With ten seasons as of now, FX’s Archer has established its niche in the ‘adult animation’ genre, heavily parodying spy fiction along with a slew of films, shows, and even classic literature. The show revolves around Sterling Archer, a brash, cocky secret agent and his equally flawed acquaintances in a spy organization as they engage in loud, drunken, foul-mouthed misadventures in every episode.
Even though Archer seems like a dumbed-down comedy, its writing is filled with witty one-liners and references and showrunner Adam Reed has ensured that it parodies the spy genre in a very smart, sarcastic fashion instead of being an over-the-top gag like Austin Powers.
Two Kinds Of Hamburger References
In a clear parody of the animated series Bob’s Burgers, Archer suffers from amnesia in a Season 4 episode. He picks up a new identity and starts flipping burgers at a local diner, even donning a mustache not unlike Bob Belcher's. Additionally, this diner seems to be of intellectual tastes, as the menu name-drops several literary icons.
A reference to spy fiction is the burger ‘Thomas Elphinstone Hambledurger with Manning Coleslaw.' This burger references to a spy novel series focusing on a hero called Thomas Elphinstone Hambledon. There were many British authors who wrote for the series but more often than not, they all used the pseudonym Manning Coles. One of these books even had a story arc where the protagonist loses his memory and picks up a new job.
Mission Impossible & Security Systems
In one of the earlier episodes, Archer describes in great detail the various security measures that guard the mainframe of ISIS (the inappropriately named espionage organization Archer used to initially work for).
This is a subtle nod to the first Mission Impossible film released in 1996, in which Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) similarly describes the security system that guards the mainframe of the spy organization IMF (Impossible Mission Force).
The Real Bridge Of Spies
The Glienicke Bridge had been featured in several spy novels set in the Cold War and was often dubbed as the ‘Bridge of Spies’ (featured in a historical movie of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg). This bridge lay outside Potsdam, near Berlin in Germany. It was often used by the forces of East and West Berlin for high profile prisoner exchanges.
On a boat ride with the Russian Nikolai Jakov, Malory Archer recounts their heydays when they met under this same bridge back when Malory was a field operative during and after the Second World War.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'s Entrance
Archer and his team often enter ISIS's covert building via a secret entrance in a laundry shop called the Four-Five-Six laundry. This element of the spies' hideout being hidden in plain sight by a mundane business establishment has been replicated in a lot of spy fiction, but it was first made popular by the American spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The "Agent's Entrance" in the '60s show was through a dressing room in Del Flora's Tailor Shop, which also happened to be a dry-cleaning shop.
Agent Hawley/Holly/Holeh & Detective Harry Hole
In the very first episode of Season 5, the FBI raids ISIS's office and one of the agents assigned to this task is Special Agent Holly who becomes a recurring character in future seasons. A running joke is the mysterious nature behind his name, with some people calling him "Holly" and others calling him "Hawley." Sometimes, it's even suggested that his name is actually "Holeh."
It has often been said by fans that the agent's name is influenced by Harry Hole, the detective hero in Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø's crime novels. For those unfamiliar, Nesbø's works were the basis for the Michael Fassbender-led detective film The Snowman, in which Fassbender portrayed Detective Hole. To date, Hole has appeared in eleven of these printed stories.
James Bond, M, & Martinis
There are some clear influences and spoofs of the James Bond franchise all throughout Archer. Adam Reed himself admitted that Archer himself is modeled after James Bond but as a parody, since Reed views Bond as a horribly racist and misogynist character. Even Malory's motherly/bossy attitude blatantly mirrors Judi Dench's similarly stern yet motherly portrayal of M in the last two Bond eras (Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig).
Bond's classic order for a martini "shaken, not stirred" is also cheekily referenced in the show's second episode Training Day. Cyril grows wary as Lana gets attracted to Archer but dismisses the fact saying that Lana was just "shaken up." Malory, however, strongly feels that Lana has the hots for Archer as she says that Lana was "stirred up in the loins."
A Racially Accurate Mr. Moto
Peter Lorre was a fine actor in his time having had roles in M and Casablanca. However, he also appeared in a series of eight films where he portrayed a Japanese secret agent by the name of Mr. Moto. Today, the films and the novels in which Mr. Moto appeared in are deemed to be heavily racist and stereotypical.
Archer features a character by the name of Mr. Moto in an episode set in Japan, only with less racism. Rather than having a white actor portray an Asian character, Asian-American actor George Takei (who's also of Japanese descent) voices the show's version of Mr. Moto, who's shown to be a brutal Yakuza boss whom Pam outwits.
"Missed It By That Much."
Set in a pirate fortress, the episode Heart of Archness: Part III features a scene where Ray tries hoisting Lana up to a trap door in a dungeon cell but comes up short. To this, Archer says "Missed it by that much."
This line is a reference to a frequently used phrase by bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart of the comedic spy show Get Smart that was popular in the '60s. This line is pretty much his catchphrase and excuse for fumbling something.
Casino Royale (The Movie & Book)
The second season’s eleventh episode, Jeu Monégasque, finds the team traveling to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix to recover one of Malory’s sex tapes while Archer is busy gambling away the blackmail money. Because of the European setting and the elements of gambling, it is commonly believed that this episode was inspired by Daniel Craig's first James Bond film, Casino Royale.
Even the villain’s name is Le Chuffre, which is very similar to the movie's antagonist Le Chiffre. There’s a slight nod to Casino Royale’s novel, too, as it features a scene in which the British sleuth defeats the French villain at a game of Baccarat (also known as Chemin de fer). The same game is played in the episode, in which Archer ends up losing most of his money to Le Chuffre.
Greenmantle By Graham Greene
In the episode Dial M For Mother (which in itself is a pun on the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Dial M For Murder), Malory is reading a book on the bed. This book is Greenmantle, a spy novel penned by John Buchan.
Greenmantle is also considered to be one of the many inspirations behind Archer. Furthermore, novelist Graham Greene chose the book’s first chapter to be featured in an anthology titled The Spy’s Bedside Book, making it all the more suitable for Malory to be reading it on her bed.