DVD Review: Archer (Season 2)

DVD Reviews, Reviews, Top Story

When it comes to animation on network television, the network that seems to have an intrinsic desire to make as many adult-oriented cartoons seems to be Fox. One of their niches is animation aimed for someone besides children, aiming a bit bluer than traditional cartoons. In many ways they seem to have found an outlet for those who don’t want to turn into Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network late at night; there’s an audience for those who want to watch animated cartoons covering risqué topics. So it’s an oddity that a show like Archer would find its way onto FX in that manner; it seems to be a show tailor made for a time slot between Family Guy and American Dad! on Sunday night. But thankfully it found its way onto FX instead of being on Fox, properly, for one good reason.

It’s so remarkably filthy that the things that make it so charming would never find their way onto network television.

Archer follows the workings of a spy agency through the eyes of the world’s greatest secret agent: Sterling Archer (voice of H. Jon Benjamin). Under the thumb of his mother Malory (Jessica Walter), who runs ISIS, Archer takes the inherent glamorous premise of a James Bond film and turns it on its head. Everyone is a bit off kilter, for lack of a better word, as the show is a descent into the sex and violence filled misadventures that somehow revolve around black ops.

FX has a legacy of producing comedies that stretch the limits of basic cable. Cable is a medium that allows for more but most shows tend to self-censor more than anything else; outside of a few choice words and most nudity, pretty much anything goes in Archer. Which is part of its inherent beauty, oddly enough, is that there seemingly is no limit to what the show won’t parody or make fun of. This is a show that is seemingly self-aware that it’s a parody of everything glamorized in a Bond film and runs with it. Sterling Archer is the sort of secret agent James Bond is but his rampant womanizing and alcoholism is taken to an excess that is shockingly funny. This is the kind of guy Bond probably would be like in real life based on his cinematic endeavors and Archer is such a jerk that he becomes fun to root for in a way.

Lost in all of this is that the show itself is really well written. If you eliminate the blue humor you have a well crafted spy spoof that succeeds in also being a good genre entry. There’s no matter of shenanigans the ISIS staff isn’t getting into and it manages to be entertaining throughout. Each episode is structured well and the show’s continuity is well maintained throughout the second season; this season is more assured than the first was. The show has managed to capture the spirit of the first season, with the same level of no holds barred style comedy, but hones it much more effectively than the first.

Archer is the kind of show Seth MacFarlane wishes he could do on broadcast television.



Presented in a widescreen format, the transfer onto DVD is fairly solid. It’s nothing remarkable but good enough to get the job done.

There are minimal extras on the set. Archersaurus – Self-Extinction plays into a gag on the season 1 DVD set that swapped out Archer for a raptor in the pilot episode. The joke works a little bit better the second time around because the other characters offer commentary about it. Two other features are fairly amusing but short. Ask Archer and Semper Fi. L’espoin Mal Faitbegins with the premise at the expense of the one cast member who doesn’t resemble his animated counterpart. There are 13 minutes of excerpts from the Archer panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

The extras may be fairly weak but Archer is one of the best things on television.

20th Century Fox presents Archer (Season 2). Starring H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Chris Parnell, Amber Nash, Aisha Tyler. Running time: 286 minutes. Not Rated. Released on DVD: December 27, 2011. Available at Amazon.com.