On the surface, this is indeed a fairly standard game show, but when you take into account the contestants are all (or at least mostly) comedians, the points given are based on Greg's opinions more than any objective right or wrong solutions, and the tasks themselves are incredibly absurd and often humiliating, the results definitely out-measure the sum of its parts. This is a ridiculous show that manages to reveal far more about the contestants than you might expect, both mentally and physically.
This isn't just a show you passively watch, it is a strangely interactive experience that gets you hooked into the points/scoring system, with you as an audience member tallying your own scores up to see how they stack up against the views of Greg and the tyrannical caricature of himself he has created. You find yourself thinking what you would do with each task as they come up, and when someone else does the thing you were thinking, you feel like a genius...at least until Greg gives them 1 point and calls them an idiot. Additionally, over lockdown the YouTube channel for TM has uploaded a series of "home tasks" for viewers at home to do and post online. It's a lovely diversion, but doesn't hold a candle to the main series.
Anyway, now that I've vaguely described the series to people who have no idea what it's all about, we can get into the actual point of this post. Over the 11 seasons of the show (and I'm not counting Champion of Champions or the New Years special) there have been 55 contestants, and even the ones I don't particularly like have their fair share of great moments. This show gives everyone plenty of opportunities to shine, so even the most annoying ones I'll be naming first still have at least a handful of moments each that made me laugh out loud and applaud their performances.
Before I continue, there are a few things I need to say. First, I will not be including contestants from the various other regional versions of Taskmaster, just the British one. Also, since the New Years special cast were only there for 1 episode, they didn't have enough time for me to include them on this list. No NZ or US contestants and no New Years contestants.
Also, before I get into the list itself, I want to loudly exclaim THIS POST WILL BE FULL OF SPOILERS! So if you have any interest in watching the show without knowing who wins each season, get on YouTube and watch it before you look at this. I love this show, so I don't want to spoil any surprises for anyone, but I also don't want to have to be incredibly vague with every single thing I write here. This is all on you now, you've been warned. Here's my list.
Oh, and one final thing: this is an opinion list. It's all based on who I found the funniest, most clever, most endearing, etc. I'm not basing any of the placements on how well they did points-wise, just on how well I enjoyed them as a contestant. Alright, NOW here's my list.
55. Lou Sanders
Series 8
1st place, 164 points
To anyone out there who loves Lou Sanders, she does have plenty of funny moments on Taskmaster, but just not enough for me to forgive the obnoxious moments that occur pretty much every episode. While a lot of people point to Iain Stirling as the low point of the show, I found his appearance a lot more humbled as the series went along, and he did visibly show some remorse for his whiny and bratty behavior. Lou, however, did not. In fact, her brattiness seemed to only lead to her just being given extra points, probably just to shut her up. And she got to win the season because of it (according to my scoring, she would have landed in 4th place, just to put it into some context). Yes, she has plenty of hilarious moments and great task performances, but the whining just made me uncomfortable and wasn't entertaining to me.
54. Lolly Adefope
Series 4
5th place, 129 points
Unlike Lou, Lolly doesn't have a whiny personality that makes her come across in a bad way. But what she does have...is basically nothing. She seems like a perfectly lovely person, but as a comedic personality, she brings absolutely nothing to the table in this otherwise amazing season. Yes, I do think she looks a lot worse just based on the exceptional company she kept throughout her season, but she still didn't really have any memorable moments in the studio and often took the blandest route when it came to the tasks themselves. Just an overall boring contestant, which to me is just about the worst thing you can be on a show that celebrates creativity and being willing to embarrass yourself.
53. Paul Sinha
Series 8
5th place, 136 points
Much like Lolly, Paul wasn't so much a "bad" contestant as much as just a very dull one. I give him a slight edge over Lolly, though, largely due to the things going on in his life during the show itself. It may seem a bit of a cop-out, but Sinha was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and recently had undergone a shoulder surgery that visibly slowed him down. The result was a person who wasn't fun to watch, even if just because it made me feel bad to laugh at him when he made huge mistakes. I don't want to feel bad when watching a game/panel show comedy, dammit. Regardless of his issues, he wasn't terribly fun to watch, and that's all that really matters in this situation.
52. Katy Wix
Series 9
3rd place, 158 points
Another contestant who has a very sweet and light personality that doesn't inflame me, but just bored the hell out of me. I just went back through the show for the third time to prepare for this list, and I still couldn't really tell you any tasks she smashed out of the park. Surrounded by the super competitive (Rose and Ed) and the hilariously aloof (David and Jo), Katy just kinda sat in the middle with the most boring responses to everything she is confronted with. This is by no means enough to spoil the season, but more often than not I'd simply zone out and wait for her tasks to be done.
51. Kerry Godliman
Series 7
1st place, 176 points
Much like Lou, Kerry seemed to get her way a lot of the time through the sheer power of whining a bunch. But she also seemed to get punished a decent amount when it came to points for the team tasks that her and Jessica Knappett clearly knocked out of the park. When I went through and did my own scoring for this season, Kerry didn't wind up with the win, but it was still pretty close, and her super straight-forward approach to tasks made for a fun contrast to the wilder and more experimental interpretations of Rhod Gilbert and James Acaster. She wouldn't have been nearly as good of a fit had she been in a worse season, but she is slightly elevated by her surroundings. That, and a wonderful moment involving a laminator.
50. Alice Levine
Series 6
5th place, 152 points
And back to the boring side of things. Alice Levine doesn't have many shining moments, doesn't really thrive in the studio, and barely squeaked out with any points throughout the series. Even though I don't *really* care how well someone does in the show points-wise, when they don't make for a terribly interesting contestant with fun or inventive ideas, it really just drags the whole thing down. But in her defense, the contestants in season 6 were all mostly pretty boring, so Alice doesn't really stand out too much in a negative way. I just wasn't too impressed.
49. Sara Pascoe
Series 3
4th place, 72 points
Season 3 is one of the low points in the show's run, but with that being said I didn't dislike any of these contestants. While they all have ups and downs, what landed Sara in the bottom of that group for me is her relative lack of ups. Sure, Dave Gorman's attempts at cheating turned a lot of people off, and Al Murray constantly throwing money at everything was a bit of a problem, but Sara just didn't really have anything going for her that would have defaulted her higher than those two. I can't honestly say I remember much of anything she did on the show, and I've watched it three times.
48. Dave Gorman
Series 3
2nd place, 81 points
Hey, remember what I said about this guy? Yeah, while I wasn't as bothered by the multiple attempts to cheat (which were blatant and caught on camera, so it's not like he got away with anything), what I found myself most bothered by with Dave Gorman was in just how boring he was with a majority of the tasks. The first thought anyone might have is pretty much always the idea he went with here, and the results are just as forgettable as you might expect. However, he does have a handful of fine moments, which in only 5 episodes does help a bit. Early series contestants were definitely held back slightly by the lack of time to really get into things, but something tells me Gorman never would have really picked up had he been in one of the 8-10 episode seasons.
47. Richard Herring
Series 10
1st place, 162 points
Just having finished this series again, I'd have to say that Richard Herring is the most forgettable winner so far. Not that he's by any means my least favorite (as should be evident by previous entries), but much like most of the people on the list at this point, he just barely does anything noteworthy. Even though he won 5 of the season's 10 episodes, he never really dominated during his run, with his lead being incredibly close all the way to the very end. It led to an interesting sort of rivalry between himself and Daisy May Cooper, but a majority of the humor from this comes from just how angry she was, not from Richard.
46. Asim Chaudhry
Series 6
4th place, 159 points
One of the more pleasant cast members in the show's history, Asim suffers from being in one of the weakest seasons of the show, but also from just how self-aggrandizing he could be. A lot of the time his prizes would come across more as talk show publicity segments that weren't inspired or necessarily a good fit for the brief, even though he managed to ingeniously work that bit into a future task that might go down as one of the best task performances in the show. He has some incredibly high highs, but his chilled-out personality didn't bring anything to the series that wouldn't have already been covered by other members of the cast.
45. Al Murray
Series 3
3rd place, 80 points
And completing the trifecta of mediocre series 3 contestants, Al Murray! Yes, he spent probably more money during the tasks on the show than he got paid to do it, but there were still some hilarious moments he was responsible for. I think I laughed harder at his attempt at a snowman than I did at anything else this entire season (with the exception of a few Rob Beckett moments, now that I think of it), and the fact that even after Dave attempted to cheat multiple times, he still would up feeling like the seedy villain of the series really helps him stand out. Still, he wasn't a super inventive contestant, his smugness was a tad off-putting, and wouldn't have been a top 3 contestant of pretty much any other season.
44. Sian Gibson
Series 8
4th place, 143 points
Perhaps the best thing I can say about Sian as a contestant is that she is the person responsible for convincing Johnny Vegas to agree to the show, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have her fair share of fun moments. Yes, she also fits into the side of "boring" as far as overall performances go, but her enthusiasm had a sort of Mel Giedroyc energy that made her a welcome presence, especially in a series that featured some of the most aggressive and temperamental people we've ever seen. Still, she didn't really do anything too amazing here, wasn't very funny, and just kinda filled out the ranks. Had she been in a better season, she might have actually been lower on here, but who knows. Still, I definitely don't dislike her.
Series 10
2nd place, 158 points
Much like Lou Sanders, Daisy started off the series pretty good and seemed to be having a pretty good time out there. But after several episodes, and probably some anger issues brought on by the late stages of her pregnancy (not just being sexist here, this woman was about to burst), Daisy seemed to get a little lost in the competitive side of the show and mostly just seemed pissed off for the second half as things weren't working out as well for her. In interviews afterwards, Daisy admitted to having got caught up on it and wasn't trying to be funny when she got really mad, so I can at least appreciate her honesty there. But in spite of a few uncomfortable moments sprinkled throughout, I feel her energy was much needed and helped add to a terrific season.
42. Roisin Conaty
Series 1
5th place, 68 points
This one might be seen as a "controversial" choice considering the overall popularity of the first season, but while I enjoy Roisin's idiot persona in small doses, even after only 6 episodes I was ready to be done with her. The incompetence could often be amusing, but when it's relentless it becomes a little too much for me to take. That paired with her friendship with Greg, that only wound up working in her favor (unlike someone like Rhod Gilbert, who used his friendship with Greg only as a means to insult him) as she consistently used things in his private life to give her more points. It felt a little sneaky, but not in a "it's all in good fun" type of way. Either way, she has a handful of hilarious moments, but I'm totally fine with her having been in one of the shorter seasons of the show.
41. Phil Wang
Series 7
5th place, 133 points
With two of the better running jokes in the series, Phil Wang sadly just didn't come through too much on the task side of the show, resulting in some pretty low effort stuff that rarely came across as particularly imaginative or inspired. Still, Wang gets bonus points for the aforementioned running jokes, one of which was just the unfortunate outfit he wore during the tasks themselves that very prominently displayed his genitals and the other being the haggling he used to bring in many of his prize tasks. Maybe 41st place seems a little harsh, but a couple funny jokes just isn't quite enough to give him the edge over some of the rest of these contestants.
40. Richard Osman
Series 2
3rd place, 86 points
Another one that people would probably disagree with being this low, but honestly apart from being the first person to really dissect the language/wording of the tasks to work in his favor, he didn't do much of anything that was too special. Sure, he was another one of the unfortunate contestants who only got to be there for 5 episodes, but in that time he never really did anything that blew me away. Nothing super funny, just an overall pleasant and clever contestant. I like Richard Osman just fine and this isn't meant as an insult, but he isn't a terribly funny guy, and ultimately what I like most are the ones who make me laugh the hardest.
39. Tim Vine
Series 6
2nd place, 175 points
I'm going to start off with an insult but it's one that keeps popping up in my head and I can't get it out: Tim Vine looks like someone who would have played a child nabber in a '60s live action Disney movie. With that aside, he has a disarmingly sweet comedic persona, and his safari outfit was a good fit. He is just another contestant who winds up feeling very middling in a season with no real standouts, so I can't really put him any higher. Still, I enjoyed his presence, his ridiculous dad jokes, and I hadn't felt as bad for anyone on the show as I did during his missing hook task for quite a while. He didn't complain, he seemed to be having a good time, and was overall just fine.
38. Liza Tarbuck
Series 6
1st place, 181 points
I've gone back and forth on Liza several times now, and have now settled on "she's fine". What makes her such a difficult contestant for me to rank is how absolutely brilliant she could be at times, but how irritatingly lazy she could be at others. She has several of the most memorable moments of her series, but the "I couldn't be bothered" attitude that permeates throughout that season are best personified by her performance. I don't want to just complain about her, as I do find some of the things she does to be genuinely hilarious and/or genius, but I'm still not entirely sure if she deserved to win the series and I'm curious to see how competitive (if at all) she'll be during Champion of Champions -- hopefully at least a little.
37. Doc Brown
Series 2
4th place, 78 points
I didn't really notice Doc much the first couple times through this series, as I was pretty much focused on Jon and Joe, but going back through the show several of my favorite moments are Doc-based. He can't see bridges, he's not an egg man, he thinks Greg was too harsh on Joe over the infamous potato throw, but mainly he punches the hell out of some salmon. He has a standout moment in just about every episode (which, of course, would be a lot easier for someone to do in a 5-episode season like this), even if he doesn't often steal the show. It's a shame he didn't enjoy his experience on the show, but I still found him solidly entertaining and made for a pretty entertaining 4th contestant.
36. Paul Chowdhry
Series 3
5th place, 66 points
Ever since the show began, there has been an attempt at a sort of formula to determine who will be in the cast for each season. For example, they like having one weirdo and one person who is totally incompetent. In the case of Paul, they got a two-for-one deal. While his individual task was a definite bust (in contrast, most of the individual tasks are some of the most entertaining in the show), Paul's strange studio behavior and baffling decision making set him apart in so many ways. Maybe he could have been higher up had we seen a bit more of him, but I'm not entirely sure how much more of this strange man I would be able to handle. Still, he has some hilarious moments and is unlike anyone else they've ever had on the show before or since.
35. Josh Widdicombe
Series 1
1st place, 94 points
In a lot of ways I consider Tim Key to be the guy who set the tone for the series, but if that's the case Josh raised the bar a few levels. While he doesn't have a ton of task performances that stand out, his willingness to go the extra mile set him apart in ways I never would have expected from the first season of an experimental game show. Getting himself tattooed just to try and earn a few points on a show that might not even make it to air is a bold move, and one that many people consider one of the single most iconic moments of the entire show. That moment aside, he was a solid competitor, the first winner, and the first (and so far only) winner of the Champion of Champions. Overall, he tries his hardest and is hilarious when picked on by Greg.
34. Russell Howard
Series 6
3rd place, 170 points
A lot of people dislike Russell Howard in general, but I'm mostly indifferent towards him. As far as his appearance on Taskmaster, I feel he's gotten a bit too much hate. Yeah, he did feel pretty low effort a lot of the time, but no more than pretty much anyone else this season. If anything, I wound up feeling pretty bad for him a lot of the time during this, as you get a little insight into just how pathetic his home life really is in a lot of ways -- or at least it seems that way from my perspective. He goes face first into all the sporty tasks, and even when his ideas are trash, he just goes with it. Who can forget when he shows that sweet old lady earwax removal videos on YouTube? So so strange.
33. Nish Kumar
Series 5
5th place, 107 points
Of all the "worst contestants" go, Nish Kumar seems to overall be one of the most loved, and I get why. His energy and total incompetence during a majority of the tasks made him pretty fun to watch, with Greg pretty obviously awarding him sympathy points on quite a few occasions just because he clearly saw there was no way it would affect the outcome of the show. But his usually terrible performances were only part of what made him so much fun, as it was made all the more triumphant every time he succeeded in doing something brilliant. As far as least favorites of their seasons go, Nish is one of the best, and I almost feel bad putting him this low. We're officially at the point in the list where I legitimately enjoy everyone from here on out with few caveats.
32. Charlotte Ritchie
Series 11
5th place, 125 points
I wasn't so sure about Charlotte when the season began, as she definitely took a little while to warm up to the show and everyone else around her (she didn't seem to get what the show was all about and didn't look like she was having too much fun), but as it went along she fell into the worst contestant role wonderfully and fully leaned into the "children's TV presenter" character Greg painted her as. Sadly, she didn't have too many brilliant task moments, but she was still a lovely contestant to have on the show as a counterbalance to the laser-focused competitive nature of Sarah and Lee. At times almost too endearing to even make fun of, Charlotte was too much fun for me to call the worst of her series, even if that's how she ultimately fell on this list. Season 11 was just that good.
31. Sarah Kendall
Series 11
1st place, 158 points
Winner of season 11 by a very narrow margin, Sarah Kendall took the lead early in the show and it never really left her grasp throughout the whole thing. That being said, exactly how she took the lead by so much so quickly (roughly 20 points ahead of everyone else by 4 episodes in) is still a mystery to me. She wasn't a contestant who dominated every task, she just kinda landed in the middle most of the time, efficiently doing the things asked of her with determination and focus. Yes, this is the most boring way to approach things in the show, but unlike a lot of other "Route 1" contestants, what she brought to the table was a great deal of humor in the studio segments. Most of her task performances were relatively forgettable, but she redeemed herself just by being not being annoying when dealing with Greg and Alex. In fact, she could be quite funny when dealing with Alex on several occasions. That to me makes her one of the best winners of the most recent seasons.
30. Frank Skinner
Series 1
2nd place (tie), 93 points
In the grand scheme of the show, Frank Skinner has been highlighted by Alex Horne himself as possibly the most important contestant the show has ever had. A comedian of his clout and reputation willingly leaning into a show like this helped get the whole thing off the ground, but the historical significance of his appearance isn't what landed him on the list. Much like Sarah Kendall, Frank's specific tasks weren't often too mind-blowing, but his studio contribution was possibly the most entertaining of the first several seasons of the show. A naturally funny man filled with anecdotes on just about every subject, Skinner always had a quip or a story to accompany everything and it really helped set the lighthearted mood for the studio.
29. Katherine Ryan
Series 2
1st place, 94 points
Probably the most controversial winner in the history of the show, Katherine earned 15 of her points in one single live task that completely stole the show away from Jon Richardson. Mild scoring issues aside, Katherine Ryan was a pretty fun contestant with some odd ideas and probably the most cringeworthy, embarrassing, and downright shocking task performances in the history of the show: her take on "make the biggest mess and completely clear it up" from Champion of Champions. Maybe she isn't always the most clever in every task, but she definitely had a different approach to her fellow contestants. She argued her points but didn't often complain in a legitimately whiny way, showing just the right level of self-awareness to keep the show competitive but also light.
28. Katherine Parkinson
Series 10
5th place, 118 points
It's always funny to me when they book contestants who aren't at all used to/comfortable with improvised comedy and live studio stuff, and Katherine Parkinson is definitely an example of just that. Not only this, but she clearly wasn't too familiar with how the show worked going in, as she was totally out of her element the whole time. She looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown during 90% of the show, and some of her task performances implied she might have actually be in the midst of one. All of that being said, she tried to keep a certain level of decorum when the show started, but that all faded away as it went along and she seemed to be stripped of all dignity by the midway point. It's rare for a contestant to have such a visible arc throughout the show, and hers is definitely one of the most memorable. It was almost like Stockholm Syndrome, and it was pretty hilarious to witness.
27. Jessica Knappett
Series 7
2nd place, 175 points
When discussing Jessica Knappett's time on the show, it's borderline impossible not to first mention her little live task tumble. A moment so iconic, they went on to name the runway after her for it. This moment aside, Jessica has a handful of fun moments, but is notable to me for being on one of the best teams in the show's history: her and Kerry Godliman. These two, in my opinion, were one of the most efficient and weirdly entertaining teams there's ever been, which I think is odd considering how often I found Kerry irritating outside of the team tasks. But Knappett and Godliman were a wonderful team with great synergy, and I put a lot of that on just how friendly and good-natured Jessica is. She's maybe not the most impressive contestant the show has ever seen, but she filled out the cast wonderfully and overall did quite good at the tasks.
26. Tim Key
Series 1
4th place, 88 points
The man who ultimately set the tone for the show, Tim Key started off with a bang by bringing in a reindeer skull for the first prize task, attempted to cheat multiple times, lied to the public about doing a task for Comic Relief, and totally went the extra mile with tasks like getting the tea bag into a mug from the furthest away. In a lot of ways, Tim was the first villain in the series. That being said, most people would probably put him a lot higher than I do, and I attribute that to how often he phoned in tasks. He would often go an extremely lazy route and not really put the effort in, which was a strange contrast to how hard he tried other times. A genuinely odd contestant who was just about as inconsistent as they come, but still an overall very enjoyable one.
25. Mark Watson
Series 5
2nd place (tie), 130 points
It took me a few times through to fully appreciate the awkward hilarity of Mark Watson, but now I think I can safely say he was a perfect fit for the season, and I still enjoy his individual task of having to message Greg every day for 5 months. This man has a weird energy to him, he put out tons of effort, but his insane level of awkwardness and bizarre ticks seemed to occasionally hamper his performance. This may have led to him being underscored every now and then, but the results were funny enough for it not to matter. Besides, Bob Mortimer was predestined to win this series anyway, so it didn't really matter how good anyone else did. Watson may not always stand out, but his overall quality performance and interesting studio presence help set him apart amid an excellent season.
24. Jamali Maddix
Series 11
4th place, 137 points
Much like Charlotte Ritchie, Jamali started off the season a little rough for me. He was overly combative, his personality was too weird for me, and his prizes were mostly pretty lazy. I wasn't convinced I would enjoy him on here, and since I wasn't familiar with him outside of the show, all I had to go on was what I had already seen, and I was pretty apprehensive about him. But he quickly turned it around in my eyes, and the level of weirdness just made him all the funnier. Much like Paul Chowdhry, Jamali had a different approach to things that made him wildly unpredictable, and that caused him to be the wildcard contestant who you never knew if he would fail or succeed with flying colors. Equal parts inspired and inept, I never could get a read on him and that resulted in some genuinely hilarious moments. He was especially funny when dealing with Alex Horne and his apparent disdain for him. Priceless.
23. Mawaan Rizwan
Series 10
3rd place, 151 points
Much like Jamali, Mawaan had a sort of wildcard element that made him into a very difficult contestant to predict. But instead of the more destructive approach Jamali often took, Mawaan was a little more clever. He was often too clever for his own good, but he rarely seemed to get overly punished for it. What he also had in common with Jamali was in how often he completely botched it. Even more than his various genius moments, Mawaan is probably going to be best remembered for his attempt at inflating an egg with helium to get it to float. This is one of the most amazing things about this show: clever people panicking, doing the most ridiculous things, and somehow expecting them to work. Series 10 was a pretty uneven season in a lot of ways, so in a weird way Mawaan was consistent by those standards.
22. David Baddiel
Series 9
5th place, 128 points
While most people would probably call Nish Kumar their favorite of all the last place contestants, David Baddiel definitely stands out more for me. Much like Knappett/Godliman, David Baddiel got to be part of one of the best teams in the show's history alongside his friend Jo Brand. Those two have a hilarious dynamic, and their super slow and casual approach to their tasks made for a wonderful contrast with the frantic approach of Ed, Rose, and (to a much lesser extent) Katy. You pair that with his ability to laugh at himself, and totally inept performances in tasks he has no real excuse to be so bad at. His constant cry of "I've written four #1 hits!" followed swiftly with awful song lyrics in multiple tasks still makes me laugh. He was an amazing punching bag, even if he ultimately didn't deserve a lot of the punishment he got.
21. Iain Stirling
Series 8
2nd place, 156 points
I can pretty safely say this is what would be considered the most controversial placement on the whole list, as most people who watched the show found Iain genuinely irritating. I can see why, but where I find him more tolerable is in how much shame he feels as the series progresses. His spoiled brat tantrums and outbursts slow down (as Lou's consistently grow) as he shows genuine shame and remorse for his behavior. The competitiveness doesn't totally vanish though, and he still tries his hardest at all times. He has a fascinating arc as a contestant, he has some truly hilarious moments, and he rarely got rewarded for throwing a fit over how many points he felt he deserved. In a season that was mostly pretty dull, Iain Stirling stood out as a pretty intense example of what could happen if you take the show just a little too seriously -- but to comedic effect.
20. Sally Phillips
Series 5
2nd place (tie), 130 points
Overall, I think series 5 probably had the most consistent and likeable cast of any series so far, and Sally Phillips is a wonderful addition to that group. With a couple genuinely unforgettable task performances, hilariously sex-starved studio segments, and an overall cheerful and game approach to any and every thing thrown her way, Sally was pretty much a dream contestant. I didn't know anything about her beforehand, but every time I watch through the show I like her just a little bit more. She's funny, imaginative, worked well in the team tasks, and wasn't afraid to make fun of herself. Like I said before, she was pretty much exactly what you'd want in a contestant. She just gets overshadowed by some people I overall preferred.
19. Rob Beckett
Series 3
1st place, 87 points
The single shining light in an otherwise forgettable season, Rob Beckett approached every task with the enthusiasm of a slobbering family dog. He'd just had a baby around the filming of a great deal of his recorded tasks, and the sleep deprivation he suffered from at this time definitely comes through in how absolutely insane a lot of his performances were. Surrounded in the studio by mostly forgettable contestants, Rob Beckett and his puppy dog energy was almost guaranteed to win from the beginning, but that didn't mean it wasn't still fun to see him rise to the top and take the whole thing. In fact, he was nearly going to take home the Champion of Champions title, only losing to Josh Widdicombe by a single point. He was a great competitor, very fun to watch, and lighthearted enough to never drag the mood down.
18. Jo Brand
Series 9
4th place, 154 points
Jo Brand, as I mentioned a couple times in earlier segments, brought a sort of willful lack of energy that many people might find annoying, but I thought was absolutely hilarious. Her incredibly dry sense of humor, sarcastic responses to Greg (which often resulted in him giving her extra points, even against her protests), and almost praise-worthy effortless approach to almost every task was the kind of thing someone could only pull off if they were really trying to. In other words, she worked as hard as someone possibly could to not do anything at all -- and it was beautiful. Sure, she often got over-scored likely due to her clout as a comic, but it never spoiled the "integrity" of the show and it ultimately just made it even funnier to have David Baddiel finish last place by as much as he did.
17. Hugh Dennis
Series 5
4th place, 129 points
Remember what I said about Mawaan being maybe a little too clever for his own good? This applies double to Hugh Dennis, who repeatedly found himself getting punished for his out-of-the-box ideas (which, granted, not all were exactly slam dunks) to the point where he almost wound up finishing behind even Lolly, who was pretty terrible at almost everything the entire season. That being said, when I went through and did my own scoring I believe Hugh finished in second place, and of all the contestants in series 4, he probably had the most task performances I think back on. Hilarious in the studio and self-confident to a fault, Hugh was one of the earliest lateral thinkers of the show that caught Greg in a bad mood the most often. A less cool guy would have complained about how few points he got, but Hugh just rolled with it, and I can respect that.
16. Rose Matafeo
Series 9
2nd place, 159 points
We're really at the point in the list where pretty much every contestant is a top 10er, but some of them sadly need to fall just outside of it, so here we are. New Zealand comic Rose Matafeo was one I was afraid might not quite gel with the show, as I was not only unfamiliar with Rose herself, but with NZ comedy as a whole. Much to my surprise and joy, she was one of the funniest, most excitable, and enjoyable competitive people on the series. She and Ed made for a wonderful pair whose race for the victory gave the series a much-needed bit of life, considering the Jo/David factor -- not to mention the forgettable-ness of Katy. Her wacky sense of humor and willingness to laugh at herself made her impossible not to root for. Also, she had some truly outstanding task moments, of course.
15. Lee Mack
Series 11
3rd place, 151 points
I (like everyone else who's a fan of the show) was beyond excited when I saw Lee Mack was going to be in season 11, as he's one of my favorite British comedians, so I know I went into this with super high expectations. Sadly, since the expectations were this high, I suppose it would be fair to say he could never fully live up to my hype levels. That being said, the energy and effort he puts into every second he's on the show was obvious, and it's made all the more endearing by how much his kids love the show and knowing he basically did it all for them. He was a bit of a wild man who failed just about as many tasks as he aced, but he never phoned it in and gave a lazy performance. For someone known for his razor sharp and insanely quick wit, Lee was often hilariously bad when put on the spot, reacting in a sort of panic that is slightly unexpected when you consider his status as a comic. Basically, he put everything he had into the show, and it really came through -- even if he didn't do quite as well as you could tell he'd really hoped to.
14. Aisling Bea
Series 5
4th place, 126 points
A lot of people seem to really hate Aisling Bea, and I just don't understand why. Maybe it's because of her confrontational (but funny) approach to perceived sexism? Either way she's got a super awkward sense of humor, a sly self-awareness (that I think a lot of people don't catch), and she's pretty much game for anything. Yes, she gets overshadowed by the presence of Bob Mortimer, but her obvious admiration for the man just makes her more endearing to me. From the word go she was off, dressing as a robot and mimicking wanking Alex off, and it only got weirder and sillier from there. It was hard for me not to include her in my top 10, but I see her not being in there as more of a compliment to the rest of these people than an insult to her. Series 5 was one of my favorites in the show, and a decent sized chunk of that is thanks to Aisling Bea.
13. Jon Richardson
Series 2
2nd place, 90 points
Had the rabbits in the hat live task been pointed as every other task in the show, Jon would be right up there among the best series winners, but here we are. In only 5 episodes, Jon had some of the most memorable moments in the series crammed into a pretty small period of time. His take on Three Blind Mice and his feeble attempts at impressing a Mayor probably being the biggest standouts, but he had several tasks and studio moments in every single episode that made me laugh, and that's not something most contestants can claim. I feel like a lot of people underrate Jon on this show, maybe because they don't really enjoy his comedic persona in general, but as a fan of his from other shows (he's got plenty of hilarious stuff out there on shows like 8oo10C and WILTY) I was not disappointed at all. Now let's hope they can get him onto the podcast, I want to see how irritated he is/was that he didn't win.
12. Joe Wilkinson
Series 2
5th place, 69 points
Another 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown regular, Joe Wilkinson only slightly edged Jon out largely due to one moment. And if you've ever watched Taskmaster - as I presume anyone reading this much about it has - I don't think I even need to say what that moment is. From that point on, Joe was impossible not to root for, taking his wacky sense of humor and bringing it to a show that's all about silliness. In a lot of ways, Joe is a perfect contestant: weird sense of humor, incredibly unique and imaginative, just enough competition to keep things lively, but never takes things too seriously. Sometimes he would be frustrating to watch (his nursery rhyme video was lazy garbage), but he always had me rooting for him to do just a little better, and made it so every success he had was impossible not to cheer on. I wasn't a fan of his going in, but he turned me around and now I can't help but to like the guy, and that's almost entirely thanks to his appearance on this show.
11. Joe Thomas
Series 8
3rd place, 150 points
I never thought I would be putting anyone from series 8 this high on the list, but every single time I watch through this show I love Joe Thomas more and more. He is one of the most impossible contestants not to root for, and manages to make even the smallest moments amusing or weirdly adorable just by how awkward he is in pretty much every way. Just being greeted by Sian Gibson during their first team task was one of the single most uncomfortable moments of the whole show, and his interactions with Alex Horne made Alex look like the sociable/normal one out of the two. Not only was he loads of fun to watch, but he also was one of the most under-scored in the history of the show, as I would have had him out in the lead by about 10 points by the end, whereas he landed about 15 points behind the winner. I'd love to see him appear on more panel shows, but it seems unlikely that he'd be willing to more often be in front of that many humans at once.
10. Joe Lycett
Series 4
2nd place, 136 points
There is probably a little bit of favoritism going on here, as I was a fan of Lycett beforehand, but he's an example of a contestant who delivered pretty much exactly what I wanted from him without letting me down at all. With an enthusiasm and charm that's impossible not to be disarmed by, Joe Lycett brings a sweet and adorable energy to the tasks that occasionally dips into unexpectedly dark territory on a moment's notice. He's an extremely clever comedian, always seems to be having an absolute blast, and keeps that plucky youthfulness up in a way that never feels showy or desperate. He's just a complete package as far as contestants go, and he would probably have landed even higher on this list had he not been in the company of so many other amazing contestants. But we'll get to the rest of them here in a minute. Anyway, I loved Joe before I saw him on Taskmaster, and he made me like him even more afterwards.
9. Ed Gamble
Series 9
1st place, 167 points
I'm not a big podcast guy, so I wasn't familiar with Ed before I watched this series, but he's another one that managed to sway me just based on how he was in this show. Now I regularly listen to the Taskmaster podcast, and intend on checking out his food-based one with James Acaster. Anyway, Ed is the best winner the show has had in a while, he brings the right level of creativity and charm to his performance, but also is competitive as they come. He shouts and argues his case again and again, but does it with a little twinkle in his eye that lets you and everyone know that even if he really means what he's saying, it's all in good fun. The show has seemed to have fallen prey a bit to series winners who always do things in the most boring ways possible, but Ed didn't do that. Sure, he focused on the rules and tried his best to stay within the lines, but he also let his imagination run wild, and the results were often quite inspired because of it.
8. Mel Giedroyc
Series 4
3rd place, 134 points
I almost forgot as I was typing up the segment on Joe Lycett that Mel was in the same series as him, as I very nearly claimed he injected the whole season with an exuberance that might not otherwise have been there. That would have not just been an untrue claim, it would have been downright idiotic. Mel Giedroyc is one of the most enthusiastic, loveable, and completely engaged people I've ever seen on a TV show. She almost seems like a character more than an actual person, as it's virtually impossible for me to imagine anyone could be so relentlessly positive and adorable at all times. But she's not just a beacon of joy, she's also a clever and funny personality who had some ingenious ideas and never approached them in a lazy way. She was in it 100%, and so sweet that she would have taken minimum points for every task and still had an absolute blast the entire time, I'm sure of it. I already enjoyed Mel's plucky and cornball sense of humor going into this (she feels like a wacky aunt to me), but her appearance in this show made me love her so much more. What a precious lady.
7. Noel Fielding
Series 4
1st place, 144 points
It's taken me a long time to fully come around on Noel Fielding, as I previously found him a bit too much of a try-hard in a lot of his appearances both in character and as himself on panel shows. But while I had definitely already become a fan before I saw him on Taskmaster, I still feel this was the perfect vehicle for him as the absurd and creative genius that he is, and it made me like him all the more for it. Noel Fielding is one of those weird and rare people who seems to be basically good at everything he does, and that does not (somehow) exclude some of the ridiculous nonsense they threw at him in this show. His approach to things was wild, hilarious, and unexpected. You never really knew where he was gonna go with what might on the surface seem to be the simplest things (take his performance on the camouflage task as an example), and the result was one of the most perfect contestants ever. It also helps that my wife totally loves the guy, so it became even easier for me to root for him: if I hadn't, I might have been booted out of the house.
6. Romesh Ranganathan
Series 1
2nd place (tie), 93 points
The first absolutely amazing contestant of the show, Romesh was like a pile of hilarious rage bundled up tightly and barely holding it together. There was a surprising amount of effort and passion poured into the first season of this show, but while Josh stole the show with his foot tattoo and Tim Key was one of the only real outside-of-the-box thinkers, Romesh more than matched them with pure chaotic adrenaline. But he wasn't just a rage-fueled disaster, he was genuinely funny to watch and had some bizarre and amazing task performances (Tree Wizard, for one). He put up some pretty hefty prizes that dwarf most everything else people have brought in, his scrapes with Greg were amazing (Greg obviously took great pleasure in torturing him), and he is really the guy who totally sold me on the show. The moment he smashed open that melon by hurling it onto the floor, dropping to his hands and knees to ingest so much of it that he actually made himself sick in less than a minute, I knew that this was a one-of-a-kind show and I pretty instantly fell in love. He had a great moment in every episode, and brought in the perfect kind of energy to help set the tone for serieses to come.
5. Rhod Gilbert
Series 7
3rd place, 167 points
My first time through the show Rhod Gilbert was my hands-down favorite of the entire thing. And while I still find quite a few of his performances to be among the funniest and most memorable of any series, he does suffer a bit from leaning too heavily on a particular bikini-clad Greg photo that he brings in in some iteration for nearly every prize task throughout the series. Sometimes it works and is funny, but more often than not you find yourself going "yeah, okay" and wishing he'd been a little more creative. But creativity is definitely not something he's short in, as some of his interpretations of the tasks go far beyond anything anyone else would ever do. This man is intense, and more often than not the results are hilarious and unforgettable. I would argue that overall Rhod Gilbert has more memorable moments than anyone else who's ever been on the show, which makes his shortcomings all the more upsetting. Anyway, I feel like I've been more critical of him than I wanted, but it's only because when he's good he is *so* good, and I hated seeing him ever not pull something off. One of the funniest and most chaotic contestants the show has or will ever see.
4. James Acaster
Series 7
4th place, 165 points
If anyone picks series 7 as their favorite in the show, it's a pretty safe bet that the biggest reason for that is because of this man. One of the most brilliant comics of the past 10 years, James Acaster doesn't just thrive in panel shows and on stage in his stand-up, but apparently also when being recorded in a secluded mansion where asked to recreate a classic video game. While he often performs horribly, what really makes Acaster stand out so much in this show is in his interactions with Rhod Gilbert and the absolute fury he displays when he's been wronged. Greg winds him up a great deal, he was in complete hysterics during the team tasks, and never seemed to do even close to as well as you could tell he tried to. It's very obvious that he's a huge fan of the show, and you could tell he really loved doing it, but that amount of passion and energy didn't always translate in a joyous Giedroyc-esque way. The result was a chaotic mess that paired well with Rhod Gilbert. Neither of them were in the top 2 points-wise, but we all know who the MVPs of the show were. But I think, even if the margin is microscopic, I have to give the slight edge to Acaster here. He's just that fun to watch. Also, I loved how he flat-out ignored Alex pretty much every opportunity he had... there were some great recurring jokes that series.
3. Johnny Vegas
Series 10
4th place, 139 points
I love this man. Few people on this planet are capable of making me laugh as hard as Johnny Vegas, so expectations were super high for me going into this season, and in no way did he disappoint. In fact, I like him more every time I watch through it again -- before this more recent time through, he probably would have only made it to about 6th place. There are so many things I love about Johnny in general, but what makes him into such a wonderful Taskmaster contestant is how almost every one of the things I find appealing about him as a comic can be found right here. The yin and yang of his chaos/sweetness are on full display, and at no point do you feel like he's putting on some kind of act (as he has very much done in the past) just to get some cheap laughs. This is just him, and he is wonderful. His bizarre and hilarious one-liners, his ability to roll with the punches, his ruthless self-deprecation, his excited yelps and sporadic prat-falls, getting himself so invested that he messes everything up, and how visibly self-conscious he gets when he's completely knocked it out of the park (particularly in art tasks)... Every time he succeeds I'm cheering for him, and every time he fails it breaks my heart. I don't know if I've ever been so emotionally attached to another contestant. I could really go on and on about this man, and while he is slightly edged out by just a couple others, that doesn't mean he isn't my favorite in his own special way. Also, he was criminally under-scored to the point that he would have landed easily in the top 2 for me had I been scoring the tasks.
2. Bob Mortimer
Series 5
1st place, 138 points
You know, before I started going through the whole show this time around with the intention of making this post, I fully expected Bob to land at #1. He really is the complete package as a TM contestant, and the fact that he was actually a deserving winner made his season all the more satisfying because of it. But while I have nothing but love for this weirdo, I can admit to some outside influence here. His appearances on Would I Lie To You, Big Fat Quiz Of The Year, and other shows of that ilk have just made me love him even more, and in a way almost overshadow what he did on Taskmaster. I don't want there to be any confusion, though: as a contestant, he is hilarious. Packed with hilarious anecdotes, bizarre one-liners, absurd and simply bafflingly original ideas, Bob Mortimer has all the creativity of 10 people crammed into an unassuming shell. On the surface he appears to be a sweet older man, but on the inside is a brain so packed with thoughts and ideas, it almost feels unfair to the rest of us -- and all the contestants who had to go up against him. He's made me laugh about as much as anyone else, and I couldn't wait to see what his mind would conjure up next. This paid off in Champion of Champions, where we were all introduced to his edible mask character. Absolute gold, and pure Bob.
1. Mike Wozniak
Series 11
2nd place, 154 points
I didn't want to be premature as this season only ended a couple weeks ago, but there was no way around it with this one: Mike Wozniak is just the best. I was fully unaware of Mike going into this season, deliberately held off on watching it until the series was about halfway through (I knew if I waited too long, I would've just watched it all in one day and not been able to savor the experience, but I also wanted to have a decent chunk to look forward to for a while), but by the end of the first episode I - along with everyone else - realized that he was the one to watch out for. And never, not even once, did he disappoint. An absolute treasure of a man whose genuine personality is unlike any I've ever seen before. He's extremely clever and witty, super charismatic, but all in a dorky dad sort of way. His one-liners and catchphrases are among the most hilariously charming and adorable I've ever heard. And this is all without mentioning his two big moments. Now, I don't want to spoil anything here, but one particular reveal is at about the halfway point in the series, and the other comes right near the end, and they are almost assuredly the two funniest studio moments in the entire show's run. In fact, they might be the funniest things in the show full stop. There's a sort of weight that feels like it's been lifted off of me when I'm watching Mike on Taskmaster, and knowing that there will never be any more new stuff of his on the show brings me great sadness. I didn't think it would be possible for me to feel such a tremendous loss just from one person no longer being on a goofy game show, but in a way that's part of the magic of Taskmaster: it makes you care way more than you ever should about the silliest things.
Thank you for reading.
1 comment:
Thank you for writing this. I very much enjoyed it, and agree with the ordering (particularly the top 2 (and top ten)
Post a Comment