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March 19, 2024, 11:54:36 AM

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Taskmaster - Series 8 [split topic]

Started by The Lurker, April 12, 2019, 10:04:05 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Old Thrashbarg

Was a bit worried about this series for the first half of the episode, but the second half was much better. Especially the bridge task. And the studio task was wonderfully undignified as well.

vainsharpdad

They seemed to gel well enough. Already better than S6.

bigfatheart

That was a good start - wasn't expecting anything on a par with last series, which was, I thought, the best yet. Already starting to fill certain roles: Iain as the competitive one, Lou as the half-mad, half-genius one, Paul as the hapless one and Sian as the bemused and frustrated straight-woman. Hoping Joe shows a bit more personality, though - it's not really a show that can carry two straight-people, and Sian's got a lot more energy so will stand out more.

Because I'm a sad little Taskmaster obsessive, here's my prediction for how the series will end:
Iain will win (seems pretty straightforward, understands the show)
Sian will be runner-up (also straightforward, but maybe not quite as competitive)
Lou in third (eccentrics tend to be all over the shop, I think she'll have some really good tasks and absolutely tank some others)
Joe in fourth (will probably have a few good tasks but don't know how well he'll do in the creative/lateral thinking tasks so far)
Paul last (charmingly inept)

Actually, I think that's just how the episode ended, but with Sian and Lou swapped, wasn't it? Oh well, I stand by it.

It's good great to have this back. Lou's "Four sluts, that's what I'm hearing" comment to Sian during the prize task floored me.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: bigfatheart on May 08, 2019, 10:28:58 PM
That was a good start - wasn't expecting anything on a par with last series, which was, I thought, the best yet. Already starting to fill certain roles: Iain as the competitive one, Lou as the half-mad, half-genius one, Paul as the hapless one and Sian as the bemused and frustrated straight-woman. Hoping Joe shows a bit more personality, though - it's not really a show that can carry two straight-people, and Sian's got a lot more energy so will stand out more.

Because I'm a sad little Taskmaster obsessive, here's my prediction for how the series will end:
Iain will win (seems pretty straightforward, understands the show)
Sian will be runner-up (also straightforward, but maybe not quite as competitive)
Lou in third (eccentrics tend to be all over the shop, I think she'll have some really good tasks and absolutely tank some others)
Joe in fourth (will probably have a few good tasks but don't know how well he'll do in the creative/lateral thinking tasks so far)
Paul last (charmingly inept)

Actually, I think that's just how the episode ended, but with Sian and Lou swapped, wasn't it? Oh well, I stand by it.

I'd swap Joe and Paul round but otherwise I agree, but in order of who'll be the most fun:

1) Lou - I like her stand up a great deal so perhaps I'm biased but I thought she was easily the funniest and most creative.
2) Sian - A surprise second place for me, she seems a bit quirky and while not quite as crazy as Sally Phillips should prove to be a delight.
3) Paul - Already liking his take on the tasks a great deal and he comes up with some very funny moments in the studio too.
4) Iain - Fine but a bit bland, too competitive but not providing a great deal of laughs bar his puppetry outrage in the studio.
5) Joe - A ridiculously bland man, but I'm still glad he's in the show as I enjoy watching Greg rip the piss out of him.

As a whole I thought it was a decent enough first episode, the prize task was weak and the Baby Monitor one didn't give them much of a chance to do anything daft, but the Ventriloquist's doll task was superb, and I was very fond of the Bridge one too. As usual the studio task was bland, but that's often the case so it wasn't a surprise. As mentioned above it's already better than season six, and I think it'll be better than season four too, though it's too early to make any other predictions.

olliebean

They're not putting them up online a week early this time, then?


olliebean

OK, not that it makes any difference since they upgraded their DRM and I can't grab them with youtube-dl any more.

DrGreggles

Quote from: olliebean on May 08, 2019, 10:50:08 PM
They're not putting them up online a week early this time, then?

I thought they usually put up all the episodes online a week early, except for the first and last ones. Maybe episode 2 will appear shortly.

DrGreggles

Enjoyed that episode a lot, BTW.
Seems like a good mix.

Iain's rant and Lou's "sluts" comment were the studio highlights, and the ventriloquist and railway tasks were great.

touchingcloth

Quote from: DrGreggles on May 08, 2019, 11:20:18 PM
I thought they usually put up all the episodes online a week early, except for the first and last ones. Maybe episode 2 will appear shortly.

Did they used to upload episode 1 early? In my memory they would broadcast episode one on Dave first, but then make 1 and 2 available on UKTVPlay with the on demand version staying one week ahead until finals week.

Quote from: olliebean on May 08, 2019, 11:02:14 PM
OK, not that it makes any difference since they upgraded their DRM and I can't grab them with youtube-dl any more.

The one thing I use reddit for is grabbing episodes of these sorts of shows that don't tend to make much of an impact on torrent sites. r/panelshow tends to have people upload Taskmaster to a GDrive link each week - https://www.reddit.com/r/panelshow/comments/bmbhqe/taskmaster_s08e01_iain_stirling_joe_thomas_lou/

Quote from: bigfatheart on May 08, 2019, 10:28:58 PM
That was a good start - wasn't expecting anything on a par with last series, which was, I thought, the best yet. Already starting to fill certain roles: Iain as the competitive one, Lou as the half-mad, half-genius one, Paul as the hapless one and Sian as the bemused and frustrated straight-woman. Hoping Joe shows a bit more personality, though - it's not really a show that can carry two straight-people, and Sian's got a lot more energy so will stand out more.

I'm not familiar with Sian, but she didn't read as a straight character to me. Joe is a little disappointing. I've heard him in interviews a few times and I wasn't expecting great things as he doesn't seem to be able to react spontaneously or with any real sense of personality, and in parts during this episode he seemed a man in crisis. Which makes for compelling telly of a sort, I guess.

DrGreggles

Quote from: touchingcloth on May 08, 2019, 11:54:35 PM
Did they used to upload episode 1 early? In my memory they would broadcast episode one on Dave first, but then make 1 and 2 available on UKTVPlay with the on demand version staying one week ahead until finals week.

I don't think they put episode 1 up early, but episode 2 was available online straight (or shortly) after episode 1 was broadcast.
Looks like they won't be doing that this time.

rasta-spouse

I was concerned hearing about Sinah's weight loss that his neck wouldn't be quirky anymore. But watched it now and, thankfully, it's still got a serious level of quirk.

Generally I dislike contestants that have a whiff of generic 'club comic' to them, and Stirling has it all over him. The actor one seems ok though. And I'm a Lou Sanders fan.

amateur

Sinha's line about his ventriloquist doll not needing trousers where they were going had me in bits. Think he could be the stand-out this year.

neveragain

Really can't stand Stirling, seems like an absolute knob.

selectivememory

#45
I think Iain's going to be really annoying over the course of the series. Maybe even more so than Russell Howard. Didn't like his forced competitiveness at all. It was like he'd watched James Acaster last year but not understood why his meltdowns were funny. Also seemed to lack a bit of imagination in the tasks compared to the others. I don't think he deserved to win that puppet task at all. Even Joe's half-arsed attempt was funnier when he attacked his puppet with the scissors.

Lou was definitely the most entertaining in this episode, and I think Paul should also be good. Hopefully Sian and Joe will be strong enough to make it a decent series overall. They were both OK; I quite liked Joe's low energy/awkwardness in contrast to the general loudness of most of the others, and Sian seems game enough without being too try-hard. I guess a lot will depend now on how interesting and creative the tasks are themselves. Liked the bridge one in this episode, but the rest weren't great. The puppet one felt like half a good idea to me. I would have liked it if they were given a bit more room to do something weird with it, as the "prepare a video or a performance" tasks often turn out to be the best ones.

Alex and Greg were great as always. It's good that the show always has those two to fall back on if the contestants disappoint.

Utter Shit

I watched this in a post-Glorious Tottenham Qualification haze, and can remember almost nothing about it.

DrGreggles

Quote from: Utter Shit on May 09, 2019, 11:51:19 AM
I watched this in a post-Glorious Tottenham Qualification haze, and can remember almost nothing about it.

Spurs lost mate. It was all a dream.

gilbertharding

I agree that Iaian Stirling's oUtRaGe!!! was like a bad photocopy of James Acaster. He's already annoyed me.

I thought The Inbetweeners one was a bit of a damp squib, until his masterful Grandmother's Footsteps on the bridge. All the rest: fine. Too soon to say if this is a vintage crop.

Enjoyed the tie break task: 'stop me if this is turning you on...'

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: selectivememory on May 09, 2019, 11:37:01 AM
I don't think he deserved to win that puppet task at all. Even Joe's half-arsed attempt was funnier when he attacked his puppet with the scissors.

It was bizarre, wasn't it, like you say even Joe's was funnier and I've no idea why Iain didn't get just one point for his efforts.

the hum

Generally enjoyable first episode, especially the bridge task, as others have mentioned. That one in particular got me thinking, is it just me, or is there something marvellously cerebral about the location tasks? There's something quite Prisoner-esque about them. Maybe they should consider filming in Portmeirion in a future series, or would that be a tad obvious?

Sin Agog

Weird first task to start the series on.  I hear that a percentage of tasks never make it to air, and yet they kicked things off with a bunch of people walking around saying 'hello' to the air.  The quirky library music didn't make me forget what a nothingy experience watching that was.  The bridge was great, though- got me wishing I knew of any similarly deserted trainyards or building sites so I could play it myself.

SteveDave

My wife hates Lou Sanders now. I am having to keep my gentle warmth for her a secret.

After the first episode we watched the Hypothetical with her, Sara Pascoe, Irrelevant Kumar and Ed Gamble. Which didn't help my cause.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: SteveDave on May 10, 2019, 10:49:03 AM
My wife hates Lou Sanders now. I am having to keep my gentle warmth for her a secret.

After the first episode we watched the Hypothetical with her, Sara Pascoe, Irrelevant Kumar and Ed Gamble. Which didn't help my cause.

That first episode of Hypothetical was pretty awful, but did it get a bit better. Not that I watched all of them, or even half, but I do remember the third episode being more fun.

Also: It's time to divorce your wife.

Clownbaby

Didn't  rate first episode  much to be honest

jsgibble

There have been better and worse series, the sixth was an obvious low point but there were a few others I'd rank below this one. I enjoyed it quite a bit for the most part

Twed

What in the fuck is wrong with Joe? In most series of Taskmaster saying "they give off a serial killer vibe" would mean they had an entertaining persona/character on the show, but Joe just seems like he's unhappy to be there and wants to go back home to finish eating the pie he's made out of mother offal.

SteveDave


Clownbaby

Quote from: Twed on May 10, 2019, 04:19:59 PM
What in the fuck is wrong with Joe? In most series of Taskmaster saying "they give off a serial killer vibe" would mean they had an entertaining persona/character on the show, but Joe just seems like he's unhappy to be there and wants to go back home to finish eating the pie he's made out of mother offal.

I'm not keen on him either. I think he might be shooting for a deadpan or downtrodden odd guy thing but, as he isn't funny or charismatic enough to pull it off, it just makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. There's genuine self-consciousness behind his eyes but it's not endearing. I always saw this in Inbetweeners as well 

BeardFaceMan

#59
This is an odd one, this is the first series where there isn't at least one person I'm a fan of going in. 4 of them I've never even heard of before, and I only know of Lou Sanders from some panel show appearances and a go at one of her stand up shows which I couldnt make it to the end of. It looks like I'm going to be a fan of Sinha but that's about all I took from that ep. I think because I don't know anybody this might be a series better enjoyed on a rewatch after the series has ended.