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"Archer 1999: Bort the Garj" is the season premiere of Season 10, and the one hundred and second episode overall.

Plot[]

Synopsis[]

Archer and the crew of the Seamus wake up to the smell of shepherd's pie and see a business opportunity in their new guest.[1]

Summary[]

S10E01-Crew in stasis

Do we wake up anybody?

On route to Earth, the crew of the MV Seamus is in stasis as the ship passes through Altair Beta. Having detected a ship wrecked by Dri'n pirates, Malory, who is a glowing orb, wakes Archer. Archer needs little convincing that they should board the ship to salvage anything left behind and, to not wake the rest of the crew so he and Malory can split any loot.

S10E01-The crew

Welcome to the freak show.

The proximity alert wakes up Krieger, who is a cybernetic lifeform. He in turn wakes up the rest of the crew. Lana, who co-captains the ship with Archer and is his ex-wife, is opposed to the salvage mission. Her fears are borne out when after docking, an alien lifeform comes aboard followed by gunfire from Dri'n pirates. The Seamus undocks and heads out but are followed by several pirate ships.

S10E01-Bort

I'm kind of a big deal.

Pam, Cyril and Cheryl hunt the creature and find him eating cereal in the galley. Friendly and engaging, he identifies himself as Bort. The rest of the crew arrives in the galley and once Archer discovers Bort comes from a wealthy family, he agrees to deliver Bort to the moon of Garj for a reward. The crew is for the plan, except for Lana who cannot change Archer's mind.

S10E01-Cheryl in fighter

Ya, yeah me.

On the way to Garj, the Seamus is attacked by multiple pirate ships. The Seamus' gun turrets destroy a few but it is Cheryl, piloting her own fighter, who saves the day. Despite her talent, she is blasé about her actions. Arrival at Garj's moon reveals a trap with Bort as the bait. Barry 6 and Dri'n pirates await as Archer has an outstanding account with Barry 6. The crew will be sold to slave in the mines while Barry 6 tortures Archer.

Cast[]

Cultural References[]

  • Three Laws of Robotics - Isaac Asimov: Krieger mentions these.
    • I, Robot: The comic book they first appear in, as referenced by Archer.
  • Alien franchise
    • Xenomorph - Name for, literally, an "alien form" / Pulse rifles.
    • Archer refers to what seems like a holographic AI with the voice and occasionally the form of Mrs. Archer, as "mother". This bears similarities to how the crew of the Nostromo talks and refers to the onboard AI mainframe MU-TH-UR 6000.
    • The last scene of the final episode of Series 9 directly precedes the first scene of this episode and the entire sequence is a fairly obvious reference to the opening of the first Alien movie.
  • Ghostbusters (1984) / Slimer: Bort resembles Slimer, as Carol implies.
  • Pinocchio (book: 1883; film: 1940) - Krieger wishes to be a real boy.
  • The Three Stooges (1922-70): The well known catchphrase "why I oughta!" is used.
  • Firefly (2002): Ray's courtesan role is a reference to Inara.
  • Halo franchise
    • Malory is seen as a floating sprite who interfaces with other comm systems which is a reference to Cortana from this franchise, although not the first appearance of such a character in Sci-Fi tropes. Her floating form appears to be reminiscent of the Siri imagery from Apple.
    • The beginning of this episode shows Archer awoken from cryosleep by Mrs. Archer in an unknown location in space due to a distress beacon. This is similar to the opening sequence of Halo 4 where Master Chief is awoken from cryosleep by Cortana onboard the Forward Unto Dawn due to a proximity alarm.

Running Gags / Callbacks[]

  • 934TXS - The registration number of the MV Seamus and on the uniform patches.
  • Phrasing - Malory "let's pick the bones" (of the destroyed ship), Archer "when Barry 6 starts yanking my bones".
  • Noooope - Lana
  • Slappy hands - Archer
  • Can't have nice things - Ray, as a lamp in his boudoir breaks.
  • In this economy? - Ray, when Bort mentions the reward of 1 million credits.
  • Suppppresssing fire! - Cyril
  • Couldn't suppress a cough - Archer also said this to Cyril in "Gramercy, Halberd!".
  • Get some! - Pam
  • Shut up! - Lana
  • Duhoy - (a callback to Frisky Dingo - where Valerie says this.) Carol, twice..

Continuity[]

  • Reality (Non-Dream): Archer remains in a coma brought upon by the events of "Deadly Velvet: Part II".
  • Dream / Reality Crossover:
    • (Dream) The crew insignia for the MV Seamus features the face of Babou. / (Reality) Babou is Cheryl Tunt's pet ocelot which first appeared in "El Secuestro"
    • Seamus is the child fathered by Cyril but genetically confirmed to be Archer's after Archer replaces the blood for the paternity test with Cyril's, whom he incorrectly assumes did NOT father the prostitute Trinette's child. (S2 E3)
    • (Dream) Barry 6 is a full on robot and Archer's nemesis / Barry Dylan is a cyborg and Archer's real life nemesis (Reality)
    • (Dream) Carol (MVS) reads from a sci-fi comic "Robots Amok!", the front cover of which features a robot about to choke a damsel in distress / Cheryl Tunt is turned on by choke sex, and Krieger built her a robot hand called "Chokebot" in Dial "M" for Mother. (Reality)
    • (Dream) Archer farts in Cyril's stasis pod / Clone Archer farts in clone Cyril's holding pod in Deadly Velvet: Part II (Reality)
  • Dream (Non-Reality):
    • Marriage - In S10, Archer and Lana are divorced, but they were never married in reality.

Trivia[]

  • The MV Seamus is currently in the Altair Beta region of space.
    • The date is 28/6/99.
    • The co-ordinates are 19,50 42.8805 08,52 -8.5446
    • The destination is Earth.
  • The sleep pods are in a different order than they were at the end of the previous episode, the Season 9 finale "A Discovery".
  • Glengoolie Blue scotch makes an appearance.

Locations[]

First Appearances[]

Quotes[]

(Archer and Lana fighting)
Krieger: "Guys, come on, we've been over and over and over this. The laws of robotics..."
Archer (interrupting): "It's made-up shit from a comic book".
(Krieger, horrified gasping)
Archer: "Sorry".
Cheryl: "Don't be, it had to be said".

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Gallery of Images[]

There are 8 screenshots and images from "Bort the Garj" on this Wiki, visit the category page for a complete gallery.

References[]

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