Until NBC's "The Office" comes back in the fall, it looks like HBO's new Sunday-night show "Flight of the Conchords" is the most reliable half-hour of nonstop laughs on television.

I'm not alone in my devotion. Everyone I've screened the show for has become an instant convert.

New Zealand comedy-and-music duo Flight of the Conchords write novelty songs that expertly lampoon MTV videos going back to the '80s. The songs comment on the show's story lines, which often involve situations that could tear bandmates/roommates Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement apart as they struggle to make it in big, bad New York City.

Ineffective manager Murray (played by Rhys Darby) can't get them any gigs. They have one fan, an obsessed female stalker named Mel, played by Kristen Schaal.

Tensions arise when, say, Bret gets a girlfriend, which makes Jemaine jealous (that episode was titled "Yoko"). Or when Bret gets a day job, and Murray and Jemaine decide he's neglecting the band. So Bret quits the band. Then he rejoins for a dynamite closing musical number.

Then there's shallow Sally, a recurring character played by Rachel Blanchard of the TV version of "Clueless." Sally has dated both guys, caused a few rifts between them and broken both their hearts.

So what do they do in those heartbreak moments? Why, break into a pseudo-soul song, of course!

Tom Guild, a former radio personality who now runs SoundTrax recording studio in Raleigh, says he watches the show with his 18-year-old daughter.

"It's a funny little show, " says Guild. "It's like one joke they're able to flesh out more and more."

"Flight of the Conchords" runs at 10:30 p.m., right after the popular "Entourage" and although he's a fan of both, Guild agrees with me on which one is funnier.

"In terms of just crack-your-sides laughing, ["Flight of the Conchords"] has got it on 'Entourage,'" he says.

'Kyle XY' provides thoughtful family sc-fi

I've really been getting into ABC Family's "Kyle XY," which airs Mondays at 8 p.m.

In this second season, the mystery has been solved regarding Kyle, the strange young man with the super-high I.Q. who woke up at the beginning of season one in a Seattle forest with no memories -- and no navel! It turns out he was incubated by the sinister firm Madacorp.

Kyle lives with the family of Nicole Trager, the therapist who took an interest in him when he lived in a state-run children's home. This season, Madacorp has planted Kyle's somewhat dangerous female counterpart, Jessi XX, into the Pragers' lives. The poor brainwashed girl is not even aware of her mission.

In part, the show is a sci-fi thriller. But it's also aimed at teaching teens and tweens about compassion, forgiveness, right versus wrong, responsibility, prejudice and first love.

Endearingly, that last one is where super-brain Kyle gets all tripped up, as he clumsily woos cute neighbor Amanda. Actor Matt Dallas plays Kyle just right, as a wise-but-naive odd duck. His deep voice, constantly furrowed brow and calm, contemplative manner in almost any situation may owe something to Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock. Kyle's aura takes over the screen, and he's as lovable as can be.

Viewer Joe Lupton, a retired high school teacher from Durham, has watched since season one.

"I really like the interplay between the parents and their kids," he says. He thinks Kyle helps the two generations in the Prager household understand each other better.

I agree. The messages and happy endings can be a little corny and heavy-handed at times, but "Kyle XY" is a good show for parents to watch with their kids -- and even by themselves.

Cooler talk: Big love pours in for 'Big Love'

I griped in last week's column about how I wasn't hearing enough from readers about my current favorite show, HBO's polygamy drama "Big Love," which airs 9 p.m. Mondays.

Boy, did I start something. I have heard from a lot of people who have grown to love the one husband, three wives and seven kids that make up the fictional Henricksons of Sandy, Utah.

Tom Guild says, "I miss 'The Sopranos.' I sure miss 'Six Feet Under.' But 'Big Love' makes all of that so much easier to handle. We've been hooked since the first episode, because like you pointed out, it's another crime family drama."

The crime-family part comes in when hardware-store owner Bill does business with dangerous polygamists who run compounds. This season, Bill's attempt to break into the polygamist-friendly video-poker- machine business places him in peril between the warring factions of sect leaders Hollis Green and Bill's father-in-law, Roman Grant, played by Harry Dean Stanton.

I don't want to be too much of a spoiler for anyone who didn't see it, so let's just say it ended badly for Grant in Sunday's shocker ending.

"That was the best episode I think I've seen yet," says Nancy Bair of Wendell. She says she surprises herself over how much she's come to accept and love the taboo Henrickson family.

"I love the dynamic between the three wives," she says. "It was neat to think, 'Well, I'd like to be first wife. Third wife is pretty neat, too. I definitely wouldn't want to be second wife.' "