TV review: Taskmaster
A look back in advance of Series 11
Have you ever tried to paint a picture of a horse while riding a horse? Identify the contents of a pie without breaking the pastry? Fill an egg cup with tears? Make a Swedish person blush? Impress a mayor? Conceal a pineapple on your person? Paint an upside-down self-portrait using only condiments?
These ridiculous tasks – and many, many more – are what contestants have to face when they compete on Taskmaster, a British panel game show that will start its 11th season next week.
Every season of Taskmaster features five comedians who compete with one another to score points on a variety of nonsensical tasks set by the Taskmaster – actor and comedian Greg Davies – and his assistant Alex Horne. The person with the most points at the end of the episode will win the prize pool made up of items that the contestants themselves have been tasked with bringing in, such as their “most unusual item,” “best piece of memorabilia,” “most flamboyant clock” or “best form of protection.” And in the grand tradition of British panel shows and their worthless prizes, the overall series winner takes home a trophy shaped like the Taskmaster’s head.