Archer: Season 1 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)You know, I don't normally put my review titles in all caps. But what can I say? This show is... well, BRILLIANT! I've always thought that there are far, far too many five star reviews here on amazon. But if there ever was a show that genuinely deserved a rave, this is it. Oh, and for the record, for the purposes of this review I am writing solely about the show itself, not the DVD. At the time of writing, I have that on pre-order.
Archer is a wonderfully absurdist frolic for strictly adult audiences. Fundamentally this show is a giant spoof of 1960s spy thrillers; a spoof made for decidedly 21st century sensibilities. It's the show Get Smart would have been had all the characters been perpetually high on crystal meth.
In fact, the characters on Archer are all selfish, petty, and utterly and completely venal: the three great ingredients from which comedy is made. They seem to think and act more like deranged adolescents than grown-ups. Deranged adolescents with access to firearms. Add all this together and you get some idea of the flavor of the show. Archer is very much in the spirit of the original Williams Street adult swim cartoons, but is never merely derivative of them. Which of course is exactly what you'd expect, given that this show is produced by Adam Reed, whose previous producing and directing credits include both Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo. Indeed, Reed's voice credits go all the way back to the original Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
But while a similar sense of humor can be found throughout, Archer definitely has a flair all of its own. Visually it has kind of a pseudo-realist "ligne claire" (clear line) style that matches perfectly with the creatively anachronistic world the characters inhabit. Cell phones and other contemporary technologies may abound, but jet-age fashions still prevail, and the KGB and the Soviet Union remain major adversaries.
But the first thing long time hard core animation fans will notice is that voice of H. Jon Benjamin brings its own uniquely laconic comic genius to the title role of "Archer" himself. Many of us remember Benjamin best as Coach from Home Movies. Others may recognize his voice from various bit parts in Family Guy and the Venture Bros.. But wherever you know him from, I for one am overjoyed that a suitable vehicle has finally been found for this great talent.
Better yet, Benjamin is complemented by scarcely lesser talents such as Aisha Tyler, a standup comedian who plays Lana Kane, another top operative at the same spy agency; and Jessica Walter, who plays the head of the agency - who also just happens to be Archer's mother. However, I should stress that this rather unusual combination of relationships is never reduced to mere sit-com hijinx. Archer is the kind of show were things get genuinely disturbing. In fact, this is one of those rare shows where the entire cast is incredibly strong - and backed up by an equally strong writing team, too.
What more can I say? See it!
Theo.

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Suave secret agent Sterling Archer is the world\'s most dangerous spy, but political intrigue and global crises are nothing compared to the sexual tension and human resources crises at the intelligence agency where he works. Archer must deal with his over-bearing, over-sexed mother--who is also his boss--and his femme fatale ex-girlfriend who seems to be sleeping with everyone except him. Embezzlement, mind control, hangovers, and demented double crossings--they\'re all in a day\'s work in this outrageously raunchy comedy!
Episodes on disc one:
Mole Hunt
Training Day
Diversity Hire
Killing Utne
Honeypot
Episodes on disc two:
Skorpio
Skytanic
The Rock
Dial M for Mother

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