TV Reviews

Archer – Skorpio

Lana is sent to the Mediterranean to stop an arms dealer from selling sensitive weapons to terrorists. Malory goes along to meet with her Soviet “counterpart”. Sterling gets called into save Lana when Malory thinks she has been taken prisoner.

Another raucous episode full of innuendo and good old straightforward raunch. Poor Cyril he manages to get himself worked up and then blam he really is in trouble if that ever gets out!

Sterling is just so cool in such a stupid way it’s almost charming. The way he argues things is absolutely obsessed. You have to wonder how they came up with this character.

We of course learned the big news tonight. Malory is hilarious. For a spy chief I don’t think she can keep anything secret. I would think that would be a prerequisite for that job. The gang back at the office are a real crack support team. Basically sitting around and complaining or making Cyril crazy. I have to admit I am beginning to wonder if anything is out of bounds after the whole maid/kitchen/abortion/vasectomy bit.

Sometimes a little bit to clever for its own good. The episode continue to be entertaining to say the least. See you next week. Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Archer – Honeypot

Mallory is in trouble because a video disc of certain improprieties on her part falls into an agents hands for Fidel Castro of Cuba. He blackmails Mallory so she sends Sterling to Miami to seduce the man in a sting called the “Honeypot”.

Funny on many levels, Sterling is upset when the gay Cuban Agent Rimon voiced by Ron Perlman rejects him and is not interested. A few other gentlemen overhear and help Sterling in his cause all the while fawning over Woodhouse.

Mallory is dealing with the Russian Major who seems maybe let the disc slip away to get Mallory to defect to Russia so she can be with him. He wants her to move into his two bedroom apartment he shares with his mother.

The rest of the ISIS office is playing the kill or bang game using the pictures of all the employees of ISIS. Everyone plays only so they can find out what everyone else said supposedly.

Overall a funny storyline with a little bit of a twist at the end. Sterling has to be the lamest spy’s since Maxwell Smart. So lame that he gets the job done. Humorous at times. Entertaining that’s for sure. Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Archer – Killing Utne

Malory wants the contract with the UN so she gives a party for the UN Chairman in charge of making those decisions. She even plans an assassination attempt. Of course everything goes awry and in the end everyone must improvise a reasonable ending.

One of the best episodes so far. The humor and the double meanings are flying in this episode.

Malory invites all the principal players from the office to take part. She also tells Lana and Sterling to come visibly armed which is a little strange for a cocktail party.

What they don’t know is a few German’s who Malory hired are actual Russian Agents intent on killing the UN Chairman Torvald Utne. Unbeknown-st to Malory, Sterling picks up a hot women on the street who just happens to be another Russian Agent who also is planning on killing Utne.

Malory had hired the German’s to fake an attack on Utne and then the ISIS Agents would save the Chairman and then he’d have to give the contracts to ISIS.

Everything goes haywire and nothing goes to plan, Malory and the team play it by ear and just may get those contracts after all.

Wonderful satire and some sexy humor. A very fun show to watch. I hope they keep the episodes coming! Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Archer – Diversity Hire

Archer keeps calling agents while they are working blowing their cover and getting them killed. T o keep their diversity hiring in place they have to hire a new ethnic agent. Malory hires a Black Jewish agent named Conway Stern who isn’t who he seems.

This weeks episode was a little off as far as the story is concerned. They were trying to inject a mole into ISIS, but the episode was so disjointed it was hard to really like the way the story went.

I think there is a point when too much innuendo is occurring.  At one point almost every other line was innuendo.  Archer’s character is very funny and a little outlandish, but I think they need to pull back on the reigns a little.

Overall this story wasn’t as good as the first two. I think they should spend more time developing the characters and relationships they have before bringing new characters into the mix. We’ll see what direction they take this overall from now on. Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Archer – Training Day

Sterling Archer is a Secret Agent who will tell you just that if he gets drunk enough. His mother runs ISIS who he is the number one agent of. She orders him to train the Comptroller to be a secret agent so another female agent will leave Archer alone.

First episode shown a wonderfully humorous spoof of the Secret Agent game. Sort of reminds one of Maxwell Smart except Archer isn’t a bumbling idiot he just doesn’t care and is a real sexist.

A very interesting cast of characters and you have to wonder if anything is out of bounds for this animated comedy. So far I don’t think so!

In this first episode we see Archer forced to train Cyril Figgis the ISIS Comptroller in the ways of being a Secret Agent. Fortunately or unfortunately Archer does this like he does everything else, not seriously at all.

Very entertaining and quick twenty two minutes of television with a twist. Very adult for a cartoon as many of them are becoming today. I would recommend checking it out at least once. Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Archer – Mole Hunt

In this episode Archer gets in trouble for fudging his expenses so he creates the story of a Mole within ISIS so he can get into the mainframe to fix his account. In the end something surprising occurs.

Not quite as good as the first episode shown as these were shown out of order.  We get to see some of Archer’s training bits, some of his bad behavior in general, and his constant lying which seems to be the crux of his character.

His Mother is angry at him for spending company money on personal things and hiding it in his expense account. He goes to the comptroller and gets nowhere. Then he goes to the head of HR and that is when he mentions there is a Mole in the company. Of course the HR lady immediately spreads the news throughout ISIS creating an interesting situation when Archer decides to break into the mainframe later that night.

Amusing, funny at times, and outrageous. I am not sure if anything is out of bounds yet, but it sure is fun! Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Supernatural – Point of No Return

Dean is considering giving up.  Sam, Bobby, and Castiel won’t let him.  Zachariah has been kicked out of Heaven, but the big guy gives him another chance.  The boys brother Adam mysteriously shows up and it turns out the Angels are playing games.

A wonderful episode showing the dynamics of the the brothers relationship.  Also some great acting on the part of the four main male characters.  Jim Beaver and Misha Collins continue to perform at a peak level while Ackles and Padelecki seem to just be great actors.  Every performance is smooth and on the mark.  Jake Abel returns as Adam the boys half brother.  He has been painted a pretty picture by Zachariah and the Angels about what the Apocalypse is all about and his role in it.  So now Sam, Bobby, and Castiel don’t have to worry just about Dean turning himself in, but they have to keep an eye on Adam.

The scene where Castiel arrives just in time to pull Adam from the ground was very well done.  It sort of reminds you of Dean’s resurrection without all of the ground zero explosions.  How many Angels does Castiel dispatch before he’s done in this episode?  The body count is getting up there!

With everyone worried about Dean, Adam walks out or is pulled out by Zachariah.  The only problem is once again everything is not as it seems and one has to wonder who the good guys really are.  A really terrific set of scenes in this episode as Castiel, Dean, and Sam must battle the forces of good once again.  To say any more would be to ruin the enjoyment of seeing this on your own.  Let’s just say it’s an episode not to be missed.

One thing that will be missed when this show is done and gone is the camaraderie of the Sam, Dean, Bobby, and now Castiel.  I can’t think of a show where they really put together such a great group of central characters and had them grow and change before our eyes in such tremendous ways, but in the end they managed to keep there sense of belonging together through all of the problems.  Another truly wonderful episode.  Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Supernatural – 99 Problems

Dean and Sam end up in a town of hunters where the population is being led by a preachers daughter who is a prophet. Unfortunately things seem to get more and more on edge as the revelations from the angels get stranger and stranger.

Something is fishy in this little town in Minnesota. It seems the whole town has turned into Demon hunters. Led by a young girl who happens to be the daughter of the local Lutheran Minister. Even the Minister is packing.

The opening scene where Dean and Sam get helped by the townspeople is action packed and quite well done. At the same time the circumstances were very strange and almost surreal. Sam seems to see this for what it is, but Dean is clouded by his feelings and where his head is at. It is amazing what level headed good people will do when led by someone they think is doing good. As things begin to escalate the deeds this “prophet” requires become more and more ominous. The boys call for Castiel, but he seems pretty out of it with the recent revelations that God is not going to do anything to intercede.

Dean and Sam rally and in the end figure out what is going on with Castiel’s help and formulate a plan which may or may not work. Let’s just say there are some surprising results.

At the end we see some additional surprises and an interesting if not poignant scene with Dean setting up next weeks action. Overall this is a fine example of the work that the writers, production staff, and actors have been putting together for this fifth season. It should be fun to see this season come to an eventual completion. I’m looking forward to it! Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Supernatural – Dark Side of the Moon

Sam and Dean are killed by hunters who know about Sam and his situation with the Devil. They end up in Heaven and spend their time avoiding Zachariah and trying to find the garden where Joshua who speaks to God is located based on Castiel’s information.

A number of interesting things we learn in this episode. Each person sort of creates their own version of heaven. The Angels seem to have as many or more problems than humans. Intelligence is an asset as we see with Ash from the roadhouse who is played by Chad Lindberg. We also see Samantha Smith as Sam and Deans’s Mom Mary Winchester who is so nice in Dean’s memories, but downright evil being manipulated by the Angel Zachariah. In one of the best cameos we’ve ever seen Tracy Dinwiddie who plays Pamela Barnes was back. She really gives it to Dean and not in a bad way. It was great to see her as she is one of the best characters the show has ever had.

It seems that Sam and Dean have died a number of times that they don’t even remember and Ash has seen them in heaven before. This time they don’t get out without remembering everything though.

After all the running around is done we finally get to meet Joshua who seems to be a simple Angel and in the end the news is not the best for the boys. So for the time being the Apocalypse is theirs and theirs alone to deal with and we are left to wonder if even Castiel has the spirit to fight anymore.

This was a better episode than I thought it would be based on the coming attractions. Unfortunately it was very dark and unconnected which was a little disappointing. I did enjoyed it though and the boys were great as always. It was nice to see Ash and Pamela as well. Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman

Supernatural – Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid

The dead start rising coincidentally in Bobby’s little South Dakota town. The boys are very concerned, but everything seems fine until things turn ugly. We learn that the Horsemen of Death specifically has it in for Bobby.

Another fine episode from the people that bring us Supernatural. This time we are returned to the quiet little town where Bobby lives. The dead seem to be rising from their graves and one had murdered a local citizen who was known for not being a good guy.

After Sam and Dean attempt to do something about this the local Sheriff arrests them even though she knows the guy they had was dead. It turns out not only was this guy back, but the Sheriff’s son and at least thirteen other people including Bobby’s wife have returned from the dead. Bobby’s wife was cremated! The Sheriff ends up letting the boys go, but they feel, especially Dean, like they need to do something before things get ugly.

Of course they do get ugly and despite the obvious Bobby is bound and determined to help his wife and tells the boys to leave. You can imagine what transpires from here.

The boys, Bobby, the local Sheriff, and the townspeople learn you can’t just take the dead rising from the grave for granted. Before his wife goes she tells Bobby a very pale and thin man gave her a message for him. That message being that this was all for him as he has been helping the boys.

So Death has taken an interest in the boys specifically for obvious reasons. I think things are starting to heat up even more for the boys. Angels and Demons!!!

Another great episode as we’re in the home stretch with episode 15. It looks like it’s going to be a great finale. I’m personally pleased with the renewal for next year. I enjoy the boys on Thursday nights and I think I would miss them. Thanks for reading…

Jeffery Yarter
The Lizardman