If you have never seen Taskmaster, you're missing out on the greatest TV series of all time.

Think of five friends. Any five friends you can think of. Be they funny, be they smart, be they without a fucking clue.

Now think of something absolutely ridiculous to make them do. Could be something as simple as eating the most watermelon in a minute. Could be as out there as drawing the best portrait of a horse whilst on a horse.

Finally, think of the most authoritative person you know. Think of them watching your five friends perform these tasks. Think of them judging, roasting, and celebrating these attempts.

This, my dear reader, is Taskmaster.

Created by comedian Alex Horne, the first iteration of this incredible show was carried out and performed at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After its success, Dave, a British TV channel, picked it up and hired comedian Greg Davies to act as the titular Taskmaster.

Alex Horne acts as the "assistant," despite coming up with the tasks himself. He facilitates each task, keeping time and watching over the contestants as they make their attempts.

Once each of the comedians, actors, or general TV personalities finish filming, the tasks are presented to Greg in front of a live studio audience. The contestants are not allowed to speak about their experiences until they're in the studio, so as to keep their reactions genuine.

Each episode starts with a prize task, where the contestants are given a theme and bring in something for Greg to judge. At the end of the episode, each of these prizes are given to whoever wins the most points, with the expectation of that person actually keeping the prizes. However, from what I understand, the winners will typically give things back.

I would hope so, anyway, considering wedding rings and marriage certificates have been offered up in the past.

Then five recorded tasks are shown. The tasks are often based in engineering, music, art, athleticism, or strategy. But sometimes they're as simple as seeing who can not blink for the longest amount of time.

Greg scores each task, including the prizes, from one-to-five points, and Alex keeps track. Often, Greg will dissect bits of the task that he finds humorous, striking, and maybe even befuddling, giving the contestants a chance to explain their thought-processes. He also likes to "drill down into the narrative," when he can, especially in any tasks that require the contestants to create a character.

Then the episode concludes with a live task, an activity where the contestants perform in the studio. It's usually something like getting their inflatable donut the highest without using their hands or drawing the median duck. (They make sense in context, I promise.)

Once the contestants are back in their seats, the scores for the whole episode are tallied and a winner is announced. Rarely, an episode will end in a tie, where either a pre-recorded tiebreak task will be played, or a quick task will be performed in-studio.

The winner then basks in their glory and "takes home" their prizes.

At the end of the season, the points are counted up and a whole series winner will be crowned, walking away with a trophy that's supposed to be in the shape of Greg's head. It doesn't really look like him. But I guess it's better than the last-minute, thrifted karate trophy the first season's winner was given.

Now, I won't lie and say that I've loved every season, every episode, every task, or even every contestant. But for me, any Taskmaster is great Taskmaster. And I'm not alone.

Taskmaster has proved so popular that many different countries have done their own version of the show. There was even an American attempt, which I haven't watched because I heard it was god-awful, despite Alex Horne's involvement.

I've watched the first two seasons of Taskmaster New Zealand, and I have to say that the second one is one of my favorites of all time. It was so good, in fact, that Alex borrowed two of their tasks for season fourteen of the original series.

Anyway. While I find Taskmaster to be a difficult show to describe to others, I know in my heart what I love so much about it.

It's funny.

To me and my clinically depressed self, Taskmaster is a pure shot of serotonin. Watching funny people do funny things can turn around some of my worst days.

In conclusion, I would recommend anyone who needs or wants a good laugh to check out Taskmaster. Sure, there may be a few jokes or references that will go over your head if you're not from the UK, but it won't take away any of your enjoyment.

I promise.