this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2024
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Oh man I always appreciate when someone brings up Chuck. That show (particularly the first 3 seasons) had a masterful balance of individual episode stories and overarching story. I would submit Archer did a decent job of this as well, although I think the formula was weakened during the "coma seasons"/Archer Vice. They are still great seasons, they still feel like Archer, just that they don't build on the story that they had already invested in.
You take that back! Archer vice was one of the best seasons!
"If we don't spend it this year, we can't get an increase next year."
It was great in a vacuum, it just felt like a diversion from the investment the writers had been making in the first 4 seasons.
Same with the Coma seasons. I particularly like Danger Island, but they are all fantastic as individual spinoff shows. But they do nothing to advance the plot that had been so invested in up to that point.
Stuff like Archer and Lana's relationship, Archer's father, Barry, could all have been more developed in that time if they had just stuck to the story they were telling rather than spending 5 seasons faffing around on other stories. Worse yet, we may have gotten more substantial character development out of Malory while Jessica Walter was still alive if they hadn't taken those diversions.
I agree with you so much about Archer. Those middle season were ehh. The last few season when he got out the coma and he developed more as a human/dad and all that was great.
I got teary eyed when I watched the last episode with Jessica. It was a good tribute (I feel) with her even if the last episode was reused voice acting for her.
I recently rewatched Chuck and fully agree the first three seasons are very strong. I did see a few plot holes upon watching it straight through that I never caught when I watched it live.
There were a lot of shows like this around the same time.
Burn Notice had the overall arc of Michael resolving the Burn Notice but individual "criminal of the week" episodes.
Agents of Shield started as a "084 of the week" but I think around season 3 moved more toward a fully serialized show.
I think Burn Notice specifically, not necessarily started, but saw how people were starting to change how they watched shows. I believe USA Network even posted the shows the day after on their website for people to watch.
I'm okay with serialization so long as it's a good story.