The Dark Age of Cartoon Network

[TomServofan]

I know that I'm not the one you were asking but....


Rick and Morty is a solidly made and entertaining show. I watched the first three seasons and have to admit that I enjoyed them.

as a general rule I don't like "zany" shows where they just throw in every ridiculous idea that they can think of... (although, I have to admit I loved "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast" and "Invader Zim". but the "Rick and Morty" crew have managed to anchor it in some characters and have a good voice cast so I can mostly put up with it. but they haven't really done anything in a cartoon that I haven't seen done before and done better elsewhere.

if you like flippant and self-assured Family Guy style gag humor with a huge side of sci-fi "Back to the Future" parody it could be a good show for you. "Lawnmower Dog" and "Anatomy Park" are still my personal favorites. "the Ricks Must be Crazy" and "Rick Potion #9" are fun too.

it is also a show that is vastly over-rated by it's fan base. if I had a dollar for every time some 20-something guy (and it's always a young guy) that tells me that the show is "actually deep" and "thought-provoking" I could pay for a reasonably expensive date night dinner... the show IS creative and mostly fun. but I would never call it truly ambitious or thought-provoking.

as long as Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland have themselves chained to that story wheel formula there's really only so much 'depth' that they can milk out of that franchise. honestly, I think shows like "Avatar: the Last Airbender", "Justice League/Unlimited", "the Venture Bros", and even "South Park" have actually done work that is more ambitious, has more character-based emotional depth and (dare-I-say-it) intellectual depth; there are shows out there that are more complex in their world-building and character development, that are ultimately more thought-provoking than anything I've seen on "Rick and Morty". it is NOT a bad show. it's pretty good, in fact.

maybe if they had actually ended the series with the season 2 finale I could buy some of these 'deep' arguments. it give Rick Sanchez an actual character arc... his decision had some actual consequence and weight to it. it was obviously a tough decision for him to make. I enjoyed the show - but I didn't like Rick as a character enough to feel too bad if THAT was where his story ended. after all, he's a pretty horrible person!

whatever emotional depth that they might have gained from that ending was completely undercut by season 3. that's fine, I guess, since they had more stories that they wanted to tell. and more work and the money was certainly an incentive. they seem like the kind of guys that would probably quit if they felt like they had run out of ideas... rather than turn it into a gag-factory like "the Simpsons" or "Family Guy".

I honestly think that they could have ended it with season 2 finale and it would have been a good way to end the series. (then again, I thought "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer" should have also ended when Buffy died so... )

What about other non-CN adult animation like Bojack Horseman or Castlevania? those have character development and good storytelling.

Gag factory The Simpsons? the old simpsons was special and had meaning with intelligent writing, excellent sarcastic well timed humor, anti-authority/anti-hollywood satire, heart, soul, emotion and relatable characters and is something missing from Zombie Simpsons (Seasons 12 to now).

[Angilasman]

What about Rick and Morty?

R&M is post-Adventure Time.

[Totoro Man]

What about other non-CN adult animation like Bojack Horseman or Castlevania? those have character development and good storytelling.

Gag factory The Simpsons? the old simpsons was special and had meaning with intelligent writing, excellent sarcastic well timed humor, anti-authority/anti-hollywood satire, heart, soul, emotion and relatable characters and is something missing from Zombie Simpsons (Seasons 12 to now).

well, if it's not a gag factory now I don't really know what else to call it. it's not nearly as good - and it's not even really the same show that I loved in the first six or seven seasons. it's like Peanuts or Garfield in a sense.... it started out as brilliant and heart-felt and became... a commodity. I don't believe the creators of R&M would probably take that route.

[TomServofan]

well, if it's not a gag factory now I don't really know what else to call it. it's not nearly as good - and it's not even really the same show that I loved in the first six or seven seasons. it's like Peanuts or Garfield in a sense.... it started out as brilliant and heart-felt and became... a commodity. I don't believe the creators of R&M would probably take that route.

And do you think Bojack is the modern Simpsons?

[babybats]

Well idk I happen to like Gay Space Rocks. And I don't think that the 2019 blue cat show is any worse than the 2009 purple cat show. But for real, some of the shows on the 2009 side are pretty bad so idk what OP is getting at.