| "The New Cup" | |||
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| Flight of the Conchords episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 2 |
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| Directed by | James Bobin | ||
| Written by | Duncan Sarkies | ||
| Production code | 202 | ||
| Original air date | January 25, 2009 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
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David Costabile (Doug) |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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"The New Cup" is the second episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode was first aired in the United States on January 25, 2009.
Contents |
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 episode begins with Bret having bought a new cup for $2.79 so that he would no longer have to share their one cup. A month later, they find out that their check for the phone bill bounced because their account was short $2.79. The phone company charges them a $30 overdraft fee, causing the cheque for their gas bill to bounce, and both services are scheduled to be cut off. Immediately after finding this out, their power goes off. Bret had apparently received a letter from the power company (presumably warning them of their late payment) but neglected to open it.
Bret ends up selling his guitar to pay the bills, and he performs on stage with Jemaine while playing air guitar and making guitar sounds. Murray writes up his negative opinion of the show in the New Zealand consulate newsletter, giving them "two stars out of 100". When Bret asks Murray for some of the emergency band fund, Murray tells him that he invested the money with a Nigerian man named Nigel Seladu who contacted him over the internet. Nigel promised Murray his money back with "a thousand percent interest" and "a share of his family fortunes". Jemaine and Bret are certain that this is merely a scam.
Later on, Bret is trying to sell "super straws" (an extra-long straw made from five regular straws) in front of his apartment when Mel comes by and buys one. When she learns they're having money troubles, she offers to pay them for a massage. Both Bret and Jemaine awkwardly try to give her a minimal contact massage while her husband, Doug, is nearby watching. Jemaine later suggests to Bret that they become male prostitutes, similar to Pretty Woman where, according to Jemaine, "Richard Gere gets to go out with a pretty woman, Julia Roberts, who pays him a lot of money". They then launch into a parody of "My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas called "Sugalumps".
Trying their idea out, Jemaine approaches women on the street and asks them if they want to pay money to have sex with Bret, who is standing across the street. They then switch roles, but are unable to drum up any business. At night, their apartment is still without power and Jemaine ends up selling his bass guitar. This results in them playing a gig with both members on air guitar performing "Robots". Murray titles his review of their show "Flight of the No-Chords" and gives them "zero stars". He also tells Bret that his boss Eddy (from his job holding up signs) has called and wants Bret to wear a giant condom costume and pass out free condoms on the street.
Jemaine, meanwhile, calls up an old girlfriend and leaves a message on her answering machine asking her if she wants to pay him for the sex they previously had during their relationship. He later ends up meeting his landlord, Eugene, who found his posting for a male prostitute service on the apartment's bulletin board. Eugene advises him to go to a fancy hotel and try his luck there, having read this in "a normal book with all kinds of facts like that". He says it's called How To Get It Done.
At a band meeting, Murray introduces Nigel Seladu, whose investment offer has turned out to be legitimate and not a scam, and results in Murray earning more than enough money for the Conchords to pay their bills and buy back their guitars. Jemaine is noticeably absent and Bret tells Murray that he is out trying to prostitute himself. Both Murray and Nigel tell Bret to go and stop him. On his way, Bret sings a song called "You Don't Have to be A Prostitute", similar to The Police's "Roxanne".
He finds Jemaine in a hotel room about to have sex with a "pretty woman". He starts telling Jemaine that he doesn't need to do this any more but is interrupted by a knock on the door. Bret explains that he called the police to come and save Jemaine. When they enter, they ask Jemaine and Bret if they are prostitutes, to which Jemaine replies "Yes" and Bret replies "No, no. I'm just the guy that wears the big condom". They are both put in jail. Murray comes to bail them out, telling them that he had to spend all of their newly-acquired investment return on bail. He also calls them "a couple of jailhouse turkeys."
During the credits, it is revealed that their power has come back on. However, a fan that was just turned on blows a pile of books over like dominoes, which then cause a spray can to roll into Bret's cup, which falls to the ground and shatters on the floor. Bret comments to Jemaine, "You'll be pleased about that."
This song is a parody of both Black Eye Peas' "My Humps" and Kelis's "Milkshake", the video for which took place in a New York diner, much like the one in which "Sugalumps" takes place. Bret briefly appears as The Prince of Parties, a reference to a song from the season one episode New Fans. Dave sings his portion of the rap in a style very similar to the opening theme of the TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
In an A.V. Club interview, Jemaine described wanting to write a judgmental version of The Police's song "Roxanne", but "it makes a lot of assumptions about the profession. Singing a song about prostitution, like 'I'll stop you from being a prostitute with this song'".[1]
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