Review: Taskmaster, “9x7” | Series 20, Episode 1

Welcome back to Episodic Medium's coverage of Taskmaster. This past season, Laura's coverage was available to all subscribers through our Reactions format, but given the response we're including them as part of the value exclusively for paid subscribers. To keep reading and join the conversation in subsequent weeks, consider taking advantage of our last-ever 20% off sale, running through 9/30.

We’re back for series 20 of Taskmaster and five new contestants! Introducing: Anita Magliano, Maisie Adam, Phil Ellis, Reece Shearsmith, and Sanjeev Bhaskar. Shearsmith and Bhaskar have had small roles in a few things I’ve watched (Bhaskar was Cain in The Sandman!), but I’m not really familiar with any of these contestants, which I think adds to the fun.  

Although S19 is a hard act to follow, I’m excited about this mix of contestants, who range from cleverly blasé (Bhaskar) to ultra competitive (Adam; watch her interview with Little Alex Horne while she plays table tennis for more evidence). Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Prize Task

The first prize task of season 20 (!) is to bring in a very soft thing that would be most beneficial to Greg Davies. The first prize task really sets the tone for a new season, and I think we’re off to a strong start. Davies seemed to be trying to make the contestants feel comfortable, particularly Magliano and Adam; I hope we get to see some more banter from all of them.

Magliano brought in a “bum cushion,” a doughnut-shaped cushion covered in … the shaved belly fur from when her cats, Chicken and Ricken, got spayed. Slightly grotesque and extremely weird; I love it. 

Adam, who so far appears to be the most lovably awkward, brought in a bonnet that she covered in “manly” items, including miniature beers and a tiny grill. Taskmaster Greg Davies: “What better to protect [my head] than a miniature barbecue?” Indeed. I have high hopes for Adam and her creative approaches. 

Ellis brought in “quite distressing” (Davies’ words, but I concur) dishwashing-style gloves that were meant to look like an elderly lady’s hands. Gently caressing Davies’ face with them was far more grotesque than Magliano’s cats’ fur.

Shearsmith’s fortune-telling raven took some work on his part, and he was rewarded with the full five points; Bhaskar’s electric fuzzy blanket, not so much. I think we all know who’s going to be this season’s apathetic contestant. 

The Other Tasks 

• Before the first task, the camera showed a QR code affixed to the phone booth on the Taskmaster grounds. I’ve scanned it a few times and have gotten different “tasks”: one that says, If you ring the reversing bell, Alex will walk backwards for ten seconds, and one that says, If you should out his full name, with middle names, Alex will stand still for five seconds. (Alexander James Jeffrey Horne, if anybody wants to try it.) Has anybody gotten any other ones? 

• The first task begins with several contestants struggling to understand what a QR code is and perhaps even what a mobile phone is. This might have come across as tired, except for some genuine giggles from Little Alex Horne. (I am a sucker for LAH giggles.)
• After chasing, with various senses of urgency, LAH around the grounds, contestants scanned the QR code on his suit to reveal the actual task: Honk the horn. Fastest wins. Your time started when you said your first word. 

• I would like to know at what point they filmed this task; I think it has to have been one of the earlier ones, because nobody is chasing LAH like they want to tackle him. It was a fun task to open the series with; not too complicated, but still pretty lively. (Unless you’re Bhaskar moseying around the grounds at a snail’s pace.) 
• Adam wins on a lucky technicality; she honked the horn as soon as she walked into the “American Gothic”-themed room, before ever reading the task. 
• The second task is to roll an object onto the target. There are, of course, a handful of increasingly absurd caveats, such as you must not go within Greg’s height of the target. Lots of fun lateral thinking here, with varying degrees of success. Poor Magliano had such a good idea by using trash cans to basically create a lane for her exercise ball… and terrible execution.

• I love Adam’s “genius who can’t tie her own shoes” energy. She blows on each of the objects to determine its weight but then, after getting her round ice cube on the target, asks, “Are you going to take a picture?” (LAH: “We are filming quite a lot of this.”)

• And in true Taskmaster style, distance to the target is measured in badgers, which I have translated into feet for my fellow Americans: Adam was closest, at about 4 feet (1 ½ badgers) away; Ellis was next at 6 feet (2 ½ badgers); Shearsmith was about 15 feet (7 badgers) away; Bhaskar was about 22 feet (10 badgers) away; and Magliano pulled up the rear at 51 feet (22 badgers) away. 
• The third task was to do something behind the caravan curtain that sounds disgusting but is actually nice. Once again, I love all the contestants’ willingness to get weird; it bodes well for this season. Ellis put his feet in bowls of cold gravy, Shearsmith blew a horn at a duck decoy, and many squelching, slurping, and sloshing noises were made by all. Bhaskar won this one by pretending to play with a baby, which is honestly pretty ingenious. Even if that baby (a mask with a shock of long hair) was, in Davies’ words, “a beheaded old woman.” Bhaskar: “All babies are beautiful.” I am enjoying Bhaskar’s willingness to banter with Davies in the studio.
  • The third task left a bunch of fully grown adults struggling with their 9 times tables and left me worried for the UK’s math (sorry, maths) curriculum. I am decidedly not a math person, but 9s are the easiest!
• The first live task was a sort of Simon Says game, with the contestants wearing googly-eyed blindfolds and following the Taskmaster’s directions to march, jump, and take steps. I gotta say, I wasn’t a huge fan of this one and thought it was the weakest of the tasks. All the live tasks are set up to make the contestants look ridiculous to some degree, but this one wasn’t particularly clever about it. I did enjoy LAH frantically trying to keep the contestants from falling off the stage, though. 
• Maisie Adam wins the first episode (19 points), with Bhaskar taking last place (12 points).

Elsewhere in the Taskmaster Extended Universe

• The Taskmaster podcast, hosted by S9 champion Ed Gamble, kicks off this season with none other than Jason Mantzoukas (Spotify link here; also available wherever you normally get your podcasts). 
• Until next time: What are your first impressions of S20? I think it’s going to be basically impossible to live up to the cast of S19, especially since that season is still so fresh in everybody’s mind, so I’m doing my best not to make comparisons. (I’ll make one comparison to Taskmaster S1, though: Reece Shearsmith is really giving Frank Skinner energy.) So far I’m most excited about Maisie Adam and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
• A final note: I’m thrilled to be back reviewing Taskmaster for Episodic Medium! I had so much fun with the commenters last season, and I encourage you to jump in with your thoughts, whether this is your first Taskmaster season or your 20th. This week’s review was delayed by a migraine, but you can usually expect these on Saturdays. See you next week.