Archer: ARCHER 1999: Bort the Garj

May 30, 2019 11:04 AM - Season 10, Episode 1

Archer and the crew of the Seamus wake up to the smell of shepherd's pie and see a business opportunity in their new guest.

New season; here we go.

posted by mikepop (23 comments total)

Isn't it "Shamus"? Like a detective?
posted by Chrysostom at 11:25 AM on May 30, 2019

Archer's son is Seamus.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:26 AM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Dammit, you're right. I'd forgotten about the wee baby Seamus.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:27 AM on May 30, 2019 [4 favorites]

When Pam comes on screen and gets a stereotypical sitcom studio audience/laughtrack reception, is that supposed to be an Alf reference?
posted by mikepop at 11:50 AM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Yeah, that joke didn't quite land for me.

Overall, I thought it was pretty good. I was a little surprised they introduced Barry so early in the season.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:52 AM on May 30, 2019

I'm almost certain that the voice actor for Bort is Frank Welker, doing his Fred Jones (Scooby Doo) voice, but dammit, I can't find anything on the internet to confirm it.

I'm frustrated that they made a big monster out of Pam, "the fat girl". I thought the show was... better than that somehow.
posted by ApathyGirl at 2:01 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

I always figured Pam was the woman in the Georgia Peach end thingamagig. Sorta sumo big and strong wearing a wife-beater pounding beers and kick your ass would wrestle a bear bit vs 'the fat girl'.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:01 PM on May 30, 2019 [4 favorites]

Eeeeee, there's a new season? Thank you!
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:13 PM on May 30, 2019

well, i liked this one a hell of a lot more than last season. i couldn't even watch that one - i get it, it's satire; but it made some terrible choices in the way it portrayed the genre that were actually racist as hell. i hesitated about watching any more but... well, i love sci-fi. and this was pretty fun, a return to form. and hooray, Krieger is back as an android! (i hated the parrot.) i don't mind Pam being a rock monster, she has always had a sort of "Hulk smash" persona, and it is kind of cool that she is considered the height of femininity amongst rock monsters.
posted by lapolla at 5:42 PM on May 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

oh, and - Bort the Garj is voiced by Sam Richardson.
posted by lapolla at 6:23 PM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

I thought that this was not great, especially the first third.

It looks splendid, though. Love the aesthetic mix/ blender from different sources.

I like this iteration of Pam. The show has been mostly 'decent' to her, and she started out as a hands on farm girl type now with a big city job. So big, tough, a little rough rather than - as zengargoyle put it - 'the fat girl.'

Agreed; cyborg Krieger > that parrot.
posted by porpoise at 7:01 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

The animation has come so, so far from the first season.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:15 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm a bit peeved that, once again, Pam isn't allowed to just be an awesome fat lady.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:38 PM on May 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

Shepherd ‘s pie and banana pudding! In space!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:08 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

I don’t remember how much of the last season I watched. Not much. This is very good so far.

Babou on the mission patches 🤘🤘
posted by supercres at 6:05 AM on May 31, 2019 [5 favorites]

I loved that Krieger was a parrot, but am also happy that he's a robot. I'm not picky.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:04 AM on May 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

Has Archer flown a spaceship over the shark?
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:01 AM on May 31, 2019

oh, and - Bort the Garj is voiced by Sam Richardson.

Huh. I'm not imagining it though, right? It sounds *just like* Fred.
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:47 PM on May 31, 2019

Fish = Artificial life?

A.V. Club picks up a few details, also noting that there are a lot of little call-outs.

In an interview with Den of Geek, Archer producer, Marcus Rosentrater, breaks down the premiere, and notes:

Our goal was to visualize the season how a 1970/80s production designer would envision 1999. We focused on a lot of sci-fi from that time period and we liked the look of a lot of tech from the Alien franchise. So if we had to pick one visual tentpole, it’s Alien. But there are many, many other things we lean on this season, shows we all love. To name a few others: Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Space: 1999, early Captain Kirk Star Trek and TNG, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy.

Rosentrater says "June 28 is just a really solid date. One of the better dates, actually, and a terrific date to start our series." but I don't know what he means. That day on Wikipedia doesn't have any stand-out moments for me. He and also mentions upcoming guest voice actors and their roles.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:09 PM on May 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Space: 1999, early Captain Kirk Star Trek and TNG, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy.

Ray in the geisha outfit is obviously Inara.
posted by scalefree at 6:27 AM on June 1, 2019 [8 favorites]

Pam as rock creature vs. Igoo from the Herculoids (1967)
posted by mikepop at 7:34 AM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

well, i liked this one a hell of a lot more than last season.

i'm with you. something felt so flat and tryhard about the last season - i don't know any particulars but it felt like the writing was trying really hard to be as funny as previous Archer seasons, but without the wit, spontaneity, and weirdness.

this one felt more natural, and i realized it on hearing "you smell like a fart shit its pants."
posted by entropone at 9:09 AM on June 4, 2019

I noticed that in the title sequence, they replaced the high heels with space boots. Albeit, still pretty high wedges for space boots.
posted by porpoise at 8:18 AM on June 9, 2019