What Only Community Fans Know About Rick And Morty Season 5 Episode 7

Who could've imagined that a cartoon about an alcoholic scientist and his precocious grandson that was a blatant rip-off of "Back to the Future" would become arguably the most popular television show of the 21st century? "Rick and Morty" has achieved what few TV shows can even imagine, bringing McDonald's Szechuan sauce back into existence for a glorious time. That's not even getting into all of the memes and catchphrases the series has spawned; of course, anyone familiar with the co-creator's previous work knew he was due for another cultural behemoth.

Before "Rick and Morty" was a twinkle in Justin Roiland's eye, co-creator Dan Harmon worked on several TV shows in the past, including NBC's "Community." The sitcom was noticeably different from what else was on the air in the late 2000s. The series purposely deconstructed what was typically within the realm of a 30-minute network comedy. Characters regularly broke the fourth wall, and the show itself would borrow tropes and elements from various genres and satirize them beautifully. 

That show had various ups and downs over the years with plenty of behind-the-scenes turmoil. Today, it's regarded favorably among TV viewers, especially seeing how many other shows have adopted its fourth-wall-breaking nature. "Community" remains a significant hit, especially since it became available to watch on Netflix, and it looks like Harmon hasn't forgotten his roots, as "Rick and Morty" has numerous nods to the show, particularly with its last episode.

Season 5, Episode 7 of "Rick and Morty," titled "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion," did what the sitcom does best. It puts its titular characters in a wacky, science-fiction adventure while mashing genres together. In this case, the Smith family sets out to give infinite versions of themselves their own GoTron mech suits, which are basically giant Megazords that combine ferret-looking vehicles instead of dinosaurs. Those anime and tokusatsu influences are combined with a good, old-fashioned mob story where Rick and Summer become the de facto heads of this GoTron mafia. It's safe to say no other show had this exact plot before ... but "Community" came close.

Naturally, the folks at Greendale Community College didn't scrounge for abandoned mech suits, but they did at one time run a chicken finger scheme. Redditor u/Relyt1553 points this out in a post-episode thread: "Did anyone else have 'Contemporary American Poultry' from Community vibes from this episode? Like with the Morty and Summer voice over? And it being about 'family' the whole time?" The same plot points are there. Rick/Abed become involved in a ridiculous plan to gain power and money. They begin alienating their family/friends in the process, which leads to realizing that loved ones are all you need. 

Granted, u/Butts___Carlton makes a good observation: "They are both just a lot of Goodfellas and The Godfather references." Any time you bring a mob parody into the mix, you're bound to hit some of the same beats. Fortunately, another thing both episodes have in common is that they're equally hilarious.