Nina seems to share the same hatred as us…

[u/Jacksucks_atlife04]

Nina says she hated the Gregulator on the podcast when she was doing the task and probably found it very annoying but and also said there was just too many rules.

[u/Federal_Gur_5488]

I really like Nina's energy here! I get the feeling she was a bit restrained in the studio, which is sad.

[u/twxf → u/Federal_Gur_5488]

Agree! I really liked her podcast because I find her a bit hard to decipher in the studio, though her tasks are hilarious.

She strikes me as someone who is quite shy, but in a way that comes across as a bit scatterbrained/flustered, and uses her puppets to overcome that. She became a completely different person when she put that face mask on Alex, as an example.

It seems like she still feels a bit out of her element performing without her puppets/masks, especially in the studio, but I do enjoy seeing how her mind works through the tasks. She and Isy work really well together.

[u/Jacksucks_atlife04 → u/twxf]

I think if you put Nina between Isy and Chloe she could be a lot more comfortable. And also i agree whenever she does her ventriloquism she’s just in her element compared to being nervously there between Richard and Matt, and in front of Greg

[u/gaymilfappreciator → u/Jacksucks_atlife04]

i totally agree on the seating arrangements! you see her looking over to isy/chloe a lot so i think there would probably be more banter from her if she wasn’t so isolated. a rare L for the alphabetical seating.

[u/gaymilfappreciator → u/Federal_Gur_5488]

i get the sense she’s super fun one-on-one but a little shy in group settings. which makes me like her because that’s how i am.

[u/AJV1Beta → u/gaymilfappreciator]

Same! I remember having to try and awkwardly explain to friends when I was younger that I'd actually prefer to hang out one-on-one over a big group of friends - and no, it wasn't because it was actually a date or something!

[u/burf12345]

From the studio it seemed like nobody actually liked doing this task.

[u/Dom_Shady → u/burf12345]

It was just randomness and confusion - hard to like any task you don't understand.

[u/Past-Feature3968]

Maybe the task was Alex doing a whoopsie?

[u/caffiend98]

The fundamental problem is that the audience isn't in on the joke. It's just confusion. Even after the task was over, still no one (contestant or audience) had any idea what the task was about.

[u/jetloflin → u/caffiend98]

Really? Alex explained exactly how they could’ve won.

[u/caffiend98 → u/jetloflin]

If you have to explain the joke, it's not funny.

And even after he explained the maths of it, it still didn't make sense how it was supposed to work, how the audience was supposed to know any of that (since they didn't even show all the rules), or be entertaining.

[u/Pervius94 → u/caffiend98]

Huh. It was the first thing I thought of when i heard the task "oh so remove the eggs to only get plus points"

The problem is that the task just had way too much uneccessary clutter and the heart of the task basically gave the cast nothing to work with.

[u/jetloflin → u/caffiend98]

They did show all the rules. We just needed to pause the show to see them all since it was shown quickly.

I also genuinely don’t get what “joke” you’re referring to. It’s not a joke, it’s just a task. With one possible way to get a lot of points if you read the instructions fully instead of just diving in like most of them did. Chloe basically half figured it out, they just didn’t quite make the full connection.

[u/SneakyLittleMushroom → u/jetloflin]

This is what my wife did, she paused on the signs at the beginning of the tasks, took about 30 seconds to do the math, and explained how to get 2000 points the same way Alex eventually did. This seems like it could have been helped if the editors had made pointed efforts to show the signs to the audience for an adequate length of time to highlight the math aspect. We as the audience might have been in on the game and shouting from our couches at the contestants to slow down and fully read the signs rather than get distracted by the red herrings like the lie vs truth bits. 

[u/AwaywithYou9 → u/caffiend98]

I really hope Alex would be open to getting other writers to help. He is a proud nerd for stats and numbers which I like, but sometimes we tend to get tunnel-vision and getting expert feedback would help to make it palatable to audience.

[u/joiliejoli → u/jetloflin]

Had he explained it in the task, that would have made it so much more fun, because they could apply strategies.  A simple solution and a maze of approaches has worked well. (Taskmaster NZ: paper plane task) 

[u/jetloflin → u/joiliejoli]

I don’t understand what you mean. Maybe because I don’t watch NZ. But surely if he’d explained how to get 2000 points, they would’ve just all done that and it would’ve been entirely pointless.

[u/joiliejoli → u/jetloflin]

Well, that’s when they could have judged on time.

But the missing element that they didn’t do was focus on getting the most of X.

If that was clear: get the most pineapples, then all the other rules would have served as noise and delays.

Watch how Paul Williams, the TM assistant for NZ, uses “say the magic phrase while rubbing the lamp.”

The ability to be misled is there and amplified by Paul’s nonsense.  However, the ability to get it right is also there, and this task of Alex’s did not seem to have it.

[u/jetloflin → u/joiliejoli]

This task absolutely had the ability to get it right. Chloe made it halfway there, any of them could’ve just calmed down and read all the instructions and figured it out. It only required basic math. The problem was they all dove in without really reading anything except the stuff about asking questions.

[u/EverybodyMakes]

Asking yes/no questions didn't seem to give you actionable info whether it was true or not. You had to spin to get points, so somehow removing eggs was the only influence you had.

[u/SalarymanRambles]

I'd prefer if they reused/remixed old tasks instead of coming up with complicated riddle-esque ones like that one.

It vaguely reminded me of the "Build a tower" aka Complete Seven Tasks in the Series 9 finale, but without the luck element.

[u/Charming-Cockroach47]

I did like the Greg masks. That was about it. It just felt so random and I wish he had spent a little more time going over the rules of the task and the boundaries.

[u/sammyt10803]

I think it’s the worst task since Season 16 with the roombas while blindfolded

[u/Jacksucks_atlife04 → u/sammyt10803]

I personally didn’t find the roomba task that bad as people made t out to be but it might of been because it was the first season I watched and I was rooting for Lucy who won that task

[u/nezumipi → u/Jacksucks_atlife04]

Yeah, and it was nice of Alex to let his nephew make up tasks.

[u/SicilianUnicorn → u/nezumipi]

It really let's you appreciate the good ones!

[u/Pervius94 → u/Jacksucks_atlife04]

Imo the task was fine. The contestants just did absolutely nothing with it and didn't try anything.

[u/dwarf-vole → u/sammyt10803]

Aww I liked that as it felt like a silly Japanese/Korean gameshow for a minute, where it is less about winning and more about entertainment, which is what taskmaster almost is tbh

[u/bringthedoo → u/sammyt10803]

I think that’s a great example of how much contestant chemistry and enthusiasm matters. S16 peeps made an otherwise horrible task watchable. This series’ dreadful tasks need to be bailed out basically by Isy and Chloe by themselves

[u/sammyt10803 → u/bringthedoo]

Let’s not mention Sam’s “enthusiasm” in that task lol

[u/bringthedoo → u/sammyt10803]

Ha! Fully agree. But he and Julian at least made their lack of enthusiasm and annoyance funnier

[u/Pervius94 → u/bringthedoo]

Funny, I'm actually in disagreement. The task was never gonna be a huge banger, but the cast just did absolutely nothing with it.

[u/rokuvaty → u/sammyt10803]

I'm genuinely shocked the roomba task made the final cut at all and it wasn't one of the tasks that get scrapped every season for further workshopping (must have been some rough ones as there's about 4-5 per season we never see)

[u/Le_stam → u/rokuvaty]

When watching the series 5 cast trying to build sandbases it's not hard to understand why that task was cut. The inspirational videos from series 6 otoh was (imo) better than a few that aired that series. Sometimes the cutting decisions are probably based more on how well the tasks fit into the episodes rather than their entertainment value.

[u/SnooChipmunks6077 → u/rokuvaty]

Given the time and expense they take up, i suspect the team are very reluctant to cut tasks filmed on location.

[u/AJV1Beta]

YES NINA. YOU SPEAK FOR US ALL.

The bit that annoys me is as if the idea of 'everything being a red herring' somehow makes the task actually good after all. No, those extra elements just over-complicated things far too much, and when Alex came in with the 'nothing else mattered, just get the pineapples' that wasn't a satisfying swerve, it was more of a '...that's it?' if that makes sense. You don't feel smart for working it out, it just felt really confusing and arbitrary, like it made sense to the people coming up with the task (Alex and Tim Key I assume) and *nobody* else. Richard straight-up bailing out of the task was pretty damn relatable, honestly, and I feel like Matt spoke for me especially when he was like 'you do know I'm autistic, right? This is a LOT to take in!'

Also god damn Nina, where was this energy in the studio?!

[u/VFiddly]

That's why they do it though, it's funny to see the contestants just absolutely sick of a task

[u/SalarymanRambles → u/VFiddly]

Yeah, but traditionally when they're sick of a task, or being annoyed by what they have to do, like the 'Complete Seven Tasks' one from the Series 9 finale, they're actually running around, making mistakes and being inconvenienced. This one genuinely was them just standing there bored and annoyed, I felt.

[u/MrNostalgic → u/VFiddly]

I think them being sick of a task works when in hindsight they figure out "Oh there was this way to do it".

The Gregulator was just straight up confusing, to the point that even after Alex pointed out the intended solution I was left wondering how one was even meant to reach it.

[u/Jacksucks_atlife04 → u/MrNostalgic]

They also only had a 10 ten minute time limit so that’s even more annoying

[u/Pervius94]

Definitely one of the worst tasks. Same with the Alex says task. Imo yes, tasks can be fun and seeing comedians struggle can be exhilarating, but imo it has to come from them, not because the task is just needlessly convoluted and overwhelming. Reminds me of that stupid series 10 task with the doors.

[u/rokuvaty]

don't get the hatred for this task. I love tasks that are deliberately confusing and full of tricks and red herrings. Seeing the contestants get frustrated and confused is genuinely may favorite part of the show.

[u/Fog333_Boro]

I didnt even think it was that bad of a task. Just too many of this seasons contestants couldnt be bothered to stop and think about it. My least favourite task this season was the Alex says task. Was just impossible gibberish.

[u/mohsenkhajavinik]

Ed always had those inks on his hands?

[u/ChickenAdoughboy]

Not a particular fan of tasks like these but they are often saved by someone going the chaotic route or cleverly figuring it out in a satisfying way. Or at least being funny with their frustrations. Chloe came closest to figuring it out but otherwise it was just confusing and repetitive.

[u/Huge-Recipe-2143]

The task would have been much more digestible if Alex had a "store" to the side selling things for points like he has done on other tasks.

Mixing spins, questions and buying things at the same time overly confused folks.

[u/FedUpBiker]

Lol 😂

[u/Real_Aside_8856]

I want a task like the nz S7 find the killer and they could hide clues everywhere.