"New Zealand Town" is the eighth episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series ''

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's come ...

''. This episode first aired in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on March 8, 2009.

Plot synopsis

Trying to look cool for a gig at the Grand Opening of New York's one-block New Zealand enclave, the Conchords end up getting hooked on hair gel.New Zealand Town
( HBO)

Plot

Jemaine and Bret perform yet another gig to no audience. Specifically, the one person in attendance sneaks out only minutes into the show, and even Mel is not in attendance. This leads to Murray to call a band meeting to discuss the situation. Murray proposes that the band change their style by the use of hair gel. The issue is debated, but the band quickly embrace the change and demonstrate themselves in a series of bad hair dos. The crowds go wild, with the Conchords' new hair making them cool. Meanwhile, Brian the Prime Minister of New Zealand continues his stay in New York City. With the help of Paula (

Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', as D'Anna Biers on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' seri ...

) his new assistant and Murray they plan to spread the popularity of New Zealand with the creation of New Zealand Town, situated between Chinatown and Little Italy. But when Gary, New Zealand's most famous sheep, accidentally gets shorn, it's up to Jemaine and Bret to salvage New Zealand Town's grand opening. Unfortunately, they've run out of hair gel and, with only their natural charm and musical talent at their disposal, the Conchords end up driving away yet another audience.

Songs

Fashion Is Danger

This musical number is a parody of the song and the music video for " Fade to Grey" by Visage. The song itself is a parody of "Fashion" and "Fame" by David Bowie. Jemaine and Bret wear uniforms from ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...

'' and '' Crusade''.

Other Songs

The episode's subplot makes various references to the Bus Driver's Song, which is featured in their '' Folk the World Tour'' CD and during live performances. Prime Minister Brian, who is incidentally shown driving the tour bus, has a love interest named Paula. An instrumental version of the song is played while the credits roll.

Cultural references

At the end of the show, Murray tells the Prime Minister, "Forget it Brian, it's New Zealand Town." This is a reference to the closing lines of the movie '' Chinatown''.

Filming locations

The discussion on the street corner with Bret and Jemaine using hair gel takes place on the corner o
Clinton St. and Henry St.
"New Zealand Town" was constructed a
200 Clinton St.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Zealand Town 2009 American television episodes Flight of the Conchords episodes Television episodes directed by Taika Waititi Television episodes written by Taika Waititi