What Makes Dan Harmon Different
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- čas přidán 13. 06. 2024
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Is Dan Harmon the bad boy of sitcom writing?
Dan Harmon is a student of the comedic sitcom and all of its rules and conventions. So how does a star student manage to constantly break the rules in such hilarious ways? Let’s find out in this Wisecrack Edition on What Makes Dan Harmon Different.
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=== Watch More Episodes! ===
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Community: Can TV Make Us Smarter? ► wscrk.com/2PD4ZdW
Always Sunny: The Perfect Anti-Sitcom? ► wscrk.com/3dnwSzy
00:00 - Intro
01:47 - Character Growth
07:38 - Romance
11:22 - Harmon's Message
17:37 - Conclusion
Written by Robyn Chowdhury
Hosted by Michael Burns
Directed by Michael Luxemburg
Editing by Andrew Nishimura
Video Title Card by Amanda Murphy
Produced by Evan Yee
Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound
#danharmon #rickandmorty #community
© 2021 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming
That line from Abed is so heavy.
“I know, the difference between life and TV, Jeff. TV makes sense. It has structure, logic, rules... and likable leading men. In real life we have this. We have you.”
Just hits you at your core, doesn’t it?
Oof, need to rewatch this show stat
What's amazing is his timing... The pause between 'this' and 'We have you' is impeccable.
what make dan Harman different, he literally doesn't give 2 fucks 🤣
It's really not that great of a line, its all in the delivery
No.
I'm inclined to disagree that Jeff returning to law would have been his dream job/happy ending. Throughout the show Harmon went out of his way to show "lawyer jeff" was the manifestation of all the character's worst qualities, and "greendale jeff" the manifestation of his best. The fact that Jeff *doesn't* go back to being a lawyer *IS* the growth of the character. The reason the finale is sad is because while greendale is where jeff belongs, it's not where annie and abed belong. All of that is character growth/change though, it's not like community characters don't ever grow/change.
Idk that Greendale is where Jeff belongs he doesn’t even like teaching. Maybe if the show made him seem like a better teacher it would be more accurate.
He loathes teaching and doesn't even really like greendale but only the greendale seven who aren't really around anymore. He wasted his early years chasing becoming a lawyer and wants to redo it with Annie but can't be the is stuck as a teacher. He didn't get his best ending just a slightly better one.
I think growth would have been the episode where he goes back to his old firm and accepts they’re terrible people but still wants to work there, and also accepts he loves his green dale friends. I hate that he stays at green dale and the only way I can rationalize it is for the hijinks
@@nfvoodz8828 Oh I agree that "lawyer eViL" is a stupid take and that Jeff definitely could have gone back to law after having grown as a person at greendale realistically.
What I'm saying is that within the confines of the show itself, dan harmon explicitly made "lawyer bad" and "greendale good" for jeff's character. I don't agree with that, but it's still effectively cannon. I don't like that he's still at greendale either when the show ends (I assume since he's basically the main character he had to stay there up until the series finale for the show to continue).
But because the show drew the dichotomy that "you can't be a good person and a good lawyer" (no matter how dumb that actually is), jeff being at greendale is the proof that he is a far better person than when the show started.
@@remi5758 I think it's not the job the final goal for Jeff. It's not "lawyer vs teacher". I think the real growth for Jeff was that...Jeff loves himself. While he was a Lawyer he "thought" that he loves himself, but he really despises everything about him. He won several cases because he knew what others think, and how they feel, he knew what is like to hate yourself and live happily with that.
In Greendale, Jeff learns that he had a lot of other qualities, and he finally learns to love the thing he loves the most... Jeff Winger.
The "Most sociopaths in a single sitcom" prize is currently held by Archer, if anyone is curious.
I'll see that and raise you The Thick of It
@@kohhna ooo good one. My favourite sociopath moment was “WILL YOU PLEASE... oops I’ve lost my temper. Where is it? Ah there it is”
It's sunny in philly holds that actually
@@Panurus_biarmicus are they all really individual sociopaths or just sociopaths when they’re together? I mean Dennis is definitely one but are the others? Remember that episode when they all go off & do their own thing? Frank fucks those people over big time but the others do pretty well don’t they?
@@Fredric_Cedrich I agree
It actually means his characters tend to grow in far more realistic ways. More subtle shifts over long periods of time, and lots of backsliding and terrible decisions that feel more realistic. Life as a struggle vs ourselves. It's even more realistic character growth than dramatic shows based on character growth manage.
The sitcom setting just lets him have a way to exaggerate reality in a way we are familiar with, that feels like escape. In reality he write real people in trope-filled worlds.
There's a reason community is one of the best comedies ever made even with its flaws and struggles. That's Dan.
I still have dreams about bouncing on that mythical trampoline
I've also noticed that everyone at Community seems to have fractured family relations, which also ties into the idea that Harmon's characters are dysfunctional, plays into the idea that sometimes the family you're born into isn't the family you get along with, that your biological family doesn't make you complete, that you choose your own family, and solidifying the student body of Community as it's own strange family.
Pierce and Jeff have fractured relationships with their fathers, Pierce's father was emotionally absent, Jeff's was physically absent.
We learn Annie doesn't talk to her parents because Annie wanted to address her pill addiction and her parents wanted to ignore it.
Troy had to move out because his dad was dating a 20 year old and it was awkward and his parents are separated. And for some reason didn’t want to/couldn’t move in with his mom.
Abed has hella fractured relationship with both his parents to the point his parents divorced because his mom couldn't handle Abed's autism and Abed's dad blamed Abed for the breakdown of the marriage, whether that was subconscious or not.
In season 5, we learn Britta hasn't talked to her family in years *because her parents swept her sexual assault under the rug*.
Shirley spends season 1 dealing with Andre leaving her for a stripper, and then they get back together, and then Andre leaves her and takes the kids with him in season 5.
Dean Pelton had to blackmail Garrity into convincing Dean Pelton's family he was heteronormative, which means Dean Pelton's family has ostracized him at least a little bit because of his sexuality.
Even in Abed's Christmas meltdown episode, we get a glimpse of Prof. Duncan's unhappy fatherless childhood, and moving to America with his Grandmother.
Leonard's relationship with his kids was shoddy even at the beginning of Community, as Jeff says once in the early seasons 'Shut up Leonard, I know about your gambling problem, I talked to your son on Family Day', implying at that point, Leonard's relationship with his children wasn't great because of his gambling. Then in Season 2, when Pierce gets arrested with the hipsters, when Jeff arrives at the police station and asks about Leonard, the desk agent said 'Oh, his kids ask us to stop calling. No one's coming for him. Why do you think he acts like this?'.
Ben Chang in season 1 is briefly separated from his wife, and Jeff gets them back together. But then after Chang and Shirley sleep together in the Halloween episode in season 2, Chang's wife leaves him for good, and kicks him out of the house. Even though Chang has a brother we see in the Family Day episode in Season 1, Chang ends up crashing on Jeff's couch before becoming legitimately homeless and living in the vents of Greendale. Chang's life literally falls apart, and none of his family was there to help him.
Even Rich is tormented by the death of his brother, and his mother's resentment and unfair expectations.
Yeah, I love Community but it is funny how all characters have daddy issues. Good observation!
Great writeup!
I see what you're saying and all, but I will point out that you made a few mistakes-which just cool, cool, cool, cool-it was in season 6 when Britta hated on her parents in a hardcore fashion. Mainly minor mistakes, great thought process on your part though. "8/10." -IGN Probably.
Britta's parents where not nice to her before. They were very close minded and probably they wanted to change britta's personality. They change in the years she leaves home, so when she comes back she doesn't want to forgive them, but later she realizes they're not how they used to be and forgives them.
@@MrTheHeriyo Yes. Also, if memory is not failing me, they did not believe that the guy in Dinosaur Suit assaulted her; this was very traumatic and made Britta distrust her parents since.
I'm sure someone else has already posted this, but I've got and "um actually"
Troy isn't afraid of lavar Burton, he's afraid of disappointing him. In the bathroom scene later in the episode he says "I just wanted a picture of lavar. you can't disappoint a picture"
This is an important point, and it's weird that it seems so subtle. Fear of a person or an object is non-rational but still pretty uncomplicated. Concern over how you're perceived by those around you (even by an idol who's never met you before) is largely social and complicated, and I imagine it draws in a lot of our rational mind to process, which makes it even more complex. Phobias are good for smaller jokes (Chang being afraid of frogs), but something like Troy being forced to meet one of his heroes and showing that his entire self-image is at stake is fascinating and almost too relatable.
@@KyleJMitchell i have a question. Why is everyone in this comment section trying to be so deep
You've played your last joke Now we get Deep 😁 help me !
@@benjaminwelkens8118 I hope you found out the answer along the way in these past months
@@benjaminwelkens8118 maybe we all lost a button
Community's ending was deeply melancholic, Jeff's midlife crisis was very well written.
It was almost suicidal.
I’m glad he finally acknowledged his feelings for Annie so she knows she wasn’t reading into things the whole time and they can potentially move forward when/if she comes back
As someone who's heading into their own midlife crisis themself, I can say that I love Community's end precisely for that. It's that sense that a lot of us will be failures (from the society's point of view), but it's OK if you end in a shit job as a teacher in the very same community college you were so desperate to get the hell of. You can still be happy and have fun and friends as a failure.
I can't count the reasons I should stay... One by one they just fade away...
i’m 38 going on 50, and that episode hits harder every time i watch it.
I'm nearing the end of college, and I've heard a lot of friends and peers say they wish they were kids again, where everything was much more simple. Community itself doesn't necessarily highlight how far each character has gone, but where they are going. Just like real life, there's no happy ending, because life keeps on going.
Being a kid sucked
it keeps on going, and then one day randomly doesn't.
Then why bother?
That was beautiful Elliot 💐
@@BlastinRope depends on the kind of childhood you had.
Harmon does avoid the obvious moments of "growth" seen in most sitcoms, but to say that his characters don't change is wrong. Rick and Morty's characters are all consistently horrible, but the Community has some of the best character arcs of any sitcom. Jeff, Abed, Annie, Troy, and (to a lesser extent) Britta are all subtly different people each season. There are very few clear "lessons" that Jeff learns, but this makes his maturation so much more believable. He has grown so much by the finale that he's almost an entirely different person than from the pilot, and it's Harmon's ability to do this without the lessons we see in conventional TV that makes Community truly special.
I'd say in addition to this that Morty is becoming more confident and jaded, and the rest of the family- Beth, Jerry, Summer have changed quite a bit.
@@blandedgear9704 agreed, as Morty and his family develop more and more Rick is slowly being stripped down and less essential to the family
And Rick and Morty became the worst each season. Its growth is not growth. They become season after season the worst version of themselves. They did a lot of things, but each season a new and horrible thing will happen, they are cynics, and it's understandable when you saw the lack of meaning in life. Every choice or moment is irrelevant. They are on the opposite side when you discover something new, the appreciation of something bigger than yourself turns instead in the idiotic of finding meaning, you became...well Rick and Morty.
Harmons message is why I and so many love Rick and Morty, Community, but also shows like Bojack. We love a sitcom/comedy that doesn't make us feel like we're not trying hard enough or that if we just keep hoping, things will be perfect one day. Dan Harmon and Raphael Bob-Waksberg teach us that yeah, life sucks. Just try and don't be so hard on yourself when you don't get your dreamjob or dreamrelationship
You can demand emotionally from the audience, not just deliver. That's a great message to give to everybody around.
O
@@frfras7 What do you mean?
It's hard to find a writer who can condescend me properly. I like to learn my lessons as painfully as possible.
That's how they stick.
18:06 Yes. That's pretty much the biggest reason I like his shows. Harmon's characters are wacky as fuck, but they're somehow more relatable than any other sitcom character ever.
The characters in Community do change, it's just that that change is very slow and a lot less clean and simple than with other sitcoms.
That Community finale get's me every time. If we just have the Community movie the world will be fine #andamovie
Leonard likes this post.
Community is a show that i wouldn't recommend easily to people as I'm afraid they will not get it. They might find the depth of the show "too shallow". And the finale just blows my mind. Its not perfect and that's the point!
You know the friendship bit makes a lot of sense since him and his ex wife became really good friends.
He’s friends with a Erin still? I know she moved to Ireland and got remarried. I think they worked together post-divorce for Harmonquest, right? I may have missed some of that.
While Harmon breaks the illusion of redemption as a simple and easy process, I'm worried that it perpetuates the idea that 100% realism is nothing but selfish and grim. I feel like it could hit that sweet spot if characters learn from their mistakes only a few times throughout the run of a show, and not on a routine basis. I guess he already does that but I wish those moments were more memorable.
Love this take! Something to add on the Annie/Pierce "favorite" moment - while yes, it clearly subverts the 'lesson' by having Pierce say "she's actually just my favorite," the show also refuses to destroy Annie's revelation either. So, the moment gets to both remind us that life is not a series of perfect lessons that leads us to our happy ending, and gets to uplift the idea that finding meaning and revelation, whether or not it was intended, can still be an important, emotionally moving experience. Compare this to a show like Arrested Development, which also expertly undercuts nearly every 'lesson' the characters learn, but ultimately continues to land in a more nihilistic direction as it rarely (if ever) lets an emotionally substantive moment stand. (Love both shows on their own merits!)
I always thought that Community was the greatest show ever conceived
I'm glad they're covering community more. I wish we had more sitcoms like the ones Dan Harmon write
I see this title and immediately thought “Dan Harmon’s not like other girls.”
Well, few have beards as long as his.
The Gang in "It's Always Sunny" constantly skip the last step also. I love this type of TV.
Because his work is in ‘Harmony’ within itself
I’ll see myself out
r/angryupvote
Now take my like and get out
Oh-hoo!
Ugh god damn it I like it
Dude
I felt like on communities last season Harmon poured himself through Jeff. It was beautiful
I actually wrote one of my senior year essays on how realistic the ending of Community is
So you guys are just gonna forget the episode after the Dr. Cox episode in Scrubs when he's stuck at home wallowing in depression?
Thats another season and another episode. You talk about Dr. Cox meltdown in season 5 after he lost 5 patients.
Or the end of the episode with Michael J Fox which was the best depiction of how stressful OCD is...
@@moritzsp1609 think it was 3 patients. And it was the episode directly before the depression episode that he loses them.
@@hailxmaryxmallon9827 and it was based on a real life case. Most medical cases In scrubs are based on real life ones. But yeah the episode this comment thread is referring to is called My Lunch. The one referenced in this video is the one where the words "where do you think we are" are a kick in the nads.
To this day my brain cant process seeing LeVar Burtons real eyes
You obviously weren't lucky enough to grow up with Reading Rainbow
More Community content please!
There’s something hilarious about the clip around 12:50 of a cartoon guy ripped in half with his entrails strewn about the ground in decent enough detail... and then they blur out the buttcrack of the guy dancing around his mangled corpse.
Chang is one of my favorite characters ever. He didn’t just not get better, a couple of times he got WORSE! It was surprising and hilarious.
I've been in love with Wisecrack for a while, excited for this video!
@@DougBurgum4VP - What the actual fck?! 😱 Care to explain your comment, include your sources?!
Like Harmon's loves kids
@@JacobJacob-tv1oo - That a pretty SERIOUS accusation to make about somebody without backing it up. Dontcha think? I mean, what if someone said that about _you,_ without _any_ evidence? Kinda not the sorta thing you just go around saying all willy nilly.
I initially read excited as except and I was very confused
@@Digitalhunny He did a "pilot" in 2009 that alt right trolls tried to weaponize to cancel him with in 2018. Sounds like a James Gunn situation to me but we each have to pass our own judgement. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Harmon#Baby_doll_video_controversy
As someone who drinks a lot of Dan Harmon Kool aide, this explained his writing really, really well.
His kool aide is vodka
The writing changed my life. Robyn is the voice of a generation
Thanks Jack 😂☺️
I like that he was so inspired that he sayed that last line 17:37 in a quick pace the same style that Rick usually delivers his sentences
“No hugging, no learning.” No wonder I love this Seinfeld-seque comedy style. We need more of this and less New Sincerity.
Relatable characters who are involved in relatable situations really make an impact on viewers who can relate to them
I guess this is one reason why Community, especially, constantly spoofs other comedies: to highlight the fact that it doesn't work the same way and its characters don't experience such neat resolutions.
For what it was worth the fake vat of acid was a classic.
@@DougBurgum4VP what?
@@DougBurgum4VP They are deleting comments as they are unfounded. I tried to find a single claim... NOTHING!
@@dragonskunkstudio7582 they just deleted my comment.
@@dragonskunkstudio7582 i said that he is
Wait, so this is a game to you as you put people lives in state for emotional shambles just to get a shot at getting at my pants.. ME: did I stutter 😐 ...
I really like the way he rights sitcoms. However I think that when it comes to Rick and Morty, I wish that the characters showed more change over the show's run. Community felt as though the characters were changing subtly and that doesn't happen in Rick and Morty sadly.
Dud.. he literally models every episode on the hero’s journey where there is a lesson learned at the end of EVERY episode and the characters change all of the time. His characters grow more than any other characters on television. Look at abed season 1 vs season 6, recognizably the same character but has grown substantially
Agreed on all points. "Change" is literally the name of step 8 in the Harmon Story Circle. And Community is so full of life lessons, it's one of the only TV shows that might actually make you a better person by watching it (I think "The Good Place" is similar in this regard). Often this change isn't about the "A Story" mcguffin, but rather a *group* lesson that emerges around the mcguffin, aside from it, or in juxtaposition to it. Community's overall message is about the *group*, the importance of friendship and *community*, which enables individual growth and supports you when you backslide.
The lessons are there, and it's more evident on the firsts seasons of community when the lessons and effects of hero's journey are made more explicit. Nevertheless, it's interesting how on the other seasons, or in R&M, there are instances where all the pieces are there and the characters refuse to incorporate anything. Not about they not changing, but that the denial and self-reinforcement as defenses can have other effects onto themselves, maybe paying off later, maybe generating more issues. That makes the experience of the characters and the viewers asymmetrical, and it is a great difference over more typical/serviceable writing styles.
@@rockaway0beach definitely agree. Dan know what lessons these characters are willing to learn and which ones they arent and puts them in situations to grow and reject growth and it doing so makes the stories a lot more human. Rick is obviously the most adverse to change in a lot of areas, but his demeanor towards his family and appreciation for others grows substantially throughout the show, while his world views, although challenged, remain relatively rigid
i enjoy how Harmon focuses on friendships instead of romances. Troy and Abed are life goals (not just in the morning)
At least with Community Dan credits the cast and crew with the shows successes. And for me, I'm reminded the best things in reality are the people we call friends.
...But everyone in Community does end up changing to some extent? As many backslides as there may be, as slow their arc is, Jeff does change each season, he only does so very slowly, in fits and starts, and hitting multiple impasses.
Man...this is awesome, now I realized how awesome Community was..
It's one of my favourites, and now I love it even more
Re-watching “Community” with my daughter and there is such a difference when we got to season 3 (though it has a few gems).
*Also tons of fantastic moments and jokes I missed when the show first came out
Life will have meaning again when the next season of Harmonquest finally airs.
Loved the video. But was totally expecting for the part about Harmon characters never learning anything at the end of an episode to include that epic Jeff Zinger from my favorite episode, 2x09 Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design: "that Jeff Winger never learns"
Six Seasons and a Movie! #TheInternetRemembers
Thank you for reminding me about Lavar Burton's appearance on Community. One of the best moments in sit com history, imo.
Bless this breakdown, it put into words what I couldn't and helped me to better understand and love my favorites even more. Everyone at Wisecrack, you guys are amazing ♡ Thank you for this
I also noticed with Harmon's work is that it has layers, you can watch an episode more than once and notice something new every time like easter eggs and subplots going on in the background
This was so good! Helped put words to why I love Harmon’s work
Love community and it's character development is amazing
The romance segment in short:
"Characters may hook up with no regards for your emotional investment"
nice anchorman style riff at the end there. eye contact is key to the doubling down. lol
I think the elephant in the room you're ignoring here is Harmon's personal life. He has a pretty broken ass view of relationships (platonic and romantic) because he has a pretty broken ass way of treating them. There's A LOT of projection going on.
That doesn't surprise me, really.
Facts!
Yet it works so well.
I prefer Community over Rick & Morty (the former is more optimistic in tone) but I agree with your main points about Dan Harmon's writing. Characters arcs do not need to be necessarily about achieving their "happy ending" or "becoming a better person"; change is hard and inevitable, and that's okay.
Exactly
3:48 *Slightly less rude assistant to the regional manager 😂
When Jared left I like many others were prolly a bit scared, but man these videos have been nothing but solid! Can't wait for y'all to hit 3 million so close, thanks for the years of entertainment and I hope for many more
"Life is about a lot more than just finding "the one". - - - we are not made complete by finding the right romantic partner. And that friendship might be just as valuable."
AMEN!
I really feel that many people need to realize this. You can't force a storybook romance in real life. And you shouldn't waste your life trying to desperately create some unrealistic romantic comedy scenario.
When the last episode of community ended I was like, "Wait. That's it?" Not because it was bad, but because I didn't noticed it was really over. It just didn't seemed like a final episode.
7:14 - aha! The connecting thread is actually having Paget Brewster on your show :))
Amazing commentary!
Great as always!
I had no idea Harmon was fine for a season of community. That suddenly makes a lot of sense.
Not a fear, a love so deep that it binds him in chains of admiration unable to verbally acknowledge his hero.
This is why I love BoJack Horseman, too.
Bojack Horseman is miles above Rick and Morty and while I love both I wish they weren’t snubbed emmys because of Rick and Morty. Although I guess it’s fitting
@@yhavinmiles rick is bigger than bojack in my opinion habe you watched the video about the nihilism of bojack and rick i like rick and morty more because its the whole universe instead of just bojack being depressed and anxious all the time i did enjoy bojack doe i was mostly high as fuck watching it and nodded off on some of the episodes but overall 5 out of 5 for both shows
Love to see two of my favorite shows in the intro, Rick & Morty and Community. Wubba lubba dubdub, six seasons and a movie!
Good explanation. Subscribed!
Community is awesome
You got a point. Also this backsliding and the overreliance on meta is why his writing gets super frustrating after a few seasons.
The video was so good!!
I watched Community when I was a teen, young adult and adult and at all times I could relate in some different way. My wife saw it recently. She is not a sitcom person. But she watched Community several times because in some way or another she can always relate to something newly discovered each time she re-watch it. And also the episodes tropes are too clever!!!
You're right Michael, that does sound better than my real family
“Friendship is just as valuable.” I think I just threw up in my mouth.
CZcamss algo is crushing video recommendations today.. first 4 vids were all that I had to watch.. this was the first one..
This video is so valuable, thank you!
Wait, so this is a game to you as you put people lives in state for emotional shambles just to get a shot at getting at my pants.. ? ME: loving U is my Job, so yes🤓
Loved the video as always! Any chance of a Mike Schur video at some point?
Basically... you nailed it. All of it. And for me: perfect time, perfect place to hear it all.
Well done sir.
amazing video.. thanks!
6:03 You read my mind. I was just about to say that 😁
'Your honor, my client is simply built different"
Good job, guys. This was great.
hey I am starting to like wisecrack again and mustache guy you have come a long way and must faster!! great episode
I love me a good sitcom. It's like popcorn, you know what you're getting but it's comforting to binge.
The main lesson I get from Community is that we should strive to be like Abed and worry about settling to be Jeff
This aged like milk
I'd love a Venn diagram of the qualities of Community, Always Sunny, and Seinfeld.
The greatest character development in a TV show is easily Rustin Cohle. No surprise that it was a stand alone season that I hope to god is left the hell alone.
Agreed.
"Siblings or dating? Why can't it be both?" - Dan Harmon, probably (almost certainly)
We all remember the "Incest Episode"
@@MelodicQuest The one writtern by Briggs Hatton?
He should write anime
thanks Abed
I never get bored listening to people delve into Harmons writing.
maybe he was saving the happy ending of community for the movie lol
This was crazy interesting, j always wondered why Harmons characters seem so real
Before I watch this, GOD i've been waiting for a video on this
Still doing great work, wisecrack!
Dan Harmon also wrote Disney's "Recess."
I LOVED this episode! Can you do Matt Groening next?
Awesome video - I've been on a recent Community and Rick and Morty binge so excellent timing. I think the video is spot one, but I think there is a certain X factor with Harmon where he does inject himself into his work at times and it adds a dash of authenticity and also nihilism.
But also I think there is a dash of lesson learning and whatnot in Harmon's work he just also wants to work that much harder at it so rather than having obvious episodes of learning we get what I could best describe as 'non-linear' character development. Rick is the perfect example, as he seems to oscilate between the never changing A-hole but then having massive humbling experiences (e.g. ends of Season 3 and 4). and this doesn't always happen in the usual structure - maybe its actually a small choice throughout the episode or a quick moment
I think Harmon's interesting approach to character is also a big reason why Community didn't gain as much popularity as other sitcoms when it was originally on the air. I remember catching an episode a couple seasons in (I think it was the first blanket fort episode), but I wasn't able to get into it because I didn't have the background of each character, and I didn't understand their relationships well enough to be in on a lot of the jokes and commentary. In most shows that wouldn't have been an issue, since the characters don't really build throughout the seasons - I could've just started at any episode and been fine, but here it just didn't work. However, when I started watching Community from the beginning as it became available on Netflix, I was able to enjoy it since I understood the characters, their relationships, and their development properly. Now it's one of my favorite shows.
Rick and Morty is slightly different - it still has the same interesting, complex approach to character Harmon used in Community, but it also manages to have episodes that can feel more independent in a way that allows you to jump in pretty much anywhere and be able to understand what's going on. Maybe that's because of the more 'improvisational feel' it has compared to other shows, or maybe it's a result of the unique plot techniques available from a story with parallel universes. Whatever the reason, I feel like it's become so successful in part because it strikes a great balance where the show's characters are complex and also watchable starting at any episode.