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Time might not be exceptionally kind to Flight of the Conchords. This cult sensation (they even won a Grammy) duo's HBO television show didn't exactly set the world on fire, but their specific, one-of-a-kind super-deadpan style found fans in a number of fan bases. Whether via their hilarious musical spoofs (the Bowie episode in the first season here is a personal favorite) or original numbers (my sister knows all the lyrics to "Business Time"), Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, if anything, carve off a unique and bizarre chunk of the comedy pantheon for themselves.

But Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection seems truncated, too short. Sure, the show lasted two seasons, but they're short seasons, and while the boys at the center of the programme are implicitly likable, this set does little to cement the duo's comedy genius. I say that because I'm quite sure the two have a classic-status on-screen camaraderie together: I'm just not sure that their debut series was able to capture it.

The duo play oversized versions of themselves, two New Zealand dudes in NYC trying to make it as a band. They have a particularly incompetent manager named Murray (Rhys Darby), a die-hard and borderline stalker fan called Mel (Kristen Schaal), and the show pretty much just follows them around town as they have adventures, dream sequences, and the (very) occasional gig.

I've read a lot of response to Flight of the Conchords as being the Kiwi equivalent of Tenacious D, and while I suppose I can connect the dots as to the two entities' oddball universes, I don't think that exactly fits. Sure, like Tenacious D, Conchords only comes blazing to life when there is music involved: None of the narrative-based comedy works half as well as "Mermaid" or "Love is a Weapon of Choice".

But I stand by the impression I have that while there are a handful of solid laughs in Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection, I don't think its snapshot of the comedy duo lives up to its potential. I could be wrong, but I'd bet a few bucks that these dudes' best work is still to come.

Well, either that or they could get work as part-time models ("But you'd probably still have to keep your normal job").

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