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Too many dicks in the DVD player

The comedy team of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, also known as Flight of the Conchords, New Zealand’s 4th most popular folk parody duo, are the two most likable TV stars going, so charming, so naïve and so innocent. Not a mean-spirited bone in their body. It such a refreshing change of pace!

Season one introduced us to the affable fellas, creating a non-irritatingly whimsical version of New York City, inviting us, the viewer, to hang with these out-of-water fishes, laughing along with their foibles and failures of dealing with success, women and touring, complete with their patently hilarious songs nicely squeezed in-between, gently and unintrusively placed in the story’s context. It’s sublime, it’s genius, it’s pure comedy goodness.

And who can forget the Crazy Dogggz? I never will.

So, here we are with season two, and its got a lot to live up to. Does it? Well, let’s check out the plotlines: manager Murray downs humble pie regarding the failure of the Dogggz; Bret buys a new cup, sending them into bankruptcy; Bret forms a gang; Murray takes his status from manager to friend; Jemaine has a one night stand with an Australian; they both fall for a girl who’s dog has epilepsy; Murray babysits the Prime Minister of New Zealand; Jemaine has a sexual relationship with a chick who has an Art Garfunkel fetish; New York opens “New Zealand Town”; Bret tries to impress a girl who works at a pet-shop and, finally, the guys find themselves without work visas and deported.

Yeah, I’d say that it lives up to the first season! The laughs come fast and often. The main problem though? Well…half the songs aren’t as good. Don’t get me wrong, there are some definite keepers: “Angels”, “Sugalumps” and the brilliant “Carol Brown”. But too bad they are doubled with lazy one-offs like “Petrov, Yelyena & Me”, “Demon Woman” and “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor”. Where’s the musical inspiration? Has success spoiled them? Is this going to get worse?  (Still, I’ll be buying their new album, I Told You I Was Freaky, which will be released on October 20th. Mark your calendars and sell some Food Stamps if you need to.)

The comedy doesn’t stop with the episodes, as the hilarious special features include a documentary made for New Zealand TV, outtakes, deleted scenes, and, best of all, New Zealand Consulate Meetings with Murray and Greg and commercials from Dave’s Pawn Shop. The latter I am considering stealing the audio from to play on my radio show. Anything to help out the pawn shop business.

Flight of the Conchords is a must-buy—NOT RENT, BUY!—sight unseen. With regular network TV trying to pass comedy off to us as Jim Belushi, Jon Cryer or that meeting your mother show, thank God for HBO taking a chance on two lovable man-children from New Zealand. HBO: it’s not TV, its a Godsend!

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