Balance Alex on a See Saw | Full Task | Taskmaster

Nish Kumar, Sally Phillips, Aisling Bea, Bob Mortimer and Mark Watson all attempt to balance Little Alex Horne on a giant see saw
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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.

[@Jayk-kz7sh]

It kills me that in the same 10 minutes everyone else either found really heavy things or attempted to use physics to their advantage, Mark put in only a microwave, a stepladder, a Hoover, and a bowl of fruit. He could barely lift Alex off the ground the poor thing! 😂

[@andreaskarlsson5251]

That stepladder must be heavy to compensate for the 5kg microwave xD

[@rebeccahughes8734]

"I found a bag of sand!" Killed me dead I love this show

[@ColderDay]

same energy as Jack Sparrow's "I GOT A JAR OF DIRT"

[@FunkyBoy71]

Killed you dead as opposed to killed you alive? 😂

[@Sci-Mon1]

The rope method had a lot of potential. She just didn’t place it correctly.

[@Friek555]

It's definitely cheating in my book. The task clearly said "balance", and fixing the seesaw in place isn't balancing. Otherwise they could even just have propped up Alex's side.

[@Sci-Mon1]

@@Friek555 it’s still balancing... it’s not fixed. It can still go down.

[@Woodside235]

@@Friek555 Greg would've allowed it if it worked so cheating or not it's moot.

[@sarahdohring1551]

@@Friek555 It isn't cheating. It would still lead to a sum of all forces being equal.

[@JMason-ul7uq]

@@sarahdohring1551 they forget it’s a show including comedians and is about trying to break the rules. If people followed it word for word it would lose its effect

[@juanjuri6127]

"Do you know how many kilograms you weigh?" "Yes." "Cool." a follow-up question would have been rude, i'm glad he didn't pursue that line of inquiry

[@yohanneshaileselassie4341]

666 likes.....

[@Menno_3]

Asking someone for their weight isn't rude.

[@fos1451]

Don’t know how that is rude

[@xEvilRaptorx]

If you don't know how that can be rude, ask your parents

[@TeaOnTue]

I'll slap you if you ask me that. Ps. I'm a little overweight

[@TheKarimaduhita]

this is an attempt for alex to be hugged by almost everyone

[@gatherer818]

@r. G. and got waterboarded for his trouble, maybe he wanted slightly more normal hugs

[@Zero__Motivation]

I'm surprised nobody put anything under the spot where Alex was going to sit so it couldn't drop any lower

[@MainGoldDragon]

That's what I thought too ! but I would have to ask him first if he would only used the seat's side because he may have went to the other side... though he didn't do that here

[@jacekstankiewicz1594]

@@MainGoldDragon can put stuff on both sides doe

[@MainGoldDragon]

@@jacekstankiewicz1594 you can't know which one he would choose though

[@jacekstankiewicz1594]

@@MainGoldDragon no i mean it doesnt matter if you put stuff below both sides, it cant move anyway

[@MainGoldDragon]

@@jacekstankiewicz1594 Oh, that..... is not true at all.

[@brylyth6029]

When Alex sat down, and that stone thing shifted, I flinched for a second thinking it was about to slide right out

[@BasilLecher]

I think Bandanna Guy might have also flinched. I know I did.

[@Bluedragon2513]

That thing would have sacked his b..

[@themug406]

​@@Bluedragon2513 Im pretty sure youre allowed to write balls on here

[@Urbeflurb93]

Greg slapping Nish for attempting a high five is my favourite quarter of a second in this video.

[@ladazimina]

That was brilliant 😄

[@vidyaratan8522]

Omg I never noticed that, the look on Greg's face lmaoo 😂

[@AnActualDinosaur]

This season was definitely one of the best. I wish we could have them all back (EDIT: for another season, they're not dead).

[@zsuzsisz9263]

Xdd

[@MrKahrum]

Aw snap

[@jocomfiresin6982]

They are too they died in the annual EU comical orgy it was a massacre anyways no worries we replaced them all with clones so no difference. Except for the bits we removed.

[@MariaSantos-uk1go]

True true

[@danielarlay]

hahah the edit

[@richielavey1565]

“Americans will do anything not to use the metric system”

[@sola_a]

@Wet Baguette just no

[@katleinzimmerman8783]

they don’t call it the “imperial” system for nothing ;)

[@cristina9202]

@@sola_a "stone"

[@Annelise-Ho]

It’s funny because we actually have to learn it in school. We use it in math problems a lot

[@FleshNFaith]

@@Annelise-Ho I thought you limeys said, "maths" problems, because you never did done learn to talk good English like we.

[@miaupow5966]

As a reference: 1 stone = ~6,4 kg 1 stone = 14 lbs So Alex weighs(weighed) ~88,9 kg or 196 lbs.

[@subbaiahkasi6310]

Thanks

[@Jennyfisch]

1 stone = a third of a microwave 1 stone = half a bowl of fruit 1 stone = a sixth of a hoover

[@andreaskarlsson5251]

1 stone = a big bag of rice

[@lmiddleman]

1 stone = 1 large pebble = 1 small boulder

[@wesleyswank1527]

Little Alex Horne ain't so little

[@kusanagi-no-tachi5303]

At first I didn't see the "see", so I read it like this: Balance Alex on this saw.

[@cyprel]

So you saw 'saw' but you didn't see 'see'?

[@analuizafelixdesouza6336]

@@cyprel Hahaha gold

[@jocomfiresin6982]

A much harder challenge as saws are usually thinly built so it would just bend then break.

[@jocomfiresin6982]

@@cyprel I saw the sea but I will never see your saw.

[@ebony721]

But not on the sharp side please

[@thamiris.]

compilation idea!!! tasks where "bad" contestants got first place or were surprisingly good at

[@sparo_splat]

Ending with Joe's potato throw for the angst.

[@teemun3979]

This could just be a Noel Fielding compilation as half the time he is either stellar or horrible at everything.

[@agustinexposito9123]

"I found a bag of sand" has the same energy as "i have a jar of dirt!" And you cannot change my mind

[@feha92]

The rope idea had merit, though might have been better to just attach it to the base and pull tight before tying it. I don't get why noone tried putting stuff beneath the humans end, the note did only mention putting stuff on the opposing end, but nothing about prohibiting the opposite. And much less about prohibiting stuff not even *on* the seesaw

[@MrBombSTI]

I thought he was going to put the pillar below Alexs seat which would have been genius

[@kekekw3478]

probably because it's kinda lame. it's too obvious and probably cheating.

[@MisaelMatute76]

It said "balance" him.. not sit on him on top of things

[@michaelccozens]

Good thought, but balance implies a counterweight opposite an axis of rotation, so I don't think directly supporting Alex would have been accepted.

[@OmniscientWarrior]

Ask if you are allowed to dictate where Alex sits when being balanced and have him sit in the middle if allowed.

[@MissCaraMint]

Yeah I was thinking that. Seems obvious. Maybe someone asked and it was cut? Edit: Oh you could just have moved the seat to the middle.

[@thechatteringclown]

while this has potential, you'd also have to account for the weight of the box and/or seat on either end of the side which will throw the whole thing out of balance. unless you can remove them? you could move the box, so.....

[@OmniscientWarrior]

@@MissCaraMint Would take too much work to remove the items.

[@OmniscientWarrior]

@@thechatteringclown I wasn't speaking of dead center, but where he would need to be would still be considered the middle and not at the ends.

[@olscratch74]

It's good to see Nish Kumar win a task.

[@mezzogal]

I'm glad that he actually tested it with his own weight.

[@iliketrains3495]

@@mezzogal yep, this is one of two tasks Nish absolutely bossed because he was the only one that thought about testing the equipment (the other was the bread one in which he tested using the decoy)

[@robh7800]

The energy Nish brings to every task is amazing

[@DrZaius3141]

Step 1: Measure the size of the basket. Step 2: Fill it with water accordingly.

[@StraightEdgeZap]

yeah as soon as i saw the handmade bucket on the other side i figured they made it to match alexs weight if filled with water

[@erikbartrosman]

​@DrZaius3141 @@StraightEdgeZap They weren't allowed to fill it with "humids" (see 0:35)

[@engela3632]

@@erikbartrosman I thought he said "humans"?

[@Johangv]

@@erikbartrosman He said "Humans"...

[@peanutbuttercracker1]

But you still don't know the weight of the water you put in. Nor Alex's weight for that matter. So that's essentially the same as just grabbing the roller and other heavy things.

[@emilyche1101]

Guy in finnish taskmaster managed to balance lady-helper perfectly. He used water tanks and bucket with water. 1l water= 1kg. Quite clever.

[@budle89]

There's a Finnish Taskmaster??

[@christinesalomonsson1082]

Pambudi Wardhani yes, and Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. In Norway its ”Kongen befaller”, in Sweden ”Bäst i test”, in Danmark ”Stormester”. Even in more European countries. Fun to watch , even if you don’t know the contestants.

[@emilyche1101]

@@budle89 Norwegian one is quite fun and Finnish is good when you get used to reversal (taskmaster being happy nice and assistant girl is serious one)and its tone is more chill. Still didn't get around to watch Danish and Swedish one but will do now that o have to stay at home.

[@thea6944]

Did he know how much the lady weighed? The only way to balanse perfectly would be to know the weight

[@michaelccozens]

That's a good idea, but I don't think it would have worked here. You'd have a hard time fitting 90-whatever liters of water onto that seesaw, and it'd be hard to even get that much water to the seesaw inside 10 minutes. I assume the Finnish task had a less-restrictive time-frame.

[@pieters542]

Those last seconds are the best. Greg hitting Nish...

[@seandavis1189]

I wonder if putting the pillar under his seat would have been acceptable . As it would negate his weight entirely leaving it still in balance.

[@drummerboy7115]

Was thinking this too. Brilliant imo ;)

[@stupidas9466]

It wouldn't be balanced, it would be level. If something is balanced it will generally be "level", but because something is level (my gravel driveway) it does not mean it is balanced. Putting something under the seat that restricts the movement is similar to someone going on a seesaw and standing on the ground holding the seat up against their buttocks. The seesaw would be level but we would never say they were balanced, we would say they needed a friend.

[@themug406]

​@@drummerboy7115 Did you just call your own thought, that wouldnt work btw, brilliant?

[@victoriamk6693]

Alex looks like Prison Mike with that bandana 😂😂

[@dennysingh2813]

"Look, prison stinks, is what I'm saying. It's not like you can go home, and, recharge your batteries, and come back in the morning and, be with your friends, having fun in the office."

[@gravysamich]

i think bob was the closest to an actual solution here. he realized he could move the basket he was meant to load objects into. it also looks like alex's seat could be moved. all he would have had to do is remove the basket and place alex in the center.

[@emmaaaa1004]

This was one of my favourite tasks from the last season of the Swedish version. However they were allowed to use themselves as well. David(our Alex) is shorter than Alex and one guy guessed 100 kg in the beginning and then threw in himself, four giant stubs and one parasol stand. He lost😅 but the judge said he could receive bonus points if he kept humiliating David further

[@marshallbowdrie8562]

The Swedish one is garbage

[@webba0342]

@@marshallbowdrie8562 agreed.

[@Halloweenharen]

@@marshallbowdrie8562 true but you dont have to be toxic if someone enjoys it.

[@j_tactical2515]

​@@marshallbowdrie8562 your profile makes me cry

[@exessex3522]

Vad menar du med "four giant stubs"?

[@lolglolblol]

I'm surprised nobody complained that Alex only changed his sitting position for one of them

[@Becky-uz8em]

That bugged me! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed.

[@beaver_stealer]

Yeah it really annoys me, but I guess the scores wouldn't have changed

[@allstars2825]

They weigh everything later so there isn't any cheating.

[@lolglolblol]

@@allstars2825 true, still would have expected it at the time

[@valjohnson7112]

@@allstars2825 weighing everything is still flawed. the pillar thing for example was all the way in the back and in fact leaning out so its weight would have counterbalanced more than weight that was front loaded. but whatever.

[@Scarletraven87]

I feel for poor Alex. "This job..... IS AWESOME!" And no one went overestimated in the end

[@ilovedoggos6436]

The rope one was a good example of the saying "Life doesn't always goes as planned" 😂😂😂

[@martinreinders6870]

8:35 Aisling didn't disappoint in humour 😂

[@niamhoconnor8986]

I wonder if the seat was adjustable as well? Would've been great to have moved it in closer to the pivot point.

[@rachaelmorris3405]

I think if they just moved alex's chair closer to the pivot they would only need 1/2 as much of alex's weight

[@realizethesneeze632]

Or right on top of it

[@pvic6959]

yup. thats basic lever principle lol. Thats why that one balanced at 6:13. he wasnt all the way at the end so the torque balanced out. proof: that one just had the roller basically but the next one at 6:16 had a roller and stuff but he still was heavier

[@DiggaDiggaDug]

Or just put the seat in the middle if you can.

[@NoctuaOlivae]

8:30 love when Alex's calls out Greg's bs

[@ugh5271]

Damn can't believe he left Alex hanging in the end

[@tobyey9134]

Just started my mechanical engineering degree, the strongest part of the cars hull is actually the b pillar so she was quite right using that

[@michaelccozens]

That may be the strongest bit, but the position was wrong for what she wanted to use it for. It's more akin to towing a car out of mud.

[@StephenMcGann]

It's more an issue of geometry. The rope needs to be pulling straight down.

[@Janinho897]

2 thought processes I had. 1. Put a chair underneath the the non-alex-side and load up the container with things that will make this side definitely heavier than Alex. If the chair breaks, I'm gonna lose my shit. 2. Put sth that is definitely heavier than Alex underneath the non-alex-side and tie that side to the heavy thing with a line that will hold the sea saw in middle position when the rope is fully stretched. And yes, because these tasks get my brain do think about stuff like that is the reason why i love this show.

[@feha92]

I had a similar, but probably both easier and more reliable idea: put the chair (or whatever) beneath alex side instead.

[@austinlogan4247]

@@feha92 much easier lol

[@squeakyelbows]

Or put something underneath the Alex side.

[@thea6944]

How

[@Miksu015]

I like how Alex refuses the high-five at the end.

[@emilyche1101]

It looks to me like Alex wanted to high five but Greg swatted Nish with his notes.

[@Gelfling66]

Nish got an unfair test because of where Alex sat. Just like in Bob's test, he had it set back which increases the "weight" so to speak. I'm sure they also just measured the objects post production to get the numbers they got and those are accurate, but in terms of the visual test, it was done inaccurately

[@karensouthworth2946]

My laugh for the day. All downhill from here

[@Scarletraven87]

That's the spirit!

[@Shinare73]

My back instantly started hurting when Aisling picked up Alex like that! 😳

[@whatsinaname7289]

Bob sounds so smart even when his idea doesn't work out. I respect his presentation flair

[@stefan514]

Imagine introducing an extra unit that is called stone instead of using the one you already have... Some countries...^^

[@nutsberk]

Imagine using the imperial system

[@JoonasD6]

I absolutely love the the acted laugh at 5:32!

[@EdgyShooter]

See I would've taken the same approach as Nish, comparing yourself to the load gives you a much better rough estimate than trying to lift him 😂

[@poisson790]

at the very end I was waiting for Nish to say "that's also how I'm often described in bed"..

[@teytreet7358]

The chair obviously moves. It even have slots for the locking rods.

[@just-tess]

omg always forget how delightful Mark is!

[@mikaeljalamo4834]

How is it possible that nobody just placed tems bellow the other end. THat way you would not need to worry about the weght but just stability

[@laurenngng]

What’s that

[@DamienAlexander]

@@laurenngng slang for items

[@megatron6812]

Exactly my first thought!

[@Tmendler]

I love nish's laugh

[@SwordQuake2]

Greg swatting Nish at the end :D

[@Renzsu]

I've been watching this for ages, but only just now I was wondering if the Alex Horne Section did the Taskmaster theme music?!

[@ThatGingeOne]

They definitely did

[@sandratangkulung6498]

They did, I think you can see in the credits..

[@michaelccozens]

Alex Horne is also credited as creator, writer, and producer (and executive producer) on the show, so I wouldn't be surprised. This is very much his baby.

[@milkplus7876]

Nish runs with such a mania that I find delightful

[@mikbdee2186]

Most of them picked hi up and I love that.

[@KateFergeson]

This show made me love Nish

[@reidleblanc3140]

I really hope Nish's "I FOUND A BAG OF SAND!" was an "I FOUND A JAR OF DIRT!" reference

[@Kami-mq8sl]

This is hands down the most British show in existence

[@mzimmerman2484]

I heard "14 Stone" and as an American was like, "I wonder how many 'stone' I weigh" and converted it.

[@fofnercs2]

"And Nish Kumar comes first" often how he is described in bed

[@BOBBERtheKID]

Nish's had an unfair advantage over the others, Alex changed the fulcrum point.

[@ThatGingeOne]

But they ended up basing it on the weight in the other end - the amount of weight Nish put in was closest to Alex's actual weight

[@valeries9297]

I would have put chairs under the see saw so it's like a table and it simply can't be unbalanced

[@micahhendrickson384]

I would put two statues or chairs, or something sturdy under both sides so that Alex is essentially sitting flat on a solid surface.

[@luizgustavosmolarek4440]

This is a visual representation of the imperial system.

[@erwtenplantje]

Tonight a new episode and i'm sooo excitedddddd!!!!!!!!!!!

[@TooMuchFreeTimeProductions]

I would have had Alex sit in the middle on the pivot point so it would still be balanced without having to try and guess weight since nothing explicitly said he had to sit in the chair at the end. It was implied he would since it states YOUR end of the see saw, but if anything I learned from watching these clips, is if it doesn't explicitly state, it's fair game. Alternatively (though possibly a bit rule bending), would be to write down the name Alex on a piece of paper and place it on the see saw.

[@storytellersd]

Nish was so bloody good in this series.

[@gen157]

I would have tried finding a scale and asked Alex to stand on it. Then weighed various items to match.

[@MrSuperjoeninja]

This was the BEST season

[@thegreywanderer8427]

If it's okay to change the place where Alex sits, why didn't no one just say the see-saw is ready as it is and make him sit right on the center.

[@andrewm.7389]

Does Alex and the Horne Section do the incidental music? There's a great theme around 1:15...

[@qwertyTRiG]

I believe they do, yes.

[@piyushlahekar4215]

They do indeed!

[@chelseawildflowerloftinwey1945]

I like the one at 1:38 too

[@sandratangkulung6498]

I feel like I heard it a lot in vlogs or tutorial videos.... But idk haha

[@RocketsOfTexas]

Anyone else thibking about filling it with water

[@Zetornator]

8:59 i love TaskMaster lmao

[@slunasaurusrex]

You can clearly move where the seat is located. pull the pin move it closer to the middle, replace the pin, then just add a small weight to the box side

[@thea6944]

So you move the Seat on Alex’s side ?

[@paigestatham6363]

No one thought to stand him on a scale and then equal it out lol

[@DragOnDani01]

A great part two of this task would be "Create a statue using these items" and then they see the stuff they balanced Alex with.

[@robbiesmith79]

If possible, I would remove the bin on the end, and reposition the seat so it was in the middle of the fulcrum.

[@TheBorathon]

Never underestimate the skill of tying knots

[@ggdk2865]

Before watching the thing: Someone is just gonna sit in that box, ain't they?

[@FeatherleszBiped]

She had a great idea, but had it executed as well as top gear without the familiar lads

[@GOAP68]

3:26 Put the plinth under Alex's seat. When Alex sits down, the plinth limits how far the see saw can drop therefore making it level/balanced :-)

[@stupidas9466]

Notice how you used "level/balanced"? They are not the same things. When something is balanced it is level, but because something is level does not mean it is balanced. My gravel driveway is level but in no way can be said to be balanced. And your choice in adding the word "level" shows you are intuitively aware of that, meaning the seesaw would be level, NOT because it was "balanced" but because it's range of motion was restricted.

[@GOAP68]

@@stupidas9466 true but result measure on the provided scale would be the same.

[@EpicVideos2]

Move the seat to the center. Easy Peasy.

[@jon8304]

A stage full of comedians and no one follows up “Nish Kumar comes first” with another “that’s how I’m often described in bed”

[@HutchesApprentice]

That one guy REALLY looks like Louis Theroux

[@victoriamk6693]

The heron! Mark Watson is his name 😊

[@5T4R3790]

Nish's would've gone further down on Alex's side if Alex sat correctly like he did for all the others.

[@js0988]

Tie the see saw to the frame!

[@js0988]

I like how Aisling thinks!

[@TheKeebster1]

The B pillar, which she tied it to, is like the frame of the body. It would have worked just fine had the rope not stretched/been too long.

[@darthplagueis13]

You know, I probably would have used water. That tank looked like it could hold a hundred liters or more and if I misjudged Alex' weight, there's at least a good chance he'd get soaked.

[@T.Mechev]

2:24 that man know hot to rush ! :D

[@emmatorode6704]

Was weird not many people tried getting on it themselves

[@LZircon]

Should've put the stone sculpture or whatever underneath the box/see saw

[@jimmytrejo7773]

No one thought to find a bathroom scale

[@mrfurious93]

Most of these people probably weigh within 15% of Alex's. Why did they not try to balance themselves first and then make an estimated correction?!

[@NamYagami]

"nish came first" also something hes heard before ill wager. sorry romesh. love you.

[@blah7983]

Thing about these kind of problems is that distance matters too. I would have tried to either the box or the chair (with respect to the support stand) and make my job easier.

[@user-db2uk8iq9r]

It was unusual that alex didnt sit in the seat for nish's attempt.

[@ShinyHubCaps]

This show is brilliant. Why has the US not ripped this off yet?

[@bubbaguy4411]

* heavy sigh * if only the American version was even an 8th as good as the original. I feel it is due to the dynamics between Greg and everyone else (Alex included)

[@Mothman1992]

Was there an American version?

[@CSManiac33]

@@Mothman1992 yes and it was terrible. Everyone were asses in an unfunny way. It was also mostly a rehash of tasks from like Seasons 1 and 2 I think.

[@Mothman1992]

@@CSManiac33 oh my God I swear the only time a show from England wasn't botched in the us was who's line is it anyway (And no. I didn't forget the office. The British one was better.)

[@janeeyre1990]

I haven't tried watching the US version, but I enjoyed the New Zealand version quite a lot. The subservient sidekick in the Alex Horne position has his own schtick going, and their Taskmaster is more of a Mr. Perfect type. They also had a contestant, Angella Dravid, who has what I can only describe as an Eeyore persona, and seeing someone approach ridiculous tasks with a sense of gloom ended up being terribly funny every time.

[@Marlesden]

How did no one think to make him stand in the middle 😂

[@jakebaker4066]

Sally is just so charming. I love her to the moon.

[@SmallBlogV8]

That's actually a B-Max, Alex.

[@dustinedwards7821]

Greg doesn't know what the fucking definition of "Balance" actually means.

[@TheOfficialCzex]

I would've filled the container with water. If it's not water-tight, I'd line it with a bin bag or tarpaulin.

[@4duanich]

To be honest, knowing how this task are made i feel like the container is made so if you fill it with water it would be the exact weight, like they designed it on purpose

[@kevinc2882]

They said you couldn't use "humids"

[@DeJay7]

"I'm 14 stones"