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{{quote| ''"This is [[Why We Can't Have Nice Things]]."''}}
 
''Archer'' is the most recent 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.
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* [[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]]:
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** Archer, Pam and Cheryl are amused by the pirate animation that accompanies the computer worm in "Tragical History".
** 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 2. 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.}}
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* [[Alliterative Name]]: Katya Kazanova
* [[Always Wanted to Say That]]
{{quote| '''Sterling Archer''': I have waited my entire life to say this exact phrase: [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|I am commandeering this airboat!]]}}
* [[Amusing Injuries]]: Variously [[Deconstructed]] and [[Reconstructed]]; while the injuries are almost always initially [[Played for Laughs]], several times characters have had to seek advanced medical attention afterwards;
** Lana's [[Steel Ear Drums|eardrums are ruptured when Archer fires a shotgun near her head]],
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** For [[Butt Monkey]] Brett, this is a [[Running Gag]].
** During the two part season 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]]: 1960s decor, 1970s cars, early 1980s 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 Starring]]: Jessica Walters.
* [[And Zoidberg]]
{{quote| '''Archer''': Yeah, listen - doctor - I'm kinda making peace with my loved ones right now... Plus some other people.}}
* [[Artistic License Chemistry]]: While Archer's assumption that dry ice is "hundreds of degrees below" could be handwaved as [[What an Idiot!|his being a moron]], it is in fact nowhere near as deadly as "Pipeline Fever" depicts it to be when Lana reaches into Archer's cooler. Also, keeping in mind that dry ice solidifies at minus 78 degrees Celsius, all the beer (and the one water bottle) in the cooler should have been frozen solid.
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: During the [[The Ludovico Technique|"modified Ludovico" treatment]], among the words displayed in quick succession are "war", "famine", "dead puppy", and "old people".
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* [[As Himself]]: [[Burt Reynolds]].
* [[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]]!' }}
* [[Asshole Victim]]:
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* [[Bad Boss]]: Malory. The list of grievances from her employees is pretty long, but the most trope worthy offense has got to be her cold-blooded murder of the entire team of cleaning ladies in an elevator "accident" when they threatened to unionize for better working conditions.
* [[Bad Liar]]: Dr. Krieger:
{{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 />
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* [[Beleaguered Assistant]]:
** Archer's butler Woodhouse takes all kinds of scorn and verbal abuse from his employer.
{{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.
* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: Archer and Lana. Lampshaded by the rest of the group as they escape Pirate Island.
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** Archer tends to have a minor freakout every time someone so much as hints at his mother having sex.
** He also tends to have a random one per episode.
{{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? }}
* [[Big Eater]]: Pam always mentions wanting some kind of food.
{{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. }}
* [[Big No]]: End of season 2, when {{spoiler|Barry and Katya land on Krieger's beloved van.}}
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** 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.
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* [[Bond One-Liner]]:
** Generally subverted by Archer, who constantly flubs his one-liners or has to explain them to the others because they don't get his references.
{{quote| '''Archer:''' Damn, I... had something for this, too... um... damn it. ''Eat grenade, stupids!''}}
** Played straight with Conway Stern, who annoys Archer and Lana by always having the right one-liner (except at the end of Operation Frodo, because he doesn't know anything about [[Lord of the Rings]]).
{{quote| '''Lana:''' Shit, I had something for this!<br />
'''Conway:''' Was it something like..."You won't get off the hook that easy?"<br />
'''Lana:''' Dammit!<br />
'''Archer:''' Yeah, he's good at those. }}
* [[Bottomless Magazines]]:
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** The cuban gay spy calls out Archer on doing this in the final [[Blast Out]], but does the same thing not five seconds later to Archer's amusement.
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: During the car chase in "The Man from Jupiter," the Cuban assassins' vans fly off the road into the water in two identical (save for the vehicles) sequences. Archer notices this, somehow.
{{quote| "Wait, was that the same footage?"}}
* [[Briefcase Full of Money]]: One instance is a decoy containing a single muffin. It's a bit of wordplay used to lampshade that the contents of the briefcase are a [[MacGuffin]]. You could call it a [[MacMuffin]].
* [[Brick Joke]]: The very first episode opens with a not so heinous scene of Archer goofing off in an "[[Electric Torture]] by the KGB" training scenario. Late in season two, guess what he's faced with?
{{quote| '''Archer:''' Kinda wishing I'd paid more attention to my training right now. Which is, uh, pretty rare for me.}}
** In ''Dial M for Mother'', while pushing a stroller through a park Trinette, has a confrontation the assassin Mannfred at a playground. After Mannfred threatens her with a pistol, Trinette tells us that the baby's father knows Krav Maga, which ''Training Day'' establishes is used by {{spoiler|ISIS agents}}. In season two's ''Blood Test'', its revealed that Trinette {{spoiler|believes Archer to be the baby's father}}.
** In "Drift Problem," a fake fire drill is used to lead Archer to his birthday car surprise. Archer grabbed Ray out of his wheelchair and carried him outside. {{spoiler|At the time, it was assumed that Ray was paralyzed due to an injury from a mission.}} Archer drops Ray at the sight of the car, leading Ray to say, "Ow!...I think." This seemingly throwaway joke led to [[The Reveal]] in "Bloody Ferlin". {{spoiler|Ray is found on a ladder, giving away that he was never paralyzed. He was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair as standard procedure, and the others mistook this for paralysis. However, he used the mix-up for every opportunity he could get.}}
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** In one episode, Archer is teaching Cyril how to act like an agent and shoots cubes of ice at Cyril with a slingshot. Cyril grabs a nearby call girl and pulls her into the line of fire. Archer is delighted, the call girl less so.
** In a literal example, Archer uses a bulletproof vest-wearing Cheryl as cover during a gunfight, even though ''he's'' supposed to be protecting ''her''.
{{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}}.
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** At one point someone outright states that Archer is an excellent field agent in spite of being completely clueless at everything else.
* [[But Liquor Is Quicker]]:
{{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. }}
* [[But Not Too Black]]: Lana.
{{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'! }}
* [[But You Screw One Goat!]]: Malory's relationship with her deceased dog Duchess. Several episodes feature a photo of them both that parodies the famous portrait of a naked John Lennon curled around Yoko Ono.
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* [[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 [[Straight Gay]].
{{quote| "Oh my God, you, like, ''sneeze glitter''!"<br />
''"Thank you!"'' }}
** Gillette. [[Agent Peacock|Which doesn't stop him from being one of the more competent characters]]. However, he's still willing to sleep with Lana since, as he puts it, "No one's ''that'' gay."
* [[Can't Bathe Without a Weapon]]: lampshaded in 'Jeu Monegasque';
{{quote| '''Archer:''' "...my gun's all soapy. Pretty dumb, taking a bath with it..."}}
* [[Can't Get Away with 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> they 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}}
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* [[Character Blog]]: [http://twitter.com/codenameduchess Sterling Archer's Twitter feed.]
* [[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 two 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|(It 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.}}
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* [[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]]: Cheryl's real last name is "Tunt." This is the subject of a few puns.
{{quote| '''Archer:''' Tum again?}}
* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: While being a complete moron, Archer is more than competent at violence when the situation arises.
{{quote| '''Archer:''' Well, you never know what's gonna be on the board...}}
* [[Crying Wolf]]: Given Archer's tendency to lie through his teeth and seduce anything within a 500-yard radius, his ISIS coworkers are a bit skeptical that it's actually ''Anka'' who's trying to bed ''him''.
** 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"
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* [[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 with New Paramour]] issues.
* [[Curse Cut Short]]: In the pilot:
{{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 />
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* [[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}}.
* [[Dead Baby Comedy]]: When the show isn't sexual [[Squick]], it's this. In one memorable, literal example:
{{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.
** "I liked him better when he had cancer."
** 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.}}
** It's safe to say this shows up in every episode, at least once..
* [[Deadly Dodging]]: Burt Reynolds gets the Cuban gangsters to shoot each other in "The Man From Jupiter".
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* [[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? }}
* [[Description Porn]]: The introductory video for Archer's [[Cool Car]]. And when we say "porn", that's certainly the effect it as on him.
* [[Discriminate and Switch]]:
{{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. }}
* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Archer and Lana}} get one, complete with an onlooker saying [[No One Could Survive 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! }}
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** Woodhouse has had several with Archer: locking him out of his apartment when ISIS briefly fired Archer, allowing Archer's co-workers to throw a babyshower for the hooker Archer knocked up in his apartment without his permission, as well as the revelation that several times a year, Woodhouse knocks Archer unconscious and then convinces him he blacked out after a wild bender.
** Pam in "El Secuestro":
{{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 on Male)]]: In "Swiss Miss", Archer finds himself in several compromising positions with the sexually aggressive piece of [[Jail Bait]] he's assigned to protect.
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* [[Enemy Mine]]: When Archer is captured by the KGB, Malory recruits Barry to rescue him as Lana can't go undercover adequately there.
* [[Erotic Asphyxiation]]: Cheryl's fetish. Also that of one of Woodhouse's old war buddies.
{{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]]
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* [[Genius Ditz]]: Sterling is pretty incompetent in most things, but he's the best field agent there is. He's also incredibly slow on the uptake on a number of occasions, but he also displays a surprisingly hefty education, apparently coming from his years at a boarding school. In one exchange that exemplifies the dichotomy, he overhears two mooks on a space station make an ''[[Animal Farm]]'' reference. Archer knows that ''Animal Farm'' is "an allegorical novella about Stalinism by George Orwell," but thought they were talking about an actual animal farm.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]:
{{quote| '''Krieger:''' I thought you said start slacking off.<br />
'''Carol:''' Not ''slacking'' off. }}
* [[Gossipy Hens]]: Pam is a notorious gossip.
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** It's become a running gag that if he puts the night vision goggles on, he's gonna get flashed with a bright light and be in pain.
* [[Gilligan Cut]]: In Placebo Effect:
{{quote| '''Irish mobster''': Go ahead and shoot me! Cuz ain't nuthin in the world can make me talk!<br />
'''Archer''': You say that...<br />
(''cut to Irish Mobster handcuffed to poker table, pants around his ankles, {{spoiler|having a 'smoke grenade' shoved up his ass}}'') }}
* [[Government Agency of Fiction]]: ISIS.
** ISIS (as well as ODIN, and possibly even the KGB) actually appears to operate in the free-market, without any link to the government. Since the series is vaguely in an alternate universe, it's hard to be sure-- but if they were receiving any taxpayer dollars, you'd think it would have come up by now.
{{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.}}
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* [[Hard Head]]: Deconstructed. Being knocked unconscious for a whole hour? ''Super'' bad for you.
* [[Have a Gay Old Time]]: (in a [[World War One]] 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. }}
* [[Head-Tiltingly Kinky]]: In the episode "Heart of Archness", Archer has just woken up from a wild night with two nubile island girls. The room is border-line [[Destructo-Nookie]] and there are hand prints ''everywhere'', which leads him to comment:
{{quote| '''Archer:''' And what position was ''that''?!? Did the missionaries never make it down here?}}
* [[Heh, Heh, You Said "X"]]: One character in "Jeu Monegasque" 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.
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* [[Imagine Spot]]
* [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]]: The Soviet soldiers in Whiteout can't hit anything, to the frustration of their commanding officer. Archer [[Lampshades]] 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.}}
* [[I Never Said It Was Poison|I Never Said I Worked for ISIS]]: Archer pulls this on ''himself'' in the third season premiere.
* [[In the Local Tongue]]: The yakuza drift racers call Pam 'Shiro Kabocha' and tell her it means 'white shadow,' when it really translates to 'white pumpkin'
* [[Instant AI, Just Add Water]]: Subverted in "Tragical History":
{{quote| '''Malory:''' Just turn off the mainframe.<br />
'''Lana:''' ''(holds up an unplugged power cord)'' Yeah, we tried that.<br />
'''Malory:''' Then how is it still on?<br />
'''Krieger:''' Because the worm has turned the mainframe...''into a sentient being.''<br />
'''(dramatic musical sting)'''<br />
'''Malory:''' What?<br />
'''Krieger:''' I'm kidding. There's a battery backup. }}
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: The finalists in the qualifying heat at Monaco are [[Bel Biv Devoe|Bell, Bivens, and Devoe]].
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** The Season 2 DVD extra "L'Espion Mal Fait" ("The Badly Made Spy") shows what would happen if Archer had a horrible accident and the doctors clumsily rebuilt him... looking like H. Jon Benjamin.
* [[Insecurity System]]: ISIS headquarters has roof access with an unlocked screen door.
{{quote| '''Archer''': Wow...our security actually kind of sucks.}}
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Frequently;
** It's a ''rigid airship'' powered by ''helium''.
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* [[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?'' }}
* [[Invention Pretension]]: Archer claims to have invented turtlenecks. When pressed he claims to have simply popularized them as tactical dress for covert missions, but when distracted or drunk he more passionately claims to have invented them.
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* [[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.
* [[Jail Bait]]: Even ''Archer'' has his limits.
{{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.
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* [[Ladykiller in Love]]: Sterling, with Katya.
* [[Lame Comeback]]: Used a lot. For example, in "Tragical History":
{{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]]. }}
* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Oh so very much.
** In an episode centered on their troubled relationship. Cyril and Lana stop bickering and work together to push a bomb off their <s>blimp</s> [[Insistent Terminology|rigid airship]], then embrace and exclaim, "We made it! We ''made'' it, baby!" as the rigid airship soars. In the background, Archer proclaims, "[[Sarcasm Mode|Hooray for metaphors!]]"
** "Skorpio": surrounded 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! }}
* [[Last-Name Basis]]: Everyone except Malory (who uses either his first name, or [[Full Name Ultimatum]]) refers to Archer by his last name.
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** Woodhouse -- naturally, being [[The Jeeves]].
* [[Leaning on 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 From Jupiter".
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** The ''real'' littlest cancer patient was Ruth in "Placebo Effect".
* [[Lock and Load Montage]]: Invoked [[Weapon for Intimidation|for intimidation purposes]], lampshaded and parodied all at once;
{{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".
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* [[Meaningful Name]]: {{spoiler|Bionic Barry}} gets into the US under the alias "Sy Berg".
* [[Military Alphabet]]: Archer doesn't get it.
{{quote| '''Archer:''' The first letter is "B".<br />
'''Gilette:''' ''"Bravo"!''<br />
'''Archer:''' Thank you. }}
* [[Mini-Mecha]]: The spaceship has a yellow Power Loader exactly like the one from ''[[Aliens]]'' on board.
* [[Mistaken for Gay]]: Archer and Woodhouse:
{{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. }}
Line 537:
** Deconstructed with Malory wearing an eye patch the first time she met her son after shipping him off to the US with Woodhouse (who raised Archer); Malory comments that she doesn't remember why she had the eye patch on. Becomes sort of a [[Running Gag]] in flashbacks.
* [[Not So Different]]: When protecting an underage German heiress, she and Archer have a conversation about how her father never really cared about her, sending her to boarding schools, different camps and so on. And that she acts out to get attention, and how she's insecure and doesn't have any friends, so she overcompensates and comes off as arrogant.
{{quote| '''Archer''' "Yeah, I ''get'' it, Anka!<br />
'''Anka''' "You know, I think you and I are a lot alike, Archer."<br />
'''Archer''' "'''[[Blatant Lies|I don't do that!]]'''" }}
* [[Not-So-Imaginary Friend]]: Archer plays off the prostitute he hires as his date at the dinner party for Utne to be this.
{{quote| '''Lana:''' What does she drive, a Snuffleupagus?}}
* [[Not That Kind of Doctor]]: When they need someone who can do brain surgery, Cyril points out Krieger isn't a medical doctor.
{{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 season 2, seems to indicate that Doctor is his first name.
Line 563:
* [[One of Us]]: In spite of spending most of his time drinking, whoring and killing, Archer has a surprisingly detailed pop culture reference pool that includes some pretty geeky topics. Few others seem to share his interests, and he's always getting annoyed when no one else gets his references. He still looks down on ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', however.
* [[Overt Operative]]: Maybe Archer'd have less of a problem with villains revealing that they know that he is "Sterling Archer of ISIS" if he stopped using it as a pickup line at bars and parties.
{{quote| '''Malory:''' Most secret agents don't go around telling every [[Added Alliterative Appeal|harlot from here to Hanoi]] that they ''are'' secret agents!<br />
'''Sterling:''' ...then why be one? }}
* [[The Password Is Always Swordfish]]: The password is always "guest." The ISIS security mainframe Cyril's Swiss bank account both use it. Archer lampshades how stupid this is.
Line 579:
* [[Preemptive Declaration]]: "You hear that?" "Hear what?" "That crunching noise!" (headbutt)
* [[Product Placement]]: Yes, yes, Archer has a Dodge Challenger.
{{quote| '''Lana:''' How much did Dodge kick in?<br />
'''Malory:''' ''(acidly)'' Not as much as you'd think. }}
* [[Psychopathic Manchild]]: Cheryl is a cross between types D and E.
Line 598:
** Woodhouse had one one for {{spoiler|Reggie, his wartime buddy.}}
** Archer himself goes on one to take down the makers of counterfeit cancer medication. He even makes sure to say "rampaaage!" a lot.
{{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]].}}
Line 656:
* [[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?"
* [[Stealth Insult]]: Woodhouse to Archer, possibly:
{{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. }}
* [[Steel Ear Drums]]: Averting this trope is a [[Running Gag]].
Line 677:
** No, not really considering it involved Pam and Malory, as well as a German chubby-chaser.
** 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!}}
* [[Throwing Off the Disability]]: A couple of times;
** Amputee Barry {{spoiler|is [[We Can Rebuild Him|rebuilt as a KGB cyborg]].}}
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* [[Too Kinky to Torture]]: Cheryl, who is turned on by the thought of being murdered. When asked what would happen if she actually got killed, she replies, "The world's gushiest orgasm?" She's particularly interested in getting strangled, but also gets off on being beaten up by Lana.
* [[Too Much Information]]:
{{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! }}
* [[Traintop Battle]]: Thoroughly deconstructed in "The Limited"; Archer's [[Always Wanted to Say That|always wanted to do it]] but never realised the many, many impracticalities.
Line 721:
* [[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! }}
* [[Yakuza]]: "Drift Problem".
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