Snap Judgment: 'Flight of the Conchords' pilot

With The Sopranos coming to an end, HBO has an arsenal of new shows slated for summer and fall to help combat the predicted drop in ratings. One of these pilots is Flight of the Conchords, an offbeat comedy about Bret and Jemaine, the New Zealand-based ''digi-folk'' duo that moves to N.Y.C.'s East Village to promote their band and (they hope) score with some hot chicks. The series premieres at 10:30 p.m. on June 17, but HBO has made the hilarious first episode available online. (Watch the whole thing here. Or just watch the "Robots" music video below. Then check back after the jump to read PopWatch's first impressions of the series.)

With FotC scheduled after Entourage on Sunday nights, HBO seems to have put together what will surely be the funniest hour of comedy on television. Best of all, the shows could not be more different. Entourage is all beautiful bodies, witty banter, and Hollywood celeb-whoring; Vince and the gang go the hottest parties, eat at the finest L.A. restaurants, and have groupies clambering after them everywhere they go. Bret and Jemaine, on the other hand, live in a small, one-bedroom apartment in New York, go to sparsely attended parties at their mate Dave's house, and have only one fan — a girl named Mel who is, by all accounts, a complete maniac.

One thing that the shows may share is a scene-stealing agent. Well, in a way. FotC's Murray Hewitt is actually just a part-time band manager who keeps his day job as ''Deputy Cultural Attaché'' for the New Zealand Consulate to pay the bills. He also takes attendance at meetings that involve three people and films the band's music video on a cell phone. In short, he is the anti-Ari Gold, but I'm hoping he plays a significant role in the show as it progresses.

To me, the bespectacled Jemaine Clement has a sort of Napoleon Dynamite quality to him, insofar as he just looks funny even when he's not speaking, and he's got a sort of awkwardly cool vibe going on. Indeed, the whole pilot vaguely reminded me of Napoleon in the way that the characters just sort of lurk around and pour their limited energy into absurd activities, like constructing a ''hair helmet.'' If you've seen the trailer for EAGLE VS. SHARK, which was written and directed by Clement's Humourbeasts collaborator Taika Cohen, you might have noticed that Clement's style is just generally pretty weird and hilarious, rife with straight-faced non-sequiturs, silent staring, and amazing dance moves.

Sort of like a Tenacious D for the ''folk-parody'' set, Bret and Jemaine have been pushing their peculiar musical-comedy act on the international circuit for many years. As a duo, Flight of the Conchords began to receive critical attention after they caught a Perrier Award nomination at the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, though they had already developed a cult fan base from the release of their live comedy album, ''Folk the World'' (2002), and other festival appearances. The duo also had a successful BBC Radio show and a special spot on HBO's 2005 stand-up comedy series ''One Night Stand.''

If you don't have time to watch the full pilot, be sure to check out the song "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room," easily the most amazing ode to feminine mediocrity that I have ever heard.

What do you think, PopWatchers? Will FotD gain a hallowed spot in your DVR schedule? And is Jemaine weirder than Napoleon D?