In Reference Humor we take an episode of a popular TV show known for its pop culture references and break them down for you. Pointing out the nods and homages you might have missed and explaining their meaning. Its only fitting then, that I begin this series of posts by invoking the modern master of reference humor, Dan Harmon. His newest venture is the animated series Rick and Morty, already a cult classic in only its third season. The bold numbers represent the time at which the reference happened and be warned spoilers abound for a wide variety of films and TV series. Scroll down at your own risk. Okay let’s get to it! Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!
0:00: The title is a pun referencing Total Recall (1990). This Arnold Schwarzenegger,movie features implanted memories that leave the protagonist unsure of which memories are real and which are fake. Its based on the Phillip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” (1966).
00:00 In the commentary the writers share that this episode was inspired by Season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). In this season Buffy suddenly acquires a little sister named Dawn that everyone but the audience seems to remember as always being there despite her not appearing at any point in the previous 4 seasons.
2:18 When Rick puts the number 6 on the wall it is a reference to the floor the elevator opens up at in one of the pivotal scenes in Total Recall.
2:45 In what becomes a recurring bit for this episode the action cuts away from the current story to a fake memory flashback. The cut away is the signature gag of Family Guy (1998) another animated comedy show on a rival network.
2:47– The family is in the elevator after having seen Hulk:The Musical. The Hulk is a superhero appearing in Marvel Comics. He was created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (a novel first published in 1886) analogue and has appeared in multiple iterations on television and in film. This is also a joke mocking the failed attempt to make a Broadway musical out of another marvel character in Spider-man: Turn Out the Lights.
3:25 Cousin Nicky constantly says “I’m walking here” this is a reference to a famous line from the movie Midnight Cowboy (1969) where Dustin Hoffman’s character Ratso almost gets hit by a taxi cab.
4:15 Nazis hunting the Staff of Ragubaba. This is a reference to the Indiana Jones franchise and the obsession the Nazis in those films have with acquiring mystical artifacts such as the Holy Grail and Arc of the Covenant.
4:37 Mr. Beauregard is a parody of the titular butler from the network sitcom Mr. Belvedere (1985).
5:19 One of the parasites takes the form of Frankenstein’s monster from Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus (1818).
5:42 The character Photography Raptor uses the same raptor sound effects as the raptors from the film Jurassic Park (1993)
7:06 Tinkles and her friends are a general mash-up parody of children’s shows with an adult following such as The Care Bears (1985) and My Little Pony(1984)
7:55 “Wrong side of the pitchfork” Another Frankenstein reference, in the book Frankenstein’s monster is chased by villagers. In the film adaptations those villagers are often depicted as wielding pitchforks.
8:46 “What is this 90’s Conan?” Conan O’Brien is a late night talk show host. In the 90’s he hosted Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993-2009) a show known for creating zany characters.
8:58 In the background we see a Harlem globetrotter of the famous touring basketball team known for trick shots and comedic antics; a parody of the Oscar the Grouch character from the public access chidren’s show Sesame Street (1969-); and a fat version of the deceased rock and roll musician Elvis Presley.
9:03 Rick claims to be like the Tom cruise from the movie Cuisine, the movie he is actually referencing is called Cocktail(1988)
9:26 Pull away shot of all the characters before the commercial break shows parasites masquerading as William Shakespeare, an English barrister, a garden gnome, a member of the Buckingham Palace guards, an old-timey strong-man, the mascot from the Long John Silver restaurant chain, a Hello Kitty of the popular merchandising line Hello Kitty and friends, Mr. Peanut the mascot for Planter’s peanuts, The owl from the tootsie roll commercial, and Braveheart the pop-culture rendering of Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace based on the Mel Gibson portrayal of the man in the 1995 film Braveheart.
10:04 The 3DS Nintendo video game systems Rick is holding are the special edition 3DS’ celebrating the release of the video game remake Zelda Majora’s Mask 3D released in 2015.
10:38 The character’s point out the common mistake of referring to Frankenstein’s monster as Frankenstein. Frankenstein is the name of the scientist who brought Frankenstein to life.
11:10 “I hear they’re filming that new Star Wars movie” this is a reference to Star Wars Episode 7: The Force awakens (2015).
11:23 Sleepy Gary says “Maybe we’ll see Chewbacca” Chewbacca is a Wookie hero of the rebellion. To date He appears in five of the eight Star Wars films.
12:20 The phrases “kiss my grits” and “murder patrol”are written on the helmets in the Vietnam War flashbacks. This is a nod to movies like Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Apocalypse Now (1979) which often featured characters with these types of messages written on their helmets.
12:45 One of the parasites is disguised as Kaiser Wilhelm who served as emperor of Germany from 1888 to 19178
13:19 Ricki-Ticki-Tavi is the name of a short story appearing in Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 anthology The Jungle Book. The story is about a mongoose who is adopted by a British family in India to protect it against cobras
13:38– Rick says “Rubber Baby Bugger Bumbers” which is a tongue twister made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Last Action Hero (1993). Schwarzenegger is also the star of Total Recall.
18:44– Rick says “I did the butler”. this is a play on the oft-cited “The butler did it” trope in murder mystery fiction.
19:57– Rick says Ricki-Tikki-Tavi again.
Hows that for breaking down some references? I told you Dan Harmon never disappoints, and believe me this won’t be the last time you catch one of his shows appearing on this blog. If you know a reference I missed feel free to leave it in the comments section and after I check it out I’ll add it to the list (giving your proper credit of course.) Nothing left to say except “And That’s the Way the News Goes!”