5 out of 5

Because I was slow to understand the approach of the show – expecting something due to the Channel 101 connection that I can’t really put into words – I didn’t get fully on board with Rick and Morty until incidental rewatches revealed its genius.  And the commentaries on the first season blu-ray collection happily support that turnaround, as the various creators and creatives – Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland and more – are so very clearly enthused by their work that you love the show all the more just by listening to them talk about it.

And talk about it they do, while drunk or high, while Harmon obsesses over details and Roiland makes funny quips, and writers or directors or animators discuss – just like fans – the sci-fi minutiae, shrugging it off as ridiculous a moment later, and then also laughing uproariously at the genesis of the creative process.  (And at each other.)  Vastly creative people, and friends, and it’s a joy – an equal joy to watching the show – to listen to them chatter.

The transfer is also excellent; you get animatics for every episodes if that’s your bag (including some animatic-ed deleted scenes); and there’s a “behind the scenes” video that’s pretty hilarious.

The guest commentaries aren’t really worth the time, for better or worse, as the viewers tend to just watch and chuckle (and Pendleton Ward’s dumb commentary makes me glad I quit watching Adventure Time…), but they are bonuses – you get the core crew’s commentary on every episode.

Absolutely worth the purchase for fans, and absolutely merits multiple listens.