Archer

Article by Charles Guthrie

Paging Dr. Loggins, you’re in the Danger Zone. Well, maybe not you, but these folks at ISIS definitely are.

Archer may only be in its second season, but it’s become a big sensation ever since the debut of its ten-episode long first season. Our hero (if you wish to call him that), a suave secret agent and extremely egotistical ladies man named Sterling Archer (voiced by Henry Jon Benjamin) is the filter of childish innocence mixed with adult humor. It may seem like an uninteresting solution, but given that he works as a secret agent for his mother’s spy agency and has quite the retinue of equally estranged co-workers, one can see how his ego can easily get him through a stressful day at the office.


The setup isn’t too far from what you would expect from an almost sitcom like take on modern day technological advances and social norms mixed with a Cold War era idea and superstition about the espionage field. Well come to think of it, maybe that isn’t too easy to picture at first. The unique feature of the series is its writing style, specifically for the dialogue, pitching its own inside-joke type memes in many episodes and dishing out its fair share of witty one-liners. For instance, one of the more prominent ongoing gags throughout the series has been the aptly timed references to Kenny Loggins hit song Danger Zone. Anytime someone is pushing their luck, or just sets themselves up for the witty reference, the opportunity is not passed up. Seriously, you’re in the DANGERRR ZONE!


The supporting cast is just as memorable as Sterling Archer himself, if not more memorable. He and his mother Mallory Archer are always bickering over something, with a conversation flow that seems more than simple routine by this point in their lives together. His ex-girlfriend and fellow secret agent Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler) are also constantly bickering, more so over Lana’s disgust at Sterling’s unhealthy connections with his mother and extremely egotistical behavior. A fair portion of the drama, as well as the plethora of witty remarks, stems from this rivalry between Sterling and Lana. They aren’t the only ones caught up in it all though, there is an entire support staff at ISIS that is included in the shenanigans. There are many worth mentioning, but I believe Dr. Krieger deserves the limelight here. He plays no real major role other than that of comic relief (needed that in a comedy show right?). It’s not a simple bit of relief however; Krieger is a…strange man. He is a very, very strange man, harboring a wide range of sexual fetishes and other related interests that serve to break the ice through extremely awkward conversations. From his hobo-erotic (yes, hobo-erotic) sexual fantasies to his extremely innovative yet quite practically useless inventions, Krieger is always bringing that awkward laugh out in the viewer, often followed by a sincere “Wtf?!” moment.


Season one set the stage for the characters and their personalities, with little real development of any long storyline or problem that takes up multiple episodes. Season two is shaping up to be a real in-depth project at drawing out more actual story and meaning from these characters, following things on a basis of development as opposed to stand alone comedy pieces. Not that the latter was bad for the first season or anything; Archer hardly needs much of a developing story to be wildly entertaining. It is nice to see that it keeps its unique style and sense of rhetoric comedy intact while shifting gears though. So far season two has been quite the development. I won’t spoil any of it for hopeful viewers out there, but it is shaping up to be ten times better than the first season. And if you haven’t seen that yet, then you are seriously missing out. This is prime meme material for the internet or your water-cooler breaks at the office. Don’t let yourself slip into…

The DANGER ZONE!

Sorry, I had to one last time.