10 reasons to love flight of the Conchords

1. People look like real people. The lead guys, Bret and Jemaine, look like you and I, as do the majority of the supporting characters, including the coworker Bret falls for. She's certainly cute, but in a real sort of way, not likely to be gossiped about in Us magazine anytime soon, but Bret sings about how flippin' hot she is in the "Boom" song.
2. The songs are both catchy, and hilarious - but the video interludes in which they perform them put them over the top, summing up perfectly the show's mix of deadpan, ridiculous and clever.
3. The use of the word "flippin'" - the worst curse they can muster.
4. The often ludicrous plot elements come off completely natural. Why wouldn't it be perfectly normal that the two guys who mug our heroes share the same falling out with each other that Bret and Jemaine experience? Both one of the muggers and Jemaine suffer from abandonment issues. It all comes together in the end.
5. Mel (played by comedienne Kristen Schaal), the band's self-professed number one fan and only stalker, who has a vlog online. A character so well-defined she gives me the creeps.
6. New Zealand needs some real life characterizations to get people beyond thinking of it as "that place where they filmed Lord of the Rings" (and "where Vikings come from," as Bret's girlfriend mistakenly wonders).
7. The dialogue exchanges are often riotously funny, but Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement are so comfortable with their routine(s) that it often bears repeat viewings just to catch the humor.
8. Rhys Darby as their incompetent manager - who somehow manages to give off the impression that he's incredibly organized even if he's rather useless. A Kiwi stand-up comic and actor, Darby is a real find. The three of them have a natural rappoir.
9. In jokes (and out jokes) about the music business, playing gigs, in-fighting, politics, all at the smallest scale imaginable, which makes it that much funnier.
10. Because the lyrics are flippin' brilliant. Lyrics like these:

"Counting coins on the counter of the 7-11,
From a quarter past six ‘til a quarter to seven,
The manager Bevan starts to abuse me
Hey man, I just want some Muesli,
Neon signs, hidden messages,
Questions, answers, fetishes,
You know you’re not in high finance,
Considering getting second hand underpants,
Check your mind, how’d it get so bad?
What happened to those other underpants you had,
Look in your pockets, haven’t found a cent yet,
Landlords on your balls, have you paid your rent yet?"

Flight of the Conchords, on HBO.

Comments

[Maian]

re: point #1 - It's a good point, except Bret is A FLIPPIN' HOTTIE :D

I love this new phenomenon of normal-ish (but indie/geekboy hot) looking guys dominating the small screen. I swoon weekly over Bret, Jim (The Office), and Charlie (Always Sunny). There's gotta be more but who's got the time to watch that much TV, eh?

As far as the realness of the characters go, my favorite has got to be Mel. Everyone knows a girl like this and she plays it hilariously/freakishly on-point. Her overtly sexual comments like "I had a dream like this once" when she's sandwiched between the boys in a cramped car are classic.

[Maian]

sweet link to Mel's vlog! just noticed that.

[Burns]

OMG! I LURVE'em, they are just too cool for words! I love Bret! When is series 2 realeased in the uk, though?