Random storytelling lessons I learned from watching "Archer"

Editor's Note: At the time I watched this series, only seven seasons existed on Netflix.

So, I watched all seven seasons on Netflix, even though I went in thinking I wouldn’t be into it.

The characters are a true ensemble.

That is, there’s no Mary Sue in the whole bunch. Nor is there a punching bag, a character reserved as the butt of jokes. That’s the worst kind of humor for me. Everyone in Archer has their moments of triumph. Every character has a known skill and a hidden, unexpected skill. Someone might receive a “sick burn” one minute, and dish one out the next. The still image above is from the "Hotel Rampage" scene where the spy team starts a brawl to defend Pam's honor when she's insulted

Consider that Cyril “Suppressive Fire!” Figgis is as terrible a field agent as you’d expect a desk-jockey accountant to be. But he thinks tactically, and when he’s obliged to run a military dictatorship he turns out to be not too shabby at it. He’s good at what he’s supposed to do (accounting), and bad at what he’s not supposed to do (James Bond action stuff), and unexpectedly good at something that’s actually an extension of his core competency (managing troops). The humor revolves around all three aspects.

I love humor that makes use of the unexpected, the “Stewardess, I speak Jive,” moments. To pull off such humor a writer has to think of the characters in three dimensions from the get-go. If Pam is strictly the fat Brunhilde of an HR lady then — per the apparent rules of comedy — she could only be the butt of jokes about not getting laid.

But it turns out Pam can take and dish out punches, and she put herself through school by boxing, which is an added layer. It means the audience can eagerly anticipate her laying the smackdown when the bad guys think they have her cornered. It means Archer can count on her to protect a baby in the heat of danger. You want Pam to have your back, and she will.

If Archer is strictly a self-centered, drunken whore then he couldn’t possibly drop jokes instructing people to “read a book!” Nor could he instinctively protect his loved ones when danger strikes. Nor could he be the one to tell Lana to make a run for it when it seems likely she will be arrested at a particularly delicate time for her.

Yeah, it’s raunchy. But take from the show the writers’ respect for their characters.

Consider giving characters unexpected facets that make sense for what you’ve shown of them.