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Archer Season 8: Dreamland

Started by Small Man Big Horse, April 06, 2017, 04:19:38 PM

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Small Man Big Horse

So this year sees the show completely change the set up as we're transported back to the later forties and Archer's a PI, Pam and Cyrill are cops, Kreiger's a barman / heroin dealer, Ray and Lana are singers in a nightclub which Malorie owns, and naturally she's also a somewhat dodgy crime boss type. Whilst Cheryl
Spoiler alert
turns up at the end asking Archer to murder her.
[close]
Thankfully there's no mystery as to why this is happening,
Spoiler alert
season seven's ending and the demise of Woodhouse are dealt with before the credits begin,
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and then we're thrust back in to the past. Whilst such an idea hasn't changed the core concept it's clear that Reed and co are having a lot of fun with the new setting, whilst Archer's
Spoiler alert
wartime flashbacks
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add a weirdly disturbing element to events.

Highlights of the episode:
Spoiler alert
Archer relating his tale in a classic film noir way, only for the reveal that it's a random dog he's talking to; Archer running over the gangsters ankles (and Pam's reaction to that); "Okay."
[close]

brat-sampson

Thanks for this as I'd maybe have missed the return otherwise.

A noticeably slower pass than older seasons, but I guess they were setting up pieces and the tone. The show still looks great though and the shifted characters all seemed immediately fitting in their new roles. Biggest laughs for me were the
Spoiler alert
slavery
[close]
discussion and Archer's impression. You're right about the
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WWII PTSD flashbacks
[close]
potentially getting interesting too. I always enjoy how much Reed and co. like to mix things up, even if I also feel it's partly because they'd get bored otherwise.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: brat-sampson on April 06, 2017, 08:11:35 PM
Thanks for this as I'd maybe have missed the return otherwise.

A noticeably slower pass than older seasons, but I guess they were setting up pieces and the tone. The show still looks great though and the shifted characters all seemed immediately fitting in their new roles. Biggest laughs for me were the
Spoiler alert
slavery
[close]
discussion and Archer's impression. You're right about the
Spoiler alert
WWII PTSD flashbacks
[close]
potentially getting interesting too. I always enjoy how much Reed and co. like to mix things up, even if I also feel it's partly because they'd get bored otherwise.

It definitely was less heavy on the jokes than many previous episodes but like you say they had a lot of scene setting to do, and the ones that worked hit hard for me. And because I'm incredibly stupid I only just realised that
Spoiler alert
the gangster who was run over was Barry
[close]
, which makes the moment even funnier.

Thursday

This seems likes the first time they've changed the setup and it genuinely made for a different feel and tone to the show. Less jokes, but I'm intrigued to see where they go with it.

brat-sampson

Well, this one definitely felt like a return to the standard joke level/density. Laughed a lot a number of times and I'm interested to see where the plot goes. Win-Win!

Small Man Big Horse

#5
Quote from: brat-sampson on April 13, 2017, 07:27:27 PM
Well, this one definitely felt like a return to the standard joke level/density. Laughed a lot a number of times and I'm interested to see where the plot goes. Win-Win!

That's pretty much how I felt about it as well. Sometimes too much Cheryl can drag down an episode but she was at her best here, whilst Archer himself was on top top form, and there were also some lovely visual jokes along the way.

Edit: I noticed they bleeped Cheryl's "fuck" which I was quite pleased by. A lot of other FX / FXX shows have decided to air everything and anything, which in some cases has led to brilliant comedy (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia being the example that immediately springs to mind), but there's something about Archer where I prefer the bleeps.

alan nagsworth

I really wish I could still enjoy this show, but the combination of the "Miami Vice" season - which was dreadful shite - and the fact that my old housemate - who is the only person I've ever truly, deeply hated - used to quote it all the time and had photo-printed Archer memes on her fucking wall and even once told me she "couldn't enjoy shows like King of the Hill because [she's] too dark and weird and only likes more edgy stuff like Archer" means that I honestly don't see myself ever watching a single moment of it ever again.

Small Man Big Horse

Miami Vice was a patchy season without a doubt but I liked the following two series a fair bit, and this season so far has been damn great. It's a pretty big reset due to the character changes, and the lack of history between them all lets the show do a lot of fun things. But I can understand why your old housemate has ruined it for you, and for not liking King of the Hill she deserves a good shouting at which would last at least seventy two hours.

Dex Sawash


not fabulous season but I am really laughing for a week now at the HS graduation gag with all the Poovey kids from the sex workers.

Consignia

I'm really enjoying this season. I think it's probably the funniest it's been ages. It's just full of lot's of lovely little touches, like Krieger's back story and Poovey's flash forwards, as well the sharp dialog.

I was thinking about this today, but given both the serial and short nature of this season, if the slack was cut this would make a pretty decent Archer movie. The only shame is quite a lot of the jokes are based on your knowledge of their previous characterisation, so it's kind of shuts newcomers out despite being a completely separate world.

Consignia

The ending was a bit of a damp squib. All that build up and it just fizzled out. Still it was a brilliant season, and I'm happy they took this direction even if they couldn't quite finish it.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: Consignia on May 27, 2017, 11:46:48 AM
The ending was a bit of a damp squib. All that build up and it just fizzled out. Still it was a brilliant season, and I'm happy they took this direction even if they couldn't quite finish it.

I really enjoyed the season as well and was surprised to see it coming in for a lot of flack on other sites, with the main complaints being the lack of Lana and the finale ending with Archer vs Barry yet again. Didn't bother me though as it made me laugh a great deal, though I wish they'd made a little more out of Archer's wartime flashbacks. Oh, and the killing of Kreiger's dogs was way too graphic, there was absolutely no need for that.

Apparently we're probably going to get another 'Coma Year' next season, with Reed teasing that he'd love to do a season in space, though that's one of many ideas he's considering right now.