If you haven't seen or heard of the hit Adult Swim show "Rick and Morty," stop what you're doing right now and watch it.
Why? Because it's quite possibly the best show on television.
"Rick and Morty" is loosely based off of the classic "Back To The Future" movie series. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon (yes, Dan Harmon from hit show "Community"), it details the wacky adventures of an insane, alcoholic mad scientist, Rick, and his idiotic yet morally just grandson, Morty. "Rick and Morty" originally started as a web-based series called "Doc and Mharti" (very, very NSFW), but the legal team apparently said it was too close to Doc Brown and Marty, the main characters of "Back to the Future."
You might be saying, "Cool, Dan. Thanks for that backstory, but why is this the best show ever?" That's because of the absolute genius of co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. Every single episode is a masterpiece of crazy characters, ridiculously hilarious story plots, quotes that are addicting to repeat, and just a dash of heart-wrenching moments that make things real.
Currently in its second season, one of the best features of the show is the fact that each episode is, for the most part, self-contained. Each episode can be viewed and appreciated without seeing all of the others. Yes, there is an over-arching backstory from episode to episode, but it's not plot-driven; it's character development-driven. To fully appreciate the relationship between the characters or the characters themselves, you should watch it all, but it's not necessary for a first-timer. Roiland and Harmon do this intentionally for new fans to the show.
For example, you don't need to know that Beth (daughter of Rick, mother of Morty) is a horse surgeon to appreciate the scene where she tries operating on a deer that her husband Jerry hit, but seeing previous episodes where Jerry is condescending towards her being a horse surgeon and not a human surgeon adds volumes to that moment. Seeing it without the backstory, it's already a great scene, but having that addition makes it that much better. It's quite a work of genius on the writer's part.
Another great thing about the show is that they constantly flip the script of conceived story notions. You never know what to expect from each new episode. You think it's going one way, then boom, someone comes in and totally just flips the metaphorical table over. You never have any idea what's going on, the stories are beautiful, and quite simply, it's hilarious.
