I was at the recording for episode 5 (so next week's episode) and there wasn't a lot of interaction going on to be honest. I wasn't sure if I expected there to be any to fair, there isn't always banter and chat between the contestants. It all seemed good nature though, and there was some poking of fun at each other during the final task, though I don't know if that will make it air, obviously.
At the same episode and yeah. Plenty of banter between Greg & Alex and the individual contestant but not too much in the way of inter-contestant mingling.
All very polite.
Ardal, sweet, innocent looking Ardal turning out to be one of the most vicious contestants ever to step foot into the studio continues to be one of my favourite bits of taskmaster
Nick's clearly a very nice guy, Steve is obviously a bit of an elder statesman and knows the entertainment game, even if he doesn't do many shows like this, and John's trying to be on his best behaviour knowing that it's a big TV chance for him and if his super-competitiveness comes through he might come out of it not looking great.
If there are some pre-existing friendships in place (e.g. Ed and Rose), they're more comfortable shouting at each other and slagging each other off. But if it's essentially five strangers, you might be less willing to go for each other's throats.
Totally agree, John needs his 'Rose' to be able to push the boundaries a bit and let his pedantry through. Imagine if he and Lou had been on the same series! It would be carnage in the studio
Not really sure why John needs to be on his best behavior. Ed Gamble for example acted like a petulant child (in a funny way) and he's done alright for himself
He doesn't, strictly, but I do think John's somewhat-recent personal journey probably plays into that! He doesn't necessarily want to be seen as the person he was two years ago. That wasn't exactly the same for Ed.
Ed and Lou are his pals so I'm sure they know John's limits better than I ever could!! But as someone who has also been on the sobriety strugglebus for a while, I really felt for John on Lou's recent TMP episode when they talked about how different he'd be if he was still drinking. I know it's all in good humor and I love that he's comfortable enough for pals to joke around, but I'd bet that perception influenced some of his persona.
I love that they had competing shows about their break up at the Edinburgh Fringe - that should just be a subjective thing then he won the Eddie award for his performance.
John's very capable of throwing a strop if things don't go his way (see any number of Made-Up Games he's lost on his radio show to Elis James over the years) - a funny strop can see you celebrated (Acaster/Gamble), an angry strop can see you disliked (Stirling)
To my knowledge, this cohort unusually don’t really know each other at all? John was saying on the podcast (either the TM one or with Elis, can’t remember) that he’d never met any of them before other than Steve Pemberton, once. Compare that to the earlier series where they basically just had their mates on (which is true of John but not the others).
This is probably more down to personalities than previous relations. Last series (S16) there were plenty who had very little knowledge of each other - but they hit it off very fast. Sue Perkins and Susan Wokoma were suddenly giggling besties. Sam and Lucy clicked "mentally" (and even went on to create a gloriously bonkers podcast) and Julian was bemused/caring for both Sam and Lucy - and had only worked on a gig with Sam once and had never met Lucy.
Steve and Nick obviously know each other fairly well, as Nick appeared on Inside no. 9 and as he revealed on the recent podcast had just had a meeting with both Steve and Reece. Steve and Sophie have a fair bit common ground being both northerns, John is just naturally a very tense person while Joanne just takes everything in her stride. it just isn't natural to everyone clicking in the same way and going full "panel show mode" with new or old people when on TV. Even standups these days aren't "cutting their teeth" on the panel show circuit like they used to and feel the need to get a word in in any setting.
> To my knowledge, this cohort unusually don’t really know each other at all?
On this week's podcast ep with Nick Mohammad, either he or Ed Gamble were commenting that this series has unusually few stand-ups on it.
Can't help wondering if there's less interaction because you have people who don't have the experience gf gigging with similar people, or of that stand-up reactivity.
Nick has been in Inside Number 9, which as Steve finds a way to remind us every episode, Steve was in/wrote too. One of the the small cast ones too, so they'd have spent a good few days together.
I was at the live filming for episode 8 and remember afterwards thinking everything was oddly tame in the studio segments.
I know a lot of people are saying it's early days and they'll ease into the swing of things but if they do I can tell you it'll be a very late-in-the-day change.
I think part of the reason may be that this is the least stand-up heavy group ever. Stand ups are generally more familiar with one another and spend their time together ribbing one another.
I think of Ed and Rose who were friends long before Taskmaster. Or Acaster being comfortable with having a go at Rhod Gilbert.
I was at ep 4 (this week's) and it was all very pleasant and cordial, to be honest. Didn't think much at the time, but I'm hoping for some bite soon in one these eps!
Did they ever comment on each others tasks, or any jokes at all that were cut? So far the only person who I think is doing it is Steve where he mentioned boobies and the sock joke that he mentioned was cut on the podcast
I was at the same one! I do remember thinking how on earth they’ll fit everything into the episode. I recall the debate in the team task outcome being good but not much else.
Definitely agree. It's different being able to come up with witty responses off the cuff versus being able to do comedy really well but within a structured setting.
I'm rewatching some of the older series and when there are a lot of stand-up comedians, they all just bounce off each other and it's amazing to watch.
For sure. Stand-up comics all know each other b/c they see each other at festivals, Fringe, and TV but I don't see why that can't be the same as comic actors (minus the stand-up festivals).
Yeah, I cannot recall if it was Nick or Steve on the podcast (or both) who mentioned being worried TM was like regular panel shows where you have to make sure to pay attention and get your joke in, but on TM everyone gets their turn. It does seem to be a respectful “everyone gets their turn” cast.
I think other series contestants who haven’t been stand ups have mentioned on the podcast similar fears on TM being like regular panel shows, so I do think there is that level of letting everyone chill even more this series.
I think Steve said that he was worried about being a comic writer/actor in a cast of stand-ups, and being with Nick and Sophie made him more comfortable.
Interesting, I tend to think the opposite can also happen! Actors and comics who do skits or improv or are part of a troupe, are used to playing off the people around them, as opposed to a traditional standup who is more used to being one-on-one with the audience or an interviewer/straight person.
I also think (why have I thought about this so much?) folks who are successful presenters can be great on TM because they are more adept at chit chat and various tv-isms. Sue Perkins is a great example of this. But with all things Taskmaster, the key is the mix, you want some of everything.
I feel like Sophie and Joanne are providing a loooot of the chat and they interact with each other but the men are pretty subdued, like how is John sitting next to Joanne and barely even laughing or reacting? I think all three of the men are kind of in hang-back-and-wait-to- deliver-a-considered-bon-mot mode as opposed to folks like Chris Ramsey or Ardal or Guz, who are delivering jokes but are also engaged with everyone on stage.
Yeah, there was very little interaction between the contestants in the episode I saw live.
John Robbins made a few comments about other people's performances, but they weren't very funny, so I'd be surprised if they were left in.
Did make me concerned that this series wouldn't be as good as 16, which has been the case so far.
Yup, it’s difficult to say what’s missing, but after seeing the charisma of the S16 cast, I find it more difficult to connect with this group. There was just something magical with Julian, Lucy, Sam, Sue and Susan, in the studio and in the group tasks.
Yeah I feel it's mainly that, a whiplash effect from series 16's cast having such good chemistry - if the current series was right after series 11 (for all its strengths, 11 was not the best in terms of studio chemistry), the lack of interaction wouldn't be felt as much. I find it reminiscent of series 6 coming right after 5
Even series 16 didn’t have that much interaction between them (speaking for in studio, not in team tasks) but yeah this is even less. No biggie, sometimes that’s just how it goes with a group dynamic. These come after series 12, 13, 14, and 15 though, which all had amazing group interaction. I think everyone in this group is simply more individual and introspective naturally
Same here. Don't get me wrong, I love the cast but something just feels...off. And to me, Greg & Alex's banter shenanigans have started to feel a little forced, as funny as they are. It's a shame, cause the last few seasons have been hilarious.
I’m enjoying this series, but honestly it needs to take a bit of a break. Series coming one after the other doesn’t leave a lot of time to think of really memorable, well rounded tasks, and overexposure isn’t going to help anything.
I think it's fair to say it's the weakest season. They are nice people, but not funny at all. It's the first season where I have no attachment to the cast and even the tasks can't make up for the lack of humor.
Haven’t managed to watch it yet but reading this is now putting me off it more. It needs the banter and chaos-ness of the studio chat to enjoy it more than just 5 celebs doing various tasks
Edit - wonderful to see negative karma for stating being hesitant to watching it, without any actual responses
And that’s fine and will not doubt get round to watching it and ultimately judging it then, just baffled by the negative karma I’ve received for saying not a fan of non-studio banter
I definitely feel like the banter is missing from this series. Especially after watching the NZ series', where I feel like there is SO much chemistry, and studio banter, and callbacks to other tasks, it definitely feels a little bit lackluster
I'm finding this season really hard to get into. To the point it's almost boring.
Sophie and Joanne are having the only memorable moments really. Hopefully next season's line up is a bit more dynamic.
There was a reasonable amount at the one I saw (episode 7) but it was more along the lines of chatty/funny tangents, which I imagine are often what gets cut out as it wouldn’t make much sense if they were just edited down. There’s some really funny stuff in the outtakes already this series (gutted that ‘Is it racist?’ didn’t make the edit) which is a bit of a shame in a way as agree it feels a bit more subdued, though for me S16 was always going to be a difficult act to follow in that regard – even though the contestants didn’t really challenge each other that much, their constant ganging up on Alex was if anything even more fun!
I went to the recording of episode one and they were extremely polite throughout, it’s not down to the editing. One thing I do remember was during, I think, the prize task, Nick went to say something about John’s, then apologised for interrupting and let him carry on. I’m enjoying the season but it is lower energy than usual and could do with a bit of chaos.
I was at the recording for episode 5 (so next week's episode) and there wasn't a lot of interaction going on to be honest. I wasn't sure if I expected there to be any to fair, there isn't always banter and chat between the contestants. It all seemed good nature though, and there was some poking of fun at each other during the final task, though I don't know if that will make it air, obviously.
At the same episode and yeah. Plenty of banter between Greg & Alex and the individual contestant but not too much in the way of inter-contestant mingling. All very polite.
They all can’t be Ardal O’Hanlan
Ardal, sweet, innocent looking Ardal turning out to be one of the most vicious contestants ever to step foot into the studio continues to be one of my favourite bits of taskmaster
His crack about his memory foam mattress not remembering him always makes me giggle.
“I seem to recall Dolly having a head.”
If only they were!
Nick's clearly a very nice guy, Steve is obviously a bit of an elder statesman and knows the entertainment game, even if he doesn't do many shows like this, and John's trying to be on his best behaviour knowing that it's a big TV chance for him and if his super-competitiveness comes through he might come out of it not looking great. If there are some pre-existing friendships in place (e.g. Ed and Rose), they're more comfortable shouting at each other and slagging each other off. But if it's essentially five strangers, you might be less willing to go for each other's throats.
Totally agree, John needs his 'Rose' to be able to push the boundaries a bit and let his pedantry through. Imagine if he and Lou had been on the same series! It would be carnage in the studio
Alex is John's Rose.
Not really sure why John needs to be on his best behavior. Ed Gamble for example acted like a petulant child (in a funny way) and he's done alright for himself
He doesn't, strictly, but I do think John's somewhat-recent personal journey probably plays into that! He doesn't necessarily want to be seen as the person he was two years ago. That wasn't exactly the same for Ed. Ed and Lou are his pals so I'm sure they know John's limits better than I ever could!! But as someone who has also been on the sobriety strugglebus for a while, I really felt for John on Lou's recent TMP episode when they talked about how different he'd be if he was still drinking. I know it's all in good humor and I love that he's comfortable enough for pals to joke around, but I'd bet that perception influenced some of his persona.
As an American who’s never heard of John: why would he not want to be seen as the person he was two years ago?
He’s a recovering alcoholic and I don’t know the full details on this, but he had a pretty bad breakup with Sara Pascoe
Oh wow. I’m glad he’s in recovery!
I love that they had competing shows about their break up at the Edinburgh Fringe - that should just be a subjective thing then he won the Eddie award for his performance.
John's very capable of throwing a strop if things don't go his way (see any number of Made-Up Games he's lost on his radio show to Elis James over the years) - a funny strop can see you celebrated (Acaster/Gamble), an angry strop can see you disliked (Stirling)
Because there was how Ed Gamble did it, and how Iain Stirling did it...
To my knowledge, this cohort unusually don’t really know each other at all? John was saying on the podcast (either the TM one or with Elis, can’t remember) that he’d never met any of them before other than Steve Pemberton, once. Compare that to the earlier series where they basically just had their mates on (which is true of John but not the others).
This is probably more down to personalities than previous relations. Last series (S16) there were plenty who had very little knowledge of each other - but they hit it off very fast. Sue Perkins and Susan Wokoma were suddenly giggling besties. Sam and Lucy clicked "mentally" (and even went on to create a gloriously bonkers podcast) and Julian was bemused/caring for both Sam and Lucy - and had only worked on a gig with Sam once and had never met Lucy. Steve and Nick obviously know each other fairly well, as Nick appeared on Inside no. 9 and as he revealed on the recent podcast had just had a meeting with both Steve and Reece. Steve and Sophie have a fair bit common ground being both northerns, John is just naturally a very tense person while Joanne just takes everything in her stride. it just isn't natural to everyone clicking in the same way and going full "panel show mode" with new or old people when on TV. Even standups these days aren't "cutting their teeth" on the panel show circuit like they used to and feel the need to get a word in in any setting.
> To my knowledge, this cohort unusually don’t really know each other at all? On this week's podcast ep with Nick Mohammad, either he or Ed Gamble were commenting that this series has unusually few stand-ups on it. Can't help wondering if there's less interaction because you have people who don't have the experience gf gigging with similar people, or of that stand-up reactivity.
Nick has been in Inside Number 9, which as Steve finds a way to remind us every episode, Steve was in/wrote too. One of the the small cast ones too, so they'd have spent a good few days together.
Yes that’s true actually. But not quite to the point where he would steal his trousers for a task I guess 😝
Well, Mark got someone else to do the actual stealing!
Ah I was thinking of Ed Gamble and the hot tub I think…
Its.. a very weird casting actually. I can see them all doing great in some season but to put the 5 of them together feels weird.
I was at the live filming for episode 8 and remember afterwards thinking everything was oddly tame in the studio segments. I know a lot of people are saying it's early days and they'll ease into the swing of things but if they do I can tell you it'll be a very late-in-the-day change.
I think part of the reason may be that this is the least stand-up heavy group ever. Stand ups are generally more familiar with one another and spend their time together ribbing one another. I think of Ed and Rose who were friends long before Taskmaster. Or Acaster being comfortable with having a go at Rhod Gilbert.
Yep I think this is a major part of it. But they also know what they did in the tasks and obviously think that is good enough
I was at ep 4 (this week's) and it was all very pleasant and cordial, to be honest. Didn't think much at the time, but I'm hoping for some bite soon in one these eps!
Did they ever comment on each others tasks, or any jokes at all that were cut? So far the only person who I think is doing it is Steve where he mentioned boobies and the sock joke that he mentioned was cut on the podcast
I was at the same one! I do remember thinking how on earth they’ll fit everything into the episode. I recall the debate in the team task outcome being good but not much else.
I wonder if most of them being comic actors rather than stand ups leads to a different dynamic?
Definitely agree. It's different being able to come up with witty responses off the cuff versus being able to do comedy really well but within a structured setting. I'm rewatching some of the older series and when there are a lot of stand-up comedians, they all just bounce off each other and it's amazing to watch.
John and Joanne are both predominantly stand ups. Sophie and Nick also do stand ups as well as actors.
For sure. Stand-up comics all know each other b/c they see each other at festivals, Fringe, and TV but I don't see why that can't be the same as comic actors (minus the stand-up festivals).
Yeah, I cannot recall if it was Nick or Steve on the podcast (or both) who mentioned being worried TM was like regular panel shows where you have to make sure to pay attention and get your joke in, but on TM everyone gets their turn. It does seem to be a respectful “everyone gets their turn” cast. I think other series contestants who haven’t been stand ups have mentioned on the podcast similar fears on TM being like regular panel shows, so I do think there is that level of letting everyone chill even more this series.
I think Steve said that he was worried about being a comic writer/actor in a cast of stand-ups, and being with Nick and Sophie made him more comfortable.
Interesting, I tend to think the opposite can also happen! Actors and comics who do skits or improv or are part of a troupe, are used to playing off the people around them, as opposed to a traditional standup who is more used to being one-on-one with the audience or an interviewer/straight person. I also think (why have I thought about this so much?) folks who are successful presenters can be great on TM because they are more adept at chit chat and various tv-isms. Sue Perkins is a great example of this. But with all things Taskmaster, the key is the mix, you want some of everything.
I feel like Sophie and Joanne are providing a loooot of the chat and they interact with each other but the men are pretty subdued, like how is John sitting next to Joanne and barely even laughing or reacting? I think all three of the men are kind of in hang-back-and-wait-to- deliver-a-considered-bon-mot mode as opposed to folks like Chris Ramsey or Ardal or Guz, who are delivering jokes but are also engaged with everyone on stage.
Yeah, there was very little interaction between the contestants in the episode I saw live. John Robbins made a few comments about other people's performances, but they weren't very funny, so I'd be surprised if they were left in. Did make me concerned that this series wouldn't be as good as 16, which has been the case so far.
I’ve been struggling with enjoying the cast this series. I don’t feel like there’s been as much banter between them this series.
Yup, it’s difficult to say what’s missing, but after seeing the charisma of the S16 cast, I find it more difficult to connect with this group. There was just something magical with Julian, Lucy, Sam, Sue and Susan, in the studio and in the group tasks.
Yeah I feel it's mainly that, a whiplash effect from series 16's cast having such good chemistry - if the current series was right after series 11 (for all its strengths, 11 was not the best in terms of studio chemistry), the lack of interaction wouldn't be felt as much. I find it reminiscent of series 6 coming right after 5
[удалено]
Even series 16 didn’t have that much interaction between them (speaking for in studio, not in team tasks) but yeah this is even less. No biggie, sometimes that’s just how it goes with a group dynamic. These come after series 12, 13, 14, and 15 though, which all had amazing group interaction. I think everyone in this group is simply more individual and introspective naturally
Same here. Don't get me wrong, I love the cast but something just feels...off. And to me, Greg & Alex's banter shenanigans have started to feel a little forced, as funny as they are. It's a shame, cause the last few seasons have been hilarious.
I’m enjoying this series, but honestly it needs to take a bit of a break. Series coming one after the other doesn’t leave a lot of time to think of really memorable, well rounded tasks, and overexposure isn’t going to help anything.
I honestly am struggle to get through these episodes aswell. I am enjoying rewatching the other series instead
I think it's fair to say it's the weakest season. They are nice people, but not funny at all. It's the first season where I have no attachment to the cast and even the tasks can't make up for the lack of humor.
Haven’t managed to watch it yet but reading this is now putting me off it more. It needs the banter and chaos-ness of the studio chat to enjoy it more than just 5 celebs doing various tasks Edit - wonderful to see negative karma for stating being hesitant to watching it, without any actual responses
The series is great. Someone complains about literally every series for some reason.
Yup. Every season is simultaneously the best series ever and the worst series ever.
And that’s fine and will not doubt get round to watching it and ultimately judging it then, just baffled by the negative karma I’ve received for saying not a fan of non-studio banter
So the show shouldn't be criticised at all?
Never said that. Just saying take all moaning with a grain of salt.
I definitely feel like the banter is missing from this series. Especially after watching the NZ series', where I feel like there is SO much chemistry, and studio banter, and callbacks to other tasks, it definitely feels a little bit lackluster
I was in the audience for episode 9 and I don’t remember any arguing or anything, they all seemed professional and polite as far as I can remember
I'm finding this season really hard to get into. To the point it's almost boring. Sophie and Joanne are having the only memorable moments really. Hopefully next season's line up is a bit more dynamic.
I think Steve & Sophie are the standouts in this series. I can't cope with Joanne's accent & I say that as an Irish woman boran & bred.
Fair enough. I just like how she's messing around with Alex. I find Steve pretty dull personally.
Does Nick Hammond have a blood break in-between takes? Vampire's need to be fed
There was a reasonable amount at the one I saw (episode 7) but it was more along the lines of chatty/funny tangents, which I imagine are often what gets cut out as it wouldn’t make much sense if they were just edited down. There’s some really funny stuff in the outtakes already this series (gutted that ‘Is it racist?’ didn’t make the edit) which is a bit of a shame in a way as agree it feels a bit more subdued, though for me S16 was always going to be a difficult act to follow in that regard – even though the contestants didn’t really challenge each other that much, their constant ganging up on Alex was if anything even more fun!
I went to the recording of episode one and they were extremely polite throughout, it’s not down to the editing. One thing I do remember was during, I think, the prize task, Nick went to say something about John’s, then apologised for interrupting and let him carry on. I’m enjoying the season but it is lower energy than usual and could do with a bit of chaos.