The second series, a year later, only had five episodes
Taskmaster: UK Series 2
Year: 2016
Channel: Dave
Contestants:
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:
- Richard Osman (Season 2)
- Katherine Ryan (Season 2)
- Tim Key (Season 1)
- Josh Widdicome (Season 1)
- Joe Wilkinson (Season 2)
- Jon Richardson (Season 2)
- Romesh Ranganathan (Season 1)
- Frank Skinner (Season 1)
- Roisin Conaty (Season 1)
- Doc Brown (Season 2)
Season Ranking:
- Season 2
- Season 1
