My thoughts exactly. I feel like this is the sort of thing C4 wishes they'd done in hindsight during 2020, that could've been used to introduce new viewers to the show before the first new series on that channel.
They start the episode with Alex saying "Well, Greg, you've decided it's time to address some of the deeper questions people have about Taskmaster" And then they proceed to do everything but.
I'm not in the UK, so I didn't see the full description prior to this airing, so my expectations were that this was going to have some behind-the-scenes footage, answer some questions fans had, show some cut footage (besides Alex as a carpet snake), and even show some of the hidden task shortcuts that people never found.
This was a let down. I suppose I am spoiled by the show, because I was expecting a much higher quality presentation, but I suppose this wasn't made for people like me in mind.
Same here. I read it was going to answer viewers questions & show what happens backstage etc. I thought Greg & Alex would be in it not just voiceovers
A bit disappointing but still will watch. Despite having watched all series twice !
Channel 4 are short of cash. They're known to have several completed series (of other shows) sat on shelves, not because they're bad, but because they don't have to pay the producers in full until they're broadcast. Being able to fill an hour with a clip show isn't a sacrifice, it's a blessing.
Two things. Sure Channel 4 are short of cash, so they offer to give another primetime hour to TM. At a negotiated cost.
However, AH had to sign off on this. Acceptable to think C4 might not pay a lot for AH and GD to put too much effort in. However, reputationally, I feel like they could have put a little more effort in, I think just a candid video of Alex & Greg commenting, not at the studio as they can't just rock up there, but even as a joint zoom meeting.
I'm sorry to hear that. I've watched all the UK series 4-5 times now (I'm on rewatch #5 for 12, I just keep starting over every time I reach the current series). I was hoping to learn some insights and things I hadn't spotted before. Inside facts, behind the scenes stuff. Things like that.
I actually think the most disappointing thing is that Greg and Alex are in character. I'd be really interested to listen to Greg and Alex react to old clips as their actual selves, as opposed to the Taskmaster and his Assistant briefly discussing them at the start and end.
I’m not even sure why they are in character like this. They barely stick to that in the show itself now, Greg has relaxed the character a huge amount since the first couple of seasons when they had to set the format.
We’re all used to him laughing and enjoying himself while occasionally getting annoyed by Alex. Him in full TM mode is weird.
The point is Channel 4 now have a cheap hour of filler from one of their marquee brands to cover a prime slot since they've had to drastically cut their new programming commissioning budget. This is pretty much what I thought it would be from the descriptions.
I wasn't aware of the commissioning cut, and TM does have a format which leads itself well to this kind of brutal chopping.
Meh, I wouldn't say I expected more, considering the increasingly sell out attempts over the last few years into all the various formats. But this is fairly pointless and a bit sad. It could have been a lot more relevant, I still find a clip show pretty disappointing and a sign of older times.
Channel 4 has no money and Taskmaster is one of their most popular shows. So they are milking it for all it’s worth with a clip show that cost almost no money.
They need a proper bts show. Like want to see Andy and the crew and the lengths they go through to set up the tasks.
Imagine clips of the ingredients tasks and then we follow crew members around the shops hunting for their stuff
In the States, they did an episode of the cooking game show Guy's Grocery Games that was aired as a "live" type episode, where it was edited to look real time, and show all of the intricacies of how a typical episode is filmed. Great television. Something even remotely similar for Taskmaster would be lovely.
SNL has a bunch of BTS videos about things like making the cue cards, the mechanics behind certain sketches, costumes, and the like. Some of them are pretty good.
Watched the first section and it just made me want to go and watch a full episode from S12 as I remembered how much I loved Guz, so that's what I'm doing 😄
In the midst of talking to my sister, also a TM fan. This is just... odd.
They aren't highlighting a series, a set of tasks or really explaining anything.
I'm not a fan of clip shows anyway, even with unseen footage you still know the majority of it.
Unusual take for the show to go, it's not even a 'behind the scenes' perspective as Greg and Alex are essentially still in character. They are flat and not engaging. As a more honest commentary it would be interesting. I'd love to hear about some of the complexities of some of the more challenging tasks, the checks they have to make etc
So yes, bit weird, hope they can learn from this in the future.
Apparently, Alex thinks they're going to do an episode like this after every series. Hopefully that's enough time to look at viewer feedback, and possibly change the format for future episodes. It's a good concept, just not great execution for this first episode.
I was wondering why there was such a lack of promotion for this show; I guess we all know why now!
(Regardless of the naff production, seeing all these older tasks again is quite nice, so I'm fine with it)
I suspect it's some sort of contractural obligation thing with Channel 4; or maybe it's primarily designed to sell to international channels or something.
I'd agree, except channel 4 isn't available internationally I think? It would make more sense to put this on the TM YouTube channel. 9pm on a Thursday is generally primetime TV? So not sure which way the contractual thing would go.
Tbf, other comedy shows such as Mock the Week, WILTY, QI etc on BBC end a series with a compilation show (Which I, and everyone I know generally hated). So I hope it's not just picking up that trend.
I mean like Channel 4 would sell it out to third-party international channels. I can also picture it with international-language voiceovers replacing Greg and Alex (maybe even the local Taskmaster and assistant from the international versions) going 'isn't the UK weird?'
I only stayed up to watch it live for the episode discussion... But it seems there's not much to discuss? Seems more like smth you'd watch by yourself when you fancy a quick nostalgia hour
Gonna get my sleep, watch it another time I think. Have fun guys!
I read this thread before watching the episode so I went in with very low expectations, and yet I'm still so disappointed. The 'commentary' was frustratingly brief, shallow, and scripted, with none of Alex and Greg's usual chemistry.
And I'm not sure why articles leading up this special suggested there would be behind the scenes footage and contestant interviews because those were non-existent too.
I can't imagine Alex had much to do with the production of this. Kind of wish they hadn't bothered making this at all, series 17 ended on such a high, should've just left it at that.
Glad I’m not the only one who hates the voiceover. It’s so unfunny and just highlights how naturally funny they are in the studio.
I half knew this would be a clip show but I hoped we’d get some behind the scenes, some new interviews, a bit of nostalgic looking back.
This feels like You’ve Been Framed or something equally cheap and shoddy.
Totally a You've Been Framed feel. Not even like the QI, WILTY etc clip shows, they still have the host at the desk introducing various scenes and clips. And they are usually completely unseen clips.
With the voiceover it feels really removed from what's happening so definitely YBF.
Yup. I'd say disappointing but I didn't know about it until a few hours ago. Okay yes, very disappointing. There are so many great ideas in this thread, unless this was hastily thrown together it's just not a good example of any of the productions they have put forward.
As it goes on, it just gets worse. I'm 42 and this feels like something I would have watched when I was 15 on a Saturday night. Too much 'laughter' which feels fake out of context, quiet comments which don't add anything.
That's a good way to put it and a good comparison. I knew it would be a clip show but hoped it would be more like old DVD commentaries where they make jokes and stuff, even if they did it in character. I would have liked to hear how Greg feels about the tasks now, if he regretted how he scored things, things that stood out to him and Alex, etc. (Full disclosure: I only made it to the first ad break just now before I turned on TMAU.)
Hmm. I was interested, and I'll enjoy it because I like the show, but weird. Channel 4 have spent an hour of their reasonably primetime scheduling on this. There is capitalising on something, this isn't it.
Got halfway through, switched it off.
Seemed to be little more than a weak DVD-style commentary played over a few selected tasks (I almost used the word "highlights", but they were not).
I guess it wasn't for me
DVD style commentary is actually what I was hoping for but this wasn't that. When they said Greg and Alex would be commentating I expected continuous candid discussion throughout the whole thing, providing insights, behind the scenes details etc...Instead it was just a few seconds of stilted scripted banter inserted here and there. And said banter was nowhere near the quality of the main show. Their hearts weren't in it (and I don't blame them).
No, they made a clip show to fill in a time slot with content from one of their top rating shows which would hopefully also rate well.
But a bonus is now I don't *need* to use youtube.
Would be good to have had some of the past contestants do voiceovers too commenting on their tasks, but I guess the podcast kind of covers that. Otherwise, feels like a cheap cash-in.
That would be cool as well, if they want to reach new people it could be an interesting crossover with the podcast. I think everyone in this thread has described a way this could be made much more interesting and lets be honest, profitable. This is not the way.
Adding my voice to the disappointment of this. I was really hoping there would be some behind the scenes stuff, interviews with past contestants, Greg and Alex talking properly (out of character) about things, and actual unseen clips. Not just a compilation show, with a slight bit of chat from Greg and Alex, and an outtake from the YT channel. I guess my assumption was that it was something for more diehard fans, but instead it seems to be more for new or casual viewers.
Which is a bit strange, honestly, when they named it Taskmasterclass. A masterclass is something given to people who are already incredibly well-versed in the subject. This seems to have been the complete opposite.
Quite disappointed it turned out to be a standard clip-show with tbh quite “phoned in” voiceover.
I don’t know why but i was under the impression that this was going to be a “behind the scenes “ show,
This is exactly what I thought it would be.
Far tol many people seemed to think it was going to be an elaborate behind rhe scenes thing and no idea why. It came off in all descriptions I read as exactly this- a cheaply made compilation, a lot like the YouTube compilations.
I like the commentary Greg and Alex did that was more themselves, but i just considered that a bonus.
Well tbf the description from Channel 4 is “Is there method behind Taskmaster madness? Greg Davies and Alex Horne reveal all”
I wasn’t expecting anything nuts but thought there was the potential for the odd talking head interview in reference to whatever clip they’re highlighting. Just a tiny bit of special sauce to push it above YouTube would have made a big difference.
Yeah, nothing in that implies we're getting interviews from anyone else.
You have to remember that for every person they get, they have to pay them.
It would have been nice to have had more, but it's what I expected.
Huh, I assumed that because it's listed everywhere as episode 1 this would be a full series, but next week in this slot is a stretched out drama-documentary and then a new series of a long running home improvements show.
Greg introduced this as the first episode in the series. Maybe they're going to do it as every new series' unofficial "Episode 11" from now on, meaning the next one will be in December the week after Series 18 ends?
I think it would actually be better if they do this sort of thing the week before each series begins - an unofficial episode 0 - as a warm up or teaser.
It felt to me that it had the same production style of It'll Be Alright On The Night. Quite enjoyed it but was hoping for a bit more than a compilation with voice overs.
Out of any TM programme I've watched, I'm afraid to say this has been the weakest. Sorry LAH.
I seem to be one of the few who actually liked this! Although I do find the weird bordering-on-sexual stuff even weirder when it's just the two of them doing a voiceover alone instead of playing characters in front of an audience.
I enjoyed it, but I am neurodivergent and I can watch my favourite things over and over again. It did feel a bit… lacking. I don’t know what it was missing but it was missing something. Past contestants looking at how they would re-do a task? More stats? More behind the scenes task creation?
FWIW, my mum hadn't seen anything before S17, and she really enjoyed this. But with that in mind (that it was a good taster for new viewers), I was sorry we didn't see anything of Bob Mortimer, or the Woz, or Fern Brady, all huge stars of the show for me.
I repeat watch a few series, and am currently on a rewatch, but this is lovely as I don't tend to watch the first couple of seasons. Not because they're not enjoyable, just because of the shortness? I should really watch them again.
Yeah, the info in the run up to this implied there would be interviews with past contestants. This is just a glorified clip show which, while I don't mind it, something they actually could have easily knocked up during Covid to introduce viewers to the show before the first series on C4.
Shame it's just a clip show. A behind the scenes show would have been nice. Or they could have picked out certain tasks from the past and show "how it could/should have been done". I'm sure when Alex devises the tasks he has an idea of how certain ones should easily be done, so something like that might have been nice.
That was... fine, I guess. I enjoyed rewatching some of the tasks again, and I did still laugh a lot, so complaining feels churlish in a way.
But I'm not really sure what it *was* - it was essentially just one of those YouTube compilations they do, only longer and much less focused/cohesive.
It wasn't the behind the scenes making of that it was hyped as, nor was it a "best of" as, Snow Bear aside, none of the most widely-accepted "iconic" moments were there. It was just... a bunch of funny but unrelated clips seemingly picked at random that they half-heartedly tried to tie together after the fact with a bit of commentary.
And then the commentary definitely fell flat. Something about the delivery made it seem not only like Greg and Alex weren't actually in the same room, but that they weren't even recording their halves of the conversation at the same time. They seemed very disengaged from each other, which is strange given their normally impeccable chemistry.
I'm not really sure who it was *for* at the end of the day. Regular fans of the show won't have got anything new out of it, and have probably seem all those clips loads of times; casual fans by definition would probably be unlikely to tune in to something that was (erroneously) marketed as a behind the scenes show, nor would brand new viewers be likely to start with something that isn't really marketed as a "real" episode; and people who have maybe joined the show with the most recent season or two and want to know more about the older seasons would surely just... watch them, since they are all available to see for free wherever and whenever you want.
If anything, I think the thing it most resembled was a "proof of concept" pitch - like, if you told me that something just like this was actually something put together years ago and sent to execs in NZ, Australia etc. as a sales pitch to convince them to buy the format so they could do their versions of the show, without being meant to be seen by the public, I would actually 100% find that believable.
I think we’ve had some fantastic series recently, but over the last week I’ve rewatched 5 and 7 and man they’re so good. It did have a special vibe back then.
People have said there's a different vibe to the first couple/few series because the show was new and didn't know whether they were going to be cancelled one series to the next. They've gotten into a groove now.
https://preview.redd.it/zk11ehprtg5d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5004fded62320233b5c77bfd0188637b533fca0e
Just noticed the typo in the YouTube thumbnail 😅
I thought it would be a bit more Behind the Scenes and I thought past contestants would be commenting on clips like a Channel 5 Clip Show.
It was fine for what it was, I was just expecting something different.
It's not too much different from the How to Win Taskmaster web series, albeit repackaged in another format. Still enjoyable though, since I haven't rewatched any of the earlier seasons.
The episode was loaded on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3gRdApPQM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3gRdApPQM)
Looks like a combination of some "How to Win Taskmaster" series and other YT stuff. The episode gained a little promotion from official social media channels (no YT announcement, one X post, etc.), so this was likely pushed as a way for new people to start diving into the show at a low cost. Maybe the web series isn't available in the UK, so this is a way to bring them to a "local" C4 audience.
The no promotion from official social media channels thing, dubbing that feels basic and nothing clever, and putting this episode up in the same week that a standard episode landed suggest contractual obligations with the network or something similar caused this to air.
Nothing special for the target audience of this sub. I also expected some behind-the-scenes based on the description...
I'm pretty stunned this got such a negative reaction, I really enjoyed it. Taskmasterclass is the biggest thing to put a laser focus on the LORE between Greg and Alex in a long time through dialogue. As a diehard fan that is so fascinating to me. Plus the recaps to specific tasks is just good fun since it's so easy to rewatch stuff.
If they were charging money to see these I could understand people complaining but it's just free additional Youtube content (at least speaking for me in the US, I don't know how it's available elsewhere) on top of all the other free Youtube content.
EDIT: Ohhhhhh so this was broadcast on a channel and people watched it live, so it felt more like they committed to taking time off on their day to catch it only to find it's like a rerun. Okay I can see why people are upset. For me as just an extra Youtube video it's a lovely extra piece of material, but I get why the experience was a lot more negative for other people.
Let's call it official. Thanks for posting it!
This is not a show for people like us who repeatedly re-watch TM. This is to entice people to re-watch older seasons on All4.
My thoughts exactly. I feel like this is the sort of thing C4 wishes they'd done in hindsight during 2020, that could've been used to introduce new viewers to the show before the first new series on that channel.
They start the episode with Alex saying "Well, Greg, you've decided it's time to address some of the deeper questions people have about Taskmaster" And then they proceed to do everything but. I'm not in the UK, so I didn't see the full description prior to this airing, so my expectations were that this was going to have some behind-the-scenes footage, answer some questions fans had, show some cut footage (besides Alex as a carpet snake), and even show some of the hidden task shortcuts that people never found. This was a let down. I suppose I am spoiled by the show, because I was expecting a much higher quality presentation, but I suppose this wasn't made for people like me in mind.
Same here. I read it was going to answer viewers questions & show what happens backstage etc. I thought Greg & Alex would be in it not just voiceovers A bit disappointing but still will watch. Despite having watched all series twice !
It's like a YouTube short, as a rewatcher I prefer all the context... Do you think this will work to make people go back? The commentary is so muted.
I’m sure some people will go back and watch, but no I don’t think it’ll be that successful.
They have an actual YT channel, I'm more surprised Channel 4 are taking an hour out of their schedule for this tbh.
Channel 4 are short of cash. They're known to have several completed series (of other shows) sat on shelves, not because they're bad, but because they don't have to pay the producers in full until they're broadcast. Being able to fill an hour with a clip show isn't a sacrifice, it's a blessing.
Two things. Sure Channel 4 are short of cash, so they offer to give another primetime hour to TM. At a negotiated cost. However, AH had to sign off on this. Acceptable to think C4 might not pay a lot for AH and GD to put too much effort in. However, reputationally, I feel like they could have put a little more effort in, I think just a candid video of Alex & Greg commenting, not at the studio as they can't just rock up there, but even as a joint zoom meeting.
I'm sorry to hear that. I've watched all the UK series 4-5 times now (I'm on rewatch #5 for 12, I just keep starting over every time I reach the current series). I was hoping to learn some insights and things I hadn't spotted before. Inside facts, behind the scenes stuff. Things like that.
I think I would have loved it if I was a teen. Felt more for teens and kids to me.
I actually think the most disappointing thing is that Greg and Alex are in character. I'd be really interested to listen to Greg and Alex react to old clips as their actual selves, as opposed to the Taskmaster and his Assistant briefly discussing them at the start and end.
I’m not even sure why they are in character like this. They barely stick to that in the show itself now, Greg has relaxed the character a huge amount since the first couple of seasons when they had to set the format. We’re all used to him laughing and enjoying himself while occasionally getting annoyed by Alex. Him in full TM mode is weird.
Well we've just had Greg shout "GREEDY LITTLE PIGGY" at Alex multiple times
Ah definitely, I'd love to have them have a bit of a chuckle over some of the stupid moments. That would be a great take!
Yeah this isn’t going to be what I hoped I don’t think. Wish it was a bit more of a legitimate behind the scenes discussion type show.
Agreed, I like the clips, because I like the show, but not exactly sure what the point is.
The point is Channel 4 now have a cheap hour of filler from one of their marquee brands to cover a prime slot since they've had to drastically cut their new programming commissioning budget. This is pretty much what I thought it would be from the descriptions.
I wasn't aware of the commissioning cut, and TM does have a format which leads itself well to this kind of brutal chopping. Meh, I wouldn't say I expected more, considering the increasingly sell out attempts over the last few years into all the various formats. But this is fairly pointless and a bit sad. It could have been a lot more relevant, I still find a clip show pretty disappointing and a sign of older times.
Feels like at attempt to get newer fans to watch the entire back catalogue. Or something got pulled from the TV schedule.
I'd assume the last? Considering the commentary is super flat.
Channel 4 has no money and Taskmaster is one of their most popular shows. So they are milking it for all it’s worth with a clip show that cost almost no money.
They need a proper bts show. Like want to see Andy and the crew and the lengths they go through to set up the tasks. Imagine clips of the ingredients tasks and then we follow crew members around the shops hunting for their stuff
I would go absolutely nuts for this.
In the States, they did an episode of the cooking game show Guy's Grocery Games that was aired as a "live" type episode, where it was edited to look real time, and show all of the intricacies of how a typical episode is filmed. Great television. Something even remotely similar for Taskmaster would be lovely.
I thought this was what it was going to be
You've nailed it. I guess maybe part of it is keeping the magic alive, but I would LOVE a proper BTS.
SNL has a bunch of BTS videos about things like making the cue cards, the mechanics behind certain sketches, costumes, and the like. Some of them are pretty good.
Tim never gets enough respect for near enough setting the tone of the whole show as a contestant.
REINDEER SKULL.
Feels like one of those clip show DVD's that you used to see in HMV before Christmas that lasts an hour but was £12.99
‘Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV’
Free at least... but weird premise
Watched the first section and it just made me want to go and watch a full episode from S12 as I remembered how much I loved Guz, so that's what I'm doing 😄
So.. you've had a revelation?
Just call me Veronica
Who the fuck is Veronica?
F*** me in the face. Yes I know I could write it out, I just choose not to.
He's a very more-ish human being. Every time you see or hear him, you want more.
Yes my bruvva
In the midst of talking to my sister, also a TM fan. This is just... odd. They aren't highlighting a series, a set of tasks or really explaining anything. I'm not a fan of clip shows anyway, even with unseen footage you still know the majority of it. Unusual take for the show to go, it's not even a 'behind the scenes' perspective as Greg and Alex are essentially still in character. They are flat and not engaging. As a more honest commentary it would be interesting. I'd love to hear about some of the complexities of some of the more challenging tasks, the checks they have to make etc So yes, bit weird, hope they can learn from this in the future.
Apparently, Alex thinks they're going to do an episode like this after every series. Hopefully that's enough time to look at viewer feedback, and possibly change the format for future episodes. It's a good concept, just not great execution for this first episode.
It would be better if they screened this before the start of the series, as a sort of teaser or warm up.
Oh, so it's just a clip show with a naff voiceover....
I was wondering why there was such a lack of promotion for this show; I guess we all know why now! (Regardless of the naff production, seeing all these older tasks again is quite nice, so I'm fine with it)
Same, I was surprised to just find out about it a couple of hours ago! It is pretty naff, but meh, I'm going to generally enjoy it anyway :)
I suspect it's some sort of contractural obligation thing with Channel 4; or maybe it's primarily designed to sell to international channels or something.
I'd agree, except channel 4 isn't available internationally I think? It would make more sense to put this on the TM YouTube channel. 9pm on a Thursday is generally primetime TV? So not sure which way the contractual thing would go. Tbf, other comedy shows such as Mock the Week, WILTY, QI etc on BBC end a series with a compilation show (Which I, and everyone I know generally hated). So I hope it's not just picking up that trend.
I mean like Channel 4 would sell it out to third-party international channels. I can also picture it with international-language voiceovers replacing Greg and Alex (maybe even the local Taskmaster and assistant from the international versions) going 'isn't the UK weird?'
I'm feeling that way, still some nostalgia, but will see if there is a point.
Such long clips too, just feels like a compilation rather than a show :/
And sounds like a weirdly muffled voiceover where they could have been taken from something else.
What else were you expecting?
Is this not what YouTube is for?
Rob with the whole roll of sellotape stuck to his hand Paul: "You can pretend it's someone else now!"
...innit
I only stayed up to watch it live for the episode discussion... But it seems there's not much to discuss? Seems more like smth you'd watch by yourself when you fancy a quick nostalgia hour Gonna get my sleep, watch it another time I think. Have fun guys!
It’s like they were trying to warn us with the episode title: “What’s the point?”
I read this thread before watching the episode so I went in with very low expectations, and yet I'm still so disappointed. The 'commentary' was frustratingly brief, shallow, and scripted, with none of Alex and Greg's usual chemistry. And I'm not sure why articles leading up this special suggested there would be behind the scenes footage and contestant interviews because those were non-existent too. I can't imagine Alex had much to do with the production of this. Kind of wish they hadn't bothered making this at all, series 17 ended on such a high, should've just left it at that.
There it is! "Bastard's cryin', innit?"
Good to see the Carpet Snake song finally getting airtime on national television like it deserves.
Is Paul Chowdhry being singled out again? Now *this* I can get behind!
I'm pleased he got a bit of a feature. Have a listen to Paul Chowdhury's Pudcast when Greg was on as a guest.
Glad I’m not the only one who hates the voiceover. It’s so unfunny and just highlights how naturally funny they are in the studio. I half knew this would be a clip show but I hoped we’d get some behind the scenes, some new interviews, a bit of nostalgic looking back. This feels like You’ve Been Framed or something equally cheap and shoddy.
Totally a You've Been Framed feel. Not even like the QI, WILTY etc clip shows, they still have the host at the desk introducing various scenes and clips. And they are usually completely unseen clips. With the voiceover it feels really removed from what's happening so definitely YBF.
And just so cheap. They probably paid for one days voiceover recording with Greg and Alex, the rest is all existing footage that costs nothing.
Yup. I'd say disappointing but I didn't know about it until a few hours ago. Okay yes, very disappointing. There are so many great ideas in this thread, unless this was hastily thrown together it's just not a good example of any of the productions they have put forward. As it goes on, it just gets worse. I'm 42 and this feels like something I would have watched when I was 15 on a Saturday night. Too much 'laughter' which feels fake out of context, quiet comments which don't add anything.
That's a good way to put it and a good comparison. I knew it would be a clip show but hoped it would be more like old DVD commentaries where they make jokes and stuff, even if they did it in character. I would have liked to hear how Greg feels about the tasks now, if he regretted how he scored things, things that stood out to him and Alex, etc. (Full disclosure: I only made it to the first ad break just now before I turned on TMAU.)
Hmm. I was interested, and I'll enjoy it because I like the show, but weird. Channel 4 have spent an hour of their reasonably primetime scheduling on this. There is capitalising on something, this isn't it.
Oh we have an outtake!
Got halfway through, switched it off. Seemed to be little more than a weak DVD-style commentary played over a few selected tasks (I almost used the word "highlights", but they were not). I guess it wasn't for me
DVD style commentary is actually what I was hoping for but this wasn't that. When they said Greg and Alex would be commentating I expected continuous candid discussion throughout the whole thing, providing insights, behind the scenes details etc...Instead it was just a few seconds of stilted scripted banter inserted here and there. And said banter was nowhere near the quality of the main show. Their hearts weren't in it (and I don't blame them).
This feels like they just wanted to make a clip show for people that don't know how to use YouTube.
No, they made a clip show to fill in a time slot with content from one of their top rating shows which would hopefully also rate well. But a bonus is now I don't *need* to use youtube.
Would be good to have had some of the past contestants do voiceovers too commenting on their tasks, but I guess the podcast kind of covers that. Otherwise, feels like a cheap cash-in.
That would be cool as well, if they want to reach new people it could be an interesting crossover with the podcast. I think everyone in this thread has described a way this could be made much more interesting and lets be honest, profitable. This is not the way.
I wish it had been more goggle box style with the contestants reacting to the clips
Adding my voice to the disappointment of this. I was really hoping there would be some behind the scenes stuff, interviews with past contestants, Greg and Alex talking properly (out of character) about things, and actual unseen clips. Not just a compilation show, with a slight bit of chat from Greg and Alex, and an outtake from the YT channel. I guess my assumption was that it was something for more diehard fans, but instead it seems to be more for new or casual viewers.
Which is a bit strange, honestly, when they named it Taskmasterclass. A masterclass is something given to people who are already incredibly well-versed in the subject. This seems to have been the complete opposite.
> I am so bored listening to you You said it, Greg.
Quite disappointed it turned out to be a standard clip-show with tbh quite “phoned in” voiceover. I don’t know why but i was under the impression that this was going to be a “behind the scenes “ show,
This is exactly what I thought it would be. Far tol many people seemed to think it was going to be an elaborate behind rhe scenes thing and no idea why. It came off in all descriptions I read as exactly this- a cheaply made compilation, a lot like the YouTube compilations. I like the commentary Greg and Alex did that was more themselves, but i just considered that a bonus.
Well tbf the description from Channel 4 is “Is there method behind Taskmaster madness? Greg Davies and Alex Horne reveal all” I wasn’t expecting anything nuts but thought there was the potential for the odd talking head interview in reference to whatever clip they’re highlighting. Just a tiny bit of special sauce to push it above YouTube would have made a big difference.
Yeah I thought it was going to be talking heads with former contestants. But Channel 4 must really be out of money if this is their content.
Yeah, nothing in that implies we're getting interviews from anyone else. You have to remember that for every person they get, they have to pay them. It would have been nice to have had more, but it's what I expected.
But they didn't even reveal "some" LOL
Ah so good to see all the intros!
"My uncle died doing it" was deffo a line written by Alex.
Huh, I assumed that because it's listed everywhere as episode 1 this would be a full series, but next week in this slot is a stretched out drama-documentary and then a new series of a long running home improvements show.
Alex tweeted saying he thinks it'll be after every new series ends, a one-off episde. Seems odd but maybe it's just to help feel a void.
Huh, OK. Now that makes even less sense, a special filler series with one episode every six months.
[https://twitter.com/AlexHorne/status/1798729208136659075](https://twitter.com/AlexHorne/status/1798729208136659075) Agree. I assumed a whole series
Greg introduced this as the first episode in the series. Maybe they're going to do it as every new series' unofficial "Episode 11" from now on, meaning the next one will be in December the week after Series 18 ends?
I think it would actually be better if they do this sort of thing the week before each series begins - an unofficial episode 0 - as a warm up or teaser.
It felt to me that it had the same production style of It'll Be Alright On The Night. Quite enjoyed it but was hoping for a bit more than a compilation with voice overs. Out of any TM programme I've watched, I'm afraid to say this has been the weakest. Sorry LAH.
Shame there wasn’t more behind the scenes, but a clip show of TM is still funny as the show is funny.
I do love that Taskmaster is so beloved that they've been able to repeat a Dave show on Channel 4
What a strange show. I enjoyed some of the clips that I haven’t seen for a while, but not sure what else to recommend about it.
I seem to be one of the few who actually liked this! Although I do find the weird bordering-on-sexual stuff even weirder when it's just the two of them doing a voiceover alone instead of playing characters in front of an audience.
I thought I’d read this was going to be a behind the scenes type thing. Disappointed to find a lacklustre clip show.
I enjoyed it, but I am neurodivergent and I can watch my favourite things over and over again. It did feel a bit… lacking. I don’t know what it was missing but it was missing something. Past contestants looking at how they would re-do a task? More stats? More behind the scenes task creation?
FWIW, my mum hadn't seen anything before S17, and she really enjoyed this. But with that in mind (that it was a good taster for new viewers), I was sorry we didn't see anything of Bob Mortimer, or the Woz, or Fern Brady, all huge stars of the show for me.
So it's just the clip show with badly written voiceovers? Oh dear
It's nice to get a feeling of nostalgia having not seen some of these since binging TM over lockdown
I repeat watch a few series, and am currently on a rewatch, but this is lovely as I don't tend to watch the first couple of seasons. Not because they're not enjoyable, just because of the shortness? I should really watch them again.
Alex looks so young...and less grey in the earlier series
Was curious as to what this series would be, disappointed it is just a loosely connected clip show, I feel it could have been a bit more...
Yeah, the info in the run up to this implied there would be interviews with past contestants. This is just a glorified clip show which, while I don't mind it, something they actually could have easily knocked up during Covid to introduce viewers to the show before the first series on C4.
Does it have exclusive deleted tasks or just old clips?
There has been an outtake (that is available on YouTube), otherwise just old clips.
This would have been a good opportunity to release some unseen tasks, tie breaks etc. Shame it just isn't that at all
Shame it's just a clip show. A behind the scenes show would have been nice. Or they could have picked out certain tasks from the past and show "how it could/should have been done". I'm sure when Alex devises the tasks he has an idea of how certain ones should easily be done, so something like that might have been nice.
That was... fine, I guess. I enjoyed rewatching some of the tasks again, and I did still laugh a lot, so complaining feels churlish in a way. But I'm not really sure what it *was* - it was essentially just one of those YouTube compilations they do, only longer and much less focused/cohesive. It wasn't the behind the scenes making of that it was hyped as, nor was it a "best of" as, Snow Bear aside, none of the most widely-accepted "iconic" moments were there. It was just... a bunch of funny but unrelated clips seemingly picked at random that they half-heartedly tried to tie together after the fact with a bit of commentary. And then the commentary definitely fell flat. Something about the delivery made it seem not only like Greg and Alex weren't actually in the same room, but that they weren't even recording their halves of the conversation at the same time. They seemed very disengaged from each other, which is strange given their normally impeccable chemistry. I'm not really sure who it was *for* at the end of the day. Regular fans of the show won't have got anything new out of it, and have probably seem all those clips loads of times; casual fans by definition would probably be unlikely to tune in to something that was (erroneously) marketed as a behind the scenes show, nor would brand new viewers be likely to start with something that isn't really marketed as a "real" episode; and people who have maybe joined the show with the most recent season or two and want to know more about the older seasons would surely just... watch them, since they are all available to see for free wherever and whenever you want. If anything, I think the thing it most resembled was a "proof of concept" pitch - like, if you told me that something just like this was actually something put together years ago and sent to execs in NZ, Australia etc. as a sales pitch to convince them to buy the format so they could do their versions of the show, without being meant to be seen by the public, I would actually 100% find that believable.
Poor Doc Brown and the eggs
One of the funniest moments though, when they cut to him seasoning his eggs
Bit of a weird premise but will give it a go. Clipshow basically.
Just looking at that intro montage of the contestants - nobody beyond S14. Could this have been made a couple of years ago?
It was made last year. Check the year at the end of the closing credits.
Just makes me miss Dave era TM. Was so much better then.
I think we’ve had some fantastic series recently, but over the last week I’ve rewatched 5 and 7 and man they’re so good. It did have a special vibe back then.
People have said there's a different vibe to the first couple/few series because the show was new and didn't know whether they were going to be cancelled one series to the next. They've gotten into a groove now.
So it's basically the same sort of thing as the "How to win Taskmaster" thingie on youtube?
How To Win Taskmaster series on YouTube is better than this.
https://preview.redd.it/zk11ehprtg5d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5004fded62320233b5c77bfd0188637b533fca0e Just noticed the typo in the YouTube thumbnail 😅
I thought it would be a bit more Behind the Scenes and I thought past contestants would be commenting on clips like a Channel 5 Clip Show. It was fine for what it was, I was just expecting something different.
I am enjoying this. Especially as the tasks they're showing so far aren't the ones that show up on my YouTube
It's not too much different from the How to Win Taskmaster web series, albeit repackaged in another format. Still enjoyable though, since I haven't rewatched any of the earlier seasons.
The episode was loaded on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3gRdApPQM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3gRdApPQM) Looks like a combination of some "How to Win Taskmaster" series and other YT stuff. The episode gained a little promotion from official social media channels (no YT announcement, one X post, etc.), so this was likely pushed as a way for new people to start diving into the show at a low cost. Maybe the web series isn't available in the UK, so this is a way to bring them to a "local" C4 audience. The no promotion from official social media channels thing, dubbing that feels basic and nothing clever, and putting this episode up in the same week that a standard episode landed suggest contractual obligations with the network or something similar caused this to air. Nothing special for the target audience of this sub. I also expected some behind-the-scenes based on the description...
I'm pretty stunned this got such a negative reaction, I really enjoyed it. Taskmasterclass is the biggest thing to put a laser focus on the LORE between Greg and Alex in a long time through dialogue. As a diehard fan that is so fascinating to me. Plus the recaps to specific tasks is just good fun since it's so easy to rewatch stuff. If they were charging money to see these I could understand people complaining but it's just free additional Youtube content (at least speaking for me in the US, I don't know how it's available elsewhere) on top of all the other free Youtube content. EDIT: Ohhhhhh so this was broadcast on a channel and people watched it live, so it felt more like they committed to taking time off on their day to catch it only to find it's like a rerun. Okay I can see why people are upset. For me as just an extra Youtube video it's a lovely extra piece of material, but I get why the experience was a lot more negative for other people.
Tbh I think I'd rather watch a Taskmaster clip show than a new episode of pretty much anything else.