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I think Mat Baynton has proven, over these eight episodes, plus his podcast appearance with Ed, that he's a Taskmaster fan and familiar with some of the lore. So I'd like to think that he purposely chose Jim Howick to borrow something from in the 19.8 prize task in order to guarantee Jim a win should he ever appear on a future series of Taskmaster.

For those who aren't aware... Sara Pascoe brought in John Robins's clock as a prize in series 3; John then won series 17. Mark Watson had Ed Gamble help him steal Greg's pants for a prize in series 5; Ed then won series 9. James Acaster brought in a drawing by Sam Campbell as a prize in series 7; Sam then won series 16.

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Me, after reading the pre-series Polygon interview in which Greg Davies describes Mathew Baynton as "unsettling": What an odd choice of descriptor.

Me, after watching episode 7: ...oh...

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From the recent AMA with Kiell Smith Bynoe on the Taskmaster Reddit:

Glad Kiell agrees with me...

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Wish I could be there for the chaos that is Chrimbo Bimbo.

Love the jumper.

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Everyone else: Taskmaster can't end until we get Champion of Champions of Champions.

Me: Taskmaster can't end until the entire cast of Ghosts has been on.

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I mentioned previously that the library app Kanopy had a great selection of British comedy, and now I can thank it for introducing me to Juice.

I'll admit Mawaan Rizwan did not make a huge impression on me on Taskmaster. I didn't dislike him, but other than the helium egg, the beermat lighthouse, and the disappearing cow, I can't remember anything else he did. (I now feel like I need to rewatch series 10...). When I saw Juice pop up as recently added, the deciding factor of me watching it was the fact that Russell Tovey is in it. (My ongoing Being Human love is responsible for discovering a lot of shows I might not have otherwise watched, including Brassic.) I was a little worried by the "surreal" description, afraid it might be in the vein of The Mighty Boosh (couldn't make it past episode 2 of that).

But instead of Mighty Boosh surrealism, it was more like Pushing Daisies-style whimsy... in other words, awesome! A perfect blend of silliness and heart. While Jamma could be annoying at times (and his hair was very distracting...), he was still understandable and sympathetic, and his relationships with all the other characters, particularly his family (2/3 of whom were played by his actual family) were really interesting to watch unfold.

How can you not enjoy such brotherly love?

And a father that turns into a mouse?

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Laurence Rickard has long been my dream Taskmaster contestant. He's creative, he's naturally funny, he's smart... I think he'd be the ideal contestant. And now, thanks to watching him on House of Games last week, I can confirm he's also competitive and can banter/ shit-talk with people he doesn't know super well (since before this all of the as-himself footage I'd seen was with his Ghost co-stars, the majority of whom he's been friends with for 15 years). Come on, Taskmaster, get on this.

Also, seeing him win the decanter of imagination was right up there with seeing Nish Kumar win the amulet of eternal life.

Meanwhile, Sam Campbell is on next week's HoG, which I'm very interested to see... Can he be semi-normal? (Lucy Beaumont managed, to the best of my recollection.) Will he be competitive? Will growing up in Australia hinder his ability to do well on a show that focuses heavily on British pop culture, or did Tim Key give him a crash course?

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quick romantic cheat

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Oh, Mark...

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Rewatching series 3 of Taskmaster, and I'd forgotten exactly how weird Paul Chowdhry was, and also how adorable his sweet little smile is.

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[ID: A screencap of Sophie Willan on Taskmaster, asking, "What's more alive than a beatboxing wolf?" End ID.]

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From a 2014 Tim Key column in The Independent... The Colonel is John Kearns, and of course I know Nish, but anyone want a go at deciphering the rest of the nicknames? (I am assuming some/ most/ all are comedians...)

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Spoilers for Taskmaster Australia series 2 winner below...

So what went on during that doomed NYC trip that made everyone* win their respective seasons of Taskmaster afterwards?

(*Obviously James is not included in that "everyone," but am I right in assuming he'd already taped his tasks before the trip? I hadn't discovered TM yet, but judging by the current schedule, series 7 began airing in September 2018, which means the studio stuff would have been shot in the Spring, but presumably the task footage would have been filmed in Fall 2017? So the NYC magic was too late for James... But if I've got the timeline wrong, then we need to figure out what the other three did that James didn't...)

Seriously, though, TMAU series 2 was extremely enjoyable, and I was very happy for Lloyd. Ed's and John's uber-competitiveness in their respective series was fun to watch, but there was something lovely about Lloyd's good-natured chill-ness. (Can you imagine the absolute stink-- and rightfully so-- Ed or John would have raised if faced with the stupid all-or-nothing scoring on the pub quiz task?)

Probably neither will happen, but I'd love to see Lloyd on the UK Taskmaster just as much as I'd like to see Sam Campbell on the Australian one.

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Task: Correctly guess items placed under the mattress. Other teammates may gather items. Only one item under the mattress at a time. Any clues that aren't through a mattress will render an item void. (Third item, not a gun) Anne: A gun? (Fourth item, not a gun) Anne: A gun? (Fifth item, a gun) Anne: A gun? Josh: 🤔 Josh: *dashes out of the room, comes back in with an armful of toy guns* (a gun) Anne: A toy car? (a gun) Anne: A bowl? (a gun) Anne: A jug? (a gun) Anne: Zebra?

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Cheeky WWI Tim Key (with bonus Emerald Fennell).

I know Chickens is available on DailyMotion, etc., but I recently discovered it on the (US) library streaming app Kanopy, which has an eclectic assortment of British comedies, including The Cleaner, Alma's Not Normal, Josh, We Are Klang, The Thick of It, Catterick, My Hero, Heading Out, and more.

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Lucy and Sam's Perfect Brains, Episode 2: "Holidays"

Sam: Be careful, though, spending time with this guy, cause especially with these poems, we’ve been on three holidays together—we’ve been to New York, we’ve been to Belfast, we’ve been to Sweden—and we, you know, during the day hanging out and all this stuff and at night you go on his Instagram and he’s written all these poems about you. I’m serious. We had a great day in Sweden and then suddenly at night I’m reading this poem and he calls me The Termite, he goes, “Yes, The Termite’s bathing like a bruddy plum.”

Tim: Yeah, I think that’s true, actually. I hold my hands up. Mea culpa.

Lucy: But I think that’s nice. Didn’t you like being-- having a poem written about you, Sam?

Sam: These poems were written with a poison pen, that’s all I’m saying. Seriously. Why can’t we have a nicer name instead of The Termite?

Lucy: Is it—but that’s Australian, isn’t it?

Tim: I think there was one earlier, wasn’t there—The Sponge. I like the Sponge for you.

Sam: No. What about The Angel? Or Paradise Boy?

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Look what's here!