Archer 1999: "Robert De Niro" is the ninth episode and season finale of the tenth season of Archer. It is the one hundred and tenth episode overall.
Plot
Synopsis
When a trial turns into a boarding party, it can only mean that Barry 6 has returned.
Summary
Archer finds himself in a courtroom facing charges of assaulting Lana with Cheryl's magazine, Ray is the judge, Cheryl the stenographer and Cyril is Lana's attorney. When Cheryl asks why they have a huge dedicated courtroom, even though she has to "basically sleep in a coffin". The crew agrees it could be either 2.5 squash courts or a holodeck, even though they do have one, but never use it. Archer, being defended by imaginary TV's Michael Gray, does not recognize the authority of the court, since it's presided over by a male prostitute.
Ray clarifies he's a courtesan, although he used to be a federation high court justice for 16 years. Archer further claims that the whole trial is a sham so Lana can steal his half of the space ship. When he asks Michael Gray to cross examine Lana, Michael replies that there is something wrong with his brain and he should plead not guilty by reason of insanity and also face the fact he is hallucinating him. Archer states he does not want to be represented by him anymore, and everyone is fine with him not having an imaginary lawyer.
When Archer is about to question Lana, he pictures real-life Lana in her regular outfit. Malory is then called for questioning and has the exact appearance as Marlene Dietrich in "Witness for the Prosecution", which Archer points out. He then pictures Michael Gray wearing the same outfit, just to find regular space Malory standing next to him. He then imagines regular Pam in her orange top and beige skirt and her necklace – and Michael Gray wearing the same outfit.
He is about to lose his mind when there is a proximity alert. Krieger should be on the bridge, but he's too busy painting the courtroom scene. Everyone is impressed by his skilful artwork, even though the thinks it may be derivative. The crew realizes they have a boarding party.
As they cut their way through the gates, Cyril wants to abandon ship, but Lana hinders him. Archer, handcuffed to a hand bar insists they let him go, to which everyone except for Lana agrees. She reminds everybody he's sexually assaulted her with a rolled up magazine, which Cheryl is still mourning as she's carrying it around. Archer apologizes for his behaviour and promises Lana can punish him afterwards, but now he needs to do some swashbuckling.
As Barry 6 and his space men infiltrate the ship, the crew grabs all the arms. Archer tells them to lure Barry 6 into the holodeck. Krieger activates the sentry guns and fires all the ammo. However, Barry 6 and his men are behind them, not in the line of fire. Malory turns into her plasma form to lure the boarding party into the holodeck.
Barry 6 refuses to believe Malory is luring them. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew arrive at the holodeck. Archer turns the room into a old Western saloon with Michael Gray playing the piano. As Malory has a drink, the crew hide behind the bar when Barry 6 and the Dri'n enter. Cyril's suppressing fire burst is surprisingly effective as he kills all the Dri'n, enraging Archer who wanted to be the hero. Cyril briefly appears to Archer in his reality state.
Barry 6 challenges Archer to a one-on-one battle and he activates the MV Seamus self-destruct system, setting the timer for 2 minutes. He hacked the system as the password was "GUEST". Everyone, including Barry 6, changes into their reality forms. Archer tells the crew to get to the escape pod. Lana drags Malory out, who refuses to leave Archer alone. Barry is fine with mutual destruction as revenge for Archer having anal sex with his fiancé Framboise (whose name or appearance Archer can't remember).
As the crew flies off on the escape pod Barry and Archer fight in the saloon. Archer, leaning on the ground is laughing, stating that they are safe. Barry asks whether they are really safe, to which Archer says yes. Barry tells him that now he gets to be the big man, to which Archer replies that he's huge. According to Barry, that is not what Framboise said. Archer swears he had something for this, but in that moment the space ship explodes.
This is followed by a flashback containing many scenes from previous seasons and climaxing with Archer waking from his coma in the hospital. When Malory sees this, she breaks another glass. A nurse named Gladys comes into the room, also to find Archer awake. When asking why he's in a hospital, Malory tells him he'd been shot by a crazy woman. She then pours him a drink, claiming he's gonna need it, after all he's been there for 3 years. Gladys wants to call a doctor, but Malory sees no point in calling him on a Sunday at midnight.
Archer asks why Malory is there on a Sunday at midnight, to which Gladys replies that she's always there. Archer realizes Malory has her own sofa and bed in his room, because she wanted to be there when he wakes up. Gladys leaves them alone. Archer asks about Lana, but Malory says it's a topic for another time. With tears in her eyes, she says the important thing is that he's back and they are together, after all, the real story has always been about him and Malory, which, when you think about it, in it's heart, has always been a love story.
Cast
- Starring:
- H. Jon Benjamin as Sterling Archer / Archer MVS (Dream Persona)
- Judy Greer as Cheryl Tunt / Cheryl MVS (Dream Persona)
- Amber Nash as Pam Poovey / Pam MVS (Dream Persona)
- Chris Parnell as Cyril Figgis / Cyril MVS (Dream Persona)
- Lucky Yates as Dr. Krieger / Krieger MVS (Dream Persona)
- Jessica Walter as Malory Archer / Malory MVS (Dream Persona)
- Aisha Tyler as Lana Kane / Lana MVS (Dream Persona)
- Co-Starring:
- Adam Reed as Ray Gillette / Ray MVS (Dream Persona)
- Guest Starring:
- Dave Willis as Barry Dylan / Barry 6 (Dream Persona)
- Michael Gray as TV's Michael Gray
- Schantelle Carson as Gladys
- Alice Chang as Computer Voice
- Marcus Rosentrater as Voice
Cultural References
- Robert De Niro - The title references actor Robert De Niro, and the song during the montage before Archer wakes up is "Robert Deniro" by Queen Sarah Saturday. This is a refence to De Niro's role as a coma patient that wakes up in the film Awakenings (1990).
- Star Trek franchise
- "Why not just have the holodeck turn into a courtroom?" – Cheryl (alluding to the holodecks typical to the Star Trek franchise)
- Battlestar Galactica franchise
- "Why does a spaceship have an enormous dedicated courtroom in it?" –Cheryl (perhaps referring to the courtroom scenes in BSG)
- Archer begins hallucinating the presence of Michael Gray, much like Gaius Baltar hallucinates the presence of Six who advises him on his actions.
- Star Wars franchise
- "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ..." – Barry 6
- ...And Justice for All. (1979): In the courtroom scene, Archer's rant of "You're out of order. You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order!" is the same as one given by Al Pacino playing a defense attorney in the film.
- Eddie Waitkus: Malory explains to Archer, that he has been shot by a crazy woman, to which Archer replies with: "Just like Eddie Waitkus". Eddie Waitkus was a Lithuanian American baseball player, who was shot by Ruth Ann Steinhagen, an obsessed stalker in June 1949. It is one of the earliest recognized cases of criminal stalking.
- Archer did in fact experience a similar ordeal, as seen in his snake poison-induced hallucination in "Once Bitten".
- Coolio song - Barry refers to the Coolio song, "West Coast Party" when he sings, "And there ain't no party like a boarding party, 'cause a boarding party don't stop."
- Aliens (1986): When Krieger uses sentry guns against boarding by space-pirates with Barry 6, the ammunition counter is the same as in the Aliens movie. The scene is also common to that one from Aliens when ammunition runs out. After the ammo runs out, Krieger says that the only purpose of using sentry guns was the "Director's cut". The same scene in Aliens was cut off from the theatrical version and remained in the director's cut of the movie.
- Westworld (2016): When Archer changes the holodeck from the courtroom to an old west saloon, it is exactly the same as in the TV series, complete with, as he says, "old time prostitutes upstairs."
Running Gags / Callbacks
- Running Gags/Phrasing - After Barry 6 comments on the breach in the MV Seamus' hull as a nice gash, one of the Dri'n pirates says "phrasing" in his native tongue.
- Suppressing fire - Every season has at least one episode in which Cyril shouts, "Suppressing fire!" as he fails to hit any target. However, he manages to shoot all of Barry's Dri'n soldiers in the holodeck.
- Framboise - This whole episode is about Barry wanting to kill Archer because he banged Barry's fiancée Framboise in "Job Offer", despite the fact that Barry does not know how to pronounce "Framboise".
- GUEST - The self-destruct password of the MV Seamus is GUEST.
- Pam Graffiti - One of Pam's graffiti tags can be seen on the whiteboard in Archer's hospital room.
Continuity
- Reality (Non-Dream): Archer remains in a coma brought upon by the events of "Deadly Velvet: Part II".
- Dream / Reality Crossover: At the end of this episode there is a montage of references to previous episodes, presumably as his life passes before his eyes:
- S2 E9, "Placebo Effect" - Archer starts his first rampage
- S1 E1, "Mole Hunt" - Archer's face
- S2 E7, "Movie Star" - Archer breaks into ISIS Headquarters via the roof
- S1 E10, "Dial M for Mother" - Young Archer at the funeral for his fake father John Fitzgerald Archer
- S1 E1, "Mole Hunt" - Hostage situation
- S5 E7, "Smugglers' Blues" - Archer drinking after being thrown out a bar window
- S3 E11, "Crossing Over" - Archer chugging from Pam's booze dispenser
- S7 E4, "Motherless Child" - Archer falling out of a car and saying "bawk, bawk" to a foil swan
- S4 E9, "The Honeymooners" - Archer saves Lana falling from The Tuntmore Towers Hotel
- S1 E5, "Honeypot" - explosion of Malory's South Beach apartment
- S7 E3, "Deadly Prep" - explosion of Trent Whitney's house
- S4 E11, "The Papal Chase" - explosion of the fake Swiss Guard car
- S7 E1, "The Figgis Agency" - explosion outside of Alan Shapiro's mansion
- S4 E11, "The Papal Chase" - Archer landing naked on a Swiss Guard car
- S2 E6, "Tragical History" - Archer fighting George Spelvin
- S3 E6, "The Limited" - Archer being blinded with night vision googles on while climbing onto the roof of a train
- S2 E9, "Placebo Effect" - Archer interrogating the Irish Mob
- S2 E2, "A Going Concern" - Archer talking to Barry, who is holding a foil swan
- S2 E12, "White Nights" - Archer punching Barry in Moscow
- S3 E11, "Skin Game" - Archer being hit in the face with a champagne bottle by Barry
- S6 E4, "Edie's Wedding" - Barry throwing Archer in a grain silo
- S7 E4, "Motherless Child" - Barry teabagging
- S8 E8, "Auflösung" - Archer hits Barry's 'Dutch' Dylan dream persona with a shovel
- S4 E5, "Viscous Coupling" - Archer running to Katya's apartment and stealing roses while driving there
- S1 E1, "Mole Hunt" - Archer saying "Lana"
- S5 E1, "White Elephant" - Archer gives a rose to Lana
- S8 E1, "No Good Deed" - Archer meets Dreamland Lana
- S1 E1, "Mole Hunt" - Archer saying "Lana"
- S1 E2, "Training Day" - Lana with Jane by a tampon machine
- S4 E9, "The Honeymooners" - Lana punching a North Korean agent
- S6 E11, "Achub Y Morfilod" - Lana kicking MI5 Agent Barsley
- S1 E1, "Mole Hunt" - Archer saying "Lana"
- S6 E8, "The Kanes" - Archer and Lana firing at Slater
- Lana points gun at Archer
- S5 E10, "Archer Vice: Palace Intrigue: Part I" - pregnant Lana punches Archer in the groin
- S1 E1, "Mole Hunt" - Archer saying "Lana" and "Danger Zone"
- S5 E13, "Archer Vice: Arrival/Departure" - Lana introduces Archer to baby Abbiejean
- S2 E8, "Stage Two" - Seamus with his Archer tattoo
- S2 E3, "Blood Test" - Archer meets Seamus with Trinette and Malory
- S3 E4, "The Man From Jupiter" - Archer and Burt Reynolds
- S2 E5, "The Double Deuce" - Woodhouse and Malory kill German agents
- S3 E6, "Lo Scandalo" - Malory kills Italian prime minister Savio Mascalzoni
- S9 E7, "Comparative Wickedness of Civilized and Unenlightened Peoples" - Malory firing an MP40
- S1 E10, "Dial M for Mother" - Malory breaks a glass
- S2 E11, "Jeu Monégasque" - Malory dressed as Elvira taking child Archer's candy
- S5 E13, "Archer Vice: Arrival/Departure" - Malory on an airplane with breastfeeding Lana
- S2 E5, "The Double Deuce" - Malory tricks Seamus
- S1 E3, "Diversity Hire" - Malory flirts with Conway Stern
- S3 E6, "Lo Scandalo" - Malory flashes herself in the mirror
- S5 E1, "White Elephant" - ISIS Headquarters explosion
- S2 E5, "The Double Deuce" - Archer drinks a pitcher of Bloody Marys
- S2 E6, "Tragical History" - Archer playing darts
- Archer raises a glass
- S3 E12, "Space Race: Part I" - Archer training for zero G in the "Vomit Comet"
- S6 E6, "Sitting" - Archer threatens Farooq Ashkani
- S2 E11, "Jeu Monégasque" - Archer jumps onto Benoit's race car
- S3 E13, "Space Race: Part II" - Archer fires a plasma rifle on the space station Horizon
- S3 E1, "Heart of Archness: Part I" - Archer smashes a bottle in Rip Riley's face
- S2 E1, "Swiss Miss" - Archer uses a lit aerosol can to burn a El Frente Rojo agent disguised as a bellhop
- S6 E6, "Sitting" - Archer cracks his neck with his fists in the ISIS Mainframe
- S8 E1, "No Good Deed" - Dreamland Archer as a WW2 soldier fights a German soldier
- S6 E1, "The Holdout" - Archer fires at Sato Kentaro
- S6 E2, "Three To Tango" - Archer smashes Conway Stern in the ears with cymbals
- S4 E10, "Un Chien Tangerine" - Archer destroys the engine of a truck with gun fire
- S9 E1, "Strange Pilot" - Archer crashes the Loose Goose seaplane
- S2 E9, "Placebo Effect" - Archer kills Franny Delaney
- S4 E6, "Once Bitten" - Ruth Anne Litzenberger shoots Archer
- S2 E6, "Tragical History" - Archer hit with a fighting star by one of George Spelvin's Japanese companions
- S4 E11, "The Papal Chase" - Archer set on fire by the explosion of the Swiss Guard car
- S2 E6, "Movie Star" - Archer drugged by Rona Thorne
- S6 E2, "Three To Tango" - Archer shot by a guard
- S3 E9, "Crossing Over" - Archer half naked in the elevator after sex with Pam
- S2 E4, "Pipeline Fever" - Archer and Lana being attacked by an alligator
- S7 E8, "Deadly Velvet: Part II" - Veronica Deane shoots Archer
- S4 E9, "The Honeymooners" - Archer and Lana being filmed by a child while arguing on the side of The Tuntmore Towers Hotel
- S2 E9, "Placebo Effect" - Lana helps Archer with his first rampage
- S4 E13, "Sea Tunt: Part II" - Archer awakes after drowning
- S4 E6, "Once Bitten" - Archer awakes after snake venom antidote is shot into his heart
- S9 E2, "Disheartening Situation" - Danger Island Archer says he might be immortal
- S9 E8, "A Discovery" - Danger Island Archer falls into lava
A very fast montage of Archer in various outfits then follows.
Trivia
- Archer finally wakes up from the coma he fell into since Season 8. It's revealed that he has been comatose for three years.
- Malory breaks the fourth wall when she states in the final scene that the real story has always been about Sterling and her.
Locations
- MV Seamus
- Archer's Hospital Room
Quotes
- (Escape pod launching, 15 seconds before explosion)
- Archer (laughing): "Haha, yes, they're safe, Barry!"
- Barry: "Are they?"
- Archer: "What?"
- Barry: "Are they safe?"
- Archer (determined): "Yes."
- Barry: "So you're the big man, huh?"
- Archer: "Yes, Barry! I am! I'm huge!"
- Barry: "Not what Framboise said."
- Archer: "Oh really? Because... shhhhit, I had something for..."
- (MV Seamus explodes, Archer waking up from his coma)
- Archer (gasping): "Goddamn Barry!"
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- (Final Scene)
- Archer: "For three years?"
- Malory: "I wanted to be here when you woke up."
- Archer: "Okay so, like wha.. what about Lana?"
- Malory: "Lana?"
- Archer: "And wait, do I have a kid?"
- Malory: "There is plenty of time to talk about all of that.The important thing is that you're back, and we're together."
- Archer: "Oh, okay."
- Malory: "After all, the real story has always been about you and me."
- Archer: "What are you..."
- Malory: "...which, when you think about it, at its heart, it's really a love story."
- Archer: "Please mother, don't say that..."
- Malory (with tears in her eyes): "It's true."
- Archer: "Eugh."
─────────────────────────
- Archer: You can punish me however you see fit.
- Cheryl: You mean "HOWmever".
─────────────────────────
- Archer: So, you're willing to die just to make sure I do?
- Barry: Yep.
- Archer: Why?
- Barry: Because, Archer, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, you put your nasty dick in my fiancee's butt hole.
Gallery of Images
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References