Greg used to give intros for indiviual comedians while standing (I think) and then it became a single intro simply followed by the names of the comedians.
The Trophy, of course, has changed. Widdicombe doesn't have Greg's Magnificent Head. đ
Less or no tasks in (or involving members of the) public (like high five a 55 year old person).
Points for team tasks are not just divided like (3 and 2) or (4 and 1) to two teams. Now, Greg gives (5 and 3) or (5 and 2).
>Points for team tasks are not just divided like (3 and 2) or (4 and 1) to two teams. Now, Greg gives (5 and 3) or (5 and 2).
In the first series, it was just 2 points to the winning team, 0 to the losing team (except for one occasion, where Frank and Tim were given a point for figuring out the system, which the others didn't do but still won the task through sheer luck).
There are more points now. We just watched the first two seasons, as we have exposed a friend to the latest two, and he wants to watch them all. It seemed like only the winner got points in some tasks.Â
And Joe Wilkinson's potato toss is STILL heartbreaking.
Series 1 was filmed in a theatre rather than a TV studio so the whole set up looks quite different from the other series. Visually it looks a bit too busy, particularly around Greg and Alex because there are handrails and stuff behind them and Alexâs iPad is attached to his chair.
But really, itâs amazing how much has stayed the same over the years. They nailed most of the really important stuff from day one.
That's probably why Dave kept it for so long, with fairly low viewership. It was clearly something that could be successful when people caught onto it.
The pre-record packages are never interrupted with reaction shots of the comics. It was a nice view into personality, but I'm sure it annoyed the editors.
I recall an interview where one of the Andys said they stopped cutting into the VT/pre-records as each was its own little film. I get it, but I miss the reactions and like that they have them on TM NZ and TM OZ.
I also think it was mentioned that the reactions arenât as visible as they were in the first few series, in that they got better at hiding their feelings.
As fun as they often were, it did feel a bit overused in the very early series â feels like thereâs a bit more confidence in the standalone humour of the VTs now without the visual âlaugh trackâ.
I also suspect it makes the show a bit more appealing to do for the contestants â I can imagine there would be much more anxiety about how theyâre coming across, and wanting to respond âcorrectlyâ rather than authentically, when they donât know whether or not theyâre on camera at any given moment.
I do agree with it being overused in the early series, 4-7 had the best balance of it.
Also your second point makes me think how Iain's reactions would have looked if they didn't drop the cutaways starting from series 8.
Hah, Iâd love if that was the reason! âGuys, weâd better not cut back to the studio in this one â Iainâs trying to gnaw his own hand off againâŚâ
Rundown of this:
* Tiebreakers - The first ever tiebreaker was a taped task, it's possible that was the only one recorded since the second tiebreaker in series 1 was an in-studio one. There have been three more in-studio once since, and besides the most recent one (party poppers in series 16), they were all unfair since they were based on the closest number, putting the first guesser at a disadvantage.
* Episode count - Series 1 had 6 episodes, S2 and S3 had 5. They then increased to 8 episodes for series 4 and then 10 from series 6 onwards.
* Swearing - Well, there was more censorship in places, but according to a swear chart posted on here, Romesh is by proportion the most foul-mouthed contestant to date (Asim swore the most overall but he had more episodes).
* Live team tasks - The first one was in series 7, but since series 10 there's been at least two a series. My guess is that series 10 increased the amount of them (there were 3 I believe) due to the lower amount of filmed team tasks as a result of social distancing, and they decided it worked so kept on doing them.
* Individual tasks - They're rarer nowadays to make them less predictable, but we've still had two pretty most recent ones - John Kearns' sabotage and Sam Campbell's mice & fish (although the latter could be discounted as another contestant set it).
A few changes I can think of:
* No longer cutting to the contestant's reactions in the studio during a task
* No longer going out in public (save for COC III and Sam in the nickname task)
* Greg no longer gives out bonus points that are not built into the task (it's implied his 'little fucker' bonus point to Morgana that arguably won her the series is what prompted this), and this may also explain the lessened number of individual tasks.
* Lack of graphs/maps to depict task attempts, i.e. the buggy task in series 8 (not 100% sure on this but can't think of the last time they did it)
* Tasks taking place outside the grounds are in just one location (or two for series 6), starting from series 5
* Each series having its own theme, starting from series 8
* Greg nearly always awards the winning team 5 points in the team tasks, when it used to be a split of 5 points (or just 2 in the first series)
I remember on a podcast Alex saying the team task points were always meant to be out of 5 (4-1, 3-2, etc.), but Greg does what Greg wants and the team point breakdown specifically irks Alex lol
There is occasionally reactions in the studio during a task, but nowhere near as much, and I do wish they'd bring it back. I'm watching S14 and during the Sabotage sand trolley team task there's I think two cutaways to the studio.
Because if the contestants knew beforehand that that would be one of the tasks, they could start planning what theyâd do way in advance. Alex wants the tasks to be a surprise to the contestants when they read them, and if they kept doing that one, it wouldnât be a surprise.
The contestantsâ philosophy in the prize tasks has changed. It used to be âhereâs something I legitimately own that fits the categoryâ, but has become more them buying/making something for the sake of a high-concept joke. Romeshâs wedding ring and car were far funnier than anything Mae or Steve came up with.
Edit: misspelled Romesh.
This was ever so mildly annoying to me. Steve Pemberton raised the level on prizes back to where they should be. He should be given as the example that all future competitors strive towards. I do give credit to a good bullshitter that can elevate a crap prize to something point worthy though.
However, to be fair, I think there is something to be said that the early tasks were much more simple and open ended, but now after all this time they are becoming a bit convoluted? idk, but wanted to throw that caveat in.
Per the tasks becoming increasingly unclear â one of the big parts of the humor with a Katherine Parkinson, David Baddiel, and the like was that they were clever people who misunderstood a pretty straightforward task. This series the tasks were so obtusely worded that when Sophie, Steve, or Nick did something strange, it lost a lot of the humor. I felt bad for them more than ever before. Like yeah I would be pissed off trying to decipher that nonsense a dozen times a day too. Good on you.
This is a very common perception so when I went back and rewatched a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see him laughing so much in the studio. True, in the filmed tasks they didn't show him reacting much which is where the perception comes from, but he gave looks to the camera from the start which I think describing him as stony or poker faced kind of skips over. Â
'Deadpan' is probably a better description, because he still actively contributed to the amusement with his looks to camera.
We know a lot more about how awful of a person Alex is. His hatred of womenâs rights, gay rights, love of apartheid, wanting to shag his neighbor. He clearly has a drinking problem and comes across as the English Andy Dick or something. Just an awful, awful man. So glad Greg is there to cut him down and reveal all this terrible truth about him.
Theyâve moved away from giving a task where only one person has to do something to earn point, maybe because of a burst hemorrhoid.
But I did want to know how many beans were in that can.
I miss the prank tasks.
Team scoring changed. Used to be strict 5 points split between teams. 5/0, 4/1, 3/2. Now it's more out of 5 (funnily similar to how Jeremy in TMNZ has been scoring all tasks recently)
I think ending on a team task in recent series has been a great move overall. Weâve gotten the House Queens, How Close to Death are You, and of course, the TM Hotel just from the final team tasks.
Agreed, this works really well. A good creative team task is (unsurprisingly) often when the contestants are at their best and funniest.
The last couple of series have also followed a similar format for the first episode: straightforward task with a bit of jeopardy (stacking cans/not breaking eggs), first team task, first location task. The series prior to that (15) had quite a bizarre first task (the silent wedding dance) that probably seemed bafflingly oblique to anyone new to the show â feels like since then theyâve made sure the first episode gives a broader and clearer introduction to whoâs who and how the show works, and itâs paid off both times so far.
On the other hand, I don't like how they've introduced team tasks in the first episode. I like getting a full episode to get to know the contestants first.
They no longer label each section in between the ad breaks as like part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 (I feel like they didnât refer to them as parts but I canât think of what word they used. It was like act 1 or act 2 but they didnât say âactâ either I donât think?)
Tasks tend to be standard length. 1 hour or longer tasks are pretty rare.
I feel that many tasks would be funnier if they had a bit more time for complicated and elaborate solutions. And failures.
I can see why they donât do it, practically, but yeah there was something wonderful about how at least one person would invariably *lose their mind* when given something fairly straightforward but open-ended to do (throw a tea bag into a mug) and have e.g. a full hour to do it in.
David Correos and the grape. or the shoe strings.
Sometimes giving them too much time is the way. Either for them to be brilliant or overthink it and go completely mad.
I think the shorter time forces the contestants to be more chaotic. If you have time to think, you have time to refine what you're going to do or change your mind or not go with your instincts. My guess is people in production find the gut reaction idea is funnier than a person who has some time to work out a new idea.
In the first series Alex has his tablet attached to a movable arm. Now he just holds it.Â
I heard him talk about it before (probably RHLSTP), saying something along the lines of he thought itâd look cool but it was just awkward.Â
Yes, it might have been in the same thing you're thinking of where he said he felt a bit constricted whereas holding it in his hands he's much more free to move about in his seat.
I wish they still did the individual tasks. Singling out one individual in an entertaining way like they did with Mark Watson and Josh Widdecombe (and others) was fantastic viewing.
There are drawers in the bottom of Greg and Alex's throne/chair. I wonder what they hold when it's not holding one of Alex's props? Perhaps snacks? extra socks?
Andy Cartwright said on the podcast that now it's on channel 4 they have 3 more minutes so can show more banter etc. It was previously 44 minutes on Dave, now it's 47
The one thing Iâve noticed is that, at least on YouTube, theyâve cut out the clips that come before and after the commercial breaks. I miss those. :(
I don't see why you have been downvoted for this. Its true. Ch4 has expanded it out from just comedians for this reason.
Its also why the standout seasons are all from the Dave era.
I'm sorry to all you hardcore TM heads (I know you're downvote me for saying this) but that's also true, the Dave series are funnier and infinitely more watchable on repeat. The last few series have had a handful of truly LOL moments where as the early ones were full of them.
This is simply not true. Dave-era gave us Richard Osman already in series 2, and people like Liza Tarbuck and Alice Devine are neither "just comedians" and they obviously weren't picked because Dave-era TM ran out of comedians....
There are plenty of big top-level comedians, and this sub is full of lists of big name dream contestants that haven't yet done TM. Each series is a mix of well-known faces, "newcomers" and more left-field picks.
Agreed there were a tiny section of Dave contestants that were not comedians. But that still doesn't change the fact that Ch4 have widened the scope by quite a bit.
And it also doesn't change the fact that the Dave eps are still a lot better than any of the Ch4 series so far.
The statement was that C4 expanded out by putting non-comedians on the show, the fact is that it started in series 2. And looking at the Dave-era vs the C4 era, there has clearly been more non-comedians on the regular TM show during the Dave-era, with the already mentioned Osman being the biggest non-comedian that has been on. Even comedic actresses like Katherine Parkinson and Susan Wokoma has obviously done a lot more comedy than Osman.
And that you believe the Dave-era was the best of TM doesn't make it a fact. What we know for a fact is that a lot more people watch TM now than during its run on Dave. It has also kept getting nominated and winning awards, so your "fact" is pretty subjectiv and rather meaningless to discuss.
We also know that as the show has grown and become a big hit, it now has a lot more big name comedians coming on the show. We also have the NYT that get even bigger names to appear on the show.
Just ot clarify about big comedians doing the show.
During the Dave-era we got Frank Skinner, Al Murray, Noel Fielding, Hugh Dennis, Mel Giedroyc, Bob Mortimer, Russel Howard, Jo Brand and David Baddiel
Compared to C4-era: Daisy May Cooper, Johnny Vegas, Lee Mack, Alan Davies, Ardal O'Hanlon, Chris Ramsey, Judi Love, Dara O'Briain, Sarah Milican, Frankie Boyle, Julian Clary, Sue Perkins, Steve Pemberton and now Jack Dee.
People tend to forget that several of the contestants in the earlier series became truly big after their time on TM, like Josh Widdicombe, Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett, Katherine Ryan, Joe Lycett, Lolly Adefope, James Acaster, Ed Gamble etc
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Exactly, I'm not saying that I don't enjoy it, but I feel it relies a lot more on finding "odd couples" that create comedy gold now (thinking the juxtaposition of Frankie Boyle and Ivar Graham) to get the really, really funny moments.
Earlier seasons the comedic quality of the comebacks from Rhod Gilbert or James Acaster (in the middle of a season 7 rewatch just now) to the taskmasters scoring and comments are much funnier.
There are more women lmao
The first three series all have a token woman (this is common on panel shows but Iâm glad they have at least two a series now â well except Series 15 but that isnât 4 men, 1 women so it doesnât feel too sausage-y)
Greg used to give intros for indiviual comedians while standing (I think) and then it became a single intro simply followed by the names of the comedians. The Trophy, of course, has changed. Widdicombe doesn't have Greg's Magnificent Head. đ Less or no tasks in (or involving members of the) public (like high five a 55 year old person). Points for team tasks are not just divided like (3 and 2) or (4 and 1) to two teams. Now, Greg gives (5 and 3) or (5 and 2).
Greg also stood while giving everyoneâs intros and while doing the outro for the episode.
Alex had a weird little contraption the iPad was attached to
>Points for team tasks are not just divided like (3 and 2) or (4 and 1) to two teams. Now, Greg gives (5 and 3) or (5 and 2). In the first series, it was just 2 points to the winning team, 0 to the losing team (except for one occasion, where Frank and Tim were given a point for figuring out the system, which the others didn't do but still won the task through sheer luck).
There are more points now. We just watched the first two seasons, as we have exposed a friend to the latest two, and he wants to watch them all. It seemed like only the winner got points in some tasks. And Joe Wilkinson's potato toss is STILL heartbreaking.
It was harsh
I believe Widdicombe was given a head at a later date. But the trophy is the official one
Imagine they didnât tell him what was going on and just sent him the Greg head.
Series 1 was filmed in a theatre rather than a TV studio so the whole set up looks quite different from the other series. Visually it looks a bit too busy, particularly around Greg and Alex because there are handrails and stuff behind them and Alexâs iPad is attached to his chair. But really, itâs amazing how much has stayed the same over the years. They nailed most of the really important stuff from day one.
Filmed at the Clapham Grand theatre in London. Which the studio set is loosely based on.
That's probably why Dave kept it for so long, with fairly low viewership. It was clearly something that could be successful when people caught onto it.
The high-pitched "Little Alex Horne" introduction by Greg.
Season 4 is when that began to start
He started it in late S2 or early S3, but it didn't imemdiately become permanent
Series 3, episode 3 - Little Polythene Grief Cave. First episode to refer to LAH.
I really wish he'd stop doing that.
Found Alexâs burner account
Greg now wears glasses if that's anything
Also, beard
No, Alex has been there the whole time.
You're thinking of Sam Reich. CEO of Dropout America.
The same Sam Reich who stole toys meant for charity and then showed his dad a picture of him flexing his muscles?
Wait, what?
[Youâll love this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ecx6SDMP3U)
Oooooh. I actually do remember seeing that. Iâd forgotten the bit about the toy.
The pre-record packages are never interrupted with reaction shots of the comics. It was a nice view into personality, but I'm sure it annoyed the editors.
Yeah I imagine editing reaction shots into something you \_already edited\_ isn't the easiest or most fun task in the world.
But then they leave out gold like Chris Ramsey being so surprised by his own actions in a video that he yells in surprise!
They already re-edit the VT prior to airing.
Still happens sometimes. Like the sabotage reveal in Dafty in the Middle.
Needs to come back. Much missed
NZ and AUS on top for this reason
It won't come back as they never wanted to do it.
I recall an interview where one of the Andys said they stopped cutting into the VT/pre-records as each was its own little film. I get it, but I miss the reactions and like that they have them on TM NZ and TM OZ.
I also think it was mentioned that the reactions arenât as visible as they were in the first few series, in that they got better at hiding their feelings.
As fun as they often were, it did feel a bit overused in the very early series â feels like thereâs a bit more confidence in the standalone humour of the VTs now without the visual âlaugh trackâ. I also suspect it makes the show a bit more appealing to do for the contestants â I can imagine there would be much more anxiety about how theyâre coming across, and wanting to respond âcorrectlyâ rather than authentically, when they donât know whether or not theyâre on camera at any given moment.
I do agree with it being overused in the early series, 4-7 had the best balance of it. Also your second point makes me think how Iain's reactions would have looked if they didn't drop the cutaways starting from series 8.
Hah, Iâd love if that was the reason! âGuys, weâd better not cut back to the studio in this one â Iainâs trying to gnaw his own hand off againâŚâ
There's been the gradual additions to the yard around the house. The dome, the stage, the statue etc.
It never occurred to me the stage wasn't there from the beginning. Was Song for a Stranger the debut of it?
No. That was a separate stage set where the statue is. The first task I remember the stage was Chris's game in S13. Could be wrong, though.
No, that was a load of wooden pallets.
Rundown of this: * Tiebreakers - The first ever tiebreaker was a taped task, it's possible that was the only one recorded since the second tiebreaker in series 1 was an in-studio one. There have been three more in-studio once since, and besides the most recent one (party poppers in series 16), they were all unfair since they were based on the closest number, putting the first guesser at a disadvantage. * Episode count - Series 1 had 6 episodes, S2 and S3 had 5. They then increased to 8 episodes for series 4 and then 10 from series 6 onwards. * Swearing - Well, there was more censorship in places, but according to a swear chart posted on here, Romesh is by proportion the most foul-mouthed contestant to date (Asim swore the most overall but he had more episodes). * Live team tasks - The first one was in series 7, but since series 10 there's been at least two a series. My guess is that series 10 increased the amount of them (there were 3 I believe) due to the lower amount of filmed team tasks as a result of social distancing, and they decided it worked so kept on doing them. * Individual tasks - They're rarer nowadays to make them less predictable, but we've still had two pretty most recent ones - John Kearns' sabotage and Sam Campbell's mice & fish (although the latter could be discounted as another contestant set it). A few changes I can think of: * No longer cutting to the contestant's reactions in the studio during a task * No longer going out in public (save for COC III and Sam in the nickname task) * Greg no longer gives out bonus points that are not built into the task (it's implied his 'little fucker' bonus point to Morgana that arguably won her the series is what prompted this), and this may also explain the lessened number of individual tasks. * Lack of graphs/maps to depict task attempts, i.e. the buggy task in series 8 (not 100% sure on this but can't think of the last time they did it) * Tasks taking place outside the grounds are in just one location (or two for series 6), starting from series 5 * Each series having its own theme, starting from series 8 * Greg nearly always awards the winning team 5 points in the team tasks, when it used to be a split of 5 points (or just 2 in the first series)
I remember on a podcast Alex saying the team task points were always meant to be out of 5 (4-1, 3-2, etc.), but Greg does what Greg wants and the team point breakdown specifically irks Alex lol
There's a map in S17E10, hug your special friend.
Oh I'm dumb AF, I completely forgot the literal most recent episode had one
I think Season 9âs âchoose your own adventureâ had a map depicting each teamâs attempt at the task.
There is occasionally reactions in the studio during a task, but nowhere near as much, and I do wish they'd bring it back. I'm watching S14 and during the Sabotage sand trolley team task there's I think two cutaways to the studio.
Wasn't the first ever tiebreaker the how many seconds question for Josh and Romesh?
that was the second, the first was pre recorded and i think frank skinner won it
I really miss the ÂŁ20 challenge where they had to buy Gregg a gift, that was one of my favourites
Probably superfluous given that all the prize tasks are gifts for Greg
Once again they are not gifts!
I never understood why they stopped doing this one!
Because if the contestants knew beforehand that that would be one of the tasks, they could start planning what theyâd do way in advance. Alex wants the tasks to be a surprise to the contestants when they read them, and if they kept doing that one, it wouldnât be a surprise.
The contestantsâ philosophy in the prize tasks has changed. It used to be âhereâs something I legitimately own that fits the categoryâ, but has become more them buying/making something for the sake of a high-concept joke. Romeshâs wedding ring and car were far funnier than anything Mae or Steve came up with. Edit: misspelled Romesh.
Romeshâs wedding ring and Joeâs wedding certificate were two iconic bits of TV
This was ever so mildly annoying to me. Steve Pemberton raised the level on prizes back to where they should be. He should be given as the example that all future competitors strive towards. I do give credit to a good bullshitter that can elevate a crap prize to something point worthy though. However, to be fair, I think there is something to be said that the early tasks were much more simple and open ended, but now after all this time they are becoming a bit convoluted? idk, but wanted to throw that caveat in.
Per the tasks becoming increasingly unclear â one of the big parts of the humor with a Katherine Parkinson, David Baddiel, and the like was that they were clever people who misunderstood a pretty straightforward task. This series the tasks were so obtusely worded that when Sophie, Steve, or Nick did something strange, it lost a lot of the humor. I felt bad for them more than ever before. Like yeah I would be pissed off trying to decipher that nonsense a dozen times a day too. Good on you.
Series 10 was THE series for convoluted tasks though, so I don't think that's the best example, although Katherine did flunk even the simple ones
Alex used to be completely stonefaced and now he's much more open to reactingÂ
This is a very common perception so when I went back and rewatched a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see him laughing so much in the studio. True, in the filmed tasks they didn't show him reacting much which is where the perception comes from, but he gave looks to the camera from the start which I think describing him as stony or poker faced kind of skips over.  'Deadpan' is probably a better description, because he still actively contributed to the amusement with his looks to camera.
Went back to watch S1 and S2 and surprised by how little decorating of the TM house there was.
Yes it is strange how bare it is
[ŃдаНонО]
Huh?
We know a lot more about how awful of a person Alex is. His hatred of womenâs rights, gay rights, love of apartheid, wanting to shag his neighbor. He clearly has a drinking problem and comes across as the English Andy Dick or something. Just an awful, awful man. So glad Greg is there to cut him down and reveal all this terrible truth about him.
Theyâve moved away from giving a task where only one person has to do something to earn point, maybe because of a burst hemorrhoid. But I did want to know how many beans were in that can.
I had often wondered how many grains of rice there were in a package.
I miss the prank tasks. Team scoring changed. Used to be strict 5 points split between teams. 5/0, 4/1, 3/2. Now it's more out of 5 (funnily similar to how Jeremy in TMNZ has been scoring all tasks recently)
I prefer when the scoring is a strict 5/4/3/2/1, it feels a bit of a cop out saying Iâm not going to give anyone 1 point.
I think ending on a team task in recent series has been a great move overall. Weâve gotten the House Queens, How Close to Death are You, and of course, the TM Hotel just from the final team tasks.
Donât forget the Rosalind songs back in S5!
Agreed, this works really well. A good creative team task is (unsurprisingly) often when the contestants are at their best and funniest. The last couple of series have also followed a similar format for the first episode: straightforward task with a bit of jeopardy (stacking cans/not breaking eggs), first team task, first location task. The series prior to that (15) had quite a bizarre first task (the silent wedding dance) that probably seemed bafflingly oblique to anyone new to the show â feels like since then theyâve made sure the first episode gives a broader and clearer introduction to whoâs who and how the show works, and itâs paid off both times so far.
On the other hand, I don't like how they've introduced team tasks in the first episode. I like getting a full episode to get to know the contestants first.
Greg has softened massively since season 1 and all the contestants seem a little too nice to each other now
STOP BEING NICE
you laugh but there is something very British about being borderline horrible to people you genuinely like for the sake of a joke
We need another Ardal
Watching on YouTube, Iâll tell you my favorite changeâ later seasons donât have any ad breaks.
I really liked the little introducing words from greg before every Break.
I hated that change honestly. I love the stuff Alex does in the ad breaks.
You didn't like Greg shouting at you to get your life together and buy things? I need daddy to be mean to me.... Greg. I mean Greg. đ
I have just finished watching the latest season on All4 and I am sure there were ad breaks with introductions still?Â
That must be a YouTube specific cut, the episodes airing on TV do (and on All4) so we get all the fun links and the inserts to/from the ad breaks.
They no longer label each section in between the ad breaks as like part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 (I feel like they didnât refer to them as parts but I canât think of what word they used. It was like act 1 or act 2 but they didnât say âactâ either I donât think?)
They said âpartâ :)
Alex doesnât have an ipad holder, he must hold the ipad in his grubby little hands
Tasks tend to be standard length. 1 hour or longer tasks are pretty rare. I feel that many tasks would be funnier if they had a bit more time for complicated and elaborate solutions. And failures.
I can see why they donât do it, practically, but yeah there was something wonderful about how at least one person would invariably *lose their mind* when given something fairly straightforward but open-ended to do (throw a tea bag into a mug) and have e.g. a full hour to do it in.
David Correos and the grape. or the shoe strings. Sometimes giving them too much time is the way. Either for them to be brilliant or overthink it and go completely mad.
The âget the duck to the pondâ task would have been quite differentâŚ
I think the shorter time forces the contestants to be more chaotic. If you have time to think, you have time to refine what you're going to do or change your mind or not go with your instincts. My guess is people in production find the gut reaction idea is funnier than a person who has some time to work out a new idea.
I partly agree. It depends and obviously longer time causes more work filming and editing
In the first series Alex has his tablet attached to a movable arm. Now he just holds it. I heard him talk about it before (probably RHLSTP), saying something along the lines of he thought itâd look cool but it was just awkward.Â
Yes, it might have been in the same thing you're thinking of where he said he felt a bit constricted whereas holding it in his hands he's much more free to move about in his seat.
More yard fixtures (the caravan, Linda, Ollie, the piano, the dome, the stage, the Greg statue, the wagon), the shed being moved.Â
The cow!
The cow is Linda.
Ah sorry, i didnt realise it had a name!
Rylan named it after his mom during New Year's treat.
Better lighting
The scoring system has moved largely from a ranking system ( 5 points to 1 point) to a rating system (X out of 5) for judgement based tasks.
Iâd say âGreg has pushed Alex into accepting that he uses a ranking system.â
I wish they still did the individual tasks. Singling out one individual in an entertaining way like they did with Mark Watson and Josh Widdecombe (and others) was fantastic viewing.
There are drawers in the bottom of Greg and Alex's throne/chair. I wonder what they hold when it's not holding one of Alex's props? Perhaps snacks? extra socks?
Andy Cartwright said on the podcast that now it's on channel 4 they have 3 more minutes so can show more banter etc. It was previously 44 minutes on Dave, now it's 47
Alex got rid of the iPad holder fixed to his chair
There were a lot of changes from seasons 1-2. TM hasn't really changed much since then though
S1 wasnât in a studio. It was a real theater. which they then used as a model when they moved to a studio in later seasons
There was no box in S1 according to Romesh
The one thing Iâve noticed is that, at least on YouTube, theyâve cut out the clips that come before and after the commercial breaks. I miss those. :(
It's not called series one any more. It's called series six or something. They keep changing the number.
Channel
Running out of good, top-level comedians to use.
I don't see why you have been downvoted for this. Its true. Ch4 has expanded it out from just comedians for this reason. Its also why the standout seasons are all from the Dave era. I'm sorry to all you hardcore TM heads (I know you're downvote me for saying this) but that's also true, the Dave series are funnier and infinitely more watchable on repeat. The last few series have had a handful of truly LOL moments where as the early ones were full of them.
This is simply not true. Dave-era gave us Richard Osman already in series 2, and people like Liza Tarbuck and Alice Devine are neither "just comedians" and they obviously weren't picked because Dave-era TM ran out of comedians.... There are plenty of big top-level comedians, and this sub is full of lists of big name dream contestants that haven't yet done TM. Each series is a mix of well-known faces, "newcomers" and more left-field picks.
Agreed there were a tiny section of Dave contestants that were not comedians. But that still doesn't change the fact that Ch4 have widened the scope by quite a bit. And it also doesn't change the fact that the Dave eps are still a lot better than any of the Ch4 series so far.
The statement was that C4 expanded out by putting non-comedians on the show, the fact is that it started in series 2. And looking at the Dave-era vs the C4 era, there has clearly been more non-comedians on the regular TM show during the Dave-era, with the already mentioned Osman being the biggest non-comedian that has been on. Even comedic actresses like Katherine Parkinson and Susan Wokoma has obviously done a lot more comedy than Osman. And that you believe the Dave-era was the best of TM doesn't make it a fact. What we know for a fact is that a lot more people watch TM now than during its run on Dave. It has also kept getting nominated and winning awards, so your "fact" is pretty subjectiv and rather meaningless to discuss. We also know that as the show has grown and become a big hit, it now has a lot more big name comedians coming on the show. We also have the NYT that get even bigger names to appear on the show.
Just ot clarify about big comedians doing the show. During the Dave-era we got Frank Skinner, Al Murray, Noel Fielding, Hugh Dennis, Mel Giedroyc, Bob Mortimer, Russel Howard, Jo Brand and David Baddiel Compared to C4-era: Daisy May Cooper, Johnny Vegas, Lee Mack, Alan Davies, Ardal O'Hanlon, Chris Ramsey, Judi Love, Dara O'Briain, Sarah Milican, Frankie Boyle, Julian Clary, Sue Perkins, Steve Pemberton and now Jack Dee. People tend to forget that several of the contestants in the earlier series became truly big after their time on TM, like Josh Widdicombe, Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett, Katherine Ryan, Joe Lycett, Lolly Adefope, James Acaster, Ed Gamble etc
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Or maybe people disagree with you, because your opinion isn't objectively correct, after all.
Sorry, your post has been removed for violating Rule 1 - Be nice: Do not attack others, their work or appearance including fellow members of the sub, comedians and celebrities. Negative opinions are fine, but please keep it respectful and constructive. No harassment. No sexist, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, racist, fat phobic, ableist, objectifying, or body shaming posts of any kind. No overtly sexual content. Some cursing is OK but don't make it personal. Even though sexual innuendo may be part of the show do not cross the line beyond what was said in the episode. We do not want negative posts. Ex: Worst contestants, Worst Tasks, Least liked, Least wanted, etc...
Exactly, I'm not saying that I don't enjoy it, but I feel it relies a lot more on finding "odd couples" that create comedy gold now (thinking the juxtaposition of Frankie Boyle and Ivar Graham) to get the really, really funny moments. Earlier seasons the comedic quality of the comebacks from Rhod Gilbert or James Acaster (in the middle of a season 7 rewatch just now) to the taskmasters scoring and comments are much funnier.
There are more women lmao The first three series all have a token woman (this is common on panel shows but Iâm glad they have at least two a series now â well except Series 15 but that isnât 4 men, 1 women so it doesnât feel too sausage-y)