#greg & alex being cute

[taskmasterhistorian]

Greg and Alex - The Game

This is how Greg shows affection

Series 16 Episode 8 (Outtake)

[numbuh424]

I don't know if anyone else will appreciate this but if there are any other Death Note fans out there who also enjoy the TV show Taskmaster I am making a DN on Taskmaster AU so self-indulgent and I am pleading that you make yourselves known to me cause I can't be alone in this

[gregorygerwitz]

Hey! I haven been on tumblr for a while but I saw you have a new AU! The super soldier one! I apologize if you have already write about this o have answers this question,my brain sometimes forget things that I have read: what’s Jay first reaction about learning about the super soldier program and what happened to mouse? I know you said that he became mouse handler because he wanted to help, and of course he would do anything for mouse but I’m curious about jay’s feeling the more he learns about the program and how it affected mouse, since he was again Mouse leaving to the army again in the first place?

I really love reading about all the ideas you have. I usually don’t interact much because I’m shy but when I read your post it’s always great! 💜

Fun fact: the original moodboards for this AU were posted in September 2021. this is not a "new" AU, just one that decided to give me feels this week out of nowhere. I've just been lucky enough that other people are feeling things about it too and asking questions 💜

I haven't gotten to talk about Jay's side of this at all, actually! A lot of my thoughts are based on Mouse's experiences, things that happened to him, and therefore he feels the most direct result of it all. But having all of this happen around Jay instead of to him doesn't mean he's not affected, you know?

Jay's first reaction was when he was taken and had to be rescued. He had a concussion, he was probably minutes away from dying of a gunshot wound if Mouse hadn't shown up when he did. His first reaction to seeing Mouse there was confusion underneath so much relief that he was safe and not alone anymore. His friend was there, and they were both going to be okay, and that was all he cared about. But when he finds out the details of it all...

It's in the hospital, once he's bandaged up and being made to rest and clinging to Mouse's sleeve so he can't go anywhere (he doesn't care if Mouse has to go to the bathroom, he's still shaken up, the call of nature can wait a few more minutes), and he knows he has to ask. Mouse isn't going to tell him the details without prompting, he knows that, and he might not even get real answers out of it regardless, but he still has to ask. He has to ask what happened and all the other little questions that only get him half truths. He has to ask what the hell Mouse did and how he got in and why no one else was there for backup and why he didn't need their back up.

And it kind of feels like a joke? Because it's so ridiculous. Yeah, the government does shady shit, they know that, but super soldiers aren't real. They don't experiment on people, and they especially don't create the perfect soldier and then throw him back to Chicago like he's a fish on a line that's too small to cook.

But they do. And they did. And it happened to his best friend.

So he finds out about it when he's hurt and tired and just wants his friend there. He doesn't get more detail than that at first because he's really not up to it. That all comes when he's healed up and home and none of his injuries are life threatening anymore.

Jay invites Mouse over to dinner, just the two of them, and they eat greasy delivered fast food burgers and cold fries on the couch and just talk. He gets to(?) hear all about the experiments, or what Mouse remembers about them, the vitamins that weren't vitamins, the vague details of missions that aren't so classified they'd be killed for discussing it... and it sucks. It all sucks. It sounds awful. It sounds like torture. Sending Mouse back to Chicago alone with no way to manage things sounds worst of all. So he wants to help.

He'll keep the secret while they dig into it, and at the start, the only reason they want to dig into government files (and potentially hack another government satellite oops) is to reverse it. It's made very clear to him that Mouse wishes his life was still normal, or that it could go back to the way it was, and that's what Jay wants. He wants to fix it, find a cure, whatever anyone wants to call it. He wants to help.

Like I said, becoming Mouse's Handler was an accident. He didn't set out to help guide his friend through this situation he shouldn't even be in (maybe if Jay had fought harder, he could have convinced him to stay in Chicago in the first place. maybe if he'd been better, Mouse wouldn't have reenlisted at all. maybe if he knew the other reasons for it, he could have fixed things before they got so bad that Mouse didn't see another option), and eventually, with a certain topic of conversation (something something Mouse definitely not sharing his feelings in this AU because he sees the cause and effect he knows Jay will just feel guilty, but they spend a night together after researching just next to each other in Jay's bed, and he's half asleep when he realizes that his best friend is just as blind and oblivious as always and god, wouldn't it be easier if he just said it? if he just blurted out that he's always wanted to spend a night in Jay's bed not as Just Friends but he knew that was never an option? if he just yelled loud enough for Jay to get it through his head that yes, the experiments and the program were awful, but it only hurt half as much as watching him be happy and start to settle down with someone else-), Jay does come to the conclusion that at least some of the blame for this is on him. But not all of it. The vast majority is on the people who did this to innocent soldiers, people who just wanted to do something good for their country, who had no say in what they were participating in from mission to mission.

But there is no fix. There's no cure. There is no ctrl+z on this. And Jay has to watch his best friend, someone he loves, suffer through something completely unimaginable every single day. He has to watch someone he cares about go through this awful thing, be so afraid of his own self that he starts to lose sense of it. And it's so much worse than if Mouse had just died overseas, because at least there's a start and an end to that kind of thing. It's final. It's one loss that may haunt him forever but at least he doesn't have to watch it over and over again.

Instead, he has to lose his friend piece by piece, and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it.

[panelshowsource]

i’d love to know, what are some panel show moments you think about a lot?

omg like just off the top of my head?

just the whole episode of cats after jimmy's tax avoidance scandal

"good evening your majesty you tax-dodging bitch"

david mumbling "chancellor of the exchequer" in small font

when the horne section was doing macarena on catsdown and the rose was so limp WHY WAS IT SO LIMP

the greatest breath smeller game

"this makes me so angry because they wouldn't show the clip of me attacking my mother with a taser! i thought it was really funny!"

josh groban being an absolute wizard at singing intros followed by martin freeman being an absolute wizard at guessing them to the point production asked him to slow down giving the answer because he was too good

when stacey solomon said she likes teresa may and jimmy carr, gino d'acampo, and carol vorderman were absolutely speechless

alex’s reaction after joe says he has pineapple in his ass

when jimmy used the 30 seconds to wax his leg??

the way the queen’s pussy being haunted was like genuine headline news

mark sending greg 148 texts and getting 0 points ("what a terrible waste of time")

when that nude model came on for jimmy to (pretend) to live draw and lee mack was so gobsmacked at that man's penis he violently elbowed david o'doherty going "look at that!"

"you wouldn't do that during shakespeare, would you?"

on outsiders when joe wilkinson couldn't believe david mitchell is only 47 and literally said "do you live outside"

phil wang roasting ed gamble and saying "ed's girlfriend is such a dog i tried to eat her"

"you cannot imply that only gay people eat vegetables"

♪ but bin men get sad ♪

when those podcasters were reading joe wilkinson his own tweets and he was sweating so much and then just covered his eyes and went "what's wrong with me..."

"stephen fry wouldn't read 'pussy-friendly finger'"

when johnny vegas was literally eating a tin of fucking dog food and kathy burke was like "what's happening??" and jimmy so nonchalantly went "we're just eating dog food :)"

when noel ate some of alex's beard and greg said "you are aware that when we're at home alex is only allowed to move around like a snake?"

every joe & rachel hug ever here's a cute one :')

claudia completely bodying this lie and everyone's animals being so cute and funny and rob and lee complaining just the whole thing

on rhlstp when richard was Being Richard for the last hour and louis theroux was Over It and richard went "have you ever tried to suck your own cock?" and louis just died and then muttered "...do we have to..."

"i don't really eat potatoes it feels a bit irish :/"

johnny vegas pulling something out of rhod gilbert's pants, sniffing it, and then scandalising the entire room by saying "i've been told i smell better from behind than i do from the front, lovers have told me"

gosh my rotted brain is always rattling around panel show moments ..i wish to be cured

[swedetastic]

Hi tumblr people. Let me present to you... my Alex Horne/Josh Widdicombe ship manifesto.

(It's basically just a collection of shippy moments, or "evidence")

AKA the ship that nobody asked for but I'm gonna keep captaining the sail boat.

This interview. (It's not that shippy, I just think they're cute.)

Josh being mock-offended, and Alex’s lip bite smile back. 🫠 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alex? (@britcomshotsbutmostlyhorne)

Josh becoming one of Greg’s *cough* Alex’s special little boys.

Josh sitting next to Alex during this task, sharing the meal together😊

Popping the balloon near Josh like a schoolyard bully.

Josh using “Alex Horne’s naked body” as a frame of sexual reference (Greg’s words).

(and Alex's reaction)

The blindfolding for no reason. (I mean it was part of the task, but why did Alex have to do it for him?)

The fact that Josh was brought in to do this task in the first place.

The eyebrow raise and “hello, Alex” (really every time Josh says "Hello, Alex")

Singling out Josh’s “nub” 😅

Alex devouring Josh’s mask.

And the fact that Josh made a mask to look like Alex. (Which is hilarious, but also–why?)

Every time they’ve kissed. (that we know of)

🥰

Josh announcing their “incredible chemistry”. Again, for no reason.

This quote:

“He’s good at being enthusiastic. He is like a puppy. As he had the longest gap between series one and doing this, he was the most excited to be back and desperate to do a task. I think he has a ‘never say die’ attitude although he’s probably less good in the creative ones. His big weakness would probably be the hair. It’s just unrealistic.”— Little Alex Horne rating Josh’s Taskmaster: Champion of Champions performance (x)

This task.

And finally, this story. Because it's the sweetest thing ever. 🥹

So yeah I'm writing fic of these two, and I've commissioned two art pieces of them so far. You can see it all here, if you want:

(None of the gifs or anything in this post are mine. Credit to all the original owners!)

[ahiddenducky]

Weewoo time for thoughts on S17x04 of Taskmaster...

Pretty solid ep but in particular the tasks (haha yes the whole point of the show). I do love me a task that has an actual "answer" now and again aka the gloves task, I'm very surprised that John didn't get this one but found it funny that he knew he messed up based off the look Alex had on his face. I feel like this ep just showcased how sweet Nick is, from asking a horse if it's alright to him and Steve just pottering around like an old happily married couple, those two are giving big Susan and Sue vibes. Also who knew Sophie could actually be competent with her little cow drawing! (her chaotic energy is everything i didn't know i needed) Definitely had to laugh at Alex getting annoyed at John in the live task, it's so rare that Alex 'breaks' lol, then John being all anxious with the scoring of the live task my gosh if he doesn't win the series he might combust. ALSO props to whoever edits out Nick's reflection I see you and I appreciate you. (i adored the ad break bumpers this ep with alex in the lil dome with the plushies it was just too cute, made me smile :)) (bonus: gregs intro mmm the voice yes but also his look of regret? embarrassment? after saying it aaa yes please)

[tableintheteacherslounge]

Abbott Elementary S03E09 thoughts

Janine come home the kids miss you (I’m the kids)

Work wives cold open okay I’m winning - I want to see the rehearsals of the hand game and know the lore of barlissa both knowing it - do they play it together? (Or are their handgames something different)

Courtney’s growing up ��😖

JA’BRIA oh my god get it baby

“Do i eat it like i did last time” 😭

“You’re colouring a carrot” ate him UP

“Am i being fiîíįred?” See this is why quinta has an Emmy

Still obsessed with keegan michael key being here

JANINE PLEASE DO NOT TAKE IT was my initial thought, but I think (hope) it being introduced before the season finale means she’s gonna change her mind

“Mrs Howard cold as hell” IJBOL

The AI subplot is so funny and like relevant yk I like it

I also like the work wives of it all

Ew melissa calling barb ‘barbara’ always feels wrong

“7 absences thats not too bad” “Plus today” “8? Thats very bad” 😭😭

Barb why are u proud not heartbroken ur daughter is leaving (ok i get she’s prpud of Janine’s growth but)

Pretending not to care while crying is SO Melissa 😭😭

Melissa pulling barb into the group hug 😣🫶

Barb laughing at pussyfooted 🏳️‍🌈🌈

Barlissa trying to get jacob to talk is so cute - I love work moms

I feel like these phone calls are part of the reason s3 feels stilted

As a brit I was lost at the whole ‘we cant do anything to get alex to show’ situation when we have attendance officers in schools, the ‘peril’ greg and janine would face didnt land because it doesn’t work like that here

The jellybean belt 😭😭

After we’ve been reminded 567 times that going to alexs house is strictly against policy will it stop janine getting the job or will there be zero consequences

“What?” “What?!” “She said shes working full time at the district” 😭😭😭

Me 🤝 barlissa - defending mr johnson

“Most of the toilets in this joint running some of the time” LMAOOO

“And u wouldve known that if u read my news letter u IGNORANT FOOL” ijbol 😭

Teddie having a domestic and having to be broken up by alex’s little ‘hello?’ 😭😭 aww ☹️

One thing about the abbott characters they will not stay on topic

Janine’s reasoning with alex 🥹🥺 she’s such a good teacher 😭😭

Greg doesnt want janine to be someone who comes and goes 😖😖😖

JANINE TAKING TIME TO THINK BC OF GREGORY IKTR TEDDIE FTW

Ok why did this feel like 3 minutes when I first watched it, I was like ok where’s the rest

Teddie is SO BACK come on yearning

When will melissa admit she misses janine

Janine is NOT taking that job, but when will she fully realise that herself?

Oh and the ava plot line eh i didnt really care, but lbr ava, u love janine deep down

[pastelwitchling]

Could write something about Greg visiting Alex and Michael? Thank you!

***

                Had Michael known that he would be seeing his brother-in-law first thing in the morning, he would’ve put a shirt on before answering the door.

                “Uhhh . . .”

                Gregory Manes raised a brow at him. “Hi. Is my brother here?”

                “H-He went to the Crashdown to get breakfast,” Michael said, then explained, “Uh, we have lazy Sundays.”

                He smirked, amused. “Cute. Very married couple.” He tilted his head. “I don’t mean to impose or anything—”

                “No!” Michael said at once, and realized he was still blocking the doorway. He stepped aside. “Please come in! I just wasn’t expecting anyone.”

                Greg nodded in thanks and stepped in past him. “Sorry, I didn’t want to bother you guys, but Alex is always so wrapped up with his Deep Sky stuff that this is really the only time I have to see him.” He smiled over his shoulder at him. “And we all thought being an Air Force captain kept him busy.”

                Michael snickered, unable to help but see the similarities between Greg and Alex, even now; the way they held themselves, the way their eyes scanned even a familiar room for exits the second they entered it, the way they smiled with a hint of caution like they were constantly out of practice at being social. It eased some of the awkwardness Michael felt at being alone with Gregory for the first time since he and Alex had gotten together.

                “I know what you mean,” he said, grabbing his shirt off the piano bench and pulling it on. “He’s my husband and I still barely get to see him.”

                “Yeah,” Greg sighed. “That’s the life. You guys are doing okay though, right?”

                “Better than ever,” Michael said instinctively, the words pouring from his heart before he could think to be embarrassed by them.

                Greg’s expression softened and he scratched the back of his head. “Good, that’s good. I’m glad, Alex deserves to be happy after everything he’s been through.”

                Michael’s smile dimmed and he looked down, not knowing what to say. What would Alex say? “You—uh—want some coffee or something?”

                Gregory hummed, checking his watch. Then he said, “Sure. Alex will be back soon, right?”

                “Yep.” I hope.

                “Great.”

                Ten minutes later found Michael and Gregory sitting across from each other in the living room, Michael rubbing his palm as he cast glance after glance at the older man, who seemed content with letting Michael lead the conversation, something Michael was notoriously bad about.

                “So,” he tried anyway, “how’s work?”

                “Fine.”

                Michael pressed his lips together in an awkward attempt at a smile, nodding and scrambling for something else to say. “Is your mom doing okay?”

                Gregory raised a brow. “Didn’t you and Alex have dinner with her, like, two nights ago?”

                He looked down at his coffee cup. “Right.”

Silence. Terrible, awkward, excruciating silence.

                “S-So how’s the Navy?”

                His brows pinched. “Um. I wouldn’t really know, my enlistment ended years ago.”

                “And I knew that,” Michael shut his eyes. “Of course I knew that. I—I guess I just meant to ask if you still see anyone from your old unit.”

“Of course,” he shrugged. “Just like Alex keeps in touch with his men. Speaking of keeping in touch, do you still talk to DeLuca a lot?”

Michael’s heart climbed into his throat, panic rising in his chest at Gregory’s blank look. Why’s he asking about that? “Um . . . I . . . I just—” he cut off as the front door opened, and he breathed, “Oh thank God. Alex! Look who’s here!”

                “Huh?” Alex peeked his head in, and he smiled when his eyes landed on his brother. “Hey.”

                “Hey,” Gregory stood and hugged him. “Let me see.”

                Alex didn’t need an explanation as he held up his hand and Gregory’s smile widened at the sight of the ring.

                “Very cool, brother.”

                “Right?” he smiled and kissed Michael’s cheek. “You okay?”

                “Great,” he said, wrapping an arm around Alex’s waist and pulling him in against him. Now that you’re here.

                “He’s freaking out about being alone with the in-laws,” Gregory said, putting his hands in his pockets.

                Michael’s shoulders fell. “You noticed.”

                He scoffed. “Oh, I was totally trying to scare you on purpose.”

                Alex laughed, shaking his head as he pulled away from a gaping Michael to take off his jacket. “Greg, you said you wouldn’t mess with him.”

                “Come on, I’m the older brother, this is what I do. Besides,” he winked at Michael, “I wanted to see how long you’d last. You want to survive our family, you’ll need to toughen up, cowboy. I’m the nice one, remember?”

                Michael shook his head, tongue in his cheek as he tried and failed not to smile. “Just so I’m prepared, are all of your brothers planning to mess with me?”

                Alex and Gregory shared a look that promised nothing good, but Gregory only smiled and said, “Nah. Clay will just point-blank interrogate you.”

                Michael scoffed and looked to Alex, expecting to see him laughing along, but his expression was dead serious. “Yeah, no, he’s not kidding, Clay has no sense of humor whatsoever. Hungry?” and he held up the Crashdown to-go bags, beckoning them into the kitchen.

                Gregory patted his arm as he passed and Michael swallowed his anxiety down. “Well, then. That’s just great.”

***

Turns out I really had already posted that fic that I posted yesterday, but not in the one-shot collections, so it was no wonder I couldn't find it there. Thank you to the reader that let me know, I was going crazy about that. But as promised, here's a new fic for the week ❤

[danglovely]

Regrading Taskmaster: S04E07 No stars for naughty boys.

*Score changes noted in parenthesis.

Prize Task: Best Chair

Very simple task that somehow gets some whiffs. Joe doesn't bring in a chair. He brings in a pocket-sized sculpture of Greg's face (and it doesn't look like Greg). I haven't seen anyone ever get disqualified from a prize task before, but that's as close as you get. Lolly brings in a bean bag chair which does fit the category . . . but it's a pretty boring submission.

Mel brings in a dollhouse chair from her childhood. This is somehow the best prize so far. Hugh brings in a photo of his son on his shoulders, which is cute . . . and paid off in the end because Hugh comes on stage to let Joe sit on him. Noel brings in a David Bowie chair and honestly, it mostly beats the uninspired mess that the rest of the cast brings.

Hugh: 5 (0) Joe: 1 (-1) Lolly: 2 (-1) Mel: 3 (+2) Noel: 4 (0)

VT 01: Stand on one leg. Your raised foot must not touch the ground until the task is complete. Bring Alex his dinner. Every time your raised foot touches the ground, you must eat a slice of Alex's dinner. Most dinner delivered fastest, wins.

Alex sets out the penalty in studio and we know the contestants weren't aware of this based on what Joe said in the outtakes. There's no disqualifying condition in this task. Hugh has the workaround and still somehow only comes in second to Noel.

Hugh: 4 Joe: 3 Lolly: 1 Mel: 2 Noel: 5

VT 02: Hide from Alex. Alex is in the caravan. He has already started counting to 100.

And that's it. We never hear the win condition for the task. The only thing that makes sense is that the winner is the person it takes Alex longest to find. Of course there's minutiae about whether Alex has to tag you, whether you can leave the grounds, etc.

I don't buy for a second that Joe and Hugh exactly tied, but I have no means of reviewing the times it actually took Alex to find them. Lolly dominates and we have the Mel incident. No score changes detected.

Hugh: 3 Joe: 3 Lolly: 5 Mel: 4 Noel: 1

Team Task: Get this wheelie bin across the finishing line. One of you must be in the wheelie bin at all times. The other person must be blindfolded at all times. The wheelie bin rider must direct the wheelie bin drivers to complete the course and the five challenges within it. Also no one can speak English.

One possible DQ condition - speaking English. I guess Mel and Hugh just know French? Mel was so good and I'm pretty sure she never slips in any English.

The team of three chooses German . . . Joe is regularly speaking in English throughout it and it directly leads to them being able to finish the task. Disqualification seems earned here.

Hugh and Mel: 5 (+3) Joe, Lolly, & Noel: 0 (-3)

VT 04: Unveil a new handshake. Best new handshake wins.

This might just have to be a preference judgment because there aren't a lot of objective indicators to evaluate it on. Hugh doesn't execute his well, but it seems like a handshake that you could actually use. Lolly slipped Alex a bribe, which isn't really a new thing to do.

Noel has Alex use a hand on a stick to shake a hand placed in the crotch of his pants. And then we have Joe who exchanges finger strokes with Alex whilst maintaining full eye contact for the entire three minutes. This is legitimately hard to grade outside of Lolly (who comes last for not doing something new). Joe and Noel beat the rest for being unique and Joe edges Noel for not being a dick joke.

Hugh: 3 (0) Joe: 5 (0) Lolly: 1 (-2) Mel: 2 (-1) Noel: 4 (0)

Live Task: Make the best and biggest all-round banana out of these bananas.

It's tasks like these that make you start to question what the platonic ideal of a banana is. Presumably they should be edible, but do they have to be? About the only thing Noel succeeded in was putting the bananas into a continuous shape. This rightfully beats Mel's "banunting," which was both bad and not the task. Lolly merged all the bananas and covered it with all the peels, which does start to approach the concept of a big banana.

Joe taped three bananas to a column and attempted to call the whole thing a banana. He only isn't coming in last because Mel was there to take his place.

Hugh: 4 (+1) Joe: 2 (-2) Lolly: 5 (0) Mel: 1 (0) Noel: 3 (+1)

Final

Hugh: 24 (+2) Joe: 14 (-6) Lolly: 14 (-6) Mel: 17 (+4) Noel: 17 (-2)

So some heavy deductions on Joe rob us of his excellent tiebreaker performance. Hugh deserved it though.

[taskmasterhistorian]

One second of Greg and Alex at the beginning of every episode of Taskmaster (Series 1-16)

[iheartcborle]

cheeky, trying to steal my man, not okay. (joking) (partially) (about the you trying to steal him stuff not the) (yeah forgot that wasnt in our "source") (lol)

but no yeah we've both really missed it, Ellies (the host) roommate has been taking us to see a bunch of stuff recently though so it's been nice actually

i actually can't imagine you without alex, so good to see youve got eachother man, so sorry youve got to suffer through being with that twat (joking) (i would say hi to alex but i want to keep the bit going) (im nothing if not dedicated)

-🧞

Oh well that IS cute. Trust me mate I'm unfortunately bound to little Alex Horne. (yeah that's a thing.)

He looks exactly as dejected as he did every time you ignored him in the past, it's great. No but uh, yeah it's nice. A bit of familiarity you know? And deep down I do love the prick so. -Greg Davies

[holycartoonwarrior]

The ppl have spoken. I wanna thank @myplasticadversary for help on this! It was rlly fun and silly

Kendall: Christian Borle

I was gonna go w Josh Groban at first because he’s so melodramatic when he sings. But I’m gonna go w Christian cuz Josh is SO baby faced and christain honestly would fit better. ALSO Marvin from Falsettos is literally Kendall. Little fucked up buisness man.

Roman Roy: Alex Brightman

His personality, his nasally singing tone. His personality. The type casted for being kinda annoying. Obvious perfect casting

Shiv Roy: Jessica Phillips

Yes I know she’s an older actress but she hardly looks it and I think her voice and usual type cast (esp when she was younger) really suits Shiv! My ginger queen

Connor Roy: Raul Esparza

Fun, older man, chill guy. Good singer? Look man he has the vibe. And I know connors taller than him so we’ll give Raul platforms problem solved.

Logan Roy: Patrick Page

Deep voice. Plays a Buisness man. Typecasted as scary. Duh.

Gerri Kellman: Christine Baranski

Cmon….cmon. Who else?

Tom Wambsgans: Christopher Seiber

His performance as Harry in Company rlly shows him as a great “dude struggling in a love hate marriage, wondering if he made the right choice.” Also he looks very unremarkable (no offense) and has a strong singing voice

Marcia Roy: Audra McDonald.

Unfortunately not a lot of choice. I’d rather it be SOME woman of color. Audra also lived in Europe like Marcia and she has this elegant and soft but powerful and commanding aura. AND HER VOICE??? Stunning. Ethereal. She can learn to do a Lebanese accent. Trust.

Stewy Hosseini: Ari’el Stachel

It’s just perfect. He’s sexy. He’s funny, he’s suave. He’s one of broadways middle eastern heart throbs. And he has a voice that’s crooning and smooth like silk. Plus he is good at playing charming assholes so-

Greg Hirsch: Max Crumm

I was so SO SO SO tempted to joke and be like . Ben Platt! Cuz he’s so annoying (jk Greg ily). BUT I GOTTA go w max crumm. He’s young cute. Kinda LOOKS like Greg. Cute voice. And he’s tall. Not tall enough probably but fuck it PUT HIM ON STILTS

Fan casting Succession: The Musical is how I WILL spend my night thank you

[panelshowsource]

sorry this is so long — i let my inbox back up a little but also some of these are so thoughtful and i hate not responding thoughtfully!

remember to block the tag 'long post' if you hate seeing long posts :')

first of all aww anon thank you so much and second of all you don't watch taskmaster? how can you stand following my blog if you don't? hahahahah especially during taskmaster season i feel so bad the blog ends up being like 70% tm even though if i could have it may way i'd never gif new content and just gif totally random old content like always hehehehehe but it's cute to me how many hog fans are in my inbox these days! i'll try and gif it more for you guys :)

and you should watch taskmaster!!! and come back and tell me what you think!! start with s1!!! it's on the masterpost linked in my bio!

idk anon you'd have to ask them that but generally they would consider themselves to be irish-american; i wasn't trying to make a statement about that when i said that i think new yorkers understand a person like ed, though i think it's far to say that even diasporic communities will retain (at least) a handful of characteristics and nuances from their homelands

yesssss we all love ed! i think a lot of us know him from mock the week and his bffship with dara (i have some of their travel buddy series on my non-panel show masterpost!), but of course he's also an accomplished standup!

actually, just last month in an exclusive with metro he said this:

It seems remarkable Ed hasn’t appeared yet in its 16 seasons. ‘They haven’t asked. If they had, I would,’ Ed said, with a dash of longing. ‘There’s really only one slot per series of someone answering my description,’ he mused. ‘We’re kind of the most overprescribed demographic in the industry. There’s no shortage of people who look and sound like me that are ahead of me in the queue for that slot.’ Even so, it would have been nice… Greg? Are you listening?

(ps. that article claiming 8 out of 10 cats is cancelled... 👀 don't get me wrong, i know it's been a couple years since it's been on, but afaik no cancellation was ever announced 👀)

i know a lot of people are very hung up on the fact david mitchell said he wouldn't do taskmaster — and i'm a sure there are a handful of others who either wouldn't or couldn't when they were asked (jack dee had a scheduling conflict back in the day, right? and alex still desperately wants him?) — but one thing that has been consistently reinforced for years, and especially since taskmaster moved to channel 4, is it is far and away the biggest, most in-demand opportunity amongst comedians and light entertainers (— on network television; of course, if you're standup, your own standup special on channel 4, netflix, whatever has gotta be number one, but i disgress). taskmaster is huge: everyone talks about how comedians play 100-seat rooms, go on taskmaster, and then BOOM sell out massive tours. the show can really change your life, so there is hardly a comedian who wouldn't go on if given the chance — especially someone like ed, who i had mentioned a couple months ago being of the jenny eclair variety (an opportunist; professional jealousy ain't no stranger). i know he's waiting for that damn phone to ring!

and i think he makes an incredible point that not many series are gunning for more than one straight white middle-aged man (though it's happened before, of course). actually, i was just thinking about how that role — the white, middle-aged, experienced senior comedian — is chosen; in almost every single case, it's a very famous comedian who will draw viewers and reinforce legitimacy (frank skinner, al murray, hugh dennis, bob mortimer, rhod gilbert, david baddiel, richard herring, lee mack, alan davies, dara, you get the point) or it's a comedian who alex, whether he's friends with them or not, really really likes (tim key, dave gorman, mark watson, tim vine, mike wozniak, i know they're well-known but even ardal o'hanlon and julian clary who alex personally loves). does ed fall into either of those categories? super famous ratings draw or one of alex's friends/comedy heroes? frankly...i'm not sure...and i think that may be what's keeping him mid-way down the list...

still, very cute of the journalist from this article to be gunning so hard for him to be on the show! i have to admit, i know it might seem like i'm biased because i like him, but i really really think he would be really really good on the show. imo — and it's just imo, people will disagree — the most important aspect of the best series of taskmaster is the banter. it's people who speak up, who fight, who tease, who want to win, who want laughs, who play off the audience, who make quick friends, who talk to greg, who talk to alex. ed TALKS. ed wants screen time. ed wants to fuck around. ed wants to win. so i think he would really take advantage of the format and i'd love to see it!

you are allowed to say i told you so! it was amazing! thanks for reading my bullshit, i tried to take it really seriously so i could just link to it any time someone asks me if i've seen it hahahah who was your fave contestant?

i could write a really long response to this because it's something i have — or could find lmfao — a lot to say about, but knowing this post is already gonna be long (hahah i hate myself) lemme try to boil my brain down

1) i covered my personal opinion of what makes the strongest series of taskmaster in my (very long) recent taskmaster nz s2 post; 2) recency bias — it's in the name! people are biased because it's recent [shrug]; 3) A LOT of people have not seen every series of taskmaster (gasp! i know...) so they won't have the full taskmaster uk canon in mind when they're making such claims; 4) there is a strong divergence between the comedy nerds who watch taskmaster for comedy and the light entertainment viewers who watch taskmaster for general pleasantness, and you gotta consider who you're talking to when you're listening to someone's opinion; 5) i think there's a very long convo you could have about the reticence of a huge faction of taskmaster fans to criticise the show/tasks/contestants/alex — which is why a lot of people like it and its community, because it's often an echo chamber of positivity — but maybe we won't have that convo now haha

^ me being concise!! wow never thought we'd see that day

yes totally anon! i'll make massive gifsets of all of them when the season ends, if that works? :)

wow interesting question! i know a few people who watch taskmaster on and off, and i definitely know people like you who enjoy the odd clip (why is it always bob mortimer on wilty lmfaooo), but otherwise i wouldn't say i spend too much time convincing people to watch stuff. wilty and taskmaster are pretty accessible, but a lot of panel shows are about the uk news, uk current events, have uk c-list celeb guests, etc, and i don't think people would be interested. plus, i have you guys!!! (i don't really have internet friends besides posting here and interacting with you guys :'))

not that long ago, i was at a dinner party and someone said, "have you seen that show taskmaster?" and ... do you know what it's like for me!!! ... i had to take a deep breath and say inside my head 'sarah be cool' and i finally went, "i have! fun show haha" and not start TWITCHING ... they were telling the people around us a little bit about it and getting some of the details wrong and i just sat there nodding like :) and didn't correct them bc being a know-it-all isn't cool and i didn't want to risk it 💀

it's too bad we don't have more of a light entertainment culture here, especially a comedian-driven one :(

(so random but speaking of light entertainment has anyone else been seeing michael barrymore all over tiktok? those kids say the funniest things clips are my wholeeeee fyp)

hahaha yesss we do know suzi around here!! though she's not been on many panel shows recently-ish so i probably haven't posted her in a while. if your fave taskmaster contestants are wide-eyed, smiley people who radiate optimism and go-get-em attitudes then suzi would definitely be the one!

did i mention rick edwards or is this just your sly way of bringing up a sexy man? ...i see you anon😏 he has the face of someone who should have been working on that big wall in games of thrones you know the one where jon tory scum snow ended up? that's a specific compliment but just trust me it's complimentary

i'm sorry about your heartbreak :( it's like me with whites, we've all got that one show :(

yesss it so is! <3

is it weird to imagine joe and mike woz in the same room or is that just me...

—

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[theweefreewomen]

I wanted to do a breakdown of the different kinds of personalities you get on Taskmaster, based on this post by @mrsbillycranston, so here are some thoughts.

I'm adding an extra catagory, which is the Charmingly Odd, for people who are both loveable and baffling. Typically when watching this person, you're thinking 'is this an act or are they actually like that in real life?' with the answer being that they are like that. If Greg Davies is an agent of chaos, Alex Horne is charmingly odd.

I'm also renaming the fuck up catagory to the loser because I feel bad calling people fuck ups. Same logic applies; while they might not be in actual last place, these contestants are the ones known for doing badly in lots of tasks.

I'm starting with series 4 - partly because I feel that's when the show really finds its footing, and partly because the extra episodes help give the contestants time to properly show off and have their personalities shine through.

Series 4

Hugh Dennis: the loser. Although he doesn't come last, he had a bad first few episodes that sticks in people's minds, and some attempts at lateral thinking that unfortunately didn't pan out for him.

Joe Lycett: the try hard.

Lolly Adefope: sweetheart. lots of cute ideas for task solutions - like making a heart with the cake.

Mel Giedroyc: one of the biggest sweetheart of the whole show.

Noel Fielding: agent of chaos.

Series 5

Aisling Bea: charmingly odd.

Bob Mortimer: cool kid with elements of agent of chaos, especially in Champion of Champions.

Mark Watson: sweetheart.

Nish Kumar: loser. One of my favourites, and I think the reason he's such a great contestant is his utter willingness to laugh at himself.

Sally Phillips: agent of chaos.

Series 6:

Alice Levine: sweetheart based on all the nice nicknames she gives Alex.

Asim Chaudhry: loser.

Liza Tarbuck: cool kid. Liza calmly walking about in the 'Find your way back to the house' task and commenting on the weather and how nice a nearby tree looked is glorious.

Russell Howard: try hard.

Tim Vine: charmingly odd.

Series 7:

James Acaster: try hard. It's always funny when the try hard does badly.

Jessica Knappet: cool kid.

Kerry Godliman: try hard.

Phil Wang: loser.

Rhod Gilbert: the poster child for agent of chaos.

Series 8:

Iain Sterrling: try hard.

Joe Thomas: charmingly odd.

Lou Sanders: try hard.

Paul Sinah: loser. I feel kind of bad for how much pain he was clearly in for a lot of the recording.

Sian Gibson: sweetheart, with elements of agent of chaos.

It's interesting how some try hards are loved, while others (like Iain and Lou here) are disliked. I don't think Iain and Lou are any more aurgumentative than, say, James from last series, or Ed in the next one.

Series 9:

David Baddiel: loser.

Ed Gamble: try hard.

Jo Brand: part cool kid, part agent of chaos.

Katy Wix: sweetheart.

Rose Matafao: sweetheart with a bit of tryhard energy. Love the cowboy engergy.

I would have loved a team with Ed, Jo, and David. It would have been hiliarious, even if Ed might have ended up killing someone by the end.

Series 10:

Daisy May Cooper: try hard.

Johnny Vegas: cool kid.

Katherine Parkinson: loser.

Mawaan Rizwan: loser.

Richard Herring: try hard.

I feel this is almost a series of losers given how many times everyone got disqualified.

Series 11:

Charlotte Richie: sweetheart.

Jamali Maddox: agent of chaos.

Lee Mack: cool kid and a bit of a try hard, although he differs from other THs in that he cares less about winning and more about not losing.

Mike Wozniak: charmingly odd and utter sweetheart.

Sarah Kendall: cool kid.

Series 12:

Alan Davis: cool kid.

Desiree Birch: sweetheart with a bit of chaos.

Gus Khan: agent of choas.

Morganna Robinson: agent of chaos.

Victoria Cohen Mitchell: loser.

Series 13:

Ardal O' Han: loser and agent and choas.

Bridget Christie: Charmingly odd and agent of chaos, though unlike other agents, the chaos seems unintentional. I think there's also elements of the loser as well, because she either does extremely well or extremely badly, and the latter are some of the more memorable parts.

Chris Ramsey: try hard.

Judi Love: loser with some agent of chaos.

Sophie Dukker: sweetheart and agent of chaos.

[winnie-the-monster]

Cute Malex phone call. Malex finally teaming up together to solve mysteries. Michael worrying about Alex and him being the only one to figure out he hasn't been home in two days. Their date was classic them but I would still love for them to have a dinner date.

2. Loved the whole Isobel, Greg and Maria team up. It was so funny how she ended up blocking them all day. Them searching more aliens. I wonder how many are still out there.

3. I really thought that Heath was going to be the alien. A part of still thinks that he is and not the priest.

[sunflowerdigs]

I think the issue with Malex rn is that the writers seem to see it primarily as fan service or something seperate from the narrative. Malex is used to get people to watch or to placate or bait fans. And because of that, it's operating independently of the narrative and nothing about it is particularly satisfying or meaningful.

It's like, Marvel movies aren't plotted out by writers, they're created in a boardroom by producers who want to maximize product placement or toy sales or whatever. So whether they make sense or tell an interesting story are secondary to their uses as money-makers.

My sense is that Hollier isn't saying "I want to tell a coherent story with Malex that helps drive the narrative". He's saying "I want to use Malex strategically to get another season and to tell the other stories that I am actually interested in telling". So the beats aren't happening naturally, the pacing is off, and Michael and Alex's feelings for each other have been completely seperated (and inevitably deprioritized) from their roles in the plot/narrative.

That's why, despite the fact that the first five episodes were about the characters coming together as a group and reaffirming the ways that they depend on each other and function in each other's lives, Malex was (nonsensically) completely absent. So, the sense we got (at the same time that Max and Liz were reminding us constantly that even if they aren't together they need to be in each other's lives on some level because they're, idk, cosmic soulmates) was that if Alex left and Michael never saw him again and no one ever mentioned him and Michael had zero idea how he was doing...he'd be fine. Like, it wouldn't occur to him to think of Alex at all. And same with Alex. They'd just lead their seperate lives and nothing would be missing. Michael didn't even mourn Alex coming back with someone else for longer than one scene, it was like he forgot about it immediately afterwards. It impacted none of his actions or feelings in the following episodes. Zip, zero, nada, none.

Oh, wait - but now that we're at episode 6, Michael suddenly can't stop thinking about Alex. Ok. Got it. Makes sense. Actually, no, it really doesn't make sense at all, but, who cares? All Malex fans care about is pictures of cute boys standing next to each other, right? It couldn't be that we're craving a meaningful story between two characters that we care about very much because we relate to them, just like Echo fans.

Bottom line, I think that Malex is just a tool for Hollier. That's why every time fans are upset, we get Vlamburn pics or why the actors are probably instructed to bring it up in promotional interviews even if they aren't a part of it. Did Tyler talk about Echo at all in his interview? Or Maria and Greg? No. But did we hear every actor's opinion on "omg are we gonna "get" 💞💋Malex🎉🎉?" (Not "this is what's interesting about how Michael and Alex are interacting this season" or "this is why their early interactions point to romance", just "get Malex") during the first five episodes where Malex was completely absent (except in promotional materials)? Yup.

And I think it's hard for fans to feel used in this way when we're not getting anything particularly positive out of it. Like, if we could see the strategy but it meant more Malex scenes or a plot that prioritized them, that would be one thing. It would still be fucked up but at least we'd also see Alex and Michael interacting like they actually matter to each other. But they're not and we're blatantly being toyed with, so. It kinda sucks. And I can see where people are just feeling done. Especially since this is the only queer relationship on the show, so on top of everything else, the deprioritization within the storyline just feels homophobic.

If I had any advice for fans I guess it would be to enjoy fanfic rn and just...let the show be a piece of Malex but not the extent of it. Because authors in this fandom are doing a terrific job of plugging in the gaps that the show has created. When straight, mainstream media doesn't take our stories seriously or tell them in meaningful ways, we still can.

As always, jmo, happy to be proven wrong.