"Sally Returns" is the fifth episode of the HBO comedy series ''
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's come ...
''. It first aired in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on Sunday, July 15, 2007.
This episode received an Emmy Award nomination in 2008 for "Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series".
Plot synopsis
After a chance meeting at the
laundromat
A self-service laundry, coin laundry, laundromat, or coin wash is a facility where clothes are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, and in the Unit ...
, Jemaine reconnects with Sally. She is interested in resuming their relationship but tells him that they have no future while he remains roommates with Bret. Jemaine immediately announces that he is moving out but refuses to tell a perplexed Bret that it is because of Sally.
At a band meeting, Murray announces that he has started a "band investment portfolio". He has been creaming a bit off the band income and has purchased some real estate — three
stars
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
for fifty dollars each. Bret is pleased but Jemaine thinks it's a waste of money. Later in the episode they learn that Jemaine's star has gone supernova.
Jemaine takes Bret and Murray to see his new apartment. It turns out to be an empty cleaning cupboard, which Murray dubs a "compartment". When Jemaine announces he has to leave on a date, Bret quickly works out that it is with Sally. A jealous Bret takes Coco on a date to the same restaurant to which Jemaine has taken Sally. After dinner we learn that Sally is having a birthday party which happens to conflict with Jemaine's
housewarming
A housewarming party is a party traditionally held soon after moving into a new residence. It is an occasion for the hosts to present their new home to their friends, post-moving, and for friends to give gifts to furnish the new home. House-warm ...
.
In the week leading up to the parties, the two band-mates launch into an escalating competition to craft the most thoughtful and beautiful birthday present for Sally.
At the housewarming, Jemaine learns that Bret has gone to Sally's party instead, so he abandons it also and rushes to Sally's place. However at Sally's party they both get a shock — she tells them that she is
engaged
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
to Mark, an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
former boyfriend. Mark has given her a BMW, which vastly outshines the creepy gifts that Bret and Jemaine have made. The two are heartbroken.
Walking home, Bret asks Jemaine to move back in. Jemaine agrees and then passes on a message from Coco — she has decided to dump Bret due to his obsession with Sally.
Notes
* This episode is the conclusion of both the Sally and Coco story lines.
* When Bret and Jemaine arrive at Jemaine's new apartment, the doorman greets them with "Welcome back Mr. Clemaine (apparently, a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words
Songs
This episode features the following songs.
"Business Time"
In the song "Business Time",Track listing of The Distant Future EP Sub Pop Records Jemaine fantasizes about married life with Sally. The premise of the song is that Wednesday is the night of the week that they "usually make love". After some "
foreplay
Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...
" (brushing their teeth) and a couple of false starts, the objective is completed within two minutes, resulting in an unsatisfied Sally and a "sleepy" Jemaine. The song is performed in a bassy spoken voice interspersed with singing, similar to the style of
Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
. The guitar Bret uses in the song is seen hanging in Dave's shop in other episodes.
"Song for Sally"
"Song for Sally"Lyrics from Episode 5: "Sally Returns". Official HBO Website is Bret and Jemaine's response to Sally announcing her engagement. In this duet, they each competitively describe their love for her and how each wishes that she'd come back to him. This sequence is shown at 60 frames per second instead of the usual 24.
Cultural references
During Bret's interrogation of Jemaine as to why he is moving out, Bret refers to Jemaine getting a "hickey from Judy Bailey". He is referring to veteran New Zealand news reader Judy Bailey.
In the same conversation, Bret mentions his mould collection. He refers to one mould by name, which he pronounces 'Aspergillius Finigus'. This appears to be a made-up name, although
Aspergillus
' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide.
''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Mic ...
(no 'i') is a real genus of fungus. It is possible he is just mispronouncing the word '
fungus
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...