Flight of the Conchords The Complete Second Season - Born to Folk   Starring: Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie, Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal and Arj Barker HBO Home Entertainment RRP: £24.99 DY25570 Certificate: 15 Available 03 August 2009

Music comedy duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie return as the hapless musicians who left their native New Zealand for New York’s Lower East Side in a bid for world domination. Familiar faces return including hapless manager Murray, who still works at the bare-bones New Zealand consulate, Mel, their obsessive Super-fan and Doug, her long-suffering husband...

The second season of Flight of the Conchords sees our heroes still trying to break out in the New York music scene, but as their manager only manages to get them gigs playing in lifts, camper vans, rafts and other small venues, it's not long before Bret and Jemaine have to take drastic measures in order to pay the bills - including becoming male prostitutes.

Over the course of these 10 episodes, the hapless duo go seriously overdrawn at the bank thanks to Bret buying a new cup; start a gang in order to stop rappers, who they've dissed in a new song, from killing them; Murray thinks they should take their relationship to the next level and all become friends; to the disgust of everyone, including himself, Jemaine sleeps with an Australian woman after a night out clubbing; both fall in love with a woman who has lost her epileptic dog; hang out with the Prime Minister of New Zealand when he visits America; Jemaine sleeps with a woman who has a fetish for Art Garfunkel; they hit a low point in their career when only one person turns up to a gig, but sneaks out partway through the first song; discover the joys of hair gel and how it can change their image overnight; Bret needs help asking out a woman in his local pet shop; the two are evicted from their flat; and they go through with Murray's plan to perform his musical about their lives, which he's been writing for the last two years.

During each episode a few songs are woven into the plot. None of them are obtrusive - all adding to the storyline. Lyrics including:

'Sugalumps': "All these bitches checkin’ out my britches/ Put ‘em in a trance/ When I wear track pants".

'Fashion is Danger’: "I’m larger than life with just a hint of lace".

Notable guest stars include Mary Lynn Rajskub (24's Chloe O'Brian), Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess), Art Garfunkel, Greg Proops, Randy Jones (The Village People), Alan Dale (Neighbours's Jim Robinson) and Brian Sergent.

Extras include Flight of the Conchords on Air Documentary Feature (25 min, 02 sec which is really a featurette that should have been included on the DVD for the show's first season as it looks at the run up to the show being broadcast in America); Deleted Scenes (25 min); Outtakes (7 min, 06 sec); Dave's Pawn Shop Commercials (3 min, 05 sec); and New Zealand Consulate Meetings with Murray and Greg (another 3 min, 33 sec of deleted scenes).

A laugh out loud series from start to finish. The Conchords just go from strength to strength.

10

Darren Rea