Television Review: "Archer"

By our guest blogger, Travis Harvey

For a man, the definition of suavity comes down to the fact that the man in question has class, ambition, dignity and, to top it off...he’s a spy? Actually, Archer is none of those things except for a spy, but in his eyes, he is the spy. This cartoon from the FX network is just what that network needed to combat with the raunchiness of "Family Guy" and the "Simpsons." Archer comes from the mind of Adam Reed, the comedic mind behind some of Cartoon Networks Adult Swim programs such as "Sealab 2021" and "Frisky Dingo."

Archer works with ISIS, an international spy agency, where global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, deceive and royally screw each other over. At the center of it all is master spy Sterling Archer, who goes by code name "Duchess."

Archer works with his overbearing mother Malory, who also is his boss. He also has to deal with his ex-girlfriend, Agent Lana Kane, and her new boyfriend, ISIS comptroller Cyril Figgis, as well as Malory's lovesick secretary, Cheryl.

I personally didn’t have high hopes for this show--I didn’t think it would be that funny--but, man, was I wrong. In the first episode, we’re introduced to all of the characters that would matter, and they are all painfully funny. Pam, the series scapegoat and ISIS’ resident gossip girl, is funny because she doesn’t have many lines, but the scenes involving her are hilarious.

This will be an entertaining show and thankfully, since it’s on cable, in a couple of months Adult Swim will probably pick up the show for its late night lineup because it will fit perfectly there.  I can already tell that there will be some hilarity in this show and I look forward to see how far they can push the envelope.