| "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind" | |
|---|---|
| Rick and Morty episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 10 |
| Directed by | Stephen Sandoval |
| Written by | Ryan Ridley |
| Featured music | Ryan Elder |
| Original air date | April 7, 2014 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Guest appearance | |
| |
"Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind" is the tenth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American science fiction comedy animated television series Rick and Morty. Directed by Stephen Sandoval and written by Ryan Ridley, the episode aired on April 7, 2014. With a title alluding to the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the episode is notable for introducing both the rules of the franchise's multiverse and the series' main antagonist — "Evil Morty" — whose storyline is continued across the 2017 third season episode "The Ricklantis Mixup", the 2020 short film "Rick and Morty vs. Genocider", the 2021 fifth season finale "Rickmurai Jack", and the 2023 seventh season episode "Unmortricken".
A stand-alone sequel titled "A Tale of Two Jerries", was published in the comic book series in Rick and Morty, by Oni Press from 2016 to 2017.[1][2]