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Three's a crowd on 'Flight of the Conchords'
In last week's recap, I wondered out loud if Flight of the Conchords was better off utilizing Mel in small doses rather than potentially overexposing her character. This week's episode, "New Fans" cemented the following dictum: "There is no such thing as too much Mel." Indeed, her consistent presence in this episode lifted the show up out of its short-lived funk and provided some of the most hilarious cringe-inducing moments of the entire series.
Bret and Jemaine have had a love/hate relationship with Mel throughout the entire series. Well, maybe it's a kinda tolerate her/may have to bust out a restraining order relationship with her. While she clearly gives the boys the ego boost they need to keep on playing (or even get out of bed in the morning), the duo clearly have longed for a larger fan base. Tonight, they got their wish, with the arrival of Summer and Rain, groupies with the sole wish to drink and drug their way through every rock star they can get their hands on.
This pair misidentifies Bret and Jemaine as rock stars due to their clothing (the leftover leather suits from last week's subpar effort) and Murray forcing a beer upon them after their 30-second set at "Tuesday World Music Jam," hosted by the one and only Darryl Hall. It gave me great joy to see Mr. Hall, a joy tempered when neither John Oates nor John Oates' moustache deigned to make an appearance as well. Having these new fans clearly delighted the boys, a delight that was equaled (if not trampled) by the jealous rage of Mel.
Mel had previously won a contest to cook dinner for the boys, and when the boys brought Summer and Rain along for the dinner, what then ensued was possibly the darkest and freakiest five minutes of the entire episode. Indeed, I'm waiting for someone to recut these five minutes and stick them on YouTube as a horror film. Everything about this dinner was played for laughs, but if this had been a film, it would have been the part where Mel pulled a Kathy Bates, killed the two women, and kept Bret and Jemaine tied up in the basement. Well, maybe not the basement, the hiding out spot of Doug. Why does Doug play computer solitaire in the dingy basement? We don't know, and I don't think we WANT to know.
Topping off the creeptastic sequence of events in Mel's house was the placement of Bret and Jemaine's head over a picture of a nude man in their bathroom. What made this picture particularly disturbing (and yet genius) was the fact that Bret and Mel never directly acknowledge the picture: it merely sits as a set piece while Mel tries to catch a glimpse of Bret's manhood as he urinates. The fifteen small expressions of desire, hope, and lust that Mel made as she sloooooowly moved her head out of the bathroom door should be sent to the Emmy committee for their consideration. Absolute comedic genius there.
In the end, Summer and Rain learn the boys are not real rock stars. They don't like booze, drugs, or freaky sex, which in their eyes (and in Murray's eyes as well), disqualifies them as rock stars. (Although I think that even if Jemaine were a boozing, freaky drug addict, his "casual Prince" look would automatically disqualify him.) Nonetheless, it is obvious, given the two songs in tonight's show, that these two are the furthest thing from "rock and roll" possible. The first song in tonight's episode, "Ladies in the World," answered the age-old question, "What would a pageant hosted by the Bees Gees look like?" The second, "Pretty Prince of Parties," answered the age-old question, "What would happen if Robin Hood and the movie version of 'Magical Mystery Tour' went and had a baby?" Neither were particularly rock, but the boys don't want to BE rock. They just want to play their music. And Mel, for all of her psychotic faults, does appreciate the boys for their music. Of course, her story about how she courted Doug (years of stalking followed by eventually breaking his will) should convince the boys to never buy a bunny as a pet, lest them come home to Mr. Fluffy boiling in a pot.
In the end, Summer and Rain were gone, and we were once again left with the Fab Four of Bret, Jemaine, Murray, and Mel, all united thanks to Murray's secret installation of hidden webcams in the duo's apartment. (Yet another one of those "this could be played for horror" moments in an episode chock full of them.) And somehow, the episode managed to end sweetly, with Bret's "Sorry Mel" t-shirt as the last thing we see. This makes me glad the universe of Flight of the Conchords utterly ignores the reality of the world, since their world, for all its faults, is a much safer and sweeter place to be. And for thirty minutes a week, such ignorance to reality is a welcome respite.
Do you find yourself rooting for or against Mel? Is Murray pushing the "rock and roll" lifestyle for the band or for himself? And really, did John Oates have something better to do than show up for Tuesday World Music Jam?
Why does this site keep reviewing this piece of crap show but does nothing for Entourage. It baffles me!!!
serpico | Aug 20, 2007 8:23:45 AM | #I dunno, because it's overly talked about and past its' prime? Go to tvguide.com and yap about it there.
EntourageBoring | Aug 20, 2007 12:19:59 PM | #Flight is way better than Entourage, but really, the only two things that these shows have in common is 1.) they're both on HBO, and 2.) they both have a great ensemble cast.
But back to the question at hand: Mel is amazing! I have been wanting more screentime for her, and was super excited to have more Mel last night!
Dave Cano | Aug 20, 2007 2:20:30 PM | #I, too, awwwed at the Sorry Mel t-shirt! So sweet!
Crystal | Aug 20, 2007 4:51:36 PM | #Daryl Hall's name is spelled
D A R Y L with ONE R, not TWO.
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