Product Description

Flight of the Conchords follows the trials and tribulations of a two man, digi-folk band from New Zealand as they try to make a name for themselves in their adopted home of New York City. The band is made up of Bret McKenzie on guitar and vocals, and Jemaine Clement on guitar and vocals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #189 in DVD
• Brand: HBO HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2009-08-04
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 300 minutes

Amazon.com
In its second season, HBO's Flight of the Conchords soars to new heights even as Bret (McKenzie) and Jemaine (Clement), the down, but never quite out New Zealand digi-folk duo living beyond the fringe in New York City, reach new lows. In one episode, Bret's purchase of "A New Cup," puts them in dire financial straits and leads Jemaine into prostitution, albeit part time. In "New Zealand Town," the boys play a gig in which the majority of the audience is shopping bags. Each episode follows a week in their "rags to rags story," and each episode brings them back to square one. The only thing less promising than their musical career is their love lives. In "Unnatural Love," Jermaine accidentally sleeps with--horrors--an Australian. In "Prime Minister," he becomes involved with a woman who's got a thing for Art Garfunkel impersonators, only to lose her to the real thing (here's to you, Mr. Garfunkel, who cameos). Of course, there's always Mel (the wonderful Kristen Schaal), the group's No. 1 (and only) fan.

This series dances to its own deadpan drummer. You've got to love the loopiness of a line like, "So we look like some Simon and Garfunkel look-alikes who don't look like Simon and Garfunkel." The boys used up their tried and true "A" musical material in the first season, but while the songs this season are not as inspired, there are some offbeat candidates for a greatest-hits collection, including "Carol Brown," something of an homage to Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," and the should-be-forbidden dance "Sugalumps." Fans of Andy Samberg's Lonely Island digital shorts will especially enjoy the balmy duet "We're Both in Love with a Sexy Lady" in the episode "Love is the Weapon of Choice." That sexy lady, by the way, is Emmy-nominee and SNL MVP Kristen Wiig, as a woman with an epileptic dog and who unwittingly plays havoc with Bret and Jemaine's friendship. Other nifty bits of casting that add to Flight of the Conchords' cool cachet are Mary Lynn Rajskub as the "garfunkeling" groupie, Patton Oswalt as an Elton John impersonator, and Lucy Loveless as the aide and unrequited crush of the New Zealand prime minister. The season does not end on a promising note for Bret and Jemaine (it's really back to square one in the cliffhanger), but as their hapless manager, Murray (the Emmy-worthy Rhys Darby) remarks at one point, hopefully, this is just the beginning of their story. --Donald Liebenson

Stills from Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Second Season (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Season Two's brilliance needed time to sink in!
My whole family fell in love with Brett and Jermaine in Season One. We couldn't wait for Season Two to start on HBO and I admit,we were a little disappointed in a few of the episodes. However, after the season ended, I watched all the episodes several times again on HBO "On Demand" in April and was shocked at how fabulous some of the episodes that I thought I didn't like were. I ended up LOVING Season Two. My favorite episode is still Unnatural Love where Jermaine dates the Australian girl...Too Many [...] on the Dance Floor and Carol Brown are great, creative, funny songs! The Cup and the Tough Bretts are other great episodes. Have fun! You'll enjoy good intellectual humor with any of the Conchords Seasons DVD's. I can't wait to get mine!

Wow--this is what I call performance art!
I can think of other excellent comedy duos. I can think of other musical duos which I really enjoy and put on my ipod. I can think of other performance artists who do leading edge work which is visually experimental. I cannot think of any other duo, either currently or in the past, who can do all three and do them all well. The only act this even sort of reminds of is Martin & Lewis because Dean Martin could sing and their comedy was pretty good for its day. I wouldn't go so far as to call Martin & Lewis's work performance art though. Other than Martin & Lewis, I can't think of anyone else like these guys at all.

Why are viewers here debating season 1 versus season 2? This is not remotely like anything else out there and it is so innovative that I can scarcely believe that it survived for a second season. If it had been on anything but HBO I think it would have been too leading edge and been cancelled after the first season. I'm not comparing the two; I am in grovel mode that there were two seasons!

Ok, here is the premise. There are two musicians from New Zealand who come to New York City (of all places) to break into the entertainment world as musicians. Their manager works for the New Zealand Commission in New York City and that job is such a no brainer that he basically can do whatever he wants with his time. The band has exactly one fan, a woman. The only reason she is a fan is that she has the hots for Bret. The guys are poor as can be. They live together in a subsistence lifestyle. And they are complete nerds on top of everything else. At first I liked Bret best because (being a woman), I found him cuter. But Jemaine has grown on me and I've gotten past his awful glasses and sideburns ('70s style sideburns). Their manager I find positively uproarious. Even the fan has her moments. Very often the guys deliver their lines in complete deadpan, which makes it even funnier. Oh, and they are more often than not a disaster with women. They have dates on the show and these dates rival anything we saw on SEINFELD or FRASIER (which heretofore covered dating hell rather definitively).

The best part of all is when the guys break out into song and movement, usually in an outrageous MTV kind of music video style, to comment on the latest bizarre aspect of their lives. Those performances are worth playing again and again.

I do listen to the songs on my ipod and I enjoy their music. I am not alone as their music has been voted on favorably in the NPR yearly music polls. Bob Bollein of NPR's ALL SONGS CONSIDERED was very taken with their musical numbers without knowing a thing about their tv show. So their music is an important component of the show for me.

Funny as Bret and Jemaine are, Rhys Darby as Murray their manager deserves a special mention. He just slays me and I love every minute he is onscreen. I adore his band meetings, especially when he takes attendance and there is NEVER anyone but the three of them in the room.

Delights Abound
Much more fun had in second season. Most memorable? How about Village People cowboy (Randy Jones) appearing as a grouchy bouncer, then leading a line dance in "Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor"? Love it love it love it!