Edgy fun

Thanks to Netflix's streaming service, I've happily discovered the perverse joys of Archer, an animated spy spoof that's currently unspooling its third season on basic cable's FX channel. I'm halfway through the first season and the episodes just keep getting better.

The show is something, combining perverse (often downright filthy) humor, stylish animation, and spy stories that are actually dramatic and involving. The plots, however, always take a back seat to the outrageousness of master spy Sterling Archer, who works for a government agency mostly populated by beautiful but very neurotic women. The show plays fair, though: the handful of men at the agency are pretty neurotic, too.

While there's lots of variety to the plots, most episodes on some level involve Archer contorting and manipulating the latest crisis or mission to give him the opportunity to bed one or more of his female co-workers, or ditch them because it's time to move on. I never said Archer was a sweetie. But, don't worry, the women aren't doormats and usually figure out Archer's angles and act accordingly.

Incidentally, Archer gets away with a lot of his craziness because his intelligence agency, ISIS, is headed by his mother, who is too busy covering up her ongoing affair with the head of Russia's intelligence service to find the time to run a tight ship at home.

Stylish animation and music, great voice acting, decent action plots, outrageous humor (the show isn't for the kids), and frequent, genuine sexiness make Archer a winner. If you're in the right frame of mind for this sort of thing, definitely give Archer a whirl.

The early episodes of Archer are available in a variety of formats, including various streaming services and DVD.