The season starts out on a very high note with an episode titled ‘Swiss Miss’. Malory Archer (Jessica Walter) drags the ISIS agents to a winter resort in attempt to grab some quick cash for the failing secret agent business. While there, Sterling Archer runs into trouble. Not with the infinite amount of antagonist he usually runs into in the spy business, but with the nymphomaniac, continually lying young daughter of the businessman that Malory is trying to extract money. Offensive to the last drop, including a wonderful ‘Alabama’ comment that Sterling spouts off, and one of the best ways you could have possibly opened the second season of the show.
From there the season goes from hilariously entertaining to hit-or-miss on a few episodes. Some of the better episodes in the season are as follows:
Blood Test – You will never look at childbirth or candy wrappers quite the same after this one. Archer finds himself in a battle with his greatest foe – pregnancy. He allegedly gets his favorite hooker, Trinette, pregnant and has to take a paternity test to prove he is the father. Gross, hilarious and offensive are the three elements that make up this episode.
Pipeline Fever – Archer and Lana are sent to protect a pipeline from an environmental terrorist. The actual interaction with the terrorist doesn’t make this episode funny as much as it’s the journey to the pipeline. Just f**king hilarious from beginning to end. A good use of Lana and Archer’s characters in this episode. Regretfully, no mention of a ‘danger zone’.
Movie Star – Probably one of the best written episodes in the series so far. ‘Movie Star’ involves an actress coming in to research her new ‘spy thriller’ role with ISIS. She hooks up with Lana (not literally) to learn the ropes. When Lana and Archer are called away to protect a Russian ambassador from assassination, things get real. I can’t tell you much about this episode, but you’ll definitely see why it’s damn good, especially the ending.
Stage Two / Placebo Effect – I’m putting these together because they’re basically a part one and two. The first part, ‘Stage Two’, starts off a bit slow. It basically surrounds Archer’s battle with breast cancer. There’s some good one-liners, but nothing out of the ordinary or unique. You’ll get plenty of good comedy. The great comedy doesn’t begin until ‘Placebo Effect’, which has Archer and Lana tracking down counterfeiters who are substituting cancer medicine with sugar pills and Zima packets. You’ll feel ashamed for laughing, but you’ll be glad you did.
White Nights / Double Trouble – These are two episodes were a fine way to end a season. In ‘White Nights’, Archer travels to Russia to find his real father and Barry from ODIN is hired to bring him back. Brutal, funny and you will feel bad for Barry by the end. The second part of the story, ‘Double Trouble’ is when Archer returns home with his new found love, a girl named Katya. Secretly a double agent, the inclusion of Katya makes the ending of this episode brilliant and tragic in a way. I will say no more, but it’s just as good as the rest.
As for the so-so, there were a few episodes that really killed the flow of the season. One in particular is called ‘The Double Deuce’. The episode revolves around Archer’s butler Woodhouse and pretty much provides his backstory that reaches back to World War I. It’s slow, kind of cheap humor that really doesn’t stick well with the rest of the season. I appreciate the fact that it gives Woodhouse more depth, but it truly doesn’t provide any real substance to the overall body of work. It was one of a few in this season that brought down the humor. Bringing down the humor is much different than killing the humor, so please understand that’s not what I’m saying. It just simply doesn’t live up to the rest of the season.
Overall, I found the second season of Archer better than the first and further along with the characters and humor. You can tell the actors love playing their respective roles and it comes through with each episode.
With that said, let’s talk about the Blu-ray portion of Archer.
The Blu-ray version of Archer: The Complete Season 2 is decent on the quality side and quite good on the features side of the tracks.
Starting with quality, the animation is probably going to look good on both DVD and Blu-ray version of this. If you’re going into the set thinking you’ve got a one up on the DVD version then you might be slightly disappointed. With that old style still animation with moving parts from the 60s, you get some very high-quality color and a perfect fit to your television (meaning no widescreen bars). While I can attest that the audio is damn good coming in at DTS-HD 5.1, I can also say that there is no real advantage to having the Blu-ray when it comes to quality. Either way you go (DVD or BD) you are going to find some solid animation and material. If you need a Blu-ray version of this show then it’s there; it will fit perfectly on your Blu-ray shelf. If you love the show, but don’t need the HD quality then you may consider a cheaper DVD solution.
With both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the release you get the same features. Sometimes the studio will release special material on Blu-ray, but this time it matches on both formats. Here’s what you’re getting:
· Ask Archer
· Archersaurus – Self Extinction
· Semper Fi
· L’espoin Mal Fait
· Isis Invades Comic-con
The Comic-con footage is probably the biggest part of this section. The questions and the cast reaction is just pure gold. The ‘Semper Fi’ feature is really quite cool and unique, as Archer wishes someone in Afghanistan a hilarious hello. The Archersaurus, which is an extension from the last Blu-ray/DVD release (and quite funny) is mildly amusing. ‘Ask Archer’ is good, but short. The biggest thing this release is missing, and something that The Simpsons creators have done so well in their recent releases is the use of commentary. This show needs a commentary option for each episode. All in all, the special features are still good. I would have paid money for some great outtakes on this.