Archer - Season 2

The first season of Archer was fun, but I thought it a bit lacking in comparison to Adam Reed's previous work on Adult Swim. There was strong potential, but a little too much reliance on shock humor rather than genuinely funny moments. Season two did a great job of pushing the show forward though, still keeping its FX edge (including some gags that I'm a little surprised made it on the air, even with it being animated), but improving every aspect of the show, from the consistency of the one liners to the intelligently interwoven plot lines to the continued development of the entertaining cast around H. Jon Benjamin's Sterling Archer and all of their messed up relationships. It was pretty much vintage adult cartoon humor all season long.

It's hard to put my finger on exactly what I thought was good about the show this year and not so great last year. It's not like they flipped a switch, because I do think they got better as they went along in season one. The level of raunchiness in the comedy is pretty much the same, I guess it just seems less the racial/homophobic/whatever material early on was propping up the dialogue, while over time it's merely become an element of writing that's strong on its own merit. They didn't have to shy away from it to make the show better, they just had to really figure out the characters, and at this point I think they have. The actors all nail their roles every week (you almost never see actors used to live action do so well in the voice booth), and they found a great balance between Archer and Lana going on globe-trotting, world-saving missions and everyone just killing time screwing around at headquarters. Not every episode was a total winner, but I definitely felt like it was just a much more consistent and entertaining show. I'm looking forward to a few episodes airing alongside the next season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia this Fall.

Important Things with Demetri Martin - Season 2

And here's the other show that I fear has told its last joke. The second season was barely distinguishable from the first, featuring the same formula of stand up, brief and unique transitional material, and a smattering of inconsistent but occasionally brilliant sketches. Fewer recognizable celebrities than last time, although H. Jon Benjamin was again basically guaranteed to appear in every episode. It wasn't completely stagnant though, with a new way to introduce the week's topic reminiscent of an old kid's science show or something, and more repeated in-studio segments than reused characters in the sketches. It's really hard to say too much about ten half hours of comedy that definitely feels like mostly the work of a single pretty funny guy, humorous though it may be. Some of the better bits were an emergency on an airplane where people have to keep taking other people's places that comes full circle in an amazing way, a fake documentary about the other Civil War between East and West, and Bruce the Funny Dog, who just doesn't know when comedy is appropriate. I'd like for the show to continue, though I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't.

Archer - Season 1

The creators of Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo have parted ways with Adult Swim, though that doesn't mean they're done making realistically drawn, crudely animated, foul mouthed cartoons. Archer takes their typical sense of humor and brings it to FX in the form of a spy show starring the hot H. Jon Benjamin and a few other comedy veterans. Sterling Archer has some skill in espionage but his defining character traits relate more to his spoiled relationship with his mother, who runs the agency, and his James Bond-like overconfidence with the ladies. He and fellow agent Lana go on their fair share of missions through these ten episodes, though a lot of focus is on the bureaucracy and inter-office politics that take place when things are less dangerous. A lot of time is spent with the different supporting characters just talking about random stuff together, and it provides easily as much comedy as anything relating to actual spy work.

It took me some time to warm up to the show, partly because I didn't like what they were doing with Sterling's character, and partly because the jokes were often just a bit too crass. I feel like Benjamin's best work comes when he's just talking calmly, although lately and especially on this show he spends a lot of time shouting at people. Also, while it's clear the writers are pretty intelligent, it seemed like there was too much reliance on gay jokes and other stuff that really didn't have much to do with the subject matter. As it went on though, there was enough clever stuff and a few moments as hilarious as anything these guys have done that I have to give it some credit. I feel like the show still has the potential to be a lot better, and I can't wait to see where they take it with the second season.

Important Things with Demetri Martin - Season 1

For a while I wasn't sure if they were just taking a break from new episodes or if the first season was over. Apparently it's over. There's only seven episodes, but they show a lot of promise for a pretty enjoyable series with a nice mix of stand up and sketch comedy. Demetri Martin is one of my favorite current comedians, and he uses the show as a nice outlet for his material. I've definitely seen some of the jokes before, some of which are a bit of a stretch to fit the given theme, but it's not the sort of stand up that gets old quickly.

Each episode focuses on one important thing, like chairs or the concept of power. He bounces back and forth between telling jokes to a live audience, often accompanied by his trademark large notepad or a guitar, and pre-filmed segments featuring some funny cameos by guys like H. Jon Benjamin who's done a voice on practically every Adult Swim show and John Oliver from The Daily Show. The longer parts are often transitioned between with shorter bits, some of which are crudely animated. It's not really typical skit material, as Demetri spoofs on famous historical figures and philosophers as often as anything else. Not every sketch is a winner, but enough of them work that if you've ever enjoyed his comedy, the show is worth checking out.

Assy McGee

Assy McGee is a very strange show, and one of the more underrated that Adult Swim has produced. The "second season" was actually the rest of the produced episodes from season one that weren't shown when it was taken off the air originally due to horrible ratings and viewer response. They went ahead and aired them this year, and I don't know if the reaction was any different, but it was still an entertaining show. Assy is a great parody of the standard loose-cannon detective character, and he has some of the best one-liners I've ever heard, they just happen to be uttered in a very mumbled voice coming out of a butt. One of my favorites is when he shoots a passenger on a bus in the knee, and the victim screams that he needs a doctor. Assy callously shoots him in the other knee and says, "Now you need two doctors." The second season episodes developed the concept a bit more, bringing back old characters and introducing depth to others. It's all a big farce, but it's an enjoyable one. I was hoping for them to go over the top with a stupidly elaborate climax to the season, but the finale was just another episode. I guess I shouldn't expect too much from a show called Assy McGee.

Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil

Created by Loren Bouchard, one of the two guys behind Home Movies, Lucy is one of the first computer-animated shows on Adult Swim and has a style of humor that fits in perfectly with most of that lineup. The premise is fairly outlandish, with special forces from the Vatican chasing after a relatively normal girl who happens to date the Messiah and be the daughter of the Devil, as the show's title would indicate. Despite the plot, the meat of the humor comes from the natural dialogue between the characters. H. Jon Benjamin frequently makes guest appearances on other Adult Swim shows, and since his days as the coach on Home Movies, is one of the funniest voice actors they have. Whether following a script or just improvising, he's always good, although I wouldn't say his work on this show is really his best.

As is the trend now, Lucy has a strain of continuity running through the whole season, so even if a particular episode has an isolated plot you can still see them moving forward towards something. It builds to a conflict with all the main characters, someone running for office with the Devil's help, and a gigantic monster. The season wasn't very long, but it quickly developed into a really enjoyable show. Lucy isn't quite the main character since she doesn't have the most screen time, but everything sort of revolves around her and she's pretty likable. Jesus and the secret clergy are probably my favorite cast members, and I'm hoping they do pick up the show for a second season.

UPDATE: They didn't.