Frank Rodasky
Guest Reviewer
When The Flight of the Conchords, a comedy music duo from New Zealand burst onto the American scene during the summer of 2007, their irreverent, deadpan humor and catchy songs made the pair an instant cult favorite.
Broadcast on HBO, the first season of the series told a fictionalized account of two musicians (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie) trying to make it in New York City, with a little help from their clueless manager, Murray (Rhys Darby) and their one and only fan, the obsessive Mel (Kristen Schaal).
Each episode found Jemaine (not “Jer-maine”) and Bret (sounds like “Brit”) struggling to land a decent music gig, fend off Mel’s advances and convince everyone that New Zealanders are in fact in no way similar to their arch-nemesis Australians, intermingled with hilarious folk/rap/synth pop novelty music.
The second season was released on DVD recently and for anyone who missed the cable broadcast of the episodes, the set is a must have. With all ten episodes and few extras including a “making of” documentary, season two is not the flawless jewel that its predecessor was, but will keep the FOTC fan warm until the next season, if there is one.
The first three episodes are fairly disappointing, suffering from somewhat uninspired songs and uneven pacing. Having many of the supporting characters take on singing duty seems more like an attempt at spreading the screen time instead of offering the best product.
The quality picks up with episode four. “Murray Takes It to the Next Level” finds Jemaine and Bret’s manager graphing his friendship progress with the two. Rhys Darby gets some of his best bits here; being clueless and resolute at the same time.
In “Unnatural Love,” Jemaine realizes with horror that he has spent the night with an Australian woman and features the best song of the season. In “Carol Brown,” he sings of all his past girlfriends (“Mimi would no longer see me, Britney—Britney hit me”) while they berate him in chorus.
In another great episode, “New Zealand Town,” the boys get addicted to coolness inducing hair gel, inspiring the ultra stylistic tune, “Fashion is Danger.”
The rest of the season features Jemaine and Bret doing a benefit show for epileptic dogs, posing as a Simon and Garfunkle tribute band, becoming the stars of a Murray-penned stage musical and seeing their dream of American success finally shattered.
HBO has expressed interest in the series continuing, but Clement and McKenzie have not publicly committed; citing the long preparation time of writing quality scripts, to say nothing of plot appropriate songs. If this is the final Flight of the Conchords, the brilliantly creative duo went out on top.