"Rick and Morty's" 3rd episode offers some odd flashbacks to the pilot, but is another really strong episode for their first major movie parody.
It's Christmas, and Jerry (Chris Parnell) is trying to get his family to disconnect and be in the moment - ahead of his parents coming over for Dinner. Rick (Justin Roiland) brings home a homeless man, Reuben to give him a "check-up". Reuben though is in fact the host for a miniature theme park that Rick has been involved in creating, with Dr. Xenon Bloom (John Oliver).
Though there are elements of the Disney parks here, and a few jabs thrown at them, "Jurassic Park" is the main parody target for this episode. The fences have failed, releasing various viruses in a similar way that the dinosaurs get out in the film. Visually, the viruses in particular are a step forward from what we've seen in the show so far and the backgrounds of inside Reuben are more varied that what we've seen before.
This was, again, much funnier than the pilot episode. We're finding the real groove and right tone now. Rick though is again a little bit more like the pilot version of the character, with the belching being more prevalent than it was in the "Snowball" episode. I wonder if the episodes were perhaps not recorded in the same order than they aired. A lot of the best humour comes from the first real guest star for the show, John Oliver, playing the John Hammond-esque Dr. Bloom, has many of the best lines. There is another guest star in the B-Story, but it's quite a restrained performance from Dana Carvey as Jerry's dad Leonard. So much so, I didn't realise it was him until the end credits.
This is the first time "Rick And Morty" gets near top quality.