Episode 1: The natural friends

Episode synopsis

In this first episode of the season, the contestants must bring in the most wonderful wooden thing they’ve owned for a while, build a tower of cans while blindfolded, connect with their teammate(s) before running a race, get a large inflatable duck into a lake, and estimate the weight of some items.

Title context

“The natural friends” is what Greg dubs the team of Julian, Lucy, and Sam, due to their particularly awkward and unenthusiastic initial meeting (which he sarcastically calls “explosive chemistry”).

Alternate Titles

• On Norway's Discovery+ Norge streaming platform, this episode is titled 'Perlevenner', which translates as 'Pearl friends'. This Norwegian phrase means 'very good friends'. Note: this Norwegian translation of the title only appears in the subtitles for the episode, whereas the episode title listed on the platform is the original English title. [Translator credit: Jan Harald]

Assistant Intro

We all know the following slogans: ‘Just do it’; ‘Always the real thing’; ‘I'm loving it’. The most enduring brands all have one. So why shouldn’t he? Please welcome ‘Friendless oddball’, Little Alex Horne!

Taskmaster's Sign-off

What have we learned today? We’ve learned that if you put a human being in a tricky situation, they can be thoughtful, resourceful, and sometimes ingenious. We’ve also learned that some people think they’ve got arms instead of legs. It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?

Note: This is in reference to something Lucy Beaumont says in the studio, during the ‘Get this duck into the lake’ task. She says that she thinks her legs “are actually arms without fingers”, because she can cross and fold them well. Greg is unable to get past Lucy’s claim to continue the show, mistakenly thinking that Lucy actually believes she has four arms.