The Flight of the Conchords Inspired Dog Names

While Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have always been creative with their characters and plot devices, one of the most popular episodes the duo ever created was titled “Love Is a Weapon of Choice”. Not only does it feature the comedic genius of Kristen Wiig, but also centers around a topic we’re quite familiar with: dogs. 

In the episode, like many others, both Bret and Jemaine get simultaneously distracted by a woman (named Barbara, who Bret argues is named “Brahbrah”), this time in a park. When they stop to talk to her, she explains that she and her epileptic dog Charlie, a Yorkshire Terrier, had “a disagreement” and he “ran out” and that she’ll be around looking for him if they happen to see him. In true Conchords fashion, they break into song, much of which humorously details the situation they both just found themselves in, which is basically meeting a woman they both know nothing about (“What’s she like? What does she do? All I know dog, is that she’s careless with her dog”). 

The next day, the two try to impress her by showing up at the park with about ten different and completely random dogs all of different breeds, most of which are far too large to be a Yorkshire. As a Dalmatian jumps up on Barbara, Jemaine calls him Charlie and assumes that it must be her dog as it seems to recognize her despite her claims that the dog is not hers. When they realize none of the dogs are hers, they decided to offer her all of them, then explain that they just “found” the “terriers” and thought they might be Charlie and grabbed them just to make sure. She then finally shows them a picture of Charlie which only further confuses them, as in the photo, he is dressed up as a kitten — she explains that is wasn’t Halloween but that she had to smuggle him into a “no dogs allowed party”, then provides them her number. 

The rest of the episode is spent with the two trying to outdo each other to win her affection, including writing a song about epileptic dogs, trying to come up with an “antidote” for epilepsy (Bret) and even holding a concert fundraiser, which ironically features strobe lights that happen to trigger canine epilepsy. In the end, the woman finally reveals that her name is actually “Brahbrah” and that her dog Charlie has actually been missing for six years.