‘Legion’s Oliver Bird And Admiral Fukuyama Met Before… On ‘Flight Of The Conchords’

FX’s Legion is all about connections. Whether it’s the way your synapses fire to create memories and dreams, or the connection between two people, or even how our delusions bind us together. But did you know that Oliver Bird (Jemaine Clement) and Admiral Fukuyama met in 2006… On a different TV show?

Okay, maybe not really, but fans of Legion on Reddit discovered a fun, surprising connection between the two characters. In case you’re not familiar with Clement’s backstory, he rose to fame as half of the excellent New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. They eventually got a show on HBO for two seasons that is weird and fabulous and you should definitely watch.

But in the middle there, they traveled to the South By Southwest Music Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas and filmed a documentary along the way. The 45 minute long doc (Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odyssey) eventually aired on New Zealand’s TV3, and is filled with the band’s idiosyncratic humor, including some man on the street segments. That’s where they meet this guy:

Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odyssey

Wait a second, is that the basket-headed, er, head of Division 3, Admiral Fukuyama? Well, no, it’s just a Texan with a basket on his head. Also of note, the curly-haired dude interviewing in the segment is Clement’s bandmate Bret McKenzie, so I’m lying all over the place here.

But there is an explanation. Fukuyama on the show has deep ties to the potential origins of the Mi-Go monks, who themselves have ties to Lovecraftian mythology. But in real life, there are actual Japanese monks, called the Komusō, who wear baskets on their heads. That’s where Legion got the distinctive look for Fukuyama from, and there are notes of his character taken from the Komusō:

So in summary: no, Oliver Bird never really met Admiral Fukuyama on a street in Austin in 2006. But it’s a fun documentary, and neat to know that the look of Fukuyama on Legion holds more significance than just “looking weird.” It’s also nice to know that sometimes those connections exist, and sometimes… You’re just drawing connections when there are none to begin with.

Watch Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odyssey Here:

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