I was really confused by Ollie at the beginning as well, but it really makes it so hilarious because it portraits the comedians in a unusual funny way, as they were talking to a mirror. Like Vegards "mansplaining" and how they sometimes are fully convinced by the silliest idea, because they get no feedback while they're rambling away lol
I really liked Taskmaster Norway! I've seen the first two series now and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Atle is a pretty good taskmaster, I probably like him more than Jeremy and even though I think Ollie isn't as good an assistant as Alex or Paul I still liked him. The contestants were great and I was pretty sad that they didn't do team tasks since they all had such good chemistry . As you mentioned the lack of health and safety was astounding, I felt genuinely worried for the contestants at times. It's especially funny in comparison to England and New Zealand were they take health and safety super seriously 😅 I've seen a couple versions of taskmaster now and Norway is definitely one of my favourites!
Glad to see a video on it so soon after I first watched series 1. And I think I agree with all your points. I especially like how they actually show the prizes in person as they can all see how good or bad a prize is. I was fine with some tasks being brought over and most were changed a little bit, one of my favourites being move the play house as far as possible and Maria nailing it by just dragging it. I didn't feel any particular absence from team tasks, but maybe that's because the studio atmosphere was so good already.
I think there's a lot about the taskmaster and assistant's demeanours which doesn't translate linguistically and culturally. Antonsen is a Norwegian national treasure and his character of being very engaged and opinionated is perfect for the show, as is his ability to be intimidating in a non-threatening way. I wasn't familiar with Wermskog before Kongen befaler, and at first I found him nothing more than passable -- just an adequate performer of his duties. But with time I've gotten to appreciate him much more. His shtick of essentially being a bystander rolling his eyes at the contestants' ineptitude works extremely well. It's a very subtle thing, which means it's not immediately noticeable, but it adds a great aspect to proceedings. He's in some ways the opposite of Alex. Instead of being a sensitive soul who's confronted with a plethora of stuff which doesn't come naturally to him, he's someone who's taking a very confident, laid-back approach to his job. He revels in knowing more than the contestants, instead of being someone who's constantly being thrown for a loop by their in-the-moment decision making. I'd like to see Olli more involved in the tasks, but methinks he's doing a wonderful job. I suspect a lot of the contestants don't realise they can use him as much as they can, similarly to many in the British original. His relationship with Atle isn't emphasised as much as the Greg/Alex one, but it works well. Olli takes on the role of someone who's confident about his place, which works because Atle only makes decisions on his own terms. If not for some tasks being a little unoriginal or not treated seriously enough, Kongen befaler is quite possibly the best version of Taskmaster there is, imho. The contestants are a big part of that. They're not always very adept in the tasks themselves, but I think there's a an element of the Norwegian national character which works wonders in their approach to the show and their interactions with Atle, Olli and one another. For instance, hubris is often used to great effect, but is never left unchecked -- a show like this wouldn't work if everyone was a narcissistic tosser, nor if they didn't feel comfortable and able to let their personalities show. It's essentially the same reason why the British do the show so well. Knowledge and appreciation of the nuanced differences between the countries is however crucial if you are to take your enjoyment of them both to the max.
All fair points. I really enjoyed the show - especially considering how there are some odd translations and cultural differences that meant some of the jokes and verbal interplay went over my head. Agree that the prize tasks was the part they really improved on. Hadn’t even noticed the lack of team tasks until you mentioned it!
I watched S1 of Kongen Befaler so far and it actually inspired me to start learning Norwegian. I agree with you on Olli being a bit to distant/uninvolved in the actual tasks, other than that I found it brilliant. I didn't even mind the repeat tasks since the setting and the contestant's approaches were so different from the British version's tasks. The cast of S1 was super strong - oftentimes I find myself having a favourite of someone I don't find quite as interesting in any season of Taskmaster, but with this lineup, I looked forward to all of them equally! Both of the Ylvis brothers were a great mix between obviously quite smart and yet up for anything. Maria was just a crazy whirlwind of energy and such good, dry humour. Siri seems like the serious one upon first glance, but she's super creative and absolutely does not mind failing miserably sometimes. And Calle is the one who wouldn't mind physically hurting himself to achieve his goal, even if it doesn't actually lead to solving a task at all sometimes. So yeah, all in all a very good show!
It's been interesting seeing how people from other countries react to Norwegian celebs from a non-biased perspective. Good to know we didn't just like them because we knew them from beforehand. Check out season 2, it reuses Maria and Calle, then 3 new contestants. I'm interested in seeing how biased i were vs the people in that season. But overall, i like the composition
I may be biased, being norwegian myself, but I think the tasks of TM Norway are better than in the UK version. They are less complicated while allowing the contestants' personalities to shine through, something I feel have been lacking in TM UK lately
I really love the norwegian version. Right now, I'm watching Season4 on UA-cam and I really enjoy it! I have the feeling, that it's almost only original tasks used now + they have really improved on the studio tasks! And Olli is way more involved, either in the task itself or that his reactions are shown
As a norwegian i watched nearly all uk seasons and all norwegian ones. That they cut team task here i like it, i really didnt fancy team ones at all. It kinda suck if u get 2 of the worst on your team
overall I really like this version, Atle is a little quirky, which is what I like in a Taskmaster. Oli is sometimes almost nasty, which I don't like, but he has a good chemistry with Atle. Unusually they recast 2 people from series 1 for series 2 and in series 4 they filmed in winter and seeing seasonal tasks outside in the snow was an enjoyable change.
I really enjoyed this version as well. The lax attitude to health and safety was mind boggling at times. I hope you review Bäst I Test the Swedish version. Series 1 is only four episodes and there are some interesting changes to the format.
I honestly didn't think much of the health and safety concerns, other than when they were playing with fire. Chucking a bottle of flammable liquid into a confined space sounds like a good way to make a pipe bomb. One thing that might not be immediately noticable, and I'm not sure if works well with the subtitles at all is the fact that the microphones of the contestants' are still on when they show tasks. In the UK version you more or less o LY hear the audience, but in the Norwegian one you can some times hear the other contestants react to the attempt of other contestants. But i have no idea if those reactions are translated. I'd also be interested in hearing your thoughts of re-using Calle and Maria for season 2. Good because they're good characters, or bad because it's boring without rotation?
So far I've seen all episodes of the british original version, the first series of Taskmaster Norway (currently making my way though S02) and 2 series of the Swedish version. I love Taskmaster Norway. S01 is one of the best series I've seen. I think it's a lot better than the Swedish version and it even beats many of the UK series in my opinion.
I'm confused about what you said about them ending some of the live tasks when the first person had finished. I just looked through all the live tasks from season 1 and couldn't see any where that might have happened.
One cultural thing I only picked up on after it was pointed out: the clapping nearly always becomes rhythmic. I'm loving Kongen Befaler. They definitely split from the original show in season two, and continue to grow.
I really should watch it, I'd be able to understand it without subtitles (it's what happens when you're half British half Norwegian and fluent in both 😅)
Taskmaster Norway was good. I agreed about much of what you said. Maria's lackluster attempts bothered me more than you though. My favorite contestant was Vegard. I would like to see him on UK taskmaster. If you are looking for another international version, try Taskmaster Finland (Suurmestari). I just finished season 1. It's different than the others, but I really liked it.
I really like that there aren’t any team tasks. It’s also better that they have the prizes in the studio and can show them. But the banter is better in the UK.
This is really interesting, thanks for posting. Norway is in comparison to the UK a very non-egalitarian, non-authoritarian society that greatly values individual freedom, so having a more bossy host would not have been well received by the audience. Someone as downtrodden as Alex Horne out of the question. As for health & safety, every Norwegian person I know owns a chainsaw! Dispersed population, everyone needs to be their own expert and handyman, so health & safety likw we know it would have seemed odd and restraining the individual's freedom of expression and creativity. Interesting you mentioned the stage tasks. I hadn't thought of it but agree that the participants and viewers were left a bit short-changed.
You got the name of the show wrong in the title here (Kongen befaler). You butchered some of the names, understandably, but Bård is not "Bard" for obvious reasons. Calle is short for Carl Erik, so more like Ka-leh. Atle is At-leh. The healthy and safety regulations in Norway are quite normal and based on European norms. The UK is a bit strange.
Atle is coming back as the king this upcoming autumn All respect to Bård Ylvisåker, but this season has undoubtedly proven that it is not indifferent who sits on the throne and judges
Vegard to Olli "How heavy are you?" and the following cut scene is one of the greatest Taskmaster moments across all versions and series
I was really confused by Ollie at the beginning as well, but it really makes it so hilarious because it portraits the comedians in a unusual funny way, as they were talking to a mirror. Like Vegards "mansplaining" and how they sometimes are fully convinced by the silliest idea, because they get no feedback while they're rambling away lol
Fun fact: Maria and Calle returns as contestants for season 2. We're a small country!
I don’t think you mention it, but the brothers are also the guys that sang What does the fox say
I really liked Taskmaster Norway! I've seen the first two series now and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Atle is a pretty good taskmaster, I probably like him more than Jeremy and even though I think Ollie isn't as good an assistant as Alex or Paul I still liked him. The contestants were great and I was pretty sad that they didn't do team tasks since they all had such good chemistry . As you mentioned the lack of health and safety was astounding, I felt genuinely worried for the contestants at times. It's especially funny in comparison to England and New Zealand were they take health and safety super seriously 😅 I've seen a couple versions of taskmaster now and Norway is definitely one of my favourites!
Glad to see a video on it so soon after I first watched series 1.
And I think I agree with all your points.
I especially like how they actually show the prizes in person as they can all see how good or bad a prize is.
I was fine with some tasks being brought over and most were changed a little bit, one of my favourites being move the play house as far as possible and Maria nailing it by just dragging it.
I didn't feel any particular absence from team tasks, but maybe that's because the studio atmosphere was so good already.
I think there's a lot about the taskmaster and assistant's demeanours which doesn't translate linguistically and culturally.
Antonsen is a Norwegian national treasure and his character of being very engaged and opinionated is perfect for the show, as is his ability to be intimidating in a non-threatening way.
I wasn't familiar with Wermskog before Kongen befaler, and at first I found him nothing more than passable -- just an adequate performer of his duties. But with time I've gotten to appreciate him much more. His shtick of essentially being a bystander rolling his eyes at the contestants' ineptitude works extremely well. It's a very subtle thing, which means it's not immediately noticeable, but it adds a great aspect to proceedings. He's in some ways the opposite of Alex. Instead of being a sensitive soul who's confronted with a plethora of stuff which doesn't come naturally to him, he's someone who's taking a very confident, laid-back approach to his job. He revels in knowing more than the contestants, instead of being someone who's constantly being thrown for a loop by their in-the-moment decision making.
I'd like to see Olli more involved in the tasks, but methinks he's doing a wonderful job. I suspect a lot of the contestants don't realise they can use him as much as they can, similarly to many in the British original. His relationship with Atle isn't emphasised as much as the Greg/Alex one, but it works well. Olli takes on the role of someone who's confident about his place, which works because Atle only makes decisions on his own terms.
If not for some tasks being a little unoriginal or not treated seriously enough, Kongen befaler is quite possibly the best version of Taskmaster there is, imho. The contestants are a big part of that. They're not always very adept in the tasks themselves, but I think there's a an element of the Norwegian national character which works wonders in their approach to the show and their interactions with Atle, Olli and one another. For instance, hubris is often used to great effect, but is never left unchecked -- a show like this wouldn't work if everyone was a narcissistic tosser, nor if they didn't feel comfortable and able to let their personalities show. It's essentially the same reason why the British do the show so well. Knowledge and appreciation of the nuanced differences between the countries is however crucial if you are to take your enjoyment of them both to the max.
All fair points. I really enjoyed the show - especially considering how there are some odd translations and cultural differences that meant some of the jokes and verbal interplay went over my head. Agree that the prize tasks was the part they really improved on. Hadn’t even noticed the lack of team tasks until you mentioned it!
I watched S1 of Kongen Befaler so far and it actually inspired me to start learning Norwegian.
I agree with you on Olli being a bit to distant/uninvolved in the actual tasks, other than that I found it brilliant. I didn't even mind the repeat tasks since the setting and the contestant's approaches were so different from the British version's tasks.
The cast of S1 was super strong - oftentimes I find myself having a favourite of someone I don't find quite as interesting in any season of Taskmaster, but with this lineup, I looked forward to all of them equally!
Both of the Ylvis brothers were a great mix between obviously quite smart and yet up for anything. Maria was just a crazy whirlwind of energy and such good, dry humour. Siri seems like the serious one upon first glance, but she's super creative and absolutely does not mind failing miserably sometimes. And Calle is the one who wouldn't mind physically hurting himself to achieve his goal, even if it doesn't actually lead to solving a task at all sometimes.
So yeah, all in all a very good show!
It's been interesting seeing how people from other countries react to Norwegian celebs from a non-biased perspective. Good to know we didn't just like them because we knew them from beforehand.
Check out season 2, it reuses Maria and Calle, then 3 new contestants. I'm interested in seeing how biased i were vs the people in that season. But overall, i like the composition
I may be biased, being norwegian myself, but I think the tasks of TM Norway are better than in the UK version. They are less complicated while allowing the contestants' personalities to shine through, something I feel have been lacking in TM UK lately
yeah nahhhh
@@moodfm5673 why do you disagree?
I really love the norwegian version. Right now, I'm watching Season4 on UA-cam and I really enjoy it! I have the feeling, that it's almost only original tasks used now + they have really improved on the studio tasks! And Olli is way more involved, either in the task itself or that his reactions are shown
As a norwegian i watched nearly all uk seasons and all norwegian ones. That they cut team task here i like it, i really didnt fancy team ones at all. It kinda suck if u get 2 of the worst on your team
overall I really like this version, Atle is a little quirky, which is what I like in a Taskmaster. Oli is sometimes almost nasty, which I don't like, but he has a good chemistry with Atle. Unusually they recast 2 people from series 1 for series 2 and in series 4 they filmed in winter and seeing seasonal tasks outside in the snow was an enjoyable change.
I just found it and I love it.
I found it easier to get into then the NZ one.
Plus Maria is by far the best she is right up their with my favs taskers
I just found it and I love it.
I found it easier to get into then the NZ one.
Plus Maria is by far the best.
I really enjoyed this version as well. The lax attitude to health and safety was mind boggling at times. I hope you review Bäst I Test the Swedish version. Series 1 is only four episodes and there are some interesting changes to the format.
I honestly didn't think much of the health and safety concerns, other than when they were playing with fire. Chucking a bottle of flammable liquid into a confined space sounds like a good way to make a pipe bomb.
One thing that might not be immediately noticable, and I'm not sure if works well with the subtitles at all is the fact that the microphones of the contestants' are still on when they show tasks.
In the UK version you more or less o LY hear the audience, but in the Norwegian one you can some times hear the other contestants react to the attempt of other contestants. But i have no idea if those reactions are translated.
I'd also be interested in hearing your thoughts of re-using Calle and Maria for season 2. Good because they're good characters, or bad because it's boring without rotation?
Gullruten can be translated to The Golden Route, but it actually means The Golden Rectangle and refers to the tv-screen. :)
So far I've seen all episodes of the british original version, the first series of Taskmaster Norway (currently making my way though S02) and 2 series of the Swedish version. I love Taskmaster Norway. S01 is one of the best series I've seen. I think it's a lot better than the Swedish version and it even beats many of the UK series in my opinion.
I Agree. I am Swedish and Enjoy our ”Bäst i test”, but Norwegian version is much better, as the original (I have not watched other versions).
I'm confused about what you said about them ending some of the live tasks when the first person had finished. I just looked through all the live tasks from season 1 and couldn't see any where that might have happened.
I love Atle as a taskmaster. I tink I my opinion Atle and mark le fever form the danish whould be epic
Le Fevre, of course, is French, and means "The Ratcatcher".
One cultural thing I only picked up on after it was pointed out: the clapping nearly always becomes rhythmic.
I'm loving Kongen Befaler. They definitely split from the original show in season two, and continue to grow.
I really should watch it, I'd be able to understand it without subtitles (it's what happens when you're half British half Norwegian and fluent in both 😅)
Taskmaster Norway was good. I agreed about much of what you said. Maria's lackluster attempts bothered me more than you though. My favorite contestant was Vegard. I would like to see him on UK taskmaster.
If you are looking for another international version, try Taskmaster Finland (Suurmestari). I just finished season 1. It's different than the others, but I really liked it.
I really like that there aren’t any team tasks. It’s also better that they have the prizes in the studio and can show them. But the banter is better in the UK.
This is really interesting, thanks for posting. Norway is in comparison to the UK a very non-egalitarian, non-authoritarian society that greatly values individual freedom, so having a more bossy host would not have been well received by the audience. Someone as downtrodden as Alex Horne out of the question. As for health & safety, every Norwegian person I know owns a chainsaw! Dispersed population, everyone needs to be their own expert and handyman, so health & safety likw we know it would have seemed odd and restraining the individual's freedom of expression and creativity. Interesting you mentioned the stage tasks. I hadn't thought of it but agree that the participants and viewers were left a bit short-changed.
"Which is probably pronounced wrong." Yup - 5 points!
As for the name kongen befaler, literally the king demands/orders. Is the norwegian name for what i belive in the uk you guyd call simon says
You got the name of the show wrong in the title here (Kongen befaler). You butchered some of the names, understandably, but Bård is not "Bard" for obvious reasons. Calle is short for Carl Erik, so more like Ka-leh. Atle is At-leh. The healthy and safety regulations in Norway are quite normal and based on European norms. The UK is a bit strange.
Yeah, I wish I could tell every English monolinguals that the umlaut and circle on ä and å in the Scandinavian languages and German aren't optional.
Thanks for the video but the names are actually repeatedly said during the show so you really ought to have tried harder with the pronunciation.
Sad news: Our taskmaster Atle got cancelled after saying a racial slur while drunk in a bar.
Atle is coming back as the king this upcoming autumn
All respect to Bård Ylvisåker, but this season has undoubtedly proven that it is not indifferent who sits on the throne and judges