Flight of the Conchords - Season 2

The second and most likely final season of Flight of the Conchords, chronicling Bret and Jemaine's attempt to make it big in America, somehow felt different from the first, although I can't nail down quite why. In a lot of ways, it's ten more episodes of the same fusion of comedy and musical interludes. Just something about it changed, not for good or bad though. The songs aren't as strong, which makes sense since a lot of the great ones from the first season were from their live act that they performed for years before getting the show, and everything this time had to be made up with the normal writing process. In that way, you can maybe see why things felt different, as songs were written to fit the topic of the episode instead of the other way around. The level of quality isn't as high, but there are some gems, like the multiple versions of the song about hurt feelings.

The rest of the show doesn't really suffer though. Bret and Jemaine still have a great interplay that's pretty unique in the comedy of today, but the highlight of the season is probably the continually increasing craziness of their friends Mel and Dave, played by Kristen Schaal and Arj Barker. They were funny before, but as the depths of Mel's insane stalker obsession with the band and Dave's complete lack of connection with reality are revealed, it's truly a wonder to behold. Murray's still the wonderfully ignorant band manager, and his escalating distaste for his assisstant Greg is another good element. I can't tell if the increased focus on regular side characters over new people and wacky situations is part of what makes it feel off from the first season. I still enjoyed it quite a lot, but it's just not quite the same, and they didn't have anything like the Coco story arc. Still, the last episode is a wonderfully meta conclusion to the series, one that I respect its creators and stars for ending before it grew tiresome to them.

Flight of the Conchords - Season 1

Flight of the Conchords is a delightfully quirky little comedy about a two man band with the same title from New Zealand. In between guitarist Bret constantly quitting, bassist Jemaine's failures with women, and their meetings with fellow Kiwi and band manager Murray, the show is sprinkled with music videos made by the band that fit the story, many of the songs coming from their stand-up work in real life. They only have one slightly-crazed fan, and constantly have to deal with internal problems and outside interference as they try to hit it big in New York City.

It's a simple show, as the subject matter is usually pretty mundane. There's plenty of humor in the more outlandish musical segments, but a lot of laughs just come from the simple interactions of the two friends with each other and those around them. I have to admit a small part of it is just their odd accents. They perform in a variety of styles, and there are plenty of recognizable guests like Will Forte and Demetri Martin. Some highlights of the first season are the mock children's show, "Albi the Racist Dragon"; Bret's recurring dreams about David Bowie, who happens to look a lot like Jemaine; a Lord of the Rings tribute song (whenever they mention their nation of origin to someone they meet, no one can think of anything to comment on besides the fact that the movies were filmed there); and the whole episode where Murray and Jemaine think Bret's completely harmless girlfriend is trying to break up the band like Yoko Ono. While the plot is usually pretty bare, there's actually some interesting continuity and a perceivable arc to the season, and I'd like to see what they can come up with in a second go around.