| "The Actor" | |
|---|---|
| Flight of the Conchords episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 11 |
| Directed by | Michael Patrick Jann |
| Written by | |
| Production code | 111 |
| Original air date | August 26, 2007 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Actor" is the eleventh episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords . This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 26, 2007.
The boys play a gig in a club to just a handful of people. After the gig when Bret and Jemaine are at the bar, a "semi-professional" actor named Ben introduces himself. At first, he thinks they are a comedy act and that Bret and Jemaine are just playing characters from what he considers an "obscure, backwards country that no one knows anything about". But once Bret and Jemaine admit they are actually from New Zealand, he feels guilty and offers them his card expressing a wish to work with them in the future. At a post-show debriefing Murray gets depressed about the lack of success he has had promoting the band to record companies.
Bret and Jemaine visit Ben at the dry cleaners where he works. They ask him to call Murray posing as a record company executive and let him down gently. Ben calls Murray posing as "Stefan Gucci" from Sony, but after Murray starts begging and crying, he breaks down and agrees to give the band a record deal.
Murray and the boys go to dinner with "Stefan Gucci". Despite Jemaine's attempts to get them out of the mess, Murray and Bret agree to the two-million dollar deal that Ben offers them.
Following the filming of a The Lord of the Rings -themed music video, the boys try to tell Murray about the mistake, but his excited mood causes them to postpone the bad news. They finally get around to telling him the following night after Murray throws them an expensive wrap party. A fuming Murray storms off.
Bret and Jemaine visit Ben again to discuss the mess. He gives them an I.O.U. for the money Murray has spent. He tells them he will be able to pay them back soon because he has got a part in a Martin Scorsese movie about a dry cleaner, but they don't believe him. They visit Murray at his office and make up with him. They even manage to cheer him up a little.
During the credits, we see Ben playing a scene with John Turturro in the aforementioned film, titled Dry Cleaner.
The following songs were featured in this episode:
Bret and Jemaine sing "Cheer Up, Murray" to Murray after the disappointing concert. They attempt to cheer him up by describing all the good things in his life, although they can't help slipping in some not-so-good things as well. The scene takes place in the store room of the night club. During the song we see a number of short sequences featuring aspects of Murray's life depicted through animated pictures in a photo album.
In a park, the guys film a music video parodying The Lord of the Rings . The lyrics summarise the story from the first film and the end of the third film. [1] Greg acts as cameraman whilst Bret plays both Frodo and Legolas, Jemaine plays Sam and Gimli, Murray plays Gandalf, Mel plays Arwen, Eugene plays Saruman and Dave plays Aragorn. "Frodo" [2] [3] (a.k.a. "Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring" [4] ) is sung in a mix of styles including folk, heavy metal and rap.
This episode features a prominent reference to The Lord of the Rings movies, which were all filmed in New Zealand and featured Bret in a small role. Several other episodes have contained references to The Lord of the Rings as well, usually in the context that it is one of the few things for which New Zealand is famous. “Frodo, Don’t Wear the Ring” plays off of Simon & Garfunkel imagery and calls back to Led Zeppelin’s LOTR-inspired riffs.
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 comedy and music became the basis of the self-titled BBC radio series (2005) and, subsequently, the HBO American television series (2007–2009). Most recently, they released the HBO comedy special Live in London in 2018. The special was concurrently released by Sub Pop as their fifth album.
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie is a New Zealand musician, comedian, music supervisor, and actor. He is best known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, the duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an oft-lauded American television series, which aired for two seasons on HBO. Active since 1998, the duo released their most recent comedy special, Live in London, in 2018.
Flight of the Conchords is an American sitcom that was first shown on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who play fictionalised versions of themselves. A second season was announced on August 17, 2007 and shown from January 18, 2009. On December 11, 2009, the duo announced that the series was not going to be returning for a third season.
"Sally" is the pilot episode of the American television sitcom Flight of the Conchords. It first aired on HBO on June 17, 2007. In this episode, New Zealanders Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of the band Flight of the Conchords have moved to New York City to try to make it in the United States. At a party, Jemaine falls for, and subsequently begins dating, Sally—Bret's former girlfriend. As Jemaine's attentions focus on Sally, a lonely Bret is forced to deal with the advances of Mel, the band's obsessed—and only—fan. Meanwhile, Murray, the band's manager, helps the band film their first music video, although they cannot afford decent costumes or proper video equipment.
"Mugged" is the third episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. It first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 1, 2007.
"Yoko" is the fourth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. It first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 8, 2007.
"Sally Returns" is the fifth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. It first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 15, 2007.
"Bowie" is the sixth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. The episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, 22 July 2007.
"Drive By" is the seventh episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. The episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, July 29, 2007.
"Girlfriends" is the eighth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 5, 2007.
"What Goes on Tour" is the ninth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 12, 2007.
"New Fans" is the tenth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 19, 2007.
"The Third Conchord" is the twelfth and final episode of the first season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, September 2, 2007.
"The New Cup" is the second episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords, and the series' fourteenth episode overall. This episode first aired in the United States on January 25, 2009. The episode was directed by James Bobin and written by Duncan Sarkies. In this episode, Bret and Jemaine's fortunes unravel after Bret buys a new teacup. With emergency band funds unavailable, Jemaine takes desperate measures in hopes of supplementing their income.
"The Tough Brets" is the third episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords, first broadcast in the United States on February 1, 2009.
"Murray Takes It to the Next Level" is the fourth episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on February 8, 2009. In the episode, Murray tries to elevate Bret and Jemaine on his friendship graph, bringing his questioning pal Jim in on the plan. Mel demands an apology from Bret for inappropriate behavior that she dreamed about.
"Unnatural Love" is the fifth episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords, and the seventeenth episode overall. It first aired on February 15, 2009. The episode was directed by Michel Gondry and written by Iain Morris and Damon Beesley. Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of the band Flight of the Conchords star as fictional versions of themselves. The plot focuses on Jemaine's forbidden romance with the Australian Keitha, which chagrins his fellow New Zealanders Bret and Murray, the band's manager.
"Love Is A Weapon of Choice" is the sixth episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on February 22, 2009.
"New Zealand Town" is the eighth episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on March 8, 2009.
"Evicted" is the final episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on March 22, 2009.