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