Binge Watcher: "Archer Vice: A Debt of Honor" Summary and Opinion

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.

     Obviously, I'm a fan of the show and am a regular viewer; however, I am not the TV watcher variety. I started with TV, then moved to Netflix, and now I'm on watchcartoononline.com. I got lucky to catch this episode using my iPhone with the Dish TV application since my parent's have a subscription—they too are fans are of Archer. While my friends and family and I are not super-hardcore-mega fans, we do enjoy the show. I don't know about the rest of them, but I don't have a Facebook or really follow the Archer webpage or fansite; I just watch the show because I find it funny. Also, while I like the show in its singularity, I was a fan of its creator Adam Reed and his previous project Frisky Dingo, which was shown on the [adult swim] programming block of Cartoon Network. Both shows have a similar style of animation and sense of humor.

     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?