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Archer: The Complete Season Four (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

2K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  pbmpharmacist 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )
85





Studio and Year: 20th Century Fox - 2013
MPAA Rating: NR
Feature running time: 286 minutes
Genre: Animated/Comedy

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 1.78:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Starring: Voices of: H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Chris Parnell, Amber Nash, Aisha Tyler, Jessica Walter
Directed by: Adam Reed
Music by: Michael Kohler
Written by: Adam Reed & Matt Thompson
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: January 7, 2014
"Quantum of mediocrity"


Film Synopsis:


Swing back into action with Sterling Archer — the world’s greatest spy — and the agents of ISIS for another hilarious season of cocktails, carousing and animated awesomeness! Follow the team around the globe, from the mysterious Bermuda Triangle all the way to the Vatican, as they bicker, backstab and bumble their way through assassination plots, an ill-advised marriage, an unexpected pregnancy, and a venomous snake bite in a very, very bad place!

My Take:


Archer is an animated parody serial that is a little Bond, a bit more Get Smart and plenty of over the top edgy fun. I am not an avid watcher of the series and have only caught episodes here and there. My twenty one year old daughter, Marissa, is a pretty big fan so I asked her to step in, watch season four, and handle this portion of the review. Being familiar with my writing style she opted to format similarly. Here is what she had to say:

Archer tells the story of the dysfunctional employees at ISIS—a mediocre secret spy agency headquartered in Manhattan. The title character, Sterling Archer, is considered the world’s “most dangerous spy,” which is a legacy both ironic and often inaccurate. Archer is a ladies-man who always has a drink in his hand. His egotism is driven by his crazy mother, Mallory Archer, who is the director of ISIS and equally self-centered. Agents Lana Kane and Ray Gillette, along with comptroller Cyril Figgis, receptionist Cheryl Tunt, HR director Pam Poovey, and outlandish Dr. Krieger, struggle to put up with the Archers while keeping the agency afloat.

Season 4 opens with a nice tribute to Fox’s Bob’s Burgers, a sitcom that also features the vocal talents of H. Jon Benjamin (who voices Archer). Malory gets married to Ron Cadillac (voiced by Ron Leibman) who is a car salesman with a criminal past. His character is a nice addition to her dysfunctional relationship with Archer. Ron becomes a regular character on the show, but the season also features celebrity guests John Roberts, Timothy Oliphant, Jon Hamm, Kristen Schaal and Eugene Mirman as passing characters. Throughout the season, Ray reacquires the ability to walk after his accident in space, we are introduced to Cheryl’s quirky brother Cecil, we almost learn about Archer’s real father, and there is an unexpected pregnancy. As usual, Archer and Barry feud and Lana is reluctant to accept her romantic attraction to Archer.

Season 4 is packed with the usual snarky, witty one-liners that give Archer its charm, but I found that despite the addition of new celebrity guests and characters, this season did not live up to the previous three. The season is filled with the typical blend of spy missions, but I found that the writing in previous seasons left characters in more naturally funny situations. The humor in “Once Bitten” felt forced to me, as did some of the banter in “Vicious Coupling.” I also would have preferred if Malory had a bigger role—with Cyril and Pam added to the list of ISIS field agents, her typical office chatter was heavily reduced since most of the characters are out on “important” missions. I loved the chemistry that Archer shared with the Mexican immigrants in “Coyote Lovely” but I have the advantage of speaking Spanish—much of the humor in that episode is hidden in the bilingual dialogue, so if you don’t understand the language, most of those jokes probably won’t land.

I am a huge fan of this show, and most of H. Jon Benjamin’s work, so overall I enjoyed the season. Archer’s character, as usual, steals the spotlight and sparks nearly all of the comical banter that gives the show its sardonic undertone. I definitely recommend Season 4 because it adds a lot of plot and character development and is sure to incite some laughter.


I am not so sure that I share the same enthusiasm for Archer but I must admit that it provides laugh out loud naughty secret agent goofiness blended with the occasionally awkward interaction that can accompany inner office employment. It may not be for everybody but I get the feeling that if you get it you’re in for the long haul. Archer Season Four’s 13 episodes are spread over two BD50 Blu-ray Discs with the bonus features located on disc two.

**Special thanks to Marissa Potts for her contribution to this review. She is a busy college senior who, after graduation this spring, will be heading off to law school in the fall.



Parental Guide:


The show contains adult themes, sexual content, language, and violence.



AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


Audio: 78

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:




Video: 92

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:


Archer Season Four comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 36 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3.5 Mbps.


This video presentation featured crisp, defining resolution that yields razor sharp and stable images that look superb in high definition. The secondary pastel color palette used by colorist John Higgins has excellent tonal depth and primary colors are deeply saturated and visually pleasing. The orangy reds, energetic blues, and deep black backgrounds replicate the feeling of looking at a comic book. Contrast and brightness balance is right on target which results in punchy whites and rich, stable blacks. The panel layouts have excellent dimension with definition that is rarely questionable. The 1.78:1 framing, deep splashes of color, dynamic blacks and razor sharp text all enhanced the depth of image. It just looks great.


The show relies heavily on dialogue however its musical accompaniment and array of sounds keep the listening environment busy. Vocal reproduction is clear, well intonated and prominently placed within the front soundstage. The front three speakers have an open and detailed delivery with good channel separation and discernible directional correlation during panning sequences. Surround activity is limited to splashes of ambience and some discretely placed effects that occasionally broadened the soundstage. I didn’t detect any noteworthy low frequency content although I never felt that the presentation was lacking dynamically.

Bonus Features:

  • (HD) Fisherman’s daughter – 3 minute animated short

  • (HD) Archer Live! (Recorded live in January 2013) – The cast performing various scenes from the show in front of a live audience followed by responses to questions – 20 minutes




Final Thoughts:


Set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a spy agency where espionage and global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally screw each other, Archer is an animated parody serial that is a little Bond, a bit more Get Smart and plenty of over the top edgy fun. Season Four finds Sterling Archer and his cohorts continuing to fight the good fight amidst the trials and tribulations that make this quirky, animated and decidedly adult half hour show fun to watch. It comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment featuring excellent high definition video, crystal clear lossless sound and disappointingly sparse supplemental set. Archer probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but if you enjoy a little edgy adult animated humor its well worth checking out on Blu-ray or in its fifth season which airs on the FX channel this January.












Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





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JVC DLA-RS4910 3D Ready 1080p High Definition Front Projector

(Calibrated with Calman 5 & C6 Meter from Spectracal )

Stewart Filmscreen - Studiotek 130 G3 100” 16x9 Screen
Carada Masquerade Horizontal Masking System

Marantz AV8801 11.2 Channel Audio/Video Processor

Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier

B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 Seven Channel Amplifier

Oppo BDP-103D Universal Disc/3D capable Blu-ray Player (With Darbee video processing)

Panasonic DMP-BDT310 3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

System Controller: Apple iPad/iRule Pro HD Universal Remote Control

Canton "Ergo" Series speakers

Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers

SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)

APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector

Wireworld, Better Cables (Silver Serpent) - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package
 
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#3 ·
I never miss an episode.. I can watch Archer over and Over!!!
 
#5 ·
Love this show, have every episode and when I cant get to sleep always put it on in the background to listen to
 
#7 ·
I wonder how much it helps if you also saw this production company's previous outing... Frisky Dingo, on Adult Swim. That show had a very much Archer-like character (Xander Crews) without the voice of H Jon Benjamin.


All the voice-actors here are top notch... H Jon is all over the place in animation these days... Aisha Tyler is great... and everyone else whose names are escaping me for the moment.... It is very much a Get-Smart like show, except Get Smart was more of an inept guy that accidentally did good... Archer is actually a skilled spy, but bumbles along at everything else so people are surprised that he is a good spy, but he has always been written as an adept agent with serious issues.


Anyway, good review... and smart outsourcing there to the expert!
 
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