Archer Season 4, Episode 1: Fugue & Riffs

Archer is a point of contention in my otherwise harmonious household. Wife hates it. Compares it to Family Guy, which in my house is like Godwin’s Law. Her point is that it’s a one-joke shambles full of dumb sexist tropes and loathsome characters. Which is weird, because she likes Mad Men.

I look at Archer as a workplace comedy. It’s basically The Office, substituting florid psychosis for quirkiness and adding more guns & gnarly sex. This works for a lot of shows: The Walking Dead is basically The Office substituting the zombie apocalypse for working in a dying industry in a down economy. Anyway, I like Archer. He’s Michael Scott in this scenario. Anyway, season premiere…

So we begin with the Bob’s Burgers crossover gag. Fine. I expect a Dr. Katz crossover gag forthwith. I’m a fan. Service me.

The slightly more humanized character design does no one from the BB cast any favors, especially Archer, who looks like Freddy Mercury post-invisalign. And we get some lovely gore! Movie riffs so far: L.A Confidential, Terminator 2, Jaws, and the Long Kiss Goodnight.

Back at ISIS HQ, we have a shout-debrief with Mallory and Lana in the control room. Movie riffs so far: Dude Where’s My Car, Apollo 13, The Manchurian Candidate.

Noted: Krieger has a live piglet in the pocket of his lab coat. And the map on the wall shows the Soviet Union intact.

And we’re off to the most gorgeous mid-century modern spa ever. I’m 100% behind SterlingBob on the Margarita recipe. Take notes.

If you were wondering about the age range for the writers on this show, the Shazam/Isis hour gags are all you need. And the Bugs Bunny Road Runner hour gags, I suppose, and Archer’s Miss Piggy war cry.

Aaaaaand poolside shoot-out with real KGB! Movie riffs: True Romance, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Night of the Living Dead. And I’m throwing in Dark Knight Returns just for laughs.

And Villain Reveal! Barry and Other Barry are a charming couple. OK, last riffs: 6 Million Dollar Man, Resident Evil, Austin Powers.

To sum up: I laughed several times. Feel free to judge me. We’ll be back next week to do this again.

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Posted by Will Judy on January 17, 2013. Filed under Headline, Popcorn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry