Archer is often hailed as one of the smartest adult animated shows on TV and rightly so. It wears its influences on its sleeves, taking well known tropes from the spy-thriller genre and taking it to the most absurd ends. But parody in and of itself is not what makes the show so brilliant.
There are many reasons for why Archer is such a great show, but among them is its use of time and temporality–where most shows reset after each episode, there is a continuity in Archer that grows with each episode. Details in continuity aren’t always apparent; in fact, most of them are very subtle and require lengthy knowledge of the show. For observant viewers, the continuity jokes Archer brings again and again are like small rewards for being such a dedicated fan. And for those who didn’t catch them, well, these may put you in the mood for a rewatch.
1. A Reminder That Cheryl Is The Granddaughter Of A Railroad Tycoon
Photo: 20th Television
Emblazoned on a train at a railroad crossing is this not so subtle nod to Cheryl Tunt’s massive stake in the railroad industry in “Midnight Ron” (Season 4, Episode 4.)
2. This Surveillance Shot From “Honeypot”
Photo: 20th Television
This quick shot of a surveillance photo taken of Archer is from when he goes undercover in Season 1, Episode 5, “Honeypot” while trying to obtain a disc that had incriminating information about Malory on it from a rogue gay Cuban operative. Later in Season 3, Episode 4, “The Man From Jupiter,” a Cuban hit squad uses the photo of Archer to mistakenly identify Ray Gillette as their intended target.
3. “It Means White Shadow!”
Photo: 20th Television
In the Season 6 premiere “The Holdout,” Pam uses a retina scanner, she is identified as “Shiro Kabocha,” a name she used as a Yakuza drift racer in Season 3, Episode 7, “Drift Problem.”
4. Archer Steals Woodhouse’s Trip–And His Shirt
Photo: 20th Television
In “Stage Two” (Season 2, Episode 8) Archer goes on Woodhouse’s trip to Las Vegas, be he wears a shirt that hitmen Rudy and Charles bought for Woodhouse in “Honeypot” (Season 1, Episode 5)
5. The Paper Is Up To Date
Photo: 20th Television
The front page of the paper in the episode “Legs” (Season 4, Episode 3) directly references the events that took place on the Horizon space station during the previous season’s finale, “Space Race.”
6. A Quick Repair Job For A Mic Drop
Photo: 20th Television
In “The Wind Cries Mary” (Season 4, Episode 2) Archer performs a mic drop, which is later replicated by Pam, but with a taped microphone this time around.
7. Fort Kick*ss Lives On Three Seasons Later
Photo: 20th Television
In the episode “Skorpio” (Season 1, Episode 6), Krieger built a box fort in the ISIS mainframe instead of moving data to a secure location. The remnants of the fort are then seen in the Season 4 episode “Viscous Coupling” when Lana and Malory are locked in the vault and later again in the Season 6 episode “Sitting” when Archer is in the ISIS mainframe.
8. Someone Stole Ray’s Gift Idea
Photo: 20th Television
An ISIS agent in “Archer Vice: Baby Shower” (Season 5, Episode 6)steals Ray Gillette’s baby gift idea for Lana, which he mentions in “Sea Tunt: Part II (Season 4, Episode 13.)
9. Lana Leaves Her Mark
Photo: 20th Television
Lana shoots Sterling in the foot aboard the Excelsior in “Skytanic” (Season 1, Episode 7.) But you can later see the scar on the right foot in “Dial M for Mother” (Season 1, Episode 10.)
10. Pam Has A Preferred Breed Of Cattle
Photo: 20th Television
Pam mentions earlier in the series that she raised Holsteins on Poovey Farms. Later, you see her reading Holstein magazine when exiting the bathroom stall.
11. Cheryl Still Has Her Adventurous Tastes In ‘Archer 1999’
Photo: 20th Televison
In Archer: 1999, Cheryl’s analog can be seen reading a pulp magazine depicting a robot attempting to choke a young woman. In Season 1, Episode 10 “Dial M for Mother,” Krieger and Cheryl utilize a “Chokebot” to spice up their relationship due to Krieger’s “weak woman-y hands.”
12. He Knows What “The Most Dangerous Game” Is
Photo: 20th Television
In “Honeypot” (Season 1, Episode 5) Archer gets seriously injured playing a “dangerous game,” Jai Alai. Archer, however, calls back to the game when he hears the phrase “dangerous game” uttered in “El Contador” (Season 3, Episode 5.)
13. Tattoos Are Permanent
Photo: 20th Television
Throughout the series, Archer gets a handful of tattoos that animators make sure to include at every opportunity when Sterling takes his shirt off.
14. Archer Misunderstands Malory’s Comment About The Irish
Photo: 20th Television
In Season 3, Episode 8 “Lo Scandalo” Malory mentions to Archer and Lana Ireland wasn’t an ally during World War II. Archer later reveals in Season 6, Episode 3 “The Archer Sanction” that he understood that as Ireland being an Axis power.
15. Trinette Is Prepared To Call Archer Her Baby’s Daddy
Photo: 20th Television
In “Dial M For Mother” (Season 1, Episode 10,) Trinette pushes a baby whose “father knows krav maga” in the park. Archer, however, is only confronted with the information that this may be his baby in Season 2, Episode 3 “Blood Test.”