Pacific Heat (2016–2017)
8/10
Extremely underrated, under appreciated, and overlooked.
4 January 2017
To start, everyone has been and probably always will compare this show to Archer; while it is clear that Netflix executives probably intended to offer pretty much the exact same product, the creators did a brilliant job creating a new show that actually is very different than Archer in both delivery and humor. Most people will not see this as the animation is strikingly similar however the jokes, representation of characters, comedic style, and premise are much different. The premise is the most obvious; instead of the obvious stereotype of an ultra super spy, Pacific Heat follows a team of law enforcement agents in Australia who ultimately are forced to work together despite only one of them actually being capable of her job. As many reviews will compare the differences between this show and Archer, the show in and of itself absent of Archer maintains an original and hysterical perception of Law enforcement.

I would rather have to not address this point, but many unforgiving reviews falsely and ignorantly accuse the show of being racist and bigoted by comparison to Archer. However, in reality many of the cultural stereotype jokes are either similar or much more mild mannered compared to that of Archer (many times executed in much better test), which also is not a racist or bigoted show. If anything, (it's difficult to explain to someone who isn't smart enough to comprehend this) the racial references of both shows are quite humorous because they don't actually intend to make fun of the races being portrayed, but instead to poke fun at those who are ignorant enough to actually believe the stereotypes or make those types of bigoted remarks. The best example of this would be comparing some of these jokes to when Cartman of South Park makes fun of Kyle for being Jewish (or some variation); the actual humor is that Cartman is ignorant, and the show makes fun of those who would actually be dumb enough to believe in making fun of Jews in the personification of Cartman. The same goes for characters in Archer and Pacific Heat. An example in Archer is when Malorie Archer shoots a member of the Yakuza and says "That's for Pearl Harbor!" The humor lies with the fact that Malorie Archer is bigoted enough to make that type of remark, and not that there's anything correlating Asians (specifically Japanese) to the actions taken at Pearl Harbor.

The same goes for Pacific Heat in it's representations of Asian or Middle Eastern criminals or bad guys; many jokes in pacific heat again poke fun of the main character's ignorance rather than the racial backgrounds of people who are actually Asian or Middle Eastern, although it's more subtle than Archer and in some forms juxtaposes those cultures against mainstream western culture. It should also be noted that Pacific Heat only has one season, so the depictions of "bad guys" are much more limited than the many seasons of Archer. If anything, Pacific Heat portrays "bad guys" in a multitude of diverse backgrounds for only having one season.

Steering away from bad reviews and Archer comparisons, Pacific Heat offers viewers a great experience and hysterical jokes that are original and well delivered.

I would suggest giving this show a chance and watching it with an open mind. If the viewer can't get past the visual resemblance of Archer then it won't be worth it, but I highly suggest giving this show a chance.
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