Hello! Justin here and welcome to the Otaku Mind. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there and today I’m going to keep giving to you the readers. So yesterday, I talked about Futurama one of my all-time favorite animated sitcoms. So how about I talk about another one of my favorite sitcoms, Archer. Beginning in 2009 and ending this year, Archer has become one of the best animated sitcoms in the last decade. The show centered around a group of misfits being spies and at the center of this organization was ego-centric Archer. It was a show where the humor came mostly from what the characters were saying rather than what they were doing. A good example of how dialogue can be comedy as well. For the last 14 years, Archer has made people laugh and that means there are 14 seasons of Archer to cover. While there are definitely great seasons, there have been a few stinkers, and must ask question: which season is the worst? And which season is the best? It’s your boy Justin and these are the Archer seasons ranked from worst to best.
#14. Archer: 1999 (Season 10)
The coma seasons were the worst. Let’s get that out of the way. On paper, they sounded like good ideas but were awful when executed. The worst of the bunch was Archer: 1999 which sees the gang as space marines. What should have been a creative space journey that paid homage to sci-fi shows turned into such a boring season to watch. There’s just nothing memorable in this season. For the life of me I can’t remember an episode and nothing got a big laugh out of me. The only thing I remember was Pam being some kind of rock monster and that’s it. There’s just nothing creative in this season with the premise. Everything they do has either been done before in shows like Star Wars and Star Trek. It’s because of this that I dub it the worst season of Archer.
#13. Danger Island (Season 9)
The second coma season gives us a change of scenery as the group is now on an island searching for an ancient idol held by the local savages and battling Nazis in the process. For the longest time this was my least favorite Archer season but after going back and watching a few scenes this season did have one saving grace. Archer, Pam, and Kreiger aka Crackers. These three save this season. Their banter with each other was hilarious and carry this season to the finish line when everything else around them was either failing or not as funny as the writers had hoped. This season also sees Cyril at his most competent as he’s the leader of the Nazis here obsessed with coke and while it gets a good chuckle out of me it’s still pretty out there as nobody can buy him as a serious threat no matter how insane you make him. A bad season but it gets saved by our three main leads.
#12. Dreamland (Season 8)
The first and best of the coma seasons. Dreamland puts us in a noir setting as Archer plays a private eye hunting down the murder of his partner Woodhouse. The season is intriguing as this was the first of the coma seasons and there was a good mystery going on that kept our attention. Aside from Lana and Ray’s roles, everyone plays a funny part that matches their personality and gets a good laugh out of me. I especially like the car chase in the second episode from the finale and Kreiger’s backstory is funny as well. This whole season was dedicated to George Coe the VA of Woodhouse who passed away in 2015. While it wasn’t the best season it was still a decent season that had its funny moments and kept us intrigued with a good mystery.
#11. Season 11
The season after the coma seasons. Archer finally wakes up from his coma and finds that things have changed. The group is now spies again without explaining why or how it happened. It’s like the writers heard the complaints and were like: Fine. Here. They’re spies again. Happy now? And apparently, in Archer’s absence, they’ve become quite competent people who take their work seriously and get the job done with Cyril becoming the agency’s ace and Lana happily married to a rich guy. However, the happy times change when Archer re-enters the picture and everyone starts to revert back to their old selves. This is a rare instance where the writers misread their audience. We were happy to see the team change for the better and we wanted to see Archer change if only a little. But nope, they decided to return everything to the status quo and put you in a situation where you don’t feel sorry for anyone. You don’t feel sorry for Archer because he refuses to accept the changes, better himself, and work with everyone. You don’t feel sorry for the others because they easily let Archer influence them and then just use him as an excuse to cover their own bad behaviors. Its characters refusing to take responsibility for their own actions because that would mean admitting their own faults. Aside from this, there are some good moments in the season. It’s nice to see Barry move on from his hatred of Archer and form a bit of a friendship with him. We get to see AJ again where she’s definitely inheriting the good qualities of Archer and Lana (thank God). Archer gets a new valet who is hard not to love and there’s one funny episode where Archer goes on a double date with Lana and her husband. While this season had more lows than highs there are a few good gems to spot in this season that make it worth checking out.
#10. Season 14
The final season of Archer. Lana has fulfilled Cheryl’s prophecy and becomes the new head of ISIS. As Lana adjusts to the role and tries to run ISIS as clean as possible, Archer and others adjust to the new agent, Zara, joining their ranks. As far as Zara goes she was a welcomed addition to the team. She’s like a female Archer if he was British, not drunk, and a functional agent. I like how she’s able to handle Archer and throw whatever he says right back at him. The only downside is that she comes way too late in the show. I wish she would have joined a season or two earlier. The strange part is this season doesn’t feel like a series finale, it honestly feels like a revival. Like they had more ideas they wanted to try but unfortunately had the plug pulled from them by the network. All in all this season was good. Despite the sad feelings of this being the last season it made me laugh and I’ll miss it. With the last episode ending on a cliffhanger and the three-part finale coming out in December I can’t wait to see how the series ends.
#9. Season 6 (The CIA Season)
The first season where I had mixed feelings about it. After the events of season 5 (more on that later), the group are now CIA agents and just like before they keep messing up and causing trouble for the CIA which results in them getting fired by the end of the season and blacklisted. Like I said, this is a season I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand there are some good and funny moments but there’s also a lot of moments that aren’t that great and forgetful. Aside from Lana and Archer getting back together, the elevator episode (one of their best episodes), the return of Conway and Keith David guest-starring in an episode where we meet Lana’s parents and learn a little bit about her childhood, this season doesn’t have much to offer. It also features what I consider to be the worst episode in Archer’s entire run. It’s the episode where Lana leaves AJ in Archer’s care and puts him in a no-win situation to test his paternal skills. Endangering the life of AJ and showing the first signs of Lana being a bitch.
#8. Season 12
The next season after Archer’s coma does see a slight improvement as the show recaptures that Archer magic. The jokes are funnier this time around and the stories are more memorable. We get to dive into Archer’s past which is always interesting as well as Malory’s past. We also meet a new series antagonist named Fabian who would get better in the next season. The storyline between Lana and her husband would continue to unravel as we see her become more like Archer as the problems at home continue to rise. This season holds a special place in my heart as this was the last season of Jessica Walter the VA of Malory who tragically passed shortly after recording her lines for the season. She was one of the best and funniest characters on the show. The final scene of her on the beach with Ron watching the sunset remains one of the saddest and most memorable moments from the show for me.
#7. Season 13
The team is now working for their archnemesis Fabian and IIA. Like I said previously this season does a better job of using Fabian. Rather than have him be a villain he’s an antagonist to the team. Always keeping them in the dark on their operations and being a thorn in their side with his witty remarks. He’s like a chaotic neutral boss. Always causing trouble and doing what benefits him the most. It leads to a good finale where the team is finally able to pull one over on him and finally get control of their agency once again. The season also brings an end to the Lana and her husband’s storyline. Each episode does a good job making me laugh and leading to the finale of the season while developing some of its characters and showing a different side to them we don’t see all that much.
#6. Season 7
Often considered an underrated season by fans but in my opinion it’s one of their best. After being blacklisted by the CIA, the group moves out to Los Angeles and opens their own PI agency. While there’s an overarching story going on throughout the season each episode manages to stand on its own and deliver a funny and creative story that shows the Archer magic we all know and love. This season features my favorite Barry episode, explores more of Archer’s childhood as we see he too was a victim of bullying, and has two of the funniest moments in the entire show as everyone gets pelted with beanbags in slow motion and gets into a fight in a hotel lobby because someone insulted Pam. The season also ends on one of the most memorable moments in the show that would lead to the coma seasons. While there are a few episodes with not a whole lot going on this season is still great and memorable. It’s not a perfect season but it’s still a great season that I enjoyed watching.
#5. Season 4
We’re entering the upper echelon now. This is where it gets tough as you could make the argument that each season deserves the number 1 spot. Season 4 is considered a fan favorite having some of the best episodes in the entire series. The season starts with a big laugh as they make a reference to Bob’s Burgers (if you watch both shows or know the VAs this moment will get a huge laugh out of you). The laughs continue throughout the season as we see Archer try to help out a friend, get back with an ex, go on a Hell’s Kitchen-inspired food show, and even saving the pope. Like previous seasons not everything works. There are a few episodes that miss the mark but are still memorable and average at best. The season has lows but they easily get overshadowed by the highs and give us a funny and memorable season that I consider to be one of the best.
#4. Season 1
It’s amazing how a show that’s been on this long can say the first season is still considered one of their best. Every episode is memorable and started so many running gags that would keep popping up all the way until the final season. Being that it’s the first season it’s still considered an experimental season so they take more risks and try a lot of gags and jokes with some not working entirely and dropping them in later seasons. The animation was also a little stiff but the great character dialogue and jokes covered it up. Showing us this was a show where the humor came from what the characters were saying rather than what they were doing and how they looked. It was a season that had a lot of great moments, gave us a great first impression of the show, left a lasting impact, and gained a lot of fans in the process. What an incredible first season.
#3. Season 3
It was a close tie between this season and season 1 but ultimately I felt that season 3 had a few more standout moments than the first season. This is where the writers would finally establish the Archer magic that we all know and love. This is where the show was hitting its stride. There’s a lot of unforgettable moments and episodes that once again earn their place on my top 11 favorite Archer episodes. Two of those episodes being where the team has to dispose of a dead body in Malory’s room secretly and the episode where Archer fanboys over Burt Reynolds are classics in my book. The season would also start to better use its cast of characters and expand on them more. They weren’t just going to be one-note side characters they were going to be fully developed characters with their own crazy quirks that made them just as unstable as Archer. It’s a season I love to watch and doesn’t have anything really all that bad in it.
#2. Archer Vice (Season 5)
This may be a little biased but this was the season that really made me a fan of Archer. I knew about the show previously and watched a few clips online but this was the season that hooked me on the show. It’s also the first season where they change the formula. The season starts with a shock as the group gets arrested by the FBI. We discover not so shockingly that everything they’ve been doing has been without the consent of the US government (committing high treason). After Malory bails them out the group becomes drug dealers and try to sell cocaine around the world. This is the first season that featured an overarching storyline from the first episode to the final episode and they make each episode count with so many funny gags and side stories as these guys keep messing up. As if that wasn’t funny, Cheryl becomes a country music star and Pam gets addicted to cocaine and pretty much eats 30% of it herself. The season finally climaxes in the final episode with Lana giving birth to AJ, everything being revealed, and the group escaping a country that’s about to get an airstrike by the US government. It may be silly to start watching a show from the 5th season but that season was a great introduction to the show.
And number one. . .
#1. Season 2
Hands down the best season of Archer and a season that I appreciate more every time I go back to watch it. When this season started they were still hammering out the formula for the Archer magic but this is where we saw it coming into form. Each episode is amazing and funny. You can watch these episodes multiple times and still laugh at them. The Placebo Effect episode is the stand-out episode not just for the season but for the entire show. This is hands down the best episode of Archer and is a master class of writing funny dialogue. That interrogation scene with the Irish mob has so many jokes crammed into those 3 minutes that I think every up-and-coming writer needs to watch this scene. It’s a masterpiece of dialogue. Everyone gets a chance to shine this season. Cheryl’s true identity getting revealed. Pam showing everyone that she’s a badass, Kreiger’s hologram wife, Woodhouse’s past, and Cyril nearly destroying the agency just to prove he’s not useless. It’s the season where everyone started to become their own person while still advancing the story and delivering on the laughs. While season 3 may have perfected the Archer magic, season 2 is where it all began and showed everyone that the first season wasn’t a fluke and that this show was going to be one of the best-animated sitcoms of all time.
And that’s list. What was your favorite Archer season? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.