Flight of the Conchords Renewed!

It is with great delight that I report that HBO's amazing comedy music show "Flight of the Conchords" has been renewed for a second season. Despite low ratings, the cult following the show has inspired has enabled it to be given a second season, where it will hopefully attain higher ratings. In related news, "Entourage" has been deservedly picked up for a fifth season, while the rather bizarre "John from Cincinnati" has been cancelled.

What I'm Watching: Flight of the Conchords

Flight of the Conchords: Season 1, Episode 9 "What Goes On Tour" (B+)

It is always a pleasure to see this show. The cast is simply terrific, and the dialogue is just so hilarious. I am loving Murray more and more each second, and this episode he even has more to do than just take attendance at the three-person band meetings. The songs in this installment are not as brilliant or memorable as some of the other ones, but they are still fun. I am really hoping for a renewal for this show, and cannot wait for a chance to catch up on the episodes I missed.

Keeping up with HBO: Entourage & Flight of the Conchords

It is tough to keep up with these HBO comedies without getting HBO. I am doing my best, however, and managed to get ahold of the third episodes of both "Entourage" and "Flight of the Conchords". Luckily, it is pretty much all good news.

Entourage: Season 4, Episodes 3 "Malibooty" (B+)
I am most excited about the most recent development, which should send the show back to its film-festival/Ari-starring glory days of the second season. It has been fun seeing the making of the Medellin film, but I am eager to get back to some Ari plotlines and more stable supporting characters (bring back Sloane! And her father). In any case, still good stuff here.

Flight of the Conchords: Season 1, Episode 3 "Mugged" (B+)
Man, I love this show. While the songs are not as fantastic as in the first episode, the cast is so bizarre and endearing, it is impossible not to laugh. The camera phone (just a camera taped to a phone) and the whole mugging scenario are priceless. Lenny Venito, making the rounds on cancelled shows ("The Knights of Prosperity") and in recurring roles ("The Sopranos", "Rescue Me"), stops by here as one of the muggers who forms a friendship with Jemaine in a fun role. My favorite part by far of this stellar show: the manager taking attendance at the three-person meetings.

What I'm Watching: Meadowlands & Flight of the Conchords (Series Premieres)

What if both HBO and Showtime launched offbeat new shows about foreigners with really thick accents struggling and pretty much failing to assume normal lives on the same night? Last night's pilots provide a good answer. "Meadowlands" tells the story of a mysterious family adopting new identities as part of a witness protection program and finding their new surroundings just a bit more eerie than they expected. Showtime's online version of the pilot was clearly edited for language and presumably for violence, but I think I got the gist of the show. It is a devastatingly boring, plodding drama that does not get off the ground by starting off with too many questions and clearly ripping off better-executed scenes from "The Riches" and "American Beauty". "Flight of the Conchords", on the other hand, is a fascinatingly fresh comedy in the style of the recent Ricky Gervais-led HBO comedy "Extras". Following the story of band members hailing from New Zealand, the leads often break out spontaneously into song. The bantering between the characters is great, and like "Extras", it manages spectacularly for a show with such a small cast. The offbeat nature of "Meadowlands" is heavily obnoxious, whereas the quirkiness of "Flight of the Conchords" is endearing.

"Meadowlands": F
"Flight of the Conchords": B+