Friend Anne recommended a British show: Taskmaster. Anne is my symphony and opera-going friend, so I was surprised when the first episode involved vomiting. I was not interested after that point.
The premise is that a very tall snarky man invents tasks for that season’s panel of comedians must perform. Afterward they are judged, often unfairly. There is a shorter male assistant who is regularly insulted, who in reality is the brains behind the operation.
One of the tasks in the vomit episode (Season 1, episode 1) was to eat as much watermelon as possible (hence, vomiting). Anne assured me they worked out the kinks by season 14, which featured the bawdy beloved Sarah Millican. Even the credits are better. Opening credits in early seasons have the taskmaster grimly typing the tasks, while in later seasons he types more maniacally. Plus, later seasons rely more on contestants’ divergent-thinking abilities. I enjoy that.
I went rogue and watched on my own what was said to be the “best” season, season 7. It seemed to me that one broke a bit out of the mold. Contestants rebelled against the Taskmaster. People seemed legitimately angry. One had to be whisked off stage and mildly scolded by a concerned Taskmaster.
So, IMDB says that’s one thing to watch out for: the quality of the show depends on that season’s contestants. Of the two I watched, I preferred Season 17 over 7.
Also, as a result, I refer to all tall men as “Taskmaster” now.