I am – Hercules!!
“Archer” comes to us from writer Adam Reed, creator of Adult Swim staples “Sealab 2021” and “Frisky Dingo.” If you like his Cartoon Network fare, I suspect there’s a huge likelihood you’ll like “Archer” even more, since as it employs as its lead voice actor the comedy genius H. Jon Benjamin.
You could know Benjamin as the second banana on Comedy Central’s hilarious “Important Things With Demetri Martin,” and you may recognize him from his voice work. He was psychoanalyst’s son Ben Katz on “Dr. Katz,” he was Coach McGurk on “Home Movies,” he was the devil on “Lucy, Daughter of the Devil” and he plays Dr. Orpheus’ shapeshifting mentor on “The Venture Bros.”
Even with the brilliant Benjamin at its center, though, secret-agent spoof “Archer” lacks a laugh-per-minute ratio sufficient to make me want to keep it under surveillance.
Critics are divided:
USA Today says:
… Archer is not for everyone, and certainly not for anyone whose idea of risqué is Get Smart. But do yourself one favor: Don't decide it's not for you until you have watched an entire episode, because you just may find the good outweighs the excessive. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… like Reed's earlier shows, but louder. … I didn't laugh much, possibly because I know by now how these jokes work and never found myself surprised, or possibly because I find sex jokes tiresome. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… It took a few episodes for "Archer" to establish a consistent tone, but once it did, it became a lot of fun. If you share its weird sensibilities, you may find that at its best, "Archer" not only echoes the whipsmart, creatively deranged "Arrested Development" but that it also feels like the naughtier cousin of TV's better single-camera comedies. …
The Washington Post says:
… Whatever Reed and Thompson had going with "Sealab 2021" and "Frisky Dingo" falls over with a rude thud here. I'd quote dialogue, but the snappier stuff all included naughty words for genitals.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… Though future episodes don't quite measure up to the brilliant pilot, "Archer" nurtures a collection of recurring themes that pile up and become funnier the more they are referenced through the episodes. But far and away the most hilarious element of "Archer" is the delivery Benjamin brings to his lines. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… sly, funny …
The Fresno Bee says:
… Most of the comedy is milked from the personal relationships in the office, which start off tedious and only grow more annoying. The adult material – from nudity to words you haven't heard on basic cable – comes across as merely an attempt to be shocking. It's hard to be shocked when you are bored. …
The Boston Herald says:
… hits a bull’s-eye with risque snark and one of the best vocal casts assembled for any animated series. …
The Boston Globe says:
… succeeds where so many of the snarky animated series tend to fail. Reed and his writers and voice actors balance all the pop satire and raunch with a strong sense of the characters, so that the episodes ultimately rise above all the gags. …
Variety says:
… The sex gags are lewd, crude and relentless, but "Archer" nevertheless exhibits more wit than much of the below-the-belt fare visited upon cable since "South Park" demonstrated the bountiful market for adult-oriented (but almost invariably, utterly juvenile) animation. … gives FX something that the drama-heavy channel hasn't enjoyed for awhile -- namely, a sharp comedic arrow in its quiver.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… boasts eye-catching animation and dollops of sex and violence but only enough humor to elicit occasional chuckles. If you eliminate the references to sexual perversions, even the smiles are few and far between.…
10 p.m. Thursday. FX.
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