In one of my favorite Archer episodes ever, Sterling and Lana have an adventure in a Florida Louisiana swamp, which is mainly exciting to Archer for its resonances with the Burt Reynolds classic Gator. “I’ve been waiting my entire life to say this exact phrase,” Archer says, excitedly: “I am commandeering this airboat!” Last night on FX, the animated spy series / family-office-dysfunction comedy returned, and two national treasures came together, as Archer ran into his idol in a bar. Whereupon Reynolds corrected Archer that the movie had “speedboats. Not airboats. I’m pretty sure. I directed it.”
“The Man from Jupiter” was a welcome, on-form return for Archer that made good use of its guest star and guiding spirit: in the same way that Reynolds’ movies combined action and raunchy humor, Archer is a comedy that actually succeeds in its own weird way as a spy thriller too. And the bonding moments between Reynolds and Archer in the chase scene were fittingly hilarious, as well as a kind of sweet homage. (After Archer claims to have “invented” a certain evasion move, Reynolds says, “Nice to meet you, Hal Needham.”)
Afterward, FX debuted Unsupervised, a sort of Beavis-and-Butthead-on-Prozac take on rudderless kids in the suburbs. I was underwhelmed by the pilot, but the show’s optimistic hangout vibe started to grow on me through the first three episodes FX sent out, so I’ll at least keep an eye on it. Archer fans who stuck around, let me know whether you thought the show was a good match (and feel free to chime in on any other Thursday comedies, which I probably won’t have time to blog today). And give us your verdict on Reynolds’ guest spot. Don’t be afraid to be tough on him—or at least, Semi-Tough.