Taskmaster NZ

I watched the full NZ series as a UK version fan. Identical format, mixed bag of episodes with some hilarious moments. Paul the assistant was brilliant but the taskmaster was a little too relaxed (compared to Greg Davies). The women comedians were great v.fun. Cool set, props and space. I hope there's a next series.

This pales in comparison to the brilliant UK version. I'm afraid Jeremy doesn't translate well as the Taskmaster - a bit dull and not sneering enough. Paul Williams was a pleasant surprise as the Taskmaster assistant.

Leigh Hart has a few genuine laugh out loud moments. The rest of the contestants were hit and miss except for Guy Williams who was all miss.

First of all, I don't understand the high rating of this show. I've watched TM UK and there's a show I do like and laugh a lot too. First season of TM NZ was okey but not really funny. Second season was better. What strikes me in both seasons are that they don't really mix up the point giving part, you see the ones they showcase first always gets the lowest point. And what really bugs me is that from early on is that you can already see who's gonna win the season. They clearly have a favorite from the start and makes sure that the one gets points even for poorly executed tasks or even tasks that they should have been disqualified for.

Having watched Taskmaster in the UK from the beginning I approached Taskmaster NZ with some trepidation and was pleasantly surprised. With a population of only 5 million and viewing figures under 200k with a smaller pool of potential contestants I had to expect some effects of a lower budget than the UK version but I found the range of tasks just as innovative, the positive relationships between the contestants grow as each series progresses and in particular the Taskmaster and his assistant Paul have none of the frankly abusive, unpleasant and not very funny manner of Greg in the UK version towards Alex. Paul in Taskmaster NZ does come in for some stick but it is generally done in good humour. There may be more ad breaks and the humour levels are more adult with greater use of four letter words than the UK version.

I am a great fan of NZ anyway as a country even if the dialect often replaces "e" with "i"....

I went in a bit skeptical, I love TM UK, but I just finished season one of NZ, and I love it, I'm hooked, I wish all of these comedians were my friend! Sooooo funny!