I loved FX's Archer last winter, and no viewer was more excited than me when it got a surprise second season pick up. So when the DVD of the first season came in the mail yesterday (on its release date), I was ecstatic! After reviewing this DVD, I still am, but only for the episodes, not for any special features included, of which this DVD is sorely lacking.
There are no commentaries. There are no cast interviews, or creator interviews. No one talks about where the idea for the series came from, or what's coming up for season two. The best special feature included was probably a thirty second promo for the show that never aired, my guess, because it was kind of wrong. However, Archer's humor often crosses a line, and that's what makes it great, so I'm not sure how this promo was any worse than what airs during the episodes.
What is included is a roughly twenty minute 'Making Of'. The 'Making Of' is divided into a number of very short segments, almost all having to do with animation. You get to see how the scenes are created, step by step. There's some bits of storyboard translated into animation. If you're an animation guru, you probably already are aware of the techniques being used. If you are a casual viewer, you may not care, or be bored by it. As such, I'm not really sure who this feature is geared towards. Because this is an animated show, I'm sure it is rewarding to all the people who work very hard to make it happen to see their contributions rewarded. And they deserve it; they really do. But like an ending credits scroll, not many people are actually interested in most of it. If this was one of a number of features, I would say it was kind of neat. As the sole feature of substance, it disappointed.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
This was my favorite TV comedy last year. I saw the season premiere at Comic Con and the brilliance continues.