The Phoenix Foundation rose from the ashes of Wellington's late-90s high school music circuit to become one of the country's most acclaimed bands. Like MacGyver (the TV show the band name references) the six-piece have brought an eclectic DIY approach to six albums of accomplished alt-pop, plus some quirky soundtracks (Boy). The Herald rated Happy Ending "one of the best examples of pop music to come out of New Zealand"; Following 2013 double album Fandango, the band's sixth long player was 2015's Give Up Your Dreams.

Self-described as “Ewen Gilmour’s not-so-special”, this episode from stand-up showcase Pulp Comedy praises Gilmour's beloved West Auckland. Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey even presents his Cultural Ambassador with the coathanger to the city. Nothing escapes the late comedian’s warm-hearted bogan barbs, from cerebral palsy to the Avon River. Also included are an ode to hitchhiking, George Mallory’s claims to have beaten Hillary, the love-making benefits of a goatee, flying high, stoned semen, westie Halloween and using the SPCA as a cattery.

Fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Flight of the Conchords headline this episode of the TV stand up comedy series with the creepily earnest 'If You're Into It' (guaranteed to lose all but the hardiest of new girlfriends) and their hip-hop folk opus 'Hiphopopotamus'. Host Brendhan Lovegrove explores the speech patterns of Southlanders, Andre King does his best to ensure he won't be invited back to Palmerston North, and Sully O'Sullivan reveals himself as a menace to small animals and moving vehicles (but with a possible future in survey research).   

This episode of the stand-up comedy show ends with an early screen appearance by Flight of the Conchords. The duo perform two songs that will later appear on the first HBO series, and debut album. The funky 'Ladies of the World' goes beyond Julio Iglesias, while the epic 'Bowie' (three and a half minutes into clip three) pays homage to the man whose complex changes of tempo and vocal range proved too difficult for them to play. Mike King hosts, John Glass reflects on bachelorhood and kissing etiquette, and Chris Brain references bikers, the Wiggles, Bill Gates and Star Wars.

This special episode of the TV stand-up comedy series showcases a newly blonde Cal Wilson and features guests Flight of the Conchords, who spoof small town tourism operators, take office supplies as metaphors for love to absurd lengths, and serve up some overly polite, self censored gangster rap. Wilson's other friends are her own creations. Katie the Chief Bridesmaid's contribution to nuptial disharmony invokes Rowan Atkinson's 'Father of the Bride Speech' by way of Lyn of Tawa, while her "sister" Adele is a painfully earnest feminist poet in a neckbrace.

Director, writer and actor Taika Cohen (aka Waititi) features in this episode of the stand-up comedy TV series with an off the wall performance as Gunter the German "joke" teller — a buck-toothed, bewigged persona pitched somewhere between Andy Kaufman and Sacha Baron Cohen. Fiona MacKinnon is in more conventional territory recounting her graduation and 21st, and musing about moving suburbs in Wellington. While Andrew Clay has tattoos and one night stands on his mind, and a concern that the early years of the 21st century are lacking in poetry.

In this episode from stand-up comedy TV series Pulp Comedy, Rhys Darby arguably steals the show: a very limber tyrannosaurus rex impression animates a surreal tale about taking his grandfather to the movies, which results in dinosaurs running amok in Auckland's Queen Street. Elsewhere, Mike Loder's conclusion that no disgrace could lead to Tiger Woods losing his sponsorship deals, and Justine Smith's opinion that her hometown of Christchurch is rather lacking in excitement may not have quite stood the test of time.

Of the four performers on this episode of Pulp Comedy, Sam Wills arguably makes the most lasting impression. His fast-talking magic show is a far cry from his mute act The Boy With Tape On His Face (aka Tape Face), which later became a sensation via TV's America’s Got Talent. Although his Pulp Comedy performance is a lot more vocal than the one that would make his reputation, his quirky use of props is  familiar. Elsewhere on the show Mike Loder has a dangerous encounter with a wētā, Vaughan King talks beds, and host Paul Ego gets in trouble trying to order a coffee.

Taika Waititi's 80s extravaganza wouldn't have been complete without the man himself arriving on set in a DeLorean — the time-travelling car from Back to the Future. The clip for The Phoenix Foundation is another homage-packed example of lo-fi genius from the Oscar nominated director. Note how Eastern European-derived keyboardist Luke Buda is playing a 'Poland' synthesizer. Said Waititi: "I spotted the DeLorean parked near our flat in Mt Cook, and left a note under the wiper saying 'what year are you from?' Turns it was one of two owned by a local doctor."

The video for this Phoenix Foundation single features Bret McKenzie excavating a deep hole, in a landscape that evokes the work of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky (although Loren Taylor's video was actually shot in a clearing close to Wellington's wind turbine). The band turns up to watch, and the man finds eye-opening liberation from his toil. Vocalist Samuel Flynn Scott credited inspiration for the song to musician Lawrence Arabia’s recipe for satisfaction: ditching dreams of success, in order to enjoy making music. The result was a finalist for the 2016 APRA Silver Scroll.