# Rick and Morty -- the new animated show from Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [January 21, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380 "2014-01-21T17:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 34
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/662 "2019-11-13T03:33:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Miller > Sith Mod > Moderator > > Quote: > Originally Posted by hajario View Post > Except that the subtitles for this show are from a script, not a live debate. C’mon. > For a show that uses as much improv and ad-libbing as Rick and Morty, it’s not that much of a difference. > [@](#): > > Miller > Sith Mod > Moderator > > Quote: > Originally Posted by hajario View Post > Are you meta trolling me or something? It’s a huge difference because they are still done after the fact and not live. > No, I’m not trolling you, I just don’t buy “It was in the subtitles,” as reliable evidence for what a particular line of dialogue might be. Subtitles are quite frequently wrong, even when dealing with scripted performances. This is exacerbated by the fact that, in this particular instance, a lot of the dialogue is improvised or ad-libbed, meaning that the lines aren’t actually written down anywhere. So if the person writing the subtitles is working from the script, the script isn’t going to match the dialogue in the show. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me you appear to be arguing something along the lines of “this show is improvised, like a 1940s live radio production, so any closed captioning would have to be done live like a court stenographer.” Which is retarded. This show was completed probably over a year ago. Maybe longer. Certainly months ago. There’s been months and months of time for people to nail down exactly what was said, and transcribe it to perfections. You make it seem like it being ad-libbed forever ago somehow affects the correctness of the current CC. Like, you see how this makes no sense, right? You could ad lib a paragraph 2 minutes ago and I can listen to the recording of it and transcribe it perfectly, verbatim. Like, that point on its own is ridiculous… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/663 "2019-11-13T04:01:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I keep waiting for someone to grab those little clips and flip them around and play them back to back so we can see what they came up with. > **[Rick and Morty Season 4: The Many Deaths of Morty Smith](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/rick-and-morty-season-4-morty-smith-deaths/)** > > Here are all the deaths Morty will suffer according to Rick and Morty season 4 episode 1 "Edge of Tomorty: Rick, Die, Rickpeat." "Therefore it’s possible we may have missed a few but for now, here is a mostly complete list of al the many deaths of Morty Smith. - Bomb disarming accident - Falling off a cliff - Getting splashed with a deadly chemical that removes all his skin - Choking on spaghetti in an alien restaurant - Getting sucked into an airplane toilet" (and the list goes on) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/664 "2019-11-13T04:11:21Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me you appear to be arguing something along the lines of “this show is improvised, like a 1940s live radio production, so any closed captioning would have to be done live like a court stenographer.” Which is retarded. Yeah… you’re pretty wrong. **hajario** said the closed captioning for the show would be accurate because it’s scripted. But a significant portion of the show is not scripted. It’s improvised. Even lines that are scripted might be changed on the fly while recording. Those changes won’t be in the script, so a closed caption taken from the script will not match the actual dialogue. Maybe, they go back and rewrite the script so it matches the recorded audio and they give that to whoever does the closed captioning for the show. My understanding is that that would be pretty rare, and that closed captioning is usually done as an afterthought, and often farmed out to third party contractors. The industry standard for closed captioning in general is poor enough that I wouldn’t automatically assume that they’re authoritative. Which, to be clear, is not the same as saying they are never correct, or that its impossible that I misheard. It just means I don’t think the question is settled by looking at the closed captioning. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/665 "2019-11-13T04:26:08Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Yeah… you’re pretty wrong. > > **hajario** said the closed captioning for the show would be accurate because it’s scripted. But a significant portion of the show is not scripted. It’s improvised. Even lines that are scripted might be changed on the fly while recording. Those changes won’t be in the script, so a closed caption taken from the script will not match the actual dialogue. Maybe, they go back and rewrite the script so it matches the recorded audio and they give that to whoever does the closed captioning for the show. My understanding is that that would be pretty rare, and that closed captioning is usually done as an afterthought, and often farmed out to third party contractors. The industry standard for closed captioning in general is poor enough that I wouldn’t automatically assume that they’re authoritative. Which, to be clear, is not the same as saying they are never correct, or that its impossible that I misheard. It just means I don’t think the question is settled by looking at the closed captioning. Ok. It’s extraordinarily far-fetched to think that somewhere between a rough draft and a final transcript no one would be able to verbatim nail down what was said, regardless of which parts were previously ad lib. We are talking about months or years of time to solidify verbatim. At some point it’s “what was said” concretely regardless of it being ad libbed on the spot ten or fifteen months ago. But it’s a point you refuse to conceded, no matter how ridiculous, and somehow you’re a mod so yeah. If you can cite a ton of Netflix bad CC probably this show is all wrong 100% CC. Certainly your position isn’t in bad faith. Really weird hill to die on. But here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/666 "2019-11-13T04:33:49Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > Ok. It’s extraordinarily far-fetched to think that somewhere between a rough draft and a final transcript no one would be able to verbatim nail down what was said, regardless of which parts were previously ad lib. We are talking about months or years of time to solidify verbatim. At some point it’s “what was said” concretely regardless of it being ad libbed on the spot ten or fifteen months ago. But it’s a point you refuse to conceded, no matter how ridiculous, and somehow you’re a mod so yeah. If you can cite a ton of Netflix bad CC probably this show is all wrong 100% CC. Certainly your position isn’t in bad faith. Really weird hill to die on. But here we are. I have CC enabled as a default, and it has errors all the time - even for scripted network shows. I’d love to believe that show producers would take it as a professional responsibility to make sure that CC is correct, but I don’t see any sign that the correctness of CC is anyone’s priority: [The Sorry State of Closed Captioning - The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/why-tv-captions-are-so-terrible/373283/) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/667 "2019-11-13T04:46:39Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > Ok. It’s extraordinarily far-fetched to think that somewhere between a rough draft and a final transcript no one would be able to verbatim nail down what was said, regardless of which parts were previously ad lib. I didn’t say no one would be able to. I said no one would bother to. > [@](#): > > But it’s a point you refuse to conceded, no matter how ridiculous, and somehow you’re a mod so yeah. What relevance does me being a mod have to the conversation? > [@](#): > > If you can cite a ton of Netflix bad CC probably this show is all wrong 100% CC. Also didn’t say closed captioning is 100% wrong. Specifically said exactly the opposite. > [@](#): > > Certainly your position isn’t in bad faith. Really weird hill to die on. But here we are. Thank you for the concession to my basic honesty. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/668 "2019-11-13T04:51:04Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I have CC enabled as a default, and it has errors all the time - even for scripted network shows. I’d love to believe that show producers would take it as a professional responsibility to make sure that CC is correct, but I don’t see any sign that the correctness of CC is anyone’s priority: [The Sorry State of Closed Captioning - The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/why-tv-captions-are-so-terrible/373283/) I linked to that article in post 652. Welcome to the hill. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/669 "2019-11-13T04:55:04Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I have CC enabled as a default, and it has errors all the time - even for scripted network shows. I’d love to believe that show producers would take it as a professional responsibility to make sure that CC is correct, but I don’t see any sign that the correctness of CC is anyone’s priority: [The Sorry State of Closed Captioning - The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/why-tv-captions-are-so-terrible/373283/) This entire conversation is predicated on the assertion that Jerry says “Akita” instead of referring to the frequently called back, on-screen Chryon news-reel banner that said “Akira.” It’s established that they refer to an “Akira type situation” and in the in-cartoon chyron they spell out “akira.” But somehow, regardless of what we hear, what the screen says IN THE SHOW and what the closed captioning said, it’s somehow more plausible the guy who said he heard “akita” is probably more correct based on the inconsistency of CC, and because Miller once saw bad CC in a live debate. I’m just being clear that’s the debate–that PROBABLY we should believe what someone _thinks they heard_ over all other available evidence _because sometimes CC gets it wrong_. That’s the debate. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/670 "2019-11-13T05:10:30Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > That’s the debate. That’s the debate in your head, maybe. It sure as hell isn’t the one that’s going on in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/671 "2019-11-13T09:53:51Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > Maybe this will be the place to come for constructive episode discussions. (Looks up-thread) Hmmm. . .whaddaya think now? ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/672 "2019-11-13T10:43:22Z")
Straightdope is always somewhere to come to get a 40 odd post argument about the accuracy of subtitles, rather than anything about an episode of a show. I remember the same during every Game of Thrones episode thread. Sarcasm-\>Such a joy. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/673 "2019-11-13T10:44:16Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Straightdope is always somewhere to come to get a 40 odd post argument about the accuracy of subtitles, rather than anything about an episode of a show. What a bunch of Jerrys, amirite? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/674 "2019-11-13T12:16:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Was that a jab at Costco? > [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ve never been to Costco, I am aware that Kirkland is their store-brand. It’s a general joke about knock-off store-brands not being as good. The Smith residence is ostensibly somewhere in the Seattle metro area (possibly _in_ Kirkland, for that matter), near Costco’s home base of Issaquah, so it’s a nice bit of cheap heat as well. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/675 "2019-11-13T13:45:57Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > where is it streaming? It was available on demand the next day after it aired on our cable. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/676 "2019-11-13T14:12:55Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > This entire conversation is predicated on the assertion that Jerry says “Akita” instead of referring to the frequently called back, on-screen Chryon news-reel banner that said “Akira.” It’s established that they refer to an “Akira type situation” and in the in-cartoon chyron they spell out “akira.” But somehow, regardless of what we hear, what the screen says IN THE SHOW and what the closed captioning said, it’s somehow more plausible the guy who said he heard “akita” is probably more correct based on the inconsistency of CC, and because Miller once saw bad CC in a live debate. > > I’m just being clear that’s the debate–that PROBABLY we should believe what someone _thinks they heard_ over all other available evidence _because sometimes CC gets it wrong_. That’s the debate. Fine. My position is that CC is no evidence either way - if the CC said “akita” I’d think that was a typo, rather than a deliberate attempt to represent a different pronunciation by Jerry’s voice actor. Can anyone provide a clip of the scene, so I can hear again this vital moment? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/677 "2019-11-13T14:45:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > What a bunch of Jerrys, amirite? Don’t make me sic my [Akira](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/akita/) on you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/678 "2019-11-13T15:31:10Z")
The stinger after the credits was a great little twist, typical R&M cynicism and nicely dark. after all, since when has any episode of R&M ended on a happy note… ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/679 "2019-11-13T15:35:54Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > since when has any episode of R&M ended on a happy note… That reminds me, what happened to all the wasp larvae? I assume they will be addressed in the future. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/680 "2019-11-13T15:43:02Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Fine. My position is that CC is no evidence either way - if the CC said “akita” I’d think that was a typo, rather than a deliberate attempt to represent a different pronunciation by Jerry’s voice actor. Can anyone provide a clip of the scene, so I can hear again this vital moment? You can watch the whole episode on [adultswim.com](http://adultswim.com), in the USA at least. I just checked, the CC says “akira”, but IMHO Jerry clearly said “Turning our son into an akita?” ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380/681 "2019-11-13T17:42:00Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > You can watch the whole episode on [adultswim.com](http://adultswim.com), in the USA at least. I just checked, the CC says “akira”, but IMHO Jerry clearly said “Turning our son into an akita?” I watched a second time as well. 100% _akita_ :). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-and-morty-the-new-animated-show-from-dan-harmon-and-justin-roiland/679380.md?page=35)