Pop 99 Red Balloons | Full Task | Taskmaster

From series 14: Pop 99 red balloons. You must use your weapon to pop your 99 red balloons. Shout "Stop it!" when you think you've popped precisely 99 red balloons.
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In this Broadcast Award-winning, BAFTA and Emmy Award-nominated entertainment show, Taskmaster tyrant Greg Davies (Man Down, Cuckoo), with the help of his loyal assistant Alex Horne (The Horne Section and the show’s creator), sets out to test the wiles, wit and wisdom of five hyper-competitive comedians.
Comedians that have risked life, limb, and dignity in the hope of making the Taskmaster proud so far include: Frank Skinner (The Frank Skinner Show), Mel Giedroyc (The Great British Bake Off), Romesh Ranganathan (Asian Provocateur), Hugh Dennis (Outnumbered), Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones’ Diary), Rose Matafeo (Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner 2018), and Russell Howard (The Russell Howard Hour). Unaware of what awaits them in each wax-sealed envelope, only one competitor can become the victorious owner of His Royal Task-ness’ golden head and be crowned the next Taskmaster Champion.

[@MovieNut14]

The shot of John wailing on the balloons with a belt while Alex is calmly standing outside the caravan feels like a good way to describe the show's energy.

[@KitagumaIgen]

...and that will be my new password!

[@talkinpractice298]

"Do you want earplugs?" "What?" "Do you want earplugs?" "I CAN'T HEAR YOU ALEX"

[@petercarr7391]

"ok"

[@AlexMR]

The comedic timing of this show is why I keep coming back, Alex is the best

[@e_eyster]

You always have to second guess yourself if on this show because if you are given an option of "cactus" you know it either is the absolute best or absolute worst choice.

[@spikemurphy5054]

That’s what makes me want to do this show.

[@thedragonsnortchannel2609]

Underrated sports John is good at: Bernard Bowling Airport Trolley Throw Ballon Popping with a Belt

[@successfulusername]

And making hat sandcastles

[@iliketrains3495]

I found this a little underwhelming since 3 out of 5 of them picked the exact same room and weapon combination, but John winning the task after starting off pathetically lashing the balloons with his belt is one of the greatest recoveries the show has seen.

[@TheShockwave114]

Would've been better if they added "if you pick the same item or room as someone else 1 minute will be added onto your time" this might've encouraged people to pick weirder items or odd rooms

[@Myrvold]

@@TheShockwave114 3 cactuses in the loo? :P

[@quantumderp9404]

Nena would be proud

[@MyNameIsNeutron]

Nena Kerner? More like Nena Kearns

[@seedye]

99 Toten Luftballons, the death metal cover

[@kisbie]

I could not have read that task without launching, like a big slobbering Pavlov dog, into a rendition of the song.

[@iapetus2k2]

As 99 red balloons go bye.

[@lilttlekevin89]

Actually I think she would hate the idea that her song idea was being used as a joke to earn a million dollar company a profit.

[@ladambell]

I love watching John succeed almost as much as I enjoy watching John fail.

[@Ocker3]

After taking so much abuse, he came through in the end!!

[@petercarr7391]

Failing or succeeding, he does it magnificenty

[@billyeveryteen7328]

Do you love watching John fail unintentionally, or intentionally like with the sand?

[@ladambell]

@@billyeveryteen7328 Yes

[@TBelen91]

Dara's such a pro that he knows to pause for laughter before saying "fuck those balloons"

[@MinekEzQM]

In an alternate universe someone has chosen the "Loo" and we, the audience had even more fun watching this task. :D

[@HOTD108_]

That's not an alternate universe. That's your sexual fantasy.

[@TheMarkka1]

First time John was enthusiastic in a task.

[@sultanofsick]

and the last

[@BarackLesnar]

"i like being in the kitchen" there's food in the kitchen and maybe i can grab a snack if it's boring

[@Curious963]

6:43 - Dad coming home after finding out you got some Fs on your report card in the 1960s

[@layeredchip3220]

The shot at 7:28 was one of their best framed moments to date.

[@47Jaspers]

To me, the most logical choice is the shoe and the loo. And by logical, I mean the pairing that tickles me most because they rhyme.

[@ericzubyk2329]

Ah, popping Neunundneunzig Luftballons as a pastime.

[@deliriouscheeto]

Omg yes

[@sheilaboston7051]

Nena was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the task.

[@theplasmawolf]

7:37 is the moment Greg mentioned as the horror film of John Kearns.

[@PoisonPod]

Thanks for this! I didn't wanna rewind the video to try and find it 😂

[@hp8685]

this is even better watched back at x0.25 speed. the music takes on a horror quality as well

[@dp-g5i]

The exclusive scene from the hit film "Peas"

[@shins0ub0y]

It's a crime that they didn't reference 99 luftballoons at all in this task.

[@danielyeshe]

And the English translation is 99 Red Balloons. I find it hard to believe it was a coincidence.

[@jakemartinez6894]

The task itself is the reference.

[@dj-kq4fz]

I say this every series, but Best Cast Ever.

[@dp-g5i]

personally nothing beats season 7 for me... yet

[@dj-kq4fz]

@@dp-g5i probably my favorite as well, to be honest

[@stephaniegruenberg7044]

Hands down, easily my favorite of all the seasons

[@blackdragoncyrus]

STOP IIIET!

[@KathleenFeliciano]

6:08 I thought I caught that the first time around. glad the video confirmed my suspicions. xD

[@SpectroliteDS2400]

Same lol

[@mloxard]

Same

[@carleybutler1707]

I've watched it like ten times and i still can't see how she miscounted?

[@dramotarker1352]

​@@carleybutler1707 Start from 6:05. That's the first time she counts "88". But after popping the balloon at 6:08, she says "88" *again* (when she should have said "89"). So she counts the number "88" *twice*

[@jg932]

Dara's reaction when he saw the balloons was priceless! 🤣

[@ThamAZingDerek]

Yeah! I was happy to see this become an actual task. My wife and I got obsessed with Taskmaster over the pandemic and I made her do a very similar homemade version of this task for her birthday.

[@GGoAwayy]

The first time I ever heard the song 99 Luftballons was on public access television in the early 90s. Some middle aged woman filmed herself with a VHS camcorder rolling around with a bunch of balloons on the floor and put it on TV at 1am. It was sad and cringey and in my mind is still the definitive music video for the song.

[@princessthyemis]

that sounds so weird! XD

[@wingzofice]

I miss that unhinged late night stuff. Doesn't hit the same when you find something weird on KZbin

[@Methequeen]

I think I missed this task when the show aired. Absolutely love this

[@TREVONBACH]

IT IS ME FERN BRADY ME FERN BRADY I'M THE RIGHTFUL QUEEN... Everytime season 14 comes up... HERE WE ARE AGAIN, SERIES 14, WHO WILL BECOME THE HOUSE'S QUEEN??? Golly I love this show.

[@Moxiecore]

Do not forget the Tree Wizard!

[@samuelmanley1]

@@MoxiecoreOr, never good enough

[@MinekEzQM]

I simply love S14 Intro... Taskmaster theme starts... then Fern goes "Whaaaaaa?"

[@britneyelles]

“Yes hi, I’d like 495 inflated red balloons please”

[@luvfolding]

it was prolly 560 since the living room had 112 balloons they prolly all did lmao

[@britneyelles]

@@luvfolding even better

[@matboeraeve]

@@britneyelles More like "how was your day as an intern on taskmaster today?"

[@MrPecksniff]

STOP IT!!

[@gretchenbockenfeld]

each season i fall in love with at least one of the players but i fell the most for fern brady.

[@peterclarke7006]

The trick with the frying pan would be to heat it up first. Not sure if they had time for that, though...

[@lordkampi]

I would love if there was a hint for the coming task like a vinyl of Nenas song at the desk

[@a.i.privilege1233]

I can't get the song out of head now.

[@MinekEzQM]

Try replace it with Over My Shoulder :D

[@onuhrita5009]

This one is one of my favorite challenge. I thought the catus would have been a great idea but those prick aren't worth it

[@johnrutherford9454]

God I love Fern 😂

[@carnifaxx]

please, bleep for @kevinbrandon1856, he seems to like it instead of... that word.

[@spikemurphy5054]

Her ‘I like being in the kitchen’ was so endearing. She probably wants some snacks as she’s doing the task.

[@ZdzichuWiertara96]

STOP EEEEEET

[@mushmello526]

As someone with a phobia of popping balloons, I'm glad I wasn't in that room

[@mnkkaiser3838]

The task really didn’t say that they had to pop exactly 99 balloons did it? It said “pop 99 balloons” which they all did. Some even more. Then it said “shout ‘stop it’ when you THINK you have popped precisely 99 ballon” which everybody also did. I see no violations. 2:44

[@mikewhitman745]

What are you on about? So if your bottle of medicine says take 3 a day you would eat 10 a day because that's more than 3?

[@Anutushara]

I have a bad memory cause every so often there is a clip I don’t ever remember seeing. Pleasant surprise always but makes me think what episode did I miss?

[@coastaku1954]

I'm just here for that outfit in the thumbnail

[@Steve-vf7se]

I think this will work. I mean seriously, where do you come with all this stuff? Kinda cool. Balloon fight, I love that. It'll be the best game ever

[@thylionheart]

I also have a balloon popping phobia and I’m glad they provided earplugs to the players who asked because even just seeing the room full of balloons would’ve got me shaking like a leaf (edit: it’s different irl vs in a video-the sound is almost completely different to me, plus I can control the volume.)

[@cazzabojangles]

I still feel bad for Mark Watson and his balloon phobia when there were so many tasks that involved balloons on season five. In his case, after a few tasks, he always had ear defenders on when they arrived and in the live task where they had a bit of sandpaper on the bottom of their shoe which was over a balloon and they were playing Simon says (this show is difficult to explain sometimes), the first round was to put your hands on your head, which was a subtle way of letting Mark put his hands over his ears for the task. Another example that springs to mind is Judi Love, where she's seen wearing latex gloves because she doesn't like touching shoes and then you can see her wearing them in a couple of other tasks afterwards, like the mysterious liquids task. Or for contestants who had lung problems (Bob Mortimer and Josh Widdicombe spring to mind), they were given pumps to inflate balloons when they were asked to. It's not as though it gives them an edge in the competition, it's just basic decency to provide something if it will help a contestant who may be at a disadvantage, like offering a foot stall to someone who is 5"3 when they're playing against someone who is 6"3 in an occasion where height would be a problem. The only case where I can think someone has been at a disadvantage and hasn't had the help is Paul Sinha in physical tasks, where he usually scored low because he didn't receive help his Parkinsons. And it was only because a) he wasn't diagnosed yet and b) while he did know he had a frozen shoulder, he deliberately didn't tell producers because he didn't want any leniency. As a result, they were happy to let the other contestants help him, like the live task where he couldn't get the sleeping bag out of the bag. I'm glad that they do things like that, there are too many instances in television where they realise that a contestant has a phobia or medical problem and they abuse it for good TV. Taskmaster really does have a good production team. Sorry for the long reply, I just find the social model of disability fascinating!

[@iliketrains3495]

​@@cazzabojangles interesting observations. I never picked up on the ear defenders but did notice that in the 'inflate balloon to circumference of cucumber' task he was the only one given a balloon pump, although in that series pretty much everyone besides Nish was bad at blowing up balloons. The height factor has always been pretty hit-or-miss as Sian Gibson complained about in series 8, but I think that's just one of those things where contestants naturally will have a minor advantage (also it didn't matter in the sand bucket task as the tallest guy got himself disqualified). Of course the recent NYT was a different situation since Lenny Rush has dwarfism, so all tasks were done seated, but it's not 'obvious' in a way. There are a couple of occasions where such things slip through, such as Lee Mack's 'non vegan egg' and Joe Wilkinson being disqualified from a live task involving a banana because he is allergic to them. As for Paul, I think they did accommodate him slightly as they toned down the physicality of most live tasks after the sleeping bag one; the last two were more physical but Paul did pretty well on the 'stack plates and bowls' one (I think he came second)

[@hanakoisbestgirl4752]

​@@iliketrains3495what was the "non-vegan egg" situation? Is Lee Mack vegan and was given a regular egg?

[@iliketrains3495]

@@hanakoisbestgirl4752 yes, exactly that, it was quite a major oversight. A similar situation happened in series 1 when Romesh Ranganathan had to play egg golf. but I guess that one wasn't nearly as controversial since he had already carelessly cracked a bunch of eggs before questioning it.

[@soulsearchingsun83]

This feels like a deja vu... has this been posted before?

[@KyuuTomoyaki]

Easy: Take a single balloon, write "99 Red Balloons" on it with a sharpie, and pop it. Done.

[@YuubiTimberwolf]

99 Luftballons, fliegen über Horizont~

[@mloxard]

It's weird that no one chose the staple gun, it would definitely be my first pick in a fight

[@hp8685]

i'd have been concerned about how much ammo would be available. i wouldn't put it past Alex to say "we never specified it would be loaded with staples" and then it would turn out that the back of the task would tell you where to find a whole box or something

[@petercamp7428]

Ahh - does this mean we’ll only be getting Taskmaster Australia on Fridays (rather than Monday and Friday, as was the case with the NZ episodes)?

[@OriginalPiMan]

It hurts to know that I'm in Australia and I don't get full episodes of anything on this channel. Not even the Australian version. The last full episode I can see was some Scandinavian one a year or two ago.

[@47Jaspers]

There's a possibility (and I base this on nothing) that Series 17 is wrapping up production and will be debuting in 9 weeks, and TMAU is being distributed at a deliberate pace to coincide with the TMUK's premiere.

[@arcastheelvt3807]

Next task: cause 99 years of war

[@icarusandtherabbit]

Is this from one of the episodes? Totally missed this!

[@iliketrains3495]

Series 14 Episode 7

[@icarusandtherabbit]

@@iliketrains3495 thanks, that’s my viewing for tonight 😀

[@natebutontheinternet]

John won with a belt in a caravan.........what a chad

[@jwilliams8320]

When do we find out person that blow up all the balloons had covid.

[@MaddieJanemrbf]

They all burst 99 balloons just majority popped more

[@lazthegreat10]

Incredible belt action

[@johncameron4194]

The corn joke 🤣😂

[@es4forty88]

I just learned that tarp is short for tarpaulin. 🤯

[@ForburyLion]

You can't pop 111 balloons without popping 99 balloons, sooooo technically task achieved

[@johncameron4194]

They didn’t give him ear plugs 🤣

[@1kreature]

I bet there is a balloon pop counting app. 🎈

[@samuelmanley1]

I probably would’ve chosen staple gun / Lab

[@hoot7588]

YES JOHN - A WIN!!!!!

[@bedro_0]

i cant believe taskmaster is pushing for the start of nuclear war

[@dp-g5i]

Wouldn't popping the 99 red balloons stop nuclear war from occurring before they show up on radars?

[@isaacgeier6158]

Home girl should have just left the cactus on the counter and started throwing all the balloons into the cactus

[@mastergx1]

...and they didnt play "99 Luftballons" in the background?! What a wasted oportunity!

[@barneymetcalfe8896]

That’s because songs cost money to use

[@agustinperuzzi]

I think I'm deeply in love with John

[@mime_exe]

I think I might be in love with Fern

[@Elsneakakaze]

why did they all pick fryin pan? is their something innately weaponlike about it?

[@zachmoyer1849]

it was the weapon of choice before the baseball bat was invented

[@tamoorfromthe5ive]

Ngl i only discovered the song which this task refers to last year. Feel free to laugh at that, cause i don't follow much in terms of pop culture

[@thekoifishcoyote8762]

Was this a music reference?

[@AndrewTBP]

Yes.

[@nzbidzel]

Who picked Cactus in the Loo

[@markjoyce3172]

Fern's hOtt

[@sibertiger1970]

I have a balloon phobia. This is my worst nnightmare

[@Phantomplasma430]

Fern is the best!!!!

[@herkules593]

I think popping more balloons does not conflict with the task wording! When I pop 111 balloons I also popped 99. Nowhere it said pop "exactly" 99, or "no more than" 99.

[@difoolgc5211]

But they have to shout "Stop It", when they have pop exactly 99 ballons @2:50

[@herkules593]

@@difoolgc5211 Ah right, I missed that

[@teimon91]

no song sad

[@todaywefly4370]

I’m a 65 year old man with a ridiculous crush on a woman half my age. I’m sorry Fern it’s just the accent and the quirky nature. Honest.

[@billbauer9795]

If you watch some of her other videos on KZbin, you will learn that she used to be a stripper. Lucky men...

[@daniellamcgee4251]

Still a smaller age gap than between me, and my first, and best suited 'boyfriend' ! Love is love, attraction and natural affinity happens, and we were two consenting adults. Other people noticed the chronological age gap that we kept forgetting about. There is more to attraction than being in the same generation. It was religion, and my lack thereof, that ultimately separated us.

[@todaywefly4370]

@@daniellamcgee4251 Sorry to here that. My silly infatuation was never going anywhere but it’s sad to hear when a relationship doesn’t make it. I hope you can and have rebounded.

[@formerCEO]

I fell over and lost my trousers

[@formerCEO]

I can't find them

[@formerCEO]

I haven't looked behind the cupboard.... that's where I normally put my trousers.

[@formerCEO]

Have you considered looking under the piece of tarpaulin behind Aunty Sandra's house?

[@kirbyhans5261]

Hearing protection for popping balloons ? 😂

[@cazzabojangles]

Short answer: It's not the strangest thing in the world, balloons typically pop at 150-160 decibels each, and they had 99 (or more, in certain cases). Hearing damage can start at 120, even for just a short sound, so wearing ear defenders was sensible. (Extended answer) And besides, sensory issues, even if you're not on the spectrum, can be debilitating. It's similar to eating a food you can't stand the taste of. For me, it's English breakfast tea: it's not ideal when I'm British, but the smell makes me reel and I've vomited purely from a cup of tea. It's irrational, there's nothing in it that will harm me and I know that. But sensory issues aren't rational, that's the whole point. They can be physically painful. The most similar comparison is an ick, but worse. The same small stone of dread you feel when something makes you uncomfortable: it's nauseating, distracting and you'll avoid it at all costs. I'm Autistic and one problem I have is with socks. As a result, I don't wear them unless I'm wearing shoes, and even then I'm always aware of them and want to rip them off. Other problems are any bright lights, (including sunlight), overly soft textures like silk, people touching me in any way, dry foods, and yes, loud noises. I'm fine with balloons, but alarms are my weakness. I can understand why it would be common decency to provide hearing protection.

[@kirbyhans5261]

@@cazzabojangles My wife is an introvert, she can hear a mouse fart 500 feet away. I on the other hand have attended some of the loudest concerts ever. ( Motorhead and Judas Priest) opposites attract I guess.

[@PinkMonkeyBird]

God, she's so bad

[@hghtrfnko8634]

This show is a lot of people trying to be funny

[@Aoocci791]

i thought as a black him he be good at hitting things

[@kevinbrandon1856]

Please bleep out when they use Gods name in vain

[@carnifaxx]

That's not how it goes in UK, fortunately. Also if s/he even exists, a) s/he's already heard that; b) s/he hasn't done anything about that, so it looks like it's fine with her/him, the same as s/he does nothing to stop more serious crimes than just words.

[@Elwaves2925]

'God' isn't the name of your alien false deity, so nothing was taken in vain.

[@minixtvbox]

Muhammad loves all heathens

[@cazzabojangles]

You're already on Taskmaster, clearly the lord isn't pleased with you.

[@IJBLondon]

I'm sure he doesn't mind really.

[@TaskmasterMN]

John shows up when he needs to!

[@velonico]

You obviously didnt listen to the song or understand its meaning...

[@cazzabojangles]

(I think it may just be satire)

[@barneymetcalfe8896]

Oh sorry, did you want the task to be start a nuclear war?

[@daniellamcgee4251]

​​​@@barneymetcalfe8896Yes, I am pretty sure many Gen X-ers would know the meaning, including Alex. They probably think enough time has elapsed since the song was released, to reference it in a light entertainment format. English people can have a dark sense of humour. It doesn't mean that they don't care.

[@dp-g5i]

STOP IT!!