More Flight of the Conchords Chatter: They're Not That Funny! They're Just On HBO
Flight of the Conchords are not that funny, neither as a band, nor as a TV show. Not like its not to my taste not funny, or I dont get it not funny either. They arouse in me nothing more than a pancaked whoopee-cushion of ambivalence, the essential oil of deflation. What bothers me is not them –who appear to be amiable, quirky, and nicely accented- but the effusive response they have received. I could never hate them like [this guy], [this guy](http://www.oscars.org/75academyawards/images/host_martin.jpg), [this guy](http://www.uterwincenter.com/applause/2006/dec06ap/images/Larry2.jpg) or [this guy](http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/politics/blog/george-w-bush-picture.jpeg).
Still, I cant help but find it unreasonable, a warning sign of self-deception, or a grave indication of an unsatisfied need to belong when someone sings the praises of the joke singing Kiwi duo. I am sure there is a Nixonesque silent majority out there to whom my opinions are heartland truth, but I have not yet met it. Flight of the Conchords are generally not funny, and certainly not very funny (although I will admit their original HBO special had its moments), and yet they thrive nonetheless. Why? The key to their success has been twofold; the exploitation of a cultural niche, but firstly, and perhaps more importantly, that exploitation in conjunction with the transcendent and godly power of successful marketing.
As a new show on HBO, and one that is not at first preview, [abominably bad], Flight of the Conchords came to the bank with its credit line already secured. An HBO show pilots onto screens with the spirit wind of the greatest (ever) TV channel (ever) at its back. HBO shows get cut more slack due to the networks recent track record of challenging and rewarding their viewers with, admittedly, some of the best shows I have ever seen (The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm). But the mystic aura surrounding HBOs efforts can outshine and blind certain viewers to even the most mediocre of faux-video montages, and one of the lowest identifiable-joke-per-unit-of-time quotients in sitcom history.
The mystic aura helps explains why my roommate and I were able to continually watch the show in its first season, laugh rarely, and still convince ourselves that it was pretty good. I mean, its HBO, right? Maybe we werent getting something. A little shows moment will generally flutter and fade, but in the case of Flight of the Conchords we werent allowed the sweet release of the dropped topic because heylook at those guys! They live in Chinatown! They wanna pursue their dreams in the big city! They dress like-theyre just likeUS!
And so the relatability trumped the lack of laughability, because more powerful (and marketable) than peoples need to laugh is their need to bond. Flight of The Conchords is a silly-billy connector pipe between the nozzles who hold up the show as the way this moment feels. This is not how my moment feels, and Flight of the Conchords is not a funny show. That a comedy lacking in any social commentary and focussed on awkward mid-twenties-middle school hijinks (with one admittedly awesome but not necessarily funny Bowie episode) could ascend the peak of coolness reveals less about the seemingliy nice guys who make it, and perhaps more about the priorities of the audience that clamors for it.
[Photo courtesy of Guardian UK](http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/theatre/2007/06/fasten_y...)