My New Love: Flight of the Conchords

By Kristin Veitch Aug 30, 2007 10:51 PMTags
Flight of the ConcordsNicole Rivelli/HBO

Has a TV show ever made you laugh so hard you fell out of bed? Yeah, me neither...until this past Sunday night, when I was watching HBO's Flight of the Conchords and entered a giggle fit so intense I lost all sense of motor function and convulsed myself onto the floor.

(I know. As a newlywed, I should have been doing something different, but what can I say? I love me some funny TV.)

The exact moment that catapulted me off the California king was when the show's leading men, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie (the two New Zealanders who star as the members of the ridiculously sucky but hilarious alt-rock band called Flight of the Conchords), shot a Lord of the Rings-inspired video and rapped the following lines to Frodo:

I know it's hard when you're little more than 3 foot 4
Your little ass so close to the floor
Trying to lead the fellows to the gates of Mordor

Maybe you had to be there. And in fact, here's the thing: You have to be there. So, I'm writing this post to tell you that if you have not yet checked out this deliciously bizarre and funny new comedy, you absolutely must set your DVR for Flight of the Conchords this week, because I thoroughly believe you will not be disappointed.

And you have to get in now, because the finale airs this very Sunday after Entourage.

To celebrate the end of a fabulously freaktastic and funny season, we caught up with the Conchord men, and here's what they had to say…

Do you consider yourselves musicians first or comedians first?         
Jemaine Clement:  Hmmm, well, I guess we're comedians now.  We started off doing music, two guys trying to practice guitar, and we had difficulty memorizing other people's lyrics, so we started making up our own.  

How do you rate one another as musicians?
J.C.:
  Bret's better than I am, and I'm worse that Bret is. 
Bret McKenzie:  And I think we're both just above mediocre. 

Are you really like your characters?
J.C.:  Well, I don't say much [in real life or on TV]. But the TV Bret's a bit stupider than real-life Bret. I notice the difference. It's subtle.   

Here in the U.S., how often do you have difficulty being understood due to your accents? 
J.C.:  Here, a lot.  But sometimes I'll use it to my advantage, and if I can't think of an answer to something, I'll just make a few sounds, and people will be polite about it, and that will be that.  

What's the coolest thing about living in America?
B.M.:  Paying taxes to George Bush is a real treat. 
J.C.:  What Bret means to say is, the people are friendly. 

Can you tell us how you came up with the band name, Flight of the Conchords?  What does it mean?
J.C.:  We always avoid [answering this], but it's actually the toilet at the frat we lived at. It was a Conchord. That really invites some bad headlines for reviews, doesn't it? Please don't take advantage of that.

Flight of the Conchords, which was just picked up for a second season—yay!—airs its season finale this Sunday night, so you have just enough time to get in quick—and catch the Conchord fevah! Just make sure you put some rails on the bed.