There was a lot of chatter online recently in Singapore about Netflix’s long-running animated series, Archer, when a character in episode 7 of season 12 mentions “1 Bukit Batok Street 25, Singapore 658882.”
This was spotted by a TikToker @joie.tan, who posed the question: “Why did Archer just reference my childhood home address?”
The exact location the character Colt/Jeremy mentioned turned out to be Parkview Apartments in the Dairy Farm area! The animation is a long-running series about a dysfunctional secret agent named Archer, and the episode was largely set in Singapore.
Archer and team head to Singapore to visit the headquarters of their new rival spy agency, IIA. Meanwhile, Colt/Jeremy who just remembered his home address in Bukit Batok are accompanied by other members to his apartment, prompting a funny discussion about the price of rental in Singapore and how poor Americans are compared to Singaporeans.
The TikTok user sent an IG message to the writer of the episode, Alison Zeidman, who replied that she wanted to include some “authentic detail” about how addresses are listed, but didn’t think as far as that particular neighbourhood.
Some viewers poked fun at how “Bukit Batok” was mispronounced as “Bookeet Baytock.” While we don’t get to see the condo in the animation, here are other animated productions that do feature some of our beloved landmarks.
Cowboy Bebop (1998)
In the anime, Faye Valentine – one of the bounty hunters on board the Bebop – was born on August 14, 1994 on Earth, in Singapore. After having lost her memory while in a cryo sleep, she gets a hold of a video tape that hints at her childhood home, and in the video, we see the Merlion. In episode 24, she travels to the Merlion only to find that her childhood home is no longer there. In the live action Netflix adaptation, there’s no mention of Faye’s childhood home, or of Singapore.
Plastic Memories (2015)
In this futuristic story where humans create androids to serve them, a human and an android work together to hunt down androids gone rogue. Most of the scenes of Singapore appear in episode 5, where we see Chinatown – represented by Hong Lim Complex, Chinatown MRT, and Chinatown Shopping Complex – as well as Orchard Road, Holland Road Shopping Centre, and Club Street. The series also showcases Singapore in episodes 3 (Bugis+) and 4 (Gardens by the Bay).
Cardfight!! Vanguard (2011)
In Season 2, of this anime about trading card game, the characters travel to Singapore in episode 70 (5th episode of S2). The Q4 team go sightseeing around the country, where we see images of Marina Bay Sands and the Merlion. They run into old friends and rivals, Team Caesar, who takes them to a local university.
Sora yori mo Tooi Basho / A Place Further Than The Universe (2018)
The series follows a group of high school girls on their journey to Antarctica. They visit Singapore in the episode 6, where you’ll see some of iconic places like the Changi Control Tower, the Marina Bay area, Maxwell Food Centre, and Orchard Road. Basically, they did the whole tourist circuit of Singapore. They also showcased hawker food and durians!
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (2014)
This is the third story arc of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, where Jotaro and gang’s search for DIO brings them them to Singapore. Spanning episodes 8 and 9, not only features the usual Merlion, but also the fact that Singapore as a ‘fine’ country. The ending of episode 7 also shows the Singapore River.
Control: Money and Soul of Possibility (2011)
This series is an apparent response to world economics, and the recent global financial crisis, as seen through the eyes of a university Economics student. In episode 8, we see glimpses of Singapore (Chinatown makes an appearance) and by episode 9, Singapore was struck by the effects of C (where we see the Merlion and the CBD digitally disappearing). It’s interesting to note that even when the Financial Districts of SEA go bankrupt, it’s only Singapore that gets wiped out.
Seitokai no Ichizon / Student Council’s Discretion (2009)
This is a hilarious series that centres around the everyday “adventures” of the student council in Hekiyou Gakuen high school. In episode 11, one of the characters is on the phone an accidentally hears about Singapore and the earth being destroyed. Cue the usual image of Merlion and the CBD!
