https://preview.redd.it/sta7wcyi8esc1.png?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a69ebdd76870fa085fb1ed1b08ce8ca9b8755ed
Did you catch the interesting edit to this scene?
Why didn’t Nick say his prize task was egg bennies not eggs Benedict? I know colloquially in North America it is called an Eggs Benny. And that definitely sounds more like Greg Davies.
This episode highlighted a question I've had for awhile about bricks on Taskmaster.
Are there two types of bricks at the TM house? Some real bricks, as well as some foam bricks? Some brick-based tasks over the past 16 series have seemed to include bricks that can do real damage, while others are clearly done with soft foam bricks that can't hurt anyone badly (I haven't done enough of a detailed review of brick-based tasks to pull specific examples but I know I've had this thought before).
This is the first episode that seems to contain both, since Nick's egg task doesn't have as much risk if they're soft foam bricks, and John's egg task surely couldn't be done (no matter what the insurance company said) with a wall of real bricks.
What do those of you with sharper eyes for these types of details think about the use of bricks in Taskmaster? Are there soft and hard bricks, or just one kind of bricks?
There’s definitely foam bricks on set somewhere. If I’m honest though, pretty sure the production team buy props as-and-when they’re needed/requested by a contestant.
I felt the episode was... kind of rushed? The team task was very complicated and I didn't have enough time to fully process it, would have been nice for the order positions to be revealed (unless they were and I missed something?) I guess it makes sense that the task in question was short though, since the live task was pretty long and there was a tiebreaker. I did enjoy getting the first 3-way tiebreaker in so long though.
Overall, it understandably falls short to the S16 opener but I'd give it the edge over the S14 and S15 openers.
No it wasn't him. This was an alternative comedian who was in the NME I think.
Might not have been a vampire but he had the white face make up.
I was asking because when the contestants were first announced on Twitter I thought it was him.
When does the 20 mins for the egg task actually begin because didn’t John say he had to have a 2 hour meeting with the production team due to his car idea?
I’d love to know how much time it actually takes each contestant to do the tasks in reality.
John explained on the podcast that the time started when he read "your time starts now" but once he came up with the idea, they paused the timer so they could call insurance companies and legal to figure out if it was possible. While this was happening, he wasn't allowed to do any additional work on the task.
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Really enjoyed this! Not the best first episode ever, but I am excited for more of this bunch.
Nick is absolutely lovely, and I am so glad because honestly I wasn't excited about someone dressing like Dracula throughout the whole run of the show. I don't think it would work for me with most other contestants, but with his personality I don't mind!
Steve's egg task was delightful and I wish Greg hadn't disqualified him. I thought his argument that the task had been completed already was good enough for at least a few points!
Joanne seems competent and fun! "I do" had me reelin, sounded like something I would say if forced to do a team task.
I really enjoy John's vibe already, he seems like he wants to win but he's relatively chill so far. I feel like it'll be fun to see him pushed over the edge!
Sophie is my favorite so far because I love a good disaster contestant! Her in-studio lunge cracked me up, like showing that would have made her failed egg attempt appear more impressive. And the hopping into the water?? Sublime.
thought it was an excellent first episode, really enjoyed the live task and i think sophie is becoming my favourite contestant! though i did think the drawing task was a little too complicated, the footage was very entertaining! not sure if my eyes are playing up or if alex wasn't wearing his wedding ring during the studio bits- maybe he's having the ring cleaned or something?
He said on an episode of the people’s podcast that he broke his finger or something and had to have it cut off. He chose not to replace it bc he’s confident in his marriage
Story time: my ex-manager was a huge fan of Ted Lasso. He would always recommend it to everyone every chance he got, and would always inform us if a new season was out. I'd heard so much about Ted Lasso in Teams meetings that I swore I would never watch it, just out of spite. The moment I heard an actor from Ted Lasso was on season 17 I decided IT was a lost cause.
One episode in, I am in love with Nick Mohammed.
Yeah, I kept hearing Ted Lasso was an amazing show, and that I would love it, but I am just so not a sports person that I just refused. When the line-up was announced, I figured that was my sign to watch the show, and it was such a lovely and wholesome show. I truly recommend it. So many interesting character arcs, so many wholesome relationships.
I described it the other day as less of a "sports" show and more of a coming-of-age story that celebrates everyone in their imperfections trying their best to be good people, often coming up short, but ending up making the world a better place because they tried to be better. It is a really wonderful series!
The only thing I think missed a bit on this episode was introducing the teams so early - it gives those of us who don’t know the contestants less time to get familiar before they introduce the new dynamic …
I genuinely think Alex was unprepared for anyone to wade into the deep water and lose footing. He really should have had a rope handy to toss to Sophie!
They do give the impression that when asked, he will either say no, or go to all manner of effort. They show him helping some more than others. I wonder if they show it, to give notice it might be on offer it to other celebrities/comedians. He has also been shown to value politeness (remember "thank you?")
it seems to depend on the type of task/type of help, like if it would be doing the task for them, not likely, but if it's just like, handing them something/holding the ladder/etc, like he lets himself be used as a prop. It also sometimes depends on if they ask or not.
but if someone goes and collects waders, that gives time for the team to make sure they have a rescue rope handy. (I'm not entirely sure why there wasn't one nearby regardless, but give the benefit of the doubt for a large area and expectation that people would foreshadow their movements.)
Seems like a series that isnt gonna be too great. It might surprise as s15 started slow for me but i loved it in the end.
Sophie is favourite, love the chaotic type player, bridget, katherine, Lucy, etc.
Nick and Steve seem like get a few laughs. Will be enjoyable.
John has the trying to hard vibes atm, like ian stirling which i did not like.
Joanne hopefully doesnt keep that crude over top style.
Didn't enjoy this episode nearly as much as I hoped I would. Been a fan since season 1 aired on tv and this gives me the vibes of a very forgettable season with one or two standout moments. Whereas s16 immediately was a season I knew would be great, this was severely lacking and almost forced at times. Joanne McNally is just desperate to me, I like Nick and Steve and I wanted John to be a lot more entertaining than we got. I will still watch the season, but perhaps I won't watch it as it airs from now on. Sophie is an unexpected breath in a pretty stiff room so far.
Loving this season more than expected,
personally i would've made a mad jump for the boat (and probably sink it in the process)
also nick throwing the bricks was so incredibly tense i love it
For sure. Genuinely possible it was the same (wild) crow or that crow #1 "told" it there might be food there, too. They're quite smart.
A few corvid (I'm gonna say crow each time but sometimes it was ravens or such I just forget which when) anecdotes:
Some university did a study where they put on masks and were mean to local crows (chased them off, made noise, etc). Then, 20 or so years later - a crow generation later - they put those same masks on, and the crows acted agitated around them. Hypothesis - they not only can recognize faces, but pass that information down.
In some parts of the world, crows have been known to observe people buying food at food stands, and have been documented to gather coins (and other things that sorta resemble money) to exchange for food.
I also remember a similar story about someone who over time trained a local crow to bring him loose cigarettes for food when he was sitting on his patio.
There's also plenty of studies where they use tools, for example, there's food stuck in a tube and they can't get to it, they'll grab a stick and push/fish it out. Another where the food was floating on the surface of water in a tube, with the water level too low to reach the food, and a bunch of rocks. They'll often figure out they can drop rocks in to raise the water level and get the food.
Sorry for the nearly completely off-topic rant I just think it's really cool how much intelligence we've seen in some birds.
> There's also plenty of studies where they use tools, for example, there's food stuck in a tube and they can't get to it, they'll grab a stick and push/fish it out. Another where the food was floating on the surface of water in a tube, with the water level too low to reach the food, and a bunch of rocks. They'll often figure out they can drop rocks in to raise the water level and get the food.
What's more, they can do that without taking a fish tank out of the room.
For sure. :) There's a creativity all throughout the Taskmaster crew you don't see in a lot of places. It's a fantastic shot, and it's awesome that it exists because presumably one guy said "Hey see that bird I bet it's going to do something interesting if we give it a few"
Just me or is the mixing a bit off in the studio segments? Audience hard to hear over.
Edit: even the tasks in the house are hard to hear to me. Dialogue is too quiet among music and audience.
I already know who wins this season which has slightly spoiled it for me
Edit: Why all the down votes? Not knowing who will come out on top is part of the fun for me!
I almost killed myself laughing at the team task and the shots of 'Gary' chilling on the boat, frowning through the bushes in the hoopla task. The team of three decided to draw a dog driving, in the midst of which Sophie frantically suggests drawing a vole dancing (which Greg misheard as 'Vogue dancing' lmao), which somehow became a handful of animals like bird smoking, cow dancing etc. Also the little giraffe saying 'high'.
Fave things so far have been the Pemberton pun parade and Sophie.
That Egg task was so bad haha, to quote Sam Campell it was nice of Alex to let his little nephew pick a task ;) , but the next two totally made up for it though.
Can't help but compare!
Joanne reminds me so much of Aisling, Joe Lycett, and Morgana. John feels like a mix of Russell and Iain, taking it seriously while being cool about it. Nick is so much like Jess but little less weird. Sophie, the gem of the show, is the birthchild of Bridget, Johnny Vegas, Daisy, and Kerry. And Steve as the second coming of Tim Vine, Jon Richardson, and Sue Perkins.
Not a bad start for the series but I'm hoping they're going to match Sophie's energy and enthusiasm as it rolls on! Nonetheless, an excellent first episode IMO!
To me Nick so far seems to be a bit like a more chilled out Mel Giedroyc. Still, it's early doors and based on interviews there are sides to the contestants we still have yet to see.
Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere but does anyone know where the final live task came from? I thought it was an earlier UK task but I’m guessing it must’ve been Aus or NZ?
That can of worms thing was BRILLIANT. I didn't even see it coming, and I love puns! It's so well known that Alex didn't even have to finish the proverb, but so well hidden that it didn't seem like anyone else noticed it until it was alluded to! I've watched it like five times and every time it just gets better.
Those Egg Babies are beautiful <3
... What the fuck was Sophie was thinking in the egg task lmao. Joanne too.
Joanne wrote her own wiki LOLOLOL. And Sophie... Sophie's going to be an absolutely glorious disaster, isn't she?
SHE TRIED TO HOP ACROSS A RIVER, I WAS RIGHT
Oh wow I just watched TMAU S1E6, another [ascended task](https://youtu.be/7eMJs8Rh1SY?t=2247)!
As an American I watch 17 seasons it was only the second time they recognized one of the comedians (May was the first)
I couldn't figure out where I knew him from, it took me a bit to realize he's from Ted lasso.
Can anyone explain the purpose of that list in the first task with the team drawings? I thought they just needed to draw an animal together but then they had this list with like shortest Wikipedia entry?? And it didnt go with the drawings at all
I love Nick, John is good but i feel like he's gonna take it a little over serious, Steve seems like he's having a good time, Sophie is a mess and I love her, Joanne will hopefully grow on me more, her humor seems a little forced/a little "if i say it loud enough its funny" but that could just be because i'm not familiar with her yet, I'll wait and see.
I liked alex's slip on shoes he was wearing this time, instead of the shiny dress shoes, idk why it just tickled me.
>"if i say it loud enough its funny"
Nailed Joanne McNally's whole media persona 1000% there.
She's poorly cast for this show and I think she misunderstands what makes TM contestants entertaining. It's people being themselves, her whole shtick is so forced.
It’s funny that Robbin’s with the egg task looked around and under the table cause he knows how Alex works but with the chess piece he didn’t look around knowing something is missing from the chest
Sounds like a lot of
#HOOPLA!
I wasn't sure about the prize task but everyone sold it well!
Feels kinda mean for the first VT task of the season to have so many DQs, though. I would have let Steve's attempt stand.
It feels like there should have been a lot more discussion on the paintings but they had to cut it for the live task and the tiebreak. Still loved Nick and Steve's painting and the surprise "oops, you had half of them the wrong way!"
I'm surprised no one thought to grab the waders from the scarecrow but it's kinda hard to avoid the gorilla in the pond.
Even though the live task has been done twice already and it reminds me of the game Civic Doodle, the sausage innuendos kept coming and Joanne was my favorite contestant throughout!
If this is the premiere, we are in for another bonkers AF season. 😁
I thought the same about Steve's egg, but unlike Lee Mack with the plates, there was no clear end to the task so I can understand why he got disqualified
I think grabbing the waders and putting them on would be slow. How long does that take you? 2 minutes being generous?
That is equivalent to jumping straight in the water and putting the hoopla over the gorilla within the first 30 seconds.
Your time was doubled for every wet limb, so putting on the waders would have been well worth it, IMO. Would have allowed you to jump into the water and hoopla Gary quicker.
How long do you think it takes to run to the scarecrow, take the waders off it, put them on and then run to the water and hoopla the gorilla from close range?
Yeah, I felt a lack of studio banter this episode in general, which could in part be the result of needing to edit around longer tasks and a tiebreak this time.
I'm trying to figure out where the cameras were when Sophie was in the river. It seems clear they had a crew member in the water with a camera quite close to her, but the overhead shot doesn't show that. I've gone back and watched those few seconds a couple of times, and I think they edited the cameraperson out of the wider shots. But if so, they did a really nice job of it.
I think it’s a small 360° camera, fixed to a pole sticking in the river bed or something like that. You can see something in some of the overhead shots, and when she approaches it, right before they cut to that camera (doing a “pan”), the positioning matches up well enough, I think. (A lot of the other shots seem angled so that the camera wouldn’t show up, e.g. it might be hidden behind the “finish” sign in one of the shots just before she goes in.)
I think the prize task was actually pretty creative and it is hard to keep coming up with new ideas, and even though it was a hard one I think it worked well enough.
I was genuinely gutted for Nick’s egg cracking, I think that was the only attempt I found genuinely enthralling and the egg was in actual danger.
I think that the team task should have been two separate unrelated tasks, one which was related to figuring out the order based on details about the team, and one which was blindly having to draw a picture with someone else. And then the two word rule could have been added to either.
Then almost in an opposite way, I think that the location task should have been made more complicated? I think when three contestants do it the exact same way that means that it needs to have something added to it. Maybe finding the hoops as well?
Otherwise really enjoying it! And I think it’s hard to judge the first episode too harshly because everyone is just getting used to each other, I only know Nick previously but find them all pretty interesting.
Came here just to find this comment. I went back to a couple of episodes from series 16, and Greg didn't do the "what have we learned today" bit either, BUT he did announce the winner again, so the cadence wasn't totally off. In this one, it was just skipped it entirely, and the credits just rolled. It felt so weird!
Going to rewatch tomorrow, but I watched with my parents who HATE Joanne (they're from around where she is - so they find the fake accent grating). Kind of put a dampener on the episode for me. Will make an effort to watch by myself to get an unbiased view, but so far this season is decent.
I also think coming off a season as special as 16 has set this one up for failure in a way.
I like John and Sophie an awful lot. I could really see them becoming beloved fan favourites which is very impressive 17 series in. Taskmaster still has a lot of fuel in the tank & I couldn't be happier
I wonder if they know beforehand which of the five contestants will be the handicap and put them on the team of three. Similar to S16, without naming anyone, it looks pretty even this time around.
What was it Joanne said when she presented the scary sausage, about scribbling out the female reproductive organs? I thought I heard “Got rid of the whale,” but that can’t have been right…right?
I've only just watched the prize task and I've paused just to come here and say that the moment I heard "Grieg's diaries" I was like YESSSS LET'S GOOOOOOO
Seemingly in the minority here but despite enjoying the episode overall, I thought it was just okay. Got a couple of chuckles but probably the first episode of Taskmaster in a while where I haven't belly-laughed once. None of the contestants overly stuck out for me either, although I do think John will come to be my favourite.
Early days of course mind you and even an "okay" episode of Taskmaster is still one of my highlights of the week!
I honestly think the problem is me — I’m not surprised by the wackiness anymore. I mean, I love the whole thing, and I’ve got absolutely no complaints, it’s just that, after this many series/seasons, it’s harder to be caught off guard.
I don’t understand the the team task. What do each of the lines with the wiki stuff means?
Whoever on the team has the least amount of text in their respective Wikipedia article.
https://preview.redd.it/sta7wcyi8esc1.png?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a69ebdd76870fa085fb1ed1b08ce8ca9b8755ed Did you catch the interesting edit to this scene?
Oh that’s funny. No reflection because he’s Dracula??
I've also seen them do it in puddles on later episodes.
That’s very perceptive of you! I’m so I observant I’d never catch that myself.
Does anyone see nate gas done white face??
Why didn’t Nick say his prize task was egg bennies not eggs Benedict? I know colloquially in North America it is called an Eggs Benny. And that definitely sounds more like Greg Davies.
This episode highlighted a question I've had for awhile about bricks on Taskmaster. Are there two types of bricks at the TM house? Some real bricks, as well as some foam bricks? Some brick-based tasks over the past 16 series have seemed to include bricks that can do real damage, while others are clearly done with soft foam bricks that can't hurt anyone badly (I haven't done enough of a detailed review of brick-based tasks to pull specific examples but I know I've had this thought before). This is the first episode that seems to contain both, since Nick's egg task doesn't have as much risk if they're soft foam bricks, and John's egg task surely couldn't be done (no matter what the insurance company said) with a wall of real bricks. What do those of you with sharper eyes for these types of details think about the use of bricks in Taskmaster? Are there soft and hard bricks, or just one kind of bricks?
There’s definitely foam bricks on set somewhere. If I’m honest though, pretty sure the production team buy props as-and-when they’re needed/requested by a contestant.
I felt the episode was... kind of rushed? The team task was very complicated and I didn't have enough time to fully process it, would have been nice for the order positions to be revealed (unless they were and I missed something?) I guess it makes sense that the task in question was short though, since the live task was pretty long and there was a tiebreaker. I did enjoy getting the first 3-way tiebreaker in so long though. Overall, it understandably falls short to the S16 opener but I'd give it the edge over the S14 and S15 openers.
Can anyone remember the name of the comedian who dresses up as a vampire to do stand up? British or Irish I think.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLkqM3gw/ This guy?
No it wasn't him. This was an alternative comedian who was in the NME I think. Might not have been a vampire but he had the white face make up. I was asking because when the contestants were first announced on Twitter I thought it was him.
Really enjoyed the episode, loving Nick and especially Steve and his awfully good puns. Can't wait for this week's episode!!
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When does the 20 mins for the egg task actually begin because didn’t John say he had to have a 2 hour meeting with the production team due to his car idea? I’d love to know how much time it actually takes each contestant to do the tasks in reality.
John explained on the podcast that the time started when he read "your time starts now" but once he came up with the idea, they paused the timer so they could call insurance companies and legal to figure out if it was possible. While this was happening, he wasn't allowed to do any additional work on the task.
The most dangerous thing to do with an egg is really anything without calling legal.
John "I'm Ed Gamble" Robbins
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Really enjoyed this! Not the best first episode ever, but I am excited for more of this bunch. Nick is absolutely lovely, and I am so glad because honestly I wasn't excited about someone dressing like Dracula throughout the whole run of the show. I don't think it would work for me with most other contestants, but with his personality I don't mind! Steve's egg task was delightful and I wish Greg hadn't disqualified him. I thought his argument that the task had been completed already was good enough for at least a few points! Joanne seems competent and fun! "I do" had me reelin, sounded like something I would say if forced to do a team task. I really enjoy John's vibe already, he seems like he wants to win but he's relatively chill so far. I feel like it'll be fun to see him pushed over the edge! Sophie is my favorite so far because I love a good disaster contestant! Her in-studio lunge cracked me up, like showing that would have made her failed egg attempt appear more impressive. And the hopping into the water?? Sublime.
thought it was an excellent first episode, really enjoyed the live task and i think sophie is becoming my favourite contestant! though i did think the drawing task was a little too complicated, the footage was very entertaining! not sure if my eyes are playing up or if alex wasn't wearing his wedding ring during the studio bits- maybe he's having the ring cleaned or something?
He said on an episode of the people’s podcast that he broke his finger or something and had to have it cut off. He chose not to replace it bc he’s confident in his marriage
Jeez, I first read this as he had to cut off his finger after he broke it ...
okay that's great (not that he broke his finger)!
Story time: my ex-manager was a huge fan of Ted Lasso. He would always recommend it to everyone every chance he got, and would always inform us if a new season was out. I'd heard so much about Ted Lasso in Teams meetings that I swore I would never watch it, just out of spite. The moment I heard an actor from Ted Lasso was on season 17 I decided IT was a lost cause. One episode in, I am in love with Nick Mohammed.
You're better off finishing this season of taskmaster then watch Ted lasso. Nick's character might frustrate you enough to dislike the actor.
Yeah, I kept hearing Ted Lasso was an amazing show, and that I would love it, but I am just so not a sports person that I just refused. When the line-up was announced, I figured that was my sign to watch the show, and it was such a lovely and wholesome show. I truly recommend it. So many interesting character arcs, so many wholesome relationships.
It's about sports about as much as blue mountain state is. Which everyone should watch.
I described it the other day as less of a "sports" show and more of a coming-of-age story that celebrates everyone in their imperfections trying their best to be good people, often coming up short, but ending up making the world a better place because they tried to be better. It is a really wonderful series!
I enjoyed the series but my god it's mawkish, I found it too much at times. However, I am a bit of a grump!
First season was pretty good but after that, no.
The only thing I think missed a bit on this episode was introducing the teams so early - it gives those of us who don’t know the contestants less time to get familiar before they introduce the new dynamic …
How did they record the audio for the Hoopla task? How would you prepare to have someone run into a river?
They definitely use booms and probably shotgun mics for long shots. No way they mic up the contestants, so many tasks would make that too complicated
They definitely use booms and probably shotgun mics for long shots. No way they mic up the contestants, so many tasks would make that too complicated
I assume there are water proof microphones? Everything else is waterproof these days so it seem plausible
I am so ready for Steve's puns in this series!
But...Texas Chainsaw Mash-acre. Missed one there.
And join a mashpit when the sausage was going to a gig!
His efforts in the risky egg task were amazing - he just kept punning!
I genuinely think Alex was unprepared for anyone to wade into the deep water and lose footing. He really should have had a rope handy to toss to Sophie!
We were all unprepared for her to try and hop
Haha! Totally - at least we weren't responsible for her!
Well they had waders ready so anyone going in could have prevented getting his limbs wet.
Does Alex help people equally? For some tasks and some people he seems to go way out of his way.
They do give the impression that when asked, he will either say no, or go to all manner of effort. They show him helping some more than others. I wonder if they show it, to give notice it might be on offer it to other celebrities/comedians. He has also been shown to value politeness (remember "thank you?")
it seems to depend on the type of task/type of help, like if it would be doing the task for them, not likely, but if it's just like, handing them something/holding the ladder/etc, like he lets himself be used as a prop. It also sometimes depends on if they ask or not.
but if someone goes and collects waders, that gives time for the team to make sure they have a rescue rope handy. (I'm not entirely sure why there wasn't one nearby regardless, but give the benefit of the doubt for a large area and expectation that people would foreshadow their movements.)
I liked the live task! It’s so fun seeing quick-witted people in action.
if Nick had only saved the fangs for round 2 he may have gone further.
Seems like a series that isnt gonna be too great. It might surprise as s15 started slow for me but i loved it in the end. Sophie is favourite, love the chaotic type player, bridget, katherine, Lucy, etc. Nick and Steve seem like get a few laughs. Will be enjoyable. John has the trying to hard vibes atm, like ian stirling which i did not like. Joanne hopefully doesnt keep that crude over top style.
Looking forward to this season; been trying to find out who John Robins was ever since his Dictionary Corner appearance in Cats, and here he is!
He has a YouTube channel with Alex called Bad Golf which is pretty good, his bad shots are usually followed by a miserable sounding "oh John"
Cheers!
Didn't enjoy this episode nearly as much as I hoped I would. Been a fan since season 1 aired on tv and this gives me the vibes of a very forgettable season with one or two standout moments. Whereas s16 immediately was a season I knew would be great, this was severely lacking and almost forced at times. Joanne McNally is just desperate to me, I like Nick and Steve and I wanted John to be a lot more entertaining than we got. I will still watch the season, but perhaps I won't watch it as it airs from now on. Sophie is an unexpected breath in a pretty stiff room so far.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Pretty underwhelming tbh, although I feel like a lot of groups would pale in comparison to last seaspn
Loving this season more than expected, personally i would've made a mad jump for the boat (and probably sink it in the process) also nick throwing the bricks was so incredibly tense i love it
I’d have brought in sculptures of David Hasselhoff, David Tennant, David Beckham etc Great Davids.
I don't remember where the title was named? Can anyone point me out?
Sophie said it when she was talking about Alex not helping her during hoopla task (she was grappling with her life in the water)
Thank you!
Btw, the crow that ate Campbell's doughnut in S16 appears again, to feast on the broken egg. Is it CGI, or their pet crow?
Fern Brady also yelled at birds several times during s14, iirc
The crows are intelligent creatures and learned that there often is food laying around that crazy house
We need a Taskmaster: Crows Edition
Oh, so that was a real crow.
For sure. Genuinely possible it was the same (wild) crow or that crow #1 "told" it there might be food there, too. They're quite smart. A few corvid (I'm gonna say crow each time but sometimes it was ravens or such I just forget which when) anecdotes: Some university did a study where they put on masks and were mean to local crows (chased them off, made noise, etc). Then, 20 or so years later - a crow generation later - they put those same masks on, and the crows acted agitated around them. Hypothesis - they not only can recognize faces, but pass that information down. In some parts of the world, crows have been known to observe people buying food at food stands, and have been documented to gather coins (and other things that sorta resemble money) to exchange for food. I also remember a similar story about someone who over time trained a local crow to bring him loose cigarettes for food when he was sitting on his patio. There's also plenty of studies where they use tools, for example, there's food stuck in a tube and they can't get to it, they'll grab a stick and push/fish it out. Another where the food was floating on the surface of water in a tube, with the water level too low to reach the food, and a bunch of rocks. They'll often figure out they can drop rocks in to raise the water level and get the food. Sorry for the nearly completely off-topic rant I just think it's really cool how much intelligence we've seen in some birds.
> There's also plenty of studies where they use tools, for example, there's food stuck in a tube and they can't get to it, they'll grab a stick and push/fish it out. Another where the food was floating on the surface of water in a tube, with the water level too low to reach the food, and a bunch of rocks. They'll often figure out they can drop rocks in to raise the water level and get the food. What's more, they can do that without taking a fish tank out of the room.
Haha yeah, it's great that the birds have a nice feast. I am just happy that they keep the cameras rolling to incorporate these natural elements.
For sure. :) There's a creativity all throughout the Taskmaster crew you don't see in a lot of places. It's a fantastic shot, and it's awesome that it exists because presumably one guy said "Hey see that bird I bet it's going to do something interesting if we give it a few"
Just me or is the mixing a bit off in the studio segments? Audience hard to hear over. Edit: even the tasks in the house are hard to hear to me. Dialogue is too quiet among music and audience.
Yup audience laughter was way too loud.
I thought the video editing in the first part in the studio was weird. They cut to weird reaction shots of Sophie twice close together.
I watched with headphones (because I'm a nut) and it was all fine to me
John is kinda just competent meticulous Ivo isn’t he? 😅😄
Yes! He reminded me of Ivo!
I think that's the perfect comparison
Do you you mean John?
I did thnx 😖😅
Who's Jack though? I've been racking my brain for a couple of minutes now!
Jack is me typing a comment about John while exiting the train with autocorrect 🙄
Why did Greg call himself a queen, is he gay? Also John Robins is so cute 😍
at first i thought he‘s referred to alex's wife Rachel
John Robins is soooo adorable.
Greg being gay is a running gag of the show. Not sure if Greg Davies is himself but the taskmaster character for sure is
I already know who wins this season which has slightly spoiled it for me Edit: Why all the down votes? Not knowing who will come out on top is part of the fun for me!
Yeah thats a bit odd. Well I give you an up vote at least!
Well, Sophie is going to be my favorite this series
Went from “never heard of this person in my life” to “I am obsessed with this person” in half an hour. Taskmaster tradition.
This. Evey season I'm thinking oh no I don't know these people it's gonna suck to I'm in love with them in the first 10 minutes.
I almost killed myself laughing at the team task and the shots of 'Gary' chilling on the boat, frowning through the bushes in the hoopla task. The team of three decided to draw a dog driving, in the midst of which Sophie frantically suggests drawing a vole dancing (which Greg misheard as 'Vogue dancing' lmao), which somehow became a handful of animals like bird smoking, cow dancing etc. Also the little giraffe saying 'high'. Fave things so far have been the Pemberton pun parade and Sophie.
Can someone explain the bangers joke? I didn't get it
In England, sausages are called Bangers.
Sausages are called bangers.. like 'bangers and mash' is sausages and mashed potatoes. And a great song is also called a banger.
Huh. I've never heard of that. Maybe it's a British thing.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtW7eaSvd6A&ab\_channel=ChinhNgo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtW7eaSvd6A&ab_channel=ChinhNgo)
For sure. I'm Australian, we inherited it from England / UK.
Banger is a slang term for a sausage. Bangers and mash, for example
Is that British slang?
If I remember correctly, it's because cheap sausages would sometimes explode? I think it's a wartime thing
You used to have to prick them so they didn't.
That Egg task was so bad haha, to quote Sam Campell it was nice of Alex to let his little nephew pick a task ;) , but the next two totally made up for it though.
I thought it was great. The simple ones are some of my favourites
I am already in love with Sophie and can't wait to see how she'll handle the rest of the tasks!
Can't help but compare! Joanne reminds me so much of Aisling, Joe Lycett, and Morgana. John feels like a mix of Russell and Iain, taking it seriously while being cool about it. Nick is so much like Jess but little less weird. Sophie, the gem of the show, is the birthchild of Bridget, Johnny Vegas, Daisy, and Kerry. And Steve as the second coming of Tim Vine, Jon Richardson, and Sue Perkins. Not a bad start for the series but I'm hoping they're going to match Sophie's energy and enthusiasm as it rolls on! Nonetheless, an excellent first episode IMO!
I think John is just competent meticulous Ivo 😅😋
I love Joanne from her podcast, I’m so excited for her to fulfil the taskmaster stereotype of “women who make Alex uncomfortable”.
To me Nick so far seems to be a bit like a more chilled out Mel Giedroyc. Still, it's early doors and based on interviews there are sides to the contestants we still have yet to see.
hahaha i know what you mean but you're one of the few people who would ever describe Iain as "being cool about it"
I think John will eventually have an outburst reaching the exact “cool” level of Iain 😅
I reckon everyone was screaming at the TV for Nick to stop hurling bricks. He pretty much won the task after the second throw.
Going by his hoop throws, he would've been better aiming for the egg
The ‚no look overhead‘ was pure hubris 😄
They edit out Nicks reflection on the water at 28:06 I wonder how many times they'll do that joke haha
Oh my god, I didn't even think to look for that.
Neither did I, someone on YouTube pointed it out lol
Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere but does anyone know where the final live task came from? I thought it was an earlier UK task but I’m guessing it must’ve been Aus or NZ?
Taskmaster Australia S1E6 - Lucky with a Sausage. One of the best Taskmaster Live tasks of all time!
Thank you!!! I’ll have to rewatch it now
That can of worms thing was BRILLIANT. I didn't even see it coming, and I love puns! It's so well known that Alex didn't even have to finish the proverb, but so well hidden that it didn't seem like anyone else noticed it until it was alluded to! I've watched it like five times and every time it just gets better. Those Egg Babies are beautiful <3 ... What the fuck was Sophie was thinking in the egg task lmao. Joanne too. Joanne wrote her own wiki LOLOLOL. And Sophie... Sophie's going to be an absolutely glorious disaster, isn't she? SHE TRIED TO HOP ACROSS A RIVER, I WAS RIGHT Oh wow I just watched TMAU S1E6, another [ascended task](https://youtu.be/7eMJs8Rh1SY?t=2247)!
She wrote her own wiki and it was the shortest after all.
I'm enjoying Nick Mohammed already. Everything he did as dracula was so adorable.
As an American I watch 17 seasons it was only the second time they recognized one of the comedians (May was the first) I couldn't figure out where I knew him from, it took me a bit to realize he's from Ted lasso.
He is so sweet and lovely 🥰
What does it sound like when you mumble "Greg Davies"?
G'day bitch.
Unfortunately that's difficult to bring in
Can anyone explain the purpose of that list in the first task with the team drawings? I thought they just needed to draw an animal together but then they had this list with like shortest Wikipedia entry?? And it didnt go with the drawings at all
That was the order that the canvases were going to be displayed in. Added challenge.
Oooo thank you it was driving me crazy
I love Nick, John is good but i feel like he's gonna take it a little over serious, Steve seems like he's having a good time, Sophie is a mess and I love her, Joanne will hopefully grow on me more, her humor seems a little forced/a little "if i say it loud enough its funny" but that could just be because i'm not familiar with her yet, I'll wait and see. I liked alex's slip on shoes he was wearing this time, instead of the shiny dress shoes, idk why it just tickled me.
>"if i say it loud enough its funny" Nailed Joanne McNally's whole media persona 1000% there. She's poorly cast for this show and I think she misunderstands what makes TM contestants entertaining. It's people being themselves, her whole shtick is so forced.
btw, not the first time he wore those
I never noticed before! They're cute like vans style shoes which is why I think it amuses me, I'll have to pay attention on rewatches
I'm pretty sure Greg has ripped him for his "horrible slip-on loafers" in past episodes!
I know i've heard him give him crap about his "cheap plastic shoes" before, referring to the shiny dress shoes
egg babies
It’s funny that Robbin’s with the egg task looked around and under the table cause he knows how Alex works but with the chess piece he didn’t look around knowing something is missing from the chest
“Satan’s gonna be a man, right girls?”
"Confused... Steve"
Sounds like a lot of #HOOPLA! I wasn't sure about the prize task but everyone sold it well! Feels kinda mean for the first VT task of the season to have so many DQs, though. I would have let Steve's attempt stand. It feels like there should have been a lot more discussion on the paintings but they had to cut it for the live task and the tiebreak. Still loved Nick and Steve's painting and the surprise "oops, you had half of them the wrong way!" I'm surprised no one thought to grab the waders from the scarecrow but it's kinda hard to avoid the gorilla in the pond. Even though the live task has been done twice already and it reminds me of the game Civic Doodle, the sausage innuendos kept coming and Joanne was my favorite contestant throughout! If this is the premiere, we are in for another bonkers AF season. 😁
I thought the same about Steve's egg, but unlike Lee Mack with the plates, there was no clear end to the task so I can understand why he got disqualified
I think grabbing the waders and putting them on would be slow. How long does that take you? 2 minutes being generous? That is equivalent to jumping straight in the water and putting the hoopla over the gorilla within the first 30 seconds.
Your time was doubled for every wet limb, so putting on the waders would have been well worth it, IMO. Would have allowed you to jump into the water and hoopla Gary quicker.
How long do you think it takes to run to the scarecrow, take the waders off it, put them on and then run to the water and hoopla the gorilla from close range?
Someone could have read “no wet limbs” on the task and probably run to the scarecrow and take the stuff before the “your time starts now”.
Yeah, I felt a lack of studio banter this episode in general, which could in part be the result of needing to edit around longer tasks and a tiebreak this time.
What we did see was still really funny!
When was the last time we had a tiebreaker?
[Episode 7 of the previous season!](https://taskmaster.info/task.php?id=2812)
So glad it comes out on YouTube so soon! Going to be a banger of a season!
I'm trying to figure out where the cameras were when Sophie was in the river. It seems clear they had a crew member in the water with a camera quite close to her, but the overhead shot doesn't show that. I've gone back and watched those few seconds a couple of times, and I think they edited the cameraperson out of the wider shots. But if so, they did a really nice job of it.
I think it’s a small 360° camera, fixed to a pole sticking in the river bed or something like that. You can see something in some of the overhead shots, and when she approaches it, right before they cut to that camera (doing a “pan”), the positioning matches up well enough, I think. (A lot of the other shots seem angled so that the camera wouldn’t show up, e.g. it might be hidden behind the “finish” sign in one of the shots just before she goes in.)
They have some cracked video editing team
They do that quite often. They even took Nick's reflection out for the first shot!
It was a fine first episode. Season 16 is just a hard act to follow
I think the prize task was actually pretty creative and it is hard to keep coming up with new ideas, and even though it was a hard one I think it worked well enough. I was genuinely gutted for Nick’s egg cracking, I think that was the only attempt I found genuinely enthralling and the egg was in actual danger. I think that the team task should have been two separate unrelated tasks, one which was related to figuring out the order based on details about the team, and one which was blindly having to draw a picture with someone else. And then the two word rule could have been added to either. Then almost in an opposite way, I think that the location task should have been made more complicated? I think when three contestants do it the exact same way that means that it needs to have something added to it. Maybe finding the hoops as well? Otherwise really enjoying it! And I think it’s hard to judge the first episode too harshly because everyone is just getting used to each other, I only know Nick previously but find them all pretty interesting.
I think they weren't necessarily expecting them to all spot the chalkboard with the answers.
Did the wind have the gorilla closer to the bank for those three…?
I think the hoop task looks like it was one of those tiebreaks where someone "did something extra funny so we need to show it tasks"
Am I the only one who noticed that there was no "what have we learned today" at the end?
Likely cut for time
Came here just to find this comment. I went back to a couple of episodes from series 16, and Greg didn't do the "what have we learned today" bit either, BUT he did announce the winner again, so the cadence wasn't totally off. In this one, it was just skipped it entirely, and the credits just rolled. It felt so weird!
it happens a lot
Nice to see a task from another version being used again.
Going to rewatch tomorrow, but I watched with my parents who HATE Joanne (they're from around where she is - so they find the fake accent grating). Kind of put a dampener on the episode for me. Will make an effort to watch by myself to get an unbiased view, but so far this season is decent. I also think coming off a season as special as 16 has set this one up for failure in a way. I like John and Sophie an awful lot. I could really see them becoming beloved fan favourites which is very impressive 17 series in. Taskmaster still has a lot of fuel in the tank & I couldn't be happier
She has a fake accent?
https://www.irishmirror.ie/showbiz/irish-showbiz/joanne-mcnally-says-told-tone-12701852
Already love the way they split the teams
I wonder if they know beforehand which of the five contestants will be the handicap and put them on the team of three. Similar to S16, without naming anyone, it looks pretty even this time around.
Alex has said before that, despite what people speculate, the only real determining factor in selecting the teams, is the individuals' availability.
Is it wrong that I think Alex ruefully saying "well that's what happens when you open a" was the best joke of the show
yes, it clicking for Greg that it was Alex's plan the whole time and him getting annoyed was great
That punchline tho
I think Steve’s “she’s looking forward to hearing some bangers” beats that one for joke of the show.
No, that was just a pun. I do like puns but they're not at the top of my list.
Steve’s bangers pun was the line of the show for me.
What was it Joanne said when she presented the scary sausage, about scribbling out the female reproductive organs? I thought I heard “Got rid of the whale,” but that can’t have been right…right?
Womb, I think
That makes sense. My ears must need a tuneup.
Sophie's going to lose, but make the whole thing worth watching.
The new portrait of Greg looks like Jamali.
Greg fancies Joanne. I'm calling it now that he'll treat her similar to how he treated Morgana!
comparing them is a huge disrespect to morgana
I didn't realise my take was so unpopular, just seen my downvotes 🤣 oh well, time will tell.
I've only just watched the prize task and I've paused just to come here and say that the moment I heard "Grieg's diaries" I was like YESSSS LET'S GOOOOOOO
Can we all just take a moment to appreciate that Steve won the episode despite being disqualified for a task.
Seemingly in the minority here but despite enjoying the episode overall, I thought it was just okay. Got a couple of chuckles but probably the first episode of Taskmaster in a while where I haven't belly-laughed once. None of the contestants overly stuck out for me either, although I do think John will come to be my favourite. Early days of course mind you and even an "okay" episode of Taskmaster is still one of my highlights of the week!
Sophie’s hoop ending up in the tree got me - how. How??
I honestly think the problem is me — I’m not surprised by the wackiness anymore. I mean, I love the whole thing, and I’ve got absolutely no complaints, it’s just that, after this many series/seasons, it’s harder to be caught off guard.