(And we all know it’s not the end for Flight of the Conchords, the band, who’ll be playing Coral Gables’ BankUnited Center on April 7. )

But the potential end of the show contained two of the best plotlines in the series’ entire run — Mel and Doug’s marriage crashing to earth, and Murray creating a musical of Bret and Jemaine’s experience.

The boys are evicted from their apartment when their landlord discovers they had been paying with New Zealand dollars, rather than U.S. bucks. (And the fact that Eugene, the landlord, uses a calculator watch to figure out their back rent was priceless.)

Mel gladly takes them in (Doug, not so much). And, certainly to no fan’s surprise, basically traps them in her home. This in turn leads to the weakest point of the episode, where Bret’s nightmare morphs into the song, “Petrov, Yelyena and Me,” a song of cannibalism that may be one of the duo’s weakest.

But to see Mel explain how she and Doug are splitting up as if Bret and Jemaine were to become the children of divorce. (And they flash to Doug’s post-breakup life in an RV reverting to his partying ways. Which is the happiest we’ve seen him all season.)

Meanwhile, Murray continues to work on his Conchords musical — in which he confuses bits of Bret’s New Zealand childhood with that of Luke Skywalker’s on Tatooine. (Murray cuts those scenes, which once again disappoints Greg, who seems to have worked very hard on a landspeeder model.)

They iron out the rough edges and present it to Murray’s colleagues from other embassies, and somehow, ends up getting the boys — and himself — deported back to New Zealand.

Will I be sad to see the boys ride off into the sunset on Murray’s tractor in a sheep paddock? A little. But it could end here, and I would say it was one heck of a run.

Dave (Arj Barker) and Jemaine give Bret competing advice through walkie-talkies.

“It should work. I saw it in a sitcom.”

The words should immediately be followed by an impending sense of doom.

Lovestruck Bret didn’t pay heed in his pursuit of a pet store clerk in this week’s Flight of the Conchords and as a result, well, it didn’t end well.

Bret is smitten — as he tells in a song full of cheese — but is too shy to approach and instead ends up buying 63 goldfish three at a time. So Bret enlists Jemaine as a wingman — and Jemaine’s hesitancy should’ve clued Bret in that this was a bad idea. And the bad idea becomes worse when Dave, the boys’ more libidinous friend, joins Jemaine in an attempt to help woo the fair clerk Cyrano-style.

Good way to do it — whisper to the lovestruck guy from below the balcony.

Bad way to do it — yell competing information through walkie-talkie.

Worse way to do it — have walkie-talking in plain sight with no headphone. All while wearing a kilt.

This fails.

Bret and Jemaine also watch from afar, at which Mel catches them. Instead of shaming them, Mel brings her stalker expertise to the fore and gets the goods on the fetching clerk, whom Bret learns is named Savannah.

Bret then tries again, this time asking Jemaine to fake-mug him and the object of his affection. Jemaine in turn enlists John (Lenny Venito) — a mugger who’d befriended Jemaine after mugging him in Season 1 — but John can’t go against his nature and succeeds in actually mugging Bret and Savannah.

Jemaine returns home to see Savannah after a 'freaky' night.

Unfortunately, when Jemaine returns home from the police station after he and John are arrested, Savannah recognizes Jemaine and everything unravels.

The way things usually unravel in sitcoms. And Bret should’ve known that!

Dave, Bret and Jemaine are clearly too cool.

You see, I grew up in the 1980s. And while I knew people who delved into styling gel, I resisted. And after watching this week’s episode of “Flight of the Conchords”, I now know why.

Murray decides that, after a disastrous, one-man-in-the-crowd (and that man snuck out during the first song) gig, Bret and Jemaine aren’t cool enough. And he breaks out the blue canister of hair gel.

The boys are hooked right away, slathering it on as if it were Pom-ade and they were Gail and Evel in Raising Arizona.

'Fashion is Danger': And it's 1982 all over again.

But disaster strikes when they run out. They can’t — simply can’t — be seen in public un-gelled, and after Murray fails to fetch them more, the show produces one of two good FOTC scenes. They lambaste Mel, who snuck into their apartment — not for having a key made for their place, but for not having gel.

“I don’t even KNOW you guys anymore!” Mel screams as she leaves.

Now, it doesn’t really turn into a “very special episode” of the Conchords with Jemaine screaming “I’m so excited! I’m so excited! I’m so scared!” (That would be “Saved by the Bell”.) Instead, Murray talks them out of their “gel addiction”, they play with massive bed-head, it’s a disaster at New Zealand Town.

However, blink and you miss the other great scene — Arj Barker’s Dave running the information booth, giving completely made-up facts about New Zealand.

“What language do you speak?”

“Oh, we make it up as we go along. That’s what makes us so hard to understand.”

Murray (Rhys Darby), Greg (Frank Wood) and Bret (Bret McKenzie) work with Prime Minister Brian (Brian Sergent)

Apparently, there are limits to Mel’s crazy.

We find this out in this week’s episode of “Flight of the Conchords” as Mel realizes that the new apple of Jemaine’s eye (played by 24 star Mary Lynn Rajskub — you know her as Chloe) is a little too beyond the pale.

And when you go beyond Mel’s threshold, that’s saying something.

But then, Jemaine’s new girl does like to see him dress like Art Garfunkel before they get to business time. She calls it “Garfunkeling.”

The good news this week is that the show was dealing with two good plotlines — Jemaine’s Art-centric lady friend and the rest of the cast dealing with the New Zealand prime minister.

Frazzling Murray beyond his usual state, Prime Minister Brian — who’s not a great dresser and brings his own cheese in a briefcase — throws everything into a wild spin with his arrival. Brian (Brian Sergent) insisting on a presidential visit, and becomes incredibly obsessed with The Matrix after seeing the DVD in Dave’s shop. (“How’d you get this?” Brian asks. “This just came out in New Zealand!”)

(A quick aside: I haven’t mentioned Dave all season — Arj Barker’s foul-mouthed shop owner has served a superb and needed role as confused guru this season. Sorry, Dave.)

Sergent’s work as the prime minister is the episode’s true high point, though. As clueless as Murray, Brian runs the country the way one might run a deli, asking a subordinate to get his cousins to fix the environment.

That’s saying something, considering the other plotline’s as much fun. It starts when the boys are asked to impersonate Simon and Garfunkel, and ends when the real Art Garfunkel arrives.

If there was a weak point of the episode, it was the songs — they can’t be winners every week — though Bret’s Korean karaoke was a true “wait, what was that?” moment. Indeed, sometimes, love can be “as sweet as kalbi [a Korean meat delicacy].”

Bret and Jemaine try to woo Brahbrah (Kristen Wiig)

Bret and Jemaine had been through a lot together, and maybe they had their differences, but in the end they were always on the same side.

Then they met Brahbrah.

And the Flight of the Conchords would be divided as never before.

Kristen Wiig has made a career of playing off-kilter women both on Saturday Night Live and in a relatively young movie career, and her work as Brahbrah — whom Jemaine thinks is named Barbara (silly man!) — gives the episode a great conflict that adds to this season’s rising hilarity.

As Brahbrah catches both guys’ eyes, Bret and Jemaine enter in a incredible game of oneupsmanship. It starts with a smart parody of R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet” when they first meet the object of their desire, and it just gets weirder from there.

After a while, Bret is stumbling down the street in Jemaine’s glasses, while Jemaine is gluing a beard to his face after Brahbrah tells each how they like the other’s distinctive features.

And then there’s the sudden interest in helping epileptic dogs.

You see, the boys first ran into Brahbrah while she searched for her epileptic dog. This let to each attempting to write a song about helping the epileptic dogs, which in turn led to a battle in a recording studio, followed by one of the most insane attempts at a benefit show ever.

It also leads to an unexpected pleasure — a Meat Loaf/Jim Steinman parody called “Love is a Weapon of Choice” that is spot on and among their best.

I mean, they use doves in the video. Come on.

Bret and Jemaine finally have a conflict.

This is the one we’ve been waiting for.

During the first season of “Flight of the Conchords”, the show crossed into greatness territory a few times, with the best example being the episode where Jemaine imitated David Bowie. (“The funky, funky eye patch”)

While there’s no imitations this time — and really, you can’t top the Bowie — that same great level was finally hit when Jemaine decided to start dating an Australian girl.

Among New Zealanders, there’s apparently no worse thing you can do than be with an Australian — even Jemaine recoils in horror after realizing he’s at her apartment after a drunk night out. (It’s hilarious how he comes to realize it, after seeing Men At Work posters, koala portraits and empty Foster’s cans.)

Put it this way, when asked what kind of accent his new girlfriend has, Jemaine asked: “Is it the evil twin of our accents?”

But he does, which allows this episode to do something no other really has during the entire second season — let Bret and Jemaine play off each other. This is basically the first genuine conflict the two have had since the second season began, and it’s awesome to watch.

Jemaine and his Aussie girl, Keitha.

Bret wants to try and sabotage the relationship by leaving a voice message — er, “answerphone” message — and trying to pass it off as Jemaine’s girlfriend, Keitha. It’s painfully obvious it’s Bret, but he tries desperately to sell it.

(And Keitha is basically every Australian stereotype come to life — both her parents are criminals, she’s a slob, and her accent makes her unintelligible to the New Zealanders in the cast.)

The songs here are also at a very high level — from the opening Euro-trash disco song the title of which I can’t exactly repeat (but it involves the all-too-familiar situation for guys when there’s too many men in a club) to the second song that may be the best of the season so far.

Jemaine takes on the role of chronicler of past girlfriends in “Wonky Eyed Girl”, but he does so with a real panache, almost giving his voice a Ray Davies vibe. It’s equally hilarious and wistful. The video work is goofy — and is really the only place where director Michel Gondry shows off his weird side.

While I was looking forward to Gondry’s work here, I was expecting something more along the lines of “The Science of Sleep” or “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, full of inventive weirdness. Instead, I came away admiring Gondry’s restraint, allowing Bret and Jemaine to really work well together.

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement begin their tour the night before at Tampa’s Performing Arts Center before bringing a show to UM’s basketball arena.

This is clearly a far cry from the HBO show, where they have been playing camper vans. (“Sold-out gig!” Murray chimes in.)

The tour will be in support of a new upcoming album, which arrives in stores and on your favorite download site April 14.

The boys will tour through May 25 in Berkeley, Calif. The full tour schedule can be seen at Pitchfork.

Mel tells Jemaine about her dreams.

Dreams are “the playground of the mind”, so I’ve heard. And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t push Mel off the slide in her playground.

At one time or another, you’ve dreamed someone has wronged you in your dream. And you see them the next day — and it’s awkward to be sure, but you don’t demand an apology.

Mel, the biggest and only fan of The Flight of the Conchords, played with a brilliant mix of enthusiasm and fanaticism by Kristen Schaal, will make you apologize. Or, at least, she made Bret apologize. (We never actually hear what Bret did. Given Jemaine’s facial expression, not sure we want to know.)

Earlier in the episode, we get a glimpse into Mel’s one-tracked dreams — always somehow involving Bret and Jemaine and extremely psychedelic. This is one playground you don’t want to mess with.

(An aside — Michel Gondry directs next week’s episode, but the dream sequence had a definite Gondry-ness about it.)

The meat of the episode revolved around band manager Murray’s efforts to take his relationship with Bret and Jemaine to the next level — from workmates to friends. Which seemed to be a good idea until Murray’s other best friend — the amazingly inquisitive Jim (played by the hilarious Jim Gaffigan) — arrives on the scene. Things go downhill clearly from there.

After last week’s so-so visit into gangs, this is a return to form — and it speaks well for the remaining episodes. Can’t wait for the Gondry episode.

Bret and his gang.

Bret has a posse. Just like Andre The Giant.

(You may remember those handbills. Up on lampposts and posters. Back in the ’80s? “Andre the Giant has a posse.” No? I’m the only one?)

Clearly oblivious to the stories about Suge Knight, Tupac, Biggie and all the rest, Bret decides to diss pretty much every rapper he’s ever heard of. (“Snoop Dogg… is bad. Jay-Z… is bad.”)

This, of course, stirs up fears of reprisal.

(We’re not going to go into the fact that the disses were made in a library, where the only people in attendance at the Conchords’ performance were the usual suspects — fangirl Mel, manager Murray and their pal Dave. And the rest of the people there just wanted the boys to be quiet.)

(I guess we did go into that fact.)

Wisely, Bret decides he needs a gang for protection. But this being Bret, he ends up with Seymour Cassel in his gang. 

The bad news here is that the show takes the first real misstep of the season with its “West Side Story” parody. It was cute, but didn’t rise above that point, and, really, why is it when gangs are brought up in a comedy, “West Side Story” inevitably follows? 

Does this misstep make for a bad episode? No. In the show’s initial number, a rap, Jemaine bemoans being ignored for his casserole skills. You can’t match that.

Plus we had Seymour Cassel in this episode, playing a guy who’s been in every gang known to man.

It helps to know that Cook is Australian, a group of people that serve as a target for some of the boys’ more pointed comedy.

Basically, you start reading it, and it’s just like watching the show.

Also worth a look: Time’s visit to the set and Reuters’ view of the phenomenon.

Bret sells himself, straws, nut loaf.

JEEEE-maine!

Sorry… this new episode of “Flight of the Conchords” put me in mind of The Police’s classic “Roxanne” — and using Jemaine’s first name works better in the chorus.

And it all starts with a green ceramic cup.

I’ll explain: Bret buys a cup, as he’s tired of having to wait his turn for the community cup. The $2.79 sends Bret and Jemaine’s economic situation over the edge — and down goes the power, phone and gas. Then the boys sell their instruments, so no more gigs for the Flight. Meanwhile, Murray, who might be able to help them, has given his emergency money to a Nigerian on the Internet.

(…pause for breath…)

So the boys turn to prostitution. And I’d follow that with the internationally recognized noise one makes for “What a shame”, but I’m not sure how to write that. Tut-tut? Tsk-tsk? T-T-T?

Anyway, while Murray stole the spotlight in last week’s season opener, this week’s biggest bright light was the band’s lone fan, Mel. Kristen Schaal’s character finally has the opportunity to get physical with the boys she’s literally crazy about — to be honest, it’s really just a massage, and not a very good one at that — but she’s basically ready to give herself to these guys. And right in front of too-nice husband Doug, too.

“Oh I feel like I hired a gigolo. What?! I wouldn’t, just kidding, I wouldn’t, well, I would, but I wouldn’t pay you, I would (whispering) I would pay you so much money!”

Wow.

Between Schaal’s barely-hanging-on-to-reality Mel and the Flight’s forays into speed rap and reggae-esque pop, the show continues in that first-season form.

Bret and Jemaine meet with agents Martin (Greg Proops) and Caitlin (Andrea Rosen)

When I was offered the chance to write about what is formerly New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo, Flight of the Conchords, I jumped at it.

Then I heard that I wouldn’t actually be flying out to join them on tour. Apparently, TV Talk doesn’t have that kind of budget.

Thankfully, the new season of the Flight’s HBO series has started. And, in a way, the first season of the adventures of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement ended on a cliffhanger of sorts.

So, pretty exciting way to start my TV-blogging career, no?

See, the boys’ manager, Murray (the consistently superb Rhys Darby) — who was juggling his life as deputy cultural attache at the New Zealand consulate with keeping an eye on the band — had somehow ended up managing the wildly successful pop duo Crazy Dogggz (yes, there are three g’s in Dogggz. And a z.). Murray drives off in an expensive car — and the boys are left to dance angrily, a la Footloose.

The new season begins with Murray still managing both bands, though by the confused agenda he presents and the gold records in his opulent office, Crazy Dogggz seem to be monopolizing Murray’s time. (Although still plenty of time for Murray to chastise Bret and Jemaine for stealing a cushion during a library gig.) Bret and Jemaine decide they’ve had enough and fire Murray.

Murray (Rhys Darby) bemoans being 'Rejected'

Now, if you’re new to the show you may be confused by a character suddenly bursting into song. This is not Cop Rock, it’s OK. Murray sadly sings about his rejection with a song called “Rejected”, during which he shows a surprising adeptness to opera.

Meanwhile, Bret and Jemaine end up with the opportunity to provide a jingle for Femident, the organic toothpaste for ladies. (When they ask if they can taste it, they are quickly rebuffed. It’s only for women.)

A quick aside — one of the two agents is played by the great improv comic Greg Proops. And you couldn’t have hired a more perfect guy for the part — smug as they come, this agent role is in his wheelhouse.

Murray is clearly frustrated the boys are finding success without him, and to compound matters, Crazy Dogggz have stolen their big hit “Doggy Bounce” from a Polish band. (Murray does try to explain that the Polish band has recorded a cover version, but wonders if the fact that they recorded it 13 years beforehand is bad. Lemme think… YES. Yes that is bad.) He ends up booted from his office and living in his car.

Despite turning in a jingle that’s 18 minutes long and possibly full of bad lyrical ideas from misogynistic buddy Dave, the boys get the commercial, and actually get to appear in it too — as toothpaste (white costumes with red stripes, the little swirl on the head, etc. It’s the kind of thing I’d love to see in real commercials. But I’m probably alone in that.)

Sadly, their hopes of getting paid are dashed when their illegal status is discovered. Even Murray’s attempt to help falls short, though he does end up with his old job at the consulate, despite his fears that he’s considered unwelcome:

Murray: “I’m persona non regattae there. Do you know what that means?”

Jemaine: “You’re a person not at a yacht race.”

It turns out a solidly comic opener, though I wasn’t all that impressed with the music — at least, not as much as the first season’s songs. However, that’s a huge legacy to live up to, and I have a lot of hope for the rest of the season. Maybe they could let Murray sing more.