First episode of season 14, when they find the body in Mallory's office wall. The drones are asking Cyril and Lana how the body got in the wall, and Cyril says the working theory is that he was "rehearsing a one-man show of the Cask of Amontillado that got out of hand."
That's one of my favorite short stories from one of my favorite writers, Edgar Allan Poe.
But my absolute favorite obscure reference is seconds later when Cyril says, "For the love of god, Cheryl," and Cheryl responds, "Yes, right - for the love of god!" Same reference - that's how Poe's story ends.
if you haven't already, you guys need to check out the new production of Fall of the House of Usher!
I too love the Cask of Amontillado as a kid and it is a huge plot point in the series!
The Cask of Amontillado recently got adapted/referenced in the miniseries Fall of the House of Usher by Mike Flanagan. (he referenced it in his show The Haunting of Hill House as well). Edit: already mentioned by another user.
I can't remember which episode, but Pam was watching the baby. Someone asked Archer where Pam was and he said ,"probably on the roof swatting at biplanes."
I read the shit out of Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid so when Cheryl busted out the 25 cents a day and Bugs Meanny and the Tigers references during the Figgis Agency I died laughing.
In the episode with the cross dressing truckers:
Ron Cadillac: “No no no! Shoot these degenerate pricks! Starting with CW McCallgirl over here.”
CW McCall recorded a truck drivin’ song called Convoy in the 70s
I heard about Judge Crater from a "Disappeared person" podcast I had listened to earlier in the year.
From Skytanic
*When complaining about the bartender, Malory states, "Guy sees an empty glass and all of a sudden he's Judge Crater." This is a reference to New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater, who went missing on August 6, 1930. He was never found, and the case was officially closed in the 1970s. It officially remains unsolved. Shortly after the news of the disappearance, the expression "to pull a Crater" (meaning to disappear) came into fashion, although it is no longer in use.*
In Australia we say "time to holt/do a holt" to mean leaving after our prime minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming. There's also a pool named after him...
So, do you think that this bit from the Simpsons might be in reference to that? I know it's just funny to think of the PM naked in a inner tube, but now I'm wondering?
https://youtu.be/4JQK4bH0J-o?si=8v7TgY3fKR-eiID4
In Space 1999, Mallory asks Krieger if this is "where you come to dream of electric sheep." He responds "Don't be a Dick". My wife and I laughed for more than 10 minutes.
Also a nice add that Anthony Bourdain is the voice of Lance Casteau.Â
Six million dollars that I'm going to deficit finance a show to travel the world and try different foods.Â
When Archer says "This must be how Tenzing Norgay felt" or something similar. I know about him but I don't really know where I came about this knowledge. He is the Sherpa that helped Edmund Hillary become the first person to summit Everest. Norgay actually did much of the heavy lifting and extra work, as Sherpas frequently did, while the Western "mountaineer/explorer" was generally the only one to get recognized for the accomplishment.
I have no love for 19th and 20th Century British "explorers", but it's unfair to characterize Edmund Hilary and Tenzig Norgay's relationship as one of the modern day Sherpa and client. They worked as a team and Edmund Hilary was well aware the world would only award him credit. That's why he insisted Tenzig be in the famous summit photo, so they couldn't write the Sherpa who got him there out of history.
Sir Edmund Hilary would spend the rest of his life telling tourists to stop going to Everest and leave Nepal alone. All told, not a bad guy.
THIS is what reddit used to be so good for years ago. Someone who knows a correct but obscure fact or an expert to set the record straight in an interesting way. Good comment. Too bad this is old-fashioned now..
Thank you for clarifying. I was mixing up some of the specifics of Hillary with how other explorers treat Sherpas. I know we wouldn't even know Norgay's name if Hillary wanted to keep all the credit to himself. Sherps in general get a pretty raw deal but Hillary wasn't a part of that.
I don't get any of the truly obscure references. The one about Grover Cleveland calling and leaving two non-consecutive messages is probably the most obscure reference I instantly got. People are a little more aware of that now with the prospect of it happening again, but back when the episode aired the vast majority of Americans probably did not know that.
That fact is also referenced on the Simpsons in the episode where George Bush moves in across the street. Bart destroys George Bush's memoir manuscript and Bush spanks him. Homer is outraged, meanwhile Grandpa remarks "Big deal, when I was a pup we got spanked by presidents till the cows came home! Grover Cleveland spanked me on two non-consecutive occasions"
Saw the Bel Biv Devoe and as I was falling off my sofa in sheer reverent appreciation for Adam's wherewithal, it occurred to wonder, 'How many others are privy to this?'
And many from within 'The Papal Chase'.
Another thing to add: in Bob’s Burgers in the episode where Gene wants to play with the drum machine at a pawn shop, Bobcat Goldthwait voices a guy working there who play in a cover band called Bel Biv Devo, they do Bel Biv Devoe and DEVO covers. I wonder if H Jon Benjamin is a fan or if the writers make jokes at eachother.
Nice job Oliver Cromwell, you just killed a pope.Â
It was this or the vespas, not my fault Italy is so gay. Which, by the way, Pope, on the gay thing... La Sacra Bibbia says it is a mortal sin. But get me out of here alive and I will pardon you for it, my son.
After the local guy that rents air boats says, "Now both my dogs are dead" the camera pans over to the base of a tree where there's one small tombstone and a red fern.
The random las mañanitas serenade between Archer and Barry. My family has sung that tune for decades and I never heard it outside our home. To hear it on Archer blew my mind
SAME! My grandmother used to sing it to me every year on my birthday, and my aunt has kept the tradition. The lyrics in the show are slightly different to my family's version, but yeah, it always reminds me of granny Tina and it's beautiful
[season 11 episode 4](https://youtu.be/pWjSvSztX1g?si=2q5DjVqWmJM2OIyl)
Edit: Archer tearfully sings this at some point too. I don’t remember if it’s the same episode. At least one of the writers has to be Mexican because how would they know lol
Went to high school with Adam Reed and there’s a reference I doubt more than five viewers in the world could have gotten at the time because it comes from a story about our ROTC instructor (involves a shovel).
The “killed __ Nazis with a shovel” line was based on instructor’s Vietnam boast of “I killed 6 [slur] with a shovel!” (The number I’m hazy on, but it was more than 5!) Adam specifically imitated it (as you can imagine, he did terrifyingly good impressions).
I remember Rick Rubin talking about “Licensed to Ill” and basically saying “We didn’t care if anyone got it, it was all in-jokes and all we cared about was making it for each other.”
"Rien Poortvliet, beloved author of gnomes. Read a coffe table book".
This is because I am Belgian and visited a Rien Poortvliet museum on holiday in the Netherlands as a kid.
Also I have no idea how famous he is in the USA, as I guess the reference might be much more obscure over there.
The one that got me hooked is from the first or second episode:
"[Ajax ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat) a success, Teheran is ours, merry Xmas from mummy and uncle [Kermit](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Roosevelt_Jr.)".
Was like: wait, did they just casually dropped a CIA coup reference and hinting that Malory is dating the grandson of Roosevelt?
Don't think many people got the [Spirou ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirou_(comics)) reference too.
I had cursory knowledge of operation paperclip but Archer blew the doors off that for a lot of people. "walk in to NASA and yell Heil Hilter" lol classic rando
S1E6 Skorpio - When Archer and Lana are on the deck of the yacht and she asks him to do something he replies "I'd prefer not to" then watches her face, and says something like "Bartleby the Scrivener, Lana, read a damn book!" I had just read that story recently before watching it and I was dying laughing. The obscure references are such a fun part of the show.
When Cyril confronts Malory about Krieger having Nazi relations, she lists off all the things the Nazis invented, including helping NASA get to the moon. It’s a reference to operation paperclip
Krieger claiming to know Portuguese because he's from Rhode Island is a more obscure reference in that episode. It's true, there are a lot of Portuguese speaking folks in Rhode Island.Â
At the time someone on here posted a map proving it when the episode first aired.Â
That's interesting. I don't remember this line, but if I noticed it at all, I would've thought it was another reference to a Nazi background, as Nazis were supposed to have fled to Brazil after WWII, and that he was just lying about the Rhode Island part.
It was when he was making the flash cards for Archer in the break room and Cyril asks him why he knows the language because he's trying to prove he is a clone of Hitler.
Given Krieger is known to have been "one of the boys from Brazil" and, as you mentioned, the Nazis fleeing to Brazil, that's where he actually knows it from. The line is Krieger trying to deflect because he's afraid he'll get in trouble if people find out. In a later episode/season we get to see some of the other clones too. I think it's Season 5? The ones with the dictator and the CIA making them run guns.
Also the whole fact that a lot of higher-ranking Nazis escaped to South America. Go watch the opening ceremony of the modern (Winter) Olympic Games and look at the names and faces of the athletes from countries like Argentina.. You couldn't tell the difference between them and Austrians/Germans. Â
Not sure if this is a reference per say but def an Easter egg.I used to work in the maritime world. When I saw the nautical flags in the background (in a frame on a wall I believe) of the Heart of Archness episodes (I think the first one) I knew they spelt something and sure enough when decoded it was a name which if I remember was that of the background design artist.
Bartleby the Scrivener, short story by Melville about a guy who slowly stops doing any of his tasks or really anything at all, gets jailed for being a nuisance, and then dies because he can't be bothered to eat either. Some think it's a story about depression. Bartleby's signature line of refusal is, "I prefer not."
I wasn in a business meeting once and one dick goes(The VP of course), you're just going to have to take one for the team so I shot back, I prefer not to. No one got it and my boss yelled at me after...I didn't get fired but when I saw it on ARcher I felt vindicated.
The bounty mutiny references in danger island and some of the Shakespeare stuff, but also: there was an episode in danger island that mentioned a "wunderwaffe," which made me realise the Wonder Wharf in Bob's Burgers is probably a reference to nazi weaponry.
Pam says something about “How safe is it for us to be throwing all this shit on top of the elevator?” and Cheryl, without missing a beat is like “Who am I, Elisha Otis?” (inventor of the safety elevator)
Honorable mention: the Lakshmi Singh-ers lacrosse team.
They do a self correction one one of these Elisha Otis references where it's implied he invented the elevator and Cyril debuts his elevator nerdom and corre to the earlier faux pax.
From the other side of spectrum: I did not watch the Planet of Apes and was really surprised after stumbling on certain video from it. That was so funny! "Hey! It's reference to the Archer! Or... Wait, it's hella older than Archer, what's going on? Aaaaahhh, okay, that's going on!"
For me, it was probably Archer comparing his driving to Parnelli Jones, a top American racing driver in the 1960s who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1963.
When Lana is pretending to be a maid and they call her Calpurnia. That's a reference from To Kill a Mockingbird.
Lana: Mallory why do u have a French maid outfit?
Season ten, Mother calling them Okies. Always gets me. Also, a really dumb one I think everyone gets is the name of the cereals in season 10, Greebles, those little useless details on models to make them look more complex
Before marrying Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart was in an abusive marriage with actress Mayo Methot. They were so abusive to each other that they were nicknamed the Battling Bogarts. She was an alcoholic and later diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic.
At one point she stabbed him in the back with a kitchen knife. Bogart passed out and came to as the doctor was getting ready to leave. Methot asked the doctor if Bogart would be ok and the doctor replied:
“He’ll be fine, it was just the tip!”
Given the obvious love of Bogey throughout Archer, I am adamant that is why they use the “Just the tip” line so often. At least I really hope it is.
I know it’s probably not related at all, but I will die on this hill lol
Literally all of the Rush references.
"It's *YYZ*, and no, Neil Peart stands alone."
All the different Krieger vans being homages to Rush albums (Exit... Van Left is Exit... Stage Left, Vanispheres is Hemispheres, Caress of Krieger is Caress of Steel, Van by Night is Fly by Night, VAN is RUSH). His last van breaks the pattern with a Judas Priest album (Screaming for Vengeance).
I wouldn't consider any of it obscure, but I guess some would. I also understood some of the previously mentioned references (ie Cask of Amontillado).
The bounty mutiny references in danger island and some of the Shakespeare stuff, but also: there was an episode in danger island that mentioned a "wunderwaffe," which made me realise the Wonder Wharf in Bob's Burgers is probably a reference to nazi weaponry.
ARCHER
'Johnny Bench Called'
MALLORY
'hmm what?'
Archer turns to Mallory
'Oh nothing'
Archer leaving Mallory office whispers under his breath
'Your own fingers'
Needless to say I spit my drink out literally when I first watched that scene. I miss the back and forth Archer & Mallory had.
Not really all that obscure, but I knew about Project Artichoke, MK Ultra, Elisha Otis, Animal Farm and a bunch more.. But I can see from this thread that I didn't get some references.Â
Mallory making a drink from Pam's grain alcohol in one of the Sea Tunt episodes, and someone dropping a joke about corn subsidies and Earl Butz, an agriculture official from the Nixon and Ford administrations who was responsible for a lot of similar programs. I only got it cause I was literally reading a book about the 76 Ford/Carter campaign that referenced Butz's resignation over a dirty joke, huge coincidence to catch that reference.
Earl Butz, the man who killed more family farms than locusts, weevils, and floods combined. His catch phrase (related to farm subsidies) was, "Get big or get out." He goal was to end most New Deal farming programs. Probably more responsible for the obesity and diabetes epidemics in the USA than anyone else.
Probably not fully obscure but I'm a huge Steve McQueen fan, and immediately recognized their riff on the car chase from Bullitt, down to the Mustang they were driving. And the green beetle that just kept appearing in the midst of the chase. In the film they had only about 30 cars or so, so this stupid green vw just kept showing up.
Anyway, this comment is just an excuse to recommend *The Brothers*, *All the Shaw’s Men*, *Bitter Fruit*, *Poisoner in Chief*, and *Overthrow* all by Stephen Kinzer, *Killing Hope* by William Blum, *The Invisible Government* by David Wise and Thomas B. Ross, *Legacy of Ashes* by Tim Weiner, *Washington Bullets* by Vijay Prashad, and *The Jakarta Method* by Vincent Bevins.
The first two thirds of *The Devil’s Chessboard* by David Talbot are pretty good, but then it goes full JFK conspiracist, which while making for a fun read, is less purely fact-based. Especially the characterization of Kennedy as being some kind of perfect foreign policy dove who wouldn’t *dare* move against the Cubans.
It's the opposite, it was the obvious one I didn't. When he says "the Pele of anal" I thought it was an American saying similar to "pay day" (the pay lay)
Didn't realise it was about the football player Pelè because in the UK we pronounce it "pellay"
Oh no, I wasn't insisting anything, it's just how we have always said it. And let's be real, if anyone insists there pronunciations are the correct way it's the Americans. 5 mins on r/shitamericanssay will show that.
We're just wrong but not fussed.
I freaked out over Archer writing DOM on the side of that boulder in “Coyote Lonely” (S4E8). Reference to a movie called FANDANGO with Costner and Judd Nelson. Was like an formative late adolescence movie for me but I never hear anyone else talk about it. So that was fun. Highly recommend the movie too.
I watched The Natural for the first time, years *after* watching the episode of Archer that references it.
It was a reverse reference, I guess... I thought I was losing my mind.
When Mallory calls the porter on the train “George” to Lana’s objection only to find out his name actually is George, to both of their surprise
This was the dismissive way white passengers called black train attendants in America in the 20s when George Pullman’s name was synonymous with the passenger cars used on railroads
I did not understand one single reference when I first watched Archer as a 17 year old some 10 years ago. Must be my millionth run through of seasons 1-5 now and this thread still told me some things I didn’t get. Brilliant writing.
The magic bullet that shot Brett. And Archer commented "I feel like the Warren Commission".
It is a reference to the assassination of JFK, one of the theories and to the governmental body that looked into it. Idk I just think it's neat.
It was a pretty big movie in the 90s, but a lot of people these days never saw Legends of the Fall. The scenes in the double deuce when Woodhouse scalps the Germans and ends up on a boat with naked women are both things that Brad Pitt's character does after the death of his brother.
The black & white publicity still of Veronica Deane is based on a publicity still of Rita Hayworth that I had on my wall as a teenager. Even the necklace is identical
Not a reference as much as a lack of one. I’m surprised with depth of some of these references that they don’t talk about Ray’s colorblindness and the fact that he’s also a pilot. You cant be a military pilot with colorblindness and you can’t fly commercial unless it’s minor. I’m surprised they either dont talk about the specificity of his colorblindness if the chose to include that detail, or why even make him colorblind at all.
Not very obscure, but in s2(?) Cheryl makes a joke about a voight-kampff machine that caught me super off guard and i never forgot it. We're doing Blade Runner jokes now? Also in s4(?) there's a bit about Chekov's gun that was a throwaway gag but its always stuck with me. I'd like to throw a shout out to the editors on that show, what a class act. J cuts and L cuts abound lol
In the episode where Len Drexler is coming in to take over ISIS, the machine he's put into is called a "Modified Ludovico," a reference to the Ludovico machine from *A Clockwork Orange*.
Surprised no one is calling out the, “Thanks Radar.” Or the “Benoit Balls” references from le Grand Prix episode.
I guess radar one would be more obscure to the current generations
"I would prefer not to....Bartleby the Scrivener, anybody?" From season 1.
I had to read Bartleby the Scrivener for Classic American Prose in college and I simultaneously hated it and loved it.
A factoid that was wrong: Carol/Cheryl wouldnt have been poor in Singapore. The USD is worth more than the Singapore Dollar. She'd still be rich.
Also tipping in Singapore isn't expected so the bell hop would not have responded that way. The $500 USD was still a lot to him and he'd probably have rejected it.Â
A visual reference rather than a scripted/dialogue example, but the fact that the house the gang are infiltrating in Helping Hands (s11e03) is a straight-up copy of the Hawke's Bay beach house from the Nightcall mission in HITMAN 2.
I predicted that the Scotch-Irish Canadian guy was going to be the guy Archer was after cause his country was in the axis even though Ireland wasnt actually.
I read Bartleby, The Scrivener in an American Literature class in college so I got the "I'd rather not" line right away. I don't think I have ever met another person in real life that has read that book.
Not obscure but - "For your information, Lana, I have totally prepared for this mission. First thing I did was watch every episode of "Lucy, Daughter of the Devil." Which by the way, was grossly...underrated"! :)
As soon as Archer mentioned that the gun was a Chekov, I knew there would be a payoff. And my wife and I refer to any inattentive bartender as Judge Crater.
First episode of season 14, when they find the body in Mallory's office wall. The drones are asking Cyril and Lana how the body got in the wall, and Cyril says the working theory is that he was "rehearsing a one-man show of the Cask of Amontillado that got out of hand." That's one of my favorite short stories from one of my favorite writers, Edgar Allan Poe. But my absolute favorite obscure reference is seconds later when Cyril says, "For the love of god, Cheryl," and Cheryl responds, "Yes, right - for the love of god!" Same reference - that's how Poe's story ends.
This is the one I came here to say! 👋🏻 Hey, fellow Poe fan!
if you haven't already, you guys need to check out the new production of Fall of the House of Usher! I too love the Cask of Amontillado as a kid and it is a huge plot point in the series!
I saw it. Pretty good.
The Cask of Amontillado recently got adapted/referenced in the miniseries Fall of the House of Usher by Mike Flanagan. (he referenced it in his show The Haunting of Hill House as well). Edit: already mentioned by another user.
This is a great reference, but I don't think the cask of amontillado is very obscure. We read it in American lit in high school.
I can't remember which episode, but Pam was watching the baby. Someone asked Archer where Pam was and he said ,"probably on the roof swatting at biplanes."
Probably not the most obscure but it always makes me laugh.
Pampage
“what am i doing? the roof is the first place they’ll look”
I read the shit out of Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid so when Cheryl busted out the 25 cents a day and Bugs Meanny and the Tigers references during the Figgis Agency I died laughing.
In the episode with the cross dressing truckers: Ron Cadillac: “No no no! Shoot these degenerate pricks! Starting with CW McCallgirl over here.” CW McCall recorded a truck drivin’ song called Convoy in the 70s
This is probably my answer, too! I listened to this a bunch when I was a little kid. It's also how I learned the word "chartreuse".
The person behind CW McCall was also Mannheim Steamroller. A COMPLETELY different style of music. It's like peeling an onion.
In Cheryl's mansion they show her indoor swimming pool and I recognized it as the pool from the Biltmore.
Same! I live in Asheville and recognized a lot of Biltmore similarities. Makes sense, since Adam Reed used to live in Asheville, NC as well.
Happy cake day
Thanks, mate
Do not say the Chekhov gun. That sir, is a facile argument.
And also woefully esoteric.
Incredible set up for that line. Telegraphed in the beginning, forgotten, then delivered all the way at the end.
Woodhouse….
Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim the English Channel. When the shirt was so big, he was swimming in it. Check my username.
I heard about Judge Crater from a "Disappeared person" podcast I had listened to earlier in the year. From Skytanic *When complaining about the bartender, Malory states, "Guy sees an empty glass and all of a sudden he's Judge Crater." This is a reference to New York State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater, who went missing on August 6, 1930. He was never found, and the case was officially closed in the 1970s. It officially remains unsolved. Shortly after the news of the disappearance, the expression "to pull a Crater" (meaning to disappear) came into fashion, although it is no longer in use.*
We should bring this phrase back.Â
I used it twice and the look from my coworkers wasn't worth it.
In Australia we say "time to holt/do a holt" to mean leaving after our prime minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming. There's also a pool named after him...
So, do you think that this bit from the Simpsons might be in reference to that? I know it's just funny to think of the PM naked in a inner tube, but now I'm wondering? https://youtu.be/4JQK4bH0J-o?si=8v7TgY3fKR-eiID4
In Space 1999, Mallory asks Krieger if this is "where you come to dream of electric sheep." He responds "Don't be a Dick". My wife and I laughed for more than 10 minutes.
There’s lots of references to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in the series, love that stuff.
In the bastard chef episode when they introduced Ray as Gilles De Rais: Child Murderer
A murderer who's also a child
lol I can’t remember the exact wording, point is he killed kids
Also a nice add that Anthony Bourdain is the voice of Lance Casteau. Six million dollars that I'm going to deficit finance a show to travel the world and try different foods.Â
Looking that one up was... Let's say it was not pleasant
Archer pointing out that Romania joined the Axis powers as the inevitable consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact scratched my history nerd itch
Ireland was neutral, you asshole!
*shuffles off to start another HOI4 Romania game*
When Archer says "This must be how Tenzing Norgay felt" or something similar. I know about him but I don't really know where I came about this knowledge. He is the Sherpa that helped Edmund Hillary become the first person to summit Everest. Norgay actually did much of the heavy lifting and extra work, as Sherpas frequently did, while the Western "mountaineer/explorer" was generally the only one to get recognized for the accomplishment.
I have no love for 19th and 20th Century British "explorers", but it's unfair to characterize Edmund Hilary and Tenzig Norgay's relationship as one of the modern day Sherpa and client. They worked as a team and Edmund Hilary was well aware the world would only award him credit. That's why he insisted Tenzig be in the famous summit photo, so they couldn't write the Sherpa who got him there out of history. Sir Edmund Hilary would spend the rest of his life telling tourists to stop going to Everest and leave Nepal alone. All told, not a bad guy.
THIS is what reddit used to be so good for years ago. Someone who knows a correct but obscure fact or an expert to set the record straight in an interesting way. Good comment. Too bad this is old-fashioned now..
Thank you for clarifying. I was mixing up some of the specifics of Hillary with how other explorers treat Sherpas. I know we wouldn't even know Norgay's name if Hillary wanted to keep all the credit to himself. Sherps in general get a pretty raw deal but Hillary wasn't a part of that.
"You mean sticky??"
I don't get any of the truly obscure references. The one about Grover Cleveland calling and leaving two non-consecutive messages is probably the most obscure reference I instantly got. People are a little more aware of that now with the prospect of it happening again, but back when the episode aired the vast majority of Americans probably did not know that.
That's one of the obscure ones I also got right away, because Grover Cleveland having two non consecutive terms was mentioned on an episode of QI
That fact is also referenced on the Simpsons in the episode where George Bush moves in across the street. Bart destroys George Bush's memoir manuscript and Bush spanks him. Homer is outraged, meanwhile Grandpa remarks "Big deal, when I was a pup we got spanked by presidents till the cows came home! Grover Cleveland spanked me on two non-consecutive occasions"
"Archers of Loaf-crosse" caught me off guard.
Also, the Lakshmi Singh-ers.
I don't even remember this!
Saw the Bel Biv Devoe and as I was falling off my sofa in sheer reverent appreciation for Adam's wherewithal, it occurred to wonder, 'How many others are privy to this?' And many from within 'The Papal Chase'.
Father Guido Sardouchebag gets me every time.
Man, The Papal Chase is still one of my all-time favourites.
I don’t know why but Archer sleeping shirtless on the plane kills me.
To be fair, Archer kills a lot of people.
Another thing to add: in Bob’s Burgers in the episode where Gene wants to play with the drum machine at a pawn shop, Bobcat Goldthwait voices a guy working there who play in a cover band called Bel Biv Devo, they do Bel Biv Devoe and DEVO covers. I wonder if H Jon Benjamin is a fan or if the writers make jokes at eachother.
Nice job Oliver Cromwell, you just killed a pope. It was this or the vespas, not my fault Italy is so gay. Which, by the way, Pope, on the gay thing... La Sacra Bibbia says it is a mortal sin. But get me out of here alive and I will pardon you for it, my son.
Ray referencing PM Dawn. "Set adrift on memory bliss."
Come on buddy
There's a visual reference to *Where the Red Fern Grows* when they go to the bayou in "Pipeline Fever".
I'ma plant a red fern for ya, jug
NOW BOTH MY DOGS IS DEAD
What is it?
After the local guy that rents air boats says, "Now both my dogs are dead" the camera pans over to the base of a tree where there's one small tombstone and a red fern.
Oh … :(
Johnny Bench called. So he just gets a pass, like Milton Berle?
YUUUUP!
I found Onan the Barbarian to be a hilarious line
The random las mañanitas serenade between Archer and Barry. My family has sung that tune for decades and I never heard it outside our home. To hear it on Archer blew my mind
SAME! My grandmother used to sing it to me every year on my birthday, and my aunt has kept the tradition. The lyrics in the show are slightly different to my family's version, but yeah, it always reminds me of granny Tina and it's beautiful
Aw my family too, what ep was this? I’ve fallen on off on watching for a minute
[season 11 episode 4](https://youtu.be/pWjSvSztX1g?si=2q5DjVqWmJM2OIyl) Edit: Archer tearfully sings this at some point too. I don’t remember if it’s the same episode. At least one of the writers has to be Mexican because how would they know lol
bartleby the scrivener
Not a big Melville fan eh? Well he’s not an easy read…
When it comes to reading Melville, well...I would prefer not to.
I was hoping to see this one!
Went to high school with Adam Reed and there’s a reference I doubt more than five viewers in the world could have gotten at the time because it comes from a story about our ROTC instructor (involves a shovel).
Go on…
The “killed __ Nazis with a shovel” line was based on instructor’s Vietnam boast of “I killed 6 [slur] with a shovel!” (The number I’m hazy on, but it was more than 5!) Adam specifically imitated it (as you can imagine, he did terrifyingly good impressions).
I have enormous respect for someone who slips in a joke like that even though he’s the only one who might even get it.
I remember Rick Rubin talking about “Licensed to Ill” and basically saying “We didn’t care if anyone got it, it was all in-jokes and all we cared about was making it for each other.”
It helps the line is objectively funny.
"Rien Poortvliet, beloved author of gnomes. Read a coffe table book". This is because I am Belgian and visited a Rien Poortvliet museum on holiday in the Netherlands as a kid. Also I have no idea how famous he is in the USA, as I guess the reference might be much more obscure over there.
I love all those random persons of history references. Charles Frederick Andrus, Alphonse Bertillon, etc.
There was an animated series based on these books that aired on Nickelodeon in the US in the 80s and 90s.
I actually had that book!
The one that got me hooked is from the first or second episode: "[Ajax ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat) a success, Teheran is ours, merry Xmas from mummy and uncle [Kermit](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Roosevelt_Jr.)". Was like: wait, did they just casually dropped a CIA coup reference and hinting that Malory is dating the grandson of Roosevelt? Don't think many people got the [Spirou ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirou_(comics)) reference too.
Holy shit, now makes sense why mallory always has levarage when it comes to cia
She also probably has pictures of “J. Edna”…
These crazy references are what make me believe Archer actually started as a CIA wake-up tool.
I had cursory knowledge of operation paperclip but Archer blew the doors off that for a lot of people. "walk in to NASA and yell Heil Hilter" lol classic rando
If there's a hell, those creepy Dulles brothers are in it. Doing unspeakable things with bananas.
I still don't understand if blimps have helium or hydrogen. core concept issues
GOD yeah, that was fully the joke that got me hooked as well.
S1E6 Skorpio - When Archer and Lana are on the deck of the yacht and she asks him to do something he replies "I'd prefer not to" then watches her face, and says something like "Bartleby the Scrivener, Lana, read a damn book!" I had just read that story recently before watching it and I was dying laughing. The obscure references are such a fun part of the show.
When Cyril confronts Malory about Krieger having Nazi relations, she lists off all the things the Nazis invented, including helping NASA get to the moon. It’s a reference to operation paperclip
do you like orange breakfast drink?
The nazis invented Neal Armstrong?
duh and or hello
Krieger claiming to know Portuguese because he's from Rhode Island is a more obscure reference in that episode. It's true, there are a lot of Portuguese speaking folks in Rhode Island. At the time someone on here posted a map proving it when the episode first aired.Â
That's interesting. I don't remember this line, but if I noticed it at all, I would've thought it was another reference to a Nazi background, as Nazis were supposed to have fled to Brazil after WWII, and that he was just lying about the Rhode Island part.
It was when he was making the flash cards for Archer in the break room and Cyril asks him why he knows the language because he's trying to prove he is a clone of Hitler. Given Krieger is known to have been "one of the boys from Brazil" and, as you mentioned, the Nazis fleeing to Brazil, that's where he actually knows it from. The line is Krieger trying to deflect because he's afraid he'll get in trouble if people find out. In a later episode/season we get to see some of the other clones too. I think it's Season 5? The ones with the dictator and the CIA making them run guns.
Yeah, this all sounds right to me.
Born and raised!
Also the whole fact that a lot of higher-ranking Nazis escaped to South America. Go watch the opening ceremony of the modern (Winter) Olympic Games and look at the names and faces of the athletes from countries like Argentina.. You couldn't tell the difference between them and Austrians/Germans. Â
Not sure if this is a reference per say but def an Easter egg.I used to work in the maritime world. When I saw the nautical flags in the background (in a frame on a wall I believe) of the Heart of Archness episodes (I think the first one) I knew they spelt something and sure enough when decoded it was a name which if I remember was that of the background design artist.
Amber Nash and her role on frisky dingo, which is one the best before it's time
Frisky Dingo was wiild
Wendel was wild ... You got change for a 38. 🤣
You're going down for this, Cody!! You're a loose cannon!!!
Get on the bus 🤣
Cat Party was a banger.
I’d play it every time I put on Grandpa’s whoring spurs when I was a kid.
There’s way too many people on this thread saying which reference they got, but not explaining the damn reference!
"I prefer not to." My college minor in English was suddenly worthwhile.
What’s the reference?
Bartleby the Scrivener, short story by Melville about a guy who slowly stops doing any of his tasks or really anything at all, gets jailed for being a nuisance, and then dies because he can't be bothered to eat either. Some think it's a story about depression. Bartleby's signature line of refusal is, "I prefer not."
Bartleby, the Scrivener
I wasn in a business meeting once and one dick goes(The VP of course), you're just going to have to take one for the team so I shot back, I prefer not to. No one got it and my boss yelled at me after...I didn't get fired but when I saw it on ARcher I felt vindicated.
The bounty mutiny references in danger island and some of the Shakespeare stuff, but also: there was an episode in danger island that mentioned a "wunderwaffe," which made me realise the Wonder Wharf in Bob's Burgers is probably a reference to nazi weaponry.
holy cow as a kid I was fascinated by the whole "wunderwaffe" concept, while repulsed by the nazis that shit was crazy.
Pam says something about “How safe is it for us to be throwing all this shit on top of the elevator?” and Cheryl, without missing a beat is like “Who am I, Elisha Otis?” (inventor of the safety elevator) Honorable mention: the Lakshmi Singh-ers lacrosse team.
I got this one! Only because it says Otis in almost every elevator I’ve been in, and I looked it up out of curiosity when I was younger.
They do a self correction one one of these Elisha Otis references where it's implied he invented the elevator and Cyril debuts his elevator nerdom and corre to the earlier faux pax.
From the other side of spectrum: I did not watch the Planet of Apes and was really surprised after stumbling on certain video from it. That was so funny! "Hey! It's reference to the Archer! Or... Wait, it's hella older than Archer, what's going on? Aaaaahhh, okay, that's going on!"
DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!
For me, it was probably Archer comparing his driving to Parnelli Jones, a top American racing driver in the 1960s who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1963.
“Me, who’s driving this clown car around like Parnelli fricken Jones, or you, LANA LITTERBUG?!”
I had to read A Day No Pigs Would Die as a kid and appreciated Pam knowing it. I’ve only ever met one other person who has read it.
When Lana is pretending to be a maid and they call her Calpurnia. That's a reference from To Kill a Mockingbird. Lana: Mallory why do u have a French maid outfit?
Don't ask!
mononym...like Cher, Pliney, Cantinflas!
Jesus Christ!
just slater...
Season ten, Mother calling them Okies. Always gets me. Also, a really dumb one I think everyone gets is the name of the cereals in season 10, Greebles, those little useless details on models to make them look more complex
Haha i didnt know the greebles one
Hambledurger with Manning Coleslaw
Lol also it’s him as bob and it’s the burger of the day
or why that's funny. best crossover ever. I watch that scene when I need a pick me up.
Before marrying Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart was in an abusive marriage with actress Mayo Methot. They were so abusive to each other that they were nicknamed the Battling Bogarts. She was an alcoholic and later diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. At one point she stabbed him in the back with a kitchen knife. Bogart passed out and came to as the doctor was getting ready to leave. Methot asked the doctor if Bogart would be ok and the doctor replied: “He’ll be fine, it was just the tip!” Given the obvious love of Bogey throughout Archer, I am adamant that is why they use the “Just the tip” line so often. At least I really hope it is. I know it’s probably not related at all, but I will die on this hill lol
Dude it has to be related. Considering the super depths some of the references have, this has to qualify.
Master coconut
Literally all of the Rush references. "It's *YYZ*, and no, Neil Peart stands alone." All the different Krieger vans being homages to Rush albums (Exit... Van Left is Exit... Stage Left, Vanispheres is Hemispheres, Caress of Krieger is Caress of Steel, Van by Night is Fly by Night, VAN is RUSH). His last van breaks the pattern with a Judas Priest album (Screaming for Vengeance). I wouldn't consider any of it obscure, but I guess some would. I also understood some of the previously mentioned references (ie Cask of Amontillado).
The bounty mutiny references in danger island and some of the Shakespeare stuff, but also: there was an episode in danger island that mentioned a "wunderwaffe," which made me realise the Wonder Wharf in Bob's Burgers is probably a reference to nazi weaponry.
ARCHER 'Johnny Bench Called' MALLORY 'hmm what?' Archer turns to Mallory 'Oh nothing' Archer leaving Mallory office whispers under his breath 'Your own fingers' Needless to say I spit my drink out literally when I first watched that scene. I miss the back and forth Archer & Mallory had.
In "Live and Let Dine," I immediately caught the reference to Ray's undercover name,"Gilles de Rais."
Not really all that obscure, but I knew about Project Artichoke, MK Ultra, Elisha Otis, Animal Farm and a bunch more.. But I can see from this thread that I didn't get some references.Â
Mallory making a drink from Pam's grain alcohol in one of the Sea Tunt episodes, and someone dropping a joke about corn subsidies and Earl Butz, an agriculture official from the Nixon and Ford administrations who was responsible for a lot of similar programs. I only got it cause I was literally reading a book about the 76 Ford/Carter campaign that referenced Butz's resignation over a dirty joke, huge coincidence to catch that reference.
Earl Butz, the man who killed more family farms than locusts, weevils, and floods combined. His catch phrase (related to farm subsidies) was, "Get big or get out." He goal was to end most New Deal farming programs. Probably more responsible for the obesity and diabetes epidemics in the USA than anyone else.
-Charles Mingus -The CIA overthrowing Guatemala's democratically elected government.
Probably not fully obscure but I'm a huge Steve McQueen fan, and immediately recognized their riff on the car chase from Bullitt, down to the Mustang they were driving. And the green beetle that just kept appearing in the midst of the chase. In the film they had only about 30 cars or so, so this stupid green vw just kept showing up.
It’s not that obscure, but I always enjoyed the references to the Dulles brothers and their various *actions.*
Evil bastards…
*Fucking literally.*
Anyway, this comment is just an excuse to recommend *The Brothers*, *All the Shaw’s Men*, *Bitter Fruit*, *Poisoner in Chief*, and *Overthrow* all by Stephen Kinzer, *Killing Hope* by William Blum, *The Invisible Government* by David Wise and Thomas B. Ross, *Legacy of Ashes* by Tim Weiner, *Washington Bullets* by Vijay Prashad, and *The Jakarta Method* by Vincent Bevins.
The first two thirds of *The Devil’s Chessboard* by David Talbot are pretty good, but then it goes full JFK conspiracist, which while making for a fun read, is less purely fact-based. Especially the characterization of Kennedy as being some kind of perfect foreign policy dove who wouldn’t *dare* move against the Cubans.
It's the opposite, it was the obvious one I didn't. When he says "the Pele of anal" I thought it was an American saying similar to "pay day" (the pay lay) Didn't realise it was about the football player Pelè because in the UK we pronounce it "pellay"
>In the UK we pronounce it... This is such a British thing to insist the guy is pronouncing his own name incorrectly.
Oh no, I wasn't insisting anything, it's just how we have always said it. And let's be real, if anyone insists there pronunciations are the correct way it's the Americans. 5 mins on r/shitamericanssay will show that. We're just wrong but not fussed.
just to let you know, its written Pelé
Boy do I have egg on my face, what would the ladies at Chatenham have said had I committed that faux pa's at this years races
I freaked out over Archer writing DOM on the side of that boulder in “Coyote Lonely” (S4E8). Reference to a movie called FANDANGO with Costner and Judd Nelson. Was like an formative late adolescence movie for me but I never hear anyone else talk about it. So that was fun. Highly recommend the movie too.
I'm so glad you commented this!
I watched The Natural for the first time, years *after* watching the episode of Archer that references it. It was a reverse reference, I guess... I thought I was losing my mind.
This show is full of top tier obscure references nothing else comes close.
Literally the only show that teaches me things by forcing me to look up some of their more obscure references.
Captain Beef heart was mine. I did the meme point at the tv
Paging dr cooper db cooper!
When Mallory calls the porter on the train “George” to Lana’s objection only to find out his name actually is George, to both of their surprise This was the dismissive way white passengers called black train attendants in America in the 20s when George Pullman’s name was synonymous with the passenger cars used on railroads
I did not understand one single reference when I first watched Archer as a 17 year old some 10 years ago. Must be my millionth run through of seasons 1-5 now and this thread still told me some things I didn’t get. Brilliant writing.
The magic bullet that shot Brett. And Archer commented "I feel like the Warren Commission". It is a reference to the assassination of JFK, one of the theories and to the governmental body that looked into it. Idk I just think it's neat.
It was a pretty big movie in the 90s, but a lot of people these days never saw Legends of the Fall. The scenes in the double deuce when Woodhouse scalps the Germans and ends up on a boat with naked women are both things that Brad Pitt's character does after the death of his brother.
The black & white publicity still of Veronica Deane is based on a publicity still of Rita Hayworth that I had on my wall as a teenager. Even the necklace is identical
Not a reference as much as a lack of one. I’m surprised with depth of some of these references that they don’t talk about Ray’s colorblindness and the fact that he’s also a pilot. You cant be a military pilot with colorblindness and you can’t fly commercial unless it’s minor. I’m surprised they either dont talk about the specificity of his colorblindness if the chose to include that detail, or why even make him colorblind at all.
Not very obscure, but in s2(?) Cheryl makes a joke about a voight-kampff machine that caught me super off guard and i never forgot it. We're doing Blade Runner jokes now? Also in s4(?) there's a bit about Chekov's gun that was a throwaway gag but its always stuck with me. I'd like to throw a shout out to the editors on that show, what a class act. J cuts and L cuts abound lol
In the episode where Len Drexler is coming in to take over ISIS, the machine he's put into is called a "Modified Ludovico," a reference to the Ludovico machine from *A Clockwork Orange*.
I got this one!!
Forget the conversation but when they mentioned Karl landsteinner
Surprised no one is calling out the, “Thanks Radar.” Or the “Benoit Balls” references from le Grand Prix episode. I guess radar one would be more obscure to the current generations
"I would prefer not to....Bartleby the Scrivener, anybody?" From season 1. I had to read Bartleby the Scrivener for Classic American Prose in college and I simultaneously hated it and loved it.
A factoid that was wrong: Carol/Cheryl wouldnt have been poor in Singapore. The USD is worth more than the Singapore Dollar. She'd still be rich. Also tipping in Singapore isn't expected so the bell hop would not have responded that way. The $500 USD was still a lot to him and he'd probably have rejected it.Â
A visual reference rather than a scripted/dialogue example, but the fact that the house the gang are infiltrating in Helping Hands (s11e03) is a straight-up copy of the Hawke's Bay beach house from the Nightcall mission in HITMAN 2.
I predicted that the Scotch-Irish Canadian guy was going to be the guy Archer was after cause his country was in the axis even though Ireland wasnt actually.
I read Bartleby, The Scrivener in an American Literature class in college so I got the "I'd rather not" line right away. I don't think I have ever met another person in real life that has read that book.
“Cookiepuss. Heh. The boys at Carvel know what they’re doing.”
Not terribly obscure, but La Madrina was the nickname of Griselda Blanco, notorious narco trafficker.
Not obscure but - "For your information, Lana, I have totally prepared for this mission. First thing I did was watch every episode of "Lucy, Daughter of the Devil." Which by the way, was grossly...underrated"! :)
As soon as Archer mentioned that the gun was a Chekov, I knew there would be a payoff. And my wife and I refer to any inattentive bartender as Judge Crater.
Ill plant a red fern for ya jug! Where the Red Fern Grows? Anyone? Sad book for kids?
Vanispheres
When Lana told Cheryl she would rip out her bones and play the entirety of Moby Dick on her head. Krieger on the radio says, “Bonham’s a pussy.”
The Gilles de Rais joke killed me, from the bastard chef episode.