TV.com

Flight of the Conchords

Prime Minister

Season 2, Episode 7, Aired Mar 01, 2009

Next
Episode Previous
Episode

Episode Summary

EDIT

9.0

EPISODE RATING: Superb

49 votes

Your Rating: 10

"Perfect"
Your Rating: 9.5

"Superb"
Your Rating: 9

"Superb"
Your Rating: 8.5

"Great"
Your Rating: 8

"Great"
Your Rating: 7.5

"Good"
Your Rating: 7

"Good"
Your Rating: 6.5

"Fair"
Your Rating: 6

"Fair"
Your Rating: 5.5

"Mediocre"
Your Rating: 5

"Mediocre"
Your Rating: 4.5

"Poor"
Your Rating: 4

"Poor"
Your Rating: 3.5

"Bad"
Your Rating: 3

"Bad"
Your Rating: 2.5

"Terrible"
Your Rating: 2

"Terrible"
Your Rating: 1.5

"Abysmal"
Your Rating: 1

"Abysmal"

Rate Now!

Bret and Jemaine play a gig as Simon and Garfunkel which attracts the attention of a rabid Garfunkel fan. In the meantime, Murry tries to get the New Zealand Prime Minister an appointment to see the US President.

WRITE A REVIEW

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

GUEST STAR
Patton Oswalt

Elton John Look-A-Like
GUEST STAR
Art Garfunkel

Himself
GUEST STAR
Mary Lynn Rajskub

Karen

Bret McKenzie

Bret
Jemaine Clement

Jemaine
Rhys Darby

Murray
Arj Barker

Dave
Kristen Schaal

Mel
Frank Wood

Greg

Watch Online

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

See All

A Prime episode of Flight of the Conchords

8.5

"Great"

By oceanic6, Dec 12, 2009

I usually make a point not to watch episodes of anything after i've learnt that it received an Emmy nomination as I will be so busy judging the merit of their nomination that my critical focus will be dimmed. Thankfully my Flight of the Conchords DVD does not specify the name of the episodes so i was free to watch what can only be described as the wittiest episode of the series in a state of blissful ignorance. "Prime Minister" features the boys having to sink even lower in order to obtain a gig; impersonating Simon and Garfunkel. As well as obtaining a hefty paycheck of $50 they also befriend fellow impersonators and Jemaine gets into a relationship with a Simon and Garfunkel fanatic that makes Mel look normal. Meanwhile Murray chaperones the uncouth New Zealand Prime Minister in New York and tries to arrange a meeting with the President without breaking it to the PM that no-one really cares about New Zealand at all. The real highlight of the episode is Brian, the inept and immature Prime Minister who acts as the strongest indicator that the show has no respect for New Zealand(ers). Whether he's solving the environmental catastrophe by asking his government to "clean it up a bit" or inquiring at the consulate about how the movie CARS ends, he is hilarious and steals every scene from under the nose of Jemaine, Bret and suprisingly Murray. Another nice touch are the many quite credible impersanators who not only act as quick visual gags but proves a handy plot device for the hilarious conclusion with an impersanator that i won't reveal to preserve the punchline. While every microsecond of the "Prime Minister" plot is immensely amusing and enjoyable, Jemaine's quirky sub-plot takes a while to get off the ground but ends brilliantly with a celebrity cameo that i also won't reveal. While the befuddled Prime Minister sees the show adopt more conventional humor for the most part, familiar elements of the show are very much present; the awkward conversations are at their best and even include some confusing double negatives about doing somene's thing which isn't their thing and looking like someone who doesn't look like them as well as the classic Flight of the Conchords technique of combining zaniness with extreme groundedness. The episode doesn't put a foot wrong until it gets to the songs which is a shame since they are usually the saving grace of even the dullest episode (not that they come up too often). "Demon Woman" is catchy enough and has a good beat but is visually surreal to the point of almost being frightening and the Asian karaoke song is flat-out boring and the swipe at Karoke songs/videos is too faint to generate laughs. However, I did the enjoy the brief mangling of a Simon and Garfunkel song.

"Prime Minister" is easily the finest of season 2 so far and shows that Flight of the Conchords is flying high.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
0 0

Flag
Share Hide
Lookalikes and the Matrix figure into the New Zealand Prime Ministers visit and Jemaine sleeps with an Art Garfunkel obsessive.

8.5

"Great"

By AegisAtreyu, Jun 28, 2009

This isn't the sharpest episode but is better than last weeks (story wise not song wise) as after Murray makes Bret and Jemaine do a Simon and Garfunkel tribute gig a whole world of lookalikes reveals itself. This is the main joke of the episode with Bret hanging out with Elton John and Bono lookalikes. More so as well with Jemaine being caught up in a relationship with a Art Garfunkel obsessive. You collectively slap your forehead when she tells him to go home and get dressed up as Garfunkel. Mel was funny and actually had purpose in this episode as well.

The other major plot which tied in nicely was the New Zealand Prime minister and his obsession with The Matrix. The pay off with him seeing 2 Elton Johns' walk past was priceless. Hope he returns cos really liked the character.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
0 1

Flag
Share Hide
Another great episode, well worth watching. Songs were not the best, but wacky and fit the Conchords' portfolio of work.

9.0

"Superb"

By Tanmann5, Mar 06, 2009

I really liked this episode, thought it was classic Conchords with a lot of wackiness and silliness and clever puns and mix-ups.

I love how they self-deprecate with jokes about their own country's inadequacies and small-time stature first with Murray at the Consulate office from the 1970s, the Conchords themselves, and now with their Prime Minister "Brian", with the old style cell phone, the out-dated business cards with the last PM's name on them, and the White House not taking his visit seriously.

I thought the Jemaine side story with his Art Garfunkel psycho fan was hilariously ludicrous, and the impersonators really added some funny side characters. The Elton John impersonator was priceless, trying to claim another impersonator was impersonating him impersonating Elton John. I especially loved how they tied in the impersonators with the PM's meeting "the President". It really brought the episode together.

The weakest part of the episode was the songs, which I didn't really get into but got a laugh from. The Korean karaoke was weird.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
1 0

Flag
Share Hide
For Dedicated Fans: More Sillyness, and a must watch. For a lesser follower of FOTC: Another Filler Episode.

7.5

"Good"

By jackvancouver, Mar 02, 2009

I agree with thefanof, this episode nearly jumped the shark. (compared to Season 1 and the best episodes of this season)

Mel actually was the source of most of the "last ditch attempt" filler laughter (she, out of the cast, was the best when it comes to this episode). Bret and Jemaine's strong point was ONLY the first "Scarborough Fair" tribute, not knowing the lyrics.

The excelling song in this episode was "Demon Woman". And the one that nearly jumped the shark was... well... *silence*

You can argue that all FOTC filler material is genius. Last episode was a prime example. This had a few, but not as many really humorous moments as before. I'm gonna quote thefanof, because it is the most appropriate way to sum this episode up:

"This is not the FOTC we have come to expect."moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
2 1

Flag
Share Hide
The Prime Minister of New Zealand visits.

7.6

"Good"

By thefanof, Mar 02, 2009

This episode was a little zany and out of control, with the fake Barack Obama and Jemaine look-a-like, but who was not shocked by an Art Garfunkel cameo?

There were some really funny moments including the argument about whether Murray signing Flight of the Conchords up for karaoke counts as a gig, but this episode can definitely be seen as jumping the shark. From Mel continuing to act like Michelle from American Pie, this time randomly appearing under the table to the whole scene with Murray thinking he could meet the President this is not the FOTC we have come to expect.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
1 1

Flag
Share Hide

WRITE A REVIEW

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

See All

FILTER BY TYPE

TRIVIA (2)
ADD TRIVIA
- Editing Goof: When it first shows Jemaine and Bret performing as Simon and Garfunkel, Jemaine's hands are behind his back and in the next shot he has one hand in front of his chest.
  EDIT SHARE
- Goof - During the scene where the real Art Garfunkel shows up, Karen's head is visible in a close up of Jermaine before she actually shows up in the scene.
  EDIT SHARE
QUOTES (2)
ADD QUOTES
- Bret: (On Jemaine dressing up as Garfunkel to sleep with Karen) How long can you keep this up? Jemaine: I don't know, a couple of years.
  EDIT SHARE
- Murray: There's scheduled meetings and then there's chance meetings. What I've done is scheduled a chance meeting.
  EDIT SHARE
NOTES (0)
ADD NOTES
- ADD NOTES from this episode.
ALLUSIONS (0)
ADD ALLUSIONS
- ADD ALLUSIONS from this episode.