Tag Archives: Cartoon Network

My Thoughts on Rick & Morty Season 3

Posted on October 7, 2017 by

Way back when in 2013, Dan Harmon was still fighting tooth and nail to find the right avenue to finish his #6SeasonsandaMovie baby Community. His name was hot. His show was hilarious and weird, no matter how well the ratings were doing. So Cartoon Networks’ Adult Swim block offered him a Sunday-night comedy cartoon slot. Harmon recruited then relatively unknown cartoonist Justin Roiland and schlippity-schlop, gloobity-glop: Rick & Morty was born in a test tube of Apathetic-to-Mildly-Annoyed Scientist glee! Similar to Abed on Community, Harmon imbued lead character Rick Sanchez with the knowledge he was on a cartoon and the 4th wall jokes fired at us at a rapid pace. By the summer of ’14, all the kids were screaming, “Pluto is a fucking planet!” and looking forward to Rick and Morty forever a hundred times!

Then two years later, we finally got season two. And it was…okay. Episodes that brought us Mr. Poopy Butthole & Tiny Rick were immediate classics. But they were weighed against episodes in which the “Summer stuck in the car” B story was so much funnier than the Colbert guesting main story that I only need a 2-minute YouTube summary for the replay worth of that one. So when season three finally premiered last April Fool’s Day alongside Harmon’s teases of a 14-episode season for a change, I was interested if not confident. If I had the will to sustain interest in a show and its’ characters over 2.5-year-long hiatuses, then I guess I’d still care about The Venture Bros, right?

And if season two’s overall essence could be summarized as mediocre or adequate, then season three in hindsight was “meh” or “blerg,” at best. We suffered through a Gerry/Rick episode, two anthology episodes, a Beth episode that felt like filler, and an overall lower percent of funny this time around. And furthermore, Harmon let that rumor of 14 episodes linger right up until the season finale dropped last week. Amidst his efforts to scrub the show’s fandom of toxic masculinity that has the angry little MRAs doxxing R & M’s newer female writers and the failing quality of the writing, I have to wonder if it’s even coming back for season four.

And so I gotta ask. Why, Rick? Why are we even doing this anymore? You forced the Mr. Poopy Butthole season closer joke… You let Beth start breaking the 4th wall… It’s clear your concept itself is funnier than the writers you put in place to keep the show as weird and shocking as it was once funny. Now just being dark for the sake of it without context is the S3 motif, I guess? Maybe you need to babysit your writing bullpen a bit better, Dan. ’Cause I show up for the Harmon meta humor, not the Roiland ball-lick jokes. A lot of us do.

In summary? Get your shit together, Rick & Morty. Get it all together. And put it in a backpack. All your shit. So it’s together. And if you gotta take it somewhere, take it somewhere. You know, take it to the shit store and sell it or put it in a shit museum. I don’t care what you do; you just gotta get it together.

Get. Your. Shit. Together.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 8/13/17

Posted on August 13, 2017 by

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Phoebe’s Choice

This is my Remote pick as well as a recap of last week in case you missed it. So far, each season of Rick & Morty has had a slightly different series of ridiculous scenes laid under the opening music, some of which appeared in the episodes, some which are just there to highlight what a whacky multiverse the show takes place in. After two mediocre episodes in season three, I took note of the opening last week. I shrugged and sighed as I watched Rick & Morty tied to a giant piano with the hammers smashing down destroying other versions of themselves, thinking “Looks cool, but when does the writing start to match the extreme, the morbid, and the weird? Is Dan Harmon even working on this anymore?”

The episode opened with Rick calling Morty into the garage to show him he’d turned himself into a pickle. No arms or legs. Just his face on a standard-sized pickle. Morty was nonplussed. We all knew as Beth walked out to rally the family into the car to go to family therapy that this was just a ploy to avoid talking about feelings. Morty noticed the needle set up to fall into Pickle Rick set to a timer for after the rest of the family left. Rick insisted it had nothing to do with his pickleness, but Beth snatched it anyway. A few minutes later, a cat wanderd into the garage and knocked Rick off the workbench. Next a flash storm washed him into a sewer.

But being a pickle was no major setback for the smartest man in the universe. He attacked a cockroach by biting its head till it died. He then used the brain and body of the insect to build himself an exoskeleton. Luring in and slaughtering the rats in the sewer enabled him to build a more agile exoskeleton, and he was soon flushing himself up someone’s drain, with a tiny but lethal rat-borg body built around his pickle core. It was as magnificent and ridiculous as it sounds!

Back in therapy, instead of discussing the recent bad behavior of Morty & Summer, the conversation fast turned to Rick and the drama which he brings to the family. Susan Sarrandon guest starred as the shrink, Dr. Wong. (“Racist name…” Beth quipped.) The therapist tried to explore why Beth refused to accept that Rick lied to her about the purpose of the needle.

Meanwhile Rick emerged up to the surface, only to be trapped in a highly secured facility of some sort. Within minutes, Pickle Rick had killed all 34 of their armed guards. This forced the mysterious evil bad guy who runs this facility to unleash a mercenary he held prisoner: Jaguar!! He seemed loosely based off Batman mashed up with any 80s movie role Schwarzenegger played. However, he had to be blackmailed into attacking Rick; the bad guy running the facility told him he would release his daughter if he killed the pickle. Jaguar and Rick had an incredible shoot-out until they made friends, bonding over their common enemy. They were then able to quickly escape and destroy the facility in the process.

Rick made it to the therapy session as it was about to end with “eight minutes to live” unless he got that needle. Beth calmly made her father tell her the truth about the purpose of the needle. Rick came clean: he wanted to avoid the session because he thought it was a crock of shit. Beth saw his point, and Dr. Wong went on to wrap up the affair with a lengthy monologue. Beth and Rick reconciled on the ride home, but it was very awkward. Their camaraderie in this exchange was tinged with sexual tension. Apparently, nothing is off-limits on this show.

The credits roll, but as is the standard on Rick & Morty, they smash-cut back into one final joke. I was shocked to see them tied to the giant piano about to have their heads smashed in. They did use that bit! For a single punchline?!?! Just as they were about to die, Jaguar swooped in and killed the rascal who was playing the piano. When Morty asked for an explanation, Rick replied, “That, Morty? Is WHY you don’t go to therapy.” I feel redeemed, and I’m back in the saddle waiting for this week.

On tonight’s episode, “Vindicators 3: The Return Of Worldender,” if you like superhero stories, don’t miss it! Trust them!

Catch the all-new episode tonight on Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) at 11:30/10:30c.

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Recap/Review – Rick & Morty

Posted on April 14, 2017 by

On April Fool’s Day a couple of weeks ago, Adult Swim totally flipped the script on their fans and dropped the season three premiere of Rick & Morty in several places at once without advanced warning. The joke was for us, not on us this time. Since season two ended in fall of 2015, all of us diehard fans have been fiendishly salivating for a new episode like Kalaxian Crystal addicts twitching for our next fix.

One of the only ongoing gags between show runners Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland and their fans has been how impossibly long it takes to make each season. Every few months a new release date rumor circulates, and they tell us “no, wait longer.” So the surprise release was a way of paying back the fans for their patience. The only issue now is: the rest of the season won’t come out till this summer, so as rewarding as it was, it is still a major tease.

For anyone who has been living under a rock or who doesn’t like funny TV shows, Rick & Morty is a sci-fi comedy cartoon that airs on Sunday nights on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block. It follows the adventures of awkward and dumb teen Morty Smith and his super genius grandfather, Rick Sanchez. Through Rick’s inventions that allow interdimensional travel, the duo find themselves in dozens of hilarious adventures on alternate Earths, in space, or in their own neighborhood. The linchpin of the humor is often based in Rick’s over-the-top Nihilism and utter disregard for everyone in the multiverse who is not him. Or when he faces off against the consolidated power of The Council of Ricks, he even disregards versions of HIMSELF that are from different time lines. Bottom line is the show is hilarious, self-aware, and as twisted as it gets for cartoons these days.

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If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/22/16

Posted on January 22, 2016 by , and

Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!

Jenny’s Choice

unforgettable2016smallI was so glad that A&E brought Unforgettable when I was sure it was going to be canceled after the last season ended. And this season has been great, even with the cast changes. I miss Eliot (Dallas Roberts) and Joanne (Jane Curtin) especially, but Alani “La La” Anthony as Delina the M.E., Kathy Najimy as Sandra the boss, and E.J. Bonilla as cutie Denny have been great additions. In the latest episode, the body of a young woman was found buried on the beach, and Carrie and Al found and arrested her killer and his accountant (or so they thought). Unfortunately, they were shot at and had to take cover from the bad guys and the coming hurricane in Precinct 51, which was closed for renovation with only an administrative assistant and a green cop (on the job literally four days) on the premises. The bad guys found them, but Denny and Jay drove through the storm to back them up, and they were able to take all the bad guys down, including the accountant…who turned out to be the actual big bad boss. I loved at the end when they met at the boardwalk and Carrie gave out shots to everyone, toasting to Al and to the others for coming to their assistance.

Tonight was supposed to be the two episodes leading up to next week’s final two of the season, but A&E decided to air four episodes tonight, which includes the season finale. I’m hoping that doesn’t mean that it’s the final episode of the SERIES, although since we haven’t heard any renewal news yet and they’re airing four episodes in one night, I have a feeling that news won’t be good. I really hope we get some resolution tonight on a few things. One, Carrie and Al. They’ve been hinting off and on all season that there’s something going on, although they’re either not exclusive or not serious or something, what with her (now ex) husband showing up a few times and their kiss. I WANT to see Carrie and Al kiss and become official, darn it! Also, I would love to get some resolution to Carrie’s sister’s murder. That story line has been a big part of her history since episode one.

On tonight’s first episode, “Game On,” when a young man turns up dead inside a popular haunted-house attraction, Carrie and Al are called in to investigate and soon find themselves in a world of high-stakes video games and hi-tech corporate espionage. Then on the second episode, “About Face,” when a hot lead turns up in a cold case of a missing surgeon, Carrie and Al find themselves on the trail of two con artists. But unmasking the truth may have explosive consequences.

On the third episode, “Bad Company,” when Captain Russo is suspected in the murder of an informant, Carrie and Al enter into a cat-and-mouse game with a crooked former cop. And finally, on the season finale, “Paranoid Android,” when a shooter on the loose triggers a flashback that doesn’t add up with Carrie’s perfect memory, the team at Major Crimes discovers that a nefarious conspiracy is at play and trained killers are among them.

Enjoy the mini-marathon and see how the season (possibly series?) ends tonight on A&E starting at 8/7c.

I’ll also be watching/DVRing MasterChef: Junior, American Diner Revival, Hawaii Five-0, Hell’s Kitchen, Blue Bloods, & Burgers, Brew & ‘Que.
 
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