Flight of the Conchords (TV series)

Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords intertitle.
Genre	Sitcom Musical
Created by	James Bobin Jemaine Clement Bret McKenzie
Developed by	Dakota Pictures Comedy Arts Studios
Starring	Jemaine Clement Bret McKenzie Rhys Darby Kristen Schaal Arj Barker
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Stu Smiley James Bobin Troy Miller
Producer	Anna Dokoza
Production location	New York City
Camera setup	Single camera
Running time	approx. 27 min.
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	June 17, 2007 – present

Flight of the Conchords is an American television sitcom that follows the adventures of the Flight of the Conchords, a folk duo from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show portrays a fictionalized version of the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who play themselves. Though in reality Clement and McKenzie are a comedy duo and perform music parodies, their characters within the series take themselves and their music seriously.

The first episode of the series aired on HBO on June 17, 2007.

Plot

The series revolves around the day-to-day lives and loves of two musicians, Jemaine and Bret (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, playing fictionalised versions of themselves), who have uprooted themselves from their native New Zealand to try to make it big as a novelty folk duo in New York City. The two have frequent appointments with their band manager, Murray (Rhys Darby), a Deputy Cultural Attaché at the New Zealand consulate, who is overly officious and ineffectual. Jemaine and Bret constantly fend off the amorous attentions of Mel (Kristen Schaal), a married woman who is their sole fan and stalker. Their friend Dave (Arj Barker) works at a pawn shop and gives them advice on dealing with American women and culture. Other recurring characters include their landlord, Eugene (played by Eugene Mirman), Bret's short-term girlfriend Coco (Sutton Foster) and Jemaine and Bret's ex-girlfriend Sally (Rachel Blanchard).

Most episodes revolve around the five main cast members. The antagonists outside of this small group are usually either their girlfriends or Australians (see Bret Gives Up The Dream, Sally Returns).

Jemaine and/or Bret break into song periodically throughout each episode. The songs are built into the narrative structure of the show in several different ways. Some songs form part of the actual plot of the show. In these instances, Bret or Jemaine sings to another character. Other songs serve as the internal monologue of one of the two. Typically, at least once per show, a song is shot in the form of a music video. Some songs use a combination of the styles. For example, in the first episode, "Sally", the song "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" is a mix of Jemaine's inner thoughts, which are inaudible to those around him, and his spoken invitations to Sally to get a kebab and to go back to his place, while the music video for "Business Time" (from "Sally Returns") depicts a daydream that Jemaine is having.

The enthusiastic manner in which the characters express themselves through song is in stark contrast to the very low-key, monotone manner in which the characters express themselves throughout the rest of the show. Thus, when the characters cannot verbalize their feelings, the songs serve as inner monologues and explain the thoughts and feelings they are unable to communicate to others.

Cast

Main cast

Name	Played by	Occupation/Role
Jemaine Clement	Jemaine Clement	Band member. Bret's roommate.
Bret McKenzie	Bret McKenzie	Band member. Jemaine's roommate.
Murray Hewitt	Rhys Darby	Murray is the band's manager. His day job is Deputy Cultural Attaché at the New Zealand consulate. He has few friends and an on-and-off relationship with his wife.
Mel	Kristen Schaal	Mel appears to be the band's lone fan and stalks them in pursuit of a romantic liaison despite the fact that she is married to Doug. In the episode "Bowie" it is revealed that she is a Junior Professor of Psychology. In "New Fans" it is implied that she's been through legal trouble for stalking.
Dave	Arj Barker	A friend of Bret and Jemaine who works at a pawn shop and dispenses advice. He lives with his parents, though tries to cover it up by pretending they are his roommates.

Recurring guest stars

Name	Played by	Occupation/Role	Episodes
Greg	Frank Wood	Murray's assistant at the consulate. In the episode "The Actor", it was suggested that he is Murray's only friend besides Bret and Jemaine.	101-102, 105-107, 111-112
Eugene	Eugene Mirman	Bret and Jemaine's landlord.	101-103, 105, 108, 111-112
Doug	David Costabile	Mel's husband. When Doug appears in an episode it is usually because he is driving Mel to a band gig or stalking mission. In the episode "Bowie" it is revealed that he was previously the Senior Professor of Psychology at the university which Mel attended, but was fired and is now unemployed. It's implied in the episode "New Fans" that he and his family had a restraining order against Mel at one point before he married her.	101-102, 106, 109-110
Coco	Sutton Foster	Bret's girlfriend for several episodes. Bret and Coco meet while working as part-time sign holders. They break up in the "Sally Returns" episode because it's clear that Bret still has feelings for Sally.	102, 104-105
Sally	Rachel Blanchard	Bret's former girlfriend. She dates Jemaine briefly on two separate occasions, but eventually accepts a marriage proposal from a rich Australian in the episode "Sally Returns".	101, 105

Critical reaction

The show has received a generally positive reaction from critics. The best reviews were from the Detroit Free Press, whose critic described it as "TV's most original and irresistible new comic concoction" and the San Francisco Chronicle, whose reviewer stated that it "may well be the funniest thing you've seen in ages." At the opposite end, the Miami Herald reviewer wrote that it "feels less like a sitcom than a Saturday Night Live sketch stretched out to about six times its shelf-life."

Songs

This is a list of the songs by the band Flight of the Conchords as heard on HBO:

• "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" (a.k.a. "Part-time Model")
• "Robots"
• "I'm Not Crying"
• "Inner City Pressure"
• "She’s So Hot, BOOM!"
• "Rock the Party"
• "Hip-Hopopotamus vs. The Rhymenoceros"
• "Think About It. Think, Think About It"
• "If You’re Into It"
• "Pencils in the Wind"
• "Coco’s Song"
• "She-wolf"
• "Business Time"
• "Song for Sally"
• "Bret, You Got It Going On"
• "Bowie"
• "Albi the Racist Dragon"
• "Mutha Uckas"
• "Leggie Blonde"
• "Foux Da Fa Fa"
• "K.I.S.S.I.N.G." (a.k.a. "A Kiss Is Not A Contract")
• "Mermaid"
• "Something Special for the Ladies" (a.k.a. "Ladies of the World")
• "Prince of Parties"
• "Cheer Up, Murray"
• "Frodo (Don't Wear the Ring)"
• "Doggy Bounce"
• "Bret's Angry Dance" (instrumental)

Episode list

#	Title	Airdate	Code
1	"Sally"	June 17, 2007	101
Bret and Jemaine go to a party at Dave's place where Jemaine sees, and falls for, a beautiful girl named Sally. Jemaine's growing relationship leaves Bret feeling neglected and Murray helps the band film a music video.
2	"Bret Gives Up the Dream"	June 24, 2007	102
The band's poor financial state leads Bret to get a job as a human billboard to help make ends meet. However, it interferes with the band's gig at a travel expo, so Murray and Jemaine replace him with a cassette tape. Bret is attracted to a girl, Coco, at his new job.
3	"Mugged"	July 1, 2007	103
Bret loses Jemaine's trust after Bret abandons him when they get mugged. To regain it, Bret tries to retrieve Jemaine's stolen "camera phone" from their muggers, who are experiencing their own trust issues.
4	"Yoko"	July 8, 2007	104
Bret begins dating Coco, but Jemaine won't stop tagging along on the dates. When Bret asks him to stop, Jemaine concludes that Coco is trying to break up the band.
5	"Sally Returns"	July 15, 2007	105
After Jemaine reconnects with Sally, Bret decides that he wants to pursue her as well. However, when they both show up at her birthday party with their homemade presents, they are in for a shock.
6	"Bowie"	July 22, 2007	106
After a photo session, Bret develops body image issues and gets some dream advice from his idol, David Bowie. Jemaine plots to cheer him up and Murray tries to get one of the band's tunes used for a musical greeting card.
7	"Drive By"	July 29, 2007	107
Bret and Jemaine are shocked by the prejudiced actions of a fruit vendor who won't sell to them because they are New Zealanders. Dave recommends a strong response and teaches them how to "flip the bird". Murray is smitten with the new tech support lady at the consulate.
8	"Girlfriends"	August 5, 2007	108
Bret and Jemaine pick up two women who work in a croissant shop and have very different dating experiences. Murray negotiates a record deal for the band.
9	"What Goes On Tour"	August 12, 2007	109
Murray organizes a warm-up tour in preparation for a big gig in Central Park. However, the boys' carelessness and an encounter with a women's water-polo team threatens to ruin the tour and their relationship with Murray.
10	"New Fans"	August 19, 2007	110
A performance at a local 'World Music Jam' results in the Conchords gaining two new fans, but Mel is suspicious of the newcomers and their motives. Murray encourages the band to adopt a more 'rock star' attitude.
11	"The Actor"	August 26, 2007	111
Bret and Jemaine ask a 'semi-professional' actor to cheer Murray up after a gig doesn't go well, but the actor gets a little too much into his part and offers the band a record deal.
12	"The Third Conchord"	September 2, 2007	112
Murray hires a bongo player for the band without consulting Bret and Jemaine. They are not happy about it and decide to fire him, but it's Bret who ends up out of the band. He responds by forming his own competing band. Eventually, the two new members of their bands decide to form their own duo with Murray agreeing to manage them. At the end of the episode, Bret and Jemaine have restarted Flight of the Conchords, while the new band have made a world wide hit, and Murray is now very rich.

Second season

On August 17, 2007, HBO announced a second season for Flight of the Conchords, set to premiere in 2008. Prior to the announcement, Jemaine Clement stated in an interview with the The New Zealand Herald, "they [HBO] are interested in doing another series but we have to think about it. It's not a definite offer but they have talked about us starting writing but we've got other things we want to do as well". Bret McKenzie has stated in several interviews that the band has used up "98 percent" of their old songs in the first series. In an interview with The Star Ledger, he said "We'd need some time to develop new material. It's like the second album syndrome. It might take a lot longer". Shortly after the renewal announcement, Clement stated in an interview that the second season would likely consist of fewer than twelve episodes "so they could concentrate on 'quality not quantity'". McKenzie and Clement plan to write for the second season in Wellington, New Zealand, before they return to New York City in 2008 for filming.

Filming locations

Filming for the series takes place at a variety of locations and landmarks around New York City. Flight of the Conchords has, however, been consistent with its geography with respect to their neighbourhood. Some of the primary locations are listed below. Information on locations specific to particular episodes may be found on the page for that episode.

• Exterior shots of Bret and Jemaine's apartment, for episode 102 onwards, are filmed at 28 Henry Street in the Chinatown area of New York City. Apartment exterior shots for the pilot episode were filmed at a different location further east down Henry Street between Clinton and Montgomery.
• The building that serves as the exterior of the New Zealand consulate is nearby at 232 East Broadway. The real New Zealand Consulate is located approximately four miles uptown at 222 East 41st St in Manhattan.
• Dave's 'pawn shop' can be found just around the corner from the 'consulate' at 10 Montgomery Street.
• Steiner Studios, Brooklyn, New York.

Recurring themes and running jokes

Roll call

Before every band meeting, no matter where it is held or how few are present, Murray takes roll-call. Bret and Jemaine are not enthusiastic supporters of this piece of meeting etiquette. Often one or the other refuses to respond. Murray's belief that all meetings must start with a roll call causes confusion in the episode "Bowie", when the card company manager's failure to take a roll-call results in Murray being unaware the meeting has started.

Confusion over nationality

Other characters are commonly confused over Bret and Jemaine's nationality, often mistaking them for Australians or Englishmen. Their best friend Dave also admits to being unclear on the matter and has accused them of having various nationalities including English ("Sally"), Scottish ("Drive By") and Irish ("New Fans"). The whole plot of the episode "Drive By" is centred around the misconception of another character that Bret and Jemaine are Australian.

New Zealand accent

Several episodes have featured scenes where the flat vowels of the New Zealand accent have caused confusion. In two different episodes, women that Bret was talking to thought his name was 'Brit'. In "Mugged" there is an extended sequence where Dave is confused between the words 'dead' and 'did'.

Australia as nemesis

Australia is featured prominently as a source for the boys' misfortune. In "Bret Gives Up The Dream", the band's performance at a travel expo is outshone by a flashy Australian booth. In "Sally Returns", Jemaine and Bret are dumped by Sally in favor of an Australian suitor.

New Zealand culture

New Zealand culture is depicted as quaint or old-fashioned. For instance, a VHS tape from New Zealand television contains an advertisement for the telephone which suggests that it is still an unfamiliar concept within New Zealand. Characters are often confused about the nature and history of New Zealand. In the episode "Bret Gives Up The Dream", for example, Coco believes that New Zealand has vikings. Several references are made to the Lord of the Rings movies — filmed there by Peter Jackson — as being the only thing Americans know about New Zealand. Also in the episode "Sally", Murray is seen wearing a New Zealand All Blacks rugby shirt when the band is getting a "camera" from Dave. Finally, in "The Actor" the character Ben refers to New Zealand as a "backward country that no one has ever heard of."

Bret quitting the band

A number of episodes include Bret quitting or getting fired from the band, only to rejoin later. In "Bret Gives up the Dream", Bret is forced out because his job interferes with the band schedule. In "Yoko", he quits in support of his girlfriend, whom Jemaine dislikes. Later in the first series, his fluctuating band status starts to be remarked upon. After Murray quits in "What Goes On Tour", Jemaine says "You can't quit the band. Bret usually quits the band". In the episode "The Third Conchord", Bret is explicitly reminded of his erratic status within the band when he is fired in favor of egotistical bongo player Todd. The obvious irony is that without one of its two members, a duo like Flight of the Conchords can hardly be called a "band," and indeed, in "Bret Gives Up The Dream" we see Jemaine performing live alone, accompanied by a tape player.

"Rock The Party"

Whenever the band are seen actually playing a gig, the song they usually play is "Rock The Party", though this is often cut short, and never shown played in full. The song consists mainly of the song's titular words repeated ad nauseam.

Unsuccessful relationships with women

Bret and Jemaine are depicted as being clumsy and inexperienced with women. An example is Jemaine's confusion over how to deal with Sally in the pilot episode. In the episode "What Goes On Tour" they are flirted with, and ultimately duped by, the more sophisticated women of a university sports team.

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Mel's obsession

Mel is depicted as a stalker with a romantic obsession for the two band members. She is present at every band performance, no matter how insignificant, and is commonly found outside the band's apartment whenever they leave the building. In "The Third Conchord" she feigns innocence over her presence, asking "What are the chances?". Jemaine replies "1 in 1".

Financial failures

The band continually fail in their attempts to remedy their poor financial situation. In "Bret Gives Up the Dream" it is revealed the band had $10, but Murray has spent $6 of their money on a strongbox, leaving them with $4. In "Sally Returns", Murray wastes the band's savings by buying three stars. In "Mugged", Bret refers to only having fifteen dollars in his bank account. In "Bowie", a promising scheme to have their music played in greeting cards emerges, but their naiveté means the band receives just 50 cents in royalties. In "What Goes On Tour", Bret and Jemaine waste their per diems on leather suits instead of food and necessities, and blow out the tour expenses with their wastefulness and clumsiness.

Bret and Mel's t-shirts

Bret's wardrobe consists of a variety of t-shirts and sweatshirts with unusual designs, many featuring animals. A number of the shirts make regular appearances including Bret McKenzie's "famous" red and black striped pullover that he has worn many times in "real life" performances. In "The Actor", Bret wears a shirt constructed from an item his character crafted for Sally in a previous episode. The character of Mel also has a set of unique apparel. She is usually shown wearing a different Flight of the Conchords t-shirt in each episode.

New Zealand tourism posters

The walls in Murray's office have featured a variety of humorous and odd New Zealand tourism posters. Examples include: "New Zealand...it's not part of Australia", "New Zealand: Don't expect too much - you will love it", "New Zealand: Just like The Lord Of The Rings!" and a poster with a photograph of a rocky outcrop superimposed with the slogan "New Zealand...Rocks!!!"

Murray's wife

Murray's somewhat secretive and on-again off-again relationship with his wife are a feature of several episodes in the latter half of season one. In "What Goes On Tour", he and his wife have gotten back together but she calls him on his mobile to berate him for using his own money to fund the tour. She is clearly not a supporter of his ambitions to become a successful band manager.

Elapsed time

The viewers are made aware of humorously large amounts of time devoted to Bret and Jemaine's everyday activities. In "Yoko," Bret writes a love song for Coco, which Jemaine promptly informs him is "a bit long...two hours long." In "Girlfriends," the two debate whether or not Bret should be Jemaine's "wingman" going into the pastry shop for two hours. In "What Goes On Tour," they wait in their hotel room for the water polo girls for five hours.

International broadcasters

Flight of the Conchords is aired on the following stations around the world:

Country	TV Network(s)	Series Premiere
Canada	Movie Central, The Movie Network	June 17 2007
New Zealand	Prime	September 17 2007
United Kingdom	BBC Four	September 25 2007
United States	HBO	June 17 2007
Brazil	HBO
Mexico	HBO
Chile	HBO
Norway	Canal+, 2007

External links

• Official HBO site
• Official HBO MySpace page
• Flight of the Conchords at IMDb
• Official BBC site
• TV series page on 'What the Folk!' fan site
• AV Club interview with Bret McKenzie on the making of the show
• On set video with Eugene Mirman from Kristen Schaal's video blog on Vimeo
• FoTC Reality Tour (map of NYC locations)