Originally this was going to happen last November but Aisha Tyler had a sudden death to attend to. A sad matter yet the cast was able to reschedule. I was also a tad apprehensive because I had a friend see this in Dallas earlier. She said it was brief plus the actors only read from an episode that had already aired. H. Jon Benjamin’s appearance at Fun Fun Fest in 2012 was disappointing too.
With such low expectations, this could only go adequately. Nope! They tore the rough off the place. Lucky Yates (Dr. Krieger) came out first, discussed things and showed the new season five credits which now have his name in the cast! He wanted to thank the fans cheering for him with the FX executives. Then Lucky introduced the others.
Amber Nash (Pam Poovey); Judy Greer (Cheryl Tunt) who was doing her first show, her acting schedule pre-occupied other attempts; Aisha Tyler (Lana Kane); and H. Jon Benjamin (Sterling Archer). The latter’s entrance was hilarious. Instead of walking on stage, he came down the side aisle wearing an Archer-esque turtleneck. Executive Producer Matt Thompson joined a bit later.
Highlights from the live reading: a peek at tomorrow night’s premiere, a short script written by Amber (a rather Pam-centric gag), audience members doing the physical acting as the cast provided the voices, a spoiler on the direction Archer is headed for season five and Q&A. The actors couldn’t stop laughing at the two sign-language interpeters…yes, some gestures describing certain foul terms are rather obvious.
It would be nice to see if this show ends up a DVD special feature next year.
Can’t wait to catch up on season four and then jump over to five.
If you haven’t been watching Archer, check out the pilot on Netflix. Like it? Carry on through to the third. The show has pulled off major casting coups: Ron Perlman, Thomas Lennon, Bryan Cranston, Rene Auberjonois, David Cross, Patrick Warburton, Rachel Harris, James Hong, George Takei, Jeffrey Tambor, Jon Hamm, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Rooker, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal and Burt Reynolds as himself. There have been little crossovers with Bob’s Burgers and Sealab 2021.
I personally find the show to be the perfect sibling to The Venture Brothers.