Season 3, Episode 2
The question of serialization
“WOOOOOOO!”
-Archer
The real question that this three-episode mini-series is bringing
up is whether or not Archer should become
serialized going forward. Though certain episodes of season two seemed to point
to ‘no’, it must be taken into consideration that a lot of that awkwardness was
due to the show attempting that it hasn’t done before. But now that we are in
the heart of serialized territory, the question can be more appropriately considered.
Archer has
never been big on plot. Most episodes often with just a minute or three of
setup, and then just let the jokes take the story the rest of the way. So to
say that the “Heart of Archness” trilogy is serialized is a slight mistake in
nomenclature. Though each of these episodes feed into one another, as in one
episode starts where the other left off, it’s not necessary to watch the
previous episode to understand what’s going on in the current one. Each episode
of the trilogy seems to be broken down into sizable chucks, which is a boon for
the comedy, which needs room to build in order to achieve maximum humor.
Let’s take tonight’s episode as an example. The first
act, which while funny but not hilarious, had to go through the business of
setting up the morale problem among Archer’s new pirate hoard, as well as drop
in on how ISIS (especially Mallory) was coping without Archer, and make sure we
knew where Lana and Ray were with their rescue plan for Archer. Sure there were
jokes, but the show had to bounce around a lot, and there wasn’t a change to
build comedic momentum. But once all that setup was done, the show just allowed
the other plot points – Archer’s “king fight”, the mutiny, Cyril getting drunk and
swindling money/banging Pam, and Ray and Lana getting captured – to evolve
naturally, and thus allow them to feel naturally akin to the jokes around surrounding
those bits of plot. The best example of this was the mutiny, which ended up
with Archer being captured, but was propelled by so many fast paced jokes that
you didn’t even notice how the episode was moving the characters into place.
So should Archer
be serialized when it comes back next season? Yes and no. Though I appreciate how
having a similar plotline among episodes allows what amounts to long-form running
gags that only get funnier as the serialized story goes on, I’m not sure if Archer should get too serialized, or for
too long. Part of the joy of the show is watching them cram a whole lot of mad-cappery
into 22 minutes, and I’m not sure if I would want to go without such episode. Additionally,
I would hate for the show attempt to do a full 13-episode arc and run out of
story halfway through, leaving it to make up shit so random it wouldn’t be
funny. The show can do intentional mad-cappery well, but when it’s unintentional,
that’s more of a crapshoot. So Archer
can have its on-going storylines, but give us some standalone episodes, too.
Quotes, Etc:
“I think $5,000 for week was a steal. Look at him, he’s
lithe.”
“That was insane. I’d never even heard of that position.
Did the missionaries not swing by here?”
“I’m drunk and covered in every bodily fluid there is…This
is about as pirate king-y as it gets.”
“C’mon, karaoke night is a big hit.”
“Just find the money, Cyril. You’re an accounting genius,
Cyril. That’s right, bitch.”
“For the jillionth time, nobody is raping anybody!”
“Man, that is not going help morale.”
“Is a pig’s ass pork? I’m sorry, did you want to hear
what I think, or just what you want to hear?....He asked, pretty sarcastically.”
“We hold erection for king!”
“That won’t translate. That’s like last week when you
said ‘lend me your ears.’”
“If the king loses in one-on-one combat, he has to step
down. Or stay dead.”
“Do you even know what idiom means?”
“Your 3/5th of an opinion is noted.”
“Way to eschew traditional gender roles, pirates.”
“I’m sorry, what were you going to say?” “…cock.”
“But since it was never explicitly forbidden…tough
titties. Wow, I never realized how often we rely on idioms.”
“Way to eschew traditional labeling, pirates.”
“Okay, I’m going to go ahead and change ‘morale problem’
to ‘potential munity.’”
“No, Noah, do not upgrade that mutiny.”
“What comes after ‘insipient’?” “‘In progress.’” “Brilliant!”
“They not ghost, they just white.” “Racist.” “Pah! You’re
racist.”
“My field’s anthropology, guy.” “Good luck with the job
search.”
“Zzzzzzz…just jackin’ it…”
“Hey, pirates."
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