With all of these new television series and seasons, it is hard to determine what is worth watching and what is not. Jersey Shore was great, Lost will be huge and Parks and Recreation ... meh. Despite the network giants looking to capitalize on winter TV spikes, there is one show on cable that is worth every ounce of your attention. That is, if you enjoy high-speed humor driven by punch lines.
Archer is a new animated series on FX that premiered Jan. 14 and thus far has gotten praise from TV critics. The show's creator, Adam Reed, first had the idea of the show in 2008. Reed also created the successful adult swim shows Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo. IGN.com named the latter series one of the 100 greatest animated shows of all time.
FX's latest follows the title character, Sterling Archer, a secret agent who is one of the most dangerous men around the world - and also one of the sleaziest. He's as good at burying dead hookers as he is at firing a pistol. His co-workers include Cyril Figgis (voiced by Chris Parnell, Saturday Night Live); a nerdy accountant as Archer's ex, Lana Kane (voiced by Aisha Tylor, Talk Soup); and Archer's mother as an equally deadly field agent, Malory (voiced by Jessica Walter , Arrested Development).
First off, let me say this: Archer is not for everyone. The show itself can be very crude and crass. Think The Simpsons with a strap-on. Topics such as Mrs. Archer's near-bestial obsession with her dead dog and Lana Kane's affection for interracial porn come up frequently in the show's dialogue.
Crude topics aside, the script is hysterical. The writers have done a great job with the timing the humor appropriately. The writing is so dense with punch lines that one must go back and watch it again to fully grasp and appreciate each episode, much like Frisky Dingo or Arrested Development does, as well. Sadly, none of the episodes are online, unless you illegally download them - which, by the way, is not a recommended course of action.
Archer achieves a similar type of humor to South Park. Even though the topics discussed fall within the category of what my family would call, "bathroom humor," it still connects with people on a higher intellectual level. The flow of the show is similar to that of an episode of Family Guy. Archer and the rest of his co-workers get into some crazy scheme that lands them into a series of hilarious misadventures.
Overall, Archer is a surefire hit. If you can deal with crude humor, Archer will keep your sides bursting - from laughter, not gunfire. Archer comes on tonight at 10 p.m. on FX (Channel 57 for most of you).
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