5. Quality Animation

If your friends are weak at the knees for Two And A Half Men, or earwaxing lyrical about what happened on American Idol last week, there's a quickfire remedy available sans syringe, chloroform, or having to spend months finding new friends: turn them on to FX's highest quality offering, Archer. Maybe it's just that you miss Arrested Development. Maybe you've come to the realization that there hasn't been any quotable dialogue produced by The Simpsons in more than a decade. Perhaps in an age of high unemployment and over-qualification across dozens of crowded industries, you're looking for something to fill that hole in your doughnut . . . alright, that was heavy. Probably not that one. Maybe you just need something to knock off half an hour while you're waiting for the bus or something. If so, this is the best way to spend any half an hour short of Scarlett Johansson deciding she's on an ennui kick again and you're her Bill Murray this time.This is where some series fall short despite their advantages elsewhere. If The Simpsons remained in their Tracy Ullman-era design, there's a good shout for them not remaining on-air long enough for viewers to complain about their long-time decline two decades later. Archer's animation style, though limited in its movement, provides for great comedic effect. The dialogue lends itself to the animation and vice-versa; their acerbic snipes and wide-eyed surprise meld well to show that the subtlest movements can also be the most effective. Adam Reed, creator of Archer and one of the minds behind Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021, among others, shows he hasnt missed a step in the evolution of his craft.