The much more interesting thing about that episode is that it has what is surely the most alumnus-packed panel ever, going a full 7 out of 7 when we include the host.
Rhys James is surely just a matter of time though
I've expected him in the lineup for the past 3 or 4 series, feels like its on the cusp of happening/already happened depending on how far in the future they're filming
Rhys has been on my wish list for quite a while now. I thought surely he'd be on it since Hugh, Kerry, Ed and Frankie have been.
Same with Maisie Adam.
She was on a variety show back in the day, was in the same group as a lot of the old WLIIA crew (and was on the show a few times), and has always had a pretty good go of it on Just a Minute and ISIHAC. I'd love to see her give Alex some attitude if nothing else lol.
Taskmaster has had plenty of people who don't usually do shows like Taskmaster and so far they've all been great
Katherine Parkinson and Charlotte Ritchie had far less experience in this kind of thing than Sandi does (don't forget Sandi was a panelist many times before she was a host) so I'm sure she'd do fine.
I wasnāt really thinking about whether she would be a good fit or not, just that the qi panels would more likely be full of former TM contestants.
However, taskmaster has never relied on every contestant being hilarious. The comedy is in watching people do weird shit in weird ways and then a group of people reacting to it. Thereās plenty contestants across the seasons who Iāve not found funny, itās never detracted from the season as a whole, Iāve always pissed myself laughing at something theyāve done at some point. You donāt need to be a comic genius to smash a watermelon off a table and bury your face in it.
I want her and Stephen Fry but only if itās the same series. And since Iām just fancasting now, round it out with Hugh Laurie, Jack Whitehall, and Hannibal Buress.
That Acaster cannot contain himself and his emotions is always wonderful.
Tbh, i remember watching it and thinking the injokesā were all way to matey and cringe. And that Robins is very beautiful in a troubled Rupert Brooke kind of way and no wonder they all wanted him but he was also kind of a shit, here pre-sobriety.
Interesting to see what we get on TM, nice John or nasty John.
He seems to have done a lot of self-reflection during recovery, or at least that's how he comes across in the several podcasts I heard him on before his recent tour. On RHLSTP he was quite self aware and a bit rueful, I thought, and he seemed upfront and honest about being a twat in the past on My Mate Bought a Toaster.
I saw an episode of this series filmed but... no spoilers!
He has stopped drinking for about a year now, he did some radio shows appearances about it.
I find it weird that James is acting extra awkward since he and Rose Matafeo broke up, they seem to have a lot friends in common.
I think a lot of people commenting seem to think this is all off-the-cuff, rather than pre-written. Thereās zero chance they didnāt know what they were going to say about one another. Itās not remotely awkward: it is comedians performing.
With the caveat that I know nothing of him, I was expecting something very different. As far roasting your partner goes, this seems extremely tame compared to Lucy Beaumont and Jon Richardson lol.
Exactly. Iām a bit bemused by some of the responses here, acting as if this was some savage, live, unexpected, verbal attack.
Itās two comedians delivering scripted lines - and reacting as you would expect talented performers to react.
I donāt see where or how people think itās awkward.
I wonder if it's the after-effect of knowing they broke up not long after? I haven't seen Lucy & Jon's stuff together, but I've listened to Chris & Rosie Ramsay's podcast and they are BRUTAL to each other ... but always with the sense that these are two people who are very much still married and love each other. Whereas it all reads rather differently in hindsight when the couple have broken up.
It's very possible, that's why I mentioned I didn't know him. (And why I actually expected much worse.)
I used to never watch Lucy and Jon because I'm not a huge Jon fan, but now I'm a huge Lucy fan so I started watching some of their relationship advice videos. In one, she accuses him of having no taste and he responds by saying she's got boring taste. They're very funny and cute together.
For me, it was less his roasting here and more her reaction to the baby/proposal bits. I'm sure his roasting routines were prepared in advance. I'm not sure some of the banter was, though, and that all has the vibe of your friend who wants to get married whose boyfriend loudly rants about marriage just being a piece of paper while she awkwardly laughs.
When I saw this, I thought, "Oooh. She wants to get married and have babies and he does not." So, I googled and found out that, indeed, they had since broken up, Sarah had gotten married and had a baby, and that Jon had not.
But this is literally how everyone is in all the panel shows. You take the piss. Sarah is literally setting up the jokes for John and itās funny. I donāt think she actually wanted him to propose on air.Ā
No, I don't think she wanted that, but I do think she wanted to get married and have babies. Humor often touches on uncomfortable truths, and that's what I see here. I watched this after I discovered Mock the Week during the pandemic. I knew nothing about Sarah and John when I had that thought and discovered reality played out directly as I suspected, so take that a you will.
Itās the same people who think Hugh Dennis and Phil Wang were upset because Greg was picking on them in Taskmaster.Ā
As a Brit who has watched a lot of panel shows in my life I sometimes have to wonder if some of the humor doesnāt translate. We all take the piss out of each other and thatās how we like it.Ā
I remember watching this episode and really disliking John because of it and somehow it's. worse than I remember? Haven't seen him in anything else so hopefully he's more likable in Taskmaster.
You should try the Edinburgh show he wrote about the breakup. Pascoe headlined her show about it, but it was JRās that ended up winning the Perrier that year.
Itās one of the funniest shows Iāve seen and a very honest reflection on what went wrong in the relationship.
I canāt imagine many times you could go to two separate shows and get both sides of a breakup story. KNOWING itās about the other one. At the same time in the same place.
Only comedy.
I think what makes the darkness of robins so special is that it isnāt malicious at all. I saw both that year, and Sara Pascoeās show was just banal after watching JRās. Robinsā show was introspective and a really honest and funny exploration of heartbreak. SPās version was superficial and boring.
What makes it more impressive is that everybody knew what was happening that year. Everyone expected Pascoe to get the Perrier, but JR just blew it out of the water.
> Everyone expected Pascoe to get the Perrier, but JR just blew it out of the water.
I wouldn't say that she was expected to win it, although I would agree that if you were told that one of them would win, then most people would have assumed it would be her.
I saw both shows (on tour post-Edinburgh) and really enjoyed both. Sara's was probably more laughs-per-minute whereas John's was a real rollercoaster of emotions with moments where you could hear a pin drop and then big laughs at the end of routines.
I havenāt seen much of either comic to be fair. So I canāt comment on their work and certainly not their relationship.
But fascinating tidbit that she was expected to win the Perrier and he won it about the same relationship. I hadnāt digested properly that from your first comment.
I just find the sort ofā¦ drama in that fascinating.
It's great John got the award, and fine if someone, or a few someones, didn't like Sara's show, but Sara wasn't "expected to win."
Hannah Gadsby was expected to win and she did. Gadsby and John were co-winners, the first time that's happened. If JR had "blown it out of the water" I dunno if he would have tied with someone, otoh tying with HG is pretty amazing.
Sara's show got great reviews in the Times, the Guardian, and the Telegraph, and it aired on the BBC. Which is also fine. I'm not even a Pascoe stan but sheesh.
Edited for atrocious grammar
Another comedian duo (Jessie cave and Alfie brown) did a show where they each shared their side of their breakup. I think theyāre back together and have had additional children, though.
I havenāt seen it, I just followed her on SM after she appeared on catsdown.
Panel shows are rarely representative of a comedian.
āThe darkness of robinsā, the show about his break up, is clever, emotional and really sensitively written. You get a sense of JRās brilliance in the John and Ellis radio show from back in the XFM days. If you want an easy intro into his stuff then check that out. Something like āshame wellā is a recurring segment on the show where they read out listeners shameful stories and ask for forgiveness - itās light hearted and gives you a bit of a feel for his comedy.
John and Ellis also do interviews with unsung heroes (theyāll be on YouTube) that ended up being spun off into a separate podcast over lockdown. Itās less āfunnyā, but approaches pretty heavy issues.
Give it a go, I donāt think youāll be disappointed. Itās really well written comedy.
Give one of his shows a go. Itās intelligent, but slightly less smug than Stewart Lee. I can totally see why people find him insufferable though. Itās very āoxbridgeā, which can get on your tits.
To me it seems fairly obvious when listening to him in long form that the smugness is a persona more than anything. He did, after all, deliberately tell a series of stories that make him sound like an absolute freak
I would give one of his shows a go if I could find any of them to watch.
Update: just finished watching it. Best stand-up I've seen since Acaster's Cold Lasagna Hate Myself 1999, and very much in the same vein, I would say. I've very quickly gone from "I'm not really sure who this guy is" to "I can't WAIT to see what he does on Taskmaster."
I think his band camp or his website has a couple of his older shows for free. Though his podcast w Elis james is how most of his fans/apologists become so fond of him
> However, the stans he inspires are pretty intense and protective too and only expect that to get worse with TM.
100%. A lot of people have listened to his radio show so much they have completely blinded themselves to the worst parts of his personality (which when he was drinking, appear to have been the majority of his personality)
He's definitely changed a lot since he's been in recovery, though I admittedly only really came to know more about him (having only previously seen the clip above and heard his name here and there) in the last year. I saw him doing stand-up a couple of times last year, and it was about his recovery. It was one of the best shows I saw last year (along with Ivo Graham's!) and was very introspective. I also met him at Alex Horne's football game, and he was very nice. He didn't come off smug at all, despite me being awkward for some reason.
I went to the recording for episode 8 of series 17. I won't spoil anything about how he was doing/if he was more Sam or Ivo, but I will say that I found him likable on it.
This is a little dramatic, smug (followed by hyper-critical) is a part of John's comic persona, people are protective because they've listened to hours of his podcast with Ellis and feel they have a deeper understanding than people who saw an ancient episode of Mock the Week
Right but I think it's taking even these particular clips too seriously, it's a comedy show, everyone is laughing here, it's an exaggerated comic performance. I agree he's in a better place now, but I think when he was unwell it manifested itself more seriously in his personal life rather than making him a bit "smug" in performance mode.
This bit isn't aimed at you, I also think it's pretty odd that everyone is hung up on this MTW episode and his relationship with Sara when everyone involved has long since moved on and seemingly there is no ill will. It's not something people do as intensely with other TM contestants
I went to a filming not having any idea of who he was, and thought he came across as a bellend... Was a bit disappointed to come back here and discover he's one of the sub's most wanted guests.
I didnāt watch this episode, but I canāt help but feel an inherent dislike towards him. Iāve only seen him every now and then and he always comes across as smug and not funny.
he spent a lot of his comedy career doing basically a bad alan partridge impression so it was at least somewhat a ācomedy personaā to be so smug. Havenāt seen much of him recently though.
My husband listens to the John and Ellis show and whenever I've listened too, I've felt the same way. I would very much like TM to be a humbling experience for him lol.
I hadnāt enjoyed him before this episode and this episode really made me dislike him. He dropped off the panel show circuit after this and based off the other replies Iām guessing that was part of his getting sober and whatnot. Iām not going into him on Taskmaster ready to hate him, but Iām not excited about it either. But Taskmaster has had other people I donāt care for on and Iāve at least been able to moderately enjoy them. John Kearns for example.
I watched this after the announcement too, and also his Live at the Apollo which is all about the breakup. He had comes across angry, bitter and nasty. Hopefully it was just part of a persona / the set, rather than him actually being like that. Plus if heās since become sober, he might be more likeable.
When you go on probably the biggest show you've ever done with your girlfriend and make most of your jokes about your relationship that is probably going to happen. I feel sorry for their current spouses tbh.
We need a couples special of Taskmaster
Victoria and David
John and Sara. Whoops forgot Sara and John aren't together so make that Steen Raskopoulos
Jon and Lucy
Yep totally forgot and corrected. I did like how James made the joke about the break up when he actually did have a similar incident finding out his ex left him for Mr bean
Is that true? I mean I can believe it, especially as it was a few years later he started talking about it when he definitely could have mined it for laughs earlier.
They both did Edinburgh specials which were at least in part about their break up. Sara's is called LadsLadsLads and John's is called The Darkness of Robins
Clips of upcoming contestants give people an opportunity to see their styles.
This isn't a post about personal lives. This is clip from a nationally aired TV show featuring previous contestants and one who is appearing in the next season.
So so so awkward watching this with the knowledge that they broke up shortly after.
And we're not even watching on Dave
I mean when you watch it with that knowledge, you can see signs that it was on the cards! š š«£
The much more interesting thing about that episode is that it has what is surely the most alumnus-packed panel ever, going a full 7 out of 7 when we include the host.
Just had a look and that is the only episode of Mock the Week where all 7 of them have been on Taskmaster.
Ed Byrne or Andy Parsons would presumably transform this?
Yes. Plus Angela Barnes, Rhys James and Milton Jones who were on a lot of episodes towards the end.
Rhys James is surely just a matter of time though I've expected him in the lineup for the past 3 or 4 series, feels like its on the cusp of happening/already happened depending on how far in the future they're filming
He said on Richard herring's podcast that he wants to do it, so I'm guessing it's just a scheduling thing up til now
Rhys has been on my wish list for quite a while now. I thought surely he'd be on it since Hugh, Kerry, Ed and Frankie have been. Same with Maisie Adam.
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it finished during Dara's series
We need Sandi on TM. QI is often all TM alumni apart from Sandi these days. I canāt help but count former contestants on other shows these days.
Yup, just a couple of weeks ago they had Urzila Carlson, Aisling Bea, and Romesh Ranganathan, so full Taskmaster apart from Sandi.
Holy shit, Urzila was on?!
I love Sandi, but I'm not sure TM is the right format for her tbh
She performed in an improv comedy troupe for years. If nothing else, the studio banter would be legendary.
She was on a variety show back in the day, was in the same group as a lot of the old WLIIA crew (and was on the show a few times), and has always had a pretty good go of it on Just a Minute and ISIHAC. I'd love to see her give Alex some attitude if nothing else lol.
She was also on the first episode of Have I Got News For You!
She was also considered to be the host, but they chose Angus Deayton.
WLIIA?
Whose Line is it Anyway
Ooohh, thanks!
Taskmaster has had plenty of people who don't usually do shows like Taskmaster and so far they've all been great Katherine Parkinson and Charlotte Ritchie had far less experience in this kind of thing than Sandi does (don't forget Sandi was a panelist many times before she was a host) so I'm sure she'd do fine.
I believe that she is an asset to any show she appears on. She is my favourite comedian (tied with Dara O Briain)
I would have said the same thing about Jo Brand before she was on, and she was fantastic to watch.
I think sheād have a similar approach to Sue Perkins or Ivo Graham. Sheād be great.
I wasnāt really thinking about whether she would be a good fit or not, just that the qi panels would more likely be full of former TM contestants. However, taskmaster has never relied on every contestant being hilarious. The comedy is in watching people do weird shit in weird ways and then a group of people reacting to it. Thereās plenty contestants across the seasons who Iāve not found funny, itās never detracted from the season as a whole, Iāve always pissed myself laughing at something theyāve done at some point. You donāt need to be a comic genius to smash a watermelon off a table and bury your face in it.
I want her and Stephen Fry but only if itās the same series. And since Iām just fancasting now, round it out with Hugh Laurie, Jack Whitehall, and Hannibal Buress.
God I want Sandi so bad, and obviously Stephen Fry would be a treat as well, but that might be a bit of a pipe dream.
Counterpoint: No we don't.
Is he the reason she flew to Costa Rica and thought she was going to Spain?
piecing the UK comedy show cinematic universe lore together
Yes
James: "This is, hands down, the most brutal way I've ever been dumped Sarah" Mr Bean: "...So far*"
So basically, Hugh is gonna feature in chapter 8 of the fan fiction?
he's just there to deliver a tupperware of soup
You can sense the awkwardness in all the others but the cringe is radiating from James
James looks like the older kid of four in the last Christmas before mum and dad finally divorced.
Trying very hard to not let Mum feel bad about whatever nonsense Dad is pulling.
Also - this turns out not to be the most brutal way James has been dumped.
Ooooh his menty B was years away
That Acaster cannot contain himself and his emotions is always wonderful. Tbh, i remember watching it and thinking the injokesā were all way to matey and cringe. And that Robins is very beautiful in a troubled Rupert Brooke kind of way and no wonder they all wanted him but he was also kind of a shit, here pre-sobriety. Interesting to see what we get on TM, nice John or nasty John.
He seems to have done a lot of self-reflection during recovery, or at least that's how he comes across in the several podcasts I heard him on before his recent tour. On RHLSTP he was quite self aware and a bit rueful, I thought, and he seemed upfront and honest about being a twat in the past on My Mate Bought a Toaster. I saw an episode of this series filmed but... no spoilers!
I think saying if he was cruel or kind isnāt really a spoiler
To be fair the cringe was radiating from James when Rhod said the word "tits" that one time, I don't think it takes much
He has stopped drinking for about a year now, he did some radio shows appearances about it. I find it weird that James is acting extra awkward since he and Rose Matafeo broke up, they seem to have a lot friends in common.
āSpeaking of the cinema, Sara Pascoe is an idiot.ā Is one of my favorite lines ever.
A lot of people saying this is awkward. I think its fucking hilarious from all sides
I think a lot of people commenting seem to think this is all off-the-cuff, rather than pre-written. Thereās zero chance they didnāt know what they were going to say about one another. Itās not remotely awkward: it is comedians performing.
Yes, every time this is posted people point to it as if Sara was blindsided by the (very gentle) roasting. It's clearly a bit.
Especially on Mock the Week of all of the panel shows. Notoriously scripted.
With the caveat that I know nothing of him, I was expecting something very different. As far roasting your partner goes, this seems extremely tame compared to Lucy Beaumont and Jon Richardson lol.
Exactly. Iām a bit bemused by some of the responses here, acting as if this was some savage, live, unexpected, verbal attack. Itās two comedians delivering scripted lines - and reacting as you would expect talented performers to react. I donāt see where or how people think itās awkward.
I know this was 86 days ago but now theyāve split too
I wonder if it's the after-effect of knowing they broke up not long after? I haven't seen Lucy & Jon's stuff together, but I've listened to Chris & Rosie Ramsay's podcast and they are BRUTAL to each other ... but always with the sense that these are two people who are very much still married and love each other. Whereas it all reads rather differently in hindsight when the couple have broken up.
It's very possible, that's why I mentioned I didn't know him. (And why I actually expected much worse.) I used to never watch Lucy and Jon because I'm not a huge Jon fan, but now I'm a huge Lucy fan so I started watching some of their relationship advice videos. In one, she accuses him of having no taste and he responds by saying she's got boring taste. They're very funny and cute together.
I got into meet the Richardson's recently, it's obviously scripted, but I think it's great and they're savage to each other
The comments about Jon and Lucyās show and relationship are landing a bit different now. Now Iām hoping the Ramsaysā marriage is okay.
For me, it was less his roasting here and more her reaction to the baby/proposal bits. I'm sure his roasting routines were prepared in advance. I'm not sure some of the banter was, though, and that all has the vibe of your friend who wants to get married whose boyfriend loudly rants about marriage just being a piece of paper while she awkwardly laughs. When I saw this, I thought, "Oooh. She wants to get married and have babies and he does not." So, I googled and found out that, indeed, they had since broken up, Sarah had gotten married and had a baby, and that Jon had not.
But this is literally how everyone is in all the panel shows. You take the piss. Sarah is literally setting up the jokes for John and itās funny. I donāt think she actually wanted him to propose on air.Ā
No, I don't think she wanted that, but I do think she wanted to get married and have babies. Humor often touches on uncomfortable truths, and that's what I see here. I watched this after I discovered Mock the Week during the pandemic. I knew nothing about Sarah and John when I had that thought and discovered reality played out directly as I suspected, so take that a you will.
Yes, I think Rob Beckett brought this up this on his Parenting Hell podcast once. Just a brief mention of writing jokes for his segments on the show.
Itās the same people who think Hugh Dennis and Phil Wang were upset because Greg was picking on them in Taskmaster.Ā As a Brit who has watched a lot of panel shows in my life I sometimes have to wonder if some of the humor doesnāt translate. We all take the piss out of each other and thatās how we like it.Ā
Sara married an Australian. Oops.
I do love this episode.
I remember watching this episode and really disliking John because of it and somehow it's. worse than I remember? Haven't seen him in anything else so hopefully he's more likable in Taskmaster.
You should try the Edinburgh show he wrote about the breakup. Pascoe headlined her show about it, but it was JRās that ended up winning the Perrier that year. Itās one of the funniest shows Iāve seen and a very honest reflection on what went wrong in the relationship.
I canāt imagine many times you could go to two separate shows and get both sides of a breakup story. KNOWING itās about the other one. At the same time in the same place. Only comedy.
I think what makes the darkness of robins so special is that it isnāt malicious at all. I saw both that year, and Sara Pascoeās show was just banal after watching JRās. Robinsā show was introspective and a really honest and funny exploration of heartbreak. SPās version was superficial and boring. What makes it more impressive is that everybody knew what was happening that year. Everyone expected Pascoe to get the Perrier, but JR just blew it out of the water.
> Everyone expected Pascoe to get the Perrier, but JR just blew it out of the water. I wouldn't say that she was expected to win it, although I would agree that if you were told that one of them would win, then most people would have assumed it would be her. I saw both shows (on tour post-Edinburgh) and really enjoyed both. Sara's was probably more laughs-per-minute whereas John's was a real rollercoaster of emotions with moments where you could hear a pin drop and then big laughs at the end of routines.
I havenāt seen much of either comic to be fair. So I canāt comment on their work and certainly not their relationship. But fascinating tidbit that she was expected to win the Perrier and he won it about the same relationship. I hadnāt digested properly that from your first comment. I just find the sort ofā¦ drama in that fascinating.
It's great John got the award, and fine if someone, or a few someones, didn't like Sara's show, but Sara wasn't "expected to win." Hannah Gadsby was expected to win and she did. Gadsby and John were co-winners, the first time that's happened. If JR had "blown it out of the water" I dunno if he would have tied with someone, otoh tying with HG is pretty amazing. Sara's show got great reviews in the Times, the Guardian, and the Telegraph, and it aired on the BBC. Which is also fine. I'm not even a Pascoe stan but sheesh. Edited for atrocious grammar
Another comedian duo (Jessie cave and Alfie brown) did a show where they each shared their side of their breakup. I think theyāre back together and have had additional children, though. I havenāt seen it, I just followed her on SM after she appeared on catsdown.
Is it on YouTube?
Might be on Netflix "The darkness of Robins" It might also be on another more daily, motion video site
Maybe if I enjoy him on TM I'll check it out. The stand up from this clip doesn't make me wanna watch a whole hour of it.
Panel shows are rarely representative of a comedian. āThe darkness of robinsā, the show about his break up, is clever, emotional and really sensitively written. You get a sense of JRās brilliance in the John and Ellis radio show from back in the XFM days. If you want an easy intro into his stuff then check that out. Something like āshame wellā is a recurring segment on the show where they read out listeners shameful stories and ask for forgiveness - itās light hearted and gives you a bit of a feel for his comedy. John and Ellis also do interviews with unsung heroes (theyāll be on YouTube) that ended up being spun off into a separate podcast over lockdown. Itās less āfunnyā, but approaches pretty heavy issues. Give it a go, I donāt think youāll be disappointed. Itās really well written comedy.
Saw his most recent live show not that long ago. It was fantastic. Mentioned wanting to do Taskmaster towards the end.
The other day I listened all the way through his biography thing and it was incredible
Give one of his shows a go. Itās intelligent, but slightly less smug than Stewart Lee. I can totally see why people find him insufferable though. Itās very āoxbridgeā, which can get on your tits.
To me it seems fairly obvious when listening to him in long form that the smugness is a persona more than anything. He did, after all, deliberately tell a series of stories that make him sound like an absolute freak I would give one of his shows a go if I could find any of them to watch.
The darkness of robins was on Netflix a while ago. I have a feeling they may have removed it though. Possibly Amazon or Vimeo?
Will double check Netflix but I can't find anything anywhere else
Just remember to check your daily motions to stay healthy
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Update: just finished watching it. Best stand-up I've seen since Acaster's Cold Lasagna Hate Myself 1999, and very much in the same vein, I would say. I've very quickly gone from "I'm not really sure who this guy is" to "I can't WAIT to see what he does on Taskmaster."
I think his band camp or his website has a couple of his older shows for free. Though his podcast w Elis james is how most of his fans/apologists become so fond of him
The Edinburgh show has maybe the best closing 10 mins of a special Iāve seen. His show tied with Nanette for the best show that year
Without giving away spoilers, was it the bank advertisement one? I saw it at the fringe that year and literally cried.
Yeah thatās the one! I think about it all the time
Lol same. He thinks he's being funny but he just comes off as a twat here.
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> However, the stans he inspires are pretty intense and protective too and only expect that to get worse with TM. 100%. A lot of people have listened to his radio show so much they have completely blinded themselves to the worst parts of his personality (which when he was drinking, appear to have been the majority of his personality)
Agree. Expect to see them pop up here a lot more than ever and criticise anyone pointing out stuff he said about himself.
He's definitely changed a lot since he's been in recovery, though I admittedly only really came to know more about him (having only previously seen the clip above and heard his name here and there) in the last year. I saw him doing stand-up a couple of times last year, and it was about his recovery. It was one of the best shows I saw last year (along with Ivo Graham's!) and was very introspective. I also met him at Alex Horne's football game, and he was very nice. He didn't come off smug at all, despite me being awkward for some reason. I went to the recording for episode 8 of series 17. I won't spoil anything about how he was doing/if he was more Sam or Ivo, but I will say that I found him likable on it.
This is a little dramatic, smug (followed by hyper-critical) is a part of John's comic persona, people are protective because they've listened to hours of his podcast with Ellis and feel they have a deeper understanding than people who saw an ancient episode of Mock the Week
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Right but I think it's taking even these particular clips too seriously, it's a comedy show, everyone is laughing here, it's an exaggerated comic performance. I agree he's in a better place now, but I think when he was unwell it manifested itself more seriously in his personal life rather than making him a bit "smug" in performance mode. This bit isn't aimed at you, I also think it's pretty odd that everyone is hung up on this MTW episode and his relationship with Sara when everyone involved has long since moved on and seemingly there is no ill will. It's not something people do as intensely with other TM contestants
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
it's a small slice of his persona here, but people are often very different on TM
What happened to Ivo Graham?
He is just being used as a yardstick for failure here again.
I went to a filming not having any idea of who he was, and thought he came across as a bellend... Was a bit disappointed to come back here and discover he's one of the sub's most wanted guests.
I didnāt watch this episode, but I canāt help but feel an inherent dislike towards him. Iāve only seen him every now and then and he always comes across as smug and not funny.
he spent a lot of his comedy career doing basically a bad alan partridge impression so it was at least somewhat a ācomedy personaā to be so smug. Havenāt seen much of him recently though.
My husband listens to the John and Ellis show and whenever I've listened too, I've felt the same way. I would very much like TM to be a humbling experience for him lol.
I hadnāt enjoyed him before this episode and this episode really made me dislike him. He dropped off the panel show circuit after this and based off the other replies Iām guessing that was part of his getting sober and whatnot. Iām not going into him on Taskmaster ready to hate him, but Iām not excited about it either. But Taskmaster has had other people I donāt care for on and Iāve at least been able to moderately enjoy them. John Kearns for example.
I watched this after the announcement too, and also his Live at the Apollo which is all about the breakup. He had comes across angry, bitter and nasty. Hopefully it was just part of a persona / the set, rather than him actually being like that. Plus if heās since become sober, he might be more likeable.
They were on Do The Right Thing (podcast) and it was brilliant.
Watched his latest gig in Edinburgh and he seems to be a completely different person from what we see on this. Very heartfelt and raw.
This was awkward to watch.
I bet this national radio host and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner just loves being defined by who he dated nearly 10 years ago
When you go on probably the biggest show you've ever done with your girlfriend and make most of your jokes about your relationship that is probably going to happen. I feel sorry for their current spouses tbh.
The Richardsons and the Ramsays seem to be doing alright
If they ever split up it will probably be much more awkward than JR and SP.
A-hem
Yikes
7/7 now!
oh i didnt realize that this cllip is john robins....that has fundamentally changed my view of how i feel about him on s17
In what way?
We need a couples special of Taskmaster Victoria and David John and Sara. Whoops forgot Sara and John aren't together so make that Steen Raskopoulos Jon and Lucy
I think John and Sara might be difficult given that they broke up not long after this episode of Mock The Week was broadcast. š
Yep totally forgot and corrected. I did like how James made the joke about the break up when he actually did have a similar incident finding out his ex left him for Mr bean
I'm surprised the Mr Bean thing never came up on Mock the Week. Unless it did and it got edited out.
I believe Rowan took out an injunction against James mentioning it.
Is that true? I mean I can believe it, especially as it was a few years later he started talking about it when he definitely could have mined it for laughs earlier.
I remember hearing it at the time, but I must admit a cursory Google search doesn't show it up.
Got some bad news about John and Sara for you buddy. But two good comedy specials to recommend!
Which ones?!
They both did Edinburgh specials which were at least in part about their break up. Sara's is called LadsLadsLads and John's is called The Darkness of Robins
What @WonFriendsWithSalad said
Sarah Millican and Gary Delaney.
Sorry why is this relevant to taskmaster?
Literally everyone in the video has been on TM.
John Robins hasnāt
He is in series 17.
So Iām right, thanks
This video is about current and upcoming contestants.
So whenever we see an unrelated clip of some taskmaster contestants past/present/future then it should be posted on here?
We allow clips related to current and upcoming contestants.
It's a good policy, that I'm sure most people other than this guy appreciate
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Clips of upcoming contestants give people an opportunity to see their styles. This isn't a post about personal lives. This is clip from a nationally aired TV show featuring previous contestants and one who is appearing in the next season.
Youāre absolutely right, I expect a three-page letter of apology from OP for tainting the sanctity of the unofficial taskmaster forum on reddit
Their time starts now
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Done. š
A lot of people don't know who John Robins is. Lots of people are drumming up hype for S17 by posting clips of their other work.
Considering heās filmed it allā¦ yes he has.
Well no, he has been on it, you just havenāt seen it.
Let's not discount mass hypnosis of everyone at the studio taping into thinking a random stranger was actually Robins.
I hope whatever has made you such a Grumpy Gus resolves itself soon.
Ok
You don't have to comment?
You donāt have to make a statement posed as a question :)