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