The second season of Archer had it all: love, betrayal, sex, money, murder and fight clubs. Yes, there really was a fight club and the ISIS crew will never be able to scrub the vision of a naked Pam about to beat the snot out of Malory from their memories. Fortunately, we fans never have to forget it either with the release of the complete second season on video. Relive all the action, all the moments of stupidity and the sheer “RAMPAAAAGE!” of it all. We also (sort of) get an answer to where the “Heart of Archness” trilogy belongs and sadly, it is not a part of Season Two. I am just hoping that Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment does not decide that it is in between seasons and release it on a standalone disc because that would be a rip off.
VIDEO Between Floyd County Productions and Trinity Animation, the creative minds behind Archer do a damn good job of making you think a mostly computer generated show is hand-drawn. There are occasionally moments where the animation looks a bit stiff and you can definitely tell that good ol’ After Effects is at work, but the show has always had an been an overall quality visual product. Now that both seasons are available on blu-ray, fans can enjoy the show as it was meant to be seen. Unlike other popular animated shows that air in HD but sell in SD only (lookin’ at you, Family Guy), FX realizes that fans of the show are probably as fanatical about Archer as he is about Burt Reynolds. Thumbs up on a perfect screen to disc translation.
AUDIO The makers of Archer are not one to phone it in and the show has seen steady improvement on all fronts since the show’s inception. Both seasons of Archer on blu-ray shipped with 5.1 DTS –HD audio direct from the master. There is an international law that H. Jon Benjamin’s voice has to be broadcast in HD audio when he voices Sterling Archer, or at least, Archer would tell you some idiotic shit like that. If you have not already made a ringtone out of the Pirate “What What” virus then now is your best chance because the show never sounded better.
EXTRAS Sadly, this is where the package falls short. Let me be clear, the special features in this collection are great, but I would expect more from the madness that breathes life into this show. We find out what happened to Archersaurus, the previous actor to star as Sterling and the live cast talks about season three at the 2011 San Diego comic con. We also see Archer answering fan mail and paying tribute to our military. The shorts are great, but they are just that. I guess I would have liked to see interviews with the cast members individually and maybe some more bonus animation, but beggars cannot be choosers. Let’s face it, if you love the show, you are buying this set even if it had no extras.
Aside from wanting more from the extras, the only thing bad I can say about this set stems from some confusion that occurred last year during the “Heart of Archness” special. No one seemed to be sure if the three episodes were the end of season two or the start of season three and considering when it aired there was no real way to tell. Sadly, the release of season two on blu-ray confirms that we will not see Archer and Rip Riley go at it until the season three comes out on video. It is a small gripe because this package is fantastic even with only thirteen episodes. Also, having seen the first two new episodes in season three, the Heart of Archness trilogy is going to be blown out of the water by what comes next so fans need to stay tuned.
Pick up Archer: Season 2 on Blu-ray from our Amazon store
