"Brokedown Merry-Go-Round" Show of the Week: Archer, "The Figgis Agency"

Occasionally on Friday, I discuss the week's best first-run animated series episode I saw. It's the "Brokedown Merry-Go-Round" Show of the Week. Stream "Brokedown Merry-Go-Round," my one-hour mix of original score tracks from animated shows or movies, right now.



Two seasons ago, Archer's season-long experiment as "Archer Vice" was a divisive one for fans of the animated spy spoof. The viewers who disliked the kinds of storytelling that resulted from Archer creator Adam Reed's decision to change the characters' jobs from spies to drug dealers found the fifth season to be aimless, while I enjoyed Reed's willingness to experiment that season and found the subsequent season, in which the perpetually immature Archer, new mom Lana, Malory and Ray returned to spying and worked as independent contractors for the CIA, to be the more aimless season.

But as Archer has gotten older, the show's animators have developed a knack for crafting satisfying action sequences that have gotten more impressive in scale and scope with each year. That's mostly why my favorite episode from Archer's sixth season is "The Kanes." Lana's visit to her parents' house in Berkeley presented a great balance of large-scale action (the episode's homage to the classic Bullitt car chase was second to the avalanche in "The Archer Sanction" as an impressive sixth-season set piece) and the smaller-scale kind of character-based comedy that's pulled off well by bottle episodes like "Vision Quest."

A lot of the rest of Archer's sixth season suffered from a lack of stakes. Sure, the addition of a baby to the relationship between Archer and Lana brought a bit of welcome depth to the character of Archer, but Reed seemed to be sleepwalking through the same kinds of espionage storylines he appeared to be getting bored with shortly before the "Archer Vice" revamp. Archer's new season seeks to rectify the lack of stakes by changing the show's backdrop again to Hollywood and putting the disgraced (and after the disastrous events in "Drastic Voyage," unemployed) spies to work as private investigators. The P.I. storylines will hopefully restore some stakes to the show and allow for the animators to continue to outdo themselves in the action department, and if "The Figgis Agency," Archer's seventh-season premiere, is any indication, Archer's new detective agency may just turn out to be a better creative shot in the arm for the show than the cocaine-slinging thing.

Technically, it's Cyril's detective agency, and Archer, Lana and Ray are his unlicensed gumshoes, applying their spying skills to investigative work. So far, Archer isn't exactly Michael Westen yet. In "The Figgis Agency," he gets badly bitten by a couple of attack dogs in a scene that made me wince and is straight out of The Boys from Brazil, the same movie that inspired Krieger's possible origins as a Hitler clone. He also falls down the same canyon twice and fails to notice that Cyril's client (Ona Grauer, a.k.a. Bionic Katya), a movie star who hired the titular agency to retrieve a disk that's in the hands of powerful L.A. sleazebag Alan Shapiro (Patton Oswalt, who seems to be channeling both the villainous Henry Gibson and Mark Rydell characters from The Long Goodbye), is actually an imposter. It's like if all the spy tips that pulled Michael out of countless jams as a P.I. during Burn Notice went wrong.

"Brokedown Merry-Go-Round" Show of the Week: The Venture Bros., "A Party for Tarzan"

Occasionally on Friday, I discuss the week's best first-run animated series episode I saw. It's the "Brokedown Merry-Go-Round" Show of the Week. Stream "Brokedown Merry-Go-Round," my one-hour mix of original score tracks from animated shows or movies, right now!



When The Venture Bros. pulled the in medias res trick--an overused storytelling device Rick and Morty, another equally great animated comedy from Team Venture's home network of Adult Swim, made fun of a few months ago--only 25 seconds into "A Party for Tarzan," I was worried. "No! Not you too, Astrobase Go," I thought to myself.

Fortunately, the episode's deployment of in medias res turned out to be a parody of Martin Scorsese's in medias res moments from the opening title sequences of GoodFellas and Casino (as well as Raging Bull). I almost forgot that Scorsese actually did this, decades before Morty Smith would lose his mind on the Purge planet, when an aspiring screenwriter on that planet pissed Morty off by starting his story at the point where it got interesting instead of where its timeframe actually began.

Set during a night when Gary, who doesn't enjoy the homicidal part of henching, reluctantly executes an arch in the Pine Barrens as dirty work and Dr. Mrs. the Monarch experiences some similar hesitation while Wide Wale gives her the chance to pull the trigger on the man she thinks is the supervillain-killing Blue Morpho, "A Party for Tarzan" ranks up there with Community's "Contemporary American Poultry" episode and Mr. Show's hilarious "Pallies" sketch as an entertaining Scorsese parody. "Pallies" was actually more of a parody of the Bill the Butcher-esque treatment commercial TV has subjected all of Scorsese's R-rated movies to than a parody of the director's signature filmmaking techniques, but it's still a great little sketch about the violence of GoodFellas.



"A Party for Tarzan," the penultimate episode of The Venture Bros.' sixth season, even has in common with "Pallies" the brief presence of Paul F. Tompkins. The Mr. Show alum reprises his role from earlier this season as the original Morpho, whose 1973 master plan of disguising himself as the then-closeted Billie Jean King and nakedly seducing Dr. Z (Jackson Publick) into relinquishing a priceless statuette known as the Jade Dragon (while somehow tucking in his dick like Buffalo Bill)--which is detailed in a flashback-within-a-flashback--is definitely something you would never have seen on The Green Hornet.

If you're going to give Patrick Warburton and Mike Sinterniklaas an entire episode off from voicing Brock and Dean, respectively, you better damn well make the episode worthwhile. The Scorsesean flashback gimmick Doc Hammer went with for the episode he scripted--perhaps to compensate for the lack of Warburton and Sinterniklaas--could have turned out to be annoying, like it would have probably been in the hands of some lesser writer whose go-to Scorsese references are limited to Raging Bull and GoodFellas. But luckily, the gimmick works. When Hammer's making fun of Scorsese's overreliance on "Gimme Shelter" instead of recreating Joe Pesci's most profane lines from GoodFellas and Casino, that's how you know "A Party for Tarzan" is a solid Scorsese spoof. The Stones and blues music soundalikes Venture Bros. composer J.G. Thirlwell came up with in place of too-pricey-to-clear Scorsese movie soundtrack cuts like "Gimme Shelter" or "Mannish Boy" are funnier than using the actual songs themselves.

Between the references to Scorsese's 1987 video for Michael Jackson's "Bad" during "It Happening One Night" and the homages to Scorsese's documentary narration-inspired style throughout "A Party for Tarzan," Publick and Hammer must have revisited much of Scorsese's work while looking for inspiration for the New York-based sixth season and planning the whole season out. Doing that must have given Publick and Hammer a renewed appreciation for the legendary New York director whose name is interestingly one of the most frequently misspelled, even by filmmakers who claim to be fans of his work.

Close to "Rome"

(Photo source: Poetic and Chic)

"Rome, Italian Style," which I named after one of my favorite SCTV sketches, is an hour-long block I launched on A Fistful of Soundtracks last summer as a way to give some airplay to the badass and lush Rome album, the '60s Italian film music-inspired project produced by superduperproducer Danger Mouse and Magic City composer Daniele Luppi and featuring Jack White and Norah Jones on vocals. Besides the Rome tracks, the 11am block (which airs every weekday except Friday) also features '60s and '70s film and TV theme covers and tracks from outside the film and TV music world that were modeled after '60s and '70s film and TV scores.

The following tunes that I found on Spotify aren't currently part of the "Rome, Italian Style" playlist, but they ought to be.

Jones' new breakup-themed album Little Broken Hearts, which was produced by Danger Mouse, feels like a companion piece to Rome.

Both the Blue Harlem and Lena Horne tracks are covers of "Meglio Stasera" from the first Pink Panther. For some reason, the shots of Selina Kyle atop the Batpod in The Dark Knight Rises made me flash back to the first few seconds of this:

Ear candy: AFOS October 2009 segment playlists

Starting tonight at 11pm, these October '09 playlists (intro'd by yours truly, of course) will air all through the month on the Fistful of Soundtracks channel. Until November 1, they'll be repeated every Tuesday and Thursday at 4am, 10am, 3pm, 7pm and 11pm and every Saturday and Sunday at 7am, 9am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

"Steven Soderbergh's Scorezopolis":
1. Marvin Hamlisch, "Golf," The Informant!, New Line
2. David Holmes, "Dice Men," Ocean's Thirteen, Warner Sunset/Warner Bros.

"Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth":
3. Lynn Carey & Barbara Robison, "Sweet Talkin' Candy Man," Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Soundtrack Classics
4. Danny Janssen, "Seven Days a Week," Scooby-Doo's Snack Tracks: The Ultimate Collection, Rhino

"Cardiff Rift":
5. Jacques Loussier, "Main Theme" (from Dark of the Sun), Guns for San Sebastian & Dark of the Sun, Chapter III
6. Lalo Schifrin, "Carry On," The Liquidator, Film Score Monthly

"Bollywood and the Stars":
7. Asha Bhonsle & Mohammed Rafi, "Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne" (from Yaadon Ki Baaraat), The Rough Guide to Bollywood, World Music Network
8. Lucky Ali, "Ek Pal Ka Jeena" (from Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai), The Rough Guide to Bollywood, World Music Network

"Life in La-La Land":
9. John Carpenter in association with Alan Howarth, "Tenement/White Tiger," Big Trouble in Little China, La-La Land
10. Shirley Walker, "City Street Drive/Sal Velestra/Good Samaritan," Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, La-La Land
11. Danny Elfman, "Trailer," Mars Attacks!, La-La Land

"Harmony of Dissonance":
12. Ennio Morricone, "Trafelato" (from Giornata Nera Per L'Ariete), Crime and Dissonance, Ipecac
13. Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai, "Il Buio" (from L'Anticristo), Crime and Dissonance, Ipecac

"Sally (That Girl)":
14. Michael Small, "On the Roof" (from Klute), Klute/All the President's Men, Film Score Monthly
15. Lalo Schifrin, "Scorpio's View," Dirty Harry, Aleph

"Yes, I Only Hunt Blaculas":
16. J.G. Thirlwell, "Bolly," The Venture Bros.: The Music of JG Thirlwell, Williams Street
17. The Hues Corporation, "I'm Gonna Catch You" (from Blacula), MGM Soul Cinema Volume 1, Beyond/MGM Music

"...And Then James Woods Staked Edward--The End":
18. John Carpenter, "Stake and Burn," John Carpenter's Vampires, Milan
19. Texas Toad Lickers, "Padre's Wood," John Carpenter's Vampires, Milan

"In Absentia Luci, Tenebrae Vincunt":
20. Marco Beltrami, "Stand by Your Man," Hellboy, Varèse Sarabande
21. Marco Beltrami, "B.P.R.D.," Hellboy, Varèse Sarabande

"Fitted for a Suit of Flame":
22. Christopher Young, "Drag Me to Hell," Drag Me to Hell, Lakeshore
23. Christopher Young, "Lamia," Drag Me to Hell, Lakeshore

"Death Ain't No Way to Make a Living":
24. Danny Elfman, "Intro/Titles," The Frighteners, MCA Soundtracks
25. Danny Elfman, "Patty Attack," The Frighteners, MCA Soundtracks

"Loungin'":
26. Ennio Morricone, "La Cugina" (from La Cugina), More Mondo Morricone, Colosseum
27. Lalo Schifrin, "Tape Machine" (from the Mission: Impossible episode "Underground"), The Best of Mission: Impossible: Then and Now, GNP Crescendo

"R.I.P. Jerry van Rooyen":
28. Jerry van Rooyen, "The Great Bank Robbery" (from How Short Is the Time for Love), At 250 Miles Per Hour, Crippled Dick Hot Wax!
29. Jerry van Rooyen, "Sundown" (from The Vampire Happening), At 250 Miles Per Hour, Crippled Dick Hot Wax!

"That's Good Chowdah":
30. J.G. Thirlwell, "Warped Span," The Venture Bros.: The Music of JG Thirlwell, Williams Street
31. J.G. Thirlwell, "Tuff," The Venture Bros.: The Music of JG Thirlwell, Williams Street

Time 4 sum aksion: AFOS June and July 2009 segment playlists

Starting today, these June and July '09 playlists (intro'd by yours truly, of course) will air Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4am, 10am, 3pm, 7pm and 11pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 7am, 9am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm all through the rest of June and the first half of July on the Fistful of Soundtracks channel.

The '90s action score cues block came about after I rattled off names of my favorite original cues from '90s action flicks on Facebook's LivingSocial app and Twitter and then realized all those tracks together would make for a great block on AFOS.

"Love Theme Three-Way":
1. Isaac Hayes, "Love Scene Ellie (Ellie's Love Theme)" (from Shaft), Shaft Anthology: His Big Score and More!, Film Score Monthly
2. Vangelis, "Love Theme," Blade Runner, Atlantic
3. Bernard Herrmann, "Conversation Piece," North by Northwest, Turner Classic Movies Music/Rhino Movie Music

"Adams Family Values":
4. Bear McCreary, "Cybernetic Life Form Node," Caprica, La-La Land
5. Bear McCreary, "Caprica End Credits," Caprica, La-La Land

"Favorite '90s Action Score Cues":
6. Mark Mancina, "Footchase," Original Score from the Motion Picture Bad Boys, La-La Land
7. Nick Glennie-Smith, Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams, "Hummel Gets the Rockets," The Rock, Hollywood
8. Bruce Broughton, "The Launch," Lost in Space: Original Motion Picture Score, Intrada
9. Bruce Broughton, "You're No Daisy; Finishing It," Tombstone: Complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Intrada
10. James Horner, "The Flying Circus," The Rocketeer, Hollywood
11. David Arnold, "White Knight," Tomorrow Never Dies: The Original Motion Picture Score, Chapter III
12. Jerry Goldsmith, "End of a Dream," Total Recall: The Deluxe Edition, Varèse Sarabande
13. Shirley Walker, "Ski Mask Vigilante (Expanded)," Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, La-La Land
14. Danny Elfman, "The Chase," Sleepy Hollow, Hollywood
15. Basil Poledouris, "Klendathu Drop," Starship Troopers, Varèse Sarabande
16. Jerry Goldsmith, "The Fire Dragon," The 13th Warrior, Varèse Sarabande
17. Jerry Goldsmith, "Red Alert," Star Trek: First Contact, GNP/Crescendo
18. Trevor Jones, "Promentory," The Last of the Mohicans, Morgan Creek
19. James Horner, "The Ride," The Mask of Zorro, Sony Classical/Sony Music Soundtrax
20. Jerry Goldsmith, "Arthur's Farewell," First Knight, Epic Soundtrax
21. Danny Elfman, "Zoom B," Mission: Impossible: Original Motion Picture Score, Point Music

"Buttercream-Frosted Murdercake Mix":
22. J.G. Thirlwell, "Assclamp!," The Venture Bros.: The Music of JG Thirlwell, Williams Street
23. J.G. Thirlwell, "Bolly," The Venture Bros.: The Music of JG Thirlwell, Williams Street

"Movement of Giacchino":
24. Michael Giacchino, "To Boldly Go," Star Trek, Varèse Sarabande
25. Michael Giacchino, "End Credits," Star Trek, Varèse Sarabande

There won't be any more new episodes of A Fistful of Soundtracks: The Series. I've dumped the one-hour episodic format for the lengthier, more flexible and Scion Radio-inspired format that you see here. You'll still be able to check out past eps of AFOS: The Series Wednesdays at 10am and 3pm.

Williams Street does Blu-ray-less Venture Bros. fans a solid

Here's some good news for budget-conscious Venture Bros. fans like myself who want avant-garde composer J.G. Thirlwell's Venture Bros. score album but don't intend to buy either the Blu-ray release of the third season (which, unlike the DVD release, will include the album as an extra) or the vinyl version of the album. Williams Street Records will make The Venture Bros.: The Music of J.G. Thirlwell available on its amusingly retro site (which spoofs the primitive designs of sites like the ones Veronica Belmont and Ryan Block blog about on The Vintage Web). The label will begin shipping the CD on March 24.

The $12 CD version will contain 20 tracks, which are all listed here (no OSI theme song, unfortunately), while the $18 LP version will contain 16 (to accommodate the higher fidelity) and come with a coupon for a free digital download of the album.

Thirlwell's work on The Venture Bros.--particularly that wonderfully over-the-top opening theme--is the craziest-sounding original score music I've heard on an animated show since Yoko Kanno's genre-straddling music for Cowboy Bebop.

"Go Team Venture!"