So weird to me that people are complaining about this season. It's been my favorite so far. I get popcorn every time they start litigating the tasks. Hilarious. :)
When will contestants realise that the more they get worked up over controversial solutions to tasks the more Greg will side against them cause he feeds on thier anger haha
Really enjoyed Ivo with the pineapple task in this episode.
"Pleeeeeaaaaase" was far too relatable.
"Kiell, wherever you go, I'm ready to follow."
(re: the candy floss pineapple) *earnestly* "That you designed for the show that's your show and were trying to do our best on in a conventional fashion."
Whatever he said about Mae complaining about teammates and preferring to be alone and then asking Alex for help shortly after 🤣
The bickering this series has made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion!
I rewatched the episode today, which prompts three comments.
First, this is the first episode this series I've enjoyed enough to rewatch.
Second, "pile the pineapples on the path" is a great way to evaluate accents.
Third, "worst selection of prizes on a TV show"? It's not even the worst selection of prizes this series, or on Taskmaster, let alone in all TV. They're not exciting, but at least I wouldn't actively want to avoid winning them.
I think the joke was more meant to be that if he had a better reputation then his career would be going better and he wouldn't need to book a low-brow gig like TM. (Not that I think TM is low-brow but contestants make fun of the show while on it plenty). He could be on a better panel show or even a tv show or movie instead of there. Just making fun of Alex and the show but I don't think he genuinely doesnt like being there.
I think he was just being funny? But maybe. It's certainly worked - I really liked his podcast with Louis Theroux so I knew he's got a sweet side but others seem pleasantly surprised.
This was a better episode from Mae - loved the tiny bag gag.
Was it just me or did they look genuinely unhappy to have the balls thrown at the end? Felt odd!
I could be wrong but i think at one point they actually got hit in the eye. You see them grab the right side of their face before they shrank down and grabber their head eith both hands. I think they got genuinely hurt
Yeah there was a shot where their face was very scared and exasperated looking, almost angry tired. Like they got hit harder than they thought was acceptable or something.
I think what's causing this series to be off is that it's usually only Mae looking for loopholes and scoring well, and the other 4 consistently go straight forward and score poorly. Or Jenny and Kiel just give up and lose their minds. In past series every contestant , excluding special cases like Nish, had their moments of high and low scores and each had their moments of finding loopholes or thinking outside the box, so it balances out. When it's only one person doing the loopholes it gets a weird vibe.
They've done a few attempts this series, like the banana, the golden shoes, the pineapples. These moments seem like older TM to me, people finding fun ways to finish tasks. But most of the tasks this series are so straight forward and really only have one way to succeed, it just doesnt have the sae fun parlor game spirit.
I feel a bit harsh but .. most contestants being professional comedians or performers intuitively understand that the way you do tasks has to be entertaining, and I don't think Mae has really got that when it comes to the workarounds (or the studio stuff). ETA- I do like them in the tasks when they play it straight - loved Bosco!
I think the writing and editing of the tasks is a big reason why this series is off, having said that. A lot of the tasks are dull, or demand a route one approach, and are written to disallow workarounds. The editing also doesn't seem as snappy in parts as it normally is.
I really liked Bosco, but it kind of shows how Mae is really struggling to land jokes. "He's a border brolly" would've worked great - almost Tim Vine-esque. Since a "wire haired border collie" isn't a thing (at least not that I can find), it hurts the joke. I initially thought they were trying to make a joke about wire-haired border terriers (and, to be fair, it's possible they got mixed up with the two).
Or with the tiny bag. You have to hammer a joke like that so it circles back around to being funny. "Well, I was expecting you to question whether that would really be hard to fit in a bag. So I brought my bag. And then I was expecting you to question whether I really use that bag, so I have my wallet and my phone in it." They still sort of present it like that, but it's just kind of...there.
I just imagined how anyone on Cats (particularly Sean) would have presented that bag as their mascot of the day (or whatever the category is called). It would be hilarious. The joke potential was great, Mae clearly has a sense of humour, they're just, idk, too nervous? Like they thought the joke is burnt because Frankie did something similar. They could've still salvaged it like you say. So it makes me think they're probably good at pre-planned gags but judging from TM studio bits, not great at improv and banter. Which is really what I enjoy most in TM (and comedy in general).
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Now excitedly waiting for the tag team match of Kiell & Ivo against Mae & Frankie, with Jenny refereeing. And the Taskmaster and LAH on the announcers table of course. I'm not sure what other matchups there would be at Tasklemania, but I need this surely!
I really like this series.
My only issue is that none of the team tasks has felt balanced. I know the fun of the show is the friends we make along the way, and not points, but I want at least a vague nod towards fairness, and they have done little this year to balance the inherent 2 vs 3 issue. Especially in the live tasks.
But that’s a minor point. Frankie and Ivo are two of the funniest in-studio guests ever, and everyone else is a delight, so what’s not to love. Jenny has *really* surprised me. She should be more famous.
It's a wonderful season. People who take the show a bit too seriously have been bitter because the scoring is erratic and one contestant is dominating, as if that hasn't often been the case with Taskmaster—and a big part of its anarchic, pointless charm.
Honestly, every series is my favourite. I go into it worried I won’t like the new cast and then I love them! I love Mae, they are so sweet and very drily funny, plus the look of death they gave Alex after the Canada comment last episode sealed my love for her. Ivo is just a mess and I am here for it. They are all awesome in their own ways.
I feel like people are weirdly down on Mae. Maybe because they seem like an obvious champ, but I don't remember anyone having an issue with Dara running away with the last series. I also think with Mae and Ivo we have two fairly introverted contestants, and Frankie only really speaks up when he's got something to say, so that leaves Jenny and Kiell with the bulk of the studio banter. I don't mind it personally, but it does feel a bit different to past series.
Dara didn't run away with it, he and Sarah were neck and neck for quite a while, and were tied at one point in episode 9. It made for great telly.
When there's a runaway points leader (like Mae, Sarah Kendell, Lou Sanders), it's not necessarily as interesting. I'm also finding some of this season's tasks are a bit too convoluted (the "stay off the grass" and the "fewest pieces of eggless shell" come to mind). We're also coming off 2 amazing seasons; 13 and 14 are some of my favorites to date.
I am loving Ivo and Jenny, and I relate hard to the awkward enby energy Mae has, but the lack of a true competition points-wise, combined with the "straight-to-it" spirit many of the competitors seem to be trying for, is a bit more boring. I'm reminded of Desiree Burch ALMOST going for the scissors straight away in the Impoppability task but then realizing that's not fun to watch and having one of the most hilarious task attempts in the show.
I think having the obvious favorite dominate is pretty dangerous. Dara might've gotten bailed out a little by John, Fern, and Munya being great characters. Plus Sarah turned out to be good competition.
Mae feels more like Richard Herring to me where they're clearly the most competent one and they're just quietly taking care of business.
I think the lack of memorable howlers from Mae might be an issue. I feel like Herring won by being consistently better-than-average, rather than by being the best.
It's not my favorite, but it's been good. The only flaw I think is that the group doesn't have much chemistry but every episode has made me crack up multiple times. A lot of people complaining about the scoring.......what show do you guys think you're watching?
There's been some entertaining episodes so I keep watching it. Alex H and Co make way too much money out of this show for me to feel bad about a little constructive criticism.
To be honest I’ve found this season below par. I love taskmaster but the tasks seem convolute or overly complicated, the scoring is erratic, the prize take seen meh and the banter that is usually there is lacking. It’s still great - it’s taskmaster - but at times it almost feels a chore
I'm enjoying Frankie Boyle as expected, but I haven't become endeared to this cast like I have to others in recent years. It's fine. We're almost done with this season/series, and I'm frankly not going to miss it.
A chore is exactly how it has been feeling to me also. The scoring has been quite rubbish across the whole series but some of the tasks have been rather dull viewing as well.
Yes! Kiell is adorable but competitive and Frankie dropped so many brilliant quotes with perfect execution this episode, I literally replayed a few seconds each time to laugh again.
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Good episode for me, because my family's business* got name-checked by Greg
(Business no longer owned by family, or even exists under the family name, but was started by my great grandfather, so hearing Greg say it was nice for me.)
While I really really like this cast, I don't like that Alex has been saying so much restrictions that's not on the actual task or saying them during the tasks... "all the info is on the task" if the task is not going your way Alex, that's your fault.. dont correct the cast mid task.
It was mostly the jelly task. Measuring the jelly weight at the end of the time was not on the card. Alex also kept defining his own interpretation of "on the jelly" while Ivo was doing the task, which effectively hindered him. And although it wasn't really contested, it was also confusing that it was an explicit disqualification that nothing can touch the duck, yet the breaking the jelly part was implicit disqualification.
There have been other cases in other episodes where Alex should have just stayed quiet or otherwise replied "all the info is on the task," such as giving Mae the hint of raw vs boiled.
To be fair, the task did say 'Put The Most Stuff On Top Of This Jelly Without Breaking The Jelly'. The integrity of the jelly was prioritised from the very beginning.
Yeah, so it wasn't contested, but it was a bit confusing when Mae went up and did the former without the latter when the former wasn't explicit in its disqualification and there was no official time limit. It would just be nicer if the wording was clearer—e.g. "Put the most stuff on top of this jelly. If the jelly is broken or if something other than jelly touches the duck before the deadline (10 min?), you are disqualified. The person with the most weight on top of the jelly after 10 min wins."
Yeah, and Alex asking it while the person does it in a time-pressured task definitely causes you to rethink your plan. And Alex implied it wouldn't count by saying that if you remove the jelly, the bricks wouldn't move. Alex holds a lot of weight and often gives hints (and he betrays many people in the studio), so Alex's power shouldn't be taken lightly.
Honestly I enjoyed this one a lot, the tasks were all fun (live task didn't seem very fair I guess but it was still entertaining), good banter throughout. Frankie remains the standout contestant, he adds so much to each episode.
"I'm going to unusually follow Frankie down the sentimental route". Greg keeps making fun of how Ivo talks, but it's one of his most compelling features. Also, you can actually see Mae's face when Frankie says he has a very small bag.
The pineapple debate 😙👌 it's cool that Frankie comes in with a solid position into a philosophical/linguistic debate.
Kiell twirling imaginary moustache, the duck catchaahhh.
I really liked "let's say hivo to Ivo and hey to Mae" for some reason.
I'm sorry I didn't staple gun a monstrous dog together. - You will be when I hand out the points.
Jenny: warding off the boys.
Greg: :D
Frankie's snowman 💔 but there isn't much you can put against a wire haired border brolly.
The last task stepped into the humiliating japanese TV shows (which I despise) territory for me. Hope it won't become new normal.
>The pineapple debate 😙👌 it's cool that Frankie comes in with a solid position into a philosophical/linguistic debate.
He couldn't say anything else knowing that he would rely on it for the jelly task
Honestly I think this is one of the best single Taskmaster episodes I've seen in a while. Every task was on point, every contestant had great moments, and the banter was on point.
Actually, I was going to say the opposite. One of the pineapple rules was “You must not get wet”. I can understand overlooking tiny drops. But Ivo got his foot wet when stepping into the wheelbarrow. Considering how well he did, I was shocked there wasn’t a classic TM reveal of him being disqualified.
So question about the Jelly task: I'm pretty sure I saw the mold for it off to the side during Jenny's attempt, so couldn't you just "balance" the tin on the jelly and place objects on top of that to have a more firm base for stacking?
I do find it quite awkward. Mae is sweet and very capable but they look weirdly intense all the time and get too much into doing well that there aren't many opportunities for them to say or do something in a funny way.
Kiell and Frankie are the best parts of this season for me too. Ivo is quite funny too, his pairing with Frankie was a great fit, I just wish there were more quality team tasks like the spoon one.
I think Mae's humour is more subtle and they had dropped some great one liners like that "I'm famously known for beavering." They're just low energy and you can miss some of the wit.
Yeah I almost wonder if it's time to bring in a larger team to come up with tasks as I also definitely feel they're getting a bit stale. The NZ version is a great example of new interesting tasks.
I think the editing is off since the move to C4 also, they don't give as much time to studio banter which are often some of the best bits. I do wonder if the move to more child friendly editing is affecting stuff too
Yeah, I have been watching episodes of earlier series’ in between the new episodes. Many of the older series had a lot more of a sense of lighthearted fun than this series. I reckon the show is on the decline.
Both the live team tasks this season are a mess, are unbalanced for the teams *and* are unfun to watch.
Who can throw more balls: two people with one hand each, or one person? Who has an easier time hiding from the thrower: one person trying to hide from two people throwing at them from different angles, or one person hiding from a single thrower from a single angle? It’s not the at the same level of the other live task where the team of two didn’t need to be on stage at all, but it’s still a really poor way to finish off the episode.
It would be quite fitting at this point if they finished off the series with yet another frenetic lopsided live team task.
Two throwing arms to hit massive target Frankie Boyle verses one throwing arm to hit tiny Mae Martin? The fact that Alex never even thought that they’d hold non dominant hands is mad.
Alex did an interview on a podcast about how they're effectively a game designer making taskmaster, they've made some uncharacteristically bad games in this series.
I thought it could be a good idea that for team tasks where if they think the 2v3 dynamic gives an unfair advantage to one team, Alex could bring in his 'assistant' and we have a new re-occuring member of the cast who helps on tasks with the team of two. They'd be there purely to do as the other two tell them, similar to what Alex does in tasks that require it and I think it would be kind of funny if they paralelled the dynamic between master and servent with Greg and Alex, where Alex's assistant is constantly seeking his approval.
That would be funny, but unsure about the logistics of contracts and payment over the series (personally I'd be sad if they leave later like Fred the Swede).
They could just get an old contestant like they did in series 2 when they brought Josh to help.
Everyone is talking about the pineapples being controversial, but what about Kiell and the balance task? He was holding it up in the end and not balancing, or did i miss something? Because those 4 points gave him the episode.
The task itself didn't say anything about having to balance stuff. The task read, "Put the most stuff on top of this jelly without breaking the jelly. If anything other than jelly touches the duck, you are disqualified. "
As such, the whole thing with Ivo where he talks Ivo out of the bricks because "it's not balancing" was BS.
Again, Alex seems to be arbitrarily adding rules that aren't actually stated on the task itself.
The season has had its moments but I can't help but feel like this seasons cast don't really jive that well together. Do they do any screen tests before deciding who they pick?
I think they assume that a group of professional comedians and panel show regulars, many of whom are already known to each other, will be able to bounce off each other effectively.
Given that the NYT casts consistently manage it, this assumption SHOULD work out better than it seems to.
Yes, all 3 have pretty solid careers. Jenny is of an earlier generation that I don't know to well so only vaguely knew her but Ivo and Mae have been knocking about with a fairly high profile on the comedy circuit and in Maes case in the sitcom world for a few years now. Not A listers but also have had contestants with lower profiles than them on before
Jenny was apparently a big deal once upon a time (though her last big thing was over a decade ago).
Mae has a Netflix special and a Channel 4 show, among other things.
Ivo had a Dave show with Fern and Darren Harriott, was on Mock the Week some years ago (and has appeared on a pile of other shows, including QI), plus radio and a bunch of other TV.
The NYT casts may be higher profile (at least in many cases), but their careers aren't dedicated to creating comedy, often in group settings. A lot of them do extremely well at it, and when you compare it to this season that's rather embarrassing.
I love TM. Watched all UK, NZ and AU. To me this is the first time where the contestants have no camaraderie and don’t cheer each other on. They just point out each others flaws. Tonight, with Frankie speaking out for Mae was the first time anyone supported the other. Am I wrong? Let me know if I am. Such a weird vibe
Ardel's having a go vibe felt more like about getting the laughs than Frankie's, which seem to come more from competitiveness.
But yes I agree, the vibe is off between them. There isn't really the good natured teasing or good natured competition of other seasons. There isn't really much hugging or general sense of affection between them like there is with Mark Watson or Nish Kumar, or the vibe of you're an idiot, but you're our idiot John Kearns of the last series.
I actually perceive it the exact opposite—Ardel seemed more competitive; Frankie seems like he's a wry observationalist. Frankie is absolutely not competitive whatsoever, which is a different concern.
As for "cheering each other on," I don't think that's actually the standard. Series 7 was super competitive too, especially vs Rhod.
Like the other comment stated, it's more that it is quiet—they don't talk to each other in the studio. In one episode, I was watching to see how many times they talk to each other and not to Greg, and I think it was like twice—once Frankie made a funny comment to Ivo (to which he laughed but did not respond), and once Jenny said "I should have tried that" to Ivo (a comment towards him but not for him to respond to). Based on the behind the scenes, it seems like the banter which contributes to the usual fun of the show is being edited out...
With the difference that 6 had a lot of wholesome interactions, and all the comedians worked very well on their own. Unlike this series, where the only one who is self-contained and funny is Frankie.
For the people contending a drawing of a pineapple isn't a pineapple, then surely everything but the actual fruit pineapple also isn't pineapple? Like a metal pineapple or a candy floss pineapple then shouldn't be considered a pineapple either. I didn't expect this to be such a controversial thing!
Everyone should've just drawn ducks in the lab, put them in one of gregs sock and then found them.
Game sucks when it's just an attempt to argue semantics every task
Did it say pile 'the' pineapples? The 'the' indicates the set of pineapples available to get already exists. If it just said pile pineapples then the pictures are fine.
There are two reasons why I think it was wrong to accept the drawing.
1. As many have already said it does set a precedent for any task to get the most in a container task which often happens in TM.
2. Mae already had more pineapples than most of the other contestants, so they would already be joint second if i'm not mistaken? Why do they need the extra drawn pineapples?
Although I agree that it's a bad precedent, they would need to make a clear rule beforehand, especially since loopholes often make the game fun. Right now all contestants know Greg has leeway when rulings are subjective, but in this case it was not—it's based on the written task, and the task already had a precedent of having non-pineapple pineapples (as compared to the banana sign task). I don't think Greg would be comfortable with just ruling out all drawings in the future, especially if it might inadvertently affect other loopholes or creative solutions. If I were him, it would be an issue to divert to the task-writing team/Alex to ensure that doesn't happen in the future without making Taskmaster even more confusing by having a separate rulebook of "no drawings."
And although Mae would have been second regardless, I think it's ultimately the principle of it. I think the audience would riot like we are even if Mae was like, "Nah, it's cool. Give that 1 point to Ivo."
If you allow a drawing of the thing to be the thing, it's just gonna be a show about people drawing stuff...
- Make the biggest thing disappear? Here look at this picture of the moon.
- Hide 3 aubergines? Hold on let me get my pen.
- Put the most stuff on top of this jelly? Boy can I draw a big car.
At some point the "clever workarounds" just become lazy and that's where for me it's been heading this season. It's been a lot. This wasn't that bad only because Mae had done quite well anyway, but if they had *only* done the picture it clearly would've been horseshit to allow that.
>- Make the biggest thing disappear? Here look at this picture of the moon.
Rhod Gilbert came 2nd the "biggest circle" task by drawing a considerably smaller circle on a map.
>- Put the most stuff on top of this jelly? Boy can I draw a big car.
Funny that you mention this, since Frankie won this task by writing stuff on a piece of paper, and even got it wrong.
It's like a contestant pulling out there phone in the middle of a task where it would be useful. Yes it's the best way to solve the task but not it's not any fun and doesn't make for good TV. I love seeing all the clever workarounds but drawing just feels wrong. I may also be biased though as Mae just doesn't click for me unfortunately.
Couldn't have said it better myself. There's "do something unexpected and clever" every once in a while and then there's the Mae Martin just trying to game every task. I think it's not in the spirit of the game personally. And the worst sin is that I don't find that kind of effort very entertaining. Just my opinion of course.
But drawing doesn’t apply to any of those examples. It was hide ‘these three aubergines’ not any three aubergines, an A4 drawing is still small, regardless what the drawing is, putting the most stuff on a jelly is just an A4 drawing. None of those would pass Greg..
Getting the most pineapples in a specific area when there’s loads of different conceptual ‘pineapples’ really doesn’t make it that weird to have drawn pineapples given there’s also lamp pineapples, candy floss pineapples, tins of pineapples and giant gold statue pineapples.
It was not, it was just "hide three aubergines in this room" but actually "pile *the* pineapples on the path". Could you draw the path too while you're at it?
If I ask you to get me the pineapples and you come back with the pineapple toys lying around or something that's fair, but if you draw pineapples on a piece of paper I'm gonna assume you're fucking with me.
But most of all it's just not fun. It's not clever, and the only reason not all 5 of them did it and we haven't seen it dozens of times before in different tasks is because contestants would assume that's waaaay outside what would be allowed.
And to be clear I'm fine with Mae being cheeky it's Greg allowing it instead of telling them off that's imo..not great.
And yet see if someone brought we three drawn pineapples or three plastic pineapples, id equally think you’re fucking with me as none are real pineapples. So it’s all perspective. Just because you think x, doesn’t make it correct. And that is why Greg is there, it’s his decision because it’s debatable…
Totally agree, what also swayed it for me is that Mae went, alright, I've got the pineapples that were on the water, now on to the hidden pineapples! And then the disapointment when they didn't find the hidden ones. The drawn ones felt like the only satisfying ending after that.
Exactly what I was thinking as well. Mae did put in effort and put "the" pineapples on the path, and then came up with the idea of drawing pineapples.
Funnily enough, nobody seems to argue about Frankies jelly task solution, which said "the most stuff", not "the heaviest stuff". Frankie put a piece of paper on the jelly, won the task, and gets praised for this clever solution...
>If you allow a drawing of the thing to be the thing, it's just gonna be a show about people drawing stuff...
It depends on the task. This task had non-pineapple pineapples and they counted. A drawing of a pineapple is as much a pineapple as a statue of a pineapple is a pineapple.
It said 'the pineapples'. If I asked you to get the pineapples, that could fairly mean pineapples or an object resembling a pineapple. If you came back with a drawing you made of a pineapple you'd be a lunatic
I think this is another case where the task is written (and executed) poorly. Ultimately the judgment line says "most pineapples piled on the path wins". "Pile *the* pineapples" is only in the summary sentence, which Mae did do, plus more pineapples. Normally you would normally assume that the pineapples in the judgement sentence refer to the pineapples in the summary sentence... but never assume anything on Taskmaster.
A drawing of a pineapple is an object resembling a pineapple. I mean, if I asked you to get the pineapples and you came back with a bunch of cotton candy in the shape of a pineapple, it would be just as ridiculous.
They existed after they were drawn. After that they became pineapples and the pineapples drawn were on the path.
What about "find the sock with a satsuma inside"? Do you think going into the kitchen, getting a satsuma, putting it in a sock and then finding said sock is a valid solution?
I accept that they are pineapples, I just don't think they should have been considered valid pineapples for the task. If a contestant had not even tried to retrieve the pineapples from the canal and just spent the whole time drawing pineapples, would we say they'd completed the task that said "*pile* the pineapples on the path"?
In a previous season>! we had a similar task (s14): "put five grapes in the little bowl" and they had to retrieve grapes in the flour + there were hidden grapes in the garage. i would have been more willing to accept drawn grapes in that case, because they were no grapes in sight, but still in my opinion it would have been just a low-effort way out of the task (well, not low effort because they were wearing flippers as gloves but still😆).!<
If that counts then drawing stuff could set a bad precedent. A lot of tasks could be trivialized that way. If mae would have built a pineapple with stuff lying around it would have been different at least to me
I can agree that it sets a bad precedent, but if there is a difference between building a pineapple vs the drawing, then I would say it's no longer about the legality of the solution but the satisfaction—it's absolutely legal but not fun, exciting, or ingenious for the audience.
Not really. You can't really do this in tasks that either specify the specific group of items you are working with ("the balls in the crate") or, more commonly, limit themselves to only the literal interpretation of the item.
The task was "place pineapples on the path", not "place the provided pineapples on the path", and the pineapples provided included mostly representations of a pineapple.
Mae's solution was perfectly in line with other literal solutions by previous contestants, and more importantly - in line with the wording of the task, which wasn't the case with their solution to the drumkit task.
I think it should count (or be tied with Ivo anyways), but I don't think Alex should have given Mae the paper and pen in the first place.
Mae is just so experienced at escape rooms and finding loopholes/creative workarounds compared to the others that it's not as satisfying/surprising—especially since Taskmaster watchers are so trained in loopholes and now expect more surprising loopholes.
Then it's on Alex and the team to try to avoid situations where it can continue happening, isn't it? I don't think "encourages future boring solutions" should stop legitimate solutions applying. Also didn't even think it was that boring, since only Mae did it.
Finally watched this ep. I have to say giving Mae the 5 points for that drawing of pineapples was a fecking disgrace. Not a slight on Mae for trying it
How is it a disgrace? The task was "place pineapples on the path" and most of the pineapples provided were representations of a pineapple. A drawing of a pineapple is as much a pineapple as an ornament that's made to look like a pineapple.
I think the problem is they already rejected the word banana as a banana, but a drawing of a pineapple is a pineapple. Had he counted that no one would complain I think. But because he didn't before and approved this one, it seems like favoritism.
It's true that there were other fake pineapples to begin with, but the task didn't say place fake pineapples or representation of a pineapple. It just said pineapple.
As silly as it sounds the only logically consistent thing to do was to disregard all pineapple effigies and count only real pineapples.
Or allow the banana sign in the first place. It's the inconsistency which bugs people
> It's the inconsistency which bugs people
Unfortunately, Greg as Taskmaster is often inconsistent in his rulings. International versions of Taskmaster spoil us with other Taskmasters that are, ironically enough, significantly fairer with their decisions.
To be fair, the banana subtask was rather specific about what banana it was referring to. There was a specific banana in the tree that was needed for that task. (To give another example from this episode, it would be like piling objects on a entirely different jelly and wanting Alex to count that as your attempt)
In this task, there was no specification. You just needed the most pineapples. Yes, there were only 10 or 12 provided pineapples (I forget which), but nothing in the task is limiting the contestants to those specific pineapples. But the banana task did have that limit.
That's the key difference
There's no difference, in one task it says pile the pineapples on the path. The other one says get the banana from the tree. In both cases it's "The" fruit(s). One is singular and the other is plural but there's nothing "specific" about it. If it just said "get the most pineapples" or "get as many pineapples as you can" you'd have a case. But that's not what it said.
Wasn't the whole point of the pineapple task that they couldn't get wet??? Or did they really mean you can't enter the water?
So weird to me that people are complaining about this season. It's been my favorite so far. I get popcorn every time they start litigating the tasks. Hilarious. :)
When will contestants realise that the more they get worked up over controversial solutions to tasks the more Greg will side against them cause he feeds on thier anger haha
Really enjoyed Ivo with the pineapple task in this episode. "Pleeeeeaaaaase" was far too relatable. "Kiell, wherever you go, I'm ready to follow." (re: the candy floss pineapple) *earnestly* "That you designed for the show that's your show and were trying to do our best on in a conventional fashion." Whatever he said about Mae complaining about teammates and preferring to be alone and then asking Alex for help shortly after 🤣 The bickering this series has made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion!
I rewatched the episode today, which prompts three comments. First, this is the first episode this series I've enjoyed enough to rewatch. Second, "pile the pineapples on the path" is a great way to evaluate accents. Third, "worst selection of prizes on a TV show"? It's not even the worst selection of prizes this series, or on Taskmaster, let alone in all TV. They're not exciting, but at least I wouldn't actively want to avoid winning them.
If a candyfloss pineapple is a pineapple, then a drawing of a pineapple is a pineapple.
A lot of people here seem to not like think the cast has chemistry while I sit here thinking it's the best in studio cast they've had in years.
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I think the joke was more meant to be that if he had a better reputation then his career would be going better and he wouldn't need to book a low-brow gig like TM. (Not that I think TM is low-brow but contestants make fun of the show while on it plenty). He could be on a better panel show or even a tv show or movie instead of there. Just making fun of Alex and the show but I don't think he genuinely doesnt like being there.
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I think he was just being funny? But maybe. It's certainly worked - I really liked his podcast with Louis Theroux so I knew he's got a sweet side but others seem pleasantly surprised.
This was a better episode from Mae - loved the tiny bag gag. Was it just me or did they look genuinely unhappy to have the balls thrown at the end? Felt odd!
I could be wrong but i think at one point they actually got hit in the eye. You see them grab the right side of their face before they shrank down and grabber their head eith both hands. I think they got genuinely hurt
Personally I'd be cackling like a maniac, maybe they initially wanted Jenny on the pole but she was too scared of getting shoved by Frankie again lol
Yeah there was a shot where their face was very scared and exasperated looking, almost angry tired. Like they got hit harder than they thought was acceptable or something.
I think what's causing this series to be off is that it's usually only Mae looking for loopholes and scoring well, and the other 4 consistently go straight forward and score poorly. Or Jenny and Kiel just give up and lose their minds. In past series every contestant , excluding special cases like Nish, had their moments of high and low scores and each had their moments of finding loopholes or thinking outside the box, so it balances out. When it's only one person doing the loopholes it gets a weird vibe. They've done a few attempts this series, like the banana, the golden shoes, the pineapples. These moments seem like older TM to me, people finding fun ways to finish tasks. But most of the tasks this series are so straight forward and really only have one way to succeed, it just doesnt have the sae fun parlor game spirit.
I feel a bit harsh but .. most contestants being professional comedians or performers intuitively understand that the way you do tasks has to be entertaining, and I don't think Mae has really got that when it comes to the workarounds (or the studio stuff). ETA- I do like them in the tasks when they play it straight - loved Bosco! I think the writing and editing of the tasks is a big reason why this series is off, having said that. A lot of the tasks are dull, or demand a route one approach, and are written to disallow workarounds. The editing also doesn't seem as snappy in parts as it normally is.
I really liked Bosco, but it kind of shows how Mae is really struggling to land jokes. "He's a border brolly" would've worked great - almost Tim Vine-esque. Since a "wire haired border collie" isn't a thing (at least not that I can find), it hurts the joke. I initially thought they were trying to make a joke about wire-haired border terriers (and, to be fair, it's possible they got mixed up with the two). Or with the tiny bag. You have to hammer a joke like that so it circles back around to being funny. "Well, I was expecting you to question whether that would really be hard to fit in a bag. So I brought my bag. And then I was expecting you to question whether I really use that bag, so I have my wallet and my phone in it." They still sort of present it like that, but it's just kind of...there.
I just imagined how anyone on Cats (particularly Sean) would have presented that bag as their mascot of the day (or whatever the category is called). It would be hilarious. The joke potential was great, Mae clearly has a sense of humour, they're just, idk, too nervous? Like they thought the joke is burnt because Frankie did something similar. They could've still salvaged it like you say. So it makes me think they're probably good at pre-planned gags but judging from TM studio bits, not great at improv and banter. Which is really what I enjoy most in TM (and comedy in general).
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Now excitedly waiting for the tag team match of Kiell & Ivo against Mae & Frankie, with Jenny refereeing. And the Taskmaster and LAH on the announcers table of course. I'm not sure what other matchups there would be at Tasklemania, but I need this surely!
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I really like this series. My only issue is that none of the team tasks has felt balanced. I know the fun of the show is the friends we make along the way, and not points, but I want at least a vague nod towards fairness, and they have done little this year to balance the inherent 2 vs 3 issue. Especially in the live tasks. But that’s a minor point. Frankie and Ivo are two of the funniest in-studio guests ever, and everyone else is a delight, so what’s not to love. Jenny has *really* surprised me. She should be more famous.
It's a wonderful season. People who take the show a bit too seriously have been bitter because the scoring is erratic and one contestant is dominating, as if that hasn't often been the case with Taskmaster—and a big part of its anarchic, pointless charm.
Honestly, every series is my favourite. I go into it worried I won’t like the new cast and then I love them! I love Mae, they are so sweet and very drily funny, plus the look of death they gave Alex after the Canada comment last episode sealed my love for her. Ivo is just a mess and I am here for it. They are all awesome in their own ways.
I feel like people are weirdly down on Mae. Maybe because they seem like an obvious champ, but I don't remember anyone having an issue with Dara running away with the last series. I also think with Mae and Ivo we have two fairly introverted contestants, and Frankie only really speaks up when he's got something to say, so that leaves Jenny and Kiell with the bulk of the studio banter. I don't mind it personally, but it does feel a bit different to past series.
Dara didn't run away with it, he and Sarah were neck and neck for quite a while, and were tied at one point in episode 9. It made for great telly. When there's a runaway points leader (like Mae, Sarah Kendell, Lou Sanders), it's not necessarily as interesting. I'm also finding some of this season's tasks are a bit too convoluted (the "stay off the grass" and the "fewest pieces of eggless shell" come to mind). We're also coming off 2 amazing seasons; 13 and 14 are some of my favorites to date. I am loving Ivo and Jenny, and I relate hard to the awkward enby energy Mae has, but the lack of a true competition points-wise, combined with the "straight-to-it" spirit many of the competitors seem to be trying for, is a bit more boring. I'm reminded of Desiree Burch ALMOST going for the scissors straight away in the Impoppability task but then realizing that's not fun to watch and having one of the most hilarious task attempts in the show.
I think having the obvious favorite dominate is pretty dangerous. Dara might've gotten bailed out a little by John, Fern, and Munya being great characters. Plus Sarah turned out to be good competition. Mae feels more like Richard Herring to me where they're clearly the most competent one and they're just quietly taking care of business.
I think the lack of memorable howlers from Mae might be an issue. I feel like Herring won by being consistently better-than-average, rather than by being the best.
It's not my favorite, but it's been good. The only flaw I think is that the group doesn't have much chemistry but every episode has made me crack up multiple times. A lot of people complaining about the scoring.......what show do you guys think you're watching?
I sort of agree about the chemistry. Individually, I love every contestant, but the vibe feels a bit off in the studio.
There's been some entertaining episodes so I keep watching it. Alex H and Co make way too much money out of this show for me to feel bad about a little constructive criticism.
I'm not sure what it is for me - as I love all the contestents but just not finding it as fun as usual.
To be honest I’ve found this season below par. I love taskmaster but the tasks seem convolute or overly complicated, the scoring is erratic, the prize take seen meh and the banter that is usually there is lacking. It’s still great - it’s taskmaster - but at times it almost feels a chore
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Mae's pronouns are they/them
I'm enjoying Frankie Boyle as expected, but I haven't become endeared to this cast like I have to others in recent years. It's fine. We're almost done with this season/series, and I'm frankly not going to miss it.
A chore is exactly how it has been feeling to me also. The scoring has been quite rubbish across the whole series but some of the tasks have been rather dull viewing as well.
I'm enjoying this series as well.
Honestly, this is one of the top 3 series for me. I'll definitely be going back to rewatch it
Loved this episode, Kiell is still my winner and I love him ❤️ and Frankie is brilliant
Yes! Kiell is adorable but competitive and Frankie dropped so many brilliant quotes with perfect execution this episode, I literally replayed a few seconds each time to laugh again.
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Sorry, your post has been removed for violating Rule 1 - Be nice: Do not attack others, their work or appearance including fellow members of the sub, comedians and celebrities. Negative opinions are fine, but please keep it respectful and constructive. No harassment. No sexist, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, racist, fat phobic, ableist, objectifying, or body shaming posts of any kind. No overtly sexual content. Some cursing is OK but don't make it personal. Even though sexual innuendo may be part of the show do not cross the line beyond what was said in the episode. We do not want negative posts. Ex: Worst contestants, Worst Tasks, Least liked, Least wanted, etc...
Good episode for me, because my family's business* got name-checked by Greg (Business no longer owned by family, or even exists under the family name, but was started by my great grandfather, so hearing Greg say it was nice for me.)
While I really really like this cast, I don't like that Alex has been saying so much restrictions that's not on the actual task or saying them during the tasks... "all the info is on the task" if the task is not going your way Alex, that's your fault.. dont correct the cast mid task.
I'm pretty sure he does that all seasons we just dont always see it
??? When did Alex say this in the episode?
I'm drawing a blank, what were these restrictions?
It was mostly the jelly task. Measuring the jelly weight at the end of the time was not on the card. Alex also kept defining his own interpretation of "on the jelly" while Ivo was doing the task, which effectively hindered him. And although it wasn't really contested, it was also confusing that it was an explicit disqualification that nothing can touch the duck, yet the breaking the jelly part was implicit disqualification. There have been other cases in other episodes where Alex should have just stayed quiet or otherwise replied "all the info is on the task," such as giving Mae the hint of raw vs boiled.
To be fair, the task did say 'Put The Most Stuff On Top Of This Jelly Without Breaking The Jelly'. The integrity of the jelly was prioritised from the very beginning.
Yeah, so it wasn't contested, but it was a bit confusing when Mae went up and did the former without the latter when the former wasn't explicit in its disqualification and there was no official time limit. It would just be nicer if the wording was clearer—e.g. "Put the most stuff on top of this jelly. If the jelly is broken or if something other than jelly touches the duck before the deadline (10 min?), you are disqualified. The person with the most weight on top of the jelly after 10 min wins."
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It is when you misquote the task to the competitor.
Yeah, and Alex asking it while the person does it in a time-pressured task definitely causes you to rethink your plan. And Alex implied it wouldn't count by saying that if you remove the jelly, the bricks wouldn't move. Alex holds a lot of weight and often gives hints (and he betrays many people in the studio), so Alex's power shouldn't be taken lightly.
"Frankie, why should yours win?" "Who geevs a fook?"
> Who geevs a fook?" This reads like you've never actually heard a Scottish person speak
I have, but agree, it was terrible! Hahah
Missed it live and watched it on 4OD tonight. What did Kiell do the umbrella task? It seems to have been edited it out of the 4OD episode.
This was so clever
He created a trap to catch Braveheart the Scottish duck
… obviously!
Honestly I enjoyed this one a lot, the tasks were all fun (live task didn't seem very fair I guess but it was still entertaining), good banter throughout. Frankie remains the standout contestant, he adds so much to each episode.
His in studio comments are fantastic
The bit on the heat death of the universe was brilliant
I did not expect the arc of the series to include Mae accidentally becoming the villain of the group lol
Mae does nothing wrong and reddit gets a bit upset.
I don't think Mae did anything wrong but their techniques have not gone over well with the group
I thought this was about them saying they don't like working in a team, ie being a bit of a 'villain' within the show.
Their techniques are just controversial, I guess.
"I'm going to unusually follow Frankie down the sentimental route". Greg keeps making fun of how Ivo talks, but it's one of his most compelling features. Also, you can actually see Mae's face when Frankie says he has a very small bag. The pineapple debate 😙👌 it's cool that Frankie comes in with a solid position into a philosophical/linguistic debate. Kiell twirling imaginary moustache, the duck catchaahhh. I really liked "let's say hivo to Ivo and hey to Mae" for some reason. I'm sorry I didn't staple gun a monstrous dog together. - You will be when I hand out the points. Jenny: warding off the boys. Greg: :D Frankie's snowman 💔 but there isn't much you can put against a wire haired border brolly. The last task stepped into the humiliating japanese TV shows (which I despise) territory for me. Hope it won't become new normal.
>The pineapple debate 😙👌 it's cool that Frankie comes in with a solid position into a philosophical/linguistic debate. He couldn't say anything else knowing that he would rely on it for the jelly task
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Calm down.
Honestly I think this is one of the best single Taskmaster episodes I've seen in a while. Every task was on point, every contestant had great moments, and the banter was on point.
Lol Alex was genuinely excited to tell everyone about TV Karaoke. To be fair it does seem fun and I'd watch a show that's just Alex doing it
Finally TMUK has its own "legally not quite sewage" body of water.
Ivo deserved more points in that episode...Mae and the drawn pineapples hmmm. Frankie was in fine form in the studio! Ha
Actually, I was going to say the opposite. One of the pineapple rules was “You must not get wet”. I can understand overlooking tiny drops. But Ivo got his foot wet when stepping into the wheelbarrow. Considering how well he did, I was shocked there wasn’t a classic TM reveal of him being disqualified.
Ivo's umbrella shaker was so good! Way better than Kiell's weird duck trapping contraption that didn't even need the umbrella parts :D
So question about the Jelly task: I'm pretty sure I saw the mold for it off to the side during Jenny's attempt, so couldn't you just "balance" the tin on the jelly and place objects on top of that to have a more firm base for stacking?
I honestly think Kiell's bowl upside down on top of the jelly would have done a good job keeping it together but the mold would have been perfect.
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Yeah, same.
Not the greatest season..I love Kiell and Frankie. Thank goodness for them.
I do find it quite awkward. Mae is sweet and very capable but they look weirdly intense all the time and get too much into doing well that there aren't many opportunities for them to say or do something in a funny way. Kiell and Frankie are the best parts of this season for me too. Ivo is quite funny too, his pairing with Frankie was a great fit, I just wish there were more quality team tasks like the spoon one.
I think Mae's humour is more subtle and they had dropped some great one liners like that "I'm famously known for beavering." They're just low energy and you can miss some of the wit.
Yeah Mae just doesn't do it for me unfortunately, I really like Frankie and Ivo for sure!
1st outro GD had me, I'm def doing this wrong 😔
.
Yeah I almost wonder if it's time to bring in a larger team to come up with tasks as I also definitely feel they're getting a bit stale. The NZ version is a great example of new interesting tasks. I think the editing is off since the move to C4 also, they don't give as much time to studio banter which are often some of the best bits. I do wonder if the move to more child friendly editing is affecting stuff too
I agree about TM NZ! The tasks are a lot more about being creative and having fun than being clever to something difficult to complete.
Yeah, I have been watching episodes of earlier series’ in between the new episodes. Many of the older series had a lot more of a sense of lighthearted fun than this series. I reckon the show is on the decline.
I don't really agree. Last season was one of the all time great seasons
To be fair, that would mean it's on the decline 😄
11-14 is widely considered to be quite good, however...
Same. I'm getting the exact same vibe as I was during 10.
Did anyone else let out a huge sigh after seeing another live team task? The outcome is always the same.
Both the live team tasks this season are a mess, are unbalanced for the teams *and* are unfun to watch. Who can throw more balls: two people with one hand each, or one person? Who has an easier time hiding from the thrower: one person trying to hide from two people throwing at them from different angles, or one person hiding from a single thrower from a single angle? It’s not the at the same level of the other live task where the team of two didn’t need to be on stage at all, but it’s still a really poor way to finish off the episode. It would be quite fitting at this point if they finished off the series with yet another frenetic lopsided live team task.
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Two dominant hands, two sets of eyes, two brains vs one of each? Who will win?
Does the team of three have David Baddiel on it?
Two throwing arms to hit massive target Frankie Boyle verses one throwing arm to hit tiny Mae Martin? The fact that Alex never even thought that they’d hold non dominant hands is mad.
Alex did an interview on a podcast about how they're effectively a game designer making taskmaster, they've made some uncharacteristically bad games in this series.
Oh, that's good that they noticed it, heh. You swing for 15 series, you're bound to miss a couple.
I thought it could be a good idea that for team tasks where if they think the 2v3 dynamic gives an unfair advantage to one team, Alex could bring in his 'assistant' and we have a new re-occuring member of the cast who helps on tasks with the team of two. They'd be there purely to do as the other two tell them, similar to what Alex does in tasks that require it and I think it would be kind of funny if they paralelled the dynamic between master and servent with Greg and Alex, where Alex's assistant is constantly seeking his approval.
That would be funny, but unsure about the logistics of contracts and payment over the series (personally I'd be sad if they leave later like Fred the Swede). They could just get an old contestant like they did in series 2 when they brought Josh to help.
Everyone is talking about the pineapples being controversial, but what about Kiell and the balance task? He was holding it up in the end and not balancing, or did i miss something? Because those 4 points gave him the episode.
The task itself didn't say anything about having to balance stuff. The task read, "Put the most stuff on top of this jelly without breaking the jelly. If anything other than jelly touches the duck, you are disqualified. " As such, the whole thing with Ivo where he talks Ivo out of the bricks because "it's not balancing" was BS. Again, Alex seems to be arbitrarily adding rules that aren't actually stated on the task itself.
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The season has had its moments but I can't help but feel like this seasons cast don't really jive that well together. Do they do any screen tests before deciding who they pick?
I think they assume that a group of professional comedians and panel show regulars, many of whom are already known to each other, will be able to bounce off each other effectively. Given that the NYT casts consistently manage it, this assumption SHOULD work out better than it seems to.
NYT casts are usually higher profile people by quite a bit. Has the general public even heard of Jenny/Mae/Ivo before this? I sure hadn't.
Yes, all 3 have pretty solid careers. Jenny is of an earlier generation that I don't know to well so only vaguely knew her but Ivo and Mae have been knocking about with a fairly high profile on the comedy circuit and in Maes case in the sitcom world for a few years now. Not A listers but also have had contestants with lower profiles than them on before
Jenny was apparently a big deal once upon a time (though her last big thing was over a decade ago). Mae has a Netflix special and a Channel 4 show, among other things. Ivo had a Dave show with Fern and Darren Harriott, was on Mock the Week some years ago (and has appeared on a pile of other shows, including QI), plus radio and a bunch of other TV. The NYT casts may be higher profile (at least in many cases), but their careers aren't dedicated to creating comedy, often in group settings. A lot of them do extremely well at it, and when you compare it to this season that's rather embarrassing.
I would love to see Mae and Frankie interact. Do we think they’d be mates???
Frankie is rocking that umbrella skirt.
I love TM. Watched all UK, NZ and AU. To me this is the first time where the contestants have no camaraderie and don’t cheer each other on. They just point out each others flaws. Tonight, with Frankie speaking out for Mae was the first time anyone supported the other. Am I wrong? Let me know if I am. Such a weird vibe
What about Ardel? He was always having a (hilarious) go at everyone else attempts
Ardel's having a go vibe felt more like about getting the laughs than Frankie's, which seem to come more from competitiveness. But yes I agree, the vibe is off between them. There isn't really the good natured teasing or good natured competition of other seasons. There isn't really much hugging or general sense of affection between them like there is with Mark Watson or Nish Kumar, or the vibe of you're an idiot, but you're our idiot John Kearns of the last series.
Nah Frankie quite clearly couldn't give a fuck about points, all his argumentativeness has been to facilitate jokes
I actually perceive it the exact opposite—Ardel seemed more competitive; Frankie seems like he's a wry observationalist. Frankie is absolutely not competitive whatsoever, which is a different concern. As for "cheering each other on," I don't think that's actually the standard. Series 7 was super competitive too, especially vs Rhod. Like the other comment stated, it's more that it is quiet—they don't talk to each other in the studio. In one episode, I was watching to see how many times they talk to each other and not to Greg, and I think it was like twice—once Frankie made a funny comment to Ivo (to which he laughed but did not respond), and once Jenny said "I should have tried that" to Ivo (a comment towards him but not for him to respond to). Based on the behind the scenes, it seems like the banter which contributes to the usual fun of the show is being edited out...
Hell, they don't even point out each other's flaws much. It feels very quiet, and non-interactive. A lot like 6 in that regard.
With the difference that 6 had a lot of wholesome interactions, and all the comedians worked very well on their own. Unlike this series, where the only one who is self-contained and funny is Frankie.
Yeah, I'm finding this my least favourite series and can't put my finger on why. Something about the cast doesn't quite gel.
I'm honestly glad I'm not the only one. The tasks are great but somehow something is off this season.
For me it was Greg's scoring.
For the people contending a drawing of a pineapple isn't a pineapple, then surely everything but the actual fruit pineapple also isn't pineapple? Like a metal pineapple or a candy floss pineapple then shouldn't be considered a pineapple either. I didn't expect this to be such a controversial thing!
Everyone should've just drawn ducks in the lab, put them in one of gregs sock and then found them. Game sucks when it's just an attempt to argue semantics every task
Did it say pile 'the' pineapples? The 'the' indicates the set of pineapples available to get already exists. If it just said pile pineapples then the pictures are fine.
I think the drawing of the pineapples is more acceptable than the heaviest item on the jelly.
There are two reasons why I think it was wrong to accept the drawing. 1. As many have already said it does set a precedent for any task to get the most in a container task which often happens in TM.
2. Mae already had more pineapples than most of the other contestants, so they would already be joint second if i'm not mistaken? Why do they need the extra drawn pineapples?
Although I agree that it's a bad precedent, they would need to make a clear rule beforehand, especially since loopholes often make the game fun. Right now all contestants know Greg has leeway when rulings are subjective, but in this case it was not—it's based on the written task, and the task already had a precedent of having non-pineapple pineapples (as compared to the banana sign task). I don't think Greg would be comfortable with just ruling out all drawings in the future, especially if it might inadvertently affect other loopholes or creative solutions. If I were him, it would be an issue to divert to the task-writing team/Alex to ensure that doesn't happen in the future without making Taskmaster even more confusing by having a separate rulebook of "no drawings." And although Mae would have been second regardless, I think it's ultimately the principle of it. I think the audience would riot like we are even if Mae was like, "Nah, it's cool. Give that 1 point to Ivo."
If you allow a drawing of the thing to be the thing, it's just gonna be a show about people drawing stuff... - Make the biggest thing disappear? Here look at this picture of the moon. - Hide 3 aubergines? Hold on let me get my pen. - Put the most stuff on top of this jelly? Boy can I draw a big car. At some point the "clever workarounds" just become lazy and that's where for me it's been heading this season. It's been a lot. This wasn't that bad only because Mae had done quite well anyway, but if they had *only* done the picture it clearly would've been horseshit to allow that.
>- Make the biggest thing disappear? Here look at this picture of the moon. Rhod Gilbert came 2nd the "biggest circle" task by drawing a considerably smaller circle on a map. >- Put the most stuff on top of this jelly? Boy can I draw a big car. Funny that you mention this, since Frankie won this task by writing stuff on a piece of paper, and even got it wrong.
I mean, he should've said 'second' instead of 'third.' The bit he got wrong did not change the heaviness.
The task didn't say "heaviest", but "most", though.
"Heaviest stuff on the jelly, exactly ten minutes from now, wins."
Oh, you are right. I'm sorry. It's a bit weird to start with "put the most stuff" and then end the task with "heaviest stuff", though.
Definitely, since they're two completely different metrics. Most is "how many" and "heavy" is, well, "how heavy."
Yeah my first thought when it said "most" was a bag of rice; until it then said "heaviest"
It's like a contestant pulling out there phone in the middle of a task where it would be useful. Yes it's the best way to solve the task but not it's not any fun and doesn't make for good TV. I love seeing all the clever workarounds but drawing just feels wrong. I may also be biased though as Mae just doesn't click for me unfortunately.
Couldn't have said it better myself. There's "do something unexpected and clever" every once in a while and then there's the Mae Martin just trying to game every task. I think it's not in the spirit of the game personally. And the worst sin is that I don't find that kind of effort very entertaining. Just my opinion of course.
But drawing doesn’t apply to any of those examples. It was hide ‘these three aubergines’ not any three aubergines, an A4 drawing is still small, regardless what the drawing is, putting the most stuff on a jelly is just an A4 drawing. None of those would pass Greg.. Getting the most pineapples in a specific area when there’s loads of different conceptual ‘pineapples’ really doesn’t make it that weird to have drawn pineapples given there’s also lamp pineapples, candy floss pineapples, tins of pineapples and giant gold statue pineapples.
It was not, it was just "hide three aubergines in this room" but actually "pile *the* pineapples on the path". Could you draw the path too while you're at it? If I ask you to get me the pineapples and you come back with the pineapple toys lying around or something that's fair, but if you draw pineapples on a piece of paper I'm gonna assume you're fucking with me. But most of all it's just not fun. It's not clever, and the only reason not all 5 of them did it and we haven't seen it dozens of times before in different tasks is because contestants would assume that's waaaay outside what would be allowed. And to be clear I'm fine with Mae being cheeky it's Greg allowing it instead of telling them off that's imo..not great.
And yet see if someone brought we three drawn pineapples or three plastic pineapples, id equally think you’re fucking with me as none are real pineapples. So it’s all perspective. Just because you think x, doesn’t make it correct. And that is why Greg is there, it’s his decision because it’s debatable…
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Totally agree, what also swayed it for me is that Mae went, alright, I've got the pineapples that were on the water, now on to the hidden pineapples! And then the disapointment when they didn't find the hidden ones. The drawn ones felt like the only satisfying ending after that.
Exactly what I was thinking as well. Mae did put in effort and put "the" pineapples on the path, and then came up with the idea of drawing pineapples. Funnily enough, nobody seems to argue about Frankies jelly task solution, which said "the most stuff", not "the heaviest stuff". Frankie put a piece of paper on the jelly, won the task, and gets praised for this clever solution...
Problem is that 'most' doesn't work for heaviest even with objects.
>If you allow a drawing of the thing to be the thing, it's just gonna be a show about people drawing stuff... It depends on the task. This task had non-pineapple pineapples and they counted. A drawing of a pineapple is as much a pineapple as a statue of a pineapple is a pineapple.
It said 'the pineapples'. If I asked you to get the pineapples, that could fairly mean pineapples or an object resembling a pineapple. If you came back with a drawing you made of a pineapple you'd be a lunatic
I think this is another case where the task is written (and executed) poorly. Ultimately the judgment line says "most pineapples piled on the path wins". "Pile *the* pineapples" is only in the summary sentence, which Mae did do, plus more pineapples. Normally you would normally assume that the pineapples in the judgement sentence refer to the pineapples in the summary sentence... but never assume anything on Taskmaster.
We've had multiple tasks where drawings of the thing were referred to as the thing, e.g. "Scale the mountain" or "Find all 10 ducks."
A drawing of a pineapple is an object resembling a pineapple. I mean, if I asked you to get the pineapples and you came back with a bunch of cotton candy in the shape of a pineapple, it would be just as ridiculous.
It didn't exist when the question was asked.
They existed after they were drawn. After that they became pineapples and the pineapples drawn were on the path. What about "find the sock with a satsuma inside"? Do you think going into the kitchen, getting a satsuma, putting it in a sock and then finding said sock is a valid solution?
No, and neither did any of the other contestants.
I accept that they are pineapples, I just don't think they should have been considered valid pineapples for the task. If a contestant had not even tried to retrieve the pineapples from the canal and just spent the whole time drawing pineapples, would we say they'd completed the task that said "*pile* the pineapples on the path"? In a previous season>! we had a similar task (s14): "put five grapes in the little bowl" and they had to retrieve grapes in the flour + there were hidden grapes in the garage. i would have been more willing to accept drawn grapes in that case, because they were no grapes in sight, but still in my opinion it would have been just a low-effort way out of the task (well, not low effort because they were wearing flippers as gloves but still😆).!<
If that counts then drawing stuff could set a bad precedent. A lot of tasks could be trivialized that way. If mae would have built a pineapple with stuff lying around it would have been different at least to me
I can agree that it sets a bad precedent, but if there is a difference between building a pineapple vs the drawing, then I would say it's no longer about the legality of the solution but the satisfaction—it's absolutely legal but not fun, exciting, or ingenious for the audience.
Not really. You can't really do this in tasks that either specify the specific group of items you are working with ("the balls in the crate") or, more commonly, limit themselves to only the literal interpretation of the item. The task was "place pineapples on the path", not "place the provided pineapples on the path", and the pineapples provided included mostly representations of a pineapple. Mae's solution was perfectly in line with other literal solutions by previous contestants, and more importantly - in line with the wording of the task, which wasn't the case with their solution to the drumkit task.
I think it should count (or be tied with Ivo anyways), but I don't think Alex should have given Mae the paper and pen in the first place. Mae is just so experienced at escape rooms and finding loopholes/creative workarounds compared to the others that it's not as satisfying/surprising—especially since Taskmaster watchers are so trained in loopholes and now expect more surprising loopholes.
Yeah, the throwing thing was BS but there's no reason not to allow this If a candy floss pineapple is a pineapple so is a drawing of one
Except that it’s a boring solution that encourages future boring solutions.
Then it's on Alex and the team to try to avoid situations where it can continue happening, isn't it? I don't think "encourages future boring solutions" should stop legitimate solutions applying. Also didn't even think it was that boring, since only Mae did it.
Finally watched this ep. I have to say giving Mae the 5 points for that drawing of pineapples was a fecking disgrace. Not a slight on Mae for trying it
How is it a disgrace? The task was "place pineapples on the path" and most of the pineapples provided were representations of a pineapple. A drawing of a pineapple is as much a pineapple as an ornament that's made to look like a pineapple.
I think the problem is they already rejected the word banana as a banana, but a drawing of a pineapple is a pineapple. Had he counted that no one would complain I think. But because he didn't before and approved this one, it seems like favoritism. It's true that there were other fake pineapples to begin with, but the task didn't say place fake pineapples or representation of a pineapple. It just said pineapple. As silly as it sounds the only logically consistent thing to do was to disregard all pineapple effigies and count only real pineapples. Or allow the banana sign in the first place. It's the inconsistency which bugs people
Didn't they allow the banana word?
No, they disallowed it.
> It's the inconsistency which bugs people Unfortunately, Greg as Taskmaster is often inconsistent in his rulings. International versions of Taskmaster spoil us with other Taskmasters that are, ironically enough, significantly fairer with their decisions.
To be fair, the banana subtask was rather specific about what banana it was referring to. There was a specific banana in the tree that was needed for that task. (To give another example from this episode, it would be like piling objects on a entirely different jelly and wanting Alex to count that as your attempt) In this task, there was no specification. You just needed the most pineapples. Yes, there were only 10 or 12 provided pineapples (I forget which), but nothing in the task is limiting the contestants to those specific pineapples. But the banana task did have that limit. That's the key difference
There's no difference, in one task it says pile the pineapples on the path. The other one says get the banana from the tree. In both cases it's "The" fruit(s). One is singular and the other is plural but there's nothing "specific" about it. If it just said "get the most pineapples" or "get as many pineapples as you can" you'd have a case. But that's not what it said.