CityWatch: Conchords take flight

You can go to hbo.com right now and watch, in full, the first episode of Flight of the Conchords, which debuts this Sunday night, the 17th, at 10:30 p.m. And you might have the same reaction I did–thinking, “man, that’s some seriously weird shit. I don’t even know what to think of it.” It’s basically the adventures of the Conchords, New Zealand’s fourth most famous folk duo, and their attempt to take New York. It’s strange and awkward and punctuated by these seriously twisted music videos that actually further the plot. It is unique. And here’s the thing–unlike most people, I actually have a screener from the network of the first four episodes, which I watched in succession. The quirk factor is high, but it is well-written and terribly funny. And by the end of my two-hour mini-Conchord marathon, not only am I convinced, I am sold. I am addicted. I fucking love this new show.

The problem Conchords may run into is just what I described–that it doesn’t catch on with viewers immediately. That’ll be a shame if it happens, because the show is sort of a cross between the awkwardness of the BBC version of The Office, the strangeness of Strangers With Candy, and the New Zealandness of Lord of the Rings. Without swords. But with a goofy musical sensibility. The two dudes, Jemaine and Bret, break into song frequently, and it doesn’t always work. And that’s kind of the point. They’re funny, but they aren’t necessarily that good. But when they’re not playing music, they’re funny, but sometimes it’s the kind of funny that creeps up on you hours after you’re done watching, the kind of funny that makes strangers next to you on the subway or in line at the post office wonder just what the hell that dude next to them is giggling about. It might be best watched in marathon format–but here’s the rub, kids, if no one watches it now, there will be no DVDs to watch, marathon-style.

It would be one thing to have a show about a band, and to occasionally have that band play a gig. The Conchords almost never play gigs, because their manager, Murray, who works at the New Zealand consulate, holding band meetings during work hours, is incapable of getting them one. But they play music, all the time, as long as it has something to do with the story itself. They also have one fan, one diehard, hardcore, total stalker of a fan, Mel, who is married and desperately in lust with each of them. Sadly, for the Conchords, she’s also the only fan there is. The actors playing those roles, Rhys Darby and Kristen Schaal, respectively, both bring a terrific energy to the show, terribly geeky and completely oblivious. Schaal is officially my new favorite person. She’s that funny. Sorry, Albert Einstein.

The Conchords themselves both seal the deal. Bret McKenzie plays Bret (natch), and Jemaine Clement is, you got it, Jemaine, and their banter and fucked-up codependency is what makes Conchords fly. Clement, who you may have seen in an Outback Steakhouse commercial or two, is as sweetly dim and deadpan as they come. He’s also starring in the forthcoming nerd dramedy Eagle Vs. Shark (currently scheduled to open here on July 6), where he plays a seriously geeky guy who is just one enormous defense mechanism. It’s a terrific role, and he nails it. Painfully. But between those two projects, dude is poised to break big–I just hope that if it happens, he doesn’t break up the band, something that the band seems to be constantly in danger of doing on the show. Not because the two aren’t good together, but because circumstances, and their own ridiculous inability to communicate with each other, makes it so. I suspect it’s because they’re from New Zealand.

So, please, watch the show. If you aren’t hooked after the first one, try again the following week. And the next. You will, I hope, grow to love it. I’ve seen four and I want more. And you, people, are my ticket. Perhaps I misspoke before, because at this point, the Conchords have at least one more fan.