The Shrine

Cannot stress how funny this series is. Just got caught up with the previous seasons, and loved all of it. I was a big fan of Frisky Dingo and the smart writing here is just as good. The dialogue is intelligent and realistic, while still a constant stream of one liners. They also seem to tie each scene's dialogue together, almost like giving themselves a trademark style of theirs. (You know, sort of like Family Guy and their flashbacks, but a lot more subtle.)

The characters each have their strengths and weaknesses. Even with Archer sounding like a pompous idiot and asshole most of the time, he's still intelligent and good at his job.

The voice actors are a big part of the show - it's always worth checking out just about anything Jon H Benjamin does for a few episodes, but the entire cast really makes it come together.

I actually get annoyed by the banter. I havent seen it from the beginning, but I saw an episode the other day where Archer loses his memory of being Archer and almost didnt make it through to the end. The jokes all seem to be the same and the characters are so super one dimensional, that every episode is the same after a while, too.

- Is Archer going to be a super egotistical sexist? Check
- Is the team going to be annoyed by his antics? Check
- Will there be boob jokes about Lana? Check
- Will ultimately Archer be the best agent ever and win? Yes

Hooray.

The banter and callbacks (i.e. Lana being giant, Archer's dumb ass pet choice, Cheryl enjoying being hit/strangled, Cyril's huge monster penis) are the reasons to watch the show. The story is not the draw here. Archer being the best is supposed to be ridiculous. That's the joke. Show deconstruction ends here... its superficial nature is the best part.

Krieger is my favorite part

Promo for new season is out, and it is amazing.

I'm going to watch this series now. Thanks for the heads up.

Been watching it for a little bit now, and I love it =)

I like how the art style and setting are 1960's, but the technology seems to be up to date.

Doing a rewatch of this series since I've heard that season 11 is apparently fantastic (and I have yet to watch 9 and 10, but want to revisit the rest of the show). One thing I love about it is how it gets good REALLY quickly. While season 1 is where it's acquiring its identity, it's already great while doing so.

I'm also happy that in retrospect, Archer Vice and Sunset Boulevard Archer, two seasons that didn't get the best reception, and now are in everyone's top 3 along with either season 2 or 4. I think why fans didn't warm to them at first might have to do with wanting to keep the same old formula - but IMO, when backlash made them go back to the old formula in season 6, I think it really showed just how good Archer Vice (season 5) was. The second reason is (I think) that people didn't get the references - it's not that the seasons don't hold up on their own without knowing the source material and actor references. While the audience is mainly millennials, the content is aimed more at gen x.

Anyway, if by chance you haven't seen Archer, now that there's 11 seasons out (10 currently on netflix), it's a good time to start.

Krieger sold the group a drink to clear them of drug traces before a drug test.
Ray: "This better be worth it, it smells like liquid farts,"
Cheryl: "It tastes worse than it smells!"
Pam: "Man, if I had a nickel for every time I heard a guy say that..."

I had coffee in my mouth at the moment.

Season 3 is one of my favourites as it's when they began experimenting with arcs beginning with the "Heart of Archness" 3 episode series where Archer became a King of Pirates.
Apart from the episode with the above quote, it has my overall favourite episode as it features a few local celebrities as the villains who play Nova Scotian separatist terrorists, and it's also hilarious (usually ranks in the top 10 on lists)

Overall, one of the top 3 seasons IMO (alongside Archer Vice and Sunset Boulevarcher, or whatever that season's called).

Besides /see profile pic

So uh.... we literally named our son after this show.

He's 6 now, lol

Sterling or Archer? Both names are great.

I’m up to Archer Vice now, I’ve been weaving it into Game of Thrones, that’s why I’m a little slower on getting through the episodes.

Season 11 just went up on Netflix a week ago.

Another thing. I've been trying to piece together a timeline for Archer - has anyone else actually done this? - using world events and technological developments.

Some of the elements:
* Politically, the show takes place during the height of the cold war
* Technologically the show simultaneously takes place in the early 1980s and present day - Smart Phones (they've used both Nokia N95 style and iPhone style) are a part of society, and also The 1983 Apple Lisa which they also spend the $9,995 price each time they need to replace one.
* Speaking of cellphones, while they use modern smartphones they also use the huge 1980s style cellphones. It's not just different tech in different episodes, usually when they have a phone conversation where someone is using the 80s style cellphone, the person on the other end is using a modern smartphone.
* The civil rights movement happened during or right after World War 2.
* Archer's old butler (who is in his late 70s or 80s) is in his 30s or 40s when he served in WW1
* Some technology is way more advanced than current day, they can build cyborgs and robots on the level of Xenosaga. Space Stations are WAY bigger than the ISS.
* 1980s pop culture seems to be current, but the pop figures of the 1980s are all their current ages - Kenny Loggins and Burt Reynolds were both based on the ages they were when the episodes were made.
* Archer was born in Africa before WW2 - when Archer was older (4-7 or so) Malory was coming home from "The War" - the scene Archer was born in was very Casablanca-ish.

Sad news regarding the cast.
Jessica Walter, who voices Malory Archer, has passed away.
Her voice is such a large part of the character, and her character is such a large part of the show, I can hardly imagine how they're going to continue.

I'm now working on my first re-watch of the series since Adam Reed left as the show writer. Surprisingly, the show stayed great after, although there's been a noticeable change. The main thing about Archer's first 10 seasons was how sociopathic everyone was.



As the story goes, season 7 was largely based on the film Sunset Boulevard, and (just like that film) Archer ends up dead in a pool in the first and last part of the film.

But Archer didn't die. He spent three years in a coma (season 8-10), and everything changed. The coma seasons can be seen as 3 alternate reality independent stories: the first one, a film Noire, the next an adventure island type thing, and the third one takes place in space with references to all sorts of science fiction (Seems they were Joss Whedon fans since Alien 4 and Firefly were well represented).

When Archer wakes up, the team has changed. They're not so sociopathic anymore (maybe slightly so). Lana got married, and other spy agencies have emerged. The whole landscape changed. And Archer changes too, soon he starts getting feelings about things (You remember feelings? Well, apparently some people have them all the time!).

Anyway, one of my favourite episodes is when Archer starts dating a young woman, and goes on a double date with Lana and her husband. The episode is called Double Date. The writer who did this episode should do a film, it's the sort of comedy I like - uncomfortable socially awkward situations (Yes, I love Curb your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, and Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia as well).


Uncomfortable moments in this show are the best:


I just finished season 12, and the last episode probably had the biggest amount of character development that Archer has ever had.