Once again, “Archer” lovingly scratched my belly by integrating obscure and highbrow references into its jokes. Last night’s episode (S2E10, “El Secuestro”) delivered key background information on two characters that laid the framework for this week’s Easter eggs. When kidnappers mistakenly grab homely HR director Pam, we learn that she can take a beating because she paid for college by winning underground MMA fights. The payoff for this comes in the final scene, when Pam whips off her shirt to reveal a back tattoo, and the text is the third verse of Lord Byron’s totally badass “The Destruction of Sennacherib.” You can read the whole thing here, but this is the applicable section:
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
If that’s not enough for you, ditzy receptionist Cheryl was revealed to be an heiress to the fictional Tunt railroad fortune, and Archer became enthralled by her pet ocelot, Babou (“You guys, look at his little spots! Look at his tufted ears!”). Incidentally, Babou was also the name of the ocelot that Salvador Dalì kept as a pet.
Why would the writers give Cheryl’s ocelot the same name as Salvador Dalì’s? Well, why would Cheryl have an ocelot at all? Because it’s funny. The jokes aren’t predicated on viewers understanding the extra references to Dalì and Byron; the references just add a layer of depth that you don’t get when you watch, say, “Two and a Half Men.” (Also on FX. Thanks for that one, John Landgraf.)
[Thanks to @edsbs, @XmasApe, and @Tom Fornelli]
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“Tum again? … Nobody?”
Pam is still about as funny as Perfect Couples fucking Paul Reiser.
That episode was like Mouseschwitz.
I knew y’all wouldn’t let me down on this.
Despite my English-boner popping for Lord Byron, the best line of the episode had to be “Does internet porn know you’re cheating on it?”
Thought it was one of the best eps of the season, especially the last ten minutes. Cyril with the voice modulator was fucking great.
Pam is like a moped, because she’s fuel efficient.
“The First Law of Robotics” is an Asimov reference. “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.”
After seeing Babou in huge room, Archer dropped the “seriously, its like meow-shwitz in there”
Gold Jerry, GOLD!
True story. In a 10th grade creative writing class we all had to recite a poem out loud. I picked this one and memorized the whole thing so I wouldn’t have to read it out of the book. Now I like to go out into stormy nights and yell it at the wind.
Also a Andy Griffith reference in there.
“Safety’s off barn”
I hope catpuncher doesn’t call you a hipster who sucks the joy out of life and smokes loads of pole for that last paragraph Matt. and I agree from 0tarin, great line.
“Looking your way, Brent.”
Every single episode just gets better and better this season. Can’t even prepare my mind for what they have in store for the season finale.
Hey Trainspotting can you tone that modulator down a notch?
Solid episode- Archer laughing and quietly saying brent got shot again while Mallory talked over him had me dying for some reason.
Also finally got to see last week’s episode which may be my favorite of the season. The family feud scene was phenomenal- AND the episode featured a reference to the tiny county in RI where I grew up so yeah… I fucking love this show.
Chazz, what county? I missed that.
/imbecile who misses half of these references
Actually dewayne, Matt acknowledged that references are inside jokes on a great stand alone show that can be enjoyed by anybody. You told somebody to eat a dick because he didn’t share your joy in “hunting down the random obscure references in the show afterwards,” and apparently have held onto a grudge for being called on it for about a week. Congratulations, your research abilities make you better than other people. Now let your nerd rage go.
All I can say is that I had to go back this morning and watch the Ocelot scene about six times just so I could fast forward to try and read what was on Pam’s back. I think I would kill puppies if Adam Reed asked me to.
I’ve been cherishing “Terms of Enrampagement” like a newborn until someone reminded me of “Casablumpkin.” I would let this show come in me.
The whole Ocelot part was reused from Adam Reeds (Man who came up with Archer and Frisky Dingo) first show, Sealab 2021 in one episode,Captain Murphy buys an ocelot. They love reusing plot devices and other things from old shows, such as the 934-TXS commonly found throughout the series as codes for safes and other devices.
Netflix now has Season 1 available for live streaming. I pretty much watched them all again. Last night.
If told earlier that I would be freeze-framing on Pam’s naked back I would have responded “RUBBISH! You shall apologize or we shall duel!”
But there I was…..
Bullsh*t. I was expecting a Lord Byron reference from David Bowie’s Jazzin’ for Blue Jean film.
I provide the lox, and you sit here and enjoy ‘Terms of Enrampagement’! …still a working title.
“What’s to prove, it’s free labor”
“Mr. Pam’s not worth it?!?” LOL