Production Note: We welcome Archer Director of Illustration TJ Buford in to chat with us for the first time this season. He will be here at 12pm EST. Please direct all your canine flatulence questions @TJ.
Last night for the first time I attempted to track the number of callbacks — like I do pop culture references — but gave up roughly five minutes in as I quickly realized such an endeavor is the most foolish of fool’s errands. I regularly cite in the thread how set up to fail I am recapping a show with more obscure references, running jokes, and hidden easter eggs than any other series probably ever, and there would be no way to fail harder than engaging in a callback battle.
There’s always something familiar and right about an episode of Archer where Sterling and Lana are off on a semi-exotic mission and the rest of the ISIS crew is back at the office providing half-assed support in the midst of their own shenanigans. Don’t get me wrong, I love two-part space finales and restaurant reality show parodies with all my heart, but it’s the ability to also get back to excellent basics after going high concept that separates sitcom greatness.
Also, simply another gorgeous episode mixing action and scenery. I’m not sure what sort of awards are given for such things but Floyd County should be winning them. Now for the notes and GIFs…
- The episode’s name is almost definitely a play on Un Chien Andalou, a 1929 silent surrealist short film starring and written by Salvador Dalí (thanks Wikia!).
- I’m not even remotely a poetry guy but there’s no way I would have passed on inhabiting beat history either. Also I can’t get enough of Archer-is-a-sucker flashbacks.
- Sterling is the best at hair of the dog. He’s also the best at tricking others into filling in blank spots from the previous evening. Both excellent traits when you’re a functioning alcoholic.
- “Thanks Brett Somers.”
- I think we all geeked out a little too hard over Archer geeking out a little to hard over Nightcrawler.
- On one hand, it smells terrible, but on the other, it has “a repulsively low age of consent.” Adam Reed pretty much wrote the Tangiers travel brochure last night.
- Also: “Shooting me is not going to change the unbeatableness of their rug prices, Lana.” Book it.
- Our friend Neal Holman tweeted this image when Kazak made his first appearance last night. I can only assume it served as artistic inspiration.
- Archer Daniels Midland, in case you were wondering.
- The hovercraft tease was just plain mean.
- If you’re exiting awkward conversations without throwing a fake smoke bomb then you’re doing it wrong.
- I want bonus DVD footage of Pam shopping for pan suits.
- Everything about Sterling’s Lana-as-a-quadriplegic confession. Especially that he only reveals his humane side to animals.
- Pop Culture Reference Count: Un Chien Andalou, Morocco Mole, “Howl”, X-Men, Brett Somers, Parnelli Jones.
And I think we can all agree there’s only one way to react to Pam as a field agent.
Chet Manley GIFs on the page as to not crash too many browsers. Welcome TJ!
Speaking of Pam, she’s a little low on cash.
That’s just good Kid Archer-ing.
And this is just world’s greatest secret agent-ing.
A final note on callbacks. There are good ones, and then there are inspired ones.
