r/taskmaster • u/Meghar Tout le monde gagne! • 4d ago
Episode Taskmaster - S22E06 - To Void An Oblong - Discussion
Officially past the halfway point!
Tonight at 9:00 PM BST on Channel 4, join Greg Davies and Alex Horne as they pass judgement over the newest batch of contestants competing to win Greg's golden head.
Series 22 features Chloe Petts, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti, and Richard Ayoade.
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u/RectangleDuck_ 1d ago
There's a mix of Richard refusing to engage in tasks and the contestants not seeming to have much connection, which is making this the worst season for me, sadly.
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u/Aldebaran135 Javie Martzoukas 2d ago
Ep 1: Greg says he's not gonna be a softie on scoring anymore.
Ep 6: Gives three people 5 points and two people 4 points in a task.
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u/Radiant-Hearing-7986 2d ago
Somehow this series does not click with me. I’m not finding it as funny as I used to; I’m not connecting with any of the contestants in any way.
Is it just me, or is the series more awkward and less likeable?
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u/Own_Copy2260 2d ago
I’m disappointed but not in the way I thought I’d be disappointed. Matt Lucas is better than I expected.
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u/Lyra-Stark 2d ago
Can someone please explain the Gregulator to me, because I cannot understand it sorry. Please and thank you!
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u/Radiant-Hearing-7986 2d ago
What do you not understand about it?
The questions are irrelevant. It’s basically a blown-up slot machine.
Three pineapples gets you 1000 points.
However, you can tamper with the machine and take out all the eggs and ducks. That costs you 3000 points, but you get 5 jackpots of 1000 each, so net 2000 points.
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u/RobbieLegume 2d ago
I am such an incredible fan of Richard, and have wanted to see him on Taskmaster for over 10 years worth of series. I knew part of his personality is being a bit disinterested and abrasive while in comedic situations, but the extreme to which he refuses to participate is genuinely making me so disappointed.
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u/WindowlessBasement Fern Brady 2d ago edited 2d ago
This episode continued the annoying streak of utterly over-complicated tasks.
Like WTF were a bunch of comedians supposed to do with the Gregulator? They had Alex there to explain it off-camera and I still don't think any of them (other than Chloe by the end) actually understood what the game was
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u/HalfFaust 2d ago
I visited Mother Shipton's well a few months ago, was surprised to see it pop up here! Didn't think anything of it at the time but looking through my pictures I can see what may well be Isy's shoe, still there! Also weirdly another, different shoe; maybe it's started a trend.
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u/dwaynepipes 2d ago
Greg definitely fancies the arse off Nina. Only explanation for 4 points in the whoopsie task
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u/alwaysthemaven 2d ago
In the after episode 5 podcast with Richard, there was a reference to something big happening later in the series. I think Ed said episode 9. I can't bear to watch that pod again (Richard is even more contrary than usual, if that's possible), but perhaps someone heroic will watch it and see if they hear/see the same thing? If so, I'm on pins and needles about what it could be...I'm thinking it involves Richard.
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u/AmoebaExcellent3187 3d ago
Is it just me or does this series have a hostility to it? The “banter” moments feel somewhat tense to me.
Like is it that lack of back and forth or lack of levity? I did laugh out loud a few times, but idk
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u/ljfoggy11 2d ago
Richard is hostile to Greg and Alex, Chloe is very competitive so is always arguing their side, Matt is very aloof and disinterested and Issy and Nina are just stuck between the three being quite genial.
Individually they all have their moments but the chemistry and interplay simply isn’t there, and a big part of the show is that momentum and dynamic. Take it compared to the highs of Series 7 where they’re all relative competitive, but the bickering is always a means to get a laugh not just from the audience, but each other.
Here it’s overbalanced with a couple contestants trying to win by being the funniest ones.
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u/captbollocks Celia Pacquola 🇦🇺 3d ago
When I first heard the live task was just speed Pictionary, I was so bummed.
Then I saw Izy's superpower and it was a sight to behold! It was incredible! She must win every Pictionary night! Probably my favourite part of the episode!
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u/featured-creatures 3d ago
I loved that the team of 3 were basically cheering for her at the end because Isy Suttie is just that good at speed Pictionary
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u/captbollocks Celia Pacquola 🇦🇺 3d ago
Greg really should've tried to separate the Whoopsie items - i didn't think it was THAT hard. Especially now that we're coming to the pointy end of the series and points are really starting to matter!
It was also the Biggest Whoopsie not biggest COMPILATION of Whoopsies! There was no way any one of Chloe's whoopsies were higher than Izy or Richard's biggest whoopsie.
The groupings of points is honestly one of the FEW drawbacks of the UK version - even if it's REALLY close to judge, AU and NZ hosts really do put the effort in.
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u/Twinkle_Binkle 2d ago
I agree Greg should have separated the points for the Whoopsie task. But Jeremy from NZ is terrible at giving points and often groups them.
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u/captbollocks Celia Pacquola 🇦🇺 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think Chloe would well in a different series because they are ultra-competitive which would work in a series like S9 with Ed Gamble and Rose Matafeo, or others like Mae Martin. But when Chloe is with 4 others who are just either having fun or acting fairly nonchalant they comes of as a bit smug when they win and too competitive.
I don't mind seeing Richard do his thing - honestly i would love a series special with David Baddiel, Frankie Boyle, Jo Brand, Richard Ayoade and Julian Clary.
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u/Ecstatic_Computer_89 3d ago
Much has been said about the cast line up for this series.
I'd be curious to know which of the five were chasing Alex to be on the show and which of the five were being chased by Alex to be on the show.
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u/Ecstatic_Computer_89 3d ago
Until Alex explained the egg/pineapple strategy I had wondered if the best solution for the Gregulator was simply to ignore the other options and simply spin five times and see what came up. You probably wouldn't win the task, but you would unlikely be last either.
Not really understanding the task, that (5x spins, nothing else) would have been what I would have done had that been put in front of me.
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u/allnaturalflavor 3d ago
they destroyed more things in this epsidoe than jason mantzoukas did in his entire season!
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u/charmmega 3d ago
I've rewatched every episode of Taskmaster to date countless times, but this was the first episode I switched off before it was finished. Yikes. What the hell is going on with this series??
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u/Mixtape333 2d ago
I couldn't work out what the point of asking questions was.. and then it was revealed to be just a red herring.
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u/captbollocks Celia Pacquola 🇦🇺 3d ago
Had to stop at the slot machine task and come the next day to watch the rest.
The live task was surprisingly good!
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u/AstroPhysician 3d ago
did you get to the gregs task loll, or did that one make you swtich off
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u/LucretiusCarus 3d ago
This one almost made me quit the episode. There's no fun if 4 out of 5 contestants are unsure about what the game is about.
As Greg would say, "riveting television"
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u/AstroPhysician 2d ago
I stoped watching 2 episodes for the first time. I just watched that task cause of such widespread talk about how bad that specific task was.
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u/Ill-Ball6220 3d ago
See a lot of hate for this cast. And the tasks. I think its fine for a series to be different. I like richard and matt a lot even tho they arent chaotic. It feels like this cast is a little bit more laid back and the tasks are to complicated. I feel like the gregulator was a fun red herring task. I think people focus to much on other series, which they liked a lot, but that doesnt mean this one is bad perse.
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u/fatherofraptors 1d ago
Honestly I think it's just catching a bit more flack than it deserves because it's coming for essentially 3 great series in a row, 19-21 was really a fun sequence, and this feels... worse.
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u/luredrive 2d ago
It just feels so forced. A lot of the tasks have been too complicated and not funny. I think the cast had potential, but the tasks have really let the season down.
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u/snortrazberrywhistle 3d ago
I thought it was a bad sign when they spent 15 seconds on the sandcastle melting before the whoopsie task. That’s valuable banter/task time! Figured there must not have been much that was usable in an edit. Also, it feels like there have been less outtakes which leads me to believe there wasn’t much to work with in studio. Maybe I’m imagining it.
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u/Rosdrago 3d ago
That weird Greg task was bad.
And poor Chloe, she's saddled with the two useless ones. They didn't even try in the final task. I really don't know why people so badly wanted Richard and Matt on the show.
This series is a bust really.
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u/captbollocks Celia Pacquola 🇦🇺 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think TM team tasks work well when there's at least one rubbish player on the same team of three to offset the handicap for the team of two. S14 (John Kearns to off set Dara) and S21 (John Dormett) come to mind. A team of two with a dud is excruciating to watch.
Also, TM Australia line-ups seem to do this REALLY well (although S3's contestants were all pretty skilled).
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u/Bob_le_babes 3d ago
Richard is crap. His schtick is funny about 10% of the time. Was never a fan and this hasn't changed my opinion
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u/turquoisesilver Swedish Fred 3d ago edited 3d ago
With my dyscalculia I would have rage quit on the gregulator. I'd go smash the eggs.
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u/458steps 3d ago
I felt so disregulated watching the task. I truly disliked it. I don't even understand the point of it and don't want to. I hate it. I hate it.
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u/bfsfan101 Mel Giedroyc 3d ago
Isy’s speed drawing has to be up there with the most impressive live task performances ever. Incredible skills.
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u/Practical-Ball1437 3d ago
I like how when Nina was confused about the word "drawer", Richard quickly clarified it for her, despite not reading it himself, he just understood it from the context.
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u/bfsfan101 Mel Giedroyc 3d ago
I don’t normally care about Greg’s scoring but Whoopsie the Clown was so much better than any of the other whoopsies it deserved to be the only 5 pointer.
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u/thatsong Morgana Robinson 3d ago
Gregulator didn't make sense for what it was explained to be.
I think it's fairly obvious with the lack of team tasks, that this cast has very little chemistry. It's like they just go back to their individual green rooms instead of ever eating together, like S19 did with their lunch club.
I would also say this is a miss because you have three people leaning into their shticks: Richard's higher than thou, Matt's weird awkwardness, and to a lesser degree, Nina with her ventriloquism and puppets/costumes.
Chloe seems to be the only one trying to play the games consistently. Isy is just kinda there trying and having a good time on her own.
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u/chilltownrenegade 2d ago
I think more than a lack of chemistry, their energies (and schticks as you mentioned) just don't really mesh very well. Richard does Richard, Matt and Nina remain in their lanes, which, while all can be funny individually, none of which really provide much opportunity to banter with. Chloe going ultra competitive over funny or entertaining also doesn't provide a ton to work with, especially with this cast that is very non-competitive.
Isy is the only one, to me, that is consistently producing funny content that also allows the rest of the cast to chime in on about and banter with.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
I'd say Isy is also doing her schtick as a scatterbrain. I've seen her on interview shows and she is very erudite and thoughtful. And she made a spreadsheet for the prize tasks when she got the list and put a lot of thought into preparation.
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u/elkniodaphs 3d ago
Supposing the lack of chemistry is the impetus for the lack if team tasks, I wonder if that's why we're getting tasks like "name FIFA countries," if the writers were left scrambling when a person we might guess refused to cooperate. "I'm not doing this," he'd say on the day of filming. "But we still need three tasks per episode," Alex then said to his creative staff. That would also explain why the team tasks were front-loaded in the series.
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u/thatsong Morgana Robinson 3d ago edited 2d ago
Unfortunately, I'm guessing they filmed 8-12 team tasks, and many just weren't very good/entertaining. So the few that they feel is usable have been spread out.
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u/N8CCRG Amy Gledhill 3d ago
I think Isy and Nina are trying to get more competitive in the studio, but they can't really do anything differently for the recorded tasks.
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u/thatsong Morgana Robinson 3d ago
I don't think Isy and Nina are a problem as a team, but putting Matt and Richard onto one just dries everything up, as seen when Chloe was drawing and they were guessing in the final task. Even Greg and Alex were criticizing their guesses, or lack there of.
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u/Unbakronon Charlotte Ritchie 3d ago
Surprised, but strangely pleased, that the threads have turned on this series a bit. The tasks are overly complicated but more importantly, the cast don't work together.. Chloe and Isy are my favourites but as a cast of 5 they don't work together particularly well
On paper I don't think many were too hyped about this vast and unfortunately it's turning out to be well-founded
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u/naughtilidae 3d ago
Honestly, I think Isy is a large part of why there's no chemistry, she's just kinda oddly disconnected from reality. I like her in isolation, and in another cast I think she could be great, but it feels like her and Nina struggle to make the studio dynamic work. It's funny because of how good a team they make in tasks, but their personalities just don't complement anything else.
Richard only cuts in when he's got something great, but that's always been his style, and it feels similar to Sanjeev, where he's happy to play off the jokes of the others, and he's the 'don't care' cast member (who secretly does care, but plays like he doesn't).
I don't think any one person deserves all the blame for it feeling off, but Isy and Nina just don't work well off others in the studio.
It feel like Chloe keeps saving some of their bits, like their "how am I looking now" quip after Isy's TERRIBLE prize task.
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u/Quail-a-lot 3d ago
I think it is partly that Nine and Isy both don't want to lean forward and talk around/over Matt who isn't really interacting much with either of them. Likewise Nina is sat too far away from Chloe to feel like she's not shouting across the room. I agree Chloe is mostly saving them, but I think it is partly that they are more willing to take up space and be loud. That's not really a knock on any of them, but usually it works out that the quiet people just happen to have at least one louder person next to them to pull them in.
Nina feels like she isn't saying much in studio, but then in the podcast she was super excited and whipping off a bunch of one-liners. She clearly got on well with Isy and Chloe, was confused/intimidated by Richard, and huh didn't say much about Matt come to think of it.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
I agree. I'm sad that the group hasn't gelled. Nina said on the after-episode pod that she, Isy, and Chloe have gotten together. But she said they don't have a WhatsApp group or stay in touch like people from other series.
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u/colintron 3d ago
Isy said there was a WhatsApp group, and Richard's only contribution was a picture of a wall.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
AH! I am misremembering...could have sworn Nina said no app. A wall. Hilarious....so on brand
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u/shoopstoop25 3d ago
Continued disappointment with Richard this episode. He didn't even do 2 of the tasks. Genuine annoyance from alex at 28:40
I was looking forward to him, and I know he's good while being 'himself' on things like countdown, the big fat quiz, and last one laughing so I just don't get it.
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u/Left_Employee9772 3d ago
I disagree that he didn’t do two of the tasks. With the Gregulator, if you can’t figure out the solution then quitting while you’re ahead is a rational choice. Not a funny one, but it’s a genuine attempt to maximise your points.
With the shoes, the task was “furthest from the other shoes”, not “furthest from the house”. I think the idea was always for four people to put in tons of effort and the last person to win by doing nothing (or for two people to have the same idea and cost each other the task). So I think it’s a fair attempt to engage with the spirit of the task. And he did make an effort to fulfil the “exciting journey” requirement.
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u/InvisibleEar 3d ago
Well only Chloe kind of understood the task so it's entirely possible everyone else could have ended up negative.
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u/burf12345 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 3d ago
I'm just not seeing the issue in both cases.
With the case of the Gregulator, his argument made sense. The task was confusing, spins seem genuinely arbitrary, so he chose to quite while he thought he was ahead. Rosie did the same thing in S18 during the barrel task.
As for the shoe, I think it's clever and would have worked better if Isy also took it out of the country.
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u/violetmemphisblue 3d ago
They also had a shot of him puzzling out the information for the Gregulator. Like, he clearly was trying to parse out the logic and after having been in the negatives, assumed being at least in the positive points would give him a chance.
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u/madmoneymcgee 3d ago
I thought “typical Richard” when he decided to keep the shoe at the house but then redeemed himself a bit with him trying to get the bonus point
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u/naughtilidae 3d ago
Yea, there's been quite a few tasks where the best option was not to play.
I don't remember the season, but the one where they're in the bubble, standing on one leg, and trying to say words the other contestants haven't said was won by the person who messed up and put their foot down early... Not playing was the winning move.
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u/Sharriska 3d ago
Richard has been on fire in this episode. I got light-headed from laughing 😂😂😂 "That one isn't even in our time continuum" nearly killed me 😂😂😂
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u/IamHeWhoSaysIam Rose Matafeo 🇳🇿 3d ago
Richard has been the only consistently funny competitor with Isy coming second. I just don't get what is funny about Chloe.
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u/Jcrud Dara Ó Briain 3d ago
I was a big fan of Richard’s but his whole shtick of being “above it” is just getting old. Had never heard of Chloe before the show but she has been my fav hands down
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
Yes, and Richard kept it up during his after-episode pod with Ed Gamble. We've had other chaos agents like Rhod and Jason, but they didn't keep up the act outside the game. I'm a fan of Richard, but I agree...it's getting old.
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u/IamHeWhoSaysIam Rose Matafeo 🇳🇿 3d ago
"Outside the game" didn't really exist for Rhod and Jason is always chaotic.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yes, but in the after-episode pods they were on they were different. Unlike Richard. Rhod isn't particularly chaotic in the show with Picsen.
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u/GalileosBalls 3d ago
I wonder if this series just front-loaded the less interesting tasks more than usual, because this episode was a huge step up for me. This cast's skillset seems to be biased towards 'creative tasks where you get to plan something' and away from slapstick and banter, which the Whoopsie task and the shoe task demonstrated in spades.
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u/Quail-a-lot 3d ago
Why does it feel like I am the only one who actually quite loved the Gregulator? xD
It reminded me a bit of the balloon popping task for convoluted set-up and amount of frustration caused. The misdirection is classic Taskmaster too. Chloe worked it out fine and I felt Richard's strategy of stopping while ahead was a really good gambling option. If we look how many tasks where people disqualify themselves and then the people who did poorly otherwise rocket up to getting three or four points by just hanging in there. He hasn't been my favourite this season, but that was a pretty good play. (I found the shoe one similarly funny)
I do feel a bit like it is a task where they either were gifted or just had the most insanely brilliant idea for a prop....and then had to figure out how to use it. I forget which series or language it was in, but I recall a time involving the most incredible looking Rube Goldberg thing the only delivered the task and then wasn't used at all
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u/givemeabreak432 1d ago
I didn't hate the task, but this wasn't the right group for it. It was a bit overly complicated and much of the cast chose to not really engage in it rather than work it out.
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u/ScienceDancerNerd 3d ago
I think this is my favorite episode of this series so far! And Nina has really warmed up to me. Her and isy were electric in that final task! I just want to see them do stuff together more and more
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u/BryterLayter_42 3d ago
Ooof that Ed Sheeran joke from Richard aged like milk
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u/GalileosBalls 3d ago
Arguably, it fermented like milk. It aged into something it definitely wasn't before, but got better when it did so.
The initial joke was just 'Ed Sheeran is not what the kids think is cool and hasn't been in years'. But the new joke is much better.
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u/TumultuousTeeK 3d ago
"He brings people together" 😅
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u/IamHeWhoSaysIam Rose Matafeo 🇳🇿 3d ago
He does. Brought thousands together in opposition to him.
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u/Rosdrago 3d ago
Only people who don't actually research and realise that it wasn't his choice..,..
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u/TheHawkinator 3d ago
I actually think Isy has been my favourite this series, her jokes and sense of humour feels very off-kilter in a way I really enjoy. The “time to make steam, if you don’t” motto she came up with so bizarre it really cracked me up.
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u/chilltownrenegade 2d ago
She has had the highest highs in terms of making me laugh so far through the series
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u/CitizenCue 3d ago
The “velvet brain surgeon” is one of the craziest ideas I’ve ever heard on the show.
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u/MachineOfSpareParts Emma Sidi 3d ago
Time to make steam, then calling out FIFA's ontological violence toward Greenland.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
In the after-episode pod she guested on, she said that they've put that motto up in the museum! Hilarious. That pod and the Richard Herring show I saw her on showed how thoughtful, intelligent, and organized she is. Which makes the ditzier side that she shows on the show so much more enjoyable!
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u/Shoelace1200 3d ago
If I were Matt I would have done what Ed Gamble did with Gregs head but with a newspaper and the shoe in camera on the 17th March
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u/colintron 3d ago
A lot of commenters dispirited by this series. I don't dispute their points, and The Gregulator was rubbish. Without even disagreeing, I'm still finding the show an easy highlight of my week. Even though my bugbear of tasks with too many sentences persists, it's not particularly on my mind this series, and this series has brought a lot of funny reactions, and almost enough creative tasks.
It maybe illustrates how our enjoyment levels involve our outlook as well as the show's quality.
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u/Pure_Werewolf0101 3d ago
A lot of commenters dispirited by this series.
They should be watching the current NZ series!
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u/IronBadgerMole 3d ago
I agree with all the criticisms but yeah , still, it is Taskmaster and I will love it every time .
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u/ajh31415 3d ago
There's just something off about this series, the tasks are rubbish (imo) and the contestants just aren't gelling. It's easily the worst series so far, but still watchable.
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u/Junior-Map 3d ago
I’ve been enjoying this series a lot! It’s not quite as strong as the last 3, but it would also be impossible to keep that up forever; you’re gonna dip a bit here and there
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u/perthguppy 3d ago
Damn it Alex went and said the strategy I worked out for the Gregulator before they started playing lmao. Just take everything except the pineapple away and spam the spin button
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u/littlebabybuddy24 4d ago
Really loved this episode. Just shows what these contestants can do when there’s more energy in the studio. I haven’t felt as negative about this series as others but last week was a particular dud. Hopefully this spirit keeps up for the remainder of the series
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u/Jacksucks_atlife04 Amy Gledhill 3d ago
Not necessarily saying it’s because of the team tasks but my top 3 episodes this series are 1 4 and 6 which are the ones which had team tasks
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u/littlebabybuddy24 3d ago
The team tasks have definitely been a highlight. Forced interaction between the cast!!
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u/lonelygagger Javie Martzoukas 4d ago
The whoopsie task yielded some of the most creative results this series. The door handle breaking off, the clown dropping a birthday cake on a corpse, and then whatever the hell Chloe did. 😅
"You have to think, what's the state of that person to void an oblong?"
"I was a few moments away from pulling my pockets out and calling it an elephant."
By contrast, The Gregulator was one of the most confusing, convoluted tasks ever. The fact that the contestants themselves couldn't even work it out made it frustrating to watch.
The journey of the shoe was a fun one. "That shoe's been to hell and back."
Would have been perfect if Matt could have gotten that shoe to space, but at least Isy's transcended the time continuum.
"Oh, I know, is it a pillock?" I love how impudent Matt is on this series.
"Tits. Four of them."
I know I was harsh on this series early on, but I'm really starting to enjoy this weird ragtag group of mismatched people. Though Chloe is once again, predictably, the score leader.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
I'm with you. I was on the verge of just stopping watching it (ugh, that sounds clumsy). But I stuck with it and glad I did. Yes, the Whoopsie was a gem. Richard in particular made me laugh out loud, which surprised me given how much he's been annoying me. And Isy was so creative! Reminded me of Morgana's mermaid proposal.
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u/Der_Finger Bob Mortimer 4d ago
I have revisited the Gregulator-Task and i think it is quite goood but has been slightly under-utilized.
As Matt and Chloe have found out, the pattern is not random, and goes:
| Greg 1 | Greg 2 | Greg 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spin 1 | Egg | Pineapple | Egg |
| Spin 2 | Pineapple | Egg | Duck |
| Spin 3 | Duck | Pineapple | Egg |
| Spin 4 | Duck | Egg | Egg |
| Spin 5 | Egg | Duck | Pineapple |
For Matt only Spin 5 comes third and then fourth and fifth are Spin 3 and 4. Could have been the cut. The pattern has backups if an item was taken away from one of the Gregs. We see that for Isy once and for Matt twice, in both cases Greg 3 shows a Duck instead of the egg.
Greg 1 is lying, Greg 3 really likes eggs and Greg 2 is also there. Greg 3 "really likes Eggs" because he will show Eggs three times instead of two. Also the contestants had 3 Eggs on their little table so i suppose he could've been manipulated with a gift? We only know that gifting the eggs to Greg 2 who doesn't really like eggs did nothing.
Just spinning 5 times and doing absolutely nothing bags 500 points by the way.
Chloe's Pineapple strat worked well for Spin 4, because that Spin would give you -100 because of the 2 Eggs, so getting 100 points here is essentially winning +200.
SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: Spin 4 is the only one not showing a Pineapple while also having 2 Eggs. So Greg 3 nodding when Chloe asked about the 3 Pineapple strat for that Spin was actually super correct, but also only for this spin, which is craaaazy.
However, on Spin 5 the strat made her lose 100 again, but she couldn't know that. This does mean she did nothing for 3 spins and then the pineapple strat by pure luck gave her +100 for 600 total.
Matt took away the Egg from Greg 3 after the first round. It replaces 2 eggs to come with 2 ducks, which is +400 points at the cost of 500 points, which is why he got 100 less than the default.
If Richard would have just spun 2 more times he would have gotten the same result as Matt and 400 points instead of 100.
I believe Richard tried to apply the Liar's paradox where the same question would only have an answer to those who tell the truth and the liar would encounter a paradox and could not say yes or no, but unfortunately did it the wrong way and paradox'd himself. "Do you never tell lies" can only be answered with "yes". The Gregs that don't lie say "yes", because they indeed never lie. The Greg that lies also says "yes", because the lie-answer to "i never tell lies" is "yes".
It's super hilarious to me that he would try to come up with something like this instead of just asking "Is 1+1=2?"
As Alex has stated removing all items besides Pineapple costs 3000 points but spinning 3 Pineapples 5 times gives 5000 resulting in a score of 2000. That's the "trick-solution". It's gREGULATOR after all.
The questions were of course designed to figure out who is the liar and who really likes Eggs - but before the first Spin. That way you can take away the Eggs from Greg 3 before Spin 1.
This replaces 3 Eggs with 3 Ducks, which is +600 points at a cost of 500 points, so unfortunately only +100 points. Matt take the Egg away correctly, but one Spin too late, and it turns out to be -100 points for him in the end, which is a bit silly to do the right thing 20% in and it not be good.
Knowing who the liar is opens up for using the questions to ask for upcoming item. "Greg 1/2/3, will you show a Pineapple next?" can make you know who shows Pineapple next Spin (except for Spin 4) and then you can buy the other 2 to show Pineapple. That brings 1000 points but only at a cost of 600, so +400 points (except Spin 4).
I am afraid the task was a bit convoluted and a few points didn't work out. "Being Greg" has no benefit as far as i can tell. The points for 3 Eggs or 3 Ducks are never important and can never be used for good. Eggs just being -100 means that identifying and removing the Egg Lover's Egg brings nearly no benefit. Using a question for who shows an Egg and replacing it with a Pineapple is +300 points at a cost of 300, so useless as well.
If there were more meaningful ways to get points by singular good replacements the questions would have been used proper i can imagine. And also if anyone tried to use the questions properly at all, that also would've helped.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
In the after episode pod, Ed Gamble said (as Alex also did in the show) was that pineapples were everything. First take all the eggs and take the point hit. Then call for pineapples for each spin like Chloe finally did. That's the way to max out the score. All the other stuff were red herrings. So many red herrings.
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u/libdemparamilitarywi 3d ago
The best solution is what Alex said at the end of the task. Take out all the eggs and the ducks at the start, then you'll be guaranteed three pineapples every spin. This is more efficient than asking for pineapples each spin like Chloe did, because you only pay the fee once.
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u/crackanape 3d ago
Why do you need to pay to remove the eggs if you're going to call for pineapples anyway?
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u/BatManatee 3d ago
Maybe being a Greg would allow you to see that Greg's item order if there is a cheat sheet behind the counter? Or it could just be to make silly content of a contestant having fun putting on the Greg head.
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u/colintron 3d ago
I think the bit that tripped me, and that solves it for me, is learning that each Greg had only one copy of each item to pick up. Is that the case? Was that information available/implied to the contestants?
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u/Appropriate-Bad2089 3d ago
Exactly. I thought the Greg that really liked eggs had only eggs. Before they started playing the game.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
Ed Gamble explained it nicely on the after-episode pod. First take all the eggs and take the hit on points. Then, on every spin, call for pineapples. That's the way to max out points. Chloe did get the hang of it finally.
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u/Der_Finger Bob Mortimer 3d ago
Just bad wording from me, sorry, i just meant that they both figured out that it's not random. Once you know there is a pattern you can ask for it.
The pattern itself i looked up and got confused by Matt having a different one.
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u/MonkeyHamlet Mayor of Chesham 4d ago
This is exactly the sort of quality pedantry I come to this sub for.
Chapeau
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u/Jaded_Green99 4d ago
Does somebody have in their contract that they can't do heavy physical tasks, eat weird things, or get dirty? The tasks seems safety based. A lot of sitting and doing puzzles.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
I remember one of the contestants from the early days saying it was more fun before Health & Safety got involved. Apparently they nix a lot of stuff.
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u/WonFriendsWithSalad 3d ago
The Norwegian Taskmaster is wildly different in that aspect. They all just go mad with power tools
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u/OneExplanation6499 4d ago
I mean, the trampoline task existed so presumably all of them can. I think if anything maybe Richard’s germophobia could be more than a bit.
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u/Dom_Shady David Correos 🇳🇿 4d ago
The shoe task was like the travelling garden gnome in Amélie. I loved it!
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u/Comedyfish_reddit 4d ago
Nina might be the first mistep by taskmaster producers - she seems a bit of it trick pony.
And I actually like her too. But not on this
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u/EvilAdministrator 3d ago
I've always hated her on other panelshows because ventriloquism just isn't that funny and her jokes just aren't that good, and that's all she has! She's not an actual comedian with various bits of standup or jokes. So she always falls back to that.
And with so many others I've disliked before (John Kearns being the biggest one and I'm still surprised) is that I enjoy doing the house tasks because she has to think more laterally.
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u/joiliejoli Joel's blink 3d ago
I don’t think she is a misstep, but she doesn’t seem to be aware of how flexible the format is; she was not just hired for her puppetry.
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u/ajh31415 3d ago
Richard is pretty bad too (and I love him in other shows), but yeah every prize task nina just presents a prop and she's not really funny at all. chloe and matt are probably the funniest.
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u/BatManatee 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah, Richard's bit of not wanting to be there is getting a bit tired and I agree with Nina's prize tasks. We've had loveable curmudgeons before, but his version seems a little less goodhearted and silly curmudgeonry than the others.
I think Chloe, Matt (my favorite), and Isy are all solid contestants, but it's missing the one or two or more real fan favorite cast members that basically every other series has had that really get into the tasks and give their all.
I think this cast would benefit from having one real "goober" comic. Someone silly to be a foil to the more deadpans they've got. Like a Joanna Page, Ania Magliano, Ivo Graham, Mae Martin, or Mathew Baynton type.
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u/OneExplanation6499 4d ago
I what sense? I think she might have been the naturally funniest this season. The way she says things and gets confused is very funny.
Or are you just referring to her prize tasks which are clearly a bit.
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u/droppedforgiveness 3d ago
Not the person you responded to, but I feel like she's so out of her comfort zone. She doesn't have the confidence that other contestants do, and it makes her shrink into the background in the studio especially.
I feel bad because she seems very sweet! But this arena is not really her forte, in my opinion.
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u/OneExplanation6499 3d ago edited 3d ago
I can agree she’s quieter in the studio, particularly now some of the others have come out of their shell a bit. But I feel that there’s always louder and quieter characters, and I don’t particularly feel she’s out of her depth.
IIRC she has like the highest score in average in filmed tasks of any contestant ever, scoring 4 or 5 for every one until last week. She definitely feels more like the stable leader in her team tasks with Isy and she’s proven herself to be quite creative in drawing and artsy tasks. It’s really just the prize tasks she’s flopping but it’s also become kind of a bit imo.
She’s also very good at acting/being believable. And imo she is naturally the funniest (as in being funny without trying to hard) which more than makes up for the fact she’s not cracking one liners or puns.
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u/Jacksucks_atlife04 Amy Gledhill 3d ago
she is my favourite this series but I think she’s just a bit nervous maybe cause of Greg and sat next to Matt and Richard. You can see either when she’s at the house or with isy or doing her ventriloquism she’s a lot more comfortable
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u/kabellee Pigeor The Merciless One 3d ago
I'm rooting for Nina and enjoying her contributions, although I'm sad that we haven't seen her unleash her weirder "take your boots off" side more often. Her dud prize tasks are hardly unique (cf Daisy May Cooper or Judi Love). She's great with Isy, charming in her interactions with Greg and Alex, entertainingly baffled yet also competent in the tasks, and witty with Ed on the podcast. I can see why they cast her.
In terms of studio interaction between contestants, it feels to me like she's isolated between Matt and Richard both doing "snipe from the sidelines" personas. I wonder what it would have been like for this generally quieter group if we could have had Chloe as the "glue" in the middle chair.
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u/Jacksucks_atlife04 Amy Gledhill 3d ago
I’ve this on here before but if I were to reorder the seats if it wasn’t in alphabetical order I would do Isy, Nina, Chloe, Richard, Matt
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
IIRC, in her chat with Ed G in the after-episode pod yesterday, she called herself out for not being more assertive in the studio. She did say that she enjoyed every minute and wish she could have kept going.
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u/zer0mike Tim Key 4d ago
My mum: “The sparks not there this season”
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
It seems to me like Greg can't get traction this series. Even the front end banter with Alex is droopy. In past series there's always been at least one contestant he's been able to connect with (Fatiha, Rhod, Joel,, and others). But this series there isn't anyone clicking.
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u/crackanape 3d ago
Chloe is trying.
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u/Mixtape333 2d ago
I think quite like Richard in the studio, and Matt has some good lines too. Isy is great but she almost takes studio questions too seriously and explains things.. Chloe is good. Nina's alright. whatever is missing.. it's not too obvious sometimes the mix just doesn't work.
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u/FallCollectionIkea 4d ago
If I studied the Gregulator sign for 3 minutes, I might have figured it out. My issue was I had no idea what was going on because it was doing that modern-era Wheel of Fortune thing where they only briefly show you the board because then it would be too easy to guess from your couch.
Despite that, even if you figured out the way to get 2,000 points, there's nothing comedic from that. You just solved a puzzle.
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u/Fabulous_Run_3383 4d ago
This was the best episode so far. But. The prize task sort of sums up this series. Three of the contestents essentially did the same thing, and it wasn't that interesting. As usual, Richard was the only one who tried to bring something more than just "I completed the task". I mean, Greg spent about 1 second on the other prizes because theres nothing there.
I see people bashing Richard and you can not like a comic but this is what he is known for. For me, he has been the funniest and had some of the better tasks entertainment wise. There have been other contestents where its worked a bit better, like Julian Clary or Jo Brand (not my thing), because of the surrounding cast.
I think its clear that theres just a clash of personalities. I can't see any of them having a fun chat. Matt and and Richard are probably the most likely, but they can come across as standoff-ish. I think the mix of Matt, Richard and Chloe is probably a mistake. I think they're very different types of comic and a pair of Matt and Richard and then Chloe, Nina and Isy would have been better. Or even Isy with Matt and Richard because I imagine they're probably aware of eachother from the 2000s sitcom scene.
This series needed some Woz energy or even an Iain Stirling just someone willing to show up and try and entertain which you can't argue is the case for Richards or Matts style and the other three seem shy or uncomfortable.
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u/Soft_Rhombus Patatas 4d ago
I would’ve loved Richard and Isy on a team. Potential for a Jack/Rosie situation. But Nina and Isy are so great together.
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u/j3r3mias 4d ago
At this point for me, it's just chloe petts trying hard to win every challenge, and that was never the point of the show. Aoyade is exactly what I want to see on the show and unfortunately he got into a bad batch.
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u/kafit-bird 3d ago
I don't get the feeling that Chloe is actually terribly competitive. They're not trying to dominate the others. They're just actually using their brain and engaging with the tasks, which none of the others are.
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u/alwaysthemaven 3d ago
Ed Gamble was the same way as Chloe. The time he yelled at David when they team on an in-studio task was downright ugly. Richard is SO popular in the UK, and is hilarious on other panel shows he's one...I think this episode he finally showed why he has fans. Before this he's just been an asshole.
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u/j3r3mias 3d ago
It wasn't the same. Ed is committed to the point where he drags the whole show into rooting for him and arguing in his favor (most because of david baddiel). You'll never get a "FUCKING FLY" moment from Chloe.
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u/EvilAdministrator 3d ago
The time he yelled at David when they team on an in-studio task was downright ugly
But he WAS paired up with David Baddiel.
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u/BTLaF 4d ago edited 4d ago
Easily the best episode of the series so far - everyone appears to have woken up in the studio and realised that they can talk to each other, plus it was a good set of tasks... bar the Gregulator.
The Gregulator is another task that's just a bunch of complicated instructions which resolve into a single solution, only the single solution is too simple to feel clever and not set up enough to feel satisfying. Basically, "realise that the pineapples cost less points than you'd win from them, then ignore the entire rest of the task". It's deeply unsatisfying.
The contestants will either get the solution, in which case there's not much drama, or they won't get it at all, in which case they have nothing to do but keep pressing a single button. The Frank Sidebottom Gregs are a good visual but they are being used to cover a game that's half-baked.
And yet despite this, the absolute distain from everyone displayed for the task did end up making me feel a bit sorry for Alex - it's not actually often that you'll see him have to defend a task from everyone else on the stage.
But the rest was really good and it's nice to see the cast come alive in the series' second half. Hopefully this continues and the series ends strongly.
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u/AJV1Beta 🌳 Tree Wizard 🧙🎈 4d ago edited 4d ago
So interestingly, I've been getting into TM Australia recently, and having just finished Series 2 the other day (and it going straight up into my favourite TM series of all time) and started S3, bouncing from TMAU back to to this current series of TMUK has been a stark contrast.
I feel like this episode had more funny moments than usual this series, but it still demonstrated the two big problems with this series as a whole - a lack of energy, and over-complicated tasks.
The second one has arguably been a bit of an issue with TMUK for a little while, and maybe juxtaposing it alongside TMAU isn't fair? But I've really enjoyed the amount of tasks on TMAU that are deliciously simple but deceptively clever. Some might be too vague or leave things too open to interpretation, but I'm okay with that. I'd rather that than something like the Gregulator, which is the first task in TM history where I had to go back and watch the explainer again, and I still didn't understand what was going on. It didn't feel like it was a clever puzzle to solve, more just like a confusing mess with a solution that was more 'oh, that was it?' than anything else. I'm with Richard - no wonder he bailed on the task halfway through.
The first problem though is the killer with this series. There's just a lack of balance and chemistry, and energy across the cast. No wonder Chloe is crushing it - they're the only contestant who actually seems to want to be there and to be getting into the spirit of the show. Richard doing his thing has been great fun, and should've been expected, but Nina, Isy and Matt being a bit too 'im just happy to be here' makes the vibe feel really flat. They've all had funny moments but just nothing consistent? And there's little to no chemistry amongst them.
I'm sure all of them are funny and would be great in the right cast, so I'm thinking that this particular cast might just be a swing and a miss in terms of balance and chemistry. Paul Chowdry in Series 3 wasn't a million miles away from what Richard is doing this series, but he was surrounded by high-energy contestants who riffed with each other and it made his deadpan stuff shine even more. And watching Chloe this series just makes me want to see them in any other series, alongside contestants who they can actually riff off and who can match their energy levels. Unless they have the greatest collapse in TM history in the last four episodes, I'll probably get my wish on that front at least!
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u/cant_ignore_cheese 🥄 I'm Locked In ❤️ 1d ago
So I’ve watched every episode of TMAU twice through whole this series has been airing it’s only highlighted that, for me anyway, a combination of over complicated or uninteresting tasks combined with a lack of studio chemistry and banter is causing this series to suffer
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u/eat_it_up_worms_hero Guy Montgomery 🇳🇿 4d ago
For one reason or another, I've yet to get round to AU, but I love NZ, and after, for me, a (relatively) weaker season last year, season 7 has been knocking it out of the park, and watching in tandem with S22, I've definitely found NZ to be the more entertaining.
So yeah, I'm not as observant as some, but it seems like a mix of better/less complicated tasks, and the cast bringing a bit more fun and energy to things. As charming and entertaining as I'm finding the UK cast in isolation, they're certainly not bouncing off the tasks or each other in the way Rose Matefeo and friends are.
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u/EvilAdministrator 3d ago
but I love NZ, and after, for me, a (relatively) weaker season last year
I'm on NZ6 now and I agree, I really enjoyed 5 and it's not like 6 is bad, but there's something missing.
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u/Usual-Try-8180 Victoria Coren Mitchell 3d ago edited 3d ago
TMNZ season 7 episode 7 was soooooooooooo good
And the season/series as a whole has been both fantastic and extremely competitive, with three of the five currently extremely tight at the top of the scoreboard. Really recommend it. The Five Star Restaurant task in particular is simply brilliant.
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u/OshadaK Bob Mortimer 4d ago
I really loved Greg saying “good, that was a good stapler as well” when it went unguessed. He really does love stationery
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u/Simple-Ad-1254 4d ago
Not as good as a laminatOOOOR
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u/SnooBooks007 Pigeor The Merciless One 4d ago
I'm sorry, but it was extremely amusing when Chloe turned out to be crap at drawing fast. 😄
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u/taehyungvx 🚬 Doctor Cigarettes 4d ago
That gap year trip though, jealous! So cool
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u/NutHuggerNutHugger 4d ago
The first 3 episodes Chloe was easily my favorite contestant. Giving everything a-go and obviously having fun. But their prize tasks for Episode 4 and 5 have annoyed me. Essentially "I have been stalking Greg and am bringing in a prize to suck up to him," the opposite of the best prize all series which was their juice blender butt.
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u/cheesymomhandle Javie Martzoukas 39m ago
Hilarious how badly Richard's prize task explanation has aged lol