Television Show Review: Archer

FX Network is the latest to create an animated adult-oriented anime program for the Thursday night slot. But unlike The Simpsons, this is a show more aking to Cartoon Networks celebrated Adult Swim line-up than the prime time original.

Even before the show came on the month long rollout from FX has made it clear that the college crowd was the target audience. The multiple 30 second spots promoting the show made it clear that this was meant to be a mix of non-PC themed jokes, crude sexual inuendo, and a parody of James Bond style spy movies.



The real question is will the program work in its 30 minute format as well as it did in 30 seconds? The answer was, not really.

It's not the over-used semi-3D blockish art that takes away form the show (which has been used for Frisky Dingo and Assy McGee among others). It's not the style of jokes. It's not the voice acting. It's a combination of all the above.

Obviously the first thing most will notice is the art. Fans of Adult Swim will be bored as this is a style that is quickly becoming overused. It's not overly detailed, eye-catching, or involving. For those that haven't seen it before it might be a change of pace, but it gets old by the end of an episode. Probably because the colors are more of a bland wash-out than bold or striking.

The voice acting is much on the same level. The actors are competent in what they are doing. The lead character, Sterling Archer, is H. Jon Benjamin - best known for being the voice of Assy McGee. His former love interest is Lana Kane, Aisha Tyler who may be most recognized from her role on CSI. Jessica Walter adds experience to the cast in the role of Mallory Archer, the mother of Sterling. Another accomplished actor is George Coe as Woodhouse, the longtime man-servant of Sterling.

They are all good at what they do. But listening to them with 80% of their lines you just don't get a feeling that there is any excitement. That somehow the cast is just not in snyc. Or that they really aren't enjoyig the lines that they have.

Which brings up the writing. It's just par. It hits the mark, but just misses the big laugh. Like the pace is off. It's so close to being very funny, but not quite.

There are many good lines though. Little bits of side comments or quick quips that catch the attention. But it's not consistent.

Watching the first 2 episodes you get a feel for the programs' potential. There is huge potential for the show to get it's legs and take off. You can feel how it could be really good. Or come completely off the wheels and crash and burn.

One thing I liked was Lana and her hyper-sexuality and interracial porn addiction. The almost Clousea-like nature of Sterling Archer is good as well, though his character would definitely be grating at an hour length.

The negatives are far more numerous. I won't even try to list them. But the good news is they are things that the show can work to remove. In fact I would imagine that many of these issues are likely worked out by the end of the season.

Archer is a bold try to grab the attention of college 20-somethings. It makes fun of the Bond types and the serious outlook on the spy thriller. The art is ok, as is the writing. But potential must be realized for the show to make it past the first set of episodes. I'll watch it again, maybe even for the most of the season, as long as this does not compete with Burn Notice. Ultimately, I don't see the show making it past 2 season though. It just doesn't have enough to make it tread water.