Flight of the Conchords (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Flight of the Conchords is an American television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 comedy series that debuted on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...

, a two-man band from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, as its members seek fame and success in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The show stars the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...

 and Bret McKenzie
Bret McKenzie
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie is a comedian, actor, musician and producer, best known for being one half of the Grammy Award winning musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement....

, who play fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

alized versions of themselves. A second season was announced on August 17, 2007, and premiered on January 18 2009. On December 11, 2009, the duo confirmed that the series would not return for a third season.

Throughout its run, Flight of the Conchords received very positive critical reception, with its second season scoring a score of 80/100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

. The show has received 10 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 nominations, including "Outstanding Comedy Series" and "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" for Jemaine Clement, both in 2009.

Plot

The series centers on the day-to-day lives and loves of two shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...

s-turned-musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

s, Jemaine and Bret (Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...

 and Bret McKenzie
Bret McKenzie
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie is a comedian, actor, musician and producer, best known for being one half of the Grammy Award winning musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement....

, playing fictionalized versions of themselves), who have uprooted themselves from their native New Zealand to try to make it big as a folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 duo in New York City. The two have frequent appointments with their officious and ineffectual band manager, Murray Hewitt (Rhys Darby
Rhys Darby
Rhys Montague Darby is an actor and stand-up comedian from New Zealand, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals...

), a Deputy Cultural Attaché at the New Zealand Consulate. Jemaine and Bret constantly fend off the amorous attentions of Mel (Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...

), a married woman who is their sole fan and stalker
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...

. Their friend Dave Mohumbhai (Arj Barker
Arj Barker
Arjan Singh , known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American stand-up comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. He was born to an engineer father and artist mother, and is half-Indian, half-European...

) works at a pawn shop and gives them advice on dealing with American women and culture. Other recurring characters include their landlord, Eugene (Eugene Mirman
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris Mirman is a Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Mirman currently plays Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voices Gene Belcher for the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.-Early life:Mirman was born in Russia to Jewish parents...

), Bret's short-term girlfriend Coco (Sutton Foster
Sutton Foster
Sutton Lenore Foster is an American actress, singer and dancer. Foster has received two Tony Awards, in 2002 for her role of Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie and in 2011 for her role of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes...

), Jemaine and Bret's ex-girlfriend Sally (Rachel Blanchard
Rachel Blanchard
Rachel Elise Blanchard is a Canadian actress.-Early life:Blanchard was born in Toronto, Ontario, and graduated from Havergal College in Toronto, going on to Queen's University.-Career:...

), and Murray's put-upon assistant Greg (Frank Wood
Frank Wood (actor)
Frank Wood is an American actor who has appeared in various television, film, and theatre roles. His most frequent role was performing as Greg in the HBO series Flight Of The Conchords.-Early life:...

).

Most episodes center on the five main cast members. The antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...

s outside of this small group are usually either their girlfriend
Girlfriend
Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....

s or Australians (see "Bret Gives Up the Dream
Bret Gives Up the Dream
"Bret Gives Up the Dream" is the second episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, June 24, 2007....

", "Sally Returns
Sally Returns
"Sally Returns" is the fifth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. It first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 15, 2007.This episode received a Emmy Award nomination in 2008 for "Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series"....

").

Jemaine or Bret break into song in each episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...

. The songs are built into the narrative structure of the show in several different ways. Some songs form part of the plot of the show. In these instances, Bret or Jemaine sing to another character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

. Other songs serve as the internal monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...

 of one of the two. Typically, at least once per show, a song is shot in the form of a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

. Some songs use a combination of the styles. For example, in the first episode, "Sally
Sally (Flight of the Conchords)
"Sally" is the pilot episode of the American television sitcom Flight of the Conchords. It first aired on the HBO television channel in the United States at 10:30 PM on Sunday, June 17, 2007 in the time slot preceded by Entourage, and vacated by the last episode of the final season of The...

", the song "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" is a mix of Jemaine's thoughts and his spoken invitations to Sally to get a kebab and to go back to his place. The music video for "Business Time" (from "Sally Returns
Sally Returns
"Sally Returns" is the fifth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. It first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 15, 2007.This episode received a Emmy Award nomination in 2008 for "Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series"....

") depicts a daydream
Daydream
A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists. The general public also uses the term for a...

 that Jemaine is having. As the series has evolved, other main characters have also had their own musical interludes, depicted in a similar manner to Jemaine and Bret's own songs.

The enthusiastic manner in which the characters express themselves through song contrasts with the otherwise low-key tone of the show. Thus, when the characters cannot speak about their feelings, the songs serve as inner monologues.

History

The show was created by Clement, McKenzie and James Bobin
James Bobin
James Bobin is a British film director, writer, and producer. He has worked as a director and writer on The 11 O'Clock Show and Da Ali G Show, and helped create the characters of Ali G, Borat, and Bruno...

, and was based on the successful improvised 2005 BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...

 radio series of the same name
Flight of the Conchords (radio series)
Flight of the Conchords was a radio series broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2005, starring the New Zealand musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. A 3-CD set containing all the episodes was released in 2006 by the BBC. Each disc consisted of 2 episodes...

. Bobin serves as the show's main writer and director. The first episode of the series aired on HBO on June 17, 2007. The series received 100,000 views for the first season premiere scored on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

.

On August 17, 2007, HBO announced a second season for Flight of the Conchords, originally set to premiere in 2008, but which was postponed to January 2009. Prior to the announcement, Jemaine Clement stated in an interview with The New Zealand Herald
The New Zealand Herald
- External links :* * *...

, "[HBO] is 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". McKenzie stated that the second season took longer to produce because the band had used most of their material in the first season. 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
Sophomore slump
A sophomore slump or sophomore jinx refers to an instance in which a second, or sophomore, effort fails to live up to the standards of the first effort...

. 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 returned to their home town of Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 to write for the second season, although the writing process was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....

.
Filming for the 10 episode second series began in September 2008.

The second season of the show premiered on January 18, 2009 on HBO. It gathered 250,000 streams in its first 10 days on FunnyOrDie.com
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...

. Unlike the first season, the second season was filmed and broadcast in High Definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

. The first episode of the season has been made available for streaming at http://www.hbo.com/conchords.

In Australia, the second season of the show first aired on June 8, 2009 on SBS. SBS also made the episodes available for streaming (from within Australia only). The DVD of the second season was released in Australia on July 29, 2009.

On December 11, 2009, McKenzie and Clement announced that the show would not return for a third season. Clement had previously stated that writing the show took up a great deal of time.

The programme is currently seen as an interstitial program
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...

 on HBO.

Main cast

Name Played by Description
Jemaine Clemaine Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...

 
Band member; plays bass among other things. Bret's roommate. He rarely smiles or laughs and typically overthinks even the most mundane situations.
Bret McClegnie Bret McKenzie
Bret McKenzie
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie is a comedian, actor, musician and producer, best known for being one half of the Grammy Award winning musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement....

 
Band member; plays guitar and piano. Jemaine's roommate, always wearing "animal" has-been t-shirt.
Murray Hewitt Rhys Darby
Rhys Darby
Rhys Montague Darby is an actor and stand-up comedian from New Zealand, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals...

 
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 never-seen wife, Shelley. While he is passionate about the band and aspires to be a successful manager, he is largely incompetent in his well-meaning attempts at promoting the Conchords.
Mel Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...

 
Mel is the Conchords' lone fan and stalks them obsessively in pursuit of a romantic liaison despite the fact that she is married to Doug, her former college professor. In the episode "Bowie" she claims that she is a Junior Professor of Psychology. In "New Fans" it is implied that she has been through legal trouble for stalking.
Devjeet "Dave" Mohumbhai
Arj Barker
Arj Barker
Arjan Singh , known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American stand-up comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. He was born to an engineer father and artist mother, and is half-Indian, half-European...

 
A friend of Bret and Jemaine who works at his family's pawn shop "Mohumbhai & Son" and dispenses off-kilter advice about women and life in America. He still lives with his parents, though tries to cover it up by pretending they are his crazy roommates who just think they are his parents. Bret and Jemaine overestimate Dave's pseudo-womanizing personality and often go to him for relationship advice.

Recurring characters

A number of characters have appeared in more than one episode.
Name Played by Description Episodes
Greg Frank Wood
Frank Wood (actor)
Frank Wood is an American actor who has appeared in various television, film, and theatre roles. His most frequent role was performing as Greg in the HBO series Flight Of The Conchords.-Early life:...

 
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, though Murray has stated otherwise. 101, 102, 105, 106, 107, 111, 112, 201, 203, 207, 209, 210
Eugene Eugene Mirman
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris Mirman is a Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Mirman currently plays Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voices Gene Belcher for the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.-Early life:Mirman was born in Russia to Jewish parents...

 
Bret and Jemaine's landlord, who often interjects into conversations in which he is not welcome. He has appeared in several musical sequences, and appears to be proficient in several instruments including saxophone & steel drums. He is often seen involved in fixing the plumbing in the building and in Bret and Jemaine's apartment. 101, 102, 103, 105, 108, 111, 112, 202, 206, 209, 210
Doug David Costabile
David Costabile
David Costabile is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. He is best known for his recurring television roles on The Wire , Flight of the Conchords , Damages , and Breaking Bad...

 
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, and he also had a problem with addiction at some point in the past. It is also implied in the same episode that Doug lost his job for starting a relationship with Mel, who at the time was one of his students. 101, 102, 106, 109, 110, 201, 202, 203, 207, 209, 210
Coco Sutton Foster
Sutton Foster
Sutton Lenore Foster is an American actress, singer and dancer. Foster has received two Tony Awards, in 2002 for her role of Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie and in 2011 for her role of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes...

 
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
Rachel Blanchard
Rachel Elise Blanchard is a Canadian actress.-Early life:Blanchard was born in Toronto, Ontario, and graduated from Havergal College in Toronto, going on to Queen's University.-Career:...

 
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
John Lenny Venito
Lenny Venito
Lenny Venito is an American actor who has made appearances in movies such as Gigli, Men in Black II, and War of the Worlds.Starting in 2006, Venito has been featured in The Sopranos as the character nicknamed "Murmur," who helped shake down actor Ben Kingsley and violently mug actress Lauren Bacall...

 
A mugger who once mugged Bret and Jemaine but befriends Jemaine while they share a jail cell. It was later revealed that he once killed a monkey. He returned in the episode "Wingmen" when he and Jemaine mugged Bret in an attempt to make Bret look cool in front of a girl. 103, 209
Bryan Brian Sergent
Brian Sergent
Brian Sergent is an actor born and based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has appeared in some of New Zealand’s television series, commercial advertisements, and is well known in theatre and his voice is recognized for his voice-overs and radio presentations...

 
The laid back, uncouth Prime Minister of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

. He appears somewhat aloof and disengaged regarding the affairs of his country, preferring to occupy his time with pointless capers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He often introduces himself by saying "Hi, I'm Bryan, The Prime Minister of New Zealand". He appears to be fond of drinking. He is easily influenced by recently watched films, such as Cars
Cars (film)
Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...

or The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...

.
207, 208

Other guest stars

Name Played by Description Episode
David Armstrong John Hodgman
John Hodgman
John Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...

 
Manager of a greeting card company with which the Conchords sign a recording contract. 106
Sinjay Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....

 
A fruit vendor who discriminates against Bret and Jemaine because he believes that they are Australians. 107
Ben Will Forte
Will Forte
Orville Willis Forte IV, better known as Will Forte , is an American actor, voice actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2002–2010 and for starring in the SNL spin-off film MacGruber.-Early life:Forte was born in Alameda County, California, the son of...

 
A semi-professional actor the band hires to speak with Murray about a record deal rejection. 111
Todd Todd Barry
Todd Barry
-Biography:Barry was born in The Bronx, New York, and grew up in Florida. In 1999, his Comedy Central Presents aired. He wrote, directed and starred in the short film Borrowing Saffron , which co-starred H. Jon Benjamin. He has made a variety of guest appearances on shows like Dr...

 
A bongo player who joins Bret and Jemaine as "The Third Conchord". Later he forms The Crazy Dogggz with Demetri. 112
Demetri Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on The Daily Show and for his Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin.- Early life :Demetri Martin was born to a Greek...

 
A keytar
Keytar
A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...

 player who forms a new band with Bret. Later he forms The Crazy Dogggz with Todd.
112
Martin Clark Greg Proops
Greg Proops
Gregory Everett "Greg" Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work as an improvisational comedian on the UK and U.S. versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?...

 
President/CEO of an agency which hires Bret and Jemaine to write a jingle for a new, "women-only" toothpaste. 201
Jim Jim Gaffigan
Jim Gaffigan
James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan is an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:Gaffigan was born in Chesterton, Indiana and attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended one year at...

 
Murray's best friend. 204
Keitha Sarah Wynter
Sarah Wynter
Sarah Wynter is an Australian actress, most widely known for her roles on American television – such as Kate Warner on the television drama 24 and as Beth on Windfall.-Personal life:...

 
An Australian with whom Jemaine falls in love and plans to elope, but tricks him and robs their apartment while he's waiting for her. 205
Brahbrah Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...

 
A woman with whom Jemaine and Bret both fall in love, she has a lazy eye and a missing epileptic dog called Charlie. 206
Karen Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...

 
An Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...

 fanatic, she has a brief affair with Jemaine.
207
Elton John impersonator Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...

 
An Elton John impersonator who Bret and Jemaine meet while impersonating Simon & Garfunkel. 207
Paula Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless, MNZM is a New Zealander actress and singer best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess....

 
A New Zealand tourism official and old friend of Bryan, the Prime Minister. 208

Cameo appearances

Fleeting cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

s by famous people, especially singers and musicians, have been a feature of the show.
Name Played by Description Episode
Pawn Shop Patron Judah Friedlander
Judah Friedlander
Judah Friedlander is an American actor and comedian, known for his trademark trucker hats, oversized glasses and unkempt appearance, which he retains in many of his screen roles.-Early life:...

 
A man that tries to pawn a cake to Dave. 101
Fruit Stand Patron Kevin Allison
Kevin Allison
Kevin Allison is a comedic writer and actor. He is perhaps best known as a writing and performing member of The State on MTV. Popular sketches on the show starring Allison include "Taco Man," "Mr. Magina", "Dreamboy" and "The Jew, the Italian and the Redhead Gay." Allison came out as gay to the...

 
A man who is serviced before Jemaine and Bret, although he was behind them in line, at a fruit stand run by an anti-Australian man who mistakes the duo for Aussies. 107
Club Owner Kate Pierson
Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...

 
A club owner that turns the band away from a scheduled gig due to their reputation for causing damage. 109
Club MC Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...

 
The MC of the Tuesday World Music Jam at which the Conchords play. He introduces them as "Flute of the Commodores" and ushers them quickly off stage several bars into "Rock the Party". 110
Himself John Turturro
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...

 
In a scene that runs during the closing credits, Turturro plays himself playing a cop in a fictional Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

 movie, entitled “The Drycleaner”.
111
Australian Ambassador Alan Dale
Alan Dale
Alan Hugh Dale is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale developed a love of theatre and also became a rugby player. After retiring from the sport he took on a number of professions to support his family, before deciding to become a professional actor at the age of 27. With work limited in New...

 
The Australian ambassador who makes fun of Murray and Jemaine. 203
Obnoxious Australian Adam Garcia
Adam Garcia
Adam Garcia is an Australian actor and tap dancer of partial Colombian descent .-Career:...

 
An assistant to the Australian ambassador to the United States who makes fun of Murray and Jemaine. 203
Bouncer Randy Jones
Randy Jones (singer)
Randy Jones is an American disco and pop singer and was the original cowboy from Village People.As of 2006, he currently lives in New York City....

 
A nightclub bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...

 who leads an all-male conga line
Conga Line
The conga line is a Cuban carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat...

.
205
Himself Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...

 
Saves Jemaine from a woman (Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...

) who makes him dress up like Art Garfunkel and have sex with her (aka "Garfunkeling" by Jemaine).
207

Critical reception

The show has received a generally positive reaction from critics. Season 1 has a 68/100 rating based on 15 reviews on metacritic.com, while season 2 has an 80/100 rating, based on 10 reviews. The best reviews were from the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...

,
whose critic described it as "TV's most original and irresistible new comic concoction" and the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...

,
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
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

sketch stretched out to about six times its shelf-life." On IMDb Flight of the Conchords receives a rating of 8.9/10.

Awards

In the 2007 Satellite Awards
Satellite Awards
The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...

 the show was nominated for "Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical".

The pair were awarded with the status of "2007 Wellingtonians of the Year" in their home town after their international success blossomed that year.

The show received four Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 nominations in 2008. "Sally Returns
Sally Returns
"Sally Returns" is the fifth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. It first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 15, 2007.This episode received a Emmy Award nomination in 2008 for "Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series"....

" was nominated for "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series", "Yoko
Yoko (Flight of the Conchords)
"Yoko" is the fourth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. It first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 8, 2007.This episode received a Emmy Award nomination in 2008 for "Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series"....

" was nominated for "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series" and two songs, "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" and "Inner City Pressure", were nominated for "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics".

Also in 2008, the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....

 nominated the show for three awards: "Comedy Series", "Episodic Comedy" (for "Sally Returns") and for "New Series". The Television Critics Association
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming...

 nominated them for "Outstanding Achievement in Comedy" and "Outstanding New Program of the Year".

In 2009, the show was nominated for six Emmy Awards. It was nominated in the categories of Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (for the episode 'The Tough Brets
The Tough Brets
"The Tough Brets" is the third episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on February 1, 2009.-Plot synopsis:...

'), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...

), Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (for the song 'Carol Brown'), Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour) and Animation, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (for the episode 'Prime Minister').

Filming locations

Filming for the series took 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. Transition shots and out-of-studio location shoots have been in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Most street scenes were filmed in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...

 or the Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

 area of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

.
Name Location
Bret and Jemaine's apartment 28 Henry Street, Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...

New Zealand consulate 232 East Broadway
Dave's pawn shop Around the corner from the 'Consulate'. 10 Montgomery Street
Steiner Studios
Steiner Studios
Steiner Studios is the largest film and television production studio complex outside of Hollywood. Steiner Studios offers of soundstages, with air conditioning and power infrastructure, and an additional of offices, dressing and make-up rooms, mill shops, spray booths, prop lock-ups, etc. All...

15 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn. Indoor stages for season one filming.
Broadway Stages Indoor stages for season two filming.


For a more detailed map of filming locations for both seasons see External links

Feature film

On November 28, 2011, Bret McKenzie has stated that efforts are being made to bring the comedy folk duo to the big screen. He said: "We're going to try and do a movie. We just need a story". However, HBO has stated they themselves do not have plans for such a film.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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