“My ass is everywhere.” – Mr. Ford
If the running gags, stellar voice-work, and unbridled vulgarity weren’t enough to launch Archer into immediate competition for one of my favorite animated series (they were), then last night’s episode certainly would have done the trick. As of “Drift Problem,” it’s now official that Archer exists inside its own television “metaverse” alongside creator Adam Reed’s other cult-hit, Frisky Dingo, introducing the marble-mouthed, fan-favorite, Mr. Ford (his ass is everywhere).
Despite the strict copyright barriers that prevent lifting major characters from television shows on other networks, there remains a great deal of elasticity when it comes to storytelling. One of my favorite moments last year was when Community and Cougar Town established that they both exist inside the same universe – Abed’s fandom earns his character a guest-spot in the background of Cougar Town, a story which he tells Jeff in their own show. This TV metaverse also happens to include Scrubs, as luckless lawyer Ted Buckland appears in Cougar Town following the permanent closing of Scrubs’ Sacred Heart.
Though it takes some getting to, the best gift on Sterling Archer’s birthday is Mr. Ford’s fantastic reveal. When Mallory surprises her son with a brand new, Dodge Challenger spy car – taking product placement and advertising to a whole new level of obvious absurdity – Archer immediately loses it in his parking garage, despite his mother’s explicit warnings and the traumatic memory of a lost five-speed bike.
Archer can only conclude that a high-profile gang must have stolen his car for street-racing, for which he uses Pam’s racing connection to the Chinese Yakuza gang to stake out his planned rampage. Adding to the list of perfectly-chosen guest-star roles – this season already includes Patrick Warburton, David Cross, Burt Reynolds, and Mike Smith, Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay of Trailer Park Boys fame – George Takei joins the ranks as Mr. Moto, the Asian gang’s ringleader.
A little drunk, a little scared, and ready to rampage, Archer causes Pam’s car to get shot up beyond recognition, as it joins two of Krieger’s vans in Archer’s list of car casualties. After they take care of the Yakuza, Mallory arrives with Carol (or is it Cheryl again, I can never tell), hinting that she was the one who stole Archer’s car to prove a point. Instead of giving the car back in order to teach her son to value it more, Mallory just lets the trauma relive itself in Archer’s head after selling the car to the corner-cruising Mr. Ford.
So now we speculate: is Mr. Ford related to anybody on the show? The chump’s bet would be either Lana, or else Popeye, Archer’s dry-cleaning pimp nemesis. But that still doesn’t quite answer how Mallory knew Mr. Ford to sell him Archer’s car. The only other connection I can make – and it is intensely frail – is that the creator of both shows, Adam Reed, voices the character of Ray Gillette, and is so obviously unrelated to Mr. Ford that it’s the perfect opportunity to turn the tables on us.
Some stats and info about Archer, “Drift Problem”
TV SHOW – Archer
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 3, Episode 7
AIRED ON – February 9th, 2012
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX/Hulu
GENRE – Animated Shows, Spy Shows, Comedy
CREATED BY – Adam Reed
CAST – H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer, Amber Nash, Chris Parnell, Aisha Taylor, Lucky Yates, Jessica Walter, Adam Reed
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.