Taskmaster
I’ve had a very busy few weeks, but I recently had some time to myself and decided to spend it badly. Over the weekend, I watched pretty much nothing but Taskmaster. And I laughed a lot.
But what even is Taskmaster and why am I laughing so much?
Taskmaster is a comedy TV show that airs on Channel 4 in the UK, and was originally aired on the channel Dave. Yes, there’s a UK TV channel called Dave. It mostly shows reruns of Top Gear and similar shows. The Dave channel is also home to some panel shows and stuff like that. Panel shows with comedians are very common in the UK, and there are quite a few that are fun to watch. Channel 4 is a little more varied, a more standard TV channel.
Taskmaster is one such panel show, but with an odd turn to it. It’s some sort of slightly twisted game show, where the five competitors must complete incredibly random tasks given to them by Greg Davies, the Taskmaster. The contestants have to complete the task while being watched by the Taskmaster’s Assistant, Alex Horne. The tasks are mostly done in and around “the Taskmaster’s house”, but these are recorded in advance, while the Taskmaster and his assistant judge from golden thrones.
There are prizes to be won, but they’re equally weird. I mean, the big trophy at the end is a badly-made gold statue of the Taskmaster’s head. Also, the first task of the show is a ‘prize task’ that each player brings in to have judged by the Taskmaster. The winner of that episode then takes all the prizes home.
I kinda want to describe Taskmaster like a Saw movie, except child-friendly and everyone gets to go home alive. There’s both a slightly creepy tone and a fucking hilarious tone to the entire show. Might just be the music though.
It’s a very weird show.
While my descriptions of Taskmaster probably aren’t doing it much justice, I still recommend it. Mostly because there’s not really anything to lose. The people who participate are either comedians or actors (sometimes both). But seeing these people do random tasks humanizes them, and you can relate to them better. Especially when the contestants fuck up.
But even when fuck ups happen, there’s always a laugh to be had. Both hosts and contestants happy poke fun at each other, but it’s all done in jest. Even the most competitive of contestants still find themselves laughing. Sure, it’s a competition, but Taskmaster is more entertainment than anything else.
The humour though is particularly British. It’s not always in your face and it can be subtle a times. But for me, I think Taskmaster is a great show, and its twisted humour feels very organic and natural.
You can play from home
Unlike a lot of panel shows though, you can play along at home. Many of the tasks are more strange than complicated. And during the early parts of the COVID-19 pandemic, back in 2020, Taskmaster had more viewer interaction by hosting “Home Tasks”, where Alex Horne and Greg Davies would give a task to us, the people watching our show. Then they’d show the highlights and best tasks.
There’s even a Taskmaster board game and book. The board game is loosely based on the show but features tasks written by Taskmaster’s cast. On the other hand though, the Taskmaster book is actually a bit of an ARG (augmented reality game), with tasks and puzzles leading to a lost prize.
It’s all so stupid that everyone is laughing
Unfortunately, a couple of seasons were aired in the US but they didn’t do very well and were quickly pulled. But luckily, large amounts of Taskmaster have been uploaded to Youtube, providing easy viewing. You sadly can’t watch the older series unless you’re in the UK, but series 8-11 all seem to be scattered around the Taskmaster channel. And while the older series aren’t available, compilations of the best tasks have also been uploaded to their Youtube channel, which gives a good idea of how much fun the show is.
If you get the chance, I do recommend watching Taskmaster. Sure, the comedy is very British and you might not get it, but Taskmaster is still a barrel of laughs. One which never fails to brighten my mood on a bad day.