Archer: Season 8

I don't blame Adam Reed or any of the rest of the folks making Archer for wanting to change things up. Eight years is a long damn time, and it's probably better for anyone "stuck" working on one show for that long to mix things up and keep things fresh. So, kudos to all, and thanks to Adam Reed for so many great years of not just Archer, but of Sealab 2021 as well.

But!

This was not nearly, at all, a good season of Archer. Season 7 ended with our main man getting shot, falling into a pool, and going into a coma. Season 8 picks up with him in that coma ("Dreamland"), envisioning all the characters as 1940s crime noir versions of themselves. It's an interesting concept and as a one-episode thing or even a two- or three-episode arc, it might have been one of my favorite things Archer has ever tried. But, I dunno. It just didn't work for me. (And I wasn't alone! I even got a text from an old friend out of the blue one day asking, "is it just me or is this season of Archer no good?")

I think part of the problem is that when you've spent seven years fleshing out characters and defining their relationships to one another, it's weird and off-putting to recast them all in different roles that don't really play with their established types.You sort of either have to recast everyone into the same role relative to one another or play with some serious "bizzarro world" counterparts. For instance, Cyril is and always has been, in Archer, a sort of beta male weenie - a nerdy, worried accountant in a sweater vest who consistently gets one-upped by Archer. You know what could have been fun? Turning 1940s Cyril into the epitome of 1940s cool - a trenchcoat-wearing, sitting back in the shadows, cigarette-smoking mystery man who nails it repeatedly with the 1940s slang. Like what if Archer suddenly had to deal with dream-Cyril being so much cooler and suaver and all-around better than him? Likewise, Mallory's always been a no-nonsense bosslady with a vicious mean streak. Maybe 1940s Mallory could have been a frail old woman - or at least someone who put on that persona in the public eye, only to become ruthless and cutthroat behind closed doors. (Yes, typing that out, I realize I'm just pitching Mom from Futurama.)

Anyway, Cyril was just sort of 1940s Cyril and Mallory was just sort of 1940s Mallory. It all felt like someone had taken a generic Sam Spade story and injected Archer characters into it, quirks and all, hoping the result would be funny, like bad fan fiction or something. I'm sorry! That's harsh. But I just didn't care at all about this season of Archer. And with just two eight-episode seasons remaining and Aisha Taylor contemplating a departure, I'm not optimistic that this show will return to its old standards again. Womp womp!