Binge & Purge: Rick & Morty (1 Season)

Regularly I wouldn’t consider 1 season of a show enough to justify binge watching but there’s exceptions to every rule (especially since I’m working on finishing Fargo). Everyone knows my love for Community, so of course they’ve been telling to me watch Dan Harmon’s animated show since it first aired. I’ve pushed it off until recently when I started researching Harmon and slowly fell in love with everything about him.

From knowing the show’s promos and it being on Adult Swim I took it as a modern animated rip-off of Back To The Future and I honestly wasn’t too far off. The series follows an old bat-shit crazy science wiz Rick, and his idiot grandson Morty. Rick being the genius he is, has the sci-fi tools to jump dimensions, timelines, and do other cool things like give dogs the ability to talk and obtain television channels from every universe. The possibilities of their adventures are endless, especially considering Rick’s constant belching alcoholism.
I spent the first two episodes wondering why the characters kept drooling on themselves, which meant I was too busy looking for Harmon’s usual too-meta take on everything; something I got used to from Community. The difference with Rick & Morty VS Community is that nothing is left to be figured out, and it is all spilled out in an obvious way, making me think that Dan Harmon believes animated fans are dumber than live action sitcom fans, or maybe even that’s meta writing at it’s finest (but I doubt it). Of course Dan Harmon isn’t the show’s only creator, as Justin Roiland (usually a voice actor) takes the lead name in the credits. This leaves me think that his time voicing kid shows like Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, and Fish Hooks took a twisted toll on him much like Bob Saget’s backlash after Full House.
Once you give up looking for some sort of higher level intelligence of the series, the humor is actually pretty hilarious. Although, I’m not a big fan of dumbed down comedy sometimes when it’s done right it’s hard not to laugh at it (Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a prime example). With that being said; this show fits into Adult Swim’s line-up perfectly and I can see myself binge watching the second season for the laughs. Sure, I’m a little disappointed that it won’t fill the Community void. I miss being able to re-watch shows two or three times looking at it from a different light every time. Besides Community, I haven’t really had a show to do that with since Xavier: Renegade Angel.
The bottom line is if you’re looking for a few good adult-humor laughs than you should definitely watch Rick & Morty. If you’re looking for another Harmon level of meta-thinking then you won’t find it here.