This is a project I’ve compiled mainly by watching way too goddamn much Taskmaster, but I’ve also combed through the books, the podcasts, and even the Horne Section TV show. It is a work in progress, and will be updated in bits and pieces both as I get through sections, and as I notice new things that warrant going back through things again.
I became interested in doing this project because Taskmaster is odd for a panel/game show, in that it has lore to begin with. But the lore is also weird because it has no continuity whatsoever to speak of. Often even within a single episode, words spoken will contradict themselves. With 15 series and counting, a spin-off sitcom, and other tertiary media, there’s no way it’s ever going to make any amount of sense. But I still wanted to try to document as much of it as I could, and going in the first big hurdle was figuring out how to format it. Spreadsheets seemed like the obvious choice at first, and then I realised that wasn’t going to work at all. Then I thought maybe installing a wiki might do it, but wikis are a pain in the ass to install and lock down, especially for what ultimately amounts to a small project. So we’re doing it th is way. It’s weird, and still may not work, but it’s the only way that makes sense for what I’m doing.
If you’ve ever been in a fandom with a lot of moving parts and branch narratives, that’s exactly how I’m approaching Taskmaster. The show is the main canon, and the other bits are extended universe. The Horne Section, the podcast, and the books are canon to the show, but the show is not beholden or canon to anything mentioned in either of the aforementioned. If there is a contradiction, big or small, between the show and any of the others, I’ll include both but ultimately consider the other source to be incorrect. There are also a few instances where plain fact has been cited from sources outside of the “Taskmaster Cinematic Universe” as Ed Gamble has taken to calling it.
However you choose to use this information is up to you. I’m providing it because I needed something to do, and my therapist thought it sounded like a funny idea. I hadn’t bargained on it driving me absolutely fucking insane, and now here we are.
There will be spoilers throughout, so if you’ve not seen this show, or aren’t up to date, be careful where you click.