Taskmaster (Greg Davies sets some comedians daft challenges!)

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122816966#Comment_122816966

Have to agree, she has improved over the course of the show. She works well with Jack Dee.

siblers

Very tight between Jack and Andy . I'm hoping Jack wins although I do like Andy too to be fair, I've just got quite a soft spot for Jackie.

corcaigh07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122817793#Comment_122817793

Andy has it I’d say. You have to think he’s saving the Hotdog suit for the last live task.

Dodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122817413#Comment_122817413

it’s for families. Can’t see how 8pm is a controversial time

Basq

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122822716#Comment_122822716

I kinda get it as Junior Bake Off is in a 5pm slot, whereas regular Bake Off is 8pm.

gmisk

I found the first kids one very enjoyable, Matafeo and Wozniak (in particular) were good.

A few of the kids felt a bit "stage school" for want of a better term but they were funny and pretty inventive.

Basq

Well deserved winner..

.. New Year's Treat doesn't look like it'll have anyone too outstanding, although Martin Lewis can be sometimes witty.

Penn

Decent enough series. Not one of the best but solid enough, plenty of good tasks and good mix of cast. Wasn't that much of a fan of Andy though, would have much preferred if Jack or Emma had won. Andy just felt very try-hard.

I thought Rosie was pretty great throughout. Even the prize task here, saying she was going to close Greg's buttocks by opening hers was hilarious. Probably the hardest I laughed this series.

siblers

Pity Jack had such a bad last episode,would liked him to have won. Was much better than last season, least there was a bit of chemistry between them and tasks were much better too this season.

New Years lineup isn't great but doesn't really matter for a one off episode

siblers

..

siblers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122823902#Comment_122823902

Was a lot better than I expected and I like how it's a knockout format, not sure I'd be bothered to watch the same lineup each week.

Badly Drunk Boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840706#Comment_122840706

Andy was my favourite contestant this time round, but he probably should have come last in the cinema seat task, meaning he would have drawn with Jack overall (I think). While he was counting the seats, Alex asked him if he liked eagles, and Andy said "I wouldn't eat a whole 1". It might have been cruel if his guess was given as 1, but I've seen contestants punished for less.

But in The Goose task, I thought his was better than Emma's thirty second Eastenders/kitchen sink drama knockoff.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122843034#Comment_122843034

Maybe it's just because I had no prior knowledge of him, but he just felt very "go wacky for the sake of it" rather than there being any thought or logic in what he was doing. Even how he was dressed up in the studio for half the episodes just for a one-line joke. None of it just fit with what seemed like his typical demeanour.

I suppose it's the same as his appearance; he looks quite scholarly and learned, then has that hairstyle.

siblers

Mike Wozniak is excellent on Junior TM, Rose is good but she doesn't have as much to work with

I wonder is it too much of a gap between a 9 year old and a 11 year old, 11 year olds will generally have an advantage both physically and mentally

RoTelly

Enjoyed the final of Taskmaster this year. I thought Rosey ended up better in this than other things she has done in the past, Jack Dee I think to a while to get into the series, but over all a good laugh.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122843034#Comment_122843034

Official statement from Little Alex Horne on the controversy in the cinema task:

https://twitter.com/AlexHorne/status/1858471241025302780

I checked the "longer version" on Bluesky, and it's the same message filmed in a different area of the TM garden, but also includes the below line:

"Also, Baba was definitely walking at a very gentle pace in the maze. Thank you for listening and hello everyone."

Badly Drunk Boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122852154#Comment_122852154

Yeah, I knew that that would be the reply. At least the best contestant won. 😉

Degag

Christ you’d have to worry about some parents out there.

Some male kid last week, only 10 years of age and had his ear pierced and each fingernail painted a different colour.

Am enjoying it overall though, better than i thought it’d be. Rose and Mike are very good.

Basq

Don't know.. finding Junior TM awful cringe.

Just feels like watching a bunch of pretentious theatre kids who I suspect are often even being fed lines.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122895576#Comment_122895576

Yeah haven't been able to get into it either. I like Rose & Mike, but either the kids speak up during the studio and it's not great but Rose & Mike have to force laugh, or they're going in with pre-prepared lines (probably given by their parents) and it just feels forced.

You obviously can't expect the same sort of dynamic and wit as regular Taskmaster, but even during the tasks it just doesn't have the same appeal.

Though one thing I have enjoyed is the simplicity of a lot of the tasks. So many tasks these days on regular Taskmaster have so many added caveats and weird rules/restrictions that it can end up stifling the contestant or just make it hard for the viewer to follow. I get that so many contestants are familiar with ways of how to get around doing tasks properly (ie. Sarah Millican always checking under the desk/table at the start of tasks), but it makes the tasks unnecessarily cumbersome and confusing.

siblers

The tasks are enjoyable but the studio parts are cringey. The constant insulting of Mike is getting quite old too. Rose is doing a good job at scoring it fairly too, she's not just plucking scores out of the air

If it was the same set of kids over various weeks I wouldn't watch. Some of them are quite likeable but others are very annoying. Not sure I'll stick with it though

Schorpio

Listening to Mike on the Taskmaster podcast, he mentioned that they had to be a bit more delicate when commenting on/scoring tasks. The kids can mess up a task and get one point - but the last thing you want it a child getting upset in studio.

Because of this, everything has to be sugarcoated a little bit, and - while completely understandable - it sort of dulls the taskmaster experience for me.

Completely agree about the simplicity of the tasks. Really feels like that harks back to the early seasons, and I do miss the directness of it.

Exclamation Marc

Related to the TV show, I'm just back from the Taskmaster Live Experience in London. Quite enjoyable but vastly overpriced for the full-priced tickets and luck of the draw will dictate the experience for you on numbers.

We did both experiences and the first, during the day had 16 participants (incl. kids) and was a bit of a mess in parts. The second in the evening had 8 participants and was much more enjoyable.

Had a couple of additional gripes with the format.

The wonderful Mrs. Exclamation Marc won the 'Best of the Worst' competition and got a golden Taskmaster duck which for me is better than the medal the actual winner gets!

Overall, if you're in the area and can get a cheaper ticket for an evening show, go for it. At full price, it's a harder sell, particularly if your slot is full.

Hurrache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122895576#Comment_122895576

Not a fan, and probably unsurprisingly my kids dislike it but they love watching the other versions.

iamstop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122895576#Comment_122895576

I felt the same. Seems to be scripted for the most part. For the the OG and the NZ are the only ones worth watching.

siblers

Gave up after 2 episodes of JTM. Might watch the final out of curiosity though

ArmaniJeanss

Ep 4 of JTM was definitely not rehearsed or acted. Couple of the kids were having pops at each other from the start with the eldest, a Scots girl, being particularly bossy.

The final stage task (a variant on the 'build the highest toilet-roll tower' task from TM) descended into madness with Rose repeatedly pleading for them to calm it down. Alex, who is there in the background for every episode, says it was the first time he considered a do-over of the task or completely changing the task.

Exclamation Marc

Season 19 premieres on the 21st of January 2025 at a special event in the US so I imagine we'll get it two days later in the 23rd.

Basq

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122975924#Comment_122975924

Spotted the premiere announcement in the US on social media earlier alright..

Do we think it'll be January? That's.very early.. not that I'm complaining..But two seasons a year around March and September has been the norm for a while.

Contestant announcement on NY Treat and starting 3 weeks later will be a very quick turnaround.

Exclamation Marc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122976092#Comment_122976092

Very possible it won't be January alright. As you say, its usually March/April and September for years and its a short lead in so it would be a break from the norm. That said, they ran a US premiere this year on March 25 for Series 17 and the first broadcast was March 28.

I'd just be surprised if they ran the premiere with a huge gap to the next/first episode.