As a cartoon, “Archer” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA) is fairly interesting to look at. As a spy spoof, it’s as old as “Get Smart,” and as a comedy, it’s a tedious exercise in network envelope-pushing. Much like “The League,” it seems to be aimed at a young male audience marinated in the casual vulgarity of pornography, hip hop and violent video games.
While “The League” portrayed women as slightly inconvenient objects of fleeting desire, “Archer” is shot through with hatred for the fairer sex.
Archer, voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, is a super-secret agent who happens to work for an agency helmed by his mother (Jessica Walter), who demeans him at every turn. Mom spends most of her time drinking and engaging in phone sex. Every other woman at the agency is a curvaceous plaything for Archer.
The combination of Archer’s harsh treatment of his co-workers and his weird Oedipal relationship with mom pushes “Archer” into new territory, misogyny-wise. While shows like “The Big Bang Theory” are about guys who don’t have girlfriends, “Archer” seems aimed at guys without girlfriends, and crippling issues, to boot.
This is hardly the only FX series to showcase a damaged protagonist. “The Shield” and “Damages” come to mind. But the two-dimensional characters on “Archer” are too one-dimensional to engage much interest.
Clearly inspired by the success of “Adult Swim,” “Archer” would probably work better late in the evening, when cable networks have traditionally shopped their rougher fare to an adult audience of channel surfers. The idea of children watching “Archer” is disturbing.