Hard not to be at least slightly dissatisfied at episode format, but if episode itself was any indication, new season should definitely offer numerous opportunities for action set-pieces and humor in fresh new settings.
Contains minor spoilers about season 5 debut episode
Bit disappointing for majority of episode to be little other than lengthy montage that seemed most suitable to be chopped up and used as promotional trailer(s), but in all fairness, one hell of a montage.
On the flip side of the coin, Chozen was just…ugh. Talk about a one trick pony. I was surprised not to see Seth McFarlane attached to it.
Yeah, I saw Seth’s name and decided to give Chozen a pass (well, the ads did not motivate me, I must admit).
Anyway, Archer’s daydream montage (did Pam look slimmed down in that?) was great. No idea if that was a foreshadowing or just wishful thinking on Archer’s part (note the Burt Reynold’s Firebird), but it was a fun sequence.
I don’t think McFarlane is attached to Chozen in any way…which is what was surprising to me.
I think it’s safe to assume that sequence was composed entirely of footage from upcoming episodes.
Just counting the number of Burt Reynolds references in that montage would take you an hour…
I believe that was confirmed by a reviewer who’s seen the next block of episodes.
I thought “oh look, they are putting a trailer for the entire season inside the first episode! That’s having balls!”
I suspect this season will be good, but not up to the standards of the previous ones. The international spy agency premise gave them a perfect excuse to send the cast anywhere and do anything. This season will be much more focused, and focus isn’t what I look for in Archer.
I have a feeling it’s going to be the best season yet. Everything you see as a weakness, I see as a strength. A lot of folks were afraid the premise was getting a bit stale. They had the balls to shake things up so kudos on that.
Either that, or they just jumped the shark.
Personally, I think it is more about the characters than the exact situation, so blowing up ISIS makes for a more fluid situation. I’m looking forward to the creators letting loose and running wild for the moment.
I’m not sure how you can get more fluid than outer space, the bottom of the ocean, an island lair, KGB installations, and so on. The ISIS organization gave them total freedom to go anywhere and do anything, as I said previously. This season, by contrast, looks like it will follow one large metaplot the entire time. Will it be better or worse? Too soon to say for sure yet, of course, but I lean towards worse because I loved the variety.
Again with the negative waves.
I have this strange feeling I’m going to watch this season, and then decide if I like it or not, based on what I see.
Nonsense! This is the internet, my friend. We base our judgements solely on what we believe the minute we write it down! Or if we’ve had a bad/good day! Or the ambient temperature in our office is off by 3 degrees!
So, is there really no legit way to watch this season streaming without a cable subscription? Even the iTunes download (US only) has ads, apparently (WTF, FX?). It seems weird that current season Justified is on Hulu but not Archer.
Also because you tend to err on the side of being wrong.
See, after watching four seasons of Archer, you should have clued in to the fact that the writers will put the characters anywhere they damn well please, inventing whatever contrived throwaway excuse they need along the way. And even if outer space and the bottom of the ocean are off the table now, oh well, I guess they’re just limited to the entire surface of the earth. Never mind that many high-quality shows have had the bulk of their runs inside a single town or even a single building. Oy vey.
Also looking at the writers history beyond Archer, pretty much anything is on the table. They’ve actually been fairly conservative when compared to how crazy Frisky Dingo got.
I presume the writers don’t regard location as the sole arbiter of fluidity. It’s how the situations and relationships develop.
Regardless as to where they go - because I don’t think the location makes or breaks the show - that montage at the end put a big grin on my face, as I anticipated what was to come. I agree that uprooting the show and changing from the established formula seems like a good idea.