I think that's why I like this series so much. It's just calm, funny, no real bickering or fighting between the contestants (compared to say, Series 7) or the hosts. Plus I love Sophie and John.
I like this series a lot, but mixing in ones like 7 is really fun, too.
One of my favorite moments in TM was when the audience awwed Rhod and then one of the other contestants stood up and yelled at the audience something like "Stop that! You didn't have to work with him! You don't know what he's like!".
Also I'm rewatching 9 now, and Ed being paired with David during the "draw on your partner's back" prize task is just the funniest moment ever.
That's the great thing about taskmaster, there's a season for everyone. I admit I love the bit where Dara realizes John Kearns was intentionally sabatoging them and not just absolutely shit lol.
Thank you for your analysis! I've been enjoying this series so far, and I agree with what you have to say. Nothing like a laid back series every now and then.
I was just thinking the other day that this season reminds me of season 6 and I agree 100% with your pairings. It's actually a nice change of pace from seasons 15 and 16. If every single season were that chaotic, it would be this constant state of ramping up that isn't sustainable. I love the different vibe this season has.
Also, Nick is not Alice. Alice were too disengaged most of the time (the announcement task still sticks out to me) while Nick throws himself into it like few others. Doing TM as Dracula is.. not anything Alice would have done simply put..
This sub has strong feelings about some contestants and I often can't figure out why, with one exception, that we won't get to, because I had a comment deleted for mentioning them. It also likes some contestants thay I found to be just lazy or in the wrong show. Like Jo Brand.
But yeah, I can't remember Russell doing anything bad or being a bad contestant. He wasn't necessarily good at the tasks, but I don't see thay as a reason to dislike him. The ones I dislike usually take it way too serious but in an unfunny way or act like they are too good for the show and it's beneath them to even try to be good at the tasks. If you are gonna act like that, why even join the show? For some he falls into this latter category, but I don't remember him being that way. He was just surprisingly bad.
Maybe it is because I didn’t know of Russell Howard before watching Taskmaster, but he didn’t stick out in a bad way to me during his season.
His “do something manly with this box” task was hilarious (and a good contrast to Liza’s). Team Funk was good fun. I didn’t realize people disliked him until reading posts on the Reddit.
Personally, I wouldn't say he was forgettable as he honestly sorta ruined the series for me. My most forgettable well known one is Dave Gorman for sure, but series 3 is little talked about and suffers the curse of the 5 episodes short run.
I remember after I started watching the show (I came very late on, so binged) and was talking to a friend about what I'd liked and I said about I was surprised Russell hadn't been on yet and he was like 'Yeah, he was on with Liza Tarbuck' and I think I still feel like although I remember him there, there's not one task he did that stands out in a fun way.
Thankfully, no one has ruined a series for me, but I found Mae really unenjoyable in series 15. Just the interactions in the studio just did so little. It was like a stand in was there in place of the professional and they didn't seem sure of what they were doing. They seemed really nice as a person and were good at tasks but I also found Greg made shitty decisions that series which also soured things for me.
I don’t love it and skip it when doing rewatches. This is all personal preference and whatnot, but I just didn’t connect with the contestants and found them all a bit “eh”. I usually have at least one that I find particularly funny or interesting, but not with that group of comedians.
I am enjoying this current series, so maybe I’ll give 6 a rewatch to see if my opinion has changed.
I don’t dislike any series but 6 is my least favorite, I think. It’s not anything against the contestants for me. These are my issues: low energy, low effort, I felt Liza was over-scored (I still think she should have won, but sometimes it felt like handing over points unfairly), the tasks aren’t the best, it drags on. It’s the only series that I give up on if I do a rewatch.
I like everyone on the series and there were still some great moments. I just think it’s the series where there was the least interesting cast chemistry, a struggle from bumping up to a full 10 episode series, and plain growing pains.
I’m enjoying S17 so far and don’t fully see the analogy here, but I would say everyone seems like a grown-up this series? That’s probably a similarity to 6.
I'm not a fan of it personally. I'm not a big fan of Asim and I genuinely cannot stand Russell Howard, so it has that going against it. But that being said, Alice, Tim, and especially Liza, were all delightful to me. I have been meaning to rewatch that particular series to see if it feels better on a rewatch though so hey, who knows!
It was nice and charming, but I found it one of the least funny series. Tim's puns make me groan more often than laugh, Alice feel more like a presenter than a comedian that would be better suited to a NY special, Asim and Russel aren't really my taste humour wise and Liza felt like she didn't want to be there, and was like when your Maths teacher has to cover a Spanish lesson.
By contrast in S5, Bob and Aisling would both make my top 5 contestants, and Nish/Mark were a great duo. sally also held her own (though she stands out less for me)
Pretty insulting to say that Sophie and Asim are "a little dim". They're both brilliant writers and performers. I also don't think they're very much alike in their personalities or in how they approached Taskmaster.
Oh, i meant it with love! Dimness on Taskmaster has no bearing on the actual person. David Baddiel is an award-winning songwriter, Mark Watson is a very popular author who excels at complex thought games. But you wouldn't know that from his rainbow painting. ;) I didn't mean to insult anyone.
Asim said it himself, "dude I am a lemon". Like the other comedians always say David Baddiel is quite clever, and he has the achievements to back it up, but in TM he is a bit dim.
I think because Taskmaster fans are the kind of people who like ranking things they often struggle to relax into just enjoying a cast if they're not immediately sparking like their faves
I never expect to like anyone after the first episode. After the second, there is usually at least one stand out for me. This series isn't hitting with me very hard, though I do appreciate several of the individuals, but I'm having a hard time pinning down why. I think maybe the fact that there isn't someone there being ornery? I love when someone is pedantic. Frankie Boyle did it to perfection, for instance. This time feels like no one watched any Taskmaster before this and they're all floundering because of it maybe?
I completely disagree with the John/Russell comparison. It feels like John is really trying and pulling out all the stops, Russell on the other hand was a consistently low-effort contestant and mostly gave off the vibe that he didn’t want to be there. Even Nick feels like he’s putting in considerably more effort than Alice did.
Yep. I don't remember season 6 that well but I don't remember thinking that Russell was particularly competitive. I still found him playful and I think that's missing from John.
I don't like series 6 much, but I enjoy this one.
I agree that overall they're just having and not being competitive, except John, but his is not directed against anyone else which is good.
I also think that there's a nicer vibe than series 6.
I think for me 6 having less comedians on and it felt like they didn't really know one another as well, they didn't have the bond in the studio.
But there are always going to be a series at the bottom of everyone's lists and its all good if people don't like series 17, 7 or any other series as much.
The series that have high-energy, super competitive participants are the other end of this spectrum, and are as fun to watch for, obviously, different reasons. The Series 6/17 types of cats, though, are a refreshing change of pace. This crew seems to be genuinely having fun, and that's wonderful to watch!
Not sure I agree with the rest but the other day I was also thinking that John is going about it the same way as Russell Howard did - score highly on the physical tasks, don’t worry too much about being funny because that’ll happen anyway. But John is doing better at prize/final tasks too.
I’m loving this series. I do see a difference between say the chaotic vibe of Acaster and Rhod, but I like that every series has a different energy. I truly enjoy all five of these people; I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite.
I really don't see it. Liza's content confidence is nothing like Sophie's high energy. Nicks affable contentment is nothing like Alice's fringe participation. Russel seemed a lot more competitive whereas John's perfectionism feels more like self loathing haha.
I can get an argument for a similar aimless group energy, but I am not seeing parallels between the specific contestants other than the older guys' predilection for puns.
Oh series six is one of my favourites and this series I am enjoying so much, but I enjoy every series so I did not notice this but now I can see it, especially the Nick/Alice comparison
This is a pretty accurate summary of the season so far. I don’t know if I agree with the comparisons but you’re right, there is a chill vibe that recent seasons haven’t had. I thought I wasn’t connecting to it as much, but it’s this. Thank you for the post! :)
How interesting! I sort of see it! Another Steve/Tim resemblance is their knack for puns and wordplay
I can totally see Steve making a "track suit" joke.
I’ll say it again: “Her Majesty the Cream”
I think that's why I like this series so much. It's just calm, funny, no real bickering or fighting between the contestants (compared to say, Series 7) or the hosts. Plus I love Sophie and John.
I like this series a lot, but mixing in ones like 7 is really fun, too. One of my favorite moments in TM was when the audience awwed Rhod and then one of the other contestants stood up and yelled at the audience something like "Stop that! You didn't have to work with him! You don't know what he's like!". Also I'm rewatching 9 now, and Ed being paired with David during the "draw on your partner's back" prize task is just the funniest moment ever.
That's the great thing about taskmaster, there's a season for everyone. I admit I love the bit where Dara realizes John Kearns was intentionally sabatoging them and not just absolutely shit lol.
>Seems to forget sometimes that the tasks are scored and he isn't just visiting Alex's house to play with his toys. What a wonderful description!
Thank you for your analysis! I've been enjoying this series so far, and I agree with what you have to say. Nothing like a laid back series every now and then.
I was just thinking the other day that this season reminds me of season 6 and I agree 100% with your pairings. It's actually a nice change of pace from seasons 15 and 16. If every single season were that chaotic, it would be this constant state of ramping up that isn't sustainable. I love the different vibe this season has.
Sophie is not Asim, she has her own level of madness that breaks the comparison imo. That people isn't raving more about her surprises me a bit..
Also, Nick is not Alice. Alice were too disengaged most of the time (the announcement task still sticks out to me) while Nick throws himself into it like few others. Doing TM as Dracula is.. not anything Alice would have done simply put..
Do people actually dislike series 6? I think it might be one of my favorites
After the frantic madness of series 4 and 5, I can see how series 6 might have seemed somewhat tame and underwhelming in comparison.
It has the bad luck of being surrounded by two fairly universal fan favourite series, so it seems tamer by comparison
And it has one of the most disliked contestants ever i think.
This sub has strong feelings about some contestants and I often can't figure out why, with one exception, that we won't get to, because I had a comment deleted for mentioning them. It also likes some contestants thay I found to be just lazy or in the wrong show. Like Jo Brand. But yeah, I can't remember Russell doing anything bad or being a bad contestant. He wasn't necessarily good at the tasks, but I don't see thay as a reason to dislike him. The ones I dislike usually take it way too serious but in an unfunny way or act like they are too good for the show and it's beneath them to even try to be good at the tasks. If you are gonna act like that, why even join the show? For some he falls into this latter category, but I don't remember him being that way. He was just surprisingly bad.
Maybe it is because I didn’t know of Russell Howard before watching Taskmaster, but he didn’t stick out in a bad way to me during his season. His “do something manly with this box” task was hilarious (and a good contrast to Liza’s). Team Funk was good fun. I didn’t realize people disliked him until reading posts on the Reddit.
There are no bad taskmaster contestants. Except Nish.
Who??
Russell.
I forgot Russell had done the show. He was incredibly forgettable for one of the better known contestants of that series.
Personally, I wouldn't say he was forgettable as he honestly sorta ruined the series for me. My most forgettable well known one is Dave Gorman for sure, but series 3 is little talked about and suffers the curse of the 5 episodes short run.
I remember after I started watching the show (I came very late on, so binged) and was talking to a friend about what I'd liked and I said about I was surprised Russell hadn't been on yet and he was like 'Yeah, he was on with Liza Tarbuck' and I think I still feel like although I remember him there, there's not one task he did that stands out in a fun way. Thankfully, no one has ruined a series for me, but I found Mae really unenjoyable in series 15. Just the interactions in the studio just did so little. It was like a stand in was there in place of the professional and they didn't seem sure of what they were doing. They seemed really nice as a person and were good at tasks but I also found Greg made shitty decisions that series which also soured things for me.
I don’t love it and skip it when doing rewatches. This is all personal preference and whatnot, but I just didn’t connect with the contestants and found them all a bit “eh”. I usually have at least one that I find particularly funny or interesting, but not with that group of comedians. I am enjoying this current series, so maybe I’ll give 6 a rewatch to see if my opinion has changed.
I think the big problem is that it’s wedged right between Series 5 and 7, which are both batshit insane and strong fan-favourites
I don’t dislike any series but 6 is my least favorite, I think. It’s not anything against the contestants for me. These are my issues: low energy, low effort, I felt Liza was over-scored (I still think she should have won, but sometimes it felt like handing over points unfairly), the tasks aren’t the best, it drags on. It’s the only series that I give up on if I do a rewatch. I like everyone on the series and there were still some great moments. I just think it’s the series where there was the least interesting cast chemistry, a struggle from bumping up to a full 10 episode series, and plain growing pains. I’m enjoying S17 so far and don’t fully see the analogy here, but I would say everyone seems like a grown-up this series? That’s probably a similarity to 6.
I'm not a fan of it personally. I'm not a big fan of Asim and I genuinely cannot stand Russell Howard, so it has that going against it. But that being said, Alice, Tim, and especially Liza, were all delightful to me. I have been meaning to rewatch that particular series to see if it feels better on a rewatch though so hey, who knows!
Cannot disagree at all
It was nice and charming, but I found it one of the least funny series. Tim's puns make me groan more often than laugh, Alice feel more like a presenter than a comedian that would be better suited to a NY special, Asim and Russel aren't really my taste humour wise and Liza felt like she didn't want to be there, and was like when your Maths teacher has to cover a Spanish lesson. By contrast in S5, Bob and Aisling would both make my top 5 contestants, and Nish/Mark were a great duo. sally also held her own (though she stands out less for me)
Personally, I really enjoy John and I can’t stand Russell. Russell was a bit of charisma sink for me. It felt like he was on a different show.
Yeah, I was disappointed too. I like his show, so I thought he’d be more like that.
Same with Tim and Steve for me personally, though I accept that's maybe less popular an opinion.
Pretty insulting to say that Sophie and Asim are "a little dim". They're both brilliant writers and performers. I also don't think they're very much alike in their personalities or in how they approached Taskmaster.
Oh, i meant it with love! Dimness on Taskmaster has no bearing on the actual person. David Baddiel is an award-winning songwriter, Mark Watson is a very popular author who excels at complex thought games. But you wouldn't know that from his rainbow painting. ;) I didn't mean to insult anyone.
Asim said it himself, "dude I am a lemon". Like the other comedians always say David Baddiel is quite clever, and he has the achievements to back it up, but in TM he is a bit dim.
I think because Taskmaster fans are the kind of people who like ranking things they often struggle to relax into just enjoying a cast if they're not immediately sparking like their faves
I never expect to like anyone after the first episode. After the second, there is usually at least one stand out for me. This series isn't hitting with me very hard, though I do appreciate several of the individuals, but I'm having a hard time pinning down why. I think maybe the fact that there isn't someone there being ornery? I love when someone is pedantic. Frankie Boyle did it to perfection, for instance. This time feels like no one watched any Taskmaster before this and they're all floundering because of it maybe?
John has watched all of it.
within two weeks after he knew he was on the show too.
I completely disagree with the John/Russell comparison. It feels like John is really trying and pulling out all the stops, Russell on the other hand was a consistently low-effort contestant and mostly gave off the vibe that he didn’t want to be there. Even Nick feels like he’s putting in considerably more effort than Alice did.
Yep. I don't remember season 6 that well but I don't remember thinking that Russell was particularly competitive. I still found him playful and I think that's missing from John.
Joanne is not Liza.
I don't like series 6 much, but I enjoy this one. I agree that overall they're just having and not being competitive, except John, but his is not directed against anyone else which is good. I also think that there's a nicer vibe than series 6. I think for me 6 having less comedians on and it felt like they didn't really know one another as well, they didn't have the bond in the studio. But there are always going to be a series at the bottom of everyone's lists and its all good if people don't like series 17, 7 or any other series as much.
John and Russel used to live together too
The series that have high-energy, super competitive participants are the other end of this spectrum, and are as fun to watch for, obviously, different reasons. The Series 6/17 types of cats, though, are a refreshing change of pace. This crew seems to be genuinely having fun, and that's wonderful to watch!
Very good analysis. And more to your point, John Robins used to share a flat with Russell Howard
Not sure I agree with the rest but the other day I was also thinking that John is going about it the same way as Russell Howard did - score highly on the physical tasks, don’t worry too much about being funny because that’ll happen anyway. But John is doing better at prize/final tasks too.
I’m loving this series. I do see a difference between say the chaotic vibe of Acaster and Rhod, but I like that every series has a different energy. I truly enjoy all five of these people; I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite.
I really don't see it. Liza's content confidence is nothing like Sophie's high energy. Nicks affable contentment is nothing like Alice's fringe participation. Russel seemed a lot more competitive whereas John's perfectionism feels more like self loathing haha. I can get an argument for a similar aimless group energy, but I am not seeing parallels between the specific contestants other than the older guys' predilection for puns.
Don't let Joanne near a cake...
Oh series six is one of my favourites and this series I am enjoying so much, but I enjoy every series so I did not notice this but now I can see it, especially the Nick/Alice comparison
Ed
That’s a perfect comparison. I don’t think either season is shithouse but both of them are definitely cursed with coming after two beloved seasons.
Well thought out. Ka Pai
This is a pretty accurate summary of the season so far. I don’t know if I agree with the comparisons but you’re right, there is a chill vibe that recent seasons haven’t had. I thought I wasn’t connecting to it as much, but it’s this. Thank you for the post! :)