re: Rick & Morty McDonald's Szechuan Sauce Chaos (and stabbing)

It’s absolutely worth watching, but like Seinfeld, it takes at least a few episodes to find its stride.

Like others have said, it’s a lot like a dirtier Futurama, except waaaaaaay darker. Alcoholic manic/depressive narcissist Doc Brown is a good description for Rick. He’s a self-loathing genius who hates everyone, but still feels attached to his family, is something a lot of outcasts can identify with. Morty is just an awkward 13 year-old kid, which makes him very relate-able. Summer is a typical self-conscious wannabe high school student. Beth is a mother who feels unfulfilled in her roll in life and takes it out on her kids. Jerry is a sad-sack incompetent, but he loves his family and does everything he can to protect him despite not being close to up to the task.

The characters are all complex, flawed, and relateably human.
The plots are typically taking really interesting slants on common sci-fi tropes and turn them on their heads.

One of the things that makes it really fun and unique is that it almost acts like it hates itself and its audience. It never takes itself seriously, or anything seriously. Rick openly mocks the plots as they’re unfolding. Morty clearly watched most of the movies they’re referencing and seems completely sick of it. It’s just completely different from anything else on TV except maybe those South Park episodes back when everything was about what the kids were doing rather than current events.