Jimmy, Luke and Nina turn the tables on Tom Cashman
After reading the task brief, Jimmy, Luke and Nina form a huddle to hatch their plan, and then dismiss Tom Cashman from the room.
They decide that Tom always misses out on the fun of completing the tasks himself, so they will turn the tables on him and set him a series of tasks to complete. Nina also suggests that they could incorporate the idea of Tom's parents telling him that they are proud of him.
In the studio, Tom Gleeson asks why they didn't decide to visit a hospital and make a sick child's dream come true instead, to which Nina responds, "In our defence, Tom does have the energy of a sickly child.", thus coining the title of the episode.
Returning to their attempt, Tom Cashman re-enters the lab to find Luke dressed in a Taskmaster boilersuit and holding the iPad. Luke directs Tom's attention to a task brief laid on the table, which reads as follows:
Dear Tom, we know that you are very sad that you don't get to do any of the tasks, so we want to make your dreams come true.
Your first job is to become the Taskmaster.
You have five minutes.
Your time starts now.
Luke then refines the time limit, reducing it to three minutes.
Tom puts on a bald cap and a blue paper tie, and says "I have no respect for my assistant. Even though he tries his best and works day in, day out, I treat him with no respect at all."
Tom is then instructed to move outside, where he finds Nina also dressed in a boilersuit and holding the iPad.
Her task for him is as follows:
Put the object in the bucket from the giraffe.
You have five minutes.
Your time starts now.
There is a teddy bear on the back of the plastic giraffe, and a bucket on the lawn, several metres away from him.
After missing the bucket with his first throw, he tips it on its side and tries again.
At this point, a group of ducks wanders into frame, causing him to ask whether the ducks are part of the challenge, and giving Nina the opportunity to tell him that "All the information you need is in the task." He eventually gets the bear into the bucket, and is sent on to his final task, back in the lab, where all three team members are waiting.
The final task brief reads as follows:
Come into the lab and make your parents proud.
Proudest parents win.
You have two minutes.
Your time starts now.
Luke and Jimmy are wearing different clothes and wigs, and are meant to be portraying Tom's parents. While they are initially supportive of him, it soon becomes apparent that they believe he is the Taskmaster on the show, and not his assistant. When they discover the truth, they are very disappointed in him.
At the end of the task, all three team members reveal their true identities and then, at Luke's suggestion, they end the video with a freeze-framed jumping high-five, in the style of a movie from the 1980s.
In the studio, Tom Gleeson thanks the team for demonstrating that writing good tasks is not that easy.
Before deciding whether his dream had come true, Tom Cashman asks the team how many points he received for completing the tasks. Jimmy's decision to award him six points, rather than the usual maximum of five, apparently blows his mind, and wins them the task.
(Written by Karl Craven)
(Illustrations collected and adjusted by: David Fuller)
