Grid Effect

Well, that certainly felt like a series finale. I mean, not in a Wire end of season three type of covering all their bases finale. No, that tied up any and all loose ends their might have been in the series. If they do decide to come back it will take like five seconds for them to create a reason to get them back in the states, though I think an entire series mocking their home country (some might consider such a thing a homage, as an example of how easy this would be) might be a better direction to take the show in. Again, that’s in the event that they want to put together a third season.

But let’s start with the finale in and of itself, which was a little too similar to the It’s Always Sunny finale for our tastes. Obviously the most glaring likeness was the play that Murray forced onto Bret and Murray. Actually, that was the only similarity and it paled in comparison. I’m pretty certain I’ve already forgotten everything about it except for the intentional lack of charm in the songs and the minute details that were just Murray’s interpretations of scenes earlier in the episode. That’s it. And for once I was sober on a Sunday night.

I liked all the divorced parents-splitting up the kids jokes with Dave and Jemaine and Bret and Mel. Seeing Dave devolve into his old ways in the RV was probably the funniest thing the actor has ever been given on this show. That entire montage was probably the best thing about last night except for the “Stomp” parities that opened and closed the episode. Really, it was just an average episode: some things that worked, some things that didn’t.

The best part about it was trying to decipher whether or not this meant the end of the series because the

Off to much greener pastures. Literally.

creators of the series and HBO are both keeping it close to the vest if anything has been determined or even discussed. Ending the show with Doug and Mel making out after his Harp performance in the play and with Bret, Jemaine and Mel moving back to New Zealand it would be a good spot to end it on, but it would seem unusual to do that  considering they’re at the height of their popularity. As far as I know Ricky Gervais is the only person to do this, and they can’t exactly sell variations of this show to different markets around the globe like they’ve done with The Office.

Other notes:

-We didn’t much care for the song, which was some sort of parody of Scandanavian of…I don’t know. I’m not cultured enough to get the humor of all the musical numbers on the show, but I watched it all the way through, though only because it could be the last video they ever do. But I’m sure it was hilarious for people who got the joke.

-But we loved the “Stomp” impressions, mostly because Bret dragging his trash can lid laden feet about two minutes after the first rendition.

“It’s a rags to rags story.” -Bret

-Loved the forensics team walking through the hotel lobby as they discover that someone was murdered in the same hotel room they were attempting to check into.

-I think Mel’s tendencies have crossed the line of innocent and harmless to downright frightening. From her laying down the ground rules to tucking them in I was squirming more than I did in all of last Thursday’s Office episode. It’s a good thing we’re potentially ending the series now.

Bret: Was it a hit.
Murray: It all depends on how you define “hit”.
Bret: Did people like it?
Murray: I don’t think it was that kind of hit.

Murray: I have some good news and really bad news.
Bret: Let’s start with the good news.
Murray: Well, the good news: We did it! I wrote that down.

It certainly felt like a finale, but the way HBO makes itself available to projects that actively enjoy, there isn’t any telling what the fate of Flight of The Conchords may be. Take Curb Your Enthusiasm’s relationship with the pay cable network, for example. The season five finale is literally entitled, “The End”. And They have since made a season six and are on board to put out a season seven this summer. As for whether or not we want the show back we are kind of on the fence about it. Despite what most would describe as our growing impatience with the show, it’s still one of the better comedies on television and except for a handful of other shows, there’s really nothing better.

On the other hand, if it comes back it could always fall by the wayside, as longevity doesn’t seem to be one of the attributes of a series that prides itself on its musical comedy acumen, as evidenced by the regular decline from the first episode to the last. Not to mention that if it does come back, we’re going to have to keep writing about it. And we’re not really into dissecting this show, as it is so dry and deadpan that there is very little to dissect.

Alright, that’s it for today, back much earlier tomorrow with some links.