The Place to Be

Chuck Norris Report: NINJA Edition!

2008-05-22T12:15:00.004-04:00

The Chuck Norris Report has been on a roll lately, and here I am again to report my newest viewing. Matt and I hit up Jumbo Video again in hopes of replicating past findings, but all that that excursion turned up was a copy of Delta Force (which I already have) and another Chuck movie that they wanted $13.00 for. At this point, I'm not ready to pay 13 bucks on what will very likely end up being a terrible movie, so we walked. I can always go back for it right?

Well, part of the reason we didn't pick it up was because we knew that we already had a Chuck flick waiting for us. We walked back to the car (after grabbing some Pepsi) and I glanced at the VHS tape under the dash that would soon be delivering Chuck entertainment at home. That's right! Matt was diligent enough to notice that AMC was running a Chuck movie the other day, and he taped it. Sure, it one-ups our last viewing as the poorest possible method of Chuck Norris delivery (taped off of TV on a VHS cassette) but it's Chuck, and we don't turn down Chuck around here. All the way from 1980, it's Chuck Norris in The Octagon!

Through my Chuck Norris-watching experiences, I've noticed that Chuck really has two distinctive looks. The first, which I'll dub his "70's style", delivers a Chuck with blond helmet-hair and a corresponding mustache. Undergoing a metamorphosis after 1980, Chuck's "80's style" gives viewers a new, hip Chuck Norris, who is brown-haired, bearded, and (most importantly) mulletted. As you can see from the picture on the left, Chuck is firmly in his 70's style. This must have been one of his last movies with that look, but I can't say for certain. That sounds like another project on its own, which I'll have to undertake: discovering where exactly (and why?) that change occurred.

So: The Octagon. Chuck's in too deep in this one-- he gets involved with ninjas! Chuck goes on a mission, beating the answers out of people, as to why ninjas are terrorizing this woman he meets. The movie delivers on a good car chase, and great good hand-to-hand Chuck combat. And apparently Lee Van Cleef is in it somewhere! Don't ask me where, I didn't notice him!

It turns out that in this one, Chuck was raised by a Japanese man, Beverly Hills Ninja style. Flashbacks depict a young Chuck training with his "brother." Predictably, it ends up being this very same brother who is the leader of these ninja that Chuck is going against. The film culminates in a fight scene between the two, which according to IMDb, was ranked as #13 on Fighting Stars Magazine's top 25 greatest fight scenes of all time. I would love to get a hold of that issue, to verify that all of those fights are from Chuck Norris movies.

So yeah, The Octagon comes through with some solid Chuck action, and lots of jokes to be made. Number 12 on our list to see all of Chuck's movies, I would recommend this one if you can find a copy of it. Hell, AMC might be showing it right now for all we know!

In non-Chuck news, I'm listening to Sam Roberts' new album as I write this. 2006's Chemical City is one of my favorite albums of all time, so I have high hopes for his follow-up. So far, I can say it is good. I will have to give it a few more listens to come to a definitive rating, but so far, the outlook is good.

What else? I'm taking a stats course a few nights a week, but that's not interesting. E3 is coming up, which is the big electronics convention where video game companies unveil what they have in store for the coming year. I have high hopes that Nintendo will show the next Zelda game, but I'm not sure if it will happen or not. Apparently they have a big announcement in store, but there is heavy speculation that it is going to be a new Kid Icarus game. There is also talk of a new Punch-Out!! game for the Wii, which could be cool too. Who knows! I guess I will just have to wait.

Oh, speaking of boxing video games-- did you hear that Mike Tyson is making his video game comeback in Fight Night Round 4? All these years after Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, can you believe it? Let's hope some of this makes it into the game:

Chuck Norris Report: Iron Man Edition

2008-05-08T11:57:00.013-04:00

It's been a while since a meaningful post, so why don't we open by getting everyone caught up to speed. I was busy finishing off the school year recently, but all that is behind us now. Celebrations ensued, and I purchased a copy of Mario Kart Wii. Without going too far into this, I will say that I really enjoy the game-- probably my favorite Mario Kart since MK64. The trick system that has been implemented (shaking the Wiimote whenever you get air) is superb and really adds depth. The online is really fun too. Besides that, I was kept busy doing my taxes.
This photo was taken two days ago, in the midst of the worst of it. Doing taxes is like being in a separate, desolate world, surrounded by gayly-coloured forms that required prompt filling (of course, the taxes were overdue at this point). That too is behind me now though, and it is now where our journey begins.

I saw Iron Man yesterday with Matt, and it was really, really good. The Rotten Tomatoes score speaks for itself, so you don't need to hear it from me again, but you will be. It was sublime from every angle. Casting was perfect, the story was (relatively) believable and very intriguing, and there was a lot of fanservice for fans of the comics (an allusion to War Machine!). This might constitute as a spoiler (not really, as it was announced in a Marvel press release by now), but they even set the movie up for an Avengers spin-off. In my mind, it was the best superhero movie previous to and since Spider-man 2 (and, come on, I know superhero movies).

I'm actually surprised that I can remember that much of Iron Man after being tainted by last night's Chuck Norris viewing though. It was two days ago that I was hanging with my bro Stefan (figurative sense of the word) and we decided to head over to Merla Mae for an ice cream. At the same time, we stopped by Jumbo Video to pick up another Nunchuck controller for the Wii, so we could play Mario Kart together. Now, I haven't been in Jumbo Video for a long time, but we used to rent movies there when I was younger. It was actually pretty cool stepping inside. Jumbo Video is a chain, but I'm not sure how far it spreads-- as far as I know, there is only one in London. Regardless of it being a chain, the store really has an independent feeling, which is really refreshing after going to your standard cookie-cutter Blockbuster Video for so long. There is a popcorn machine that you can take free popcorn from (not recommended) and there are lots of little touches like having trading cards and random Japanese figures for sale. What drew us in though, was the piles upon piles of VHS videos that they had on sale. Seeing all of them sitting there, you would be likely to think that you had walked into the mid nineties. We didn't spend too much time going through them, but the gods must have been smiling on us, as the first one Stefan picked up to investigate was none other than a Chuck Norris flick. A $1.99 price tag was all that stood between us and Code of Silence!

I didn't know this going in, but Rotten Tomatoes has this one pegged at 40%. Trust me, that is much too generous for this film.

Fast forward to last night (this story is jumping around in time like this is Chrono Trigger) where, after seeing Iron Man, Matt and I decide to throw this bad boy in. Once more, fate favored us, as my previously non-functioning VCR accepted Code of Silence, and played it back in all its VHS glory. What is there to say about Code of Silence? Chuck Norris plays a cop who saves the day. Beyond that, I couldn't honestly tell you what happens. The movie opens with a scene that introduces at least 20 characters, and leaves the viewer wondering who the hell each one is. Things don't improve as the ride goes on, and time that could feature Chuck ass-kicking is filled by underdeveloped characters and a plot where nothing happens. Code of Silence fails as a Chuck Norris movie (there was hardly anything to make fun of), and as a serious action/drama.

The generic clip-art on the video's box states that "the toughest cop just got tougher." That's real original right? What's perplexing though, is that IMDb shows an addition tagline for this movie: "Eddie Cusack's a good cop having a very bad day." So is he a tough badass, or a good cop? Judging by the movie, he's a total badass, so I don't even know what to think anymore. It's clear they just have a Chuck Norris generic-phrase generator to come up with movie titles and catch phrases. I mean, that title-- "Code of Silence"? That doesn't have a thing to do with the movie's plot. Nowhere in it is Chuck (or anyone) sworn to silence in any sense. I guess it's just that Chuck Norris poorness shining through.

A few laughs were had as Chuck eventually gets partnered up with a sentient robot called The Prowler. The finale has Chuck and this robot wrecking an army of thugs in an abandoned receiving building with ease. What was up with 80s movies and robots? Whenever this comes up, Rocky comes to mind. Remember when Rocky buys that robot for Paulie's birthday? It's like a real, live, talking robot that does Paulie's chores? What? What they didn't understand in the 80s was that, despite having the money to afford something like that, they don't exist! You could have all the money in the world, but that doesn't mean you can buy something that has not yet been created. In a sense, Iron Man falls into this movie trope as well, but it is acceptable because Tony Stark himself, is a genius and could have created them. Not so much in Code of Silence.

Well, anyway, you get the idea. It's another movie down on the goal to see every Chuck movie, but it is not recommended to anyone. I doubt there was even a DVD release of this one, so you don't have to worry about accidentally coming across it in a movie store somewhere. That'll do it for now, but expect a lengthy update later as I review all of the Chuck Norris movies that I saw before I started the Chuck Norris Report feature. It'll be a doozy!

This makes me smile

2008-04-26T21:01:00.001-04:00

I can't help but smile when I watch this. I love the one second from the right.

Cute Kittens Bop Their Head - Watch more free videos

Super Famicom controller for the Wii? Yes please!

2008-04-15T13:02:00.004-04:00

I've written about my love of the Wii's Virtual Console service before on The Place to Be, so when I discovered that they were coming out with this, my excitement couldn't be contained:

An officially licensed Super Famicom controller for the Wii! For all your Virtual Console playing pleasure, it is the exact same mold that was used back in the 90s for the sublime Super Famicom controller (known as the Super Nintendo in the West). The catch? Of course, it's only available in Japan.

Japan's Club Nintendo program is so cool. By simply registering the codes that come with the games you buy, you can get great bonuses like this controller-- free! I've seen other ones too, like game soundtracks and even free games. In North America, our contemporary program is pretty barebones. Really, I've only ever gotten one tangible item free from Nintendo, although it was a doozy-- the Legend of Zelda collection which had four great Zelda games on one Gamecube disc. I'm not going to lie, it was fantastic, but that was like five years ago.

Here's another shot of the controller:

Needless to say, I'd love one of these, but chances are they are never going to see a North American release. Apparently you can buy them from some Japanese importing websites, so I might consider that. In the meantime, it's back to studying for exams though.

Springtime and the Sprout Sandwich

2008-04-02T13:06:00.003-04:00

It's a beautiful day out there today. I can't fully enjoy it because I'm tied to my computer working on final assignments, of course, but I still notice it. Spring's a nice time, even though my personal preference is the fall. People seem to like spring, but then again, I mean, any season that's coming off of the heels of that cruel mistress winter is going to look good.

We had some alfalfa sprouts in the fridge, so I made a sandwich out of them and it was pretty good. As the package says, where you enjoy lettuce, you will LOVE sprouts. It's true enough I guess, they did add a good taste to the sandwich. In fact, it makes you wonder why sprouts haven't taken off like lettuce has. Everywhere you look, you see lettuce on sandwiches. Sandwiches, burgers, always with the lettuce. Why haven't sprouts got that kind of love? I mean, lettuce is good, but sprouts are out there too.

Well, anyway, I don't know how much longer I can talk about sprouts versus lettuce.

I realize I haven't made an update to The Place to Be in over a month. I guess you can blame it on school keeping me busy. I was surfing online and came across this website called Twitter, which is apparently taking the world by storm. It's like a blog site, but instead of posting long blogs like this, you post more frequent little posts. Maybe that's something to look into, I don't know.

Until later, then.

The Essence of Old Games

2008-02-25T15:39:00.005-05:00

I love old video games ("old" being NES-era forward). I love the hand-drawn graphics, the simple yet addictive gameplay, and the rocking electronic-beep soundtracks. It will come as no surprise then to you to find out that I also love the Wii's Virtual Console service which lets you download old games right onto your Wii for a pretty decent price. I spent this weekend playing Lords of Thunder, which originally launched on the TurboGrafx-16 (the little-known third contender in the 16-bit era), and I rediscovered the other essential part of the "old-games" formula: crushingly brutal difficulty.

A typical enemy in Lords of Thunder. Not pictured: Me, sobbing softly.

Actually, as a testament to how serious I am, when I googled "Lords of Thunder" to find that picture above, the first site that came up was called Hardcore Gaming 101. Indeed, Lords of Thunder is hardcore. The game only has seven levels, but I have put at least ten hours into it and have yet to finish it. How is that possible, the new generation of gamers ask? Well, it's because there's no way you are beating any of those levels on your first try. Not even on your second try. By the time you master that level, finally, better get used to doing it over and over again because guess what-- you only have three lives, and if you get a game over, that's it! Back to the start of the game. I'm currently in a trance of beating those six levels and then attempting the final one over and over again.

But you know what? It'd darn fun. After a while you do begin to master it, and you derive a true feeling of satisfaction from it. What's the saying-- anything worthwile isn't easy to do? Well, regardless of how worthwhile spending ten hours playing a game is (give me a break, I'm on slack week!) it's true in the context of game-playing. I'm not going to start harshing on modern-day games because I enjoy them too, but they are definitely different. Gone are the days of a handful of levels that you have to master by replaying. Instead, you are offered constant new terrain to traverse. While that is neat, the feeling of satisfaction that comes from overcoming adversity is never really present. Hmm, maybe I am knocking new games.

Well, services like the Wii's Virtual Console and the Xbox's Live Arcade are bringing a steady stream of old hard-to-find games, or new games made with the old "arcade" mentality back to the forefront, so all's good anyway. As for me, I guess I'm back to the grind-- Time to suit up in the water armour and give it a go once more.

What's the deal with diets?

2008-02-11T22:29:00.001-05:00

I sit here and I should be working on this Psychology paper, but I am tired as it is, so maybe I will just leave it until tomorrow. So instead, I'm going to write about something that is easy to write about. I'm going to talk a bit about fitness and more specifically, dieting.

But before that:

"That's some bad hat, Harry."

Roy Scheider passed away, so let's take a minute to reflect on Jaws, and Jaws 2, and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. All great movies-- truly a talent that will be missed.

On to the main topic of today's note though. People in my family are always dieting. Dieting is fine in its own right (after all, these days we get way too many calories as it is), but what bothers me is the way some people go about it. I'm a firm believer that if it's natural (even better if it's fresh) then it's good to eat. Some people get it in their heads that things like cheese and red meat have to go, but unless you have some sort of specific condition (for the sake of this argument, let's assume you don't, and are otherwise healthy) then I don't think that's such a good move. Instead, I'd argue that the key to a healthy diet is simply moderation. Don't cut out butter, don't cut out cheese. If you are making spagetti, don't make it taste like shit-- put a little meat in there, and just don't eat two helpings.

It kills me when I see people "dieting" by eating a horrible meal, but then later snacking because they either aren't full or aren't satisfied. On the flip side, saying you are limiting yourself to one helping, and then heaping that helping to Heaven isn't really legit either.

I've been getting into cooking recently, and although I haven't really prepared anything myself yet, I've been reading and watching lots on it. One of my favourite shows right now is Jamie at Home, which is Jamie Oliver's new show where he talks about his garden and then makes some dishes from stuff he's grown. It's a great program, and I love his mentality about using fresh fruits and vegetables in his meals. If you're not a cook, I really suggest getting into it. It really isn't that hard, and that way you can ensure what you are putting into your dishes is clean food. Stay away from the unnatural stuff, especially anything that is hydrogenated (this is another term for something that will solidify like plastic in your arteries because it's a man-made preservative).

I feel like a bit of a broken record, but whatever, that's what blogs are for right, so I'll say it anyway: with your well-balanced diet, do a bit of excercise. I like lifting weights, I've been doing it for a few years now, and it's been good to me. I had a great Schwarzenegger quote to put in here, but I can't find my favourite Arnold book. It's like half biography and half workout regime/diet-- great stuff! It's a shame I can't find it, you should hear what Arnold would have you eating!

Actually, I really have to find that, it would be great for right here.

Anyway, I know I'm not formally trained in nutrition, these are just my feelings on dieting and working out. If it's natural, you're golden. If you are trying to avoid fat, just cut back your portions, don't leave it out altogether. I don't know why fat gets such a bad wrap these days anyway-- your body needs it to do all sorts of good stuff like lubricating your joints. And if you are into body building, definitely don't be shy around it.

Well, that's that for now. I never did find that Arnold book, but in my search through the house, I did come across this:

Not quite the one I was looking for, but this could be better. It looks like about a thousand pages of detailed pictures and musculature diagrams. Looks like I've got some reading ahead of me-- I'll let you know how it goes.

The Chuck Norris Report: More Serious than a Heart Attack Edition

2008-02-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

I've been really busy these past two weeks with school, so there hasn't been too many updates at the Place to Be. I'm back now, and to make up for it I've got a brand new Chuck Norris Report coming at you. It was two weekends ago that I watched it, but it feels like yesterday-- hailing from 2005, it's Chuck Norris in...

The Cutter!

Now, contrary to what you may be thinking, this is a great movie. Sure, Chuck is one hundred years old in it, but he still manages to kick all the ass that he did during the Reagan administration. It was actually bizarre to see Chuck in a movie that wasn't surrounded by 80s cheese, but the producers didn't forget that this was a Chuck Norris movie completely. It comes equipped with all of the little things that are just a tad off the mark that make you stop and think: what the hell?

And then you remember. It's Chuck Norris.

Let's break it down. First and foremost is this:

I'd like to just leave that clip to speak for itself, but that wouldn't be doing things justice. Notice a little something off about that scream? Of course do you. Not only is it not fitting to the fall, it seems somehow familiar. When we watched this, we all felt like we had heard that scream before, but surely none of us knew it from this movie-- after all, it only came out three years ago.

Well, after a long internet search, the answer became clear. Somewhat like the Wilhelm Scream, this scream is a stock sound effect that is used in many different films, shows, etc. Remember Ahh! Real Monsters? That "Ahh!" at the start was this scream. That Starcraft unit who lets out that roar? This scream. As far as I can tell, it's simply know as the "Youraagh!" Why the producers of the Cutter put it into what was supposed to be a serious death scene (Chuck blatantly takes this man's life) I will never know. You just have to chalk it up to the Chuck effect.

Okay, enough about the scream. If you are anything like me, just looping that clip over and over should provide amusement enough, and really I should just end this Report here as I've done my job and entertained you.

But no! We're just getting started. Or not. Maybe, probably just until I get tired of this.

Perhaps you are wondering why this edition of the Chuck Norris Report is called what it is. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but part of the fun of the Chuck Norris movies is the one-liners that Chuck rattles off. 80s one-liners are notoriously bad as a rule, but Chuck takes things to a new level. In fact, in all of his movies, the one-liners are of such a similar poor grade that I've become convinced that he must make them up on the spot. I can think of a few off the top of my head, but I just got thinking that there really should be a compendium somewhere on this internet that houses these lines. I guess I know what my next project is.

Anyway, shit lines like "Sleep tight, sucker," and "Welcome to my world," are the norm in Chuck movies. Occasionally there is a perfect opportunity for a great one-liner and it will go wasted and unused. I don't understand the filtering process for how they determine what's good enough to use, but something in the machine is broken. In the case of the Cutter, the stand-out line comes when Chuck is discussing how serious he is. Indeed, he is "as serious as a heart attack."

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the liberal use of flashbacks in the movie. There would be flashbacks to scenes that just happened literally a scene ago. And I'm not talking split second flashbacks for effect, I mean full-on flashbacks that lasted as long as the original scene being flashed back to. I don't know, maybe there was some miscommunication in the editing phase of the movie, or maybe the producers just take Chuck Norris fans as people who can't follow a barebones plot? Hell, maybe they just needed to fill the hour and a half with footage so they thought: "Let's just show everything twice!"

But don't take these comments as negative comments. The Cutter delivers. Lots of good Chuck action (both martial arts and gunfights) and Chuck charm throughout. A car chase scene in which Chuck is driving the van from the starting to Who's the Boss? rounds out the film nicely. All in all, easily recommended for any Chuck fan.

Well that'll do for this edition. Keep checking for updates as we work our way towards seeing all of Chuck's films.

The Chuck Norris Report: Silent Rage

2008-01-21T17:20:00.000-05:00

Chuck Norris is everywhere these days, so there's no need for me to go over why he is everywhere-- the reasons are clear: the man's a god. However, like all things that get blown out of proportion or become internet phenomena, there is a certain annoyance that comes with being a proprietor of said thing, especially if you liked it before it was cool.

Which is the case with Chuck Norris and I. I can't claim credit for making Chuck Norris hip, but I was definitely on the cusp of Norrisness before he hit it big. I suppose it was when Conan O'Brien started doing his Chuck Norris Lever bit that Chuck entered mainstream consciousness, but I was Chucking it up in my youth, watching 80s Chuck flicks and Walker Texas Ranger episodes.

But, alas, the purpose of this article isn't to illustrate my devotion to Chuck Norris, it's to set up a far larger purpose. This article, the first of what is many to come, will spotlight a Chuck Norris movie, and this feature will run until there are no more Chuck Norris films to be written about!

Insanity? Likely.

My crew Matt, Will, and Jake are similarly addicted to the Norris, so we're doing this thing as a team. We'll be going by the IMDb list of films Chuck has starred in as the definitive lexicon, right now a total of 34. On the right of the page will be an official list of viewed films, and every time I watch one, I will review it in a post. Having already watched a number of them, they will appear on the right (sadly) without posts of their own. Maybe one day I will do a "best-of" feature of those ones to let you know if they are worthwhile.

To kick things off tonight, we have the exact opposite of that: easily the worst Chuck Norris movie I've ever seen, and possibly the worst movie I've ever seen period-- hailing from 1982, it's Silent Rage.

What's more scary than how bad this movie was is the fact that while searching for that picture, I came across a website selling it as a poster. Actually, now that I think about it, that's awesome.

Since this is our first Chuck Norris post, we should probably go over the ground rules of how Chuck Norris movies work. You've got two main types: the kind where Chuck kicks ass with his hands and legs, and the kind where Chuck kicks ass with guns. Occasionally you get that special kind of Chuck movie where he does both. Silent Rage is, unfortunately, not that kind of Chuck movie.

The premise goes like this: a guy goes nuts and has to be taken down by police officers using force (ie. being shot like five times in the chest). He somehow doesn't die after this, and miraculously makes it into a surgery room to be operated on. Things don't go well, and all is lost until a crazed doctor tries his experimental formula on him, because what does he have to lose, right? The formula works, the patient stabilizes! Oh wait, he's become a superhuman with suppressed brain functions! Sounds familiar right? It's like Frankenstein plus Chuck Norris as a cop.

Only Chuck Norris is barely in the movie. We see Chuck at the start, and Chuck at the end, but other than a few moments of Chuck Norris lovemaking in between (and a scene where Chuck beats up a gang-- more on that later) Chuck is absent from the film. Instead, we are treated to an extremely tedious affair featuring bad actors, including the fat guy from Animal House, only he's not funny in this. Why is this so hard to watch? It's not necessarily the bad actors, but it's the inexistent plot.

There was literally no plot in Silent Rage! The story is: monster created, Chuck Norris has to kill monster. But the movie runs 103 minutes-- to get to the final battle, the viewer has to suffer through the minutia of the daily lives of characters you don't care about. And I'm talking minutia: there was a five minute scene between two unimportant characters talking about ordering a pizza! The plot was so thin, a fight scene was added just to liven it up (which, at this point, I can't really complain about). Despite the obvious fact that it was simply thrown in and didn't have anything to do with the main plot, it's a good Chuck sequence. Chuck arrives at a bar that has been overrun by a gang (how did he know to go there?), and decides to serve up some justice Chuck-style. Between this scene and the final scene where Chuck (spoilers) beats the bad guy, there's some good hand to hand action. Also to the movie's credit, there are many opportunities for awkward Chuck moments, which are always great for a laugh.

In the end, the problem with Silent Rage is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a Chuck Norris action film? Is it a horror film? A comedy? It tries to be all of these, and really doesn't come through. I mean, scroll up and look at that poster again-- there's a lot of promise there. What could have been a momentous edition to the Chuck Norris collection turns out pretty pointless. Avoid this one unless indeed you have seen all of Chuck's other 33 films. As of right now, it's the shittiest.

Well, at least we're one closer to the goal.

You should be...

2008-01-18T19:04:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first post on my blog, the Place to Be, located at http://billiardroom.blogspot.com. It's a Seinfeld reference of course, but if you are reading this page, you probably already knew that.

I was thinking of a good feature for this site, and I think I've come up with something. I'm going to call it "You should be." Each "You should be" will detail a different thing that indeed you should be doing if you already are not. The first entry in the series comes in the form of a television show that I've recently been watching:

You should be watching Flight of the Conchords.

If you haven't heard of the Flight of the Conchords before, they are essentially a comedy duo who play folk-style songs. They're all over Youtube, so just do a search there if you want to see them performing. The television show of the same name features both halves of the Conchords band (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie) trying to make it in New York. The show is scripted, and while Jemaine and Bret are playing themselves, the key difference is that in the show they consider themselves a serious band rather than a comedy act.

Clement and McKenzie are great as the fish out of water protagonists (they hail from New Zealand, both on the show and in real life) and there is a great supporting cast that gives the show a hilarious quality that reminds me of shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm or the British hit Extras. The episode plots take a page from the Seinfeld book as they usually revolve around such everyday minutia as buying a piece of fruit from a racist street vendor or (more commonly) the band's girl troubles. The episodes are broken up by the best part of the show: mini music videos sung and acted out by the Conchords in their hilarious fashion. The songs bring a unique edge to a series which is already a joy to watch without them.

So, then. Watch Flight of the Conchords. There is only one season out so far-- it airs on HBO, but if you don't get that channel, it's also easily available on torrent sites. I'm sure a DVD set will come out soon enough too, so when it does, show your support and pick that up. (EDIT: Turns out a DVD set is already available!) As it stands, the show is gearing up for a second season which will hopefully start airing soon. If I haven't convinced you yet, here's a clip from the show which will do the talking for itself.