Can't disagree with you on that one, especially with this episode. It did its job: the little sketches made me laugh, and the family story made me cry, but it had all the substance of Robot Chicken. But the others so far have been far superior. The last one I saw was also a little weak (I won't give anything away, but the adventures are getting less creative, which is.. well it's why I watch it.)

I still liked it but it had the smell of a pitched Futurama episode that never made it to the drawing board.

I'd still give it a shot.. after episode one I wasn't impressed, but then watched.. maybe episode 3 or 4 (Lawnmower Dog) and was hooked. When it's good it's like Adventure Time for adult audiences, but with surprisingly less shock value than most AS shows. When it's not so good, it's the episode most of the clips you've been seeing in the last couple of days are coming from.

You should watch the actual show.

Having listened to a lot of Dan Harmon talking, I feel like the joke here is we're looking at what stories would be like in a world without Joseph Campbell (or the laws of storytelling that Joseph Campbell described).

Yeah it's brilliant. It kind of reminds me of early pre-adultswim Cartoon Network, where I'd get stoned just to watch Space Ghost follow a fire ant for 15 minutes, humming to himself while he did it. To me that was genius. Maybe they just ran out of things to say to Conan O'Brien, who knows?

I'm guilty of taking the show too seriously; I've mentioned before that I'd like it if they retained the "boy in his world with crazy grandpa who may not be real in crazy adventures that may or may not be real" aesthetic, and that his parents and sister are living their lives like most families do, but you know what? FUCK IT. This show can do whatever it wants and I love it.

My only complaint about the show is the belching. It's just not funny after the 1000th time and it grosses me out eventually, but other than that, it's great.

The burping is so fucking annoying and I don't get it.

@Infinite Zest, I doubt that they ran out of things to say to Conan. Last I recall the extras on the DVD sets had two or three uncut interviews well beyond fifteen minutes. If anything, they got inspired by the interview and followed through on it.

What on earth makes you think Rick isn't real? There is no indication at all that Rick isn't real. He interacts with virtually every character on the show whether Morty is present or not.

The way I've viewed it stems from the first episode, where they want to put Rick away in a home. Basically, he's the Hobbes to Morty's Calvin, eventually becoming the Hobbes to every member of the family. Most of the episodes thus far have covered a very real thing for a child of that age to overcome, from puberty and girls to a family trying to hold it together to coming to terms with his own death. The adventures aren't necessarily dreams, but in my mind they are a portal into Morty's active imagination, dealing with growing up.

I like watching it through this lens, whether or not it's what the creators had in mind.

Like the last Rick and Morty discussion, I welcome these interpretations and I don't think you should apologize for them...even if it winds up it is the simplest explanation that wins out as their intentions.

On something else, I'm sorry, but Rick Potion #9 trumps most of the animated comedy I've seen on TV in the last 12 months. It's as if that is the episode they created the show for and blew their load there. Morty deals with so many real life issues in that episode: his almost non-existent role at home, his place in the social food chain at school, his struggle to deal with that first immature awkward crush for someone who is not interested in him, which sees him willing to justify mickeying her just to make that fantasy happen (and rightfully blows up in his face), his family splitting apart, Rick being the only companion he has to traverse this mess, etc.

It peaks when Morty has to deal with his own mortality and reflects on the pettiness of both his issues and the problems of those that surround him (and a lot of other things that horrify most people when they realize it will all end eventually and existence has its moments of seeming pointless). The pre-credit scene is a very cold and harsh note to end on, even if the post-credit scene is heart warming.

Anyways...THIS episode was fun, but it was less about Morty and more about his sister dealing with her own real life problems (earning respect, self loathing...IMO). So I guess in your interpretation, Rick becomes Hobbes for everyone.

TLDR? At least watch Rick Potion #9 first, then by all means, don't watch any other episodes.

Just one comment concerning Summer, the show's where she's been featured have still been really fun, unlike the Lisa Simpson episodes... not that anyone still watches the Simpsons.