Adult Swim Not too long ago, I paid a visit to the Rick and Morty subreddit. I wanted to see what people thought about the first half of the recent fourth season of the show, which I really enjoyed. In doing so, I realized something very interesting about the fanbase, or at least the fanbase as it is represented on anonymous message boards. More than any other show, the Rick and Morty fanbase does not agree on what makes the show great. Not only do they not agree - at risk of oversimplification, they seem split into two diametrically-opposed sides. What really stuck out to me, as I looked through the online commentary, is that one side seems to love the show more for its dramatic elements, while the other seems to love the show more for its comedic elements. This presents an interesting dilemma for the Rick and Morty writers, and it will be interesting to see how they handle it moving forward. The first half of the Rick and Morty fanbase is ...
Photo : Richard Foreman Jr./A24/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME When thinking about The Curse , I oscillate between categorizing it as a comedy vs. categorizing it as a drama. Neither category truly seems to fit. Its idiosyncratic, strange and funny nature makes for a less than comfortable fit in the drama category, yet its deeper and darker themes leave it hanging only part-way over the comedy category. With its not-quite-right fit in either, it is something that I would define as a “comedy adjacent” show – that being a show with a lot of comedic elements (oftentimes with the involvement of comedic actors, writers, directors), but that doesn’t fit as easily into the comedy genre. The line that this show walks – not too heavy to be a drama, yet not too overtly funny to be an out-and-out comedy – is maybe the key to why I find it so engaging. Its tone is a dryly surreal one, balancing the authentic with the heightened to once again not fit quite comfortably in either camp. Some characters...
Comedy Central The best Season 23 episode of South Park was its 8th episode, “Turd Burglars” - hear me out. “Turd Burglars”, an episode about fecal transplants and microbiomes, was the only episode this season that I thought could compare to South Park ’s best, in that it had a simple central idea that was explored comedically through strong character and story choices. There was never a comedic lull in this episode, as each moment contributed towards this strong central idea, and the drive of the episode. Even though parts of the episode were characteristically absurd and grotesque (with an obscure Dune reference included for good measure), and things crescendoed to an absurd/gross final act, the storyline progressed and escalated relatively logically and with good momentum. In contrast, the rest of Season 23, while also very funny in parts, fell prey to an issue that I have found with recent South Park episodes: a lack of focus. While the show’s larger move tow...
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