Unnatural Love
"Unnatural Love" | |
---|---|
Flight of the Conchords episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Michel Gondry |
Written by | Iain Morris & Damon Beesley |
Production code | 205 |
Original air date | February 15, 2009 |
Guest appearances | |
Sarah Wynter (Keitha) Dena Kaplan (Keitha's housemate) Victoria Cesarski (Keitha's housemate) José Ramón Rosario (Hansom Cab driver) | |
"Unnatural Love" is the fifth episode of the
"Unnatural Love" was well received by critics. It earned Clement a 2009
Plot
Murray (Rhys Darby) brings a reluctant Bret (Bret McKenzie) and Jemaine (Jemaine Clement) to a nightclub to experience "dancing music", recruiting their friend Dave (Arj Barker) to compel them inside. Finding the club overpopulated with men, the three sing "Too Many Dicks (On the Dancefloor)". Jemaine goes home with a woman (Sarah Wynter), but when he awakes the next morning, he finds himself surrounded by Australian memorabilia. He suspects he has slept with an Australian, a major taboo for New Zealanders, and attempts to sneak out, calling Bret for help when he cannot unlock the door. However, the woman catches him and introduces herself as Keitha, a rough, crude Australian.
Keitha asks Jemaine to stay longer, but he leaves and goes straight to the doctor to get tested for
Jemaine and Keitha start dating. He introduces her to Bret and Murray, but they refuse to accept her. Later, Bret unsuccessfully attempts to fool Jemaine by poorly mimicking Keitha's voice and leaving a fake break-up message on the answering machine. Jemaine goes to Keitha's apartment, where he learns her two Australian housemates similarly disapprove of him (though Keitha states this is not because he is from New Zealand, but because they consider him a "dick" and not attractive enough for her), but that she likes him regardless. Jemaine sings "Carol Brown" to express his desire for a long-term relationship with her.
Jemaine and Keitha decide to elope to New Jersey, with the assistance of Dave, who approves of their forbidden love. However, Keitha fails to show up at their predetermined meeting spot. Jemaine realizes something is amiss when the carriage driver explains he cannot go to New Jersey, despite Keitha's earlier claims. Jemaine rushes home, where he discovers Keitha and her friends have cleaned out the apartment and duct taped Bret to the door. Jemaine hugs Bret while the latter is still taped to the door, and Bret reluctantly comforts him as he cries.
Production
"Unnatural Love" was written by Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, who also wrote the Season 1 episode "The Actor". It was directed by Michel Gondry, who brought his characteristic visual style to the episode, particularly the music scenes.[1][2]
The bouncer at the night club who leads the conga line during "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor" is Randy Jones, the original cowboy from the disco group Village People.[3]
The khaki shirt and shorts that Jemaine is wearing when Bret and Murray first meet Keitha is a reference to Steve Irwin.[1][4][5]
When Jemaine calls Bret the morning after sleeping with Keitha, Bret is reading
Songs
The following songs appear in this episode:
"Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor)"
After Dave asks Bret and Jemaine to give him more space on the dance floor, the band sings this dance track about a nightclub populated by too many men. Arj Barker as Dave provides a guest rap.
Flight of the Conchords included "Too Many Dicks" on their 2009 album
"Carol Brown"
Jemaine's budding romance with Keitha inspires him to sing "Carol Brown". In the lyrics Jemaine details the various ways his previous girlfriends left him, including the titular Carol Brown, who "just took a bus out of town". He is accompanied by a chorus of all his ex-girlfriends, who appear in video projected behind him to sing about his many deficiencies as a boyfriend. Jemaine and Bret play contraptions consisting of guitar necks attached to video editing equipment; Bret's device affects the scene as he moves its controls.
The song was written by Clement and McKenzie with series co-creator James Bobin. Sia, Alison Sudol, Inara George, Nadia Ackerman, Jo Bobin, and Victoria Bobin provide vocals for the chorus of ex-girlfriends.
"Carol Brown" earned Flight of the Conchords a
Broadcast and reception
"Unnatural Love" first aired on HBO February 15, 2009. It received over 826,000 viewers.[22] The episode was well received by critics. Time television critic James Poniewozik gave it an "honorable mention" in his list of the best television episodes of 2009, the only Flight of the Conchords episode he included.[23] Critic Alan Sepinwall wrote in The Star-Ledger that both the comedy and music in "Unnatural Love" represented Flight of the Conchords "functioning at peak level", finding that the strong songs and their associated video sequences set the episode above others of the second season. He also appreciated Gondry's direction and the humorously stereotyped characterization of Keitha, as well as the "unexpected judgmental side" she exposed in Bret.[1] Similarly, Kyle Ryan of The A.V. Club considered the music to be an improvement over previous Season 2 episodes. He further praised the Australian jokes and the contributions of Gondry and Arj Barker, giving the episode an A−.[24] Matt Fowler of IGN rated the episode 9 out of 10, praising the over-the-top portrayal of the Australian-New Zealand discord and the song "Carol Brown".[25]
"Unnatural Love" earned Clement a nomination for
References
- ^ a b c d Sepinwall, Alan (February 16, 2009). "Flight of the Conchords, "Unnatural Love": Crikey!". The Star-Ledger. NJ.com. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ISBN 978-8862921589. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- Daily News. 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ^ "Crikey, it's khaki Friday for Irwin". The Age. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Unnatural Love" - The AV Club
- ^ "Kiwiana Displays: School Days". Project Kiwiana. Otorohanga District Development Board. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Printed Souvenirs". Auckland University of Technology in association with Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- The Dominion Post.
- ^ Channel Editorial. "Shore Art: Philippa Bentley's Insect Collections". Channel. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Kohukohu: Art Exhibition 'New Works' by Liz McAuliffe". Tai Tokerau Maori and Cultural Tourism Association. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ a b Crossan, Jamie (October 26, 2009). "Album review: Flight Of The Conchords - 'I Told You I Was Freaky' (Sub Pop)". NME. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Lymangrover, Jason (October 20, 2009). "Flight of the Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky". www.allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Gassman, David (October 28, 2009). "Flight of the Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky". www.popmatters.com. PopMatters. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Costa, Maddy (October 29, 2009). "Flight of the Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky". The Guardian. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ a b Koski, Genevieve (Oct 20, 2009). "Flight Of The Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky". www.avclub.com. The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ a b "Emmy Loves '30 Rock,' 'Mad Men' ... and HBO". www.thewrap.com. September 20, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Rodman, Sarah. "Album Review: Conchords' 'Freaky' is a charmer". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Jones, Huw (October 29, 2009). "Flight of the Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky". www.slantmagazine.com. Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Diver, Mike (2009). "Flight of the Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky Review". www.bbc.co.uk/music. BBC Music. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- Boston Phoenix. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Seldman, Robert (February 18, 2009). "Updated: NBA All-Star festivities, The Closer, WWE RAW, and Monk lead week, Damages to return despite ratings". tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ Poniewozik, James (Dec 8, 2009). "Top 10 Episodes of 2009: The Best, and the Rest". time.com. Time. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ^ Ryan, Kyle (February 16, 2009). "Flight of the Conchords: "Unnatural Love"". www.avclub.com. The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ^ Fowler, Matt (February 17, 2009). "Flight of the Conchords: "Unnatural Love" Review". www.ign.com. IGN. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ^ "Final, complete list of episodes to be viewed by Emmy judges". Los Angeles Times. September 17, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ^ Beachum, Chris; Licuria, Robert (August 6, 2009). "Dueling Emmy predix: Alec Baldwin vs. Steve Carell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 30, 2014.