"Skytanic" is the seventh episode of the first season of Archer. It originally aired on February 18, 2010.
Plot[]
Synopsis[]
When a bomb threat jeopardizes the maiden voyage of the luxury airship Excelsior, Archer and the ISIS crew must battle the clock (and each other) to avert disaster.
Summary[]
Who'd want to put a bomb on that?
After watching a promotional video for the luxury airship Excelsior, Captain Lammers, hopes that ISIS can discover who made an anonymous bomb threat. Archer refuses to participate due to not understanding that the airship is filled with non-flammable helium, believing it could easily explode. He changes his mind when he hears Lana is to be assigned to the mission, as he still wants to separate her and Cyril. Malory is also boarding the ship in first class, after her making sure her social rival Trudy Beekman is bumped. Lana protests having to room with Archer since Cyril would disapprove but is forced to by Malory, who hints at an attraction to the captain.
Just focus on the bomb threat.
Aboard Excelsior, Cyril conveys his uneasiness with Lana sharing a room with Archer, especially since the room is quite small. Malory commands Cyril to leave before the airship takes off, meanwhile Pam and Cheryl load all of Malory's luggage. Lammers points out Lt. Klauss Kraus, a German with an eyepatch over his scarred eye, as a suspect, since they were both aiming to be captain, though Archer claims it is too obvious.
You don't trust Lana with Mr. Archer.
As the airship lifts off, Pam and Cheryl are still onboard due to Cheryl lying about how much time they had to leave. Cyril is also still onboard, disguised as a steward. He runs into them and Cheryl reveals she knew Cyril would stow away due to his paranoia. She also blabs that she and Cyril had sex, much to Pam's amusement. Cyril runs away in a panic.
Are you trying to blow us up?
Captain Lammers indicates that Excelsior's stock price would plummet at the smallest indication of a problem. He urges Lana and Archer to be discreet in their investigation. Archer immediately slaps a passenger about to light up a cigarette as he still doesn't grasp that the gas in the airship isn't flammable. Archer then points out a potential bomber, Sandu Singh, a billionaire Sikh investor. Singh is disqualified as he'd lose millions if the flight went wrong.
Are you just going to sit there?
Cheryl hunts down and corners Cyril in the engine room, demanding he have sex with her or risk Lana learning of their first affair. Despite some resistance, Cyril submits to her while Pam watches. Afterward, Pam deduces that Cheryl's reason for doing this to Cyril is a very futile attempt to make Archer jealous.
Cyril comes to Archer and Lana's room at an unfortunate time for the latter, as she was in her underwear and rebutting Archer's comment about how she maintains her private area. "My vulva is smoother than a veal cutlet...with terrible timing." Cyril storms off after Lana states they are on a break, though she appears to regret it. Archer tells her to go after him, though his reason is that they're almost out of fruit, and Cyril had a basket of fruit as part of his disguise.
I shall expect her within the hour.
Lammers is frustrated with the lack of progress with the investigation, Malory's unnatural calm about the situation and, Archer's behavior. Still suspecting Singh is the bomber, Archer attempts to gain information from Singh during a game of baccarat. Archer makes a deal that Singh can sleep with his "wife" (Lana) if he wins. Archer loses before he can even set the terms if he wins. He gives Lana the key to Singh's room, lying that he strongly hinted at proof of the bomb.
Don't go in there.
Out of paranoia, Cyril willingly has sex with Cheryl again, while Pam watches from the bathroom. He snaps out of it quickly and runs off to find Lana and apologize to her. Archer, in search of Cyril, runs into Kraus, who exited the cargo hold, much to Archer's suspicion. Cyril, in Malory's robe, runs into Archer, who sends him to find Lana in Singh's room, once again attempting to separate them while he investigates the cargo hold.
Hello!
Cyril is angered when he finds Lana and Singh in their underwear and runs off again, much to Lana's dismay, who runs after him. Malory finds Pam and a passed out Cheryl in her cabin. Pam explains the situation and how Cheryl became hysterical when Cyril left, forcing her to drown Cheryl in the tub, though not kill her.
Lana gets to Malory's cabin in search of Cyril, only to be lectured by Malory for her actions. Lana states she was just attempting to stop the bomb. Exasperated with the whole thing, Malory reveals there is no bomb, and that she knows this because she made the bomb threat to spite Trudy Beakman because of her apparent bragging over getting the last ticket for the flight. Lana calls Archer to inform him of his mother's actions. He states that is "classic her" and that he would laugh at the irony since he's found a very real, very large bomb in the cargo hold.
The German must be the bad guy.
As Lana makes her way to the cargo hold, she runs into Archer, who is running to change into his turtleneck, refusing to defuse a bomb in a suit. He tells Lana to grab the newly arrived Kraus, labeling him as the bomber. Kraus claims to know nothing about the bomb and conveys offense to the accusation due to his appearance, then revealing that he received the scar while saving a Jewish girl from a gang of skinheads. Lana is ashamed but asks Kraus to disarm the bomb anyway.
Who the hell wants a 2 day blimp ride to London?!
He agrees, only to be shot immediately. Lana blames Archer, but he didn't bring a gun. The shooter and bomber is revealed to be Captain Lammers. Having invested his 401k in Excelsior's stock, only to watch it plummet, Lammers shorted the stock so that destroying the airship would pay off for him. Lana attempts to shoot him, only for Archer to knock the gun out of her hand. Lammers mocks Archer as he jumps out of the plane with a parachute, reminding him that the ship uses helium rather than hydrogen.
Can I shoot him now?
Lana contacted Ray in the situation room for help defusing the bomb. Unfortunately, due to Archer's incompetence, he cuts the wrong wire and the timer speeds up. Lana shoots Archer in the foot (the same one shot in "Skorpio") and Ray can only suggest pushing the bomb off the ship. It's too heavy for Lana to push alone and Archer can't help due to being shot. Cyril arrives, to Lana's elation, and together they push it off. Cyril wants to talk about his affair with Cheryl but is interrupted by the bomb exploding over Ireland, or possibly Wales, according to Lana.
Cast[]
- Starring :
- Co-Starring :
- Amber Nash as Pam Poovey
- Adam Reed as Ray Gillette
- David Anthony Pizzuto as Lt. Klauss Kraus / Nigel
- Stephen Stanton as Captain Lammers / Newsreel Announcer
- Sandu Singh
- Bilbo
- Bryan
Cultural References[]
- Title Explained: The episode's name is an obvious reference to the ill-fated ship Titanic.
- Excelsior is a commonly referenced interjection, for instance famously often used by Stan Lee. It means "ever upward" or "still higher" and has been historically used to name newspapers, hotels, ships, and is the New York state motto.
- The ad for Excelsior is a reference to Season 1 Episode 5 of That '70s Show, specifically minute 9.
- This episode has numerous references to the Hindenburg, a rigid airship which famously and disastrously caught fire. Archer's exclamation, "Oh! The humanity!" is a well-known line from the newsreel of the event, spontaneously given by Herbert Morrison as he watched the ship burn. Being filled with hydrogen, which is highly flammable, the Hindenburg exploded after having caught fire during the landing procedure. The abundant availability of helium in the United States allowed US airships to use that gas instead of hydrogen. This is the case with the Excelsior. To Captain Lammers's exasperation, Archer continuously mistakes the properties of helium as being like hydrogen and referencing the Hindenburg.
- When Lana, Malory, Archer, and Lammers are discussing accommodations aboard the Excelsior, Lana suggests that she and Malory share quarters and "do the whole Oprah-Gayle thing," referring to the close relationship between Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.
- When Malory tries to seduce Captain Lammers, she does so by reciting a line from the Walt Whitman poem "O Captain! My Captain!".
- Dog in a Manger: A metaphor for those who spitefully prevent others from having something that they themselves have no use for, ie. Cyril & Lana's relationship.
- Waiting for a refill of her drink at the Excelsior's bar, Malory complains the bartender is nowhere to be found: "Guy sees an empty glass, and all of a sudden he's Judge Crater." The reference is to Judge Joseph Crater, who disappeared after visiting a New York restaurant in the 1930s and became known as "The Missingest Man in New York."
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin: Sandu Singh is staying in the "Von Zeppelin suite" named after the rigid airship designer and the founder of the Zeppelin Airship company. Zeppelin would later become a genericized trademark for similar rigid airships.
- Led Zeppelin: Archer keeps referring to Singh's room as the "Led Zeppelin suite," a reference to the band.
- Kaiser Wilhelm: When Archer asks Lt. Klauss Kraus where Cyril is, he says to check the suite named after the two famous German Emperors or Kaisers. Archer suggests that the company should change the names of these rooms because the reference to Emperor William II of Hohenzollern is a reminder of WWI.
- Sandu Singh winning Archer's supposed wife Lana for a night of passion is a loose reference to the novel Indecent Proposal by Jack Engelhard. Also, the couple Sandu is with when he is first seen bare a striking resemblance to Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson's characters from the movie version of the novel.
- Scooby-Doo: When Lana exclaims "Captain Lammers!" when he reveals himself as the bomber, and Archer says "Nice read, Velma" which is a reference to this cartoon where Velma (and usually the rest of the Scooby-Doo gang) would very dramatically exclaim the name of the episode's criminal mastermind when he was unmasked.
- This episode references the popular comedy Friends when Cyril walks in on Archer and Lana in a sexually compromising position, and, in the ensuing fight, Lana exclaims, "We're on a break," to which Cyril responds, "fine by me!" This same exchange occurs in Friends, between Ross and Rachel.
- Ray's "Crisis Vest" is a reference to the white vest that NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz wore during the Apollo 13 crisis. Closed captioning for the episode also reveals this is intended to be a pun, as it is spelled, "CrISIS vest."
- The energetic song "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins is part of the soundtrack to Top Gun - one of Archer's favorite movies.
Running Gags / Callbacks[]
- Danger Zone - Referring to Lana having to share a single bed cabin on the Excelsior, Archer proclaims that she is in the Danger Zone.
- Lana, Lana!, Lana!! - Due to Lana ignoring Archer he keeps repeating her name in an increasing volume until finally screaming it prompting her to give in and yell back, what! thus allowing him to inform her that she is in the Danger Zone.
- Noooooooope - Malory says Lana's famous catchphrase when she doesn't want to share a bed on the Excelsior with Lana
- Trudy, mah, mah, mah - Since the Excelsior is fully booked for its maiden voyage Malory calls in a bomb threat in order to bump her neighbor and rival Trudy Beekman in favor of herself. This in the guise thwarting the bomber. Getting bumped causes Trudy to literally vomit with anger.
- Over Packed - Malory again takes a huge amount of luggage for a relatively short trip. This time making Pam lug it all on board. At least 18 pieces of luggage can be seen in her stateroom along with what appears to be an additional 20 matching pieces in the cargo hold.
- Choke Sex - Cheryl orders Cyril to choke her during sex.
- Slightly Darker Black Turtleneck - Archer must change into a black turtleneck prior to defusing the bomb.
- Core Concept - Archer has trouble grasping the difference between helium and hydrogen.
- 934TXS - The serial number of the bomb detonator is 934TXS.
- Lana's Hands - Ray tells Lana to push the bomb off with her big ass hands.
- Hello- The Sikh man Archer initially believed to be the bomber while Lana is in his room and Cyril shows up the Sikh man says "hello" in the same way Cyril says it in the rest of the series when he's caught cheating on Lana. It's said for the first time in the series.
Continuity[]
- Ray Gillette was last seen in Honeypot (s1e5).
- Pam discovers that Cyril & Cheryl had sex in Skorpio (s1e6).
- This episode establishes that Pam was raised on a dairy farm.
- This episode establishes Malory's willingness to call in a bomb threat to get what she wants.
- This episode establishes Archer's ineptitude at gambling with cards.
- Lana once again shoots Archer in the foot as she did in Skorpio (s1e6).
Trivia[]
- Captain Lammers also continuously tries, without success, to correct the team's constant reference to the Excelsior as a blimp instead of a rigid airship. Rigid airships have an internal framework that forms and maintains its shape, whereas blimps maintain their shape due to the pressure of the lifting gas within.
- Archer seems never to have been trained in using the NATO phonetic alphabet or the many other conventions used to prevent misunderstandings on the radio. After Ray chastises him he tries, like many people, to use names. He makes things worse by saying "M as in Mancy," which Gillette is not sure of, then retorts "you of all people..." Ray thinks he said "N as in Nancy" (the term "nancy" is usually directed at an effeminate homosexual).
- This is the first use of the alphanumerical code 934TXS: The bomb's serial number is 934TXS. Although not seen onscreen it's read out loud by Archer.
- Dr. Krieger does not appear.
Locations[]
Quotes[]
- Archer: "There's your bomber."
- (Prompting a chorus of who / whats from Lana, Malory & Lammers)
- Archer: "That guy, Beardsly McTurbanhead."
- Malory: "You idiot, that's Sandu Singh, the billionaire investor. He's a Sikh."
- Archer: "Oh, so if he's not a Muslim he just gets a pass. Well that's called profiling mother and I don't do it."
- Lammers: "Mr. Singh is Excelsior's majority share holder."
- Archer: "So?"
- Lammers: "If anything went wrong on this flight he'd lose millions."
- Archer: "It's the perfect cover."
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- Cheryl: "Pick one. Either A, I tell Lana what happened on that scratchy green office rug or 2, you get inside me."
- Cyril: "Or C, maybe I just jam this mop into the engine and kill all of us!"
- Cheryl: "I don't think that's how blimps work."
- Cyril: "Darn, right, we'd just sort of float around. Stupid, naturally safe helium."
- Cheryl: "But I am liking the jamming imagery (rips open her blouse) and the killing."
- Cyril: "And are you just going to sit there?"
- Pam: "Yeah, until she tags me in."
- Cyril: "What?"
- Pam: (Laughing) "I'm kidding.... my back's all messed up."
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- Pam: "So, you're ruining Cyril's life because, in your dream-the-impossible-dream world, it'll make Mr. Archer jealous?"
- Cheryl: "Oh, Pamela, you read me like a poem."
- Pam: "Yeah? What's the poem gonna be about when Cyril snaps and murders you?"
- Cheryl: "I dunno, 'world's gushiest orgasm?'"
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- (Standing over a mostly naked and apparently dead Cheryl)
- Malory: "Well then what is it?"
- Pam: "Okay, so Cyril got in over his head."
- Malory: "Jesus, God, did he kill her?"
- Pam: "No, no, no, he ran from her to go confess to Lana. But so then this one starts freaking out and long story short I kind of had to drown her in the tub."
- Malory: "So you killed her?"
- (Cheryl suddenly coughs and spits up water)
- Pam: "Apparently not, so....good news."
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- Malory: "Trudy Beekman booked the very last ticket on this flight, so it was all 'Meh! Meh! Meh! I'm Trudy Beekman, I'm on the co-op board and I'm going on a blimp! MEEEEHHH!!' So yes, I made a phony bomb threat."
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- Lana: "So, what would you say if I told you that your mother made a phony bomb threat just to get a free ride on a blimp?"
- Archer: "I'd say that's fairly classic her."
- Malory: "Oh, shut up!"
- Archer: "And then I'd just sort of laugh at the, uh, um...the whatchamacallit..."
- (An actual bomb is seen right in front of Archer.)
- Archer: "Irony?"
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- Ray: "Come on, people, talk to me! What are we thinking? What are we doing?"
- Bilbo: "What are we wearing?"
- Ray: "My crisis vest, Mister Fat Face."
─────────────────────────
- Lana: "Oh, my god! Ray, can I shoot him?"
- Ray: "In about five seconds, honey..."
- Archer: "Lana, be careful! Jesus, the helium!"
- Ray: "Right after he cuts the solid-green wire."
- Archer: "The green color is solid or--"
- Ray: "Roger!"
- Archer: "O-- Roger. Cutting the green wire."
- (beat)
- Ray: "ARCHER!!"
- Archer: "Jesus! God! What?!"
- Ray: "That's how annoying you are."
─────────────────────────
- Archer: "Lana. Lana. Lana! (shouts) LANAAAAAAAAA!"
- Lana: "WHAT?!"
- Archer: "Danger zone!"
Gallery of Images[]
There are 23 screenshots and images from "Skytanic" on this Wiki, visit the category page for a complete gallery.
Transcript[]
External links[]
"Skytanic" on IMDB
Reference List[]
- ↑ Archer Season 1 Ratings on tvbythenumbers.com