Review: 'Rick and Morty' is the best pandemic binge available
Posted Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at 4:59 PM Central
by John Couture
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this news story. The opinions I share are my own.
If there's one good thing that has come out of this pandemic, it's given me plenty of time to catch up on shows that I missed the first time around. One show that I finally got around to watching is Rick and Morty. It's not only a fun show, but I maintain that it is easily the best pandemic binge available right now.
At just over 900 minutes, you can watch the entire series in a little over 15 hours. For the record, I do recommend copious amounts of bathroom and hydration breaks during that time. But honestly, the time simply flies by. I had caught up on the show last year, but I enjoyed revisiting the entire series over the last couple of weeks and I may have even converted my wife into a fan of the series.
Billed as a warped combination of Back to the Future and Family Guy, Rick and Morty is a show that should be right up my alley, and despite my hesitation, I'm glad that I finally got around to watching it. With only 10 episodes per season, it was an easy binge effort and now I finally understand the fans lament at having to wait between seasons.
Rick and Morty debuted in 2013, but Season Four debuted late in 2019 and finished up its 10-episode run early last year. There was a bit of backroom bargaining between Adult Swim and the show's creators that delayed Season Four for three years, but they finally emerged with a deal for 70 more episodes and all was right in the universe.
We know that season five of Rick and Morty is coming at some point. In fact, they even shared a brief, funny video to allay our fears.
The show follows Rick, a deranged scientist with a drinking problem and his meek grandson Morty as they travel through different realities and dimensions sometimes saving the world, or the universe or Morty's potential love life. It's a weird show, but one that definitely is both hilarious and interesting. Season Four sees a return to form as the pair escalates their travel and the exploits at home hit a new level.
Being late to the party, I haven't had the long delays between seasons to overthink and analyze the episodes. But those that were on the Rick and Morty train from day one definitely spend a lot of time obsessing over the show.
Case in point, a quick search in Reddit returns hundreds of threads with theories ranging from alternate timelines and time travel. Co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon have created a sensation and they don't mind feeding into the frenzy. As to whether there is more than meets the eye to the simplistic episodes, that's a fight to be determined another day.
Where the show will go from here is anyone's guess, but I can't wait to enjoy the ride. Sadly though, now I join the rest of the show's legion of fans in anticipation. We do know more goodness is coming, it just can't get here soon enough.
Rick & Morty: Seasons 1-4 contains every episode from the TV series as well as all of the bonus features from the previous single-season versions. If you have already purchased all four seasons, good for you! If not, this is the perfect opportunity to jump on the Rick & Morty bandwagon. Trust me, you won't regret it.
