Flight of the Conchords

Flight of the Conchords is a new HBO comedy series about a band from New Zealand, named Fight of the Conchords, who are trying to make it big in New York. It stars Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, to guys from New Zealand who are actually a folk singing duo named Fight of the Conchords. Got it? The two intersperse their adventures in search of love and fame with music. It's sort of like the old Monkees TV show, only instead of the story stopping when a song is sung, the song becomes an integral part of the story. Hard to explain, but easy to understand when you see it.

In the first episode the boys go to a friend's party and Jermaine tries to pick up a girl, only he does it in song, comparing her to among other things a hooker and a part-time model. Check out the video...


I wondered if the odd New Zealand humor would grow old, but so far it hasn't. The show is unique in its approach to the old "search for fame in the big city" storyline. The band has frequent meeting with their manager Murray (Rhys Darby), a deputy cultural attaché at the New Zealand consulate. Murray is not very good at either of his two jobs; he can't find the band gigs, is horrible at promotion and tells visiting New Zealanders to walk through the back alleys in New York to avoid the nasty crowds and then wonders why so many New Zealanders get mugged.

Jemaine and Bret are also constantly trying to fend off Mel (Kristen Schaal), a married woman who is the band's only fan. Some of the scenes with Mel are down right creepy as you see her husband waiting in the car as she constantly stalks the boys, imploring them to "use her" as they see fit.

The humor is droll deadpan, and it that is your thing, then you are going to love this show. If it is not, it may take you a while to warm to these two bumbling folk singers. However, it is almost impossible to not like these two and to root for them no matter how strange things get. It all works for me.