TV I Love: Flight of the Concords

Flight of the Concords follows New Zealand lads Germane and Brett as they try to make it big in the Big Apple with their band, aptly named Flight of the Concords.
Their duo is spruiked as the former fourth most popular folk parody music act in New Zealand.
When Time magazine selected Flight of the Concords as number two on their "Top Ten Best New TV Shows" list for 2007, they were dead on.

The show screens on HBO - always fertile ground for good TV - and comes after a BBC radio serial. It's a shame no-one in the Australian media sought to give them a chance, although it may be for the best.

The show utilisies some well-worn cliches - hopeless slackers try to survive in the big smoke, musicians remain convinced of their excellence despite the evidence at hand - but feels very fresh.

Germane and Brett are quintessential slackers - introverted men of few words who show little emotion, choosing instead to express themselves through song.
Therein lies the joy of the show. Each episode contains one or two of the duos absurdly hilarious songs that jump back and forth through the fourth wall with aplomb. Some songs are inner monologues, some are sung directly to supporting characters, some are dreams and some seesaw through all of these states.
Most importantly though, they are hilarious.

The boys are managed by Murray, who works at New York's New Zealand Consulate and looks after the band out of his office, often in secret. There's some great sight gags in the Consulate offices, with their outdated computers and tourism posters sporting slogans such as "New Zealand - It's just like Lord of the Rings".

Repeated depictions of Australians as brash loudmouths are good for some laughs, as is the American populace's general disinterest in learning anything about New Zealand.

There's also laughs to be had in the band's only fan Mel, an obsessive stalker whose ignored husband is always just out of view, waiting patiently in the car.

But much of the fun comes through the music - unsurprising given the duo's origins as a musical stand-up act.

For example:



Really, the appeal of the show is pretty simple. It's really funny, inventive, and really, really funny.