Archer Vice: “Baby Shower” Review

“Archer” hilariously decided to finally address Lana’s pregnancy with the gang throwing her a baby shower while Archer looked to book Kenny Loggins to play it.

“Archer” has never been a show that did a lot of traditional sitcom storylines. Sure, there was office politics, but never any of the usual “Oh! they’re in love!” or “Oh! she’s pregnant” episodes that shows in their later seasons must resort to. The fact that creator Adam Reed decided to completely switch the show’s premise rather than spin old wheels in Season 5 is a testament to that fact. This is why it was amusing to see “Archer” decide to focus a story on Lana and her pregnancy and all the craziness that comes with it.

Things begin with Charlene recording with her band (featuring Archer “Blowing this jug”), and an irritated Lana chewing them out. After asking Malory what’s got her so upset, she reminds them all she’s pregnant. This naturally leads to the realization that no one has paid any attention to her pregnancy or even thrown her a baby shower, prompting Ray to hilariously shout, “Wait! We haven’t have done that already!.” Meanwhile, Krieger (obviously with the help of his love hologram) has discovered a new way to sell cocaine online and needs Cyril, Lana and Ray to help him to pack it all. This leaves Archer and Pam with the task of planning the party, a task Archer quickly dumps on Woodhouse so he can go find a New York-bound Kenny Loggins to play at the shower.

(Credit: FX Networks)

The Archer/Pam pairing worked great again, with lots of great quips between the two and Pam managing to hold her own going undercover to meet Loggins. Kenny Loggins himself was hilarious and not because of Archer’s running “Danger Zone” joke. If Burt Reynolds was portrayed as a suave action hero, Loggins would be the villain, as he constantly abused his bodyguard and immediately confused Archer for a hitman out to steal a mysterious briefcase from him. The shower itself actually went fairly well, featuring some great jokes about the gifts each character gave Lana, and we even got a country rendition of “Danger Zone” by Charlene and Kenny Loggins.

The Breakdown

All-in-all, Archer and Kenny Loggins proved to be an excellent pair, as their arguments over his misguided nickname “K-Log” and Loggins constantly speaking like a Bond villain had me laughing a ton. At times it felt like the old spy missions of season’s past, but it also moved the Season 5 plot forward in a memorable way. Even though a baby shower is a pretty tired concept for a half-hour comedy, if this is how “Archer” mixes things up and it keeps doing it this well, I’m all for it.