Flight of the Conchords, sadly, has come to an end.

If I were to be perfectly honest about it, I’m of two minds on this. Part of me is quite sad about it, as it was one of the funniest shows out there. The songs were hilarious, the deliver impeccable.

But the problem is that the show was based on the songs that FOTC (Bret and Jemaine) composed. The first season was based on songs they already had written. Season two took as long as it did to get on the air because they had to write a whole slew of new songs.

While Season 2 was not as consistently hilarious as the first, it was still funnier – consistently – than most sitcoms.

From FOTC’s website:

Bret, Jemaine and James (co-creator/director) said “we’ve noticed the less we say about the future of the show, the more people want to talk about it, so in an effort to reverse this trend we are today announcing that we won’t be returning for a 3rd season. We’re very proud of the two seasons we made and we like the way the show ended. We’d like to thank everyone who helped make the show and also everyone who watched it. While the characters Bret and Jemaine will no longer be around, the real Bret and Jemaine will continue to exist.

I just have to say, I’m quite relieved that the REAL Bret & Jemaine will continue to exist.

For those who can’t remember how the second season ended: Bret & Jemaine were deported back to New Zealand, where they were tending sheep on a mountaintop.

Here are some of my favorite FOTC songs:

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Let’s hug it out, bitches – in a congratulatory kinda way: Entourage, Hung and True Blood each are getting another season.

So said HBO today, according to Backstage.

For those who are counting, that means Season 7 for Entourage, Season 3 for True Blood and Season 2 for Hung. All well-deserved.

Let’s face it, the Entourage boys are fun. How could you not be happy for Turtle that he’s dating an honest-to-goodness Hollywood starlet? And how could you not be touched by Turtle’s deep-seated friendship with Johnny Drama that he was even willing to ask Jamie-Lynn to do a makeout scene with Johnny on his TV show?

I was even feeling badly for Vince that he’s all alone, kinda. And E that he’s bored at his work. Though his little girlfriend was totally right – why was he bothering with that when he doesn’t have to? Especially when it isn’t really working out.

As for Hung, well, that show is a winner. It’s not what I expected, except it is exactly what I expected – something funny and whimsical and smart from HBO. HBO has rarely disappointed. And even when it’s not quite hit (John From Cincinnati), it’s still been … interesting.

I think the budding friendship between Ray and Tanya is really nice and could become one of the better buddy stories of current-day television. And I like the dynamic between Ray and his children and the twins with each other. I like that the kids are neither perfect nor loser misfits. They’re teenagers going through teenage angst and teenage phases.

And you know that neighbor wife totally has her eye on Ray and as soon as she finds out, she’s gonna make him sleep with her in exchange for not telling her husband. Or, she’ll just flat-out hire him. Can’t decide yet.

And then, True Blood.

What can you say about this show that hasn’t already been said? It’s gory, it’s nearly pornographic at moments and it’s funny. It’s also suspenseful and sweet at the same time.

The scenes between Hoyt and Jessica were absolutely adorable. Both when she told him she had to go to sleep and not to worry that she looked … dead … and when she told him to take his pants off.

I’m finding the whole backstory issue very interesting. Once Bill had explained how he became a vampire, I hadn’t thought much about how he’d lived his life since. Now that we’re seeing how he’d been so bloodthirsty for so long and how much it bothered him, his decision to drink True Blood is in a new light.

Obviously, he had a very strong moral center before being turned, and then being in the Civil War and seeing all the death and carnage made a very strong impression on him.

He felt obligated to his maker to do her bidding, to kill with her and pretend to enjoy the wanton slaughter. But after a while, he couldn’t take another innocent’s life.

Now: Did Mrs. Newlin actually shoot Jason or was that a stun gun? I couldn’t quite tell from the angle? Does Eggs know Maryann’s true nature? Is Tara ever going to be able to get Maryann out of Sookie’s house and why does Maryann latch so much onto Tara?

Lots of questions, another month’s worth of episodes to find out some answers.

All I can say is I’m really glad Lafayette’s back in the game. Love that boy.

By the by, Backstage said True Blood increases its audience every episode, with an average of 3.8 million viewers now tuning in — but 11.2 million when you count the repeats/DVR/On Demand. It’s HBO’s most-watched show since The Sopranos. Nice.

And, according to Backstage, Big Love is returning in January and Flight of the Conchords is likely to return for a third season. The Pacific, a World War II miniseries will air in March and lead up to the return of David Simon to HBO (The Wire, anyone?) with his New Orleans-based drama, Treme.

No word yet on In Treatment and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, neither of which I watch, though my mother-in-law loved No. 1.

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I’ve been catching up on all sorts of shows lately, so I thought I’d just wrap up some thoughts on some of what I’ve been watching:

Burn Notice

I think Michael Westen got his groove back. I absolutely adored Season 1. I enjoyed individual episodes in Season 2, but as a whole it left me feeling sort of meh.

But the bickering between Sam and Fiona, the weekly escapades of being a good guy, the decreased emphasis on the overarching mythology (c’mon, we have enough of that with Lost and BSG), Michael’s MacGyveristic tendencies and the goofiness of Sam’s love life (right now, I’m watching the scene where Sam is trying to talk to the lady of his dreams while taking down a bad guy) – nevermind Michael’s mom (Sharon Gless is totally awesome).

All of that adds up to a weekly 40+ minutes of goofy enjoyment.

And Romo Lampkin as a bad guy? Love it.

Fringe

OK, it’s J.J. Abrams, so I was bound to love it.

But the show has my favorite character currently on television – Dr. Walter Bishop.

The man opens his mouth and I laugh. The other week, I recall, someone said something about needing to cut someone open. His response: “Oh goodie, I love to cut.” Or something along those lines.

I giggle almost as much during Fringe as I laugh out loud during 30 Rock.

The whole underlying mythology? I can take it or leave it. I can’t expend that much mental energy on more than one J.J. Abrams special at a time, and Lost is taking up more than its share these days.

What I really like about the show is that even though there’s this mythology, each week can be taken in and of itself. It’s as close as I come to enjoying a procedural. Granted, it’s a procedural that involves the ability to enter someone else’s consciousness and other weirdness, but that’s par for the course with me.

Life on Mars

While I do wonder about the reason Sam’s back in 1973, I watch each week for Harvy Keitel and Michael Imperioli. Keitel’s cop is my second-favorite character on television these days, behind only Dr. Walter Bishop (see Fringe, above).

And Imperioli’s 1970s sexist pig is a joy to behold. Loved it when Annie basically saved his life this week. And Annie’s relationship with Sam is super-cute, too.

Brothers & Sisters

Loved it the first season.

Second season, started to wane.

This season? Pretty much over it, but I still watch most weeks. Dunno why. Can’t help it. Must stop.

Flight of the Conchords

If you’re not watching this show, you are missing one of the funniest things ever on television. “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor” almost rival’s last year’s “HipHopOpotamus v. the Rhymenoceros.”

Please, for the love of all that’s holy, just watch this show.

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