As much as I finger-wag about other people not being in control of their appetites, the fact is that I'm no better. I have appetites, and I give in to them regularly. For me, it's food in general and my sweet tooth in particular. I also have a great love of sleep, and I never seem to get enough of it. Sleep long, sleep short—either way, I wake up tired. So I have a problem—multiple problems, and these problems don't get any better as I get older.
But there are people out there who are way worse off than me, saddled with troubles that can be their undoing. Today, I'm thinking in particular of Justin Roiland, co-creator of the "Rick and Morty" series. I wrote about him on January 14 when news came out that he was going to trial over claims of "corporal injury and false imprisonment by menace, fraud, violence or deceit" made by his ex-girlfriend. Turns out it's way worse than that: Roiland has had a history of accosting underage girls, often using his Rick and Morty voices to draw them in. It seems that all of this was "an open secret" among the people who worked with him. I guess the karma finally caught up because Roiland has been fired from his own show, as well as from several other projects, and he has voluntarily resigned from a few other posts as well. I had no idea things were this bad. The Cartoon Network has announced that it has ceased all association with Roiland. #MeToo might be fading in significance, but this still looks bad.
From my selfish perspective as a viewer and fan of "Rick and Morty," I am, of course, wondering how the show can continue. Roiland was the voice of both Rick and Morty, so those characters will need one or more voice actors to replace them. This is what the Cartoon Network plans to do, as the show has been deep into planning out Season 7. I saw a few bitter predictions by commenters on YouTube that Season 7 will probably be the show's final season. Roiland's partner Dan Harmon (apparently no stranger to his own scandals) might be the show's idea guy, coming up with all the stories and scenarios, but Roiland was, for lack of a better term, the face of Rick and Morty. No matter whom the show picks to replace Roiland, fans will notice the change in voices, and from that moment on, this won't be the real "Rick and Morty" anymore. Some commenters noted that voice-actor changes killed "Ren and Stimpy." A lot of people are expecting a nosedive in quality, then a crash.
What a shame for such a good show to sputter and die because one man couldn't control his urges. Scandals like this often involve maleness and power; I guess some guys climb the ladder, become intoxicated by the view, and suddenly believe themselves immortal. That should be a caution to us all, even if we're not at the top of the totem pole.
Below is the video I saw that announced Justin Roiland's firing.
For every action, there is a reaction, and if half of what Roiland is accused of is true, these consequences seem appropriate. It's a shame that fans of the show (which I've never watched) will suffer too, but thems the breaks. I tend to agree that different voice actors won't be able to salvage the series. I seem to recall a voice actor for one of the minor characters on The Simpsons quit, and rather than try and replace her, they had the character die.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree that we are blessed that our vices are limited to sweets (and drinking, for me) rather than deviant behavior.