Writer: Duncan Sarkies
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Jemaine Clement (Jemaine), Bret McKenzie (Bret), Rhys Darby (Murray), Kristen Schaal (Mel), Arj Barker (Dave), David Costabile (Doug), Sarah Burns (Summer), Heather Lawless (Rain), Frank Wood (Greg) & Daryl Hall (Club Host)
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Jemaine Clement (Jemaine), Bret McKenzie (Bret), Rhys Darby (Murray), Kristen Schaal (Mel), Arj Barker (Dave), David Costabile (Doug), Sarah Burns (Summer), Heather Lawless (Rain), Frank Wood (Greg) & Daryl Hall (Club Host)
The Conchords increase their fan-base after playing a local gig, but Mel is suspicious of the new fans' intentions..."You'll be offered drugs, you know. You'll have threesomes. Dinners. You know, you'll end up going into town in a taxi, have a couple of drugs, have dinner, have a threesome, go home again, have a shower, go out again, more drugs, more threesomes. Happens all the time. Alright, I mean... I'd do it."
-- Murray (Rhys Darby)
I'm despondent about the whole show now, as there have been far too many misses for my liking. At best, it's an eccentric frivolity; at worse, it's an unfunny curio.
However, after a disappointing start, New Fans later develops into one of the best episodes, thanks to writer Duncan Sarkies emphasis on the one aspect of Conchords that genuinely amuses: the lead characters' sexual inexperience.
After playing "Tuesday World Music Jam" --where it's finally made clear that the fictional Flight Of The Conchords are an awful band, so these music interludes aren't an accurate reflection of their talent – the band somehow manage to endear themselves to two hot women; Summer (Sarah Burns) and Rain (Heather Lawless).
At this stage, with yet another duo of unsavoury girls making doe-eyes at Jemaine and Bret, I was about ready to scream! It's one thing to have a sitcom with some bread-and-butter plot types, but there's just too much recycling on this show. I'm beginning to suspect plots are being written around the Conchords' back-catalogue of songs, and because they often sing about doomed romances, that's where the storylines head.
Fortunately, despite the repetitive set-up, New Fans does a much better job of delivering some solid laughs. With their fan-base increased (by two), Jemaine and Brett borrow some cool clothes from friend Dave (Arj Barker), who it's revealed still lives with his parents – although he claims they're weird lodgers who just happen to look like him!
The episode builds to a characteristically uncomfortable dinner date with the Conchords and their fans, with Mel (Kristen Schaal) as host. However, with Mel out of the room (and her husband bizarrely hiding in the basement on his laptop!), the Conchords are amazed to find Summer and Rain kiss each other... and quickly break-off the meal to go to their house.
Despite the fact this directly conflicts with Bret's total unease, fear and naivety surrounding sex (see, told you this show was inconsistent!), Bret and Jemaine are soon persuaded to take drugs (cue a Austin Powers/Adam Ant musical hybrid "Prince Of Parties") and offered a threesome.
From that moment in particular, Flight Of The Conchords hits a stride and the debate over threesomes, foursomes and exactly who'll be involved in this looming orgy, is absolutely hilarious ("I had a twosome!") I particularly liked an accompanying gag where Bret is seen in the toilet, as the walls slide around as a physical effect.
The episode ends with Jemaine and Bret debating the merits of a threesome, both grappling with their fear and excitement, before deciding to escape out the toilet window... which rather oddly leads back into the living room and the waiting Summer...
New Fans is a lot of fun, and proves Flight Of The Conchords can tickle the funny bone when it wants to. I just wish it would hit similar highs more often, as the series has only had about 3 memorable so far.
The overall problems are abundant (repetition of plots, recycling of jokes, inconsistencies), but the Clement and McKenzie are strangely watchable and Rhys Darby is a brilliant injection of humour whenever things drag. Here, I particularly liked how his computer (no longer 70s-era; another inconsistency!) is used to control various webcams he's positioned in the band's rooms.
This is a very good episode, although I'm not going to get carried away. The first 15-minutes were still pretty weak, and I'm not convinced this will mark a belated upswing in quality, as the penultimate episode looms large...
27 November 2007
BBC Four, 9.30 pm
