SpongeBob Reviews: Season 4 (Selling Out/Funny Pants)

This episode starts with a completely pointless song, but hey, I’ll admit it was kind of catchy at least. After that, Mr. Krabs sells the Krusty Krab to a franchising company and retires. He becomes bored with retirement after, like, a day and gets a job as a bus boy at the new Krusty Krab, which has been renamed Krabby O’Mondays. Krabs discovers that it has been turned into a disturbingly happy family restaurant that serves disgusting, synthetically-made Krabby Patties. He destroys the restaurant in a rage and buys it back from the new owners.

I thought this episode was decent, though that may just be because it didn’t have a hard act to follow (AAAAAAARRRRRGH GOOD NEIGHBORS). I got a few laughs out of Squidward being forced to act happy, and it was actually kind of nice to see that Mr. Krabs, as cheap and greedy as he is, does still care about his business and providing his customers with food that’s, you know, actual food and not processed grey sludge.

Not an amazing episode, but I liked it okay.

Rating: 6/10

This episode is annoying.

Okay, so it starts with SpongeBob waking Squidward up for work, saying “Another day another dollar!” Squidward replies “More like another nickel,” and SpongeBob thinks it’s so funny that he laughs about it for the rest of the day and part of the next day. Squidward becomes so annoyed with SpongeBob’s laughter that he tells SpongeBob that if he laughs too much he’ll break his “laugh box” and suggests that he doesn’t laugh for at least twenty-four hours. SpongeBob does this, but then he is unable to laugh at all and he thinks that he really did break his laugh box so he spends the whole day crying, which also annoys Squidward. Squidward tells him that it was all a joke and he should still be able to laugh. SpongeBob starts laughing and Squidward joins in which results in Squidward breaking his laugh box because apparently he doesn’t use it enough. He’s taken to the hospital where the doctors implant part of SpongeBob’s laugh box into Squidward so, you guessed it, Squidward then has SpongeBob’s laugh.

This episode does have some good moments, like when Squidward tells SpongeBob about how he’ll break his laugh box is he uses it too much and SpongeBob asks if that’s what happened to him. Also, the “another day another nickel” joke is actually kind of amusing, (though I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as SpongeBob did). Other than that, this episode is just obnoxious and not all that funny. Most of it is just SpongeBob either laughing until your ears want to burst or crying until your ears want to burst.

One thing that’s noteworthy about this episode is that it’s the first instance of yet another thing I disliked about post-movie SpongeBob: Sandy is a scientist.

Um… since when? Pre-movie Sandy was a friendly, adventurous, thrill-seeking squirrel from Texas who loved karate and showing off her muscles. Sure, she was smart (at least compared to most other Bikini Bottomites), but there was never any mention of her being a scientist. There was never even any mention of her having a job at all. The only pre-movie episode I can think of that showed her being interested in science is Sandy’s Rocket, but one episode in three seasons isn’t enough to make it an established character trait, so the fact that post-movie episodes are suddenly shoving it in our faces like it was there all along is weird. Sandy’s Rocket isn’t even that great of an episode to begin with. It’s pretty forgettable. Where is all this Sandy-is-a-scientist stuff coming from?!

All right. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

Bad episode. Next.

Rating: 2/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 4 (Have You Seen This Snail?/Skill Crane/Good Neighbors)

Yeah, I decided to review the next two episodes as well because I thought reviewing just one episode would make this post too short.

This episode is a 22-minutes long special. In it, Gary runs away after SpongeBob forgets to feed him for a week. He gets taken in by a creepy old lady who over-feeds all of her snails (does she eat them? I wasn’t totally sure if that’s what they were implying) while SpongeBob puts up fliers all over Bikini Bottom trying to find Gary. When Gary sees these fliers he decides to go back to SpongeBob and escapes the old lady’s house. He and SpongeBob are reunited and they live happily ever after or something.

I consider this episode pretty good, even though there wasn’t much that I found particularly funny. The only scene that made me laugh out loud was the scene in Squidward’s bathroom. I love how SpongeBob and Patrick just stand there until he’s done screaming and then don’t even acknowledge it. I have to admit, I find that pretty hilarious for some reason. It’s also great to finally know where that meme comes from.

This episode has something else going for it besides humor, though: it’s quite touching. Seeing SpongeBob so heartbroken  over Gary’s disappearance really got to me, and the song that plays while SpongeBob is looking for Gary almost had me tearing up. As a pet owner, this episode hit me hard. If anything ever happened to my dog I’d probably be a wreck (ROXY PLEASE NEVER LEAVE ME).

So, overall, I enjoyed this episode. It’s not particularly funny, but it’s sweet.

Rating: 7/10 (unfortunately I do need to deduct a few points for lack of humor)

In this episode, Mr. Krabs puts a claw machine in the Krusty Krab. Squidward becomes obsessed with it and spends all of his money trying to win a prize. He finally wins one with SpongeBob’s help and it goes to his head.

My thoughts on this episode can be summed up with this:

Seriously, I don’t have anything to say about this one. It’s not good, it’s not bad, nothing about it stands out to me. It’s perfectly average. Sorry, I wish I had something interesting to say about this one, but I don’t.

Rating: 5/10

Words can not describe how much I despise this episode. I despised it when I saw it as a kid, and I still despise it.

Sigh. Let’s start with the plot. So, all Squidward wants to do on his Sunday off is relax, but SpongeBob and Patrick make him president of their “Good Neighbors” club and spend the whole day annoying the crap out of him. Squidward finally snaps and yells at them for being the worst neighbors ever, kicks them out of his house, and gets an alarm system for his house in an attempt to keep them away. Guess what? THEY STILL DON’T STAY AWAY. Squidward tries to activate the alarm system and his house sprouts arms and legs and begins destroying the town and I don’t even know anymore this episode is kind of a mess. When the house finally gets shut off and goes back to normal (it lands on Squidward, of course, because this episode can’t go five seconds without causing him pain and/or misery), Squidward gets blamed for the destruction it caused. He, SpongeBob and Patrick are sentenced to do community service every Sunday for the rest of their lives. The end.

This episode is a prime example of one of the main things I hated about post-movie SpongeBob as a kid: Squid Abuse. This refers to how the writers insist on torturing Squidward without him having done anything to deserve it, so that it seems more sadistic than funny. I’m fine with characters being punished when they’ve done something to deserve it. In this episode, Squidward didn’t deserve it.

This episode is also a prime example of another thing I hated about post-movie SpongeBob: the flanderization of SpongeBob’s personality. He is way too stupid and way too oblivious in this episode. Pre-movie SpongeBob was weird, optimistic, and extremely innocent, but he wasn’t necessarily stupid. Also, SpongeBob getting on Squidward’s nerves is nothing new. That’s been happening since the first episode. However,  he usually managed to still be funny and endearing, he was never this unlikable. The way SpongeBob acts in this episode isn’t charmingly naive, it’s annoyingly oblivious. Nobody could be that blind.

This episode is incredibly irritating and incredibly mean-spirited. Sure, pre-movie seasons had some episodes that were mean-spirited, such as Jellyfishing, I’m With Stupid, Club SpongeBob, Culture Shock and The Camping Episode, and while I’m not crazy about those episodes I find them more forgivable because they all have moments that make me laugh. I can’t say that for Good Neighbors. It didn’t make me laugh once. It didn’t make me crack a smile. The only thing that made me even think about smiling was when Squidward said “I am going to relax if it kills me!” and even then, given what the rest of the episode was like, that line is more sad than it is funny.

So yeah, this episode is just terrible. It’s annoying, sadistic, and unfunny. There’s nothing redeemable about it. I’ve heard that there are worse Squid Abuse episodes out there, and that’s really not a comforting thought.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go watch Band Geeks just to cleanse myself of this awful, awful episode.

Rating: 0/10 -5/10 (seriously, I hate it that much)

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 4 (The Lost Mattress/Krabs vs Plankton)

In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick decide to get Mr. Krabs a new mattress since his old one was causing him back pain. Squidward takes credit for the idea and takes Krabs’ old mattress to the dump. The joke is on him, though, because Krabs apparently kept all of his money in his old mattress. Krabs goes into a coma and the blame is on Squidward, so he, SpongeBob and Patrick try to get the old mattress out of the dump, which is guarded by a junkyard worm. Then the episode pretty much alternates between scenes of Squidward’s plans to get the mattress backfiring (resulting in him being attacked by the worm) and Krabs being moved around the hospital for stupid reasons.

This episode wasn’t anything special, but it was decent. A few of the jokes made me smile (though nothing actually made me laugh), and unlike most post-movie episodes, Squidward actually did deserve his punishment(s). That’s okay, though, the undeserved, sadistic Squidward torture will come later. Bleh.

Rating: 6/10

Well, this episode was disappointing.

Plankton slips on the wet floor in the Krusty Krab and sues Mr. Krabs for everything he owns (including the Krabby Patty formula). Krabs’ lawyer slips on the wet floor too so SpongeBob replaces him. The rest of the episode takes place in court.

I actually think the plot of this episode sounds like a good idea, but unfortunately it didn’t deliver. There weren’t that many jokes and the few that the episode did have just weren’t that funny. As a result, the episode is rather boring.

It’s a shame, because I really do think this episode had potential.

Rating: 2/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 4 (Fear of a Krabby Patty/Shell of a Man)

All right, let’s get started.

I remember watching this one when I was younger and not liking it much. I had been hoping for a much better start to the new season. Now that I’ve re-watched it as a nineteen-year old I feel a little bit better about it. Just a little. It’s not as bad as I remembered, but I still don’t know if I’d call it good.

In this episode, Mr. Krabs decides to keep the Krusty Krab open twenty-four hours a day (anyone else reminded of Graveyard Shift? You know, that way, way better episode from Season 2?) after seeing that Plankton is keeping the Chum Bucket open twenty-three hours a day. Plankton knew that Krabs wouldn’t be able to resist competing with him, and he’s waiting for SpongeBob to crack under exhaustion so he can trick SpongeBob into telling him the Krabby Patty formula. After working for forty-three days straight (how are Krabs, SpongeBob and Squidward even still standing?), SpongeBob develops a fear of Krabby Patties.  Enter Dr. Peter Lankton, aka Plankton, who becomes SpongeBob’s therapist. After a few failed attempts at getting the formula out of him, Plankton tries hypnosis. SpongeBob falls asleep and Plankton is unable to wake him up. When SpongeBob finally does wake up, he instantly feels better (apparently all he needed was some sleep) and runs back to the Krusty Krab. The end.

There’s one thing I’d like to mention first: SpongeBob’s voice. Seriously, what the hell happened? The pitch is higher and he sounds even more childish than he did pre-movie. I always thought his voice sounded off in the movie, and apparently that’s continuing post-movie. Sigh. I guess that’s just something I’ll have to get used to. The animation looks a bit different too (which it also did in the movie), but I don’t mind that as much.

Anyway, back to the episode. Like I said, it’s not that good, but it’s not that bad either. Nothing made me laugh out loud, but I did snort at Karen’s “I’ve heard this joke before” when Plankton asks why she isn’t laughing with him about his evil plan. Squidward was pretty amusing too.

There isn’t really much I can say about this episode. It was kind of on the iffy side of okay, but there wasn’t anything particularly awful about it. I don’t think I would seek it out to watch it again, but I don’t think I’d turn it off if it was on, either. Mostly it just makes me want to watch Graveyard Shift instead.

Rating: 4.5/10

I didn’t like this episode much as a kid, either. Now, however, I think it’s slightly above average.

Mr. Krabs is supposed to go to a reunion of his buddies in the navy, but he’s molted out of his shell and is worried that his navy buddies won’t think he’s as tough without it. SpongeBob is able to fit into his old shell, so Krabs disguises SpongeBob as himself and sends him to the reunion. As you can imagine, this leads to disaster, and Krabs reveals himself to his navy buddies (why does that sound dirty?), who still think he’s plenty manly. That’s pretty much it.

There’s a completely pointless scene at the beginning of the episode, but it only lasts for about a minute. SpongeBob’s attempts at fitting in with Krabs’ navy buddies were pretty funny (I especially liked the sing-songy “Coming!”). Also, this wonderful out-of-context line: “Squidward and I have been doing it behind your back for years!” Tee hee, it sounds dirty out of context! Tee hee hee.

Overall, this episode is decent. It got a giggle out of me here and there, but it’s nothing that special. I wish I had more to say about it, but there really isn’t much I can say about it.

Rating: 5.5/10

Well, there we have it. The first two Season 4 episodes have been reviewed! Stay tuned for the next one!

I’m Back (and No One Cares)!

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted, but I’m back… sort of. This post is just to explain my plans for upcoming posts. Once I start those, I’ll officially be back.

First, let me tell you about my history with the show known as SpongeBob Squarepants.

I was a big fan of the show as a kid. I adored the first three seasons and liked the movie. Then came Season 4, which I was really excited to watch, and… I didn’t like it. In fact, I hated it. I was shocked that the show I loved had sunk so low. The jokes weren’t funny, the characters were annoying and unlikable, the episodes were mean-spirited (especially when a certain clarinet-playing squid was involved). It was just plain bad.

I watched most of the fourth season, hoping that it would get better, but I eventually gave up and stopped watching the show (though I still had very fond memories of the pre-movie seasons).

I started watching the show again recently (pre-movie episodes, that is) and it’s somehow even better than I remembered it being. For a while I avoided post-movie episodes like the plague, but after joining a SpongeBob fan site on a whim and reading what other fans had to say about post-movie episodes, I wondered if I should give them a chance. While the majority of fans seem to agree that post-movie SpongeBob doesn’t live up to pre-movie SpongeBob, there are quite a few post-movie episodes that fans seem to like. Then I decided to watch It’s A SpongeBob Christmas because the fact that it was done in stop-motion made me curious about it, and I actually really liked it. I found it cute and entertaining. The songs were catchy and I actually giggled at a few of the jokes. Except for a few minor details, it could have passed for pre-movie.

So, I’ve decided to give post-movie SpongeBob another chance. I’m going to watch all of the post-movie SpongeBob episodes and post a review of each one here. I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible and give each episode a fair chance. I’ll post a review at least once a week.

My other plans for future posts concern RoosterTeeth’s upcoming series RWBY.

I became interested in this series after seeing the first trailer, mainly because I loved the style of the animation. The second trailer had me even more intrigued. The third and fourth trailer put me off because of the horrendous dialogue and even worse voice acting, but I’m still interested in watching the series. I sort of expected it to be more style-over-substance anyway.

RWBY (which is apparently pronounced like ruby) won’t be starting until early July. When it starts, I’ll be posting reviews of each episode.

So, those are my plans! Stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll begin reviewing the fourth season of SpongeBob!