Finally I understand those silly HP commercials. You know the ones, “I get the dream part, but how does the works work?” Turns out he’s a character from this show. He’s the band manager of two New Zealanders (Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement) who are trying to make it in New York. The show is about the band, not the manager.
The show follows McKenzie and Clement as they try to get their New Zealand folk band to take off in New York. Each episode follows the two around as they look for work, women and fruit. Each episode begins with their manager in a meeting, leading them onto the adventure.
The two are actually a successful folk group and perform at least one of their songs during each episode. The songs are pretty funny and touch on a lot of various topics such as sex, racism, and rapping. It’s a bit disconcerting because most comedy musicians aren’t very good but these two have great timing and the songs are actually funny.
Besides the music they also have great comedians in supporting roles. Kristen Schall is a fantastic comedian and has a funny roll in the show as the bands lone fan and stalker. Arj Barker plays their best friend and the one guy in the show who kind of understands America. Eugene Mirman plays the group’s landlord and he’s another very funny person. The finale of season one really brought out the stars, adding Todd Glass to the band until he split and formed a band with another one episode member of the band Demitri Martin of Important Things with Demetri Martin fame.
As well as the first two seasons of the show on HBO, the set also includes a stand-up special the two did for HBO before the show started. It features most of the songs from the show so while it is funny it isn’t brand new material.
Flight of the Conchords is presenting in 16×9 widescreen format and Dolby Digital sound. This show looks and sounds like a big time movie. It’s all spectacular. There is one shot in the opening of the second season where the shadow from the camera is in the shot.
Flight of the Conchords: On Air Documentary Feature – It’s a pretty good documentary about making the show and some interviews they’ve done. Pretty good.
Dave’s Pawn Shop Commercials – Commercials with half naked girls dancing to promote Dave’s Pawn Shop.
New Zealand Consulate Meetings With Murray & Greg – More like random interactions between the two. Not great.
Deleted Scenes – There’s a fair amount of them, some of them are pretty funny. In the words of a golf commentator, “useful.”
Outtakes – Basically everyone laughing randomly.
Anything that has Demitri Martin playing a keytar, even if it’s only for 5 minutes, gets a recommendation from me. The show is brilliant and hilarious and a must watch if you have HBO and definitely worth picking up in stores.
HBO Home Video presents Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Series. Directed by: James Bobin. Starring: Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie, and Kristen Schall. Written by: James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, and Bret McKenzie. Running time: 690 Minutes. Rating: TV-MA. Released on DVD: August 24, 2010.
