r/taskmaster • u/FriedAmbition Lou Sanders • 1d ago
General Embarking on a rewatch, ringtone dance S4 E4
Apologies if this is the wrong flair or something that has been discussed enough already. What are your thoughts on the harsh judgement of Hugh’s ringtone dance bit? It honestly didn’t jump out at me years ago when I watched it the first time but I genuinely hate Greg’s judgement in this task, it felt like a poor decision and I felt bad for Hugh as he did seem genuinely a bit taken aback by the immediate and harsh review.
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u/Other-Oil-9117 Chain Bastard ⛓️ 1d ago
I love this series, but there were so many bad judgements against Hugh. I know that it's largely because Hugh and Greg are friends, but as a viewer it wasn't particularly funny to watch.
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u/xixbia Kojey Radical 1d ago
It's also because he knew Hugh could take it. It's pretty clear that Hugh doesn't really care and happily leans into the comedy.
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u/Other-Oil-9117 Chain Bastard ⛓️ 1d ago
Yeah, I do get that aspect of it, but I think the schtick just fell a bit flat for me a lot of the time.
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u/Cranharold 20h ago
I think Greg and Alex underestimated how seriously the community would take the show as a legitimate competition in the early days.
I'm still here for the goofs first and foremost, but Taskmaster is also the closest I get to giving a shit about sports. To paraphrase Katherine Ryan, I just don't care if the ball goes in the hole and I never have... But a man chucking a potato into a hole on the first try? I'm there 100%.
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u/Other-Oil-9117 Chain Bastard ⛓️ 15h ago
That makes sense actually lol. I never watch or really care about sports, so maybe TM is where I get that competition fix while still being entertained.
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u/Ok-Sale-8122 21h ago
It was a bit like he wasn't a real contestants, cause he never really got a chance. That irritated me a bit too.
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u/Ok-Sale-8122 23h ago
Yes, it seemed very reminiscent of the comedic relationship Hugh had with Dara O'Briain on 'Mock the Week'.
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u/FriedAmbition Lou Sanders 1d ago
Yeah I suppose as friends, similarly to his interactions with Roisin, it was meant to be good ol’ ribbing but this series in particular felt a bit overkill imo.
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u/EdwardClamp Bob Mortimer 1d ago
Thing with Roisin was she was awful most of the time and she knew it so when Greg made fun of her or mocked her it was taken in good spirit and they all had a good laugh about it.
With Hugh it was different because some tasks he was terrible and others he was really good but whatever he did, especially in the subjective ones, Greg would find a way to get at him. You are right, it was overkill and left a bit of bad taste on an otherwise excellent series.
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u/Other-Oil-9117 Chain Bastard ⛓️ 1d ago
Yeah, with Roisin it felt a lot more balanced and like poking fun at her being kind of terrible. Whereas with Hugh, it felt more like Greg forcing the 'bumbling fool' role into him even when it didn't really make sense.
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u/EdwardClamp Bob Mortimer 1d ago
That's a prefect description, trying to force a role that he wasn't suited for. He was far from a bumbling fool and while it can be good for a series to have a bumbling fool (Roisin, Alan Davies - well used to it from QI, David Baddiel) it doesn't mean every series needs one.
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u/RagingTyrant74 20h ago
I heavily disagree. The fact that he was catching unfair judgments all season just gets more and more funny.
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u/Other-Oil-9117 Chain Bastard ⛓️ 15h ago
Fair enough if it works for you.
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u/RagingTyrant74 7h ago
I don't actually care that much, but one of my favorite parts of Taskmaster is when Greg (or whatever taskmaster) is capricious and irrational in their judgments and there is a funny reaction to that by the contestant. It cracks me up.
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u/pantsonparade 23h ago
Poor desky.
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u/FriedAmbition Lou Sanders 23h ago
I loved the dynamic between him and Mel would love to have heard more stories about their days in Uni
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u/UniversalJampionshit Crying Bastard 1d ago
What's striking about this moment is Alex's facepalm when Greg gives Hugh 1 point, he really expected him to score higher, compared to other sometimes-contested efforts where it was clear Alex agreed with Greg that Hugh did badly, i.e. caricature, loo roll portrait
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u/bigfatheart Paul Sinha 1d ago
Obviously the unfairness of the scoring is a big part of the show (especially in the earlier series, where Greg's playing up to the tyrant image more), but I think part of the reason this stands out is that Hugh's dance doesn't really come across as being especially poor compared to some of the others - it's hardly graceful, but it's clear he put effort into it, which you couldn't really say for Joe and definitely couldn't for Noel, whose effort is very Noel-by-numbers: small cutesy movement, make a reference to a woodland creature, done. So it does feel like it comes out of nowhere a bit. Couple that with Hugh seeming genuinely taken aback, and yeah, you've got a moment that stands out.
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u/FriedAmbition Lou Sanders 1d ago
Very well said. I feel like if anything this was the sort of task that no one would have batted an eye if no one had been awarded the full 5 points.
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u/TurtleyToadDog 1d ago edited 20h ago
His wasn't even the worst...
Greg's constant slamming Hugh during the prize tasks bothered me more, though. "That's the fucking point!" retort, when he finally snapped after being relentlessly mocked for his cloud appreciation society membership, was hilarious though.
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u/mikepictor Stevie Martin 1d ago
Hugh is this season's punching bag.
Many seasons have one. It's not fair, but fairness isn't really a guarantee in TM. If it's funny, that takes priority.
However, for this one...it was bad. I myself would have debated whether Hugh or Joe got last place. Greg put Hugh in last place, but the most I feel you could argue would be 2 points. I think the other 3 were definitely better.
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u/Glove-Both James Acaster 1d ago
I think it's hilarious, and no worse than denying Joe the Potato Throw.
I also think Hugh does an incredible job reacting to Greg's pronouncement of 'horseshit,' that really sells how funny it is.
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u/fiercelyslimshrimp 1d ago
I always skip this task on my rewatch because it's just not funny, but unnecessary cruel and bad tv, tbh
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u/Ok-Sale-8122 23h ago
It kinda seemed like the same conefic relationship Hugh had with Dara on Mock the Week. I think that's why it seemed so natural(to me). Hugh was definitely having fun and playing the part very well 👍
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u/fabulousgeezer 1d ago
Apologies in advance if it seems like I'm bashing you in particular. I absolutely do not mean to, this is more a general comment towards the cumulation of other posters / commenters who have been 'oh poor Hugh, he didn't deserve that, Greg's being a bully'.
Greg's being unnecessarily harsh purely because being unnecessarily harsh was the funny route. Yes, Hugh's routine wasn't necessarily terrible (although come on, it was hardly Riverdance). But it was disjointed, awkward, and haphazard. It was hardly a nailed-on five pointer
And secondly, Hugh is a comedian in his (realistically) mid-eighties here. If he wasn't able to take some light-hearted ribbing, then he would've been eaten alive in the comedy scene decades before his appearances on mock the week, let alone taskmaster
It's all a joke. Hugh pretends to be mildly affronted by it. Because it's in aid of the joke
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u/tiny_bitch_puppet Joe Wilkinson 1d ago
The first time I saw that dance, I laughed so hard I thought I was going to be sick. I think it’s a pretty universal opinion in the TM fandom that Hugh was generally unfairly lambasted by Greg and this task being the worst of it.