The dream isn’t over, for Sterling Archer (Jon H. Benjamin), anyway, as the new trailer for Archer: Danger Island takes the series back in time again for another dreamy genre escapade that re-imagines the characters and their circumstances. Following in the footsteps of the hard-boiled mystery in the appropriately titled Dreamworld, season 9 of the animated series ventures into the world of old-school action-adventure serials, pitting Archer & Co. against the inhabitants of an island in the South Pacific.
The move from Dreamland to Danger Island is a little unexpected, but in terms of putting Archer into a situation he’s never really been in before, it looks like a winner. This time around, instead of Sterling as a drunken detective out to avenge the murder of his longtime partner, the soused spy is a seaplane pilot in 1939 — and yes, plenty of alcohol-fueled shenanigans are destined to ensue. But this new setup doesn’t just radically alter Archer’s circumstances, it has some profound changes in store for the rest of the crew too — with the possible exception of Archer’s mother Malory (Jessica Walter), who remains a domineering matriarchal figure no matter what situation her son’s comatose psyche dreams up.
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The biggest change is split between Pam (Amber Nash) and Dr. Krieger (Lucky Yates), as the former is now a hulking brute capable of laying Archer out with a single punch, and the former is a talking parrot named Crackers, whose loquaciousness is confounding only to Charlotte (Judy Greer), an unlucky visitor to the island Archer happens to be living on. As for the rest of the gang, Lana (Aisha Tyler) is now an island princess, while Cyril (Chris Parnell), is now a German officer named Cypert Fuchs with a mysterious agenda on the island.
Re-imagining Archer isn’t anything new. The series has aped Miami Vice and Magnum P.I. before, but those seasons didn’t rewrite who the characters were. Dreamland was the most radical re-imagining the series has undertaken, and after eight seasons of inebriated espionage escapades, it proved to be a welcome change of pace for the series. For those who were into a fedora-clad Archer, Danger Island offers up more of the same — swapping out the fedora for an eyepatch, of course.
How this island adventure will lead into what is reportedly the series’ tenth and final season is anyone’s guess. But with an endless supply of re-imaginings for creator Adam Reed and the shows writers to explore, one has to wonder whether or not Archer’s days are really numbered.
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Archer: Danger Island premieres Wednesday, April 25 @10pm on FXX.