The Painful US Taskmaster Adaption
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- Let’s talk about why the US Taskmaster adaption didn’t live up to it’s superior predecessor.
Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00
The Taskmaster: Reggie VS. Greg: 2:28
The Contestants: 4:33
Little Things: 10:24
Conclusion: 12:17
Music:
Daylight by Aiguille: Copyright Chillhop Music - chll.to/d07b96f4
Crema Cafe by Strehlow, Glimlip: Copyright Chillhop Music - chll.to/5620f44b
Lemoncholy by Me: / lemoncholy
Caffeine by Blue Wednesday, Felty: Copyright Chillhop Music - chll.to/88e5e381
#Taskmaster - Zábava
hey i know this video is a couple years old, and you've probably changed a lot in that time. I just wanted to say that the way you phrased your criticism towards Kate and Lisa can be interpreted as misogynistic. don't get me wrong, your points of critique were valid, but the way you grouped them together as the "female" participants made it seem like that was the basis of your criticism, especially when you then proceeded to express your disdain for Kate's feminist jokes. I'm sure you didn't mean it in that way, which is also why I'm even writing this. just thought i'd let you know. great video overall! :))
Thank you so much for writing that. I get reminded quite a lot of that behaviour when this video gets new comments. I remember being concerned at the time when I noticed a lot of my critiques fell on Kate and Lisa, especially when quoting their feminist jokes as a point of contention. I truly never intended for it to come off as misogynistic, and as I look back repeatedly on this video I see how badly that came across.
I like to think I have gotten better at writing my videos and dictating my thoughts in more sensitive and considerate ways, and there is no doubt in my mind that I would make this video quite a bit differently now. I certainly think I would choose to highlight many of the fantastic female contestants from the UK Taskmaster that I feel joked in the same ballpark but made it work so much better.
Thank you for being one of the many people who have brought this to my attention over the years. I've continued to grow as a person and the cringe I get from this video has helped to shape me through to today.
@Jexonite I'm glad you're trying to be more mindful now, and thank you for taking the time to read & reply! We all phrase things in unfortunate ways sometimes hehe, the important part is to look back and learn (which you have clearly done) :))
To be fair though, both these women were incredibly rude. If a man was yelling suck my d*** or even gender swapping and yelling suck my p**** at a female host it would be considered horrific. The females there are utilising themselves being a female/playing off that for cheap laughs, so it isn't misogynistic to then bring that in to play when criticising them Tbh I'd say both those women make women look bad, the same way horrible men make men look bad, and they should be criticised for it where appropriate
I strongly disagree, and think you're just looking for "misogyny" everywhere. At no point was his criticism misogynistic.
Lol I never even knew there was a US IT Crowd
Lisa insults like a middle schooler who just learned all the bad words and is trying to be edgy
She's a great insult comic though.
@@thewhat531 From what we have seen I doubt that very much
@@thewhat531 What even is an insult comic? I've never even heard the term before this video.
I find her to be just sad and trying too hard. I have not ever found her funny. She comes off nasty and filled with self hatred.
@@millardfillmore241 good for you, comedy is subjective. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean anyone else should.
What do you mean funny? Joe's potato throw was one of the most heartbreaking moments in tv history
"Please sir, don't take it away"
@@CaliHime I read this in his voice. You'll be receiving an invoice for my therapy.
Honestly still salty
"the best comedies are tragedies and the best tragedies are comedies" - someone (i cant remember who said it)
I remember seeing it for the first time and absolutely losing it when one of the other contestants makes a case for Joe, and Greg replies with a stone cold "Well you're certainly making a very compelling argument there, but funny enough, it actually makes me *more* inclined to take it away from him."
So ruthless. So cruel. So absolutely hilarious.
The killer difference Greg Davies has, is that he used to be a drama teacher and has that patronising tone of a teacher looking down (literally from 6'10") on his contestants.
That's the killer Davis difference
(He’s 6’8”)
Honestly, if they did reboot this, I would love to see Conan host it. He seems like a perfect match for an American version of Greg Davie's task master. He's also tall as well, and has a good sense of self-deprecatingly arrogant style of comedy.
@@funkyfranx Still much taller than I expected.
Greg Davies really did give the vibe of a teacher looking down on his students whenever he asked the contestants if they cheated.
Davies is a crucial element to the show for me. Everyone has loved Taskmaster NZ but the host is an absolute dud as far as I'm concerned. No personality, doesn't really have a shtick or a character, not very witty or funny, etc. And then you've got the Alex Horne stand-in, who could be kind of funny in his own right, but he's equally low-energy and the two of them combined just suck all the energy out of the room. The contestants are pretty good (aside from Guy Williams who irritates me every time he's on screen) and watching them do tasks out at the Taskmaster house is funny and always has some energy, but when I watch the studio segments I feel like I'm on Ambien.
Lisa seems like that kid in middle school that just learned swear words from a late night comedy special and then thought it would make them cool to walk around doing an imitation of a dirty comic.
Hey now hold on a minute... I didn't take from late night specials, just late night talk shows! :P But none of it landed unless you got a chance to use a joke or skit per say from said show. Conan was great for that. And you'll see I had the decency to find the JOKES out of the show. even as a stupid, stupid boy. Unlike Lisa who would only know what a joke looked like if it was; ''sucking a bitches dick,'' to paraphrase.
I didn't even know there was a US version of Taskmaster and I'm glad I didn't
same
same I'm American and id didn't know haha.
Right!
I was just telling my Taskmaster (henceforth will always be considered the UK version because anything else is shit) buddy that a US version would never work. The show plays into the quirks of British society that the States lack.
It's been sold all over the world now
@@tholzak I think it just doesn't work over here because we try hard to be more than anyone else. Where, the Brits for example, are just neurotically funny without trying.
Greggs great for this role because half of his comedic gimmick is the fact that he was once a teacher for a long time and so he can switch on those teacher vibes very quickly and very effectively
And he's massive. Like an actual giant. Alex is actually quite a tall man but not next to that Goliath
@@lizzyol "little" Alex Horne is 6ft 2 Greg Davies is 6ft 8 just for reference.
@@lizzyol Yeah. I used to think Alex was small because he usually stood at a corner in tasks and sat next to Greg in a smaller chair. Until I saw Nish hug him.
Yea I thought this. Thee whole of task master is built on british teacher humour. It’s easy to make a mistake of thinking it’s about the goofy tasks or the competitiveness of comics but it’s not. Its about class seeking approval from that funny but also ruthless teacher from high school that most people can relate to.
@@lizzyol He used to be a Gladiator in Gladiators the TV show.
Honestly, I love Taskmaster UK because all of the people seem so nice. Even when they get angry, it’s a friendly banter rather than an actual anger. Their arguments never detract from the show and are usually what makes it better.
Except for Daisy May Cooper. She got genuinely angry and I thoroughly disliked her. I can’t rewatch that season because of her.
i think that has a lot to do with the majority of them are friends in real life. the show only started because alex made a game of giving tasks to his friends and giving out trivial points. and when the show got picked up to air, they literally just asked their friends to be on it. the longer the show has gone on the more they've had to branch out from their friend group. but they started that vibe early on and it really stuck
One of the best moments in the UK Taskmaster is when Greg is given a puzzle box and James just yells at him to open it and is pulled off to the side by Greg and forced to apologise in a corner
I love the obvious teacher technique Greg is using.
Isolating the pupil (James) from his peers is an excellent way to prevent him from side-stepping the issue by hurling jokes and try to impress his friends.
Now he is alone in an eye-to-eye meeting, which the teacher (Greg) is utterly dominating.
And Greg spoke so gently too James, asking why he did that, and did he think that response was appropriate.
@@RhianalanthulaAnother trick of teachers. In fact 2 tricks. Neutralise the situation by speaking quietly & calmly, & also speaking softly makes the kids be quiet so they can hear you. My classes knew they were misbehaving when I started whispering & instantly changed their noise level.
A lot of tricks teachers use are simply means of getting classes to behave without having to shout at them which only makes the kids more excited & excitable. Anything can upset kids, such as it's a windy day or the school has a visitor, so you simply try to maintain the status quo every single day.
For good example of hating Alex being funny, season 7 how James just ignores Alex the start of every task 😂
Also Rhod's constant name calling of Greg never gets boring!
@Obsidius Nightbrother Nothing will EVER equal the horror on Greg's face when he saw that video.
@Obsidius Nightbrother Has to be that, or Nish Kumar and the candle
@@charliesmithdrummer Or the moment he saw his own mum betray him with the fez Rhod gave her to pose with in the bath.
Saying hi to you isn't part of the task, is it, Alex? Best line ever!
It still breaks my heart every time I see Joe's potato throw.
"Please don't take this away from me...."
I know 😭😭
Makes it funnier
"We fought for you mate"
@@Tomanista After voting against him... :P
She called Alex smug? woah, he has always seemed like such a genuinely nice human.
It's funny that in the middle of an incredibly self-important rant, she calls the relentlessly humble Alex smug. Apparently without any sense of irony at all.
I guess you could call him smug because he doesn't help unless asked or something. But it's still incredibly out of place
What's worse is, that "smug which means brittish" joke seemed just straight up racist. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of offensive humour but it has nuance which it straight up lacked
Americans just think dunking on the british = funny even when there's no actual joke or humour
Except that moment at 7:37
Alex thanking Lisa for the "insults" is funnier than the "insults"
James acaster refused to say hello to Alex for the entire season and it was hilarious every episode! That’s a funny way to have a hating Alex Horne but not putting him down
It also helps that James only ever really roasts people with a sort of blunt sarcasm so it never feels like genuine hate
@@johnberry8341 exactly. It's pretty funny when Rhod asks him why he doesn't say hello to Alex and James replies saying " that isn't part of the task"
@@johnberry8341 Someone hasn't seen James Acaster scathingly destroy Sam Pepper yet, have they?
@@Oddricm Oh James was going in for blood that day haha I think in that case he genuinely hated the lad
@@twistedcheese1 They have a show that they host together so I'm sure it's just for giggles.
The feminist-driven humour works on UK Taskmaster, from Katherine Ryan especially. She was wonderful and I loved it. The feminist-driven humour on US Taskmaster doesn’t feel like a joke and it feels like genuine pettiness, and feels like it’s making fun of feminism. It’s hard to laugh at.
Exactly!
It helps that she has a personality. On the US one they looked like they were trying to hard for the laugh
Yes! I couldn’t put this into words
@@spaceghost8886 Lol are you done?
@@bombs5050 no I also hate racist comedy for the same reason I mentioned in my earlier post
sorry if I annoyed you friend my aspergers makes it hard to know what to say sometimes
I can keep going and telling you what other jokes I think are in bad taste if you would like? but I understand if not lol
Penn Jillette would have been the perfect Taskmaster. Not just because he's similar in stature and persona to Greg, but because he's a professional host and knows everyone in show business personally. He could have filled those seats with great talent and had great banter for years.
Oh 100%
i just saw this video and was wondering who actually would have been a good us taskmaster, your suggestion is so good that i cant think of anyone else for the part
You nailed it. Damn that would have been awesome
That's a great suggestion
Idk if it's the same Penn from Penn and Teller (pretty sure) but I 1000% agree especially if they randomly bring Teller in as a co-host or to sabotage the contestants or what have you
Alex Horne being an easily accessible punching bag made some of the best moments of taskmaster. But I couldn't stomach watching that woman hurl joke-less curses at him for more than 30 seconds.
Whoever was in charge of casting should be fetching coffees, you could find a better contestant just walking the street for an hour.
Exactly. Lisa was harsh and pointed, she was mean to him for no reason. But someone like James acaster was consistent and subdue. He didn’t acknowledge Alex but wasn’t directly mean to him
Lisa was basically only had a career because of the comedy central roasts and she absolutely killed on those cause she had time to write her jokes and a whole host of writers to help write and improve
@@drumrguy67 i haven't heard a single joke from her and i am 6 episodes in
@@Eye_spye it's also the contrast of how acaster actually looks and sounds harmless and unintimidating so his passive aggressive attitude finally turning into a full rage is hilarious
I adore taskmaster and couldn't even get through the first episode of the us version.
If Greg Davies judged the US version with alex they would absolutely rinse everyone
They could not take it
@@rosawatters we would have, though!
He would have been sued
Greg would have stuck up for Alex.
I'd imagine it would have ended in an argument and Lisa storming off claiming sexism.
I feel like what makes these shows so endearing to me is that the British comedians all seem to get along well with each other, or can fake it. No one takes offense to jokes and can take it as well as they can give it. And I feel like they genuinely have fun doing these shows were Americans probably just want the publicity.
Several of those British comedians of course know each other very well, being friends or having been on tour with each other etc...
I agree. I think self-deprecation is not only allowed but encouraged in British comedy. US comedians all need to prove how big their dicks are, which is probably why most of them are dicks. This format would probably work in Canada, if we had the population base to support it.
@@AH-te5gs Exactly, I love the relationship between them. When Rosin and Rhod were on the show and could mess with Greg it was amazing.
It helps that the british circuit is much smaller, with them quickly becoming social and some very good friendships. And lots of them seem like great people to have a drink with. I remember being genuinely surprised that Greg and Alex hardly socialise, especially since they got great chemistry.
Had they been American is would've assumed it was just an act. And there are very few US comedians that seem tolerable socially.
@@user-zh4vo1kw1z They barely socialize? I would have never guessed, they play off each other so well
6:20 greg saying "I've never thought to consult the audience...." in season 7 of the show just shows how good and how much better of a host he really is lmao
When he started complaining about the 'feminism', as a feminist I instantly got all tense and ready to get annoyed BUT when I actually saw those women's behaviour... my god. That is so toxic and inappropriate and just turning people away from the movement. Actually painful to watch.
Honestly, these sorts of people are one of the worst things for the feminist movement. They are essentially strawmen for anti-feminists to use in their arguments, and cause so many people to make the incorrect assumption that feminism is doing crap like this.
It’s that toxic feminism that gives regular good feminism a bad rap.
@@quantummidget but ... they aren't straw men. they exist. and they pull your movement down with every moment of exposure. you -- as a movement -- need to publicly divorce yourselves from the toxic ones, or they become your representation.
@@rmhartman Oh I agree entirely, what I mean is that they serve a similar purpose as a strawman. They give something for anti-feminists to latch onto and make fun of, even if it's completely beside the point of the cause.
Aisling Bea is an example of a feminist comedian on the british taskmaster who made feminist jokes on the show that were ACTUALLY funny. It is possible for feminist comedians to be funny, the key point is that they have to be funny lol
Freddie highmore is british lmao that's probably why he's the only one who gets the tone of the show
I feel bad for him
I think Ron Funchess was fine, he would've fit in if the rest of it clicked.
He should be given a chance on UK taskmaster as an apology for them putting him through taskmaster US
I only watched it for him 😂😂
When he said Freddie doesn't have much of a comedic presence outside of the show, I was like "Yeah he does, in the UK"
it’s not even just that the us women have “feminist messaging,” because some of the greatest uk women competitors did too (such as aisling bea or katherine ryan). it’s the WAY they deliver it, the arrogance and self-entitlement that makes it less of a funny joke with sociopolitical commentary and more like “hng i’m woman give me points or die”
Agreed. I'm a woman and those two totally rub me the wrong way. The first one with the audience pandering was so uncalled for and actually furthers the idea that feminism is bad. It's the extreme man=bad feminism that isn't actually feminism.
Katherine Ryan I enjoy because her comedy comes from personal experience and is relatable to men and women alike.
No. It was just as annoying when they did it. They just only did it once or twice during an entire season. They weren't beating you over the head with it every time they opened their mouths.
Exactly. Self-importance is always the death of humor.
Sadly, there's a segment of society that has become so narcissistic that they first ban the comedians who pull them down to earth... and then label their own abuses (against sanctioned targets) as "humor".
*wearing no trousers* "Yay!! Dignity intact, Dignity Intact, Dignity Intact."
Katherine was great as were jess and alice (I think that was her name) but I didnt like aisling because she really lacked regard for Alex's personal space and seemed to kinda sexually harass him in the name of comedy. It just didnt sit right with me
One of the best parts of UK taskmaster was Alex/Greg finding tiny technicalities that would fail the contestants. None of them went on to accuse them of any prejudice. They took it because it was funny.
there were a couple of people who took it more personally than they should have. but never so bad to just start insulting greg or alex
i got to meet alex horne when i was on a media trip in london back when i was in school, but my teacher never said who was gonna be at the Q&A as it was a workshop to help us for our media exams and i was so gassed when i found out it was him, he is such a nice guy and it was honestly one of the happiest-moments of my entire life
no one cares😬
@@jazzxgray SYM
That is great - having met a bunch of celebs (briefly) I know it is not always a good experience! really happy to hear he is as nice in person. :)
@@jazzxgray we actually do! Hope this helps xx
@@jazzxgray 266 people seem to care.
I had the pleasure of seeing taskmaster be recorded live and I can absolutely say that Greg is just as tall and scary as he looks on TV
thank you. i can rest easily now
Yet he's less threatening than a stuffed teddy bear... have you seen the bits on shows like 10cats where he tries to act tough? Immediately after he mentions how genuinely afraid he was of being in a fight lmao..
@@SPFLDAngler the fear in his eyes when Chris Eubank walks out during his impression of him is priceless
Greg Davies once shook me by my ankles over a toilet, worst fucking teacher I had
I have the biggest crush on him ooooo
I just feel bad for Alex, it's a joke that he's always awkward but in the US version I think it's completely genuine
...I hear that quip in Greg Davis' voice for some reason!
it's like when you poke fun at your friends, just because you do it doesn't mean other people can. us version feels like a stranger desperately trying to get on your inside jokes
@@sluggseulgi6828 I think that's a perfect description
He made himself the perfect target for trick shots at him. A professional comedian hitting him point blank mainly shows that this is her ceiling when it comes to wit.
Alex is the director / producer. I felt bad for him until I realized he was doing it to himself. #NoSubShaming
I think one of the reasons Taskmaster uk works so well is that Alex is in charge of picking who's on each season, and because the world of British comedy is quite small and tight-nit, all the contestants know each other or Alex in some way, meaning the friendship isn't forced, it's genuin
The friendship between Alex and the contestants are absolutely one of the major factors for the success of Taskmaster, as Tim Key said: "Alex immediately establishes a really warm relationship without any exception, every single person who's been on that show which is kind of the life-blood of doing the tasks. It's beautiful." (Taskmaster podcast episode 14)
Joe crawling up to Greg and pleading "Please don't take this away from me" is simultaneously one of the funniest and most heart- and gut-wrenching things I've ever seen. xD
Banter is what makes British panel shows so great for me. It's clever, funny and quick-witted - and this doesn't even apply exclusively to comedians as a lot of British celebs bring on great banter and can handle targeted painful quips from the likes of Jimmy Carr or Frankie Boyle. But sadly this never translates to American versions.
Americans are too prideful and sensitive for banter like the Brits like
@@marcusmoser6911 You mean too competetive. It seems every other nation knows when to "back down" and take the hit, but Americans always seem to have that need to get the final word in and "win". It's okay to be the butt of the joke. That's why the original comedic duo had the "straight man". Nobody seems to be willing anymore to set up a joke for someone else to finish at their expense. Now it's just who has the best one-liners.
Not only appreciating the funny but the clever as well.
@@SuddenReal you've summed it up very well. Stephen Fry mentioned something along those lines when it comes to UK and US comedy:
"You know that scene in Animal House where there’s a fellow playing folk music on the guitar, and John Belushi picks up the guitar and destroys it. And the cinema loves it. [Belushi] just smashes it and then waggles his eyebrows at the camera. Everyone thinks, "God, is he great!" Well, the British comedian would want to play the folk singer. We want to play the failure."
We don't train our comedians in the crucible that is the panel show, which is why when we try to create our own versions you get garbage like the US taskmaster version. You'd hope that one of the streaming giants or more experimental networks would try to figure it out, but there's no financial incentive when you can just license the originals
i watched about two episodes of the taskmaster on CW but i normally work when it's on. CW is OTA in my area though so i'm also not used to turning on the tv at a specific time each week. Meanwhile episode 1 of series 10 is on youtube and it's geoblocked.
Also Greg worked the UK comedy and panel circuits for ages. so hes friends with or has at least met a lot of the contestants so its easy to get the banter flowing.
Which also leads to his trousers being stolen, a previous Taskmaster champions trophy also being nicked and Rhod Gilbert hiding in Greg's wardrobe...
Like his whole Roisin anecdotes bit from Series 1
Of course he's met a lot of the contestants, they all work for the same agency which also supplies all the panel shows with guests and presenters.
@@Si-zy2lz I think you've got the order a bit backwards there.
Many of these comics meet eachother very early in, WAY before tv work, at uni or just after working the club circuit. Some even lived together (Jon & Russell, Greg & Rhod). Becomes a but of domino effect where someone always knows someone, perform at same clubs, go to the same parties e.t.c.
Some break into TV and get signed to an agent, or just a better agent that does TV. Then the comic that gets signed goes like "hey, I know some other really funny people, would you want to sign them too". Works the same with authors finding agents and publishers, its networking.
So yes many are signed to the same agencies, but that's because they were friends before and were recommended to the agencies. Not that they know eachother *because* of the agencies.
This. Who TF even is Reggie Watts? Greg Davies is a celebrated and famous British comedian, Reggie Watts is nobody.
I know that I'm very late but I wanted to leave this here if anyone's reading. It makes sense why Freddie HIghmore is the only one to pass the vibe check. Even though one of his most famous role now is as the Shaun Murph of The Good Doctor, he was born and raised in the UK, and I personally knew him as the kid who played Charlie in the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Film. He almost definitely watched Task Master before he moved to the US
Oh, THAT'S what I recognise him from.
Also if he had watched Taskmaster UK that would put him at quite an advantage given they recycled tasks
NO WAY IS HE THE SURGEON GUY
@@bruhandthemoments7445HE IS THE SURGEON GUY DR HAN
Basically, they turned a laid back, fun, relaxing format into a street fight.
I will never forgive you for showing me that this exists...
Look on the bright side, eating shit will make you appreciate decent food more :)
Existed
I knew it'd scar me forever, and yet I clicked on it...
If you want to suffer, there's also Spanish version.
tbh why couldnt the amercians just watch the uk one which is ultimately better. do they know that they speak the same language
i don’t know why they thought an american version was a good idea, i’m american and i love greg and alex and their version... i just watch it on youtube
agree i’m american but like... just watch the good version why did they have to go and make a bad one 🧐
"They" did it to make money, because they're not really earning anything from those of us Americans who do enjoy the British version and just stream it. It obviously wasn't "silly Americans" deciding to rip off the show, Alex Horn is still running things and appears in the show himself. It's almost as if British execs saw that Americans DO enjoy the UK show, and thought they could capitalize on that by making an American version they could actually earn revenue from 🤔
I'm not defending the show, it's terrible. I love the UK version. But it's pretty obvious why they tried a version on US TV. Now the real question to me is...given Alex's familiarity with the show and what makes it work in the UK...why on Earth would you choose those cast members? Lisa Lampinelli hasn't been funny for a decade. Dillon Francis is...not a comedian. And Kate just seems consistently unpleasant. It was frustrating to watch something I enjoy so much be absolutely massacred, especially because I do like Reggie Watts and wanted him to succeed. But don't blame the freaking Americans for this travesty!
Somebody thought they could earn more money this way.
Also maybe they thought that American people would rather watch American personalities because they'd know them better. If they did the show well, I could see it being enjoyable to watch some mid-range US actors and comedians. It was just a very bad casting. Needed more people like Freddie Highmore.
I wouldn't mind seeing an adaptation of one of my favorite shows, but with more personalities I'm aware of. I'm an American fan of British panel shows and I'd say on any random episode of a random show, I know about 60% of the personalities. That percentage has grown substantially since I started watching British TV obviously. When I started I'd say I was aware of maybe 10% (basically just Richard Ayoade, David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr, and Noel Fielding wherever they showed up).
I think it would be cool to see the format successfully adapted with a cast of moderately popular American comedians, but the key word there is "successfully"
Also, if they did it well, hey, its more Taskmaster. Why wouldn't I want more content of one of my favorite shows, even if its tweaked slightly for a different country?
Helps that the UK version's comedians all pretty much know each other so the chemistry is immediately there. Often there are even subplots between them like when Rhod was on it, as he is known to be a close friend to Davies. Finland actually has our version of this too and since it's a small country with very few actors, everyone knows each other and it manages to work extremely well and is a great homage to the original UK one.
I haven't seen the US version ever, but from what I see here is the classic example of British humour simply not translating over the Atlantic. The have a sort of class to their stuff, even when completely telling each other off. Lampanelli and Berlant both have zero class in their approach, it's just weird loud shit that they seem to think lands if you just yell it loud enough.
If you watch the first season of the British one it's amazing how fully-formed it was right out of the gate (yes, I know it was done as a live show before that). It's also interesting how hit-or-miss the adaptations have been. New Zealand and Norway both did a good job. The others I've seen, not so much. But the US was absolutely bottom of the barrel.
As someone who loves every series of UK taskmaster, the US clips were so fucking hard to watch.
For me what makes the british version work is that Greg Davies used to be a school teacher and it comes across in his performance. He knows how to control a room of immature attention seekers.
The moments he goes full teacher-mode are hilarious, such as pulling Nish Kumar aside like an unruly student & quietly asking 'Why are you sabotaging yourself like this'
I heard that there was a US version of my favorite tv show of all time, and then I heard it was cancelled after one showing, I was stunned, and then found out about Lisa Lampanelli being on. Nuff said. Stun over.
Freddie understands British humour because he is British . 10:11
"And the feminism -"
Me: ugh of course, somebody makes one joke about something political and all of the sudden the feminists are taking over -
That clip:
Me: ok, that was pretty awful, yeah, that's fair
still modern-day feminism is cancer
The feminist comedy, works in the uk version, they don’t make it their entire personality and it’s all very clearly a joke, but the us version is just cringe
@@dimsumboy22 It's not feminism that's a problem, it's sexism. Feminism is supposed to advocate for equality, meaning gender not being a big thing to begin with. A feminist view point would be believing that men and women should be hired for the same jobs with the same considerations and equal pay regardless of their genders. That's equality. Trashing men or making everything about how men are garbage or women are better isn't feminism, it's just sexism coming from the other side instead. Feminism is supposed to be a movement about true equality and making gender a minimal consideration, like how equality for minorities doesn't mean hiring more minorities but rather giving them an equal chance
If anything, this shit about how men are subpar direcrly contradicts the feminist movement by giving it a bad name. And I say all of this as a guy
@@HereComesMenna I don't even mind when the entire tone of a show is very political in nature, the thing is in this show it just seems so... nothing. It wasn't making a solid point, it wasn't bringing attention to any issues, it wasn't critiquing anything in society and, what's possibly the worst sin of all for any kind of media, it wasn't entertaining. I think talking about politics in media is incredibly important, but boiling a message down to "# girl boss 🤪🤪🤪 " just doesn't do anyone any favors, you know?
@@Iratepandabear yes I fully agree with you!
lisa seems to think louder = funnier :/
oh thats cute, you think she has a brain.
Everyone in the us thinks louder=correct
I've started watching the New Zealand version while I've been waiting for them up finish uploading series 9 here, and even thought the taskmaster isn't as good/bad/awesome as Greg Davies, and his cohost isn't an Alex Horne, it's still really good so far. It's free here on CZcams as well for anyone interested.
I'm from New Zealand and I held off from watching it until recently as I have my own criticisms over the NZ comedy scene (a lot of dudebro stuff), but it is still reasonable. I don't like Jeremy Wells (the TM) and I think his style shares a lot of the criticisms that Jexonite has over Reggie. He's too hands off and doesn't quip.
Jeremywells is more serious than Greg but also more sincere. His stepping bad gives the others more space, and really allows the assistant to carve himself a unique role that isn’t trying to be a copycat of Alex. And he’s hot, like so fucking hot I wouldn’t care if he just sat there. It’s not like the contestants need anyone to pick up the slack for them.
i think a big difference between us and uk comedians are that us comics try to be the star of the show and steal the spotlight whenever they can but uk comics tend to let others have their moments and everyone contributes to the energy of the show
I think Greg works so well because he is physically imposing but also has this teacher/headmaster persona. He used be a drama teacher.
And also Head Teacher. He was pretty serious into the educator role.
he was a maths teacher actually but yeah, his command of the room is 100% why he works so well as taskmaster
@@jessemusker He was Drama and English but he also mentioned being an advisor or something to do with the teacher's union? He took on more responsibility . Maths was Romesh, I believe?
@@adorabell4253 ah shit I got my comdians-who-used-be-teachers mixed-up, what a niche thing to get confused
@@adorabell4253 yes Romesh was maths
I think the female comedians took feminism in the wrong way. As a feminist, it hurts to see them make feminism look bad. They were just annoying. I mean, I love women and think women should always support women, but wtf were they doing for feminism? It just sounded annoying and they didn’t make any actual real connections. For example, Kate said that men like to ruin a woman’s success which sounded awkward. It’s not like it doesn’t happen, but what she said sounded unnatural because it didn’t apply to what had happened. In the UK, Katherine Ryan did a task were she had to get three exercise balls on the top of a yoga mat on a hill. She got two lovely ladies to help her and said that it only took strong women to make it work. That sounded better because it actually applied and seemed really wholesome.
Yes, and in the 5th episode's final task, one of the tasks involved correctly putting on a tie. Katherine Ryan humorously pointed out the oversight in that she wouldn't readily have that skill available -- keeping her from being able to win the task -- where all the other competitors (all men) would and that the next task better be putting on a tampon. She was able to get her message across with humor and just the right amount of indignation and point out how unfair the task was without turning people against her.
I agree. I think there is a time a place to make your views on this powerfully known. Poking fun at the injustices in society is mostly what comedy is about and it brings awareness to them in a unique and healthy way. But when you stand on a SOAP box and try to force your view on people your more likely to have them ignore your awkward exchange especially out of place and creates an unhealthy view of what you stand for. I hope they do better with the US version moving forward.
The problem with her appeals to "feminism" is that, like you said, she's using it in a situation where she was actually not unfairly treated. More than anything she victimises herself along the lines of "oh i'm just a poor old woman who can't do anything without being discredited", but she wasn't even discredited.
It's a lot like the girl who cried wolf. People see this, see feminism being used almost as an excuse of some sorts and that creates this view that feminism is just some annoying women complaining that their life is oh so hard while having everything they need and being better off than a lot of other people.
i don't want to add anything, just that this comment and the replies are extremely well-put and hit the nail on the head :0
Also, she won half of the episodes according to wikipedia so... yea, oppressed...
Lol, maybe she won because the taskmaster was afraid of being insulted if he didn't give her high marks.
I think the main thing is that UK taskmaster is basically 7 comedians bullying each other and getting angry, frustrated etc. And then you are reminded of the task and remember that it's completly stupid, and it's hilarious. The problem with the US version seems to be that they take it too seriously. They are there to win, so when they get angry, frustrated, or bully someone else, it's not as funny. I also saw some of the spanish version, the problem seemed to be the opposite. It was just mainly actors doing funny tasks, without actively trying to be funny or playing into the absurdity of it, so it was very tame
Lisa: "You're smug". That's rich coming from an American...
From her alone. Brits can be, & are often a bit smug, bit Alex is not one of those
UK humour is more self deprecating, with the comedians lightheartedly “bullying” themselves. US humour generally centres around the comedian being the “bully” (not saying that they aren’t nice people, it is just an analogy.) It can still be just as funny (prime example; Wipeout), but it is a very different dynamic and is less generally suited to these types of panel shows where you need to make a fool of yourself.
Isn't Wipeout a British show, though?
@@charlz1636 Technically it was inspired by a Japanese game show, but Wipeout as we know it originated in America (airing in 2008). The UK and Australian versions both started airing in 2009 and were based on the US show.
@@marysdanceworld6066 Oh, fair enough.
I mean, it could work, if the Taskmaster was actually the biggest bully of them all. In fact, Lisa would have been a better fit for being the Taskmaster than Reggie. The reason her performance is so ill-recieved is because she is the contestant overthrowing the taskmaster. The power dynamic in taskmaster requires the taskmaster to be at the top, the contestants in the middle and the assistant on the bottom. The US taskmaster has Reggie being somewhere in the middle, Alex not being at the bottom while carrying the show and somehow meant to be the punchline(which, is a terrible combination that), 2 of the contestants constantly trying to take the center, which should be the taskmasters job, and 2 of the contestants being somehow lower than Alex in the hierarchy in terms of power, while still using Alex as a punchbag. Let alone Reggie barely even asserting his supposed power position other than giving the points.
It's not the humor dynamic that's the problem here, it's the power dynamic being extremely whack. Put in Lisa as the taskmaster and Reggie as a contestant, and suddenly you have a show with a much better power dynamic.
No, none of that is true. British humor is not innately more self-deprecating than other styles of humor. Self-deprecation exists in every culture's form of comedy. Nor does US humor center around bullying somebody else. Evidently you and those you gave you a thumbs up have very little knowledge of television or film comedy. Ever seen the Eric Andre Show? Whose Line Is It Anyway? Have I Got News For You? Mock the Week?
There are plenty examples of self-deprecating humor in American comedies, and "bully" humor in British comedies.
The panel show is also not the invention of the British, but actually stems from American radio shows that eventually branched out into television with stuff like "What's My Line" and "Hollywood Squares", which came out decades before improv and panel shows became a mainstay of British televison.
Somebody else summed up the problem much better: there is a rapport between the comedians on the UK version that is absent on the US version. The casting is all wrong to begin with. The UK version balances out the cast for each season, and most of the comedians already know each other from other shows. The dynamic is already established, and besides, they choose good fits: one chaotic, one stoic, one wholesome, one silly comedian, etc, with Greg behaving like a funny headmaster and Alex like his wet-blanket assistant. The US version botched this dynamic completely, choosing contestants who had no chemistry with each other and not with the hosts either, and getting Reggie Watts of all people to fill in as one of the hosts, when somebody like John Mulaney (also a tall lad) would have been a better fit as headmaster.
This show could absolutely work on USA television, but you just can't do a 1:1 copy of the format and stick whoever into the billing. You need to choose the cast carefully and change the format just enough. But the cast is the main issue. It could have worked beautifully with contestants like Aubrey Plaza, Jim Gaffigan, Nathan Felder, John Oliver, Eric Andre.
Reggie is cool and all, but you really miss the shear size of Greg. Him being super tall really lends itself to the Greg-Alex dynamic.
Not only that but Greg was a school teacher prior to being a comedian and the role of the taskmaster is sort of analogous to that of a funny teacher grading his students. Reggie doesn't command a room in quite the same way. He's more of a substitute teacher that doesn't really care what the students do.
Alex is not small at 6'1'' but Greg is 6'4'' AND has a taller bigger throne to sit on. They make Alex sit on a much shorter throne.
Yeah, that's what makes the "Little Alex Horne" joke funny.
Alex Horne isn't a small man. I'm 6'1 and saw him in real life and he was still a bit taller than me. It's just that Greg is a proper big lad.
@@rora3875 Greg is 6' 8" though...
It's really the chairs. Alex is like 6'2" or something.
I'm an American who went to University in England for 2 years, and I got absolutely hooked on British television while I was there. Besides maybe the occasional netflix show, I solely watch British television. It just has something special that American tv always lacks. Every time I hear that the US has gone and adapted a British show, I just always kind of roll my eyes a bit because I know more often than not, it's gonna be shit.
11:00 was an audience member for the good version and they filmed 3 hours for one episode, and they managed to be entertaining for the full 3 hours bantering with each other and the audience. I do wonder what the audience experience was like for the american version...
You can truly see the disdain that Alex has for Lisa. He's genuinely trying to be professional and keep the show lighthearted but it's very difficult
Look at his face around 9:17 lmao that's genuine hate
and who could blame him?
@Troy Who wouldn't? She's a big reason why the whole show was cancelled. I've complained about British contestants, but these two crazy feminists in the US version? Holy hell... it's beyond terrible. It's not comedy, it's just bizarre. How could they cast these morons in a show like this?
he looks uncomfortable the whole time when she’s shouting at him
The US show completely miscast the panel. Being loud and boorish isnt what the show is about
only american panel show i watched and enjoyed was "whose line is it anyway"
One of the very few imports that I like the US version better than the original, but only slightly. They are different enough that they hit my funny bone in different ways.
And Colin Mochrie is Canadian too lol
which was a rip of a british one and the sole reason whose line did well is because they got the casting spot on they got wayne who is alright but they got ryan who is fucking hilarious and collin who is aswell while the host is not obnoxious or in your face he just feels like a every day guy judging his mates
@@si2foo Which let's be honest is how it feels with Greg. I think that is what sells the show sometimes. Like Rhod Gilbert using that picture of him for like 5 or 6 of the opening tasks.
edit: correction to name mistake
At first i thought THAT was British too^^
Subtlety, self-awareness, crowds that do not scream like coked up lunatics at everything, shit like that.
It's because the jokes are so bad they have to signal the crowd to laugh otherwise they wouldn't know when they should.
The American Taskmaster just makes me realize how awful American comedians are.
Except none of them were really comedians. At least not successful ones. Except Lisa and she was successful 30 years ago. Now she seems to have latched onto the Feminist cry to be relevant again.
They weren't American comedians. They were C-List somebodies, but not comedians.
They aren't even top rated comedians. Its a difference in culture. No top-rated comedians would show up in this type of show in America, because quite honestly, they can't afford them, and the American comedians feel like they are above this type of stuff. US TV has pretty much stigmatized these type of variety shows. While in Britain, even the top of the top comedians aren't above showing up on variety shows or panel shows, because they have a different view on it (and comedy in general).
The US is pretty unique in how they treat comedians (especially B and A tier ones). The rest of the world has them going on variety shows all the time, even if they are the top. But in the US, they are too good for them (especially since we stigmatize those shows), such that we barely have real variety shows or panel shows anymore, and just have "talk shows".
So yeah, the only ones they can get are C-list comedians, who are, generally, not that good anyways.
I really wish it was different. I would love to see the top U.S. comedians do task master.
They needed better ones, Tom Papa, Zach Galifianakis, the cast of “Scrubs”
The swedish version the contestens rarely are comedians.
I actually felt bad for Alex during the clips of Lisa "roasting" him
I actually feel like that could have been spun decently, having her as the antagonist of the season, if there were four better contestants next to her.
Like most idiots, she mistook intelligence for smugness
It wasn't comfortable, that's for sure. But lets be honest, a real roast would have been intelligent, witty and funny. All she did was be nasty - I am not familiar with her work but she comes across as the type who would have been a bully at school and hasn't grown up.
Lisa seems like an incredibly obnoxious person.
Lisa needed a better writer
I think what also helps Taskmaster UK is that most comedians are genuenly friends or have known eachother for years. You can tell that Alex and Greg are really comfortable with each other. Reggie and Alex interact kind of awkwardly probably because they don't know eachother that well. With everyone being friends or at least associates in the UK version helps keep the show funny, silly and lighthearted! It really feels like an evening among friends as compared to the US version.
The casting was all wrong, you're absolutely right. This show would have been amazing with somebody like John Mulaney as the host, and contestants like Eric Andre and Amy Poehler and other well-known improv comedians that have good rapport with each other. Hell, even invite Amy Schumer on, she's actually a friend of Eric's and they both could be on the same season together. It was a missed opportunity, shamefully.
I wouldn't say that should be a main reason, but obviously plays a part, I mean, nish & mark...
Ed Gamble mentions so often on the podcast how the cast of each series become good friends, and I’ve also heard that about the New Zealand ones. So it’s not just a case of their already knowing each other, which fairly often isn’t the case, but of really good production skills. The great lunches have also often been mentioned, which is an example of crafting the bond between the contestants. They are fundamentally on each other’s side, meaning that the comic jostling for points stays within entertaining bounds.
Reggie and Alex are both naturally awkward. But I think that was the least of this attempt's problems...
Its well known Alex and Greg aren't friends and are nothing more than work colleagues who enjoy their work and get along. But not friends.
What endears Taskmaster to me, and I think a lot of people, is that while they are comedians, and yes, they are trying to entertain us, they’re still just people being themselves. The studio banter is just improvisation, and sometimes jokes land, other times they don’t, but the comedic value isn’t in them trying to make the audience laugh, it’s in trying to make each other laugh, or just themselves.
A great example is Rhod Gilbert, who was brought on exclusively to mess with Alex and Greg. Every prize task he entered the same picture of Greg, (with a few exceptions) just because the comedy, to him, was watching Greg go “oh fucking hell”.
It also helps that they constantly addresses the “roles” in the show, Greg is the Taskmaster and is supposed to be this strict teacher-like figure (probably a nod to his old job as a teacher) while Alex is the teachers pet who often humiliates himself for Greg’s amusement. The show also grew into its own format (which was already gold from the get-go) by cementing the roles as the show went on. A good example is how Alex started as Greg’s sidekick, before kind of being reduced to his pet (“little Alex Horne” and all that) and it happened gradually and naturally and most likely at Alex’ request for the comedic value.
Pretty much every lineup is also great because it’s clear that they have genuine respect for each other and do want to be on the show, either just to have fun, because they’re competitive or as a favor to their friends, and despite how much they might want to manufacture drama for their own amusement (a great example is when Phil Wang says “before the series started I had this idea that I would have a bitter rivalry with James Acaster, but then I just kind of forgot”) they’re clearly having a great time, and their main goal is to have fun.
Calling it genuine and authentic is definitely a bit of a stretch, but as far as game shows/reality/whatever goes it is definitely one of the more honest ones, I mean pretty much every episode Greg essentially says “nobody really cares about winning but we need to justify the show somehow” by sarcastically saying winning the golden bust of his own head will be the pinnacle of the comedians careers.
You really need to have contestants who all know each other, or atleast associate with each other semi regularly.
They should have casted just comedians from the new York circuit or just the LA circuit etc, so they know each other.
Agreed. The UK version is more or less friends fucking around & roasting each other which is why the chemestry is so good.
I mean UK comedians all probably went to like 4 different schools so of course they already have rapport.
While they definitely didn’t pick the best contestants, it would’ve worked better with an American assistant. Their humor would’ve meshed better.
Also the contestants aren’t even all comedians. Freddie is an actor, Dillon is a DJ. They’re funny people, but the dynamic is different.
The US versions of panelshows fail because it becomes about winning instead of havin a laugh with mates. Some very, very, very, VERY talented, creative and intelligent mates. You get the feelin these americans don't like and know eachother.
In the british versions the show comes first. In american versions the performer thinks they come first. It's individualism versus communalism
Thats exactly why one of the only good panel shows in the US was who's line is it anyway
@@hunterra217 not my cup of tea, but that is more due to it not being my taste in humor. Can certainly agree that its the only one that actually works!
This is exactly the reason. This can be applied to basically everything in America.
I was in shock watching US Masterchef. In the Australian version everyone is really encouraging to each other and appreciative of one another’s strengths. In US everyone was just mean and nasty to others - more of a Survivor style. Couldn’t watch it
I actually have to disagree. I only saw the first episode, but I didn't get the sense that the American players cared very much about winning, rather than just collecting their paycheck. Or perhaps they just happened to choose participants with zero ability to think outside of the box, so it makes it look like they didn't care. Regardless, even in the British series the contestants usually seem pretty genuine in trying to give their best efforts.
The Norwegian Version was a huge hit, and it’s currently on it’s second season. They even won an award
Same with the swedish one! It was great :)
Yeah, I loved it. Watched the Norwegian one first, since I'm, well, Norwegian, then found the British one.
Is it only somewhere to watch with English subtitles? :)
I watched the Finnish one with Jukka from the Dudesons was no good
@@kliklaminaat same. That 2 second clip looked wholesome and I wanna watch too.
The NZ adaption is really good, it captures the spirit of the original really well. The second season might be the best season of Taskmaster ever. (Also they have original tasks which helps a lot).
Nah... Paul was good as the sidekick but Jeremy.... Not so much as taskmaster... He is boring, has only one face and one voice. Most of te contestants were pretty good too. But we have too few comedians so it's hard to keep the show going.
Alex Horne was by far the most famous person on the show. I had just heard of Alex about a month prior. That says it all.
I think a big part of why these kind of shows work so great in the UK is because all of these performers are on shows with each other on a regular basis, to the point where they actually have a friendly rapport. The UK is a densely packed community of comedians who are always seeing each other, I even remember one of the task a previous show contestant just happened to be in an area where a task was being filmed that day.
To make this work elsewhere, they have to cast contestants in groups where everyone is already familiar with each other. Perfect casting for this show would have involved Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura as the baseline comedians who are already friendly with great chemistry.
It was Al Murry appearing in a Joe Lycet task, right? I think I remember that.
@@noahfindell3459 RIchard Osman appeared in one of James Acastar's tasks too.
Yes! Or people like John Mulaney, Bill Hader and Eric Andre. It is absolutely possible to recreate this show in the USA and make it work, but not in the way that they did it. Evidently the US producers didn't understand the essence of Taskmaster UK :/
They didn't even need to borrow Alex Horne for the US Show -- they could have had Hannibal Buress in his place instead, as a great example of an American comedian who is good at being stoic and can take a joke at his expense.
I guess the closest we're getting to a proper Taskmaster in the USA is the Eric Andre show lmao
John Mulaney, Seth Meyers and Bill Hader would be great on the show
Roisin Conaty from the first series is close friends with Greg Davies, and they both worked with current series contestant Mike Wozniak on Greg’s sitcom Man Down
"Crude for the sake of being crude" is the definition of about half of american culture.
Id say it’s more “pandering for the sake of pandering,” and because of that certain people get put up on a pedestal.
"oi look a' me, ai'm bri-ish an ai'm beh'ah than yew bihcawse yore american" that's what you sound like I bet
@@mfultimate - Jesus. Take a breath dude
That's not even American culture, that's just how a lot of mainstream culture operates. The UK has its awful crude shows as well, but Taskmaster happens to be one of the better ones.
@stempeed did you even read the comment I was replying to? lol
Honestly, Taskmaster is getting me through this hellacious month, and I'm sure I would be much worse mental health wise without it!
I love the UK taskmaster, so I tried watching the US version... I hated it too. I wrote it off as having been adapted for American culture/humour but I just couldn't stand it. I agree with you on every point you made.
I am norwegian and I thought the norwegian one was ok...They couldn't have picked better actors as hosts, but there is just something special about the Greg and Alex duo. Great video!
Americans: “Why does the world hate us?”
Americans:
Listen, we perfected the office. Are we even now?
@@imallergictobullets did you though? It's great, but in a different way. Plus Ricky Gervais still had a hand in the us version
I mean there's a few other reasons one could point to
@@alexbarrett4338 Trying to stick to the joke here mate
@@imallergictobullets what’s the office
I think also a big reason why Taskmaster UK works is that a significant portion of the contestants are friends with at least one other contestant, Greg, or Alex. So it has the vibe of being like a house party. Whereas the US one is just 5 random strangers who have turned up for a pay cheque. When the British contestants are doing things it's to entertain their other friends on the show or to entertain Greg and Alex, not for the audience.
Let's not forget Rhod pretending to leave Greg's party, only to sneak into his wardrobe and wait for Greg go to bed and then film him sleeping.
I don't know easy it is to find a group of well known comedians with that rapport and off the clock friendship in the US
@@jackfitzpatrick2992 The thing is yes, there is a significant group of comedians who are well known, very good friends, and have a great on-screen rapport. While we have the panel show circuit in the UK, the US has a decent stand-up circuit and a decent number of their comedians are very good friends. While the appeal of UK taskmaster is watching comedians we know very well doing silly things I think that the US show could have gone with the angle of taking some lesser known ones and launched some careers, but I do think them knowing each other is more important than the audience knowing them.
All of you Brits think American comedians all live in isolated bubbles at opposite ends of the earth. Most comedians are friends with each other. It's the nature of the job. This specific show did a terrible job, but you can see that aspect in most American comedy shows.
As an Australian these British shows are some of my favorites of all time because they would always rerun on obscure channels that we would record, they are just in general funnier and easier to watch then the American alternatives
I love the fact that your preferred contestant on the US taskmaster, the one who gets the vibe of the show, is English... 😁
I feel what make Greg so great as the taskmaster is that he was originally a teacher. He has that judgement and grading ingrained in him while he’s still a superb comedian
He was a horrible teacher, so I doubt that
@@kurtsudheim825 You don't seem to realise you strengthened the theory with that comment.
The guy playing Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation should have been the Taskmaster.
Nick Offerman, yeah he'd be amazing
Nick Offerman would have been a fantastic Taskmaster holy crap
Deadpan humor perfect
Ironically Offerman is a judge with Amy Poehler on a crafts competition show called Making It, and the energy is way more Great British Bake Off than Taskmaster.
Yooo that would be pretty dope actually.
Ron Swanson as host and the guys from Impractical Jokers as the contestants.
I think Reggie's most fatal flaw is that he's just like a regular sized human. Greg Davies is 6'8 and pushing 300lbs and it gives him a presence Reggie just cannot match. Next to Greg, Alex Horne looks like a small child despite being fairly tall himself, and it really adds to their dynamic. But Alex is taller than Reggie and they're roughly the same build.
Thanks for tellin’ us about the free Taskmaster eps. Ever since binging inbetweeners with my brother we’ve been looking for more Greg Davies content.
British Taskmaster is all about "look at how ridiculous this person looks when they're doing this ridiculous thing", and the british humour lends itself perfectly to that
American humour just doesn't fit into that style at all
British humor has a lot of self-depreciation humor, and they are willing to both make fun of themselves and be made fun of.
American “humor” comedians, on the other hand, places themselves on a pedestal and thinks they are better, so they do not joke about themselves, and do not take kindly to jokes about them made by others.
I disagree. What these people do is not representative of American humor. They aren't funny even outside of this setting.
@@garfieldsspaghetti bert kreischer, tom segura, esther povitsky, michelle wolf, taylor Tomlinson, kate micucci (sp), some of the snl cast including former cast (kevin nieland and norm McDonald) all seem like they could laugh at their own struggles.
@@jeffmarquis4612 Yeah I think there is a trend but there are certainly a few US comedians who could fit into it easily. I think like with most US adaptions it's just executive meddling/poor casting/lack of understanding the actual appeal of the show.
I adore Taskmaster and have seen every single episode. I imagine Google knows this and decided to serve this video in my recommended, congratulations on hitting the algorithm :)
Same.
Same
Diddly snap
Holy shit you got it too
Didn't think I'd see you here cynic ha ha JOY
In Sweden we also have our own adaptation called ”Bäst I test”. The Alex Horne equivalent is called David and the Greg Davies equivalent is called Babben. Babben and David have the same type of relationship that Greg and Alex have, but in Sweden, pretty much all the contestants love David. The entire show is absolutely hilarious!
For the most part in the uk version the audience isn't acknowledged during the programme they are just watching like us at home and that works
And when they are acknowledged, Greg simply tells them to "shut their fucking mouths" 🤣
Conan O'Brien would have made a good American taskmaster.
You genius.
Yes!
I don't know about taskmaster but if they ever try - I hope not - to make another US version, they need Conan O'Brien types as contestants (don't take themselves too seriously, good with banter and physical comedy).
I think Raine Wilson would have been good, or Steve Carrell actually
@@sonic_jelly I think raine is a little too reserved, I haven’t seen a better suggestion than nick offerman
And it’s not like they can’t bring up feminisms if they wanted to, Alice Levine had a really good gag when they had to do the statistics in the beach with random things, and I remember a lot of other jokes like that, it’s fun if you don’t take it seriously, it’s a comedy show at the end of the day, not really the place for opinions you don’t want messed with. Also when Greg makes fun of Alex in a humiliating manner it’s funny because they have this Sub/Dom energy it’s not him shiting on Alex just because he hates him like the lady said she hated him. It’s part of the banter
That was actually Aisling Bea who made the feminist graph in the sand. Alice Levine did the gender pay gap skit in the cardboard box. But I completely agree with everything you said. A big difference to me is that Aisling Bea is actually really funny, so she isn't relying on the feminism angle for the majority of her jokes, and she knows when to stop and let the banter continue naturally. Same for Alice Levine.
Do not forget the glorious business _PERSON_
Katherine Ryan commenting that they should all put on a tampon if they wanna do something typically gendered was pretty funny too. And then Jon Richardson's own playoff of that by saying this is where the suffragette coin got them was something I really liked.
But I have a feeling if that was a joke made in the US version, it'd be demonised as sexism.
Even if you don't like this type of humour (I have had many comedians on the show I didn't like) it's recognisable as comedy instead of simply social critique
@@gilliangottlieb2946 Honestly that whole 'do the most manly thing' task had some genuinely strong feminist satire. I must say though, I don't entirely trust the way Jexonite here frames the problem as being just 'feminism'.
@@BlueGangsta1958 to a lot of people the business person skit was really uncomfortable and like she was making a problem out of nothing. I felt like Alex and David were uncomfortable and trying to kind of avoid it to keep it funny and light-hearted
All the while I was binge watching Taskmaster, I kept thinking "there's no way they could pull off an American version of this. I can't imagine who they could have as contestants. American comedians are all too obnoxious".
Somewhat bittersweet to know I was right about our culture.
I just found taskmaster because the full series uploads and it’s unmatched. I was wondering if the US would try it and thank you for saving me the time of watching that mess. Can never disrespect little Alex Horn that way!
i feel like they were all trying too hard to be the memorable ones of the series. Like, james was memorable because of his disregard for alex and punk nature, noel was memorable for how chaotic he was. etc.
noel *insane
I remember Noel for his incredible and previously unknown athletic talent. That man destroyed physical tasks.
Rhod was memorable for being the greatest and most lovable old English man in the world. S tier contestant.
@@padraigdonelan rhod was deranged but yeah
@@padraigdonelan I don't know if you're being sarcastic, so sorry if I missed the joke, but Rhod is Welsh
The best way to hate Alex is in the way that James Acaster went about it
‘Hello James!’
➖👄➖ 👁👄👁
What about the lady who made Alex sit in a cake?
@@genericname2747 i couldn't fully tell you if that was "hate" or somethin different
@@Babyteef Yeah that's fair
@@genericname2747 and then the same lady ran away laughing 🤣
For me with US TV depictions of stands against feminism and racism, it’s that it feels like pandering. Like they feel because they said “fuck racism” or “impeach trump” or “whenever a woman succeeds at something…”, they expect a round of applause for being so brave. It’s fucking irritating. Like they think they’ve shocked us and taught us something along the way. Pisses me off.
Cause in the UK taskmaster, you have commentary on sexism and racism and politics, but it isn’t infuriating. Katherine Ryan frequently mentioned girl power and even brought in a suffragette coin. Paul chowdry called Alex racist for not having enough brown sauce on the portrait task. Sarah Pascoe and Greg had a long running joke discussing Take That not paying their tax. All of that was funny and light hearted and totally unproblematic.
Great video, every point that you made was spot on, earned a sub and a 👍
I can't believe how awful Lisa is, like... that was all from one episode how?
Not to defend her because she did seem quite awful here, usually in the task challenges the contestants routinely wear the same thing through all the tasks, especially since they will do multiple tasks per day of filming. The UK version does the same thing.
I think we all knew Lisa from the Celebrity Roasts, so to see her go from brash bitchy aunt to all danger hair and woke Seattle Hipster is just.......ugh.
@@cesariojpn Yah, I'm not American so the only thing I know of her, is she's that fat and loud woman at the roasts who mostly makes pussy jokes.
I was like, that can't be the same woman! And holy hell, she's 56 and dresses like that?! Damn...
Since a few years, we have roasts in the Netherlands as well, they're actually deep dives, harsh cuts, but also self mockery. It's not just piss and shit and cum jokes.
Then again, if you're only known because of roasts, you have to work hard to stay in the public eye, this was probably her way to stay "in the public eye"
Haven't had cable in years, but in the mid-90s Comedy Central had shows where they would play segments form comedian's stand-up routines and I remember Lisa being rude and crude. I couldn't believe 1) this was the same person and 2) she was the only contestant whose name I recognized.
I agree with you. Rhod Gilbert has a little bit edge because he is an old friend of Greg, and all of the audience understand dynamics between them. The basic bottomline difference is, the brit contestants all agree that they all must comply and respect to the Taskmaster. Even James Acaster only ignore Alex in every task, but no evilness personal insult. Only the Taskmaster Greg Davies allowed to disgrace little Alex Horne.
Greg would have torn her a fucking new one. I hate Lisa Lamponelli, and just the fact that she thinks she's funny is insulting to every female comedian that can't catch a break because of people like her giving the false impression that women aren't funny.
I read somewhere that apparently James Acaster didn't say hello to Alex because it wasn't part of the task. I don't know if that is true or not but it sounds like something that James Acaster would do.
@@plant9937 He said so near the end of the series.
Thanks. Nice analysis. It was much more specific and detailed than I expected for some reason. I like your editing style, by the way. Seems to fit with liking ‘Taskmaster’.
I've gone the past year or so watching UK Taskmaster completely oblivious to the existence that there was a US version until I saw this video. I want to go back ~16 minutes where I thought there was no US version.
9:43 how anyone could find it in themselves to hAte little alex horne is beyond me
also lmao tf alex isnt smug?????
also yeah, this could work, if it were funny, but its not.
james acaster ignoring alex on every task, buliding this report, then tweeting "bye alex" after the final episode airs, thats clever and that is funny.
'Alex isn't smug' I mean his face every time he hides an answer in plain sight and everyone misses it...
But yeah, her insults were over-the-top, unfunny and could be made by an 11-year-old.
@@q2puke hmm good point well made. the apotheosis is upon us
I get the feeling she hates him purely because he's male and British.
US TV stinks compared to UK. I'm glad I didn't see the US Taskmaster. Long live Alix and Lord Greg.
For some weird reason (don't hate me) I decided to watch an episode of the price is right recently. I liked whose line, liked Drew Carey, liked the dutch version of that show, ages ago. Holy hell, American TV is overproduced and fake. I love British shows, big fat quiz, QI, taskmaster. Even just British shows in general.
You don't have friends apparantly in America, you have stepladders. Walk over them to make yourself feel better.
@@Dunga Nearly everything I watch is from the UK,. So I understand!
If you could make a video comparing the other countries’ versions of Taskmaster to the English one in regards to which one hit the English kind of humor the best. This show is doing incredibly well in Denmark, running on fourth season, and I think it’s because our humor are very alike. Great video thank you!
I just found out about this show yesterday and binged about 4 hours of youtube videos and this video happened to be the first one I saw this morning
In series 7 when James Acaster didnt speak to Alex, he was 'sassy' but rude. Kate should've taken notes from that
He also said "suck it" a lot, but it felt more like him knowingly acting like a petulant child, rather than excessively pointed aggression of Lisa Lampanelli.
He did speak with him. He never greeted him. It is different. And it wasn't felt like a rude thing. I was funny honestly. Same as Alice Levine always called him differently cute at the beginning of a task. It was a thing I was waiting for every task. I would turn off right at the beginning that US rude bitch.. Not tasty humor at all
But everyone knew he was being funny and Alex was playing a role. I have no doubt James and Alex know each other outside of Taskmaster. This was different
A good example of hating Alex: James Acaster.
Alex: hello, james
James: microscopic sneer
@@peanutthelion815 James, why don't you say hello to me? "It's not in the task"
yep! it comes across funny not mean
james makes bullying someone sneaky and funny hes great
The thing that makes it work is that it's so petty and subtle, it doesn't detract from the flow of the show. Also, when Alex brings it up, you can tell it's just an ironic joke between them and there's no actual malice there.
a *really* subtle difference someone pointed out between the versions is the music - the UK version has the Horne Section’s quirky jazz themes that really accentuates how stupid and inane the tasks; in the US version they use intense rock trying to frame the contestants as ‘cool’