Thursday, January 21, 2010

Conchords

Music: Suicide Commandos, "Match/Mismatch"

I've been watching "Flight of the Conchords" -- the first two seasons. I liked the first season well enough, but found it was flagging a bit by the end of it. The second season hasn't been as funny/satisfying as the first, and I'm trying to put my finger on it.

I haven't whipped out notes to analyze it or anything, but there is a certain comedic reserve applied to it that makes me feel like they're pulling their punches -- like lobbing a cream pie but saying "Not in the face!" Why this is, I'm not sure.

And the comedic setup has gotten a little rote -- the characters and their situations remain pretty static (Mel remains the obsessed, sexually-frustrated stalker-fan; Murray remains the clueless wannabe band manager; Bret remains a clueless mimbo; Jemaine is whatever-he-is). What works admirably well in the short-term becomes shopworn as the same tricks are played, the same jokes are made, over and over again. This is one of their better musical interludes...