Flight Of The Conchords: The HBO Show’s 10 Best Running Gags

Running gags are an essential part of any sitcom. They can help to create a sense of unity among many seasons of a show and also help to round out the characters as regular parts of the audiences’ lives. Plus, running gags are a great way to get more than one laugh out of the same joke.

HBO’s Flight of the Conchords only ran for 22 episodes across two seasons, but there were a couple of running jokes throughout those episodes that tied the show together. From Mel’s solo fandom to the animosity between New Zealanders and Australians, the show has plenty of great recurring gags.

10 Every Non-New Zealander Associates New Zealand With The Lord Of The Rings

New Zealand is a big country with a lot to offer, but most Americans only know of it as the country where Peter Jackson shot The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There are a ton of references to this in Flight of the Conchords.

Pretending to be a Sony executive signing the band to a record deal, Ben (Will Forte) makes them shoot a music video set in Middle-earth. The toothbrush marketing executives compare Jemaine and Bret’s 18-minute jingle for a 30-second commercial to the famously long Lord of the Rings trilogy.

9 Murray Isn’t Allowed To Manage A Band

In every episode of Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine and Bret head down to Murray’s office for a band meeting in which they discuss band business. But Murray has to keep band business on the down-low, because he’s not supposed to be managing a band.

In the end credits of “What Goes on Tour,” Murray is seen on the phone, trying to explain to his boss why he’s been out of the office all week.

8 New Zealand’s Primitive Technology

One of the funniest running gags in Flight of the Conchords is that New Zealanders have primitive technology. Prime Minister Brian buys The Matrix on video in Dave’s store. Bret’s family sends him VHS tapes of TV shows, and according to a commercial on one of these tapes, New Zealand is still trying to implement the telephone.

When Murray’s ancient computer finally gets updated, he tells the band, “Upgrading from the old system now. 25 years and it’s already obsolete, that one. They move fast now, don’t they?” He ends up going back to using the old computer anyway.

7 Greg The Scapegoat

Murray treats his subordinate at work, Greg, like a scapegoat. He doesn’t just enlist him for consulate business. He also uses him for band business and to settle any mundane argument he’s having.

To Greg’s credit, he withstands all of Murray’s abuse, even when he makes him do such obscure things as go around the office and see if anyone’s pro-AIDS.

6 Dave‘s Lies

Bret and Jemaine’s friend Dave is characterized by his cultural ignorance of New Zealand and the fact that he believes himself to be a super-successful ladies’ man.

In reality, Dave lives with his parents and barely speaks to anyone besides Bret and Jemaine, but that doesn’t stop him from spinning plenty of tall tales.

5 Bret Keeps Quitting The Band

Ever since he got too big for his boots from a job holding signs, Bret has been in and out of the band like clockwork. Almost any change will cause Bret to jump ship.

Whenever Bret quits the band, it ceases to be a band, because only Jemaine is left. Bret leaving the band turns Jemaine into a solo act until he inevitably returns.

4 The Rivalry Between New Zealand And Australia

Bret, Jemaine, and Murray are all prejudiced against Australians and vice versa. Murray is teased by some guys from the Australian embassy. When Jemaine dates an Australian girl named Keitha in season 2, Bret and Murray try to get him to come to his senses and dump her.

In one episode, Bret and Jemaine run afoul of a racist fruit vendor, played by Aziz Ansari, who refuses to serve New Zealanders. When he realizes he’s gotten New Zealand mixed up with Australia and Australians are the group he hates, the fruit vendor teams up with Bret and Jemaine against their mutual enemy.

3 Murray’s Incompetency As A Manager

Murray wants to be a good band manager, but he regularly demonstrates that he doesn’t even know what a band manager is supposed to do. “What Goes on Tour” puts Murray’s managerial style to the test.

The season 2 premiere demonstrated why Bret and Jemaine need Murray, because they found more creative success managing themselves, but also found themselves hopelessly lost when faced with all the red tape that Murray usually handles.

2 Mel’s Obsession With The Band

One of Flight of the Conchords’ most lovable supporting characters, Mel, facilitates the running gag that the band only has one fan (played by Kristen Schaal). She’s their biggest fan by default, but she’s so obsessed with them that she’d still be their biggest fan if they had millions of other fans.

Mel’s infatuation with Bret and Jemaine is hilariously contrasted with her marriage to Doug, who she has very little interest in by comparison.

1 Band Meetings

By far the funniest aspect of Flight of the Conchords is the band meetings held in Murray’s office in every episode. These meetings are easily derailed by mundane conversations.

At the beginning of every band meeting, Murray does a roll call. He even includes his own name in the roll call and says, “Present,” to himself and checks off his own name.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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