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Archer (2009 TV series)

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Archer
File:Archer 2010 Intertitle.png
GenreAction/Adventure
Sitcom
Created byAdam Reed
Voices ofH. Jon Benjamin
Judy Greer
Amber Nash
Chris Parnell
Aisha Tyler
Jessica Walter
George Coe
Adam Reed
Lucky Yates
Country of originTemplate:TVUS
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes36 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAdam Reed
Matt Thompson
ProducersNeal Holman
Eric Sims
Casey Willis
Running time19–21 minutes
Production companiesFloyd County Productions
Radical Axis (season 1)
FX Productions
Original release
NetworkFX
ReleaseSeptember 17, 2009 (2009-09-17) –
present

Archer is an American animated sitcom television series created by Adam Reed for the FX network. A preview of the series aired on September 17, 2009.[1] The first season premiered on January 14, 2010.[2] The show carries a TV-MA-LSV rating.

The inspiration for Archer came to Reed while in a cafe in Salamanca, Spain. Finding himself unable to approach a beautiful woman seated nearby, Reed conjured up the idea of a spy who "would have a perfect line".[3] Reed conceived the show's concept while walking along the Vía de la Plata in 2008.[4] He pitched his idea to the FX Network, which accepted it and ordered six episodes, along with an additional four scripts.[5] The show ended its first season on March 18, 2010, and the second season premiered on January 27, 2011.[6] The season 1 DVD was released in Region 1 on December 28, 2010. On December 17, 2010 the first season of Archer also aired in Germany on Comedy Central Germany.[citation needed] On March 29, 2011 it was announced that FX Network had ordered a 16-episode third season of Archer.[7] A three episode special dubbed "The Heart of Archness" was aired in September 2011. Ten new episodes from season 3 began airing on January 19, 2012.[8] On February 23, 2012, FX ordered a 13-episode fourth season of Archer.[9]

Premise

Set at ISIS, the International Secret Intelligence Service (cf. SIS, ASIS, CSIS, NZSIS) in New York City, suave but incredibly self-centered master spy Sterling Archer deals with global espionage; his domineering, hypersexual mother/boss, Malory Archer; his ex-girlfriend (and fellow ISIS agent), Lana Kane; and his other ISIS co-workers (including fellow agent Ray Gillette, accountant Cyril Figgis, Human Resources Director Pam Poovey, secretary Cheryl Tunt, and Applied Research head Doctor Krieger); as well as a less-than-masculine code name: "Duchess" (after his mother's deceased Afghan Hound).[10]

The show's time setting is comically anachronistic, deliberately mixing technologies, clothing styles and historical backdrops of different decades. The characters wear 1960s clothing and hair styles and several episodes feature references to the Soviet Union as a current nation and to Fidel Castro as the current leader of Cuba. Similarly, the second episode of the series shows a very young Sterling receiving a letter from Malory about Operation Ajax, which occurred in 1953, though the same episode includes a reference to Dane Cook, who was not a well-known figure until the 2000s. In another episode Sterling, at a similarly young age, is shown after trick-or-treating with Malory who was wearing an Elvira costume. As Elvira did not appear until 1981 this implies the series is set well into the 2000s (however if Archer is 36 and was 5 when Mallory returned from what was presumably World War II, the show's first season would take place in 1976). Woodhouse's involvement in World War I implies the show is not set in modern times (the last surviving World War I combat veteran died at age 110 only months after an episode depicting Woodhouse and several other members of his specific squadron as still living[11]). The technological sophistication within the series varies, with characters using computers that are dated (e.g. reel-to-reel mainframe systems, dot-matrix printers and punchcards), but also cell phones, GPS devices, and laser gunsights (though it could be argued that these technologies are only available to those working within ISIS due to its use of advanced technologies). In addition, modern day insults are prevalent (such as "suck it", "screw you", and "douche bag"). This ambiguity is explicitly recognized in the season 3 episode "Lo Scandalo". (Malory: "What year do you think this is?" Archer: "I, uh, yeah. Exactly. Good question.") Adam Reed was asked about the conflicting style, and concluded, "I just think it's ill-defined."

Episodes

Main article: List of Archer episodes

Characters

Main article: List of Archer characters
  • Sterling Malory Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), codename: Duchess, is 184 lb, 6'2", 36 years old (computer-screen readout in the show's first episode), and is considered the world's most dangerous secret agent. Though he shows proficiency in stereotypical spy skills—weapons, driving, martial arts—his only real interest in the job is the opportunity to enjoy a jet-setting lifestyle full of sex, alcohol, thrills, lacrosse, fast cars, and spy toys (in that order).
  • Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler) is the top female agent at ISIS and Archer's ex-girlfriend. A tall, beautiful, African American woman, she is a competent and deadly agent but is constantly frustrated that she is treated as the number two ISIS field agent because Archer's mother runs the agency.
  • Malory Archer (Jessica Walter), Sterling Archer's mother and the head of ISIS, is a self-centered alcoholic who regularly hatches half-baked, invariably disastrous schemes to use the agency's resources to her own personal advantage; she has staged a false assassination attempt on a U.N. official to secure a lucrative government contract and called in a fake bomb threat to get a luxury cabin on a "cruise" aboard a rigid air-ship.
  • Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell) is the comptroller of ISIS. Cyril is portrayed as quite competent at his job but is plagued by a number of personal issues. He was Lana Kane's love interest at the beginning of Season 1, but due to residual trust issues from her relationship with Archer, she refused to call Cyril her boyfriend or say she loved him.
  • Cheryl Tunt (Judy Greer) is Malory's secretary. In the pilot episode, she was portrayed as a lovesick, ditzy secretary frequently taken advantage of by Archer, but that side of her character was gradually phased out as her behavior became more and more unhinged: she has pyromaniac and sadomasochistic tendencies and is often sniffing or swallowing rubber cement.
  • Pam Poovey (Amber Nash) is ISIS's Human Resources Director. She condescends the staff by talking through a dolphin puppet in disciplinary meetings, and she regularly gossips confidential information to the whole office (within an hour, everyone knew when Archer was on a secret mole hunt, though she also relishes revealing more personal information, such as a co-worker being stricken with cancer). She has a blog on which she posts office gossip.
  • Doctor Algernop[12] Krieger (Lucky Yates), is the head of the ISIS applied research department. He spends most of his time working on projects to facilitate his kinky sexual fantasies. It is discovered he shares blood ties to Adolf Hilter being one of "Boys from Brazil".
  • Ray Gillette (Adam Reed) is an openly gay intelligence analyst and one of the few competent members of ISIS. He and Lana are such good friends that he can discredit her clothes as knockoffs and she will merely laugh it off. When she offers to bed the whole agency and Cyril asks why he is lining up, he quips, "Please... nobody's that gay!"

Production

Screen shot from Archer TV series.

Each episode of Archer takes a couple of months to produce following the completion of the script. The show is mostly animated by Reed's Floyd County Productions in Atlanta, Georgia,[13] while 3D background models are made by Trinity Animation in Kansas City, Missouri.[14] Originally, Radical Axis housed the show's animation staff for Season 1, but the crew has since moved to their own facilities close to Emory University.

From left to right: Aisha Tyler, Adam Reed, H. Jon Benjamin, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer and Amber Nash at Comic-Con International in 2010

The artistic style of the series was designed to be as realistic as possible, so the character designers used as much reference material as they could.[15] The character drawings are based on Atlanta-area models; they coincidentally resemble some of the voice actors in the series.[16] As Chad Hurd, the lead character designer for the series, noted, the end result resembles "a 1960s comic book come to life."[17] Television critics have also compared the show's overall visual style to that of the drama series Mad Men,[18] as well as noting that lead character Sterling Archer, in particular, bears a substantial resemblance to Mad Men's protagonist Don Draper.[19] The artwork is also similar to the original Jonny Quest cartoon series penned by artist Doug Wildey in the 1960s.

Stylistically, the show is a mix of several different time periods; show creator Adam Reed described it as "intentionally ill-defined", noting that the show "cherry-pick[ed] the best and easiest from several decades".[16] Numerous plot details arise from contemporary culture, such as Affirmative Action and sexual harassment complaints.

Archer is influenced by the early James Bond films, as well as OSS 117 and The Pink Panther,[16] and can be compared to Reed's former shows for Adult Swim, Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021.[15] Driven by rapid-fire dialogue[20] and interaction-based drama, the series is "stuff[ed]...with pop-culture references"[21] and features an anachronistic style, using fashion from the early 1960s, a mix of 1980s-era and modern technology and a political status quo in which "the Cold War never ended".[16]

Relation to other media

Arrested Development

Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross and Judy Greer previously starred in the Fox critically acclaimed comedy series Arrested Development. Since both shows largely revolve around feuds and rivalry disputes between family members, Archer has been described by its creator, Adam Reed, as "James Bond meets Arrested Development".[22] There are also notable similarities between the characters played by Greer, Walter and Tambor. Of particular note is Archer's relationship with his mother, which parallels somewhat Buster Bluth's relationship with Lucille Bluth, including the fact that both sons refer to her as 'Mother.' and are still under great parental influence as adults. Judy Greer's character is a "lovelorn secretary",[23] Walter is the wealth-wielding matriarch and Tambor, while not the husband, is her long-lost passion interest and possibly Sterling's biological father as well (which is similar to Tambor's secondary role on Arrested Development, Oscar).[24] Both shows also frequently use callbacks and catchphrases. Walter stated in an interview that she became interested in "Archer" after her manager saw the pilot script describing Malory as "Think Jessica Walter in Arrested Development" and sent her the script.[25]

Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo

Just as some series voice-actors have worked together previously, notable people on the Archer animation and production teams (such as Adam Reed and Matt Thompson) were also cooperatively involved in several shows for Adult Swim, most importantly Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021. All three shows share similar animation styles; a trademark which initially began with Sealab's cut-and-paste juxtaposition of vintage cartoon clips and modern dialogue, was modernized with computer animation for Frisky Dingo, and continues with essentially unchanged appearances for some characters in Archer. The show also shares numerous stylistic and character development similarities with its two predecessors.[15] One of the supporting characters from Frisky Dingo, Mr. Ford, makes a cameo appearance in "Drift Problem", the fourth episode of Season 3 of Archer, repeating one of his Frisky Dingo catchphrases ("My ass is everywhere.") which seems to further cement the lineage between the two shows.

Bob's Burgers

The fourth season of Archer will include a crossover episode with Bob's Burgers.[26]

Reception

The show has seen positive reviews, scoring a 78/100 on Metacritic for its first season, 88/100 for its second, indicating "universal acclaim", and 75/100 for its third.[27] Entertainment Weekly called it a wittily raunchy spy spoof,[28] and the Miami Herald referred to it as "a millennial (and very much R-rated) Get Smart that acerbically and hilariously plays on our post-9/11 fears that 'U.S. government intelligence' might be a grim oxymoron."[29] The show has been nominated for a 2010 Emmy and a 2012 Annie Award.[citation needed]

DVD release

DVD Name Region 1 release date Region 2 release date Region 4 release date Blu-ray release date Episode count Discs Additional content
Season 1 December 28, 2010[30] May 2, 2011[31] March 2, 2011[32] December 27, 2011[33] 10 2 An allegedly unaired Archer pilot (essentially the first episode with Archer replaced by a human sized velociraptor), an unaired network promo, deleted scenes, a six-part "The Making of Archer" featurette, bonus episodes from The League and Louie.
Season 2 December 27, 2011[34] May 7, 2012[35] February 29, 2012[36] December 27, 2011[37] 13 2 Archersaurus - Self Extinction; Ask Archer; Semper Fi; L'espion Mal Fait; ISIS infiltrates Comic-con.
Season 3 January 8, 2013[38] 13 2 Commentaries on "El Contador", "Drift Problem", and "Lo Scandalo "; extended version of "Heart of Archness"; Answering Machine Messages; Cooking with Archer; and trailer for Gator 2

Awards

In 2010, H. Jon Benjamin was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voiceover Performance.[39] On July 17, 2010, Archer won the NewNowNext Award for "Best Show You're Not Watching".[40] Archer was nominated for and won Best Animated Comedy Series at the 2012 Comedy Awards.

Archer was also nominated for Best Comedy Series at the 2011 Critics' Choice Television Award. It won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series in 2012.[41]

References

Notes
  1. ^ Toomey, Johnathon (2009-11-16). "FX quietly plans sneak-peek of animated Archer". TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  2. ^ Joyce Eng. "FX Sets Midseason Schedule". TVGuide.com.
  3. ^ Brophy-Warren, Jamin (2010-01-11). "New FX Series "Archer" Puts an Animated Twist on the Spy Genre". Wall Street Journal.
  4. ^ "Jan. 14 Thurs. 10 PM" (PDF). FX Network. p. 4. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  5. ^ Zahed, Ramin (2009-08-18). "FX Orders 6 Episodes of Archer Toon". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/02/fx-renews-archer-.html
  7. ^ Ward, Kate. "It's official: 'Justified,' 'Archer' renewed at FX". Inside TV. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  8. ^ Nehra, Pete. "Aiesha Tayler on Sklarboro Country". Interview Podcast. Earwolf.com. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  9. ^ Surette, Time. "FX Renews Archer for Season 4". TV.com. CBS Entertainment. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  10. ^ "FX Official Site: About the Show". FX. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  11. ^ "Last man who served in two world wars dies, 110". The Age. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  12. ^ tie-in book How To Archer: The Ultimate Guide to Espionage and Style and Women and Also Cocktails Ever Written by Sterling Archer, p. 27
  13. ^ "Archer Crew". FX Network. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Local Animators Ready for Cable Debut with 'Archer'". FOX4 News. January 5, 2010.
  15. ^ a b c Exclusive: Adam Reed On The Origins Of FX's 'Archer'
  16. ^ a b c d Reed, Adam (2011-02-24). (Interview). Interviewed by Vlada Gelman http://www.avclub.com/articles/adam-reed,52336/. Retrieved 2011-02-24. {{cite interview}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |program= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |subjectlink= ignored (|subject-link= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Hurd, Chad (2009-11-21). "Hey Everyone!". FX Network. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "Spy Spoofing in Archer". Animation World Network, January 14, 2010.
  19. ^ "FX spy satire 'Archer' a bull's-eye". New York Daily News, January 14, 2010.
  20. ^ Miller, Michael (2011-01-25). "Spy guy Archer returns in TV's saltiest show". Toledo Free Press Star. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  21. ^ Tucker, Ken (2011-01-27). "'Archer' season premiere review: Is this the best (adult) cartoon on TV?". Ken Tucker's TV. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-03-04. Creator Adam Reed and his collaborators stuff every half-hour with pop-culture references that zip by as quickly as Archer's snow-mobile did this evening.
  22. ^ Levin, Gary (July 16, 2009). "FX's 'Archer': Bond meets 'Arrested Development'". USA Today. Retrieved Sep. 15, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. ^ Lee, Allyssa (Jan. 6, 2010). "Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter to Reunite on 'Archer'". TV Squad. Retrieved Sep. 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  24. ^ Ausiello, Michael (Jan. 5, 2010). "Exclusive: 'Arrested Development' reunion coming to FX (but there's a catch)!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved Sep. 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Jessica Walter PCM interview". Pop Culture Madness. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  26. ^ Next 'Archer' season will include a 'Bob's Burgers' crossover episode -- EXCLUSIVE
  27. ^ "Metacritic reviews".
  28. ^ "EW Archer review".
  29. ^ "Miami Herald Archer review".
  30. ^ Archer - Season 1 DVD Information | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  31. ^ http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/17493614/Archer-Season-1/Product.html
  32. ^ Archer - The Complete Season 1 (2 Disc Set)
  33. ^ Archer - Season 1 DVD Information | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  34. ^ Archer - Season 2 DVD Information | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  35. ^ Archer - Season 2 [DVD] [NTSC]: Amazon.co.uk: H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Amber Nash, Chris Parnell, Aisha Tyler: Film & TV
  36. ^ Archer - The Complete Season 2
  37. ^ Archer - Season 2 DVD Information | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  38. ^ Archer DVD news: Announcement for Archer - Season 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  39. ^ 2010 Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
  40. ^ 2012 NewNowNext Awards | Vote for Everything New, Now and Next in Pop Culture | Logo TV Awards
  41. ^ NBC, 'Community' top Critics Choice Awards - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety
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