I was sure it was far more than 3 tasks per episode. I was sure it was 5, plus the prize and live task. But it seems you are right, in that it’s 50 per season.
I really, really didn’t like John Kearns. Fern, on the other hand, I warmed up to. I think it’s her voice, but she comes off as kinda ditzy, but as the show went on, I started to notice she’s a whole lot smarter than she lets on.
Then there’s Lucy Beaumont. I hesitate to talk badly about her because, and I know this is stupid, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Jon Richardson (her (ex) husband) were a member here. Like, I know he’s almost certainly not, but this seems like the type of place he’d like. Anyways, Lucy, I’m surprised she’s able to tie her own shoes. I seem to remember her just fundamentally not understanding the things she was asked to do on the show. Even on Countdown I remember wondering if this is all an act.
Anyways, someone asked for good seasons, looking back at the previous lineups:
Season 1 with Josh, Roison, Tim and Romesh was great. Plus they were still figuring things out. The rules weren’t set in stone yet. No one knew how lateral the lateral thinking would be etc.
Season 2 was ok. I like Katherine Ryan. We had the fish song from Doc and Richard was entertaining. I didn’t care for Joe Wilkenson. He’s one of those people that I think kinda got in over his head. He decided early on he didn’t have a chance at winning and decided to not even try. What he did with that attitude was entertaining, but it didn’t quite work for me.
Now we’re getting into the swing of things.
Season 3 with Rob Beckett (and his teeth) and Al Murray (and his gong connection) was fun. I don’t think I’ve heard the word ‘innit’ so many times in any season of any show ever, thanks Paul
Season 4 was with Noel Fielding. who is oddly athletic.
Season 5 was one of my favorites with Aisling Bea, Bob Mortimer, Mark Watson, Nish Patel and Sally Phillips. This was the season where we found out that Mark and Nish can both play instruments and write a decent, if not good, song in a short amount of time. Whereas Bob’s song asked the listener ‘do we strike you?’. One thing that that always felt ‘off’ to me is how often Aisling appeared uncomfortable with what she was being asked to do (ie Give Alex a special cuddle). If she was joking, it was funny, if she wasn’t, maybe Alex needed to make some of the tasks a hair less ‘intimate’.
Season 6 was more of the same. Another good season and I don’t want to just say the same thing over and over. It’s good, it’s worth watching.
Season 7 is probably my favorite. This was the season that gave us Rhod Gilbert. Someone that takes lateral thinking to a whole new level. Someone that tested the limits of ‘all the information is on the card’. Someone that taught us how to break expectations without breaking the rules (ie if I can’t move the golf ball, I’ll dig up the hole and move it next to the tee). Plus, his friendship with Greg, and Greg’s mom, was a lot of fun. This season also introduced us (well, me) to James Acaster, Jessica Knappet (falling off the stage) Kerri Godliman, as well as Phil, and his Wang.
Season 8 was good. I really liked Lou Sanders and Iain Stirling
Ya know what, I can keep going. They’re all mostly really good. Looking at the rest of the seasons, I know I didn’t care for the one with Julian, Lucy and Sam, though IIRC, I still liked Sue Perkins. I skipped Season 18. Season 19, the ‘current’ one I liked, but it took me quite a while to warm up to Fatiha.
TLDR: They’re all good, but my suggestion would be to pick one a random season from the first 9 and watch it. Alternatively, go on youtube and watch ‘best of’ and ‘full task’ clips. You’ll quickly figure out who you like and want to watch more of.
The season with Dara Ó Briain is one of the best as well. He was hilarious, but so was everyone else and the whole thing was a hoot.
I didn’t even get through the first episode. And I tried……..twice.
This is an excellent illustration of how there is something for everyone and humor is very relative. I thought Lucy Beaumont and Sam Campbell were hilarious (warmed up to Julian slowly, but eventually grew to like him as he loosened up as well) and wasn’t a big fan of Lou Sanders and Ian Stirling. Season 8 is probably my second-least favorite season, yet I still really enjoyed a lot of it.
One thing I do like, is that at least for many of these comedians (and occasional actor, I think virtually everyone on the UK Ghosts has appeared at this point), is you do get to see a little under the hood on at least some of them. A lot of comedians on stage work with much more exaggerated versions of their own personalities and with at least some of them on this show, you can see more of the person under seep out, especially as you get deeper into the season. You can see it most recently with Fatiha slowly relaxing out of her tough, street-wise bravado bit in the first couple of episodes into a more relaxed, friendlier version. Some hold character better - Lucy Beaumont apparently really is a bit dotty like that in RL, just not quite as lost and incapable as she plays. Jack Dee constantly cracking up out of his grumpy persona, Frankie Boyle giggling happily, John Kearns not wearing a wig and fake teeth 
. It all works wonderfully well.
More peak TV.
ETA: I guess a lot of people particularly love 5 and 7. I think they might be the most universal favorites, where opinion is more divided on others.
For those who may not know: the latest full season of Fisk has dropped on NFLX.
woot! excellent! friday night is sorted. yay!!
Oh yeah. We’ve been rewatching the first two seasons to prepare for it. It’s even better the second time around.
I really warmed to Noel Fielding watching Taskmaster. I’d seen a couple of episodes of The Mighty Boosh years before and didn’t laugh once, but I just found the guy genuine and likeable. Bit like Suzy Eddie Izzard - never found their stand up funny but just like the person as they’re a good egg (don’t think Izzard has been on TM but just think they’re great).
Thanks for the heads-up! We loved Fisk so much we watched it twice and laughed even more the second time. It’s rather droll and not for everyone, but if you like your humor dry and have a sense of the ridiculous, Fisk is a show you should try out.
I’m about two thirds of the way through Andor S2 and decided that my wife really needs to watch this. She’s not big on Star Wars but likes the various Star Treks, and to me this one has a sort of DS9 feel (with the war and the resistance and all that), plus lots of relevance to our current political situation. So I started over from the beginning with her last night and we watched the first three episodes and I think she’s hooked.
Finally finished the slog that was Jack Taylor. The boozing was really off-putting, but apparently it is a prominent theme in the novels, as well.
Onward to Fisk!
Yay! Thanks!
After loving Foyle’s War, we started watching the first few eps of Midsomer Murders, based on the fact it was created by the same person, and some positive reviews here.
Frankly, we are not impressed. The characters were rather bland and stereotyped, Barnaby’s family life is dull and distracts from the main stories, his snide remarks to Troy got old very fast, and at 100+ minutes per episode, they just seem to drag. After two or three episodes we’re ready to call it quits.
For those who are fans, does it get better in later seasons?
So we switched to McDonald & Dodds, which we loved from the first 20 minutes. The characters are interesting, the mysteries are more complex and kept us guessing, and it’s just more fun and interesting by far than Midsomer.
Unfortunately, there are only 11 episodes of McD&D and 144 of MM.
We’re also watching A Spy Among Friends on BritBox, about Kim Philby and his defection to Russia in 1963. As befits a spy story, it’s complex and confusing, with jumps in location and time frames, and characters with obscure motivations. I’m just about keeping my head above water, but my wife finds it hard to follow, and I can’t always clearly explain what I think is going on. Two episodes to go, dropping the next two Wednesdays.
Just finished season 4 of Resident Alien. I really enjoyed the series for the most part. Besides the comedy it really had a heart. I’ll miss the characters and Harry’s philosophical asides…in a way, they reminded me of a couple of other TV doctors’ voice overs (Doogie Houser and J.D. from scubs).
Good Girls Guide to Murder
It was OK, but not great. The mystery isn’t interesting enough, nor is the solution. We have way too much “protagonist goes alone when taking help would be obviously required”.
Girl in the lead is a good actress, just as she was on Wednesday. Some complained about her fake English accent, but I thought it was adequate.
A forgettable mystery, unfortunately.
I was devastated to hear it was cancelled this year. Quite disappointed, it was one of my favourites.
Just finished the Fisk a than. Watched all 3 seasons. So good. I enjoy the little credit extras.
Ah, bummer, I also enjoyed McDonald and Dodds.
I’m delighted to report that one of the best police/detective series of all time, “Homicide: Life on the Street,” is available for free on Tubi. It was unavailable for the longest time before Peacock began running it a year or so ago. I didn’t want to pay for Peacock, even for HLOTS, but while browsing Tubi (an app I’ve never watched), I discovered it yesterday. My wife and I watched the first two episodes last night and look forward to many nights revisiting this outstanding and underappreciated series.
Of course, Tubi throws in commercials at awkward places, but at least they tell you how many commercials and how long the breaks will be.
Only because I wanted to see what happened, I finished watching The Waterfront on Netflix. My observations:
The plot was highly unoriginal, with lots of holes.
The writing was sketchy, sometimes bordering on terrible.
The character development was non-existent.
The acting mostly sucked.
The ending really didn’t answer a lot of questions.
Other than that, it wasn’t very good.