3 out of 5

Created by: Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon

Covers season 1

So: Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon and Channel 101.  And for years I’d watch Dan hack away at some hilarious nonsense on Channel 101, and then ‘Monster House’, which I really wish had launched a larger film career for the duo, and then, at some point, ‘Community.’  Finally, after several aborted TV attempts, it seemed the world (or, y’know, a tiny representative percentage) were being exposed to the dude’s unhinged genius and recognizing Harmon was getting wider recognition for his talents.  …Except I have to admit I never really got into ‘Community.’  It always felt safe, to me, which is perhaps why it scored a more robust fanbase.  So now we have ‘Rick and Morty’, and god bless everything, it brings Justin Roiland into the mix, another fantastically cracked sense of humor from C101 and one of the most entertaining voice actors of all time (even if he does use a fairly repetitive shtick).  While Roiland – voicing both Rick and Morty – a crass Doc and dumb Marty proxy – is lovingly entertaining as always, despite the show’s built-in unhingedness, it also feels, oddly, safe.

Rick is a genius, constantly creating inventions that take us to different universes or timelines, and he’s always dragging grandson Morty into the mix, with seemingly little care for Morty’s safety, sanity, or ability to maintain a normal-ish life on Earth, present day.  Rick lives with his daughter’s family, giving him ample time to cause havoc, and to pick on son-in-law Jerry and misguide granddaughter Summer.  Often our adventures take the form of ‘Morty come with me to do X’ and then hijinks ensue, and despite the loose-lobed creativity in creating the different creatures and environments, these episodes just don’t break enough ground in the wake of years of Adult Swim kookiness and Futurama.  However, some episodes will use the characters as the starting point and then the ‘science’ to build on that – ‘Meseeks and Destroy,’ episode 5, wherein Morty demands that he be in charge for an adventure is a prime example: the action driven by Morty, we can have no clue what will happen next, leading to a truly out there pseudo rape sequence that’s the kind of outre gold that I’d hope for from this team.  ‘Something Ricked This Way Comes’, late in the season, is equally novel, and shows how we can warm to such a brash and disgusting drunkard as Rick, and the season closer, ‘Ricksy Business’, is a wonderful mashup of randomness and also displays the eff-off 4th wall breaking the show does on occasion, which again harkens to the anti-consistency ethic of Channel 101.

‘Rick and Morty’ definitely has the right stuff ‘neath its surface, and a perfect base from which to build out seasons worth of insanity.  And yet, thus far the majority of the episodes don’t feel fully unleashed, ‘safe’ enough for a Fox audience.  This doesn’t diminish the snarky intelligence and entertaining stupidity of the show, but the episodes that really score – a small percentage of the first season – make it clear that this formula is capable of that kind of unique spark that made Adventure Time, or prime Aqua Teen, or the second / third season of Venture Bros. such standouts.