Archer - Season 1-3 (Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk) [DVD]

How can I sum up the cracking body of Adam Reed's work collected in this 6-Disc collection? "Whhhooooooooooooooooh! Did you not see that? Ok, then, well I guess just pout!". Meaning - this is a comprehensive and totally complete set, no skimping of previous sets' contents - it has everything, and that it also brings great joy, and a hint of sadness knowing that one day in the not too distant future ( maybe only another one or two seasons at most), there won't be any new Archer to digest.I was lucky enough to have a half-decent mate who introduced me to Sterling before it was aired in the UK, so I've felt like a proud father (God knows he needs it) watching him (not) grow up and gain Adam, Aisha, H Jon Benjamin et al the proper respect due for this beautifully construed archetypal dysfunctional workspace and it's wide-spectrum gamut of uniquely perverse and sadistic but ultimately adorable personalities.From season one, there are all the original DVD EXTRAS: several fascinating views behind the scenes at Trinity animation, the detail and tech involved generating the 3D surroundings, the carefully low-fi-looking characters, without whose real life personalities so much is drawn from. Also, my personal favourite extra is the "Unaired Pilot", one of the funniest and most bizarre (surreal to the point of Python and then some) animation you'll ever see: Archersaurus. I'll let you discover that gem for yourself.Subtitles for episodes in Eng, Fra, Esp. (same for all discs).Season two is where it really took off, with "The Spy Who Loved Himself" 2xDVD collection - and again, nothing is omitted from the original issue collection. Archer gets worse, all the drones start to really gel as an ensemble, despite the fact that they're never in the studio at the same time as one-another. Each voice actor comes in when they can (or even literally - not figuratively) phone their lines in, to be assembled by Adam like a big jigsaw puzzle of.....dammit I had something for this.....Stand-out extras on this season are obvious - "ASK ARCHER" is a brief but colourful interview by the fireside with a pertinent audience-proposed Q&A, plus an update of Archersaurus' life, post-rejection from Archer, and my favourite, "L'ESPION FAIT MAL"; Archer wakes from a coma only to awaken in the body of H Jon Benjamin (his voice), with the comedic complications of not being a 6'plus-tall, highly trained, fit-as-a whippet secret agent, but facing life at Isis as a 5'6" balding, lumpy weirdo (I feel for that). On top of that, probably the apex of the series arcs with the 2-parter colloquially known as "Terms of Enrampagement".Season 3 comes thoroughly endowed (phrasing!) with its own fascinating stuff. A great feature, though almost completely irrelevant to the show itself, are the three commentaries with the cast, Adam etc, who literally........literally just spend twenty minutes a pop just talking amongst themselves, with you as a lurker, listening in. Occasionally they relate something to the plot, but rarely, and the enjoyment comes simply from hearing the voices you know as characters just kicking back together (most likely recorded at the Comic-cons they visit ensemble, the only place they all regularly gather together at the same time. So don't expect any deep insights into the series, but expect more info as to where to find more of what they do, eg: Aisha Tyler's "Girl On Boy" podcast and so forth.Also, the 3-Parter "Hearts of Archness" is officially released as a standalone movie (it's been done unofficially since season 2 was extended with 3 extra episodes, which is what they turned into), following Archers tragic OHMSS-style destroyed wedding and his grieving process and his mother's attempts to "rescue" him battling with his stubborn, dementedly childlike obstinance to simply go against her wishes, landing Archer in a fantasy leadership roll as King of the Pirate-Island where he is held for ransom, with his full complicity.The extras on this volume are a little disappointing if you've already witnessed the bootleg "Hearts of Archness (redux)", which carries the Coppola-parahomage further up the river than this version, but the tv-spot extras or Facebook virals that not everyone gets to see are equally good as the episodes, as bijout sketches anyway - the classy "Book-On-Tape Fail" probably the best, without diminishing the "Spoilers" promo or the "Cooking With Archer" which ties in nicely with the recent (season 4) episodes "Luve and Let Dine" and "Fugue and Riffs", both involving restaurant time with special guests.And this is one of the best features of all seasons of Archer, as Adam brings together again not only actors but even characters from previous work with Frisky Dingo and unrelated-at-the-hip Arrested Development casts, numerous of which make guest appearances or form part of the core cast. Jessica Walters, for instance, who found her way to the role after idly flicking through a script that described Malory as "just like Jessica Walters in Arrested Development (she still had to audition though), Pirate-slave David Cross from AD, Patrick Warburton taking the weight off his wheels as Joe in Family Guy to becoming swashbuckling douche Rip Riley, Suburgatory's Chris Parnell (Cyril) and even Gator-star Burt Reynolds all turn up, amongst a growing roster of eager A-Listers all wanting cameos alongside the hardest working funniest talent in the US today, name H Jon Bsnjamin, Judy Greer, Kristen Schaal, the list goes on, the stories get bigger and more incredulous, but most importantly, with this box set, you have the opportunity to follow the whole story arc from the beginning in marathon-sessions, and catch another level of the richly-layered spy-cake that just keeps getting better each time you watch it (and every time you Google the more obscure references (Johnny Bench, Benoit Balls, etc) to get the joke, then Lord it over your mates because you GET IT & they don't.Archer is the funniest, most elegantly constructed animation/concept to ever have emerged from Anerica, and that's a tall order to scramble to the top of (dammit, that was lame). Having evolved uniquely, outside of the usual Hollywoodland straight-jacket, it is a standard by itself that will probably never be matched. Compared to Archer, The Simpsons is a children's comic, South Park is the slapstick intermission, and it even makes you re-assess what it is in other shows such as Family Guy or American Dad or Robot Chicken that you used to like so much, because Adam Reed's skill in crafting this magnificent body of work is matched only by the star's ability to deliver it. Plus it makes Roger Moore's the Saint and even Bond himself look like total pussies.As to minuses.....the packaging is a bit cramped, and if you ever get ants in one series they'll spread to the others like wildfire(ants).At this price too, man you just have to. Flog your old ones and grab this Triple (or in Ray's case, more often than not cripple-) Threat axis of counter intelligent awesomeness right now, or face a modified limited rampage yourself.Oh, Brett! Sorry, buddy - he is just a bullet-magnet, right?

I'm a grown man, at least my mother tells me I am, so why do I need rude words bleeped out on a DVD? It's not like the rest of the show is morally upright, given that the characters contained therein have obsessions including but not limited to sex, drugs, glue eating and hybrid pigboys (don't ask).One star deducted for the silly censoring, that aside, this show is sheer genius, well written, well voice acted and very rewatchable (if that's a word). You see the characters may be a bunch of deviants, but they're strangely appealing in their own quirky ways, be they superspy Stirling Archer, the title character with his endearing selfishness, love of alcohol, 'Greek' and black turtlenecks who never lets a mission get in the way of his sex life, fiesty covert operative Lana with her knock off Fiacci drawers barely hidden by clothing that doesn't know if it wants to be a dress or a sweater, Krieger, a doctor though not the medical kind (or the other kind for that matter) who managed to create a holographic girlfriend so realistic the state of New York was allowing him to legally marry her, or my personal favourite, the lovely Pam Poovey, head of HR and gossip monger who couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it, a successful prize fighter, that's if success means killing your opponents, she's living proof that big is beautiful, well I think so anyway.As for all the other weird and wonderful characters, well, you can discover them for yourself. Enjoy!

Adult subject matter with immature humor. It's inappropriate misguided with disturbing stereotypical characterizations, and I LOVE IT!

I ordered this for a friend loves this show. He's been very pleased with extras and is asking me to keep an eye for more box sets so I guess that means this is good for a fans.

I am still in disbelief how many people have not heard of archer, it is witty , sick ( in the disgusting way not the "youth of today" saying sick) archer is a complete knob and the rest of the team are well..... very odd, but it does no end up being so stupid you feel like your watching family guy it is well written, clever and laugh out loud funny. plus it makes you want to become a spy.

This is a fantastic series. Each time I watch it I notice or hear something funny which I missed the last time I watch it. If you are looking for adult laughs, unbelievable situations and very funny characters give this a try, you will not be disappointed. I am looking forward to getting the rest of the 'Archer' series.

The real world has shown that competence and intelligence aren't part of the job requirements for the military intelligence community, and Archer takes that to heart in a big way. Intelligence and competence - not to mention integrity, sobriety, or indeed psychiatric health - are considered entirely optional by the members of ISIS, and their dysfunctional bumbling makes for a hugely entertaining and madly surreal show.

If you really need this review to convince you, then maybe you should move on. May only gripe... where is season 4 onwards?