|
|
 |
Archer: The Complete Season Four
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (22nd January 2014). |
|
The Show
 When this show premiered in 2009, I was instantly enamoured. The first season hit all the right buttons, it was witty, funny, action packed, and featured one of the best voice casts of recent times. The series continued to grow, from strength to strength. However, it was evident - how long could the show runners keep this moment up for? Eventually the spy-spoof shtick would start to get old and season four would be the last season in which the ISIS crew are government sanctioned spies. Creator Adam Reed has his finger on the pulse and like a lot of people gets bored when things start to get repetitive. So a shake-up was in order, one that would begin with the show's season five premiere (on January 13 2014), a drastic change would occur. The ISIS crew are arrested and shut down by the FBI, the season would see the gang no longer as government agents (unable to undertake such activity anymore) but as drug runners, in an effort to sell off a stash of cocaine held by Malory (Jessica Walter). Genius. This turn adds some fresh excitement to the show, but that's not to say that season four isn't exciting, on the contrary, it's just as brilliant. The fourth season kicks off with an odd but inspired crossover, in the first episode, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) has amnesia, he remembers nothing from his past, and goes by Bob, who runs a burger joint (a wink to the other animated show in which H. Jon Benjamin does the voice of the lead character). His stint as Bob ends abruptly, when KGB agents show up to kill Archer and he suddenly gets his memory back. Throughout the season Archer and crew get into a series of over-the-top an incredible adventures culminating in a brilliant 2-part episode that showcases the writing team's incredible talents for crafting convoluted and hilarious set ups. Season four features some key moments for the series, we're introduced to Malory's new husband Ron (Ron Leibman), Ray Gillette (Adam Reed) finally gets to walk again with the aid of robotic legs thanks to Doctor Krieger (Lucky Yates), Barry Dillon (Dave Willis) returns to earth, Archer and Lana's (Aisha Tyler) relationship continues to develop for better or worse, the ISIS crew save the pope and they save an underwater sea laboratory from the deranged Captain Murphy (Jon Hamm). These elements richly populate the episodes and add further bolstering to the "Archer" world. As with previous seasons the writing by Adam Reed, Chris Provenzano, Tesha Kondrat, Mike Arnold and Rick Cleveland (with the bulk of the season written by Reed) is razor sharp and moves at a quick pace, one second of distracting and you'll miss a key scene or moment, I've watched this season twice now (once when it originally aired and on Blu-ray) and find new things to laugh about each time. Bringing those words to life are the perfectly suited voice cast, all of which are not only memorable, but hard to imagine any other actors filling their shoes. They've made these characters their own to the point where if I met them in person I'd expect them to be exactly like the personas they portray. Season four is filled with brilliant episode after brilliant episode. Some of my favorites include "Legs" the third episode of the series which sees Gillette get bionic legs and Archer's hell bent to make sure it doesn't happen - showcases some of the funniest lines and scenarios of the series. "Once Bitten" is another gem in the season, particularly with Archer having been bitten by a snake whose venom is hallucinogenic, but it's the two part "Sea Tunt" episode that caps the season off which is the true masterpiece of the season. Playing on references from "Sealab 2021" (2000-2005; a show which Adam Reed had previously worked as an executive producer/writer/director/voice actor for five seasons), fans of the cult Adult Swim show will instantly recognize the references, that two part episode is so wonderfully written, plotted and uproariously funny that it can easily take the mantle of the best episode of the entire series so far. It's not hard to see that I am a huge fan of "Archer", it's hard to see the faults (if any). It's sometimes grotesque but almost always laugh out loud funny. The set ups are bigger and broader this season and it all pays off at the end. If you haven't already seen "Archer" then what are you waiting for? All thirteen season four episodes are featured in this release, with seven on the first disc and the remaining six on the second disc, they are: – "Fugue and Riffs" – "The Wind Cries Mary" – "Legs" – "Midnight Ron" – "Viscous Coupling" – "Once Bitten" – "Live and Let Dine" – "Coyote Lovely" – "The Honeymooners" – "Un Chien Tangerine" – "The Papal Chase" – "Sea Tunt, Part I" – "Sea Tunt, Part II"
Video
Presented in the original broadcast ratio of 1.78:1 in high definition 1080p 24/fps and mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression codec. Keeping the trend going, this image by Fox is rich, vibrant and shows off the colors extremely well. The animation is slick and the transfer renders the shapes and lines well without any jagged edges or compression related issues. The image is pristine, crisp and clear. There's nothing at fault with this image.
Audio
A single English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mixed at 48kHz/24-bit is included. For an animated show this soundtrack is surprisingly detailed and immersive, the action moments pack a nice wallop with effects and ambient sounds taking up most of the surround channels, bullets whizzing by, car chases, explosions - it may as well be a big budget action film. Dialogue is clean and clear and the music cues add decent depth to a track that already seems to have plenty going for it. Optional subtitles are featured in English for the hearing impaired, French, and Spanish.
Extras
Fox has released this film with only two extras, a short film and a featurette both of which are on the second disc. Below is a closer look at these supplements. DISC ONE: Bonus trailers are the only extras on this disc, they are for: - "The League: Season 4" which runs for 17 seconds. - "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 8" which runs for 17 seconds. - "Family Guy: Volume 11" which runs for 17 seconds. DISC TWO: First up is "Fisherman's Daughter" (1080p) a short film which runs for 3 minutes 28 seconds, this anime style clip follows a young Krieger on a date, it's kinda fun but rather brief. Easily the best extra on this set is "Archer Live!" (1080p), a featurette which runs for 20 minutes 3 seconds, this is basically a recorded Q&A with the voice cast at a New York appearance. Fun clip, worth checking out.
Packaging
Packaged in a 2-disc Blu-ray with first pressings housed in a gate-fold cardboard slip-case.
Overall
"Archer" continues to get better as each season is released and season four is no exception with over-the-top action, ribald jokes and set-ups and a two part season finale that easily ranks among the best episodes they've created. A/V quality is excellent but the lack of extras was a disappointment, audio commentaries would not have been hard to record considering the 22 minute run times of these episodes. Regardless, if you're a fan this is a no brainer purchase.
|
|||||
|