bay   6-11

West:

Los Angeles Rams   12-5

Seattle   12-5 (Wild Card)

San Francisco   8-9

Arizona   5-12

Playoffs:

Seattle over Philadelphia

Atlanta over Dallas

Detroit over Chicago

Detroit over Seattle

Los Angeles Rams over Atlanta

Los Angeles Rams over Detroit

AFC

East:

Buffalo   12-5

New England   10-7 (Wild Card)

Miami   6-11

NY Jets   5-12

North:

Baltimore   10-7

Cincinnati   9-8  (Wild Card)

Pittsburgh   9-8 

Cleveland  4-13

South:

Houston   10-7

Tennessee   7-10
Jacksonville   7-10

Indianapolis   7-10

West:

Denver   11-6

Los Angeles Chargers   10-7 (Wild Card)

Kansas City   8-9

Las Vegas   6-11

Playoffs:
Denver over Cincinnati

Los Angeles Chargers over Baltimore

Houston over New England 

Denver over Houston

Buffalo over Los Angeles Chargers

Buffalo over Denver



Super Bowl: Buffalo over Los Angeles Rams, 38-31

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 16

"Portcullis!"

Taskmaster:  UK Series 16

Year:  2023

Channel:  Channel 4

Contestants:  

Julian Clary

Lucy Beaumont

Sam Campbell

Sue Perkins

Susan Wokoma

Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

I've remarked how some of the Taskmaster series need more of a chaos agent.  Series 16 is NOT short on chaos.

Series 16 reminds me of Series 19- the contestants get along and help each other, but are constantly snarking with Alex and Greg. Two of the contestants (Sam Campbell and Lucy Beaumont) are wonderfully weird throughout the show.  There is a difference between them- Sam is weird but cunning, and is trying to win.  Lucy is just a Cloud Cuckoo Lander throughout the series.

Julian Clary brings the snark (the banter between him and Alex is hysterical, and a highlight of the series), and the Sues are both funny (and work phenomenal together as a team; they could do a show together).  There is not a lack of strangeness throughout the series.

It's not a great series in terms of tasks, and there are a lot of terrible performances.  But the commentary is surreal and odd.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 16 went with an Art Deco theme, and the portrait of the Greg Davies evoked the classic movie Metropolis.

Best task of the season:

"Live: Pass the pineapples amongst you for 15 seconds while the Taskmaster shuts his eyes and has a little think. When the Taskmaster opens his eyes, he will say if he thinks you are holding a pineapple behind your back or not. If he accuses you wrongly, you will get a point."  Sometimes the simplest tasks bring about the best responses...

Worst task of the season:

"Do something shocking but family-friendly with this doughnut."

I really, really do not like disgusting tasks...

Trivia:

* The location tasks were at the Wormsley Park

* At the start, Alex mentioned a 'secret task' for the players to find.  There have been secret tasks, but this was the first time one was mentioned for the players to look for.

* Did you know that the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts (RADA) costs 30 grand a year?

* Lucy Beaumont's husband is Jon Richardson, who was on Series 2 of the show.

Contestant Rankings:

1. Dara O'Briain (Series 14)
2. Kiell Smith-Boyle (Series 15)
3. Mel Giedroyc (Series 4)
4. Rhod Gilbert (Series 7)
5. Ed Gamble (Series 9)
6. James Acaster (Series 7)
7. Sarah Millican (Series 14)
8. Mike Wozniak (Series 11)
9. Rose Matefeo (Series 9)
10. Sophie Duker (Series 13)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 14
2. Season 9
3. Season 7
4. Season 15
5. Season 13
6. Season 12
7. Season 16
8. Season 4
9. Season 11
10. Season 5
11. Season 10
12. Season 8
13. Season 6
14. Season 2
15. Season 1
16. Season 3

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 15

Series 15- the challenges aren't S-tier, but the contestants are... 

Taskmaster:  UK Series 15

Year:  2023

Channel:  Channel 4

Contestants:  

Frankie Boyle

Ivo Graham

Jenny Eclair

Kiell Smith-Bynoe

Mae Martin

Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

What a strange and wonderful cast.  Series 15 has...

- A competent player who is really trying to win (Mae Martin)

- A semi-competent player who is really trying to win (Kiell Smith-Bynoe)

- A competent player who is far more interested in being snarky than trying to win (Frankie Boyle)

- A man who seems to have little idea what is going on, but is happy to be here (Ivo Graham)

- And a strange old bird who is having the time of their life, results be damned (Jenny Eclair)

The bantering are great- sniping at each other good-naturedly, arguing over points, sniping with Alex and Greg.  I don't think the tasks are great (nowhere near as awesome as Series 14, IMHO).  But the banter is brilliant...

A special shout out to Kiell Smith-Boyle.  Not only is he having a great time, but he's so locked into doing well that it drives him crazy when it falters.  Both the Taskmaster and Alex seems to really enjoy poking at Kiell throughout the series, enough so that...

When Mae Martin is unable to be in the country for Champion of Champions 3, Kiell takes their place.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 15 went with a psychadelic theme, and the portrait of the Greg Davies looked like an ad for a concert from the 60's...

Best task of the season:

"Bash the big bell with the bowling ball. Fastest gets five points. Slowest gets four points. Nobody else gets any points. You must stay off the grass unless you are wearing gold shoes. If anything other than the bowling ball or gold shoes touches the grass, you are disqualified."  Unlike the worst task, this was sneaky but not unfair.  Very inventive, and the banter among the contestants was excellent.

Worst task of the season:

"Make exactly 99 holes in this piece of paper. Your holes must have a diameter of at least three millimetres and form a recognisable picture or pattern. If you make more or fewer than 99 holes, you are disqualified. Also, if you look at Alex or speak to Alex at any point, you are disqualified."

Alex Horne and the Taskmaster team are sneaky- they hide the answer in plain sight, they give you a followup task right after completing a task, they give tasks to encourage people to sabotage their team.  But the show has always been fair.  This is the one task I think they went too far.  Saying the contestants couldn't look or talk to Alex is tough enough.  But having Alex then shout random numbers (to disrupt their counting) and try to provoke them to talk to him was unfair.  Three of the contestants were disqualified, and I'm amazed all five weren't.  

Trivia:

* The location tasks were at the Frogmore Paper Mill

* In Series 12, Alex got engaged.  In Series 13, he had a stag do.  The first show of episode 15 has him with his first wedding dance...

* Pineapples are everywhere

* Episode 2 might be the closest episode of the entire show; 3 points separated the winner from the lowest score.

* To celebrate the last episode, the contestants dress looking like they were the Beatles on the Sergeant Pepper's album.

Contestant Rankings:

1. Dara O'Briain (Series 14)
2. Kiell Smith-Boyle (Series 15)
3. Mel Giedroyc (Series 4)
4. Rhod Gilbert (Series 7)
5. Ed Gamble (Series 9)
6. James Acaster (Series 7)
7. Sarah Millican (Series 14)
8. Mike Wozniak (Series 11)
9. Rose Matefeo (Series 9)
10. Sophie Duker (Series 13)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 14
2. Season 9
3. Season 7
4. Season 15
5. Season 13
6. Season 12
7. Season 4
8. Season 11
9. Season 5
10. Season 10
11. Season 8
12. Season 6
13. Season 2
14. Season 1
15. Season 3

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 14

"Can I say it's actually kind of a relief, because at the time I thought he was AN IDIOT!"- you'll have to watch episode 3 to understand this quote.  It's worth it.

Taskmaster:  UK Series 14

Year:  2022

Channel:  Channel 4

Contestants:  

Dara O'Briain

Fern Brady

John Kearns

Munya Chawawa

Sarah Millican

Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

Taskmaster has a basic formula that works.  What separates the good seasons from the great seasons are two things- the quality of the tasks, and the interaction of the five contestants with themselves and with Alex and Greg.

And season 14 has an abundance of both.

The tasks are outstanding- there's some unexpected twists and turns, some absolutely great performances and some utterlu amusing debacles.  

And as good as the tasks are, the are matched with a great cast.  All five are funny in different ways.  Dara O'Briain and Sarah Millican are funny and competent.  John Kearns, at times, is an utter trainwreck.  Fern Brady is wonderfully weird.  Munya Chawawa manages to be overly confident in his ability of every single task, even when he has no reason to think he'll do well.  The cast snipe at each other and at Greg and Alex throughout the series.  It's brilliant.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 14 went with a circus theme, and the portrait of the Greg Davies had him as the ringmaster of the Circus of Tasks....

Best task of the season:

"Team: With your hands on those hips at all times, put the most sand in the shopping trolley. You may only move the shopping trolley when there is one minute left on the clock."  Sounds like a simple task, but wait...

There are dozens of great tasks in this series.  Three of them were copied from season 2 of Taskmaster New Zealand.  

Worst task of the season:

I don't have any- this season knocks it out of the park with the tasks.

Trivia:

* The location tasks were at the Gatwick Airport

* Dara O'Briain may have had the most dominate performance in a single episode 

*  Munya keeps complaining about a smell in the lab.  In episode 6, you find out the source of that smell...

Contestant Rankings:

1. Dara O'Briain (season 14)
2. Mel Giedroyc (Season 4)
3. Rhod Gilbert (Season 7)
4. Ed Gamble (Season 9)
5. James Acaster (Season 7)
6. Sarah Millican (season 14)
7. Mike Wozniak (Season 11)
8. Rose Matefeo (Season 9)
9. Sophie Duker (Season 13)
10. Fern Brady (Season 14)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 14
2. Season 9
3. Season 7
4. Season 13
5. Season 12
6. Season 4
7. Season 11
8. Season 5
9. Season 10
10. Season 8
11. Season 6
12. Season 2
13. Season 1
14. Season 3

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 13

"[Chris Ramsey] was the only person not to leave that room hating you..."  Greg Davies to Alex Horne in Series 13.  That's the sign of a good task...

Taskmaster:  UK Series 13

Year:  2022

Channel:  Channel 4

Contestants:  

Ardal O'Hanlon

Bridget Christie

Chris Ramsey

Judi Love

Sophie Duker

Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

Series 13 is the first series since Series 9 that had a live studio audience and the COVID guidelines removed.  

It's a good series- there's several clever tasks, and the sniping between the contestants hit the right balance between enjoyable sniping without being too bitter or angry.  But it's a combination of two contestants who were competent and three who were... not.  But seeing Bridget Christie (a longtime friend of Greg Davies, who enjoyed tormenting her) freak out, or Ardal O'Hanlon (charming and constantly critquing the others), or Judi Love (terrible at tasks, but a brilliant bullshitter) do as little as possible in a task, is entertaining. But Chris Ramsey and Sophie Duker are great contestants, and it comes down to the final couple of tasks to determine the winner. 

One thing to note- in retrospect, episode 9 is low-key heartbreaking.  Spoilers below:

The show spends the entire episode reminding us that Judi Love hasn't won an episode, and is trying so hard to set her up for the win... and then she gets disqualified on the final task.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 13 went with an theme of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and the portrait has Greg Davies in full skull makeup...

Best task of the season:

"Display the shoe Alex is thinking of. All the other shoes must be out of sight at the end of the attempt. You may only ask yes or no questions and you must say/do your given phrase/action after every answer. Fewest questions wins."  Four of the five contestants were visibly annoyed at Alex during this task, with hysterical results...

Worst task of the season:

"Stick your tongue out as far as it will go and keep it out until further notice. Every time Alex blows his whistle, you must lick the lemon, then the sherbet, then the ice lolly. Every time Alex honks his horn, you must hold your tongue in front of the fan for five seconds. The tongue that sticks out for the longest time wins."  I.  HATE.  Disgusting.  Tasks.  Thank goodness these are few and far between...

Trivia:

* The location tasks were at the Chiltern Open Air Museum

* In series 12, the contestants proposed to Alex Horne.  In series 13, the contestants were tasked to give Alex a Stag minute.  

* Ardal O'Hanlon brings in a leather jacket for the prize task of episode 5.  The winner of the episode wears the same jacket on the final episode.

Contestant Rankings:

1. Mel Giedroyc (Season 4)
2. Rhod Gilbert (Season 7)
3. Ed Gamble (Season 9)
4. James Acaster (Season 7)
5. Mike Wozniak (Season 11)
6. Rose Matefeo (Season 9)
7. Sophie Duker (Season 13)
8. Bob Mortimer (Season 5)
9. Hugh Dennis (Season 4)
10. Morgana Robinson (Season 12)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 9
2. Season 7
3. Season 13
4. Season 12
5. Season 4
6. Season 11
7. Season 5
8. Season 10
9. Season 8
10. Season 6
11. Season 2
12. Season 1
13. Season 3