Rose: A Greg by Another Name

Junior Taskmaster Rose Matefeo and assistant Mike Wozniak, from YouTube thumbnail.

One of my favorite moments in the British TV show “Junior Taskmaster” was, I think, in the second episode, where a child contestant refers to the sidekick of the host as “Alex.”

“Alex?” asks the Taskmaster, in this case, host Rose Matafeo. “I don’t think there is such a person. That sounds like a made-up name.”

Well, of course that’s a joke. Alex Horne is the creator of the very popular show “Taskmaster,” where Greg Davies serves as the bossy, authoritarian Taksmaster and Alex as his hapless sidekick. But in Junior Taskmaster, Greg is Rose, and Alex is Mike Wozniak.

Although we haven’t been hooked by the Australian or New Zealand knockoffs, my wife and I have become big fans of the original UK Taskmaster. The show, available in America on YouTube, features a changing cast of British showbiz types, usually comedians, engaging in humorous or odd tasks for the sake of winning up to 5 points (in most tasks, the winner gets 5, second place is 4, etc.—although sometimes a contestant is disqualified and gets zero, and Greg will arbitrarily decide now and then to allow a tie or to award a bonus point) per task.

It’s an interesting subgenre of both the TV game show, one of the medium’s oldest formats, and “reality” TV. I quote “reality” because the reality is only live coverage of events truly counts as reality TV, and shows constructed of recorded, edited content aren’t “reality” at all.

Anyway, why is Taskmaster so addictive? The fact that there are scored tasks involved creates automatic tension. The cast of comedians also provides their own wry commentary. The ongoing jokes, such as Greg always belittling Alex, can get tiresome and repetitive, but provide a sense of familiarity, too.

YouTube thumbnail of Greg Davies and Alex Horne.

Clearly, it’s a show that doesn’t take itself seriously. The prize, after all, is a ridiculous bust of Greg Davies, such as no rational human being would ever desire. That’s one feature of British TV gameshows that’s not so popular in the U.S.—think of the Great British Baking Show, for instance. The title is surely the only thing of value, as that show requires a lot of time and effort for a cake stand one assumes one could just buy at Marks and Spencer.

Anyway, how people accomplish, interpret and circumvent the tasks is the real drama of Taskmaster.

There have been a variety of personalities in the many seasons of Taskmaster, and we’ve enjoyed some seasons more than others simply due to the changing cast of contestants.

And that brings us to Junior Taskmaster. In essence, the premise is the same—a cast competes in meaningless tasks for points. However, the contestants are children, age 9 to 11 or so, and rather than 5 competing for a whole season, the cast changes from show to show, where the top two will advance to semifinals before a final.

So, the show is not as dependent on the quirks of its cast, although it seems the casting directors have done a good job a finding outgoing, expressive kids. Junior Taskmaster is a more family-friendly version of the show, absent the adult humor of Taskmaster—but the vibe is still silly, irreverent and fun.

And the Junior Taskmaster may use gentler language, but she does still dominate her assistant.

Both Rose Matefeo and Mike Wozniak were contestants, and good ones, on the original Taskmaster show, so their understanding the vibe seems natural. Rose does a good job of bantering with the child cast during the show, and Mike is a quiet, observant straight man to the shenanigans.

It's good to see the Taskmaster idea translate well into a new venue. Junior Taskmaster, so far, has been a worthy spinoff, enjoyable even for two old fans of the original series.