Prime Minister (Flight of the Conchords)
Encyclopedia
"Prime Minister" is the seventh episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords (TV series)
Flight of the Conchords is an American television comedy series that debuted 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, Jemaine Clement...

. This episode first aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on March 1, 2009.

Plot synopsis

Foiled by the White House, Murray arranges a presidential meeting for the visiting Prime Minister of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

; a tribute gig ends with Jemaine getting mixed up with an Art Garfunkel fanatic (played by Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...

).

Plot

The episode commences with a flurry of activity at the New York New Zealand Consulate over the impending arrival of the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Murray also announces that he has arranged a gig for Bret and Jemaine as Simon and Garfunkel impersonators. Objecting about not playing their own music, which Murray comments is better than theirs; they sell out for $50 each. It transitions to a nightclub where they perform an out of sync "Scarborough Fair
Scarborough Fair
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional ballad of the United Kingdom.The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she...

 (Canticle)". Mel appears confused and dismayed at this, but they grab the attention of an Art Garfunkel fanatic (Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...

). At the after party Jemaine gets asked out by the fan.

The following day the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Brian, arrives and Murray has Jemaine and Bret give him a cultural tour of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. The subsequent tour of New York only shows them at the Pawn Shop discussing what reality is as per the movie The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...

, the movie having only just come out in New Zealand (a decade after its USA release). Both Dave and Brian believe the Matrix exists and that déjà vu
Déjà vu
Déjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined...

 is evidence of a glitch in it.

Jemaine goes on his dinner date with the Fanatic Fan who objects to Jemaine being Jemaine. Jemaine returns in his Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...

 costume and is seduced by her. She tells him not to speak, or sing, and keeps the lights very dark. It cuts out the song "Demon Women" in the music video style of Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...

.

Murray, Bret and Brian take the White House Tour in Washington but are denied entry to see the president. The second song entitled "Oh, Dance, Baby" is performed by Bret in a Korean karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

 style.

Brian chews out Murray for his failure to set up a presidential meeting, but accepts Murray's formal apology. This leads to a party planning discussion with the original Prime Ministerial BBQ becoming a rooftop fondue party. Murray hires an Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 impersonator (Louis Ortiz) to attend, which is a success in fooling the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister spots two Elton John impersonators sneaking off together, believes this to be a glitch in the Matrix and runs to jump off the roof of the building.

Meanwhile, at the Fanatic Fan's house Jemaine is trying to break up with her. He is saved by the real Art Garfunkel. Whilst walking along the street Jemaine notices Mel and Doug, who is dressed in a Bret costume, making out in a parked car. The episode ends with Jemaine catching Bret performing Paul Simon's 1980's solo work accompanied by several men wearing traditional African garb (a la Ladysmith Black Mambazo).

Demon Woman

Bret and Jemaine perform a song about Karen's psychotic behavior while wearing flashy shirts and skeleton costumes. This musical number is a spoof of the song "Devil Woman
Devil Woman
"Devil Woman" is a 1976 hit single for Cliff Richard culled from his album I'm Nearly Famous.-Background:"Devil Woman" was written by Terry Britten and Christine Holmes and first recorded by Holmes under the name Kristine....

" by Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....

.

Oh, Dance, Baby

Bret sings a Korean song about love in the form of karaoke. The video is a parody of the music videos produced specifically for karaokes; in this case, Bret sings in front of a karaoke screen with Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...

lyric subtitles and images of scenery (and Jemaine on a carousel) run in the background.

The song was originally a Mandarin song called "往事只能回味 (Wang Shi Zhi Neng Hui Wei)", composed by Taiwanese musician 刘家昌 (Liu Jia-Chang).
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