Archer: Difference between revisions

{{work|wppage=Archer (2009 TV series)}}

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{{quote| ''"This is [[Why We Can't Have Nice Things|why we can't have nice things]]."''}}

'''''Archer''''' is thea most recent2009 brainchild from Adam Reed, the creator of ''[[Sealab 2021]]'' and ''[[Frisky Dingo]]''. Although it looks like it would be right at home on [[Adult Swim]] (who were nice enough to plug it in one of their bumps), it was passed over and found a home on the FX network instead. The series started in September 2009 and is still ongoing. (as of 2023).

[[Word of God]] aptly describes the show as "''[[James Bond]]'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]''". The show's humor, much like both ''[[Arrested Development (TV)|Arrested Development]]'' and its [[Spiritual Successor|spiritual predecessor]] ''[[Frisky Dingo]]'', relies heavily on [[Call Back|Call Backs]]s and [[Running Gag|Running Gags]]s alongside a large [[Ensemble Cast]] and [[Two Lines, No Waiting]] plots. A fan of ''[[Arrested Development (TV)|Arrested Development]]'' or ''[[Frisky Dingo]]'' will almost certainly enjoy ''Archer'', and conversely someone who found them repetitive or too low-key probably won't.

This series has a [[Archer (Animation)/Characters|character sheet]], a page listing [[Archer (Animation)/Extras|tropes found on Archer's Twitter feed]], and a page featuring [[Archer (Animation)/Interviews|enlightening interviews with the cast and creators]].

* [[Accidental Innuendo]]: Generally called out by Archer with "Phrasing!" :

{{quote| '''Malory:''' You wanna play me hard?<br />

'''Archer:''' Phrasing.<br />

'''Malory:''' Well, then, you better nut up!<br />

'''Archer:''' Phrasing!<br />

'''Malory:''' Because I've swallowed just about all I'm going to take from you.<br />

'''Archer:''' [[Rule of Three|Hey! Phrasing!]] }}

* [[Action Girl]]:

** Malory, based on various flashbacks and the fact that she was able to {{spoiler|shoot her son six times in the torso with what was revealed the next season to be a .44 magnum}}. She expresses pride that all six shots were grouped "in the '10 ring.'".

** Pam pulls a little [[Suddenly Always Knew That]] on this trope, suddenly revealing that she's an underground [[Fight Clubbing|bare-knuckle boxer]] who can snap a man's neck and take a punch like a champ. She's even got "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130710002057/http://englishhistory.net/byron/poems/destruct.html The Destruction of Sennacherib]" tattooed on her back under 13 tally marks. Oh, and she drift-races against the Yakuza.

* [[Actually Pretty Funny]]:

** Malory, in ''"Double Trouble".''

{{quote| '''Archer:''' Katya does not have VD!<br />

'''Malory:''' You haven't had sex with her?<br />

'''Archer:''' Ha ha, for your infor... heh, that was pretty good. }}

** Pam, in "Space Race".

{{quote| '''Pam:''' ''[angrily]'' And then you dump me for your big-titted Russian sexbot, little miss... uh...<br />

'''Archer:''' ...R2-Double-D2?<br />

'''Pam:''' Hah, yeah! }}

* [[Aesop Amnesia]]: Archer sets a speed record with this in "Space Race: Part 2II". He learns an important lesson about it not always being about him at the end, and {{spoiler|refuses to engage in a one-on-one fight with Barry...only to turn right around and demand that he is allowed to land the shuttle.}}.

* [[All Germans Are Nazis]]:

** It turns out that {{spoiler|Dr. Krieger's parents were Nazis, and he might be one of the [[Boys From Brazil]]}}.

** During the two part seasonSeason 3 finale, Archer shoots both Cyril and Pam with the space gun's ion pulse, {{spoiler|which can stop someone's heart.}}. He shot Cyril for his own amusement and Pam to keep her quiet.

{{quote| '''Archer''': So... "stun" may be a bit of a misnomer.}}

* [[Anachronism Stew]]: 1960s1960's decor, 1970s1970's cars, early 1980s1980's computers, alongside modern cell phones, the internet and a number of modern pop-culture references. The Soviet Union apparently still exists, which makes this outright [[Alternate History]], although [[Please Select New City Name|Leningrad is referred to as St. Petersburg,]] and world map shown in "Tragical History" indicates that Russia and the former Republics are all independent, and Germany is apparently reunified. Lampshaded when Malory poses a rhetorical question, "What year is this?!" Sterling responds, "I know, right?"

* [[And Zoidberg]]:

{{quote| '''Archer''': Yeah, listen - doctor - I'm kinda making peace with my loved ones right now... Plus some other people.}}

* [[Asian Speekee Engrish]]: Played straight and subverted in ''"Heart of Archness''":

{{quote| '''Rip Riley''': Archer! What a coincidence, 'cause I was just talking about you.<br />

'''Archer''': With who? 'cause that bucktoothed little shit doesn't even speak English.<br />

'''Bucky''': I do, rittle bit.<br />

'''Archer''': No you don't!<br />

'''Bucky''': And correct syntax is '[[Running Gag|with whom]]!' }}

** Barry Dillon. {{spoiler|[[We Can Rebuild Him|Now refferredreferred to as]] [[The Six Million Dollar Man|'Bionic Barry']] after a particularly grievous accident.}}.

{{quote| '''Cheryl:''' Wait, how do you know Portugese?<br />

'''Krieger:''' Because I grew up in [[Boys From Brazil|Braz]]...istol County, Rhode Island. Lot of Portugese in Rhode Island.<br />

'''Cyril:''' Where you're from.<br />

'''Krieger:''' Born and raised.<br />

'''Cyril:''' What's the state capital?<br />

'''Krieger:''' ...Dallas?<br />

...<br />

'''Krieger:''' Leave me alone! I am not a Nazi!<br />

'''Cyril:''' What about your father?<br />

'''Krieger:''' No! He was a scientist!<br />

'''Cyril:''' [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|Pretty sure the Nazis had scientists.]]<br />

'''Krieger:''' No! That's why we...hurgh...''they'' lost the war! Lack of science! }}

* [[Beleaguered Assistant]]:

{{quote| ''"Look, he's sitting at the table! He thinks he's people!"''}}

** When Archer becomes the Pirate King, Noah the "first mate" becomes this.

* [[Berserk Button]]:

{{quote| '''Assassin:''' "Hand over the girl, ''cochino''!<br />

'''Archer:''' "And that is just ''it'' for today, with people calling me a freaking pig! (''lights assassin on fire'') ...Holy shit, did you see that? }}

{{quote| '''Pam:''' (standing over two burning bodies) Is it weird that I'm kind of hungry now?<br />

'''Malory:''' It would be weirder if you weren't. }}

** Ramon Limon's end of some phone conversations in "Honeypot". His responses imply that his mother is bugging him about [[StraightInvisible Gayto Gaydar|why he doesn't have a girlfriend]]...

** After Barry fires Framboise for having sex with Archer, Framboise says "You don't have a heart!" to Barry in French.

** In ''"Swiss Miss''":

{{quote| '''Malory:''' It's Frau''lein''<ref> ''lit.'' little woman; "Miss" as opposed to "Mrs"</ref> Archer. <br />

'''Archer:''' She added desperately. }}

** The episode "Placebo Effect" gives us two instances: In the earlier part of the episode, Archer and Krieger discuss his cancer in Portuguese, and later in the episode, Cyril questions why Krieger was raised in Brazil in German.

** Lana speaks French to hotel staff in "Jeu MonegasqueMonégasque".

** In "El Contador", Cyril speaks Spanish. (The episode title is also Spanish for "The Accountant".)

* [[Blond Guys Are Evil]]:

** In "The Double Deuce,", the snivelingsnivelling former second-in-command who is likely behind the murder plot is also the only blond guy in the Double Deuce. {{spoiler|And then it's subverted when it turns out there is no murder plot to begin with.}}.

** {{spoiler|Barry by the end of seasonSeason 2.}},

{{quote| '''LanaArcher:''' ShitDamn, I... had something for this!<br, />too... um... damn it. ''Eat grenade, stupids!''}}

{{quote|'''Lana:''' Dammit!<brShit, />I had something for this!

* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: DuringA thecommon cartechnique, chaseused infar "Thetoo Manfrequently fromto Jupiter,"list theall Cubanpossible assassins'examples. vansEvery flyepisode offof theSeason road9 intofeatures theat waterleast inone twoexample identicalof (savethis fortrope, theif vehicles)not sequencesmore. ArcherThe noticescharacters thisregularly look at the audience, somehowor are aware of others internal monologues.

{{quote| '''Archer''': Shut up! That vest is bulletproof!<br />

'''Cheryl''': (relieved) Oh. (Gets shot in the arm) Ow!<br />

'''Archer''': But it ''is'', you know, a ''vest''. }}

* [[Bullying a Dragon]]: Cyril tries to get back at Sterling by revealing that Archer knocked up a hooker {{spoiler|who, ironically, was actually carrying Cyril's child}}.

** Franny Delaney, leader of [[The Irish Mob]], believes that Archer won't shoot an unarmed, sick man, because of a sense of fair play. Of course, up to this point Delaney has {{spoiler|swapped out cancer drugs for fakes, which has led to the death of Archer's [[Morality Pet]] Ruth and countless others}}. Then, Delaney chooses to describe how he's [[Berserk Button|hooked up with Malory]]. [[Squick|Graphically]].

** At one point, someone outright states that Archer is an excellent field agent in spite of being completely clueless at everything else.

{{quote| '''Pam:''' And that's why I don't have sex with my coworkers. That, and no one ever lets me.<br />

'''Krieger:''' I've had good results with ''ether''. }}

** Pam's line becomes {{spoiler|[[Hilarious in Hindsight]]}} in Season 3.

{{quote| '''Cheryl''': You can't control a person's heart.<br />

'''Krieger''': You can with a little something I like to call a deep cycle marine battery... or LSD. }}

{{quote| '''Archer:''' You're black...ish.<br />

'''Lana:''' ''Ish?!''<br />

'''Archer:''' Well what's the word for it, Lana? You freaked out when I said 'quadroon'! }}

** Cyril as of Season Two2.

** Poor [[Fat Girl|Pam]] is probably the straightest example.

** Brett, who's been beaten up by Lana and shot by both Rona and Cyril. And got his ass beat by Archer after {{spoiler|mocking him for having breast cancer}}. And was shot ''twice'' by Archer in seasonSeason one1 before ever appearing onscreen. ("God DAMN it, Archer!") In "El Sequestro", he takes a bullet in the stomach early on and spends the rest of the episode bleeding there, even getting yelled at for not picking up the ringing phone fast enough.

** Gillette rapidly becomes one in the course of "Heart of Archness"," {{spoiler|losing one eye and the use of his legs in separate accidents.}}. Most of his coworkers are not very sympathetic. {{spoiler|He was faking it.}}.

*** Jakov's Assistant often uses the phrase "Come on, buddy" in the very same way as Ronnie, with the same Russian accent.

** In the seasonSeason 2 episode "White Nights", Archer is captured by the KGB and interrogated in a manner identical to the training exercise at the beginning of the pilot. He even mentions that he probably should have taken his training more seriously.

** In Episode 1, Malory beats Sterling with her wallet, and Sterling responds "What the hell does she keep in that thing, buckles?". Rays echoes the exact same phrase in "Jeu MonegasqueMonégasque".

** In "El Contador", Archer quickly {{spoiler|but incorrectly}} guesses that "the most dangerous game" is jai alai, calling back to his injury playing the sport in "Honey PotHoneypot".

* [[Camp Gay]]:

** Played with in the episode where Archer has to pretend to be gay to seduce a gay spy. Being the bigoted [[Jerkass]] he is, he dresses up ridiculously campy (bleached hair, lollipop, roller skates, hot pants, and a too-tight t-shirt that reads "GOT DICK?"), and gets mocked by two real gay guys... who are still campy, though not so outrageously. The spy he's trying to seduce, meanwhile, is completely [[StraightInvisible Gayto Gaydar]].

{{quote| "Oh my God, you, like, ''sneeze glitter''!"<br />

''"Thank you!"'' }}

* [[Can't Bathe Without a Weapon]]: lampshaded in '"Jeu Monegasque';Monégasque":

{{quote| '''Archer:''' "...my gun's all soapy. Pretty dumb, taking a bath with it..."}}

* [[Can't Get Away Withwith Nuthin']]: {{spoiler|Archer at the very end of '"Swiss Miss'". [[Rule of Funny|He is accused (wrongfully) of molesting and propositioning a 16-year-old Anka throughout the entire episode.]]. Not two seconds after he has to cup Anka's breasts to prevent nerve damage (a legitimate reason)<ref> theyThey were escaping terrorists on a snowmobile in Switzerland, and she was topless</ref>, Lana shows up.}}.

** {{spoiler|Earlier, he finally got tired of people calling him a pig, so he set the guy on FIRE}}.

* [[Catch Phrase]]:

* [[Caught Withwith Your Pants Down]]:

** Archer walks in on his mother during a ''[[A Date Withwith Rosie Palms|very important]]'' call in the first episode.

** {{spoiler|Barry catches Archer doing Framboise, his fiancé, in his new office at ODIN}}.

** Archer catches Barry doing Katya, his fiancé, during their fight at ISIS.]]

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Archer gives a gun, [[Lampshade Hanging|branded "Chekhov"]], to Cyril along with a poison pen and adds that the gun occasionally [[Shur Fine Guns|goes off unexpectedly]] and the pen's cap tends to slip off for no reason. Later on... [[Red Herring|nothing happens with the Chekhov gun]], but the pen is responsible for poisoning a hooker. [[Zig -Zagging Trope|So let's see]], that's lampshading, parody, subversion, discussion ''and'' playing it straight?

{{quote| '''Archer''': "God, I SAID the cap slips off the poison pen for no reason, didn't I?!"<br />

'''Cyril''': "I know, I know, but I just assumed that if anything bad happened it-it would've been-"<br />

'''Archer''': "No, do NOT say the Chekhov gun Cyril! THAT, sir, is a facile argument!"<br />

'''Woodhouse''': "[[Genius Bonus|Also woefully esoteric.]]" }}

* [[Chew Toy]]: Season two2 seems to have made Archer himself the constant [[Chew Toy]]. Every episode has ended with him getting the raw end of the stick. In order: Caught in a compromising position with a topless teenage heiress, [[Not What It Looks Like|(Itit wasn't what it looked like)]], being left caring for {{spoiler|Cyril's}} bastard son, being left stranded in a swamp with an injured, pissed off gator while Lana went to get wined and dined by an eco terrorist, and getting pistol whipped by Woodhouse, {{spoiler|being poisoned by a Russian sleeper agent, being diagnosed, then undiagnosed, then diagnosed, then undiagnosed, then finally diagnosed with cancer, and then his fiance (whom he actually seems to genuinely care for, for once) dies protecting him.}}.

* [[Chubby Chaser]]: Pam is targeted by a Chubby Chaser in one episode, much to Malory's disgust, as Malory was trying to seduce the man for her own agenda. Somehow by the end of the episode, all three end up in bed together.

* [[Clothing Damage]]: Goes way over the top in "Space Race"; after Lana strips off for a [[Show Some Leg]] guard-distraction, Archer rips up her clothes, and subsequent events force her to stay in nothing but panties and [[Nipple -and -Dimed|nipple stickers]] for most of the episode. To add to the insult, people keep commenting about her boobs' 'journey south'...

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: No one is averse to cursing, but when Lana accidentally grabs some ''dry'' ice, she responds with fully ''two minutes'' of cursing. Malory does this to Ray, Cyril and Lana at the beginning of Season 3, when they fail to locate Stirling.

* [[Cold War]]: Still going on... sort of.

* [[Connect the Deaths]]: Krieger's plan for [[Disposing of a Body]] is for the ISIS agents to drop the dissected body parts in various trashcans around the city "which should form the shape of a smiley face"." [[Rule of Funny|One-off gag]], his own [[Ax Crazy]] [[Dead Baby Comedy|sense of humourhumor]], or brilliant ruse to convince the cops it's the work of a [[Criminal Mind Games|playful serial killer]]?

* [[Cool Versus Awesome]]: Invoked at the end of the third season, when {{spoiler|Barry offers Archer the chance to pilot an ''[[Alien (Filmfranchise)|Aliens]]''-style [[Mini -Mecha]] against him to even the playing field, as Barry is a superhuman cyborg.}}. It takes every ounce of Archer's self-control to resist.

** The aerial shots of the Monaco Grand Prix racers in "Jeu MonegasqueMonégasque".

** The helicopter in "Heart of Archness,: Part III".

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Tons.

** Several of Archer's one night stands have reappeared (one with a baby too...).

** Uta wearing a t-shirt with the Excelsior's insignia.

** Scatterbrain Jane having breast cancer.

** Archer's 'Seamus' and 'Dicky' tattoos on his back make another appearance in "Jeu Monegasque.Monégasque".

** The clothes Charles and Rudy bought Woodhouse in "Honey PotHoneypot" show up in "Stage Two".

** In "Dial M Forfor Mother,", Archer is kidnapped and strapped to an operating table. On his feet are scars from when Lana shot him through the foot in "Skorpio" and "Skytanic.".

** Malory finds the whole office talking in the bathroom and tells Pam that she's not even supposed to be in there. In an earlier episode, it's revealed that the office staff hid the existence of the women's bathroom from Pam. Once Pam found out, Malory still forbade her from using it.

* [[Cool Car]]: Archer gets one which is a direct nod to Bond's various vehicles. {{spoiler|Of course he doesn't get to keep it}}.

* [[Country Matters]]: upon learning that Cheryl's real last name is "Tunt.", ThisArcher is thedoesn't subject ofmiss a few puns.[[Beat|beat]]:

{{quote| '''Archer:''' Tum again?}}

{{quote| '''Archer:''' Well, you never know what's gonna be on the board...}}

** In "El Secuestro,", most of the office assumes Cheryl chained herself to a radiator as part of her murder fetish behavior (it was an attempted kidnapping). Lampshaded when Gilette calls her "Little Miss Cry-Wolf".

* [[Cultured Badass]]: Burt Reynolds, who in addition to being able out-fight and out-drive Sterling, is able to [[Epiphany Therapy]] him through his [[Parent Withwith New Paramour]] issues.

{{quote| '''Lana:''' After the lying, and the cheating, and [[Noodle Incident|that thing with the mayonnaise]]...<br />

'''Cyril:''' It's fine.<br />

'''Lana:''' ...not to mention how messed up he is about his mother...<br />

'''Cyril:''' It's fine.<br />

'''Lana:''' You know, he once called out her name while we were f-<br />

'''Cyril:''' FIIIIIIIINE! }}

* [[Dating Catwoman]]: Malory is having a secret relationship with Colonel Jakov, head of the KGB and routinely gives up intel to him, even though he never asks it from her. {{spoiler|He's also one possibility for Archer's dad}}.

{{quote| '''Archer''': "Don't you want a grandkid?"<br />

'''Malory''': "Well, if I did, I'd just scrape all your previous mishaps into a big pile and knit a onesie for it."<br />

'''Archer''': "...Jesus ''[[Crosses the Line Twice|Christ]].''" }}

** At Trinette's baby shower, Cheryl's present is a box of plastic laundry bags and a book about SIDS.

** When Malory remembers having to pay the funeral expenses for the Pygmies who chopped down the super-rare tree to make their conference table.:

{{quote| '''Malory:''' I bet that bastard just pocketed the money and stuck them all in one medium-sized grave.}}

* [[Deadly Dodging]]: Burt Reynolds gets the Cuban gangsters to shoot each other in "The Man Fromfrom Jupiter".

* [[Deadly Hug]]: {{spoiler|Conway Stern betrays Archer with one of these.}}.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Pam., especially around Carol/Cheryl.

* [[Description Cut]]: When Pam is kidnapped in ''"El Sequestro'';":

{{quote| '''Malory''' I'm sure Pam is fine.<br />

'''Pam''' ''[tied to a chair, being repeatedly punched in the face by her kidnapper]'' Who taught you how to punch? Your husband? }}

{{quote| '''Mallory''': I am not. Why, because I don’t want Archer to end up with a woman like Lana Kane? My God, a black... ops field agent?<br />

'''Pam''': I thought she was going in a whole other direction with that. }}

* [[Disposable Sex Worker]]: Referenced by Archer (though the trope itself is ultimately subverted):

{{quote| '''Archer:''' Oh my god, you killed a hooker!<br />

'''Cyril:''' [[Insistent Terminology|Callgirl]]! She was a callgirl!<br />

'''Archer:''' No, Cyril! When they're dead, they're just hookers! }}

* [[The Dog Bites Back]]:

{{quote| '''Pam:''' "Let's see how much you wiggle when I whoop five thousand dollars worth of your ass!"}}

* [[Double Agent]]: Katya Kasanova is believed to be this by both Malory and Lana, even more so when she was seen in Doctor Krieger's research lab with his "secret project", and the KGB listed her file as double agent. {{spoiler|As it turns out, she's not, she's merely in love with Archer, and Krieger was helping her throw a dream wedding since his would never be. Nicolai Jakov merely altered her file to read double agent as counterintelligence, and to cover his own ass with his superiors.}}.

* [[Double Standard Rape (Female Onon Male)]]: In "Swiss Miss", Archer finds himself in several compromising positions with the sexually aggressive piece of [[Jail Bait]] he's assigned to protect.

* [[Dude, She's Like, in Aa Coma|Dude, He's Like, In A Coma]]-: Cyril is smashed over the head with a bottle and knocked unconscious. Then he is given a shot of heroin and drained of a dangerous amount of blood leading both Pam and Gillette to have their way with him.

* [[Embarrassing Cover Up]]: "Lo Scandalo": {{spoiler|Malory kills the Italian PM in the middle of a bondage session, knowing that Archer's disgust and Lana's disapproval will distract them from suspecting her as the culprit.}}.

* [[Embarrassing Middle Name]]: Sterling [[My Beloved Smother|Malory]] Archer, code name "Duchess,", after his mother's deceased dog. Malory considered [[Dead Guy, Junior|"Reginald,"]], but decided that it was "too gay.".

* [[Enemy Mine]]: When Archer is captured by the KGB, Malory recruits Barry to rescue him as Lana can't go undercover adequately there.

{{quote| '''Stripes''':...Plus what he named his plane.<br />

'''Woodhouse''': I always thought that had something to do with the engine. Well, here's to you, Choke and Stroke! }}

* [[Europeans Are Kinky]]:

** Framboise.

** Konrad Schlotz, a German [[Chubby Chaser]] hot for Pam.

** His 16-year-old daughter, Anka, appears to be a nymphomaniac. {{spoiler|It's a front.}}.

** The Prime Minister of Italy ends up dead in Malory's apartment, strapped into a seatless chair, wearing a zentai suit, and with something shoved up his ass. According to Malory, though, the development of this kinkiness was a drawn-out process in the relationship.

** Remember that Krieger isn't a real Doctor [[Running Joke|(of any kind)]], [[Fridge Brilliance|so his first name really is "Doctor"]].

* [[Everything's Better Withwith Dinosaurs]]: The unaired first episode on the DVD is just the first episode with Archer replaced by a Dinosaur.

* [[Exactly What I Aimed At]]: Cyril in "Tragical History".

* [[Exact Words]]: Archer, {{spoiler|Pirate King}}, defeats a challenger using a gun. {{spoiler|The other pirates say the challenge is meant to be hand-to-hand combat, but there is nothing in the "Pirate Orientation Guide" that explicitly forbids armed combat.}}.

* [[Expy]]:

** Jessica Walter plays an old, wealthy, overbearing mother with a drinking problem, and Judy Greer plays a [[Plucky Office Girl]] who happens to harbor a dark side, the same roles as their characters in ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]''. Creator Adam Reed has described the show as ''[[James Bond]]'' meets ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]''.

* [[Fan Disservice]]: Pam, Malory and a German chubby-chaser in a threesome.

* [[Freeze -Frame Bonus]]: Almost every episode has at least one visual gag or joke somewhere in the background. Blink and you'll miss it.

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: Archer's dysfunction is a result of growing up with a negligent and outright abusive mother, as revealed in a number of flashbacks to his traumatic childhood. She abandoned him until the age of five, then sent him off to 12<ref> actuallyActually, 15, or "whatever, the normal number"</ref> straight years of boarding school. Other examples include abandoning him on Christmas Eve with no way to get home, taking all of his Halloween candy from him in a poker game, and giving him liquor at a young age. After several flashbacks, various characters admit that it "explains a lot" about Archer's personality.

** Pause on pretty much any shot in the ISIS offices., ''especially'' in Krieger's lab; pay attention to the bin labels.

** The Cuban hit squad smiles and waves at Burt Reynolds right before opening fire in "The Man Fromfrom Jupiter".

* [[Fun Withwith Acronyms]]: A little [[Religious and Mythological Theme Naming]].

** ODIN stands for Organization of Democratic Intelligence Networks. The Norse god Odin was [[The Spymaster]]. He also gave up one eye in return for incredible knowledge; Barry, one of the few ODIN agents ever seen {{spoiler|becomes crippled and loses an eye, then gets turned into a superhuman cyborg}}.

* [[GilliganGossipy CutHens]]: InPam Placebois Effect:a notorious gossip.

{{quote| '''Pam:''' Can [Malory] really sell ISIS? Aren't we owned by, like, the government, or something?<br />

'''Cheryl:''' Yeah, I've never been totally clear on that. }}

* [[The Graduate Homage Shot]]: Close, the ending of "Skin Game" has a shot for shot of the last scene of ''[[The Graduate]] '' {{spoiler|replaced with Bionic Barry and Katya.}}.

* [[Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!]]: Malory thinks this of herself, as seen in "Lo Scandalo.".

* [[Gratuitous French]]: "Jeu MonegasqueMonégasque". Many of the agents use it, and while Sterling knows the least, several people make fun of Lana's issues with pronunciation.

* [[Gratuitous Italian]]: Thrown around a lot in "Lo Scandalo", in which Malory orders the ISIS crew to help her dispose the body of the Italian prime minister (and her lover of 35 years); at one point, 'puttana' ([[Getting Crap Past the Radar|Italian for 'bitch']]) is even used.

* [[Have a Gay Old Time]]: (inIn a [[World War OneI]] flashback):

{{quote| '''Woodhouse:''' I'm so glad you're all right. I'm a...<br />

'''Reggie:''' Fag?<br />

'''Woodhouse:''' [[Ho Yay|Er]]...<br />

'''Reggie:''' Have you got one? Dying for a smoke. }}

{{quote| '''Archer:''' And what position was ''that''?!? Did the missionaries never make it down here?}}

* [[Heh Heh, You Said "X"]]: One character in "Jeu MonegasqueMonégasque" is named Benoit. Which sounds a little too much like "Ben Wa" (balls), a sex toy. Archer points this out at every opportunity.

* [[Her Codename Was Mary Sue]]: In "Movie Star,", Malory's given the script to a spy thriller for consultation purposes. She quickly sets about cutting herself in as "Malory Steel,", a sexy intelligence head in her 50s, and quickly needs Cyril's help in keeping the script straight.

* [[I Did What I Had to Do]]: You want to terraform Mars and don't know where to start? {{spoiler|First off, hire a private contractor (with no previous loyalties) to ensure the success of a mutiny and then abduct [[Mandatory Motherhood|the women to help with speeding up the population of Mars]]. After, of course, making sure they're of [[Unfortunate Implications|good breeding stock]]}}.

* [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]]: The Soviet soldiers in Whiteout can't hit anything, to the frustration of their commanding officer. Archer [[Lampshadeslampshade]]s this.

{{quote| Jeez, these guys cannot hit anything. }}

** They [[Truth in Television|were]] using AK-47s <ref> [http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Archer#AK-47 Honest to God Ak-47s], milled recievers and all</ref>, which are notoriously inaccurate, although since the last team's commander [http://www.imfdb.org/w/images/b/bd/Archer_AK_2.jpg was apparently Airborne], they stood a very good chance of actually hitting Sterling. {{spoiler|They're killed before they can fire a shot.}}.

{{quote| '''Archer''': Wow... our security actually kind of sucks.}}

* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Frequently;:

** It's a ''rigid airship'' powered by ''helium''.

** It's not Seamus. It's ''The Wee Baby Seamus.''.

** It's YY ''ZED'' .

* [[Interrupted Intimacy]]: Lana walks in on Cyril and Framboise.

** There's a [[Running Gag]] of showing flashbacks in which Archer and Lana are interrupted by a phone call from Malory.

{{quote| '''Lana''':Wanna do it again and put on some interracial porn?<br />

(...phone rings)<br />

'''Lana''': No, baby don't answer it.<br />

'''Archer''': I have to, sorry, it's Mother... Turn it on, I can do both. ([[Beat]]) ''What?'' }}

* [[The Irish Mob]]: The villains in "Placebo Effect".

** The ending of "Space Race" has: "Welcome to the... danger zone." {{spoiler|It's not a real echo, but Archer was trying to goad Commander Drake into saying it earlier in the episode.}}.

* [[It Is Pronounced "Tro -PAY"]]: "Bloody Ferlin" reveals that Ray Gillette's name is pronounced "gillet" with a hard "g" by everyone else in his family.

{{quote| '''Malory''' "For god's sake, Sterling, she's turning seventeen!<br />

'''Archer''' "Oh, ew, sorry."<br />

'''Lana''' "Even for you, Archer."<br />

'''Archer''' "Come on, she doesn't look like she's turning seventeen."<br />

'''Lana''' "No, she looks like she's turning ''eighteen''."<br />

'''Archer''' "''Exactly!'' Plus, [[Comically Missing the Point|the Europeans use the metric system, so...]]" }}

* [[The Jeeves]]: Woodhouse. The name may be a reference to author P. G. Wodehouse, the creator of the original Jeeves character.

* [[Jerkass]]: Archer's unrepentant asshole behavior is [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist|mostly what sells the show]]. It's been heavily implied that his jerkass personality is the result of growing up with a neglectful, jet-setting spy for a mother.

* [[Kavorka Man]]: {{spoiler|Cyril}} is revealed to be a sex addict and can't stop sleeping with a series of different women. Supposedly because [[Bigger Is Better in Bed]].

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Even Archer didn't deserve to be told back and forth that {{spoiler|he was cancer free, then told he had it, then told he was cured again, [[Overly Long Gag|then told he had it again.]] }}. And then {{spoiler|have his fiancefiancé dropped off a roof by Barry}} in "Double Trouble".

* [[Klingon Promotion]]: Apparently, this is the first rule of being a pirate.

{{quote| '''Cyril:''' I've still got [[One Bullet Left]].<br />

'''Spelvin:''' Does he?<br />

'''Archer:''' I don't know. Who do I look like, Count...Bullets...ula? [[Don't Explain the Joke|Like Dracul-that was bad]]. }}

** "Skorpio": surroundedSurrounded by [[Mooks]], Archer pulls out a grenade [[Hyperspace Arsenal|seemingly from nowhere:]]:

{{quote| '''Lana:''' Where'd you get a grenade?<br />

'''Archer:''' Hanging from the lampshade! }}

** Almost everyone refers to Krieger by his last name. It has been hinted that his first name may literally be Doctor, since he's neither [[Not That Kind of Doctor|That Kind Of Doctor]] "or the other kind, technically"."

* [[Leaning Onon the Fourth Wall]]:

{{quote| '''Cyril:''' What is this, a spy comedy?<br />

'''Malory:''' No!<br />

'''Cyril:''' Because that has been done. }}

* [[Lemming Cops]]: "The Man Fromfrom Jupiter".

* [[Like an Old Married Couple]]: Archer and Lana, especially in seasonSeason two2.

{{quote| '''Archer:''' ''Do you get it?'' Because I swear to god, I will strip back down and show you all over again-<br />

'''Pharmacist:''' Yeah I get it, I get it! You have a lot of guns!<br />

'''Archer:''' And a knife! }}

* [[The Ludovico Technique]]: Lampshaded when they use it to put Trexler off marrying Malory - it's [[Shout -Out|referred to]] as a "modified Ludovico".

* [[Made of Iron]]:

** Averted with [[Butt Monkey|Brett]], who has been shot four times. He is seen walking with a cane, and Malory derisively calls him 'Mr. Blood Bank.'. Since "Drift Problem", he now [[Genre Savvy|seems to recognize his role in the show.]]

** {{spoiler|Barry}}, being a cyborg, a fact that Archer [[Punch -Punch -Punch Uh -Oh|continuously forgets]].

* [[Manly Gay]]: Gillette's high school bully in West Virginia turns out to be gay, while also being a hard-nosed sheriff.

* [[Maternally Challenged]]: {{spoiler|Have you been paying attention?}}?

{{quote| '''Archer:''' The first letter is "B".<br />

'''Gilette:''' ''"Bravo"!''<br />

'''Archer:''' Thank you. }}

{{quote| '''Woodhouse:''' And this is Sterling Archer, my...<br />

'''Stinky:''' None of my business. Consenting adults and all that.<br />

'''Archer:''' Wha... hey! [[Digging Yourself Deeper|No one's consenting to anything]]!<br />

'''Stinky:''' None of my business. }}

* [[Mushroom Samba]]: Pam, Cheryl and Ray take some of Krieger's special "herbal cleanse" to pass a drug test. They start hallucinating, with Pam seeing Ray as a Decepticon, Ray seeing Pam melt, and Cheryl seeing the bathroom floor turn to lava.

* [[My Beloved Smother]]: Archer's mother Malory. When a bad guy takes Malory hostage in the pilot and taunts him about how he's going to murder her, Archer immediately gets an erection ("Just half of one! The other half would have... really missed you.") and the taunt backfires. He later bonds with a Cuban target over their shared hatred of their Smotherssmothers.

* [[My Friends and Zoidberg]]: "I'm making peace with my loved ones... and some other people."

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: Archer called Cheryl "Carol" so many times that she legally changed it just so he would be right. This led to a running gag where she would change her name every episode until the writers presumably [[Overused Running Gag|got tired of it]]. For awhile, the joke was that she had changed it so many times she forgot what it was, and now it's back to people calling her Carol instead of Cheryl.

* [[Never a Self-Made Woman]]: Inverted. It's said Sterling relies on his mother for employment. Played straight in "Blood Test,", when the revelation that Archer might have a kid leads Pam and Cheryl to start needling Lana.

* [[Nightmare Fetishist]]: Cheryl has a death fetish and fantasizes about men strangling her to death. She insists that her lovers choke her during sex.

* [[Non-Action Guy]]: Cyril, Krieger and Pam don't really have any combat skills, though they can go crazy occasionally. Pam is ultimately revealed to be a [[Hidden Badass]] and occasionally demonstrates feats of impressive strength as well.

* [[Non-Idle Rich]]: Surprisingly, Cheryl, who works a day job despite being richer than Croesus. In some episodes after the reveal, she seems to be a bit fuzzy on the whole concept of money.

** Archer's conception is tied to three noodle incidents {{spoiler|scenario A (potential dad Len Drexler, a hotel in Berlin, and Malory Archer doing something so shocking that she got thrown out of the hotel) and scenario B (potential dad Nikolai Jackov, the legendary "Bridge of Spies" in Berlin, and something that caused Malory to flee Berlin and unable to contact Nikolai for the entire nine months she was pregnant) and scenario C (possible dad Buddy Rich having sex with Malory)}}.

** In "Job Offer,", we see Barry and Lana in a situation involving the two being put on top of each other buck naked (with Barry sexually penetrating Lana in the process) while being threatened with a laser beam.

** Pam's vacation to Jamaica in season two; she comes back with a tan and rasta gear/pot which she openly smokes and comments about being deported back to the US for some unstated reason.

** An undisclosed series of incidents involving the abuse of an undisclosed office perk that Malory threatens to lock up so no one can partake of it, in episodeSeason 1 Episode 1033. This might be a [[Running Gag]] based on Krieger having sex with the food in the fridge, as revealed in the first episode and obliquely referenced throughout the first season.

** Both Malory and Lana, in separate incidents, had to kill a man in Tunisia... for some reason.

** The 'Popeye incident,' mentioned in ''"Job Offer''" resulted in Archer having to install a bulletproof door.

** Gillette has revealed to have had a rather rough patch in his life, where among other things, he tried to renounce his homosexuality via joining a religious group designed to deprogram homosexuals and was paired up with a fellow reformed lesbian, who he had a brief marriage with.

{{quote| '''Lana:''' What does she drive, a Snuffleupagus?}}

{{quote| '''Cyril''': "But we'd need a doctor!"<br />

'''Cheryl''': "So? Krieger's a doctor."<br />

'''Cyril''': "Not the medical kind!"<br />

'''Krieger''': "Not even the other kind, technically." }}

** Episode 11 of seasonSeason 2, seems to indicate that Doctor is his first name.

* [[Not What It Looks Like]]: Pretty much the whole plot of the seasonSeason 2 premiere "Swiss Miss.". And it actually wasn't what it looked like - even Archer [[Jail Bait Wait|has some standards]].

* [[One-Liner, BulletName. LeftOne-Liner.]]:

{{quote| '''Malory:''' Most secret agents don't go around telling every [[Added Alliterative AppealAlliteration|harlot from here to Hanoi]] that they ''are'' secret agents!<br />

'''Sterling:''' ...then why be one? }}

* [[Phrase Catcher]]:

* [[Ping -Pong Naivete]]: While Archer is usually a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]] who's able to deal with spy work competently while being a complete moron in every other area, sometimes the stupidity bleeds into his work for the sake of the [[Rule of Funny]]; for example, completely missing a parachute dropzone only to land in the wrong country.

* [[Pity Sex]]:

** In the first season finale, when Lana takes pity on Pam and sleeps with her.

** In seasonSeason two2, Archer uses his cancer to guilt Lana into sleeping with him.

{{quote| '''Lana:''' How much did Dodge kick in?<br />

'''Malory:''' ''(acidly)'' Not as much as you'd think. }}

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: In "Honey PotHoneypot" and "Movie Star".

* [[Punny Name]]:

** "Major" Nikolai Jakov of the KGB. He wears a lieutenant general's insignia, but everyone calls him "Major.".

* [[Really Gets Around]]: The entire cast. Archer has a lot of sex throughout the show. He likely picked up his promiscuity from Malory, {{spoiler|given how many candidates for his father there are.}}. Cheryl, Pam, and Cyril are not far behind. Basically [[Everybody Has Lots of Sex]]. Even Krieger has opportunities to indulge his many unspeakable fetishes.

* [[Retired Badass]]:

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]:

** Woodhouse had one one for {{spoiler|Reggie, his wartime buddy.}}.

{{quote| '''Lana:''' Wait, you're just gonna leave him with a grenade stuck up his ass?<br />

'''Archer:''' Yes Lana, I'm on a rampage! }}

** Barry goes on one after Archer sodomizes his girlfriend, and drops him off of a balcony [[Running Gag|three times]]. {{spoiler|Archer's true love sacrifices herself to save Archer, but Barry survives, since he's a [[Cyborg]].}}.

** Malory saying, "Two weeks later, I was in Tunisia, killing a man." Lana later riffs on it by saying, "Two weeks later, I was in Tunisia, killing a ''different'' man."

** Characters getting caught having sex, with a background character offering a polite "Hello!".

** Archer's [[The Tape Knew You Would Say That|overly-elaborate voicemail pranks]] as of Season Three3. In one episode, he has to state the time and date before anyone will believe that it's ''not'' a recording.

* [[Ruthless Modern Pirates]]: Rip Riley and Archer are kidnapped by a group of pirates in the seasonSeason three3 premiere.

* [[Sassy Black Woman]]: Lana is an '''angry''' sassy black woman.

* [[Savage Setpiece]]: {{spoiler|When Pam gets kidnapped in Cheryl's place, we find out she paid for college as an underground bareknuckle boxer.}}. By the end of the episode, even Lana doesn't want to fight her.

* [[Say My Name]]: Archer to Barry {{spoiler|after the later kills Katya}}.

* [[Secretly Wealthy]]: Turns out that {{spoiler|Cheryl}} is worth almost $500 million now that her parents are dead. She still won't pay back Cyril the $3,200 she owes him because she physically burned the money, so she "doesn't have it anymore.".

* [[Sensual Slavs]]: Archer's ex-KGB girlfriend. {{spoiler|She survives for all of two episodes, but is later brought back as a cyborg.}}.

* [[Shaped Like Itself]]:

* [[Single -Target Sexuality]]: Woodhouse seems to have this for Reggie Thistleton. In "Honey PotHoneypot"," Charles and Rudy make a remark about Woodhouse not being gay, and he corrects them not by saying he is gay but by mentioning Reggie Thistleton. He elaborates on his relationship with Reggie in "The Double Deuce,", including his death on the battlefield. The only other indication of any kind of love/sex life at all is in that same episode when he's in bed with two women on a drug running ship... and he's openly pining for Reggie. He then delivers Archer and becomes his butler-for-life.

* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]:

** The '''only''' thing Lana and Archer still have in common is sexual tension. Otherwise, they are constantly at each others' throats.

** {{spoiler|Barry and Katya}}.

* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: One of the main reasons for why the show uses Cold War-centric villains (the Cubans, Russia, the Red Army Faction, and the IRA) is due to Adam Reed's notion that Islamic Terrorism would be too dark a subject to deal with in a comedy, while the KGB and their ilk would harken the audience back to a simpler time where you had two sides engaging in battle with full knowledge that neither side would go all out, out of fear of wiping out the entire world.

* [[Snark -to -Snark Combat]]: Everyone, pretty much all the time.

* [[Stating the Simple Solution]]: Ray in "Skytanic,", when Archer manages to speed up the timer on the bomb. When asked what to do, he replies "I don't know, throw it off the blimp?"

{{quote| '''Archer:''' How could she pick Lana over me?<br />

'''Woodhouse:''' The mind fairly boggles.<br />

'''Archer:''' Was that sarcasm?<br />

'''Woodhouse:''' No, sir.<br />

'''Archer:''' Good, because your opinion matters. And in case you aren't clear on the concept, ''that'' was sarcasm.<br />

'''Woodhouse:''' Well played!<br />

'''Archer:''' Thank you. ''(long pause)'' Thank you. }}

* [[Sting (music)|Sting]]: [[Running Gag]] in "Skorpio" (wah wah!).

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]:

*** This last one is immediately [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by Archer.

* [[Tag -Along Actor]]: One shadows Lana {{spoiler|who turns out to be a Russian sleeper agent.}}.

** Same with the two-man three-way in ''"Skorpio".''' At one point, Archer apparently burst into tears.

{{quote| '''Archer''': Wooden spoons are a ''huge'' emotional trigger for me, Lana!}}

** Amputee Barry {{spoiler|is [[We Can Rebuild Him|rebuilt as a KGB cyborg]].}}.

** Wheelchair-bound Gillette {{spoiler|was faking the whole thing.}}.

* [[Tontine]]: The plot of "The Double Deuce" revolves around this, as Woodhouse is one of the last three surviving members of one and other members die mysteriously . {{spoiler|As it turns out, the whole thing was a [[Red Herring]], as the supposed bad guy didn't care about it.}}. Pam starts a tontine at the office as well, since active agents can get killed in the line of duty and the control room "Is one big asbestos lawsuit waiting to happen"."

{{quote| '''Lana:''' Just what do we know about this Conway?<br />

'''Archer:''' Only that he's not circumcised.<br />

'''Lana:''' OK...glossing over how exactly you know that...<br />

'''Archer:''' We touched penises.<br />

'''Lana:''' No! Glossing! }}

* [[Twofer Token Minority]]: Conway Stern is hired because, as a black Jew, "He's a diversity double whammy!" {{spoiler|He's not really Jewish, and Archer even questions whether he's black.}}) .

* [[UpperclassUpper Class Twit]]: Both Archers take this trope into [[Crosses the Line Twice]] territory. For example, Sterling considers it offensive when people ''don't'' treat Woodhouse with seething contempt, and Malory dropped the ISIS cleaning ladies down an elevator shaft when they tried to unionize.

** There's also Archer's reference to [[Herman Melville]]'s "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and his utter shock that no one gets it.

** "Drift Problem" is a definite one for Malory. {{spoiler|Sterling leaves his beloved [[Cool Car|Spy Car]] birthday present unlocked, so she steals it to teach him a lesson in responsibility. Said lesson doesn't involve giving it back. She sold it to Popeye.}}.

* [[Why We Can't Have Nice Things]]: Said word-for-word at both ISIS and ODIN [[Running Gag|on a regular basis]].

* [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]: Malory is so insistent in pairing her [[Mary Sue]] self-insertion with a black male [[Author Appeal|interest]] in the reworked script for ''Disavowed'' that it draws the inevitable comparison to the 1975 movie ''Mandingo.''. Her Hollywood contact finally accepts it under the change of making it a romantic comedy named ''Mandingo 2.''.

* [[X Called. They Want Their Y Back.]]: Archer is incredulous at Rip's old-fashioned lifestyle.

{{quote| '''Rip''': This had better not be a ruse.<br />

'''Archer''': A '''ruse'''? ''Brrrring, brrrring!'' "Hello?" "Hi, it's the 1930's. Can we have our words and clothes and shitty airplanes back? ... Call you back, 1930's! And hey, watch out for that Adolf Hitler. He's a bad egg! }}

* [[You Kill It, You Bought It]]: In "Heart of Archness" , {{spoiler|Archer is captured by pirates and kills their captain. By their laws, this makes him the new captain.}}.

[[Category:ArcherWestern Animation of the 2000s]]