Reading
1. Thus Was Adonis Murdered, The Shortest Way to Hades, The Sirens Sang of Murder, The Sibyl in Her Grave - by Sarah Caudwell
2. Gourmet Hound (Rec. #894)
4. Moira Donegan on Twitter (@MoiraDonegan)
Watching
5. Kajillionaire (Rec. #891)
6. The Party
7. Good Timing with Jo Firestone
9. Dog House UK (Rec. #897)
10. Taskmaster NZ (Rec. #900)
11. Pretend It's a City (Rec. #885)
12. Vinny Thomas on Twitter (@vinn_ayy)
Listening
13. Victoriocity
Also I watched Knives Out for the 5th (?) time.
What: What it says on the tin --- a compilation of Richard Ayoade drinking with Kathy Burke in Barcelona, Jessica Hynes in Iceland, Chris O'Dowd in Vienna, Mel Giedroyc in Paris, Noel Fielding in Copenhagen, Greg Davies in Moscow, Paul Rudd in Helsinki, Aisling Bea in Budapest, Sally Phillips in Stockholm, etc.
I dare you not to howl with laughter when Mel starts glugging absinthe.
Representative quotes:
"Gosh, you can taste the savings."
"It's like being slapped by a tiny, scented fist."
How to get it: This particular one-hour video is currently up on YouTube.
Connections to previous Wreckage: I've mentioned Travel Man before (Rec. #396, List #63, Rec. #592, SSoW #36)! Gosh, I miss traveling. And drinking/eating indoors with other people, actually.
What: Well, well, well, the Kiwis have come to play. This first season of the New Zealand version of the UK show starts out full blast, with all of the chaos and joy of the original. Plus, some inspired original tasks! Like "Convincingly paint the Taskmaster like a 5-year-old" and "Be as unhealthy as possible for 10 seconds."
Enjoy some clips!
You may recall that I've painstaking ranked all Taskmaster cohorts (part 1, part 2, part 3). Well, this group is right up there, and I've determined it's the new #5.
(Now that Series Eleven is complete, I'm moving that group [Kendall, Wozniak, et al.] up to #4, which puts Series Six [Chaudhry, Tarbuck, et al.] now at #6.)
The second season of Taskmaster NZ is currently airing and is excellent. We'll get to that later.
Stream what: You know how The Great British Bake Off does little celebrity sprint versions? This is a celebrity version of Britain's Best Home Cook (where Mary Berry went post-Bake Off) --- but it's a *full season*.
Stream why: Claudia Winkleman remains the most charming host on the planet! The round that determines who goes home is judged blind! Everyone is nice to one another! Mary Berry uses opera glasses to peer at the cooks from a pandemic-safe distance!
Stream where: Hulu
Connections to previous Wreckage: I previously recommended the original, civilian version of Britain's Best Home Cook as Rec. #802 (season 1) and SSoW #35 (season 2).
Stream what: Baroness Von Sketch Show is a Canadian tv sketch comedy series. Those tend to have a pretty good record! This one is with Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne, and Jennifer Whalen.
Stream why: It's a natural successor to Kids in the Hall.
Representative bit:
"Diane, we are living in television's golden age of empowered women."
"Absolutely! I mean, it used to be you'd only see pretty girls getting raped and murdered on tv. But now, you get to see a powerful woman investigating pretty girls getting raped and murdered on tv."
"We've come a long way."
Stream where: Here in the U.S., the show airs on IFC and the first season is streaming on Amazon Prime.
5. Series Eleven (currently airing; ranking subject to change): Charlotte Ritchie, Jamali Maddix, Lee Mack, Mike Wozniak, Sarah Kendall
Currently airing, so who really knows, but it's already had a couple of instant-classic tasks (two words: table - salt). Not to mention the magnificence of Sarah Kendall's hair.
4. Series Six: Alice Levine, Asim Chaudhry, Liza Tarbuck, Russell Howard, Tim Vine
Earns this spot mainly for the iconic cake-sitting, but each contestant in this one is sincerely likeable in their own way. Plus, bonus! Alice Levine says, "Hey, girl" to Alex.
3. Series Seven: James Acaster, Jessica Knappett, Kerry Godliman, Phil Wang, Rhod Gilbert
Best line: "I wanted to be on the girls' team really badly." | Runner-up: "A laminator!"
2. Series Four: Hugh Dennis, Joe Lycett, Lolly Adefope, Mel Giedroyc, Noel Fielding
Highest ratio of deliciously chaotic contestants | Fave task from this group: Hide from Alex
1. Series Five: Aisling Bea, Bob Mortimer, Mark Watson, Nish Kumar, Sally Phillips
Several instant-classic moments in this one: impress a mayor, Lord Greg Davies, the potato golf heartbreak ...
8. Series Eight: Iain Stirling, Joe Thomas, Lou Sanders, Paul Sinha, Sian Gibson
Lou Sanders was made for this show.
7. Champion of Champions (aired between Series Five and Six): Bob Mortimer, Josh Widdicombe, Katherine Ryan, Noel Fielding, Rob Beckett
Highlight from this two-parter: Katherine makes a mess in episode 2
6. Series One: Frank Sinner, Josh Widdicombe, Roisin Conaty, Romesh Ranganathan, Tim Key
During this pandemic, I've seen lots of people discover the UK delight Taskmaster, brainchild of Alex Horne. As someone who, over the course of the past four years, has steadily made her way through every available iteration and offshoot (you realize most of these people have podcasts, right?), I say, "Welcome!"
See also: Rec. #696, Rec. #731, List #71, Rec. #858, Rec. #873, List #95
Many casts have now had the absurd and joyful Taskmaster experience, and I have thoughts on all of them.
Let's count down! We're starting from the weakest series/seasons, but even those are great! See Part 2 here and Part 3 here. Top 5 are coming on Thursday.
14. New Year Treat (aired between Series* Ten and Eleven): John Hannah, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Nicole Coughlan, Rylan Clark-Neal, Shirley Ballas
13. Series* Ten: Daisy May Cooper, Johnny Vegas, Katherine Parkinson, Mawaan Rizwan, Richard Herring
12. Series Three: Al Murray, Dave Gorman, Paul Chowdhry, Rob Beckett, Sara Pascoe
11. U.S. Version (season 1 and only): Dillon Francis, Freddie Highmore, Kate Berlant, Lisa Lampanelli, Ron Funches
10. Series Nine: David Baddiel, Ed Gamble, Jo Brand, Katy Wix, Rose Matafeo
A very solid run! Especially considering that Baddiel and Brand could not have cared less, Gamble and Matafeo maybe cared too much, and Wix had to be subbed two episodes because of a health issue.
*Reminder that "Series" in UK = "Season" in US
Stream what: Creator Mae Martin also stars in this dark comedy/drama-with-funny-bits about a comedian recovering from addiction and starting a new relationship ... and also starting to depend on that as a new addiction.
Stream why: Excellent writing (see quotes below) and a stellar cast, including Charlotte Ritchie, Lisa Kudrow, Sophie Thompson (yes, Emma's sister), and Sindhu Vee. It also features actors from my beloved W1A and my also-beloved Green Wing.
If your little '90s brain ever wanted to see Phoebe from Friends and Wickham from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice as a couple, this is your chance!
Representative dialogue:
"Sometimes I think I just love George, but I actually also love grapes." | "Yeah, George is not your entire personality, darling. You gotta remember that. Addicts fixate. You gotta mix it up."
[Meanwhile, from George] "I think that love should sit beside your life, like a lamp."
Stream where: Netflix
Connections to previous Wreckage: Green Wing was Rec. #110. W1A was Streaming Suggestion of the Week #33.
What: A Black Lady Sketch Show is very descriptively and accurately named, with glorious series regulars Robin Thede, Quinta Brunson, Gabrielle Dennis, and Ashley Nicole Black. This sketch, also accurately named, is one of the show's best.
Representative quote: "I'm looking for sadness. I'm looking for Eeyore in Dior. Oh, she is serving you a whole nap!"
How to get it: If you, like me, are someone whose budget does not run to HBO dollars, rest assured that much of the show's content is currently up on YouTube.
Connection to previous Wreckage: See more of Ashley Nicole Black, as featured on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Rec. #417.
Stream what: Ah, Murder, She Wrote. Angela Lansbury in small-town Maine is as close as the U.S. has come to delivering the Golden Age-style murder mystery coziness usually seen in English villages.
Stream why: Did you realize that, especially in season 1, every single male character vaguely over the age of 45 spends the episode thirsting after our heroine? This is exactly as it should be.
Stream where: Peacock
Image source: https://mythirdparent.tumblr.com/post/173527130987/only-a-few-left-of-this-incredible-murder-she
Stream where: Hulu
Connection to previous Wreckage: This Way Up was Rec. #831. Even more connections there, if you follow the trail ...
Stream why: Creators Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, and Leslye Headland successfully make existential dread funny. It's so good. So, so, so good.
Stream where: Netflix
See also: Russian Doll was Rec. #775 and was the reason for the glories of Rec. #812. It also made it to the Best of 2019 as the "Best Worst Day."
Stream what: With this docuseries, Martin Scorsese tricks the notoriously writer's-blocked wit Fran Lebowitz into writing more essays. Just ... verbally.
Stream why: I am always, always interested in what Fran Lebowitz has to say, even on those occasions when I don't agree with her completely. (Oddly, I think I am less reverent about Great Artists -- capital "g," capital "a" -- than she is.)
(That said, I think she is 100% right about a lot of things. Like telling Spike Lee he's wrong about sports.)
Representative quotes:
"I'm now too old to die young."
"I have two main activities in life: smoking and plotting revenge."
"She wants to know if there's a suffocating political correctness, and my answer is I'm breathing fine."
Stream where: Netflix
Connections to previous Wreckage: I've covered her books (Rec. #188: Metropolitan Life, Quote for These Times #5, Rec. #347: Social Studies) and her previous Scorsese doc, Public Speaking (List #61: Unpretty Women and Their Cities).
And also: I said this on Twitter already, but I stand by it: "Ideally, Pretend It's a City should have included an episode where Fran Lebowitz and @nlyonne chat while browsing through racks of coats."
