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"Motherless Child" is the fourth episode of Season 7, being the seventy-ninth episode overall. It first aired on April 21, 2016.
Synopsis
A mysterious stranger surfaces and asks Archer to help him find his birth mother.
Plot
As Archer staggers drunkenly out of a bar one night, he is infuriated to find a boot on the front wheel of his car. With impeccable timing, a taxi happens to pull up next to him and he gets in. Once in the taxi, however, the doors lock and Archer finds himself trapped inside with none other than Barry Dylan, draped in gauze due to the loss of his outer flesh after their last encounter. After an unsuccessful escape attempt that results in worsening Archer's tinnitus, Barry reveals that he actually wants to hire Archer.
Barry tells of his time growing up in an orphanage, and he never knew his mother. He hopes to acquire the services of the Figgis Agency to track her down and find some measure of closure. One refusal and an ill-timed quip later, Barry dumps Archer out of the cab.
As he makes it back to the office, Archer finds the rest of the Figgis Agency (sans Malory) being held at gunpoint by Barry. Having anticipated Archer's refusal to help, Barry tells Archer that he had kidnapped his mother.
Cast
- Starring :
- H. Jon Benjamin as Sterling Archer
- Judy Greer as Cheryl Tunt / Charlene
- Amber Nash as Pam Poovey
- Chris Parnell as Cyril Figgis
- Aisha Tyler as Lana Kane
- Lucky Yates as Dr. Krieger
- Jessica Walter as Malory Archer
- Guest Starring :
- Ron Leibman as Ron Cadillac
- Dave Willis as Barry Dylan
- Co Starring :
- Adam Reed as Ray Gillette
- Joe Hanna as Truck Driver
Cultural References
- The Invisible Man (1933): Barry's face and hands being completely swathed in gauze bandages with dark glasses covering his eyes prompts Archer to ask if he is "invisible now", referencing the similarity in appearance to that of Claude Rains' titular character in the classic science fiction horror film.
- The Terminator (1984): Barry's cyborg appearance is similar to "a" Terminator, specifically to the metal endoskeleton of the T-800.
- Frank Langella: Barry calls Ray a poor man's Frank Langella, an American stage and film actor.
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920): Cyril calls Krieger's cabinet containing the groups faces and hands "the cabinet of Dr. Krieger".
- Los Angeles Aztecs: A defunct L.A. based soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974–81. Archer tells Barry that if he's come to L.A. to see the Aztecs play he's got some bad news for him.
- Of Mice and Men: Archer makes reference to the 1937 novella when he says "quit squeezing the puppy Lennie" to Lana as she is bandaging his leg.
- Don the Beachcomber: The tiki bar Archer is seen leaving along with the tiki mug he's holding are likely references to the trend setting L.A. bar which opened in 1933 and is believed to have pioneered the tiki mug.
- Topsy the Elephant: Archer wants Krieger to fry Barry's CPU similar to the way Thomas Edison allegedly had an elephant electrocuted.
- Superman: Barry references many early Superman movies in which villains had a tendency to throw their guns at Superman once they had emptied all their bullets into his chest only to have them all bounce off
- Spice Girls: Barry calls Cheryl "Creepy Spice".
- Samuel Johnson: The eighteenth century writer and critic of English literature is is mentioned by Barry as saying that puns are the lowest form of comedy.
- Star Wars (1977): Archer refers to Barry as "Darth Barry" in a comparison to Darth Vader the mechanically augmented antagonist of the classic space fantasy.
- JAWS:THE REVENGE (1987): Lana says to Archer "Were you gonna say, 'This Time... It's Personal'?" about getting revenge against Barry, to which he replies, "Yeah.. But I didn't." Both refer to the tagline of this 1987 film and how bad it really was.
- BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985): Krieger mentions needing "gigawatts of volts" in order to electrocute Barry, which is the same unit as Doc Brown needing "1.21 gigawatts" in order to power the flux capacitor and transport the DeLorean time machine (and Marty McFly) through time in all three films (1985, 1989, and 1990).
Running Gags
- Robot Bird: As Archer is leaving the bar, he is seen holding leftovers wrapped in tinfoil in the shape of a swan, as they so often have been in previous episodes.
- Malp! Malp!: Archer's tinnitus flares up once again from firing his gun in the enclosed backseat of a cab.
- Phrasing: Lana prompts Archer to use his catchphrase in an attempt to cheer him up.
- Network Insecurity: The password for the State of California's Vital Records Database is "GUEST".
- You're not my supervisor!: Cheryl yells a similar phrase at Barry when she is denied to use the restroom.
- Core Concept: Archer once again empties his gun into Barry's chest in a futile attempt to kill him.
- Smells Like Glue: Cheryl is seen (in silhouette) with an open bottle of glue in a newly added commercial bumper.
- The Giggling Sadist: Cheryl finds it audibly amusing when Archer is shot in the leg by Barry. Cheryl also laughs when Archer states he hopes Malory is OK.
Trivia
- Barry is wrapped in gauze due to being caught in a grain elevator explosion which left him stripped of his outer flesh. ("Edie's Wedding")
- Malory again uses the phrase "I'll have your guts for garters!" ("Heart of Archness: Part III")
- Barry makes several references to past encounters with Archer while in the taxi cab:
- Being dropped from a balcony, breaking his femurs. ("Job Offer")
- Him losing two fiancés. ("Job Offer" and "Vicious Coupling")
- Being trapped in outer space. ("Space Race: Part II")
- Being blown up in a grain elevator. ("Edie's Wedding")
- Barry asks Cheryl, "Didn't I murder you one time?" ("Crossing Over")
- Barry calls Cheryl by one of her previous identities, Carol. ("Training Day")
- Archer sternly tells everyone not to touch his leftover crab Rangoon, with emphasis on Krieger, due to his reputation as a food rapist.
- Ron Cadillac makes his first appearance in Season 7.
- This episode introduced a new commercial bumper depicting silhouettes of Cheryl, Pam, & Ray each engaging in their well established vices.
Quotes
- Person 1: "Quote Here"
- Person 2: "Quote Here"
- Person 1: "Quote Here"
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- Person 1: "Quote Here"
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- Person 1: "Quote Here"
Gallery of Images
There are 32 screenshots and images from "Motherless Child" on this Wiki, visit the category page for a complete gallery.
External links
"Motherless Child" on IMDB