Heeb

By Julia Young 

Z-Rock (IFCTV’s new series airing Sunday) follows ZO2, a real-life Brooklyn band that starts playing children’s birthday parties for cash. Unfortunately, ZO2 spends half the time of the part-improvised comedy sheepishly looking to the camera for help with their next joke; the other half, they deliver lines like high school jocks performing in the school play. Cameos from Joan Rivers, Greg Giraldo and Dave Attell barely make up for the cast’s weakness.

The biggest disappointment of the show isn’t the cast—it’s the recycled plotlines. At times, you feel like you’re watching reruns of Flight of the Concords. Remember those episodes in which Bret had a girlfriend that nobody liked? Well, Z Rock drummer Joey has one of those. Remember blissfully clueless manager Murray from FOTC? He’s reincarnated as Dina, Z Rock‘s fast-talking manager who warns the members not to sleep with sluts and who answers her business calls while in yoga class.

Like FOTC, Z Rock also features music performances, but while FOTC‘s hysterical vids push along the plot in seamless, organic fashion, Z Rock‘s childrens’ song snippets (as their alter-egos, the Z Brothers) are unintegrated into the storyline and feel like gratuitous detours into cul-de-sacs of unfunny. In fact, my only LOL moment came when ZO2 was pitted up against a rival kiddie band, "Kidtastic" (guest stars, The Whitest Kids ‘U Know). After Kidtastic sings their hit song “Lot’s of Things Don’t Have Wheels,” one of the Z Rockers is violently shoved into a shelf stacked with glass figurines. It ain’t FOTC, but it’ll have to do.