Line #102 Characters/TaskmasterSeriesFourteen


1	[[WMG:[[center:''Series/{{Taskmaster}}'' [[Characters/{{Taskmaster}} "characters" index]]\
2	[-British series:\
3	Series: [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesOne One]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesTwo Two]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesThree Three]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesFour Four]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesFive Five]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesSix Six]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesSeven Seven]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesEight Eight]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesNine Nine]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesTen Ten]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesEleven Eleven]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesTwelve Twelve]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesThirteen Thirteen]] \| '''Fourteen''' \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesFifteen Fifteen]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesSixteen Sixteen]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterSeriesSeventeen Seventeen]]\
4	Specials: [[Characters/TaskmasterNewYearTreatOne New Year Treat]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterNewYearTreatTwo New Year Treat II]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterNewYearTreatThree New Year Treat III]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterNewYearTreatFour New Year Treat IV]]\
5	[[Characters/TaskmasterNZ New Zealand series:]]\
6	Seasons: [[Characters/TaskmasterNZSeasonOne One]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterNZSeasonTwo Two]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterNZSeasonThree Three]] \| [[Characters/TaskmasterNZSeasonFour Four]]\
7	[[Characters/TaskmasterAustralia Australian Series:]]\
8	Seasons: [[Characters/TaskmasterAustraliaSeasonOne One]] -]]]]]
9
10	->''"We were hoping for one of the teams to be stupid enough to put their hands on each others' hips, but we weren't expecting everyone..."''
11	-->-- '''Alex Horne'''
12
13	----
14	!!Creator/DaraOBriain
15
16	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frame_dara.png]]
17	[[caption-width-right:225:''"Wait, what? What? Wait. Wait, what?"'']]
18
19	[[caption-width-right:200:[[labelnote:Click to see Dara in “Spider in My Pocket” '''Spoilers!''']][[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taskmaster_coc_11_15_dara_o_briain.png]][[caption-width-right:180:''""'']][[/labelnote]]]]
20
21	An Irish comedian and TV presenter who is best known for presenting ''Series/MockTheWeek'',[[note]]which unfortunately ended its run as this ''Taskmaster'' series was being aired on TV[[/note]] several {{Edutainment Show}}s, and the 2016 reboot of ''Series/RobotWars''.
22	----
23
24	* TheAce:
25	** Dara wins [[spoiler:"Enormous Hugeness" with 30 points, which makes him the first ever contestant in Taskmaster history to win an episode by coming first or joint-first in all the tasks.]]
26	** [[spoiler:Dara ends up winning the series, breaking the long-standing "First Chair Curse", and topping the table with the highest-ever points total for the UK competition.]]
27	** [[spoiler: He goes on to win Champion of Champions III, becoming the first and (at the time) only contestant in any version of the show to exceed 200 points in the process.]]
28	* ActorAllusion: Greg makes multiple references to Dara's science background and mockingly talks about how that should put Dara at an advantage.
29	* TheBigGuy: The largest member of Series 14's panel by far. John Kearns notes that Dara is very strong and easily manhandled him during the sand-moving team task.
30	* BigShutUp: By the time the team task shown in the final episode comes around, Dara's patience with John -- never vast -- has clearly run out to the point where he's in no mood to be asked whether his eye colour is "Sinatra blue".
31	-->'''Dara:''' Oh, ''shut up.''
32	* CallBack: His appearance on Champion of Champions 3 has several of these:
33	** He wears the same task outfit as before, but with several changes. The back of his jumpsuit has his catchphrase "Wait, what?" spelled out in stick-on gems. There are also patches depicting his team tasks sewn onto his jumpsuit: a sandcastle and a shopping trolley, when John sabotages their team in "Dafty In The Middle"; mountains and a helicopter, in reference to the live task in "Enormous Hugeness"; and a patch showing the bird that Dara insists he could see in the "create the best picture of a bird" task.
34	** In the opening titles, there is a shot of Dara dressed up as the lady who throws her baby, from his attempt for the "catch something" task in "Dafty In The Middle".
35	* CatchPhrase: In "Long-Legged Lobster", Dara ends up with the catchphrase, "Wait, what?"
36	* CompetitionFreak: He is intent on earning every point he can whether it be through good task attempts or passionate arguments in the studio. He's also driven to frustration during team tasks as he takes them seriously while Fern and John goof around. On the podcast, he explains that his competitiveness was because he enjoyed ''Taskmaster'' so much and the only way he could get just one day more was to win and compete in Champion of Champions.
37	* EvilLaugh: Greg compares his laughter during the 5 grapes task to that of a supervillain undergoing their StartOfDarkness.
38	* FacePalm: When reviewing team tasks in the studio and during studio-based team tasks, he alternates between burying his head in his hands and a ThousandYardStare because he's driven beyond frustration by Fern and John and their antics.
39	* FailedASpotCheck:
40	** In the grape task in "Enormous Hugeness", Dara is the only person to leave the garage before his time is over. As he opens the door, he fails to [[spoiler:notice the grapes hidden inside the door, which at one point are approximately at his eye level]].
41	** During the bubble machine task in "Crumbs in my Bralette", he fails to notice the power cable to the machine when looking under the table, despite telling himself out loud to look under the table.
42	* GenreSavvy: He says that his wife reminded him to check under tables when shooting tasks.
43	* HiddenDepths: Puts on a surprisingly dramatic performance with the sparse script "Door(s)" John wrote for him.
44	* OnlySaneMan: John and particularly Fern derail the team live task in "Enormous Hugeness" so badly that Dara is almost in physical pain, while he just about salvages their attempts.
45	* RightForTheWrongReasons: Sort of. He is the only one to figure out that in the grape-flour task in the second episode, the "five grapes" that need to be collected don't need to be the ones that are hidden in the flour... but fails to realise that this is because [[spoiler: grapes have been concealed in the garage door for the contestants to use]]. Instead, he ends up rushing to the kitchen to find some.
46
47	!!Fern Brady
48
49	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frame_fern.png]]
50	[[caption-width-right:225:''"♫ It is me, Fern Brady, me, Fern Brady, I'm the rightful queen! ♫"'']]
51
52	->'''Fern:''' I remember thinking I’d come up with quite a good system with the, the system of endless plates and that kept us going actually.
53	->'''Alex:''' It wasn’t a system of endless plates. It was 12 plates.
54
55	A Scottish stand-up comedian and writer.
56	----
57	* CatchPhrase: At least once an episode, Fern lets out a despondent "Oh no".
58	* CloudCuckoolander: When instructed to "catch" something for a task, Fern assumes she has to catch an animal (rather than, say, a ball.) When told she can request any three items for a later task with a £50 budget, she asks for a taxidermied animal.
59	* DidNotThinkThisThrough: In an episode 4 task, Fern has to tidy up any mess she makes in the course of the task. She promptly tips a suitcase full of cutlery onto the floor, causing Alex to audibly laugh off-screen.
60	* HiddenDepths: Painted a shockingly good self-portrait with a sausage on a loo-seat in "A New Business End", when the other contestants managed at best cartoonish caricatures of themselves with their tools.
61	* ImpossiblyTackyClothes: Her task outfit is a blueish-green catsuit with a metallic one-piece, collar, and cuffs worn on top -- all made for her by a fetish-gear manufacturer -- while stamped lettering on the bust and collar declare her to be the "Taskmistress". She's mentioned that she wanted to rival Phil Wang's infamous jumpsuit from Series 7.
62	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Fern casually remarks that she's surprised Greg would want to try her Chinese breakfast, because he's from Shrewsbury and seems to be the sort of person who only eats roast meat.
63	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Following her magnificent IWantSong-cum-[[TheDissTrack Diss Track]] in "Crumbs in my Bralette," Fern has told the podcast that Greg came up behind her before ''every single studio record from then on'' to tease her by singing "It is me, Fern Brady, me, Fern Brady..."
64	* OopNorth: For the one-act play task, Fern puts on a pitch-perfect Geordie accent when performing Sarah's script. Fern even throws in a "Howay, man!"[[note]]a regionalism that can mean: go away, good luck, come on, hurry up, OK[[/note]] for good measure, even though Sarah didn't include that in the monologue.
65	* {{Sleepyhead}}: She often complains of being tired during even quite short tasks. On the podcast, she reveals that she was so excited to be on the show that she couldn't sleep at night.
66
67	!!John Kearns
68
69	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frame_john.png]]
70	[[caption-width-right:225:''"I die every week."'']]
71
72	->'''Greg: '''John, anything you want to say in your defence.
73	->'''John: '''My brain doesn’t work that way.
74	->'''Fern: '''Your brain doesn’t ''work.''
75
76
77	A stand-up comedian whose 2014 show, ''Shtick'', won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Comedy Show.
78
79	----
80	* BewareTheSillyOnes: Despite being one of the lowest scoring contestants ever in episodes 1 and 2, he wins episode 3, partly by successfully sabotaging his teammates in a secret task.
81	** John's also shockingly good at the more athletic tasks, running away with the airport trolley bowling and yoga ball snooker tasks and coming in second in the milk jug task to Sarah (who had found a more creative way to win). The audience audibly reacts to the force with which he throws an item over the caravan in the final pre-recorded task.
82	* BookEnds: He wears the same jumper for the studio portions of both the first and last episodes of his series.
83	* ButtMonkey:
84	** After what is statistically one of the worst starts to any series of ''Taskmaster'' ever, Greg has clearly decided by episode 2 that this is to be his role going forward whether he wants to be or not.
85	--->'''Greg:''' John, I put it to you, that you are not in this for the win.
86	** Once it's revealed he was tasked with sabotaging his team, Dara and Fern proceed to tear into him, with Dara even semi-threatening to kill him.
87	--->'''Dara:''' ''[Having just learned of the ruse]'' Can I say it's kind of a relief because at the time, I thought he was an ''IDIOT''!\
88	'''Fern:''' I just thought John was an idiot!
89	** Even Alex, normally a NiceGuy, starts piling on John.
90	--->'''Greg:''' So far so strong! But, great news...\
91	'''Alex:''' John next.
92	* CloudCuckoolander: During "Enormous Hugeness" he gets sidetracked by an argument over whether or not small rubber ducks are commercially available and claims to have tried to buy one off a ''pharmacist''.
93	* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: After "Enormous Hugeness" was aired, John later [[https://twitter.com/johnsfurcoat/status/1578322936771260419 tweeted a photo]] of his local pharmacist's rubber duck display, emphasized by several rather self-righteous arrows.
94	* FailedASpotCheck: Discussed in the podcast. John reveals that before filming the team task in "Dafty In The Middle", he was told by the crew that they needed to do a pick-up shot of him leaving the caravan. John didn't think much of it at the time, so he was genuinely shocked when Alex gave him the secret sabotage task. It was only later that John realised that this was a clue that something was afoot, his reasoning being that the crew should know by now how to film the show so that pick-up shots would be unnecessary.
95	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Within the team of three, it's made abundantly clear that Dara was fed up with him and that Fern had had her fill as well[[note]]Fern's opinion of John was made worse when she learned of the sabotage task in the studio. She'd thought that it was a genuine mistake at the house and worked hard to calm Dara down by pointing out to Dara that John had a newborn baby at home and must be exhausted. She became outraged when the subterfuge was revealed and realised she'd defended deliberate treachery[[/note]].
96	* HeroicBSOD: After he fails in the last part of the gauging extensions live task in episode 8 due to a trick vacuum cleaner, John just stands, stunned motionless, and stares agape at it for several seconds as the other contestants are clearing the stage.
97	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: For the airport sign-making task, he decides to be creative and use wingdings as his font. This comes to bite him as he has to then do what the signs say but he can't remember what he typed.
98	* ImpossiblyTackyClothes: Inverted. He's known for wearing wacky outfits when performing on stage. For ''Taskmaster'', he wears a downright sedate shirt-and-tie combo.
99	* InformedFlaw: Greg paints John as being one of the most hopeless contestants in ''Taskmaster'' history. Points-wise, however, there was never a wide gap between himself, Fern, and Munya and he won two episodes before either Fern or Munya won one.[[note]]Though it should be kept in mind that all three spent the entire series languishing in the ''bottom'' three places and kept swapping last place with him ending the series in joint last with Fern which was the first time this has happened so Greg isn't ''entirely'' far off.[[/note]]
100	* TheMole: John was tasked with sabotaging his team for one task. This infuriated Dara on the day and made him angrier when he learned about the subterfuge in the studio. Fern was also enraged in the studio because she'd come to John's defense and worked hard to calm Dara down after the incident.
101	* TheLoad: Dara and Fern -- but especially Dara -- view him as a liability during team tasks. Not ''wholly'' unfairly, it must be said.
102	* RunningGag: On the walk over to each task, he'll usually throw his jacket on the ground quite stylishly.
103
104	!!Munya Chawawa
105
106	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frame_munya.png]]
107	[[caption-width-right:225:''"So in Zimbabwe..."'']]
108
109	->''"Munya, you are the most confident person we’ve had on this show, because whatever the task is, Munya always goes ‘I’m gonna be amazing at this.’"''
110	-->-- '''The Taskmaster'''
111
112	A comedian and actor and the man behind parody posh drill rapper Music/UnknownP.
113
114	----
115
116	* BlatantLies: If he comes up with a solution that he thinks will run afoul of Greg's reading of the rules, he'll say he's doing the Zimbabwean way of doing things.
117	-->'''Greg:''' Munya is alive with energy. Keen. Like a newt! Solving problems! And, you know, if he doesn't manage to solve them through logic, he'll make something up, like "Zimbabwean Darts". Obviously, absolute horseshit... Sometimes, I don't know whether he's the best ambassador for Zimbabwe.
118	* BoisterousWeakling: As noted by Greg, he has a tendency to throw himself into the tasks with nothing less than absolute self-confidence in his own abilities. Unfortunately, this confidence is frequently unmatched by his actual abilities, since he languished in the bottom half of the leaderboard throughout the series and came last in the most episodes out of all the contestants.
119	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: When tasked with putting a large tarpaulin in a container, he picks a bread bin (the smallest available) out of the belief that the crew had dug a concealed hole in the concrete beneath it.
120	* TheGadfly: Munya forces Alex to throw tennis balls over the house for him to catch, while Munya sits still. As Munya repeatedly criticises Alex and yells at him to throw harder, Alex mutters "fuck's sake" under his breath, making Munya the first contestant to make Alex swear.
121	* HypocriticalHumor: He mocks the older members of the cast as being TechnologicallyBlindElders but then demonstrates that he has no idea how to use a laminator.
122	* RunningGag: Munya constantly talks about growing up in Zimbabwe, to the point where Alex preemptively announces that it will happen at least once in every task attempt.
123
124
125	!!Sarah Millican
126
127	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frame_sarah.png]]
128	[[caption-width-right:225:''"I didn't ask for an opinion, I asked for the time."'']]
129	A comedian and TV presenter who has made many guest appearances on panel shows. She also hosted her own show, ''The Sarah Millican Television Programme''.
130	----
131	* AchievementsInIgnorance: Sarah aces a difficult task in episode 8, where the contestants were told to find a photo of their hand among hundreds of photos of the backs of strangers' hands. Sarah managed it in a single guess, because unlike the other contestants (and the strangers) she posed her hand in a grip rather than flat, mainly because she thought the masturbation pose would look funnier.
132	* BoringButPractical: For the episode 7 prize task, ''The Thing You Would Most Like To Have With You On A Car Journey''. While the other contestants bring weird out-of-the-box prizes for consideration, Millican's prize is...an Emergency Escape Hammer in case the car gets in an accident. She winds up winning the task.
133	* GenreSavvy: She often checks under desks and tables to see if there are any hidden clues or tools. To the extent that during one task, the production actually put an extra task under the table that just said "Hello Sarah".
134	* NotSoAboveItAll: As lampshaded by Alex, Sarah became willing to nitpick Dara's attempt in the final pre-recorded task, as they were vying neck and neck.
135	* OopNorth: Her distinct Geordie accent is on full display. In fact, she's from the same town as Series 13's Chris Ramsey.
136	* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Because Sarah is savvy about clues and tools being hidden beneath tables, the crew created a special task envelope for her to find. When she opened it, it read only: "Hello, Sarah..."
137	* TeamMom: She mentions feeling maternal towards Munya during team tasks and said that her going along with some of his zanier ideas was like a tired mother indulging an energetic child.

Context Characters / TaskmasterSeriesFourteen