Thoughts with Whiskey: 2026-04-10

Thoughts with Weller's Reserve on the week I turn 54...

Artemis II- I saw Artemis II and the mission to the moon described as "Competence Porn", and I understand completely.  To see a hopeful, optimistic mission succeed in the world today is a wonderful thing.  I'm torn on the idea of sending people back to the moon; it's a wonderful thing, but is it worth the cost, when there are so many other ways to spend the resources?  But just knowing that we could is a good thing.

The War with Iran- I have thoughts.  But I'd probably break down into incoherent cursing.  Let's just say that if this ends with Iran able to extort $100 million per day  to charges boats to safely travel The Strait of Hormuz, then I think we can all agree that this is a debacle that will take generations to recover.  

Artificial Intelligence- you know, in retrospect it's probably a bad idea to give trillions of dollars to a company who has a CEO that has a consistent pattern of "lying".  The lesson, we are learning once again, is that Character.  Matters.  

Sports- let's move onto lighter topics.  

NBA- the playoffs start soon, and I'll make my predictions once the season officially ends.

LA Clippers- there still hasn't been any resolution on the Aspiration Scandal, where the LA Clippers tried to circumvent the salary cap for Kawhi Leonard.  Some people think the contract will be voided, with the result being that Leonard could sign elsewhere.  I have a much simpler and effective solution- Leonard's contract stays but the Clippers lose $25 million off their salary cap for the next five years.  This hurts the team (and therefore discourages other teams from trying something similar) and punishes Leonard (who stays on the team when they can't improve)

NFL- the draft is in two weeks; I need to find a team to root for next year (I pick a different team to root for each year).  

MLB- According to Sportrac, last year the Dodgers' Tax Bill was higher than the payroll of the Cleveland Guardians and ten other MLB teams.  I am positive MLB is working as intended.

Be well, everyone.  

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 06

The sixth series-  Missing the chaos ingredient.

Taskmaster:  UK Series 6

Year:  2018

Channel:  Dave

Contestants:  

Alice Levine

Asim Chaudhry

Liza Tarbuck

Russell Howard

Tim Vine

Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

Starting with Series 6, Taskmaster went with ten episodes.  The greater number of episodes gave opportunities for more tasks and could build more storylines into the season.

Series 6 isn't great.  On paper, it's not bad- Liza Tarbuck is an excellent player and very sardonic.  But it's missing a chaos gremlin; a contestant who is completely unpredictable, regardless of their performance.  Tim Vine comes closest, but he comes across with a 'Dad Jokes' vibe.  The other three are funny at times, but never unpredictable.  The series is missing the chaos of the previous series, and it shows.  

 

Portrait Decor:  

Series 6 portrait is based on MC Escher's "Hand with Reflecting Sphere"

Best task of the season:

"Make an outfit of things bought from this stationery shop."  The solo tasks (tasks given to just one person) is a highlight of the season.  They picked the right person for this task- someone just odd enough to embrace it full-force.  And the followup question to the rest of the contestants was exactly right

Worst task of the season:

"Write, illustrate and read out a bedtime story for grown-ups. Your bedtime story for grown-ups may be no more or fewer than 50 words."  There's some creativity here, but it's a task that takes up a lot of time, and too many of the contestants went for gutter humor

Trivia:

* There were two remote locations:  The Black Horse Inn and Girl Guiding Headquarters , both located in Chesham.

Contestant Rankings:

1. Mel Giedroyc (Season 4)
2. Bob Mortimer (Season 5)
3. Hugh Dennis (Season 4)
4. Noel Fielding (Season 4)
5. Richard Osman (Season 2)
6. Nish Kumar (Season 5)
7. Tim Vine (Season 6) 
8. Katherine Ryan (Season 2)
9. Tim Key (Season 1)
10. Liza Tarbuck (Season 6)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 4
2. Season 5
3. Season 6
4. Season 2
5. Season 1
6. Season 3

Major League Baseball Predictions- 2026

Predicting the order, not the record.  As always, remember these are pure guesses from a casual fan who really doesn't know what he's talking about.

Meet the new boss... same as the old boss

American League:

East:
1.  New York Yankees
2.  Toronto Blue Jays (Wild Card)

3.  Boston Red Sox (Wild Card)

4.  Baltimore Orioles 
5.  Tampa Bay Rays

Central:
1.  Kansas City Royals

2.  Detroit Tigers
3.  Cleveland Guardians

4.  Minnesota Twins
5.  Chicago White Sox

West:  

1.  Seattle Mariners

2.  Texas Ranger (Wild Card)

3.  Houston Astros

4.  Sacramento Atheltics

5.  Los Angles Angles

Playoffs:
- Texas over Kansas City

- Toronto over Boston

- Seattle over Toronto

- Texas over New York Yankees

- Seattle over Texas

National League:

East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies

2. New York Mets (Wild Card)
3. Atlanta Braves (Wild Card)
4. Washington Nationals
5. Miami Marlins

Central:
1.  Milwaukee Brewers
2.  Chicago Cubs (Wild Card)
3.  Cincinnati Reds
4.  St. Louis Cardinals
5.  Pittsburgh Pirates

West:  

1.  Los Angeles Dodgers

2.  San Diego Padres 

3.  Arizona Diamondbacks

4.  San Francisco Giants

5.  Colorado Rockies

Playoffs:
- Atlanta over Chicago Cubs

- New York Mets over Milwaukee

- Philadelphia over Atlanta

- Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Mets

- Los Angeles Dodgers over Atlanta

World Series:

Dodgers over Seattle, 4 games to 2.  

At least Seattle makes the World Series, finally.

I said that the Dodgers could win five World Series in a row.  They've won two so far; might as well keep the streak going.  

There's not that much shakeup in the predictions from last year, because I don't see the teams making any significant moves.  The teams that invested the most were already the top contenders.  

If you liked the 2025 Major League Baseball Season, you'll love the sequel.

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 05

The fifth series- if watching spectacular failure is your bag, this is the season for you.

Taskmaster:  UK Series 5

Year:  2017

Channel:  Dave

Contestants:  

Aisling Bea

Bob Mortimer

Mark Watson

Nish Kumar

Sally Phillips

Number of Episodes:  8

Notes:

Series 5 is eight episodes of very funny but terrible players.  .  Nish Kumar sets a new standard for 'loveable loser' (and Greg plays it up, verbally taunting him on his performance), but Mark and Aisling also are enjoyable car wrecks.  The show plays up Alex and Mark Watson's long friendship, usually to Mark's detriment (the solo task assigned only to him is brilliant).  Sally Phillips is slightly weird, playing herself up as sex-deprived, and very competent.  And Bob Mortimer is very competent and just wonderfully weird.  

It's not a good season if you like to see how clever the players are.  It's a great season if you like to see Greg taunting the other players (and Alex) all season long.  

Portrait Decor:  

Series 5 portait was based off Rene Magritte, and the portrait of Greg has a pineapple in front of his face, based off the painting The Son of Man...

Best task of the season:

"Write and perform a song about this woman."  The overall theme of season 5 has been how badly Nish Kumar has been at tasks, and the epic failures of Mark Watson (who is not bad all the time- but he screws up, it's hysterically blatant.  So having the final house task have both of them do a brilliant job is a standout moment.

Worst task of the season:

"With this camera strapped to your head, record the most incredible footage."  A little too long, too many of the contestants think 'disturbing' equals ''incredble', a side discussion on Bob's toilet habits is distgusting, and Nish is so awful that Greg openly asks if he is sabotaging the tasks.

Trivia:

* The reoccuring remote location for the season was at Frensham Great Pond

* Two contestants did not win a single episode, the only time this has happened

* Some seasons have a continuous reference to a prop- in this season, it's coconuts.  

Contestant Rankings:

1. Mel Giedroyc (Season 4)
2. Bob Mortimer (Season 5)
3. Hugh Dennis (Season 4)
4. Noel Fielding (Season 4)
5. Richard Osman (Season 2)
6. Nish Kumar (Season 5)
7. Katherine Ryan (Season 2)
8. Tim Key (Season 1)
9. Sally Phillips (Season 5)
10. Al Murray (season 3)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 4
2. Season 5
3. Season 2
4. Season 1
5. Season 3

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 04

 The fourth series- and the first great series

Taskmaster:  UK Series 4

Year:  2017

Channel:  Dave

Contestants:  

Hugh Dennis

Joe Lycett

Lolly Adefope

Mel Giedroyc

Noel Fielding

Number of Episodes:  8

Notes:

As the show became more popular, Taskmaster grew, increasing from 5 episodes in series 3 to 8 in series 4.

By this point, the series has locked in the format, so what separate the good series from the great series are two factors- the tasks and the casts.  The tasks get a little more creative and there are a lot of art-based tasks in the series.  But the cast for series 4 is absolutely brilliant (tm Mel Giedroyc).

Noel Fielding is wonderful and weird, and you never know what he comes up with.  Joe Lycett is snarky throughout the series.  Lolly (the youngest contestant on the adult show) is cheery and every once in a while shows flashes of extreme competitiveness.  Hugh Dennis plays deadpan, but is very thoughtful and clever in the tasks (and is absolutely dreadful on the prize tasks, a running joke in the series).  And Mel Giedroyc is so happy and bubbly that it infects the entire series (and causes the show to create special tasks just for her).

It's a great cast, both interacting with each other and with Greg and Alex.  And the show jumps a level with this group.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 4 went with a Vincent van Gogh theme, with a self-portrait of the Taskmaster behind the desk

Best task of the season:

"Make the most exotic sandwich."  Rule of thumb- never trust Taskmaster.  They don't lie, but any time a task seems too easy, expect a twist

Worst task of the season:

"Work out what's in the sleeping bag. You may not look inside the sleeping bag. You may not take items out of the sleeping bag."  There wasn't a bad task the entire series.  This one was unfair, because there wasn't a good way to figure out the items- though we did have a fair argument over what 'take items out' mean.  

Trivia:

* For the first time, the series had a reoccuring location for some of the tasks, at the Chesham United Football Club

* The caravan makes it's first appearance in the show on Episode 1.

* Mel Giedroyc collects the wax seals with every task.  

* Episode 7 has the first ever three way tie for the episode.  

Contestant Rankings:

1. Mel Giedroyc (Season 4)
2. Hugh Dennis (Season 4)
3. Noel Fielding (Season 4)
4. Richard Osman (Season 2)
5. Katherine Ryan (Season 2)
6. Tim Key (Season 1)
7. Al Murray (season 3)
8. Josh Widdicome (Season 1)
9. Joe Lycett (Season 4)
10. Rob Beckett (Season 3)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 4
2. Season 2
3. Season 1
4. Season 3

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 03

The third series, a year later, only had five episodes

Taskmaster:  UK Series 3

Year:  2016

Channel:  Dave

Contestants:  

Al Murray

Dave Gorman

Paul Cowdhry

Rob Beckett

Sara Pascoe

Number of Episodes:  5

Notes:

The early series only had a few episodes- 6 for series 1, 5 for series 2 and 3.  The longer series (now ten episodes each) helps- storylines build up both between the performers and between them and the Taskmaster.  There are callbacks to previous tasks, and more memorable moments in the longers series.  So the earlier series are hurt by the short running time- you don't learn enough about the contestants as much.

Series 3 has some good contestants- Al Murray constantly trying to buy his way into winning tasks, Rob Beckett (working on no sleep with a newborn) getting weird in his ideas, Paul Chowdry taking the role of the guy who can't win- but it also lacks in the infighting of series 2 or the initial feel of series 1.

On the positive side, Greg Davies starts introducing his assistant as "Little Alex Horne", beginning the abuse Davies will heap on Horne for years to come.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 3 went with a Roy Lichtenstein style for the portrait behind the desk.  

Best task of the season:

"Surprise Alex when he emerges from the shed in one hour." A simple, creative task that lets the contestants get weird.  There's some clever responses (Al and Rob are excellent), and I think more episodes could have given them more chances to be weird.

Worst task of the season:

"Fill this egg cup with your own sweat."  I don't like tasks involving body fluids.  But making one (and only one) of the contestants constantly speak in a different accent every time during the task is pretty funny.

Trivia:

* Sara Pascoe mentioned that her boyfriend is a huge Queen fan.  Her (now ex-) boyfriend is John Robins, who latered appeared in series 17- dressed as Freddy Mercury

* This is the first series where Alex is referred to as "Little Alex Horne"

Contestant Rankings:

1. Richard Osman (Season 2)
2. Katherine Ryan (Season 2)
3. Tim Key (Season 1)
4. Al Murray (season 3)
5. Josh Widdicome (Season 1)
6. Rob Beckett (Season 3)
7. Joe Wilkinson (Season 2)
8. Jon Richardson (Season 2)
9. Sarah Pascoe (Season 3)
10. Romesh Ranganathan (Season 1)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 2
2. Season 1
3. Season 3

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 02

The second series, a year later, only had five episodes

Taskmaster:  UK Series 2

Year:  2016

Channel:  Dave

Contestants:  

Doc Brown

Joe Wilkinson

Jon Richardson

Katherine Ryan

Richard Osman

Number of Episodes:  5

Notes:

Having found the formula in series 1,  they kept the main formula but tinkered on the edges in series 2.  A new series prize- a bust of Greg's head- was now awarded.  The series prize is beautifully cheesy and fits in perfectly for the show.  Alex Horne became less of a pure straight man and started developing into the weird persona that he has since locked in on.  

Another good cast.  Richard Osman brought lateral thinking to the tasks and started the trend of searching for the loopholes to complete the tasks in ways that weren't expected.  Joe Wilkinson is both very funny and normally very bad at tasks (which makes the potato task heart-breakingly tragic)

Portrait Decor:  

The decor of the house changed with each series.  It's most noticeable in the office room of the house, specifically in the portrait behind the desk.  In series 1, the portrait of Davies was similar to an Andy Warhol painting.  In series 2, the portrait is of Greg Davies' head in a Dali-like surreal scene...

Best task of the season:

"Get this potato into the golf hole. You may not touch the red green." It's a deceptively difficult task that leads to a lot of poor choices- and then the tragedy of Joe Wilkinson.  This task should have been in one of the later episodes, after Joe's failings in other tasks were established.  It also shows just how ruthless the contestants can be.

Worst task of the season:

"Impress this Mayor.  You have twenty minutes."  - even for seasoned performers, being put on the spot to impress one stranger is intimidating.  It's not a bad task- jsut very time-consuming and not as funny as the other tasks on the show.

MVP Contestant:

Richard Osman- he and Ryan were great in the tasks, but Osman had a lot more lateral thinking, coming up with workarounds that sometimes bombed but were often very clever.   

Contestant Rankings:

1. Richard Osman (Season 2)
2. Katherine Ryan (Season 2)
3. Tim Key (Season 1)
4. Josh Widdicome (Season 1)
5. Joe Wilkinson (Season 2)
6. Jon Richardson (Season 2)
7. Romesh Ranganathan (Season 1)
8. Frank Skinner (Season 1)
9. Roisin Conaty (Season 1)
10. Doc Brown (Season 2)

Season Ranking:

1. Season 2
2. Season 1