FX presents: Archer, Season 5,
Episode 3: "Archer Vice: A Debt of Honor"
Originally aired: 01/27/2014, 10 P. M.
Comedy, Animation
Main Cast: Commercial Breaks included the following:
- H. Jon Benjamin as Sterling Malory
Archer - ”Vampire Academy” movie
- Aisha Tyler as Lana Kane - Old Spice, mom song
- Jessica Walter as Malory Archer - Taco Bell, 6' 10” guy
- Chris Parnell as Cyril Figis - Dave and Buster's sports bar
- Judy Greer as Cheryl Tunt - BSI credit card relief service
- Amber Nash as Pamela “Pam” Poovey - ”Legit” with Jim Jefferies
- Lucky Yates as Doctor Krieger - ”3 Days to Kill” movie
- Adam Reed as Ray Gillette - PS4, awaits song
- George Coe as Woodhouse - Sprint's family cell phone plan
- Burger King, 2 for $5
- MIO drink squirt product
- ”That Awkward Moment” movie
EPISODE SUMMARY:
For the ex-ISIS clan, a botched
mission, involving selling cocaine for exuberant profit to Cubans in
Miami, has left them broke. Not that they weren't paid, they were
just paid in well-crafted counterfeit bills because of a ruse. Pam,
the overweight human resources director at ISIS, took the blame for
the failed mission, being that she was taken along for the ride as a
mule and ingested much of the coke on the way. Sterling, Archer's
main character and number one secret agent in the world, brings back
the bills only to realize the ruse too late.
For “Archer Vice: A Debt of Honor,”
Malory, Sterling, Lana, Cyril, Ray, Cheryl, Dr. Krieger and Pam try
coming up with a plan to make back the money they've lost, while also
getting ride of the fake bills. With a plan of action decided, Pam
comes up with her own agenda. In order to get out of being blamed
for her current failure, she uses her connections with the yakuza—she
used to be a drift racer for them—to use the counterfeit money to
buy pills so she can sell them for real money and clear her name.
However, like standard procedure, the bad guy isn't as dumb as he
seems. ISIS's current base of operation, held in Cheryl Tunt's
mansion, gets surrounded by yakuza and they want their pills back,
along with Pam's head to pay her debt of honor.
After a brief shootout, since Pam's
death isn't acceptable, Sterling finds himself in a limousine with
the yakuza branch leader, Mr. Moto. They come to an agreement: Mr.
Moto will take the pills and leave Pam alone in exchange for Moto's
life. He accepts and the yakuza leave. Sadly, as a side note,
Woodhouse, Sterling Archer's butler—which he cares little for—is
trapped under a heavy medicine ball all episode, slowly being crushed
to death, unable to call for help since Sterling has his phone, which
gets broken at the end of the episode, leaving Lana and Sterling
laughing as the credits roll and Woodhouse unfound.
OPINION:
Regarding the style of the show, it is
an obvious spoof of secret agent movies. While the "Archer: Vice" storyline currently being embarked is more of a throw to drug cartel
movies, such as Scarface, the posh dress and attitude of
“secret agent” is still there, as large a part of the characters'
personas as ever. The only show of recent memory that spoofed secret
agents was Chuck, which ran from 2007 to 2012. What makes
Archer such a unique show is its style as an animation that
isn't traditional animation. Sure, other animated television shows
stretch the “adult-only” theme, such as South Park, but Archer maintains its watchability by creating a cast of dysfunctional
characters that revolve around a “cause, effect, and other effect”
kind of episode set-up.
Being that Archer is a blatant
parody, the character stereotypes present in the show are
exaggerated. For example, Sterling Archer is a secret agent that
travels the globe completing missions, bedding women, and excessively
drinking. If it weren't for his buffoonery and idiotic tendencies, he
would make 007
proud. Ultimately, each character is a caricature of a more serious
characterization.
In
regard to the commercial breaks and their demographic, it seems that
each ad were targeting different audiences. None were aiming for any
specific Archer audience and their interests, only their eyes.
Archer's main demographic is men under thirty-five; however, it is
popular among other demographics too. As an FX channel exclusive, its
audience—as the current top-rated comedy on FX—is filled by those
who previously watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a
fairly large, diverse group of viewers. So, with this being the case,
it is possible that such a large variety of commercials with separate
targets is exactly the plan for the ten to ten-thirty primetime slot
on FX.
Right
now, Archer is one of the best animated TV shows on cable. It garners a net average of 1.1 million views per episode. As a comedy,
through parody, with a stellar cast of actors and writers, I believe
the show will continue to do great through this season and the next;
however, as I am a fan, I am not without my gripes. Where the
strengths lie, such as in the well-written characters and comedic
instances, there are also weaknesses, maybe not in the aforementioned
strengths but definitely in the occasional repetitive episode
formatting. The writers and directors do a a fantastic job of trying
to cover this up episode to episode, and I applaud them for it, but
it isn't hard to notice when one episode feels like another you
watched a week or two ago. I'm not the only one with these opinions.
Online fans and and critics alike have pointed this out, yet, because
of the cover-up writing, they are willfully overlooked so the humor
can be fully appreciated.
Overall, I learned that just because there is a show on primetime television doesn't mean it receives distinct ads to the show's main demographic. This could say a lot about the way a network is run, or nothing at all. I imagine it has to do with who would be willing to shell out the most money for an airtime slot instead of which commercial is more relevant to the audience of a particular program. This surprised me because I was under the impression that ads were made for a certain group of viewers yet seen by them and the rest of the non-target viewership. However, it made me think: as long as the commercial is paid for and seen, who cares who the target audience is; if the commercial is engaging and cuts through the clutter, making general audiences notice, why should a target audience even matter anyway?
