Hopefully by now most of you have encountered this ridiculous and wonderful HBO series, which follows the misadventures of Bret and Jemaine, two hapless New Zealanders who together comprise the folk parody group Flight of the Conchords. You might think that watching two guys with almost no personality would be boring, but instead it is fantastic. Bret and Jemaine come across like extra-terrestrials who have been dropped in New York and given just enough information to survive (barely), and have been allotted one friend, one fan, and a manager. They are so flat in their delivery as to be nearly affect-less, and yet the performances are incredibly rich and funny. And of course, the songs are simply great. I would live to give a detailed review of the music, but I think the songs should be experienced within the context of the show. (I will say that the song in Episode 1 is called "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)." Sample lyric: "You could be a model/A part-time model/But you'd have to keep your regular job." Love it.)
As much as I enjoy watching Bret and Jemaine, the man that steals the show is Rhys Darby, playing the Conchords erstwhile manager Murray Hewitt. If I were a woman, or gay, I would marry Murray. He is a moron, yes, and a pathetic manager, true, but he is so confident and self-assured--even when he is dead wrong, which is most of the time--that I root for him all the more. Murray comes up with the worst ideas for the band, and when they fall through he manages to put the blame on the guys without seeming like a jerk. I heart Murray Hewitt.
As for Season 2, I am currently four episodes in and it is turning out to be a bit of a disappointment. The sitcom element is just as good as Season 1, but the songs are pretty lame. In the first season the songs are the highlight of each episode, but here they feel shoehorned and requisite. (I am told that all the songs in the first season existed long before the series came into being, whereas the songs in the second season were written to fit into the episodes. Well, it shows, and it's kind of a bummer.) However! Murray is in rare form so far (he booked the guys a gig playing a small venue: an elevator), so I will keep watching.
Hopefully by now most of you have encountered this ridiculous and wonderful HBO series, which follows the misadventures of Bret and Jemaine, two hapless New Zealanders who together comprise the folk parody group Flight of the Conchords. You might think that watching two guys with almost no personality would be boring, but instead it is fantastic. Bret and Jemaine come across like extra-terrestrials who have been dropped in New York and given just enough information to survive (barely), and have been allotted one friend, one fan, and a manager. They are so flat in their delivery as to be nearly affect-less, and yet the performances are incredibly rich and funny. And of course, the songs are simply great. I would live to give a detailed review of the music, but I think the songs should be experienced within the context of the show. (I will say that the song in Episode 1 is called "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)." Sample lyric: "You could be a model/A part-time model/But you'd have to keep your regular job." Love it.)
As much as I enjoy watching Bret and Jemaine, the man that steals the show is Rhys Darby, playing the Conchords erstwhile manager Murray Hewitt. If I were a woman, or gay, I would marry Murray. He is a moron, yes, and a pathetic manager, true, but he is so confident and self-assured--even when he is dead wrong, which is most of the time--that I root for him all the more. Murray comes up with the worst ideas for the band, and when they fall through he manages to put the blame on the guys without seeming like a jerk. I heart Murray Hewitt.
As for Season 2, I am currently four episodes in and it is turning out to be a bit of a disappointment. The sitcom element is just as good as Season 1, but the songs are pretty lame. In the first season the songs are the highlight of each episode, but here they feel shoehorned and requisite. (I am told that all the songs in the first season existed long before the series came into being, whereas the songs in the second season were written to fit into the episodes. Well, it shows, and it's kind of a bummer.) However! Murray is in rare form so far (he booked the guys a gig playing a small venue: an elevator), so I will keep watching.
2 comments:
By the way, I was inspired by this blog post and checked out Season 1 from the library. We've been working our way through it and I love it. Murray is awesome, but I think Brian and I like Mel best -- just the right combination of sweet, funny, and utterly creepy. Our favorite episode seems to be "New Fans", because it featured Mel so prominently. We were crying with laughter when she interrupted Bret in the bathroom. Anyway, thanks for the reco.
Well if you like Mel in Season 1, just wait for Season 2...
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