An international superspy date-raped by a sixteen year-old princess from Gstaad; a sex robot named Fisto Roboto; a scientist who doses his secretary with LSD to induce love — all of these delights (and more!) are the plots driving this season's funniest R-rated animated show, one that is surprisingly not airing on Adult Swim. Yes kids, "Archer" is back and — as if it were even possible — cruder than ever.
The masterpiece by Adam Reed, whose previous shows, "Sealab 2021" (2000-5) and "Frisky Dingo" (2006-8) actually did air on Cartoon Network, returned to FX for a second season on Jan. 27 with yet another healthy dose of satire, misogyny and general poor taste. And thus the world sang and rejoiced, for "Family Guy" was getting just a little too avant-garde.
In case you've never watched "Archer" — a sad thought — let me give a quick season one summary. Actually, no, I can't do that, because this show is so densely packed that even a single episode summary would kill my word count. Let me instead just simplify: "Archer" spans the genres of '60s Bond pastiche, workplace comedy and porn. Basically, it is a magical combination of "Get Smart" (1965-70), "The Office" and, well, porn.
But best of all, "Archer" is the successful "Arrested Development" (2003-06) reunion that Mitch Hurwitz has tried in vain to create in "Running Wilde" (2010) and "Sit Down, Shut Up" (2009).
Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth on "Arrested Development") voices yet another overbearing mother, Jeffrey Tambor (George Bluth on "Arrested") acts as her scorned lover and Judy Greer (Kitty Sanchez on "Arrested") plays — you guessed it — a ditzy, sexually perverse secretary.
The similarities don't stop there, however, as "Archer" clearly matches the quick pace, smart humor and dysfunctional drama of "Arrested Development." So if you worship "Arrested Development," and you know that as a member of this nebbish student body you do, just imagine "Archer" as an animated, gun-toting 1960s version of the beloved sitcom, except about 85 percent raunchier.
The cartoon revolves around the life of the title character, Sterling Archer, and the misanthropes he works with at his mother's spy agency ISIS. Archer, voiced by the great H. Jon Benjamin of "Bob's Burgers" fame, is a hard-drinking, hooker-touting, emotionally crippled mama's boy with a reputation as the most dangerous secret agent in the world.
Archer's coworkers include Dr. Krieger (Lucky Yates), the resident scientist/doctor/inventor who can rarely "get an erection that doesn't involve homeless people;" the valet Woodhouse (George Coe), who once tried to shoot an apple off the head of William S. Burroughs' wife; Pam (Amber Nash), the obese, sexually voracious and bi-curious Human Resources director; and Cheryl — or is it Carol? — (Greer), the slutty secretary with a hankering for autoerotic asphyxiation. Are you getting that sex is kind of a big theme here?
The perverted nature of the show is only compounded by its animation, which looks like a crossbreeding between a Norman Rockwell painting and Richard Linklater-type rotoscoping. Don Draper could have easily designed an ad in "Archer's" image, with its sleek suits and crisp lines — a beautiful and hilarious contrast to the unrelenting hedonism that defines the show.
Ignoring bawdiness for a minute, "Archer" often reaches a surprising amount of depth, especially in its sophomore season. Characters that have consistently changed over time now have revealing backstories that give insight into their ridiculous psyches. There are overarching plot lines that are not simply forgotten at the end of each individual episode — making it a far cry from your average Fox or Nickelodeon cartoon.
"Archer" airs every Thursday at 10 p.m. on FX, making it another reason, along with "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "The League," to switch from watching NBC's Thursday night line-up. I could end this review on a poignant note about Archer's mom's desk dildo or his 80-year-old valet's heroin addiction, but instead I'll just leave you with the immortal catchphrase of Sterling Malory Archer: "Wait, I had something for this."
