SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (The Krabby Patty That Ate Bikini Bottom/Bubble Buddy Returns)

Mr. Krabs spots a giant bean growing in Sandy’s treedome and is curious about it, so he asks for a tour of her treedome. During the tour, Sandy tells him that she enlarged the bean with some growth serum, and Mr. Krabs wants to use the serum on a Krabby Patty to make an unlimited supply. He calls SpongeBob and asks him to bring a Patty, and with Sandy’s guidance they pour a few drops of the serum onto the Patty. Nothing appears to happen, so while Sandy goes to the little squirrel’s room (her words, not mine, gotta love puns) Krabs pours the whole bottle on the patty. It still doesn’t seem to work, but on their way back to the Krusty Krab the Patty starts to grow. It keeps growing in the restaurant, eventually consuming it and then going on to consume the rest of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob and Patrick run to Sandy’s house, thinking that she must have a solution, and of course she does. She tells SpongeBob that her artificial intelligence cube told her her he needs to “make direct contact” with the Krabby Patty, which basically means he needs to absorb it. Yeah… we’ll get to that cube. Anyway, SpongeBob absorbs the Patty and Bikini Bottom is saved. But… would the Patty just keep growing inside him? Or was it done growing by the time he absorbed it? Whatever.

This episode reminds me a lot of Whelk Attack. It’s another parody of old, cheesy monster movies, specifically The Blob in this case. This one is weaker than Whelk Attack, though. The story isn’t put together as well, and it’s perhaps a bit too similar to Whelk Attack, particularly the second half. But I do want more episodes like this, where some sort of epidemic comes to Bikini Bottom, so I do appreciate this episode for that fact.

I was rather pleased at the beginning of this episode, when it seemed like this was going to be a Sandy-Krabs episode, which we’ve never seen before. Unfortunately that got forgotten pretty quickly and the episode returns to the usual dynamics. In fact, Krab just disappeared during the second half, which I found odd. Since he was the cause of the giant Krabby Patty, I kind of thought he would be more involved in the solution. Okay, fine, he didn’t just disappear for no reason, he got consumed by the Patty, but I still found it strange that he wasn’t at least mentioned in the second half. We see him again at the very end, but it doesn’t amount to anything. Am I the only one who finds it weird that Krabs isn’t more involved in the story?

And Sandy’s cube thing. Just… what. What was the point? When Sandy showed Krabs the cube at the beginning of the episode, I thought it was just a throwaway joke and forgot about it until it was brought up again. She describes it as a Rubik’s Cube that can solve itself, it sounded like a joke. Turns out it was a plot point, but… why? Couldn’t the characters have figured out what to do without the cube? Sandy figures things out all the time. Why add in the cube? It’s really baffling.

Anyway, this episode does have a few funny and entertaining bits, and I liked the idea, but it’s too weirdly put-together and it comes off as somewhat of a poor man’s Whelk Attack.

Rating: 6/10

SpongeBob gets a letter from Bubble Buddy (yes, that Bubble Buddy) asking him if he can watch Bubble Buddy’s son, Shiny, for the day. Well, “ask” isn’t the right word, as it implies that SpongeBob had a choice. Bubble Buddy sends the letter to SpongeBob’s house with Shiny, so it’s not like SpongeBob can say no. It doesn’t matter anyway because SpongeBob is perfectly happy to watch Shiny, but personally I’d be pissed if someone ambushed me into watching their kid. Anyway, SpongeBob needs to keep Shiny away from sharp/pointy objects that could potentially pop him, but Shiny keeps wandering off to dangerous areas and ruining people’s day (like father like son?). And people wonder why I don’t like kids. Anyway, that’s basically the whole episode. Shiny wanders off, SpongeBob rescues him and scolds him, rinse and repeat until Bubble Buddy shows up at the end to pick up Shiny.

So, this is the first episode to directly reference a previous episode and can be considered a “sequel” of sorts to said episode. The closest thing we’ve ever had to this before was Prehibernation Week and Survival of the Idiots, which are sort of related but not directly. Bubble Buddy Returns actually is directly related to a previous episode (it even references the fact that Bubble Buddy owes Mr. Krabs money!), though why it’s called “Bubble Buddy Returns” when it mostly features his son is beyond me. Bubble Buddy is only in the episode for, like, two minutes total.

I was really skeptical about this episode at first. Not because I thought it would ruin a “classic” or anything like that (I don’t even like the original Bubble Buddy episode that much, honestly), but because the idea of a direct sequel to an episode was off-putting for me. This show has never had continuity (besides small, indirect references to other episodes that would probably fly over the casual fan’s head) and I actually like that. It gives the writers more freedom, and it’s a lot easier to pretend episodes that I don’t like don’t exist when they don’t have any lasting effect on the show or characters. It’s also nice for newcomers to the show. They don’t have to start from the beginning of the show to understand what’s going on. I like that each episode is its own separate entity.

So, I had reservations about this episode the moment I saw the title of it. I didn’t like the idea of a direct sequel to an episode, I kept wondering what it meant for the show, whether there was some weird timeline to it after all. Now that I think about it, I have wished for one-time characters to reappear before (though Bubble Buddy would not have been one of choices), which would require some reference to previous episodes, and Friend or Foe actually did provide some continuity to the show. Krabs and Plankton’s relationship had been hinted about before then, so it wasn’t exactly a new addition, just expanding on something that was already there, but still, that episode did have a lasting effect on the Krabs-Plankton dynamic, it wasn’t just a one-shot thing. So, I suppose a little bit of continuity is okay to an extent, but I still wouldn’t want a concrete timeline to the show. This episode actually doesn’t do much for continuity anyway. It’s a sequel, sure, but it could also exist on its own. You wouldn’t need to watch the original episode to understand this one.

All that being said, good God this episode is boring. It was easy to forget my hang-ups about direct sequels to episodes when the sequel in question was putting me to sleep. It’s way too repetitive, the only interesting thing to happen in the episode was the ending when SpongeBob accidentally popped Shiny. Is it bad that I was kind of relieved when he got popped? It probably is.

I just thought of something. If Bubble Buddy has a son… does that mean Bubble Buddy has had sex? How can bubbles have sex anyway? Can they… can they pop each other when they put it in? Ugh, why am I thinking about bubble sex this much?! I’m too dirty-minded for my own good.  Shiny was probably the result of bubble-blowing, just like Bubble Buddy was. Though that also raises some questions. Was Bubble Buddy “born” when SpongeBob blew him? Oh dear, I shouldn’t use the word “blow” or participles of it when I’ve just been talking about bubble sex. I don’t even know where I’m going with this anymore. Never mind.

To sum up, I’m still on the fence about direct sequels to episodes, and this episode is a bore. Luckily I’m not a big fan of the original episode, so I’m not too disappointed by this one.

Rating: 2.5/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 8 (Accidents Will Happen/The Other Patty)

All right, Season 8, let’s see what you’ve got!

Squidward twists his ankle at work and Mr. Krabs realizes that this means he’ll have to pay a fine to the OWS, so he begs Squidward not to call them. Squidward sees this as an opportunity to blackmail Krabs and agrees not to call them in exchange for Krabs pampering him while he recovers. So, that takes up a lot of the episode. Squidward forces Krabs to cater to his every whim and threatens to call the OWS when he refuses. In the end it doesn’t matter because SpongeBob calls the OWS. Squidward tells the OWS worker how he got injured, obviously lying to make himself sound more impressive. That’s when Krabs remembers that he has a surveillance camera and that the whole thing was caught on tape, so he can check to see if Squidward is telling the truth. Turns out what actually happened was that Squidward was sleeping on the job when he fell and injured his ankle. Mr. Krabs is furious and forces Squidward to pamper him for revenge.

This episode is reminiscent of Krusty Towers, with Squidward forcing Krabs to cater to his every ridiculous whim, but it’s not as good was Krusty Towers was. Krusty Towers had a better set-up and took advantage of its scenario a lot more. Accidents Will Happen feels like it’s lacking something, like the writers could have done more with it than they did. Squidward’s demands don’t go to ridiculous extremes the way they do in Krusty Towers. The worst he does is make Krabs run the cash register and have him remove barnacles from his back. That’s gross, but I don’t feel that it goes far enough. Because Squidward’s demands don’t go that far, the scenario feels weak and Krabs’ anger at the end isn’t as well-deserved as it should be. I think this might be the first time I’ve complained about the writers not taking their scenario far enough. They played it too safe with this one when it would have been funnier and more entertaining for them to go to extremes. You know, like what Krusty Towers did. Or even what Can you Spare a Dime? did.

Anyway, the episode isn’t that bad, I just think its lacking substance. It did at least keep my interest and I laughed at a few of the jokes. For some reason the fish at the beginning saying “Where’s the guy in the boat, man? WHERE’S THE GUY IN THE BOAT?” made me laugh especially hard. I don’t know, I think it’s just how panicked he sounded over something so random and trivial.

It’s a decent enough episode, but it could have been more than that.

Rating: 6.5/10

The episode begins with yet another failed Krabby Patty theft attempt from Plankton. As Plankton and Krabs are arguing, SpongeBob reminds them that they used to be best friends and asks them why they can’t make amends. Plankton and Krabs insist that making amends would be impossible and that they’re perfectly fine with hating each other for the rest of their lives. After that, SpongeBob and Plankton discover a new restaurant right across the street from the Krusty Krab. Plankton tastes a piece of the “Flabby Patty” and finds it delicious, so his new goal is to steal the Flabby Patty. SpongeBob runs to tell Mr. Krabs the news, but Krabs is confident that his loyal customers will stay. They don’t stay. So, now Krabs wants to find out the secret of the Flabby Patty too. SpongeBob suggests that he and Plankton work together, but Krabs and Plankton laugh at the idea. Both try to get the formula themselves and both fail miserably, so they finally agree that it would be best to work together. SpongeBob tells them they should apply for a job at the restaurant, which would guarantee them getting the formula. They do so and get the formula, but when they read it they discover that the formula is a recipe for friendship. It turns out SpongeBob was the one who opened the new restaurant, it was all a trick to reunite Plankton and Krabs. Plankton and Krabs aren’t happy about this, so they team up to kill SpongeBob. Just kidding, they team up to beat him up or something, I don’t know.

At first, I though this episode was going to be a rehashed Best Frenemies, but while it’s reminiscent of that episode it’s different enough that it doesn’t feel like blatant rip-off. Unlike Best Frenemies, the focus of this episode isn’t Krabs and Plankton trying to steal a formula, the focus is more on the relationship between Krabs and Plankton and on SpongeBob trying to reunite them. Ironically, even though The Other Patty sounds like the more character-oriented one, I think Best Frenemies has more entertaining interactions and does a better job of portraying the strange and slightly twisted relationship between Krabs and Plankton.

However, I actually thought The Other Patty was really funny. A lot of the dialogue had me laughing, especially Plankton’s reaction to reading the recipe at the end (“Sounds like a recipe for cannibalism!”). That’s what I think The Other Patty has over Best Frenemies: humor. Though I love Best Frenemies for its story and characters, I can’t honestly say that episode makes me laugh that much. It has its funny bits, sure, but its pretty low on humor for the most part. The Other Patty, however, had me laughing the whole time and it seemed more energized than Best Frenemies.

I just realized that most of this review has been comparing the episodes to similar Season 4 episodes. I don’t like doing that, so I’ll stop now.

Anyway, I think The Other Patty is a hilarious episode with decent story-telling and character development. The ending is a bit odd, but not enough to be too detrimental to the episode.

Rating: 8/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 7 (The Great Patty Caper/That Sinking Feeling/Karate Star)

Um, isn’t there an episode called Patty Caper already? I’m so going to get those two confused.

SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs are making a new batch of Krabby Patties, but they have a disagreement on the ingredients. Mr. Krabs opens the vault that contains the formula to check the recipe, and out comes Plankton, attempting to steal it. Krabs stops him and sends him back to the Chum Bucket yet again, but he wants to stop Plankton from coming after the formula in the future. He sends the formula to a bank far away from Bikini Bottom, and then he and SpongeBob go back to making Patties. Except they forgot to check the recipe before sending the formula away. Oops. So SpongeBob is sent to get the formula, taking Patrick with him. The two go by train, and of course they’re followed by Plankton. From there, a lot of things happen. And I mean a lot. I won’t explain it all because I don’t like taking too long with the synopsis, but it ends with Plankton and Krabs at the bank (Krabs had been waiting for him there, which makes me wonder why he needed to send SpongeBob). They fight over the formula, and then the train that SpongeBob and Patrick were on crashes into the bank. Hm, maybe I should have explained a few things after all. Anyway, Krabs is forced to pay for the damages but I guess he at least stopped Plankton from getting the formula? I don’t know, it was kind of unclear.

I liked this episode a lot, it was really entertaining. Like I said, a lot of stuff happened and the plot is rather complicated, but it was all paced very well so the episode doesn’t feel disorganized or like it has too much going on. The idea of the episode is pretty creative and it’s a neat mystery/adventure story. I also like that Plankton felt like a genuine threat in this episode and pulled off some pretty nasty stuff. It’s been a while since Plankton has really felt like a villain, so it was a nice change of pace.

The humor is unfortunately where it falls flat. Well, maybe not “falls flat”, but it wasn’t the best. Some jokes were pretty funny, others were kind of weak, and some were just… I don’t even know what they were. Like, there’s one scene where Patrick asks someone if he’s a werewolf, and then some random fish walks on screen, looks up at a full moon (even though it’s daytime?), turns into a werewolf and then runs off screen. Just… what the fuck was that even? Was that supposed to be a joke? It’s not referenced afterwards and it has no purpose in the episode. It’s like a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment. It’s almost kind of funny just because of how stupid and unnecessary it was. Almost. There’s also a scene where Plankton gets run over by a bus and he says, “Oh, now they’re on time!” which is a reference to One Coarse Meal, when he’s lying on the road waiting for a bus to run him over but it’s late. Usually I like it when the writers indirectly reference past episodes like this, but this was a reference to One Coarse Meal, my least favorite episode that I’m trying very hard to pretend didn’t exist. So no, can’t laugh at that reference.

Despite a few flaws, I really do like this episode. It’s just a cleverly-written episode that’s a ton of fun to watch.

Rating: 8.5/10

After being yelled at by Squidward for playing in his yard, SpongeBob and Patrick dig a tunnel underground between their houses. This makes the foundation under Squidward’s house weaker, so his house sinks into the tunnel too. He demands that SpongeBob and Patrick dig his house out, but the two are unable to. So he chases them throughout the tunnels (SpongeBob and Patrick continue digging more as they’re running) and eventually all of Bikini Bottom is sunk, so everyone has to dig their own houses out.

This episode has a pretty funny premise that almost sounds pre-movie-esque, but lackluster execution. Aside from a couple of jokes, I didn’t really laugh at much and it was pretty easy to get bored with the episode. It relies a bit too much on visual gags and random gags, and that’s usually not a good thing for an episode to do. It makes the episode feel cheap and lowers its replay value. I would have liked more focus on the character interactions. SpongeBob and Patrick were also really oblivious and stupid in this episode, even by post-movie standards, which sort of hindered my enjoyment of the episode.

It’s not a terrible episode, or even a bad one. It’s mostly just forgettable and a bit disappointing, as I really like the idea of the episode and I think it could have been a lot funnier than it was.

Rating: 4/10

Patrick asks SpongeBob to teach him karate, which SpongeBob agrees to do. At first it seems like Patrick can’t do anything right, but then it’s discovered that Patrick has a perfect karate chop that can slice anything in half. Unfortunately this goes to Patrick’s head and he starts chopping everything, becoming the terror of Bikini Bottom when he destroys half the town. SpongeBob tries to stop him, but Patrick is no longer able to control his chopping. After injuring SpongeBob, Patrick realizes that the only way to control his chopping is to rip off his arm. It’s okay, starfish limbs grow back. He and SpongeBob then begin rebuilding Bikini Bottom.

Man, Bikini Bottom can’t catch a break. It seems like every second episode ends with it being destroyed.

Anyway, this was a decent episode. I didn’t laugh much and Patrick’s attitude got on my nerves sometimes, but I did like him trying to save SpongeBob at the end. That was nice, especially since the writers haven’t exactly been doing Patrick much justice lately. He’s frequently depicted as mean, selfish and an overall jerk, which can be fine now and then if it’s done well, but seeing it so often (and not done well) just makes you forget why you’re supposed to like Patrick. Despite Patrick’s jerky attitude throughout most of the episode, the moment where he saves SpongeBob at the end reminded me why I should like him. Patrick may be an idiot, but he’s a loyal friend.

The only major problem I have with this episode is the lack of Sandy. People are probably getting tired of me complaining about Sandy not being in more episodes, but I don’t care. She should be in more episodes, she’s a great character that’s unfortunately under-appreciated by the writers and by fans. And if there’s any episode that should have Sandy in it, it’s this one. It’s an episode about karate. You know who likes karate? SANDY. She’s always involved in karate-related episodes, since karate is a rather important part of her character. I guess now that the writers are trying to awkwardly balance Scientist Sandy with Sporty Sandy they’re bound to screw up like this now and then, but not having Sandy in this episode was a big disappointment and a wasted opportunity.

Rating: 4/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 6 (Patty Caper/Plankton’s Regular)

Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob that they’re out of the secret ingredient used to make Krabby Patties, and that a delivery truck with more of it will be coming soon. SpongeBob is in charge of getting the ingredient, and if he screws up he’ll lose his job. The ingredient is delivered in a brief case, but when SpongeBob opens it, the secret ingredient isn’t inside. Someone had cut a hole in the brief case and stolen the ingredient. SpongeBob (with Patrick’s help) tries to find the person who stole the ingredient. Their first suspect, of course, is Plankton, but Plankton doesn’t have it. Sandy is the next suspect, but she doesn’t have it either. Next they interrogate Gary, who tells them he saw Squidward leaving the Krusty Krab with a black brief case on the day of the delivery. SpongeBob and Patrick go confront Squidward, but Squidward shows them that the black brief case holds tap shoes (there are only two of them, but Squidward has four feet…). Out of suspects, SpongeBob has no choice but to tell Krabs that the secret ingredient was stolen. Krabs tries to accuse SpongeBob of taking the ingredient, but they discover that the thief was actually Krabs all along. He stole the ingredient because he wanted to avoid paying for it (it costs $1.99). As punishment, the court makes Krabs give away free Krabby Patties for a whole day, which is torture for Krabs.

This was another great episode. The jokes were funny and all of the characters were great. I always like episodes that have all of the main characters in it at least briefly. I also liked that they didn’t go the obvious route and make the thief Plankton. I actually wasn’t expecting the thief to be Mr. Krabs at all, I was expecting it to be Patrick, or I was expecting it to have just gotten lost in the kitchen or something. Then again, I’m terrible at guessing plot lines, so it isn’t that hard to take me by surprise.

The last scene is hilarious, and I’m glad Krabs got what he deserved, which is another rare thing for post-movie episodes.

There’s also a part where Patrick draws this picture of Squidward…

Um, ew. I’m guessing it’s supposed to be reference to that video of David Hasslehoff drunk and eating burgers on the floor. Still, ew.

Anyway, usually episodes like this don’t have very good replay value, but I think Patty Caper is well-written and funny enough that I could watch it many more times.

Rating: 10/10

Plankton is, once again, feeling miserable because of his lack of success, when a customer, named Nat, comes into the Chum Bucket. Nat orders some chum, and Plankton is amazed to find out that Nat loves it. Nat says that Plankton’s chum is his favorite food, and that he will come back to the Chum Bucket every day. Delighted, Plankton goes to the Krusty Krab to tell Mr. Krabs about his regular, and that he no longer needs to steal the Krabby Patty formula. Mr. Krabs is desperate to get Nat to eat at the Krusty Krab instead. Really, dude? You have the whole of Bikini Bottom eating at your restaurant, and you can’t let your miserable, unsuccessful rival have one damn customer? Anyway, Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob keep trying to get Nat to try a Krabby Patty, but Nat insists that all he wants to eat is Plankton’s chum. Mr. Krabs tries giving Nat his own chum, but Nat says he only likes the chum at the Chum Bucket. So, Mr. Krabs tries to steal Plankton’s secret recipe. Ironic, eh? Plankton catches him and laughs at this irony, but then Nat comes in and tells Karen that the deal is off. Plankton asks what deal he’s talking about, and Karen and Nat reveal that Karen had paid Nat to eat at the Chum Bucket just so Plankton would stop whining. The truth is, Nat hates chum, and has had to go to the hospital to get his stomach pumped multiple times because of it. Plankton is upset to learn that he never had a regular customer after all, and the episode ends with Mr. Krabs laughing at Plankton’s misery.

Can someone please remind me why I’m supposed to root for Mr. Krabs over Plankton? He’s starting to seem just as awful as Plankton is, sometimes worse. This episode probably has Krabs at his most unlikable (so far). Is he really so petty that he can’t let Plankton have even the tiniest bit of success and happiness? And even when he laughs at Plankton’s misery at the end, we’re still supposed to be on his side? It’s even worse when you remember that Krabs and Plankton were once best friends. Best Frenemies made it seem like there was still some affection between the two, but I guess we can throw that out the window now.

The ending of this episode seemed really mean. I felt bad for Plankton, which is probably not what they were going for considering he’s supposedly the main antagonist of the show. It’s one thing for Plankton’s plans to be foiled at the end of an episode and for Krabs to laugh at him then, but when Plankton hasn’t done anything and he still gets screwed over (and laughed at), it feels wrong. Plus, episodes that put too much emphasis on what a miserable failure Plankton is always make me a bit uncomfortable. I don’t mind if they delve into his misery a little bit, but this episode really exploited it to a point that made me feel too sorry for the little green cyclops. It’s not funny, it’s depressing. Mr. Krabs’ over-the-top meanness didn’t help the matter.

All that being said, this episode did have a few good jokes, but the mean-spirited overtones stop me from enjoying it.

Honestly, it’s episodes like this that make we wonder why I like Mr. Krabs at all.

Oh right, funny moments like that are why. Okay, Krabs, you’re still in my good books for now.

Rating: 3/10

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 5 (SpongeBob vs. The Patty Gadget/Money Talks/Slimy Dancing)

Three sister episodes again. How many of these does this season have?

Squidward makes a machine that cooks perfect Krabby Patties, meaning that SpongeBob won’t be needed anymore. SpongeBob challenges the machine to a cook-off and wins. That’s it.

This episode was pretty entertaining. It’s narrated by Patchy, who I usually find extremely annoying, but he isn’t that bad here, probably because you don’t actually see him, you just hear him. I liked that this episode was all in rhyme.

There really isn’t that much to say about this one, it’s just a cute little episode.

Rating: 6/10

Mr. Krabs tries to talk to money… yes, really. When he’s unable to, he makes a deal with the Flying Dutchman. He sells his soul for the ability to talk to money. However, his money keeps telling him that it wants to be spent. Even worse, it wants to spent on stuff Krabs doesn’t need. He tries to take back his deal with the Flying Dutchman, but the Dutchman tells him that he can’t go back on his deal. He tries to collect Krabs’ soul but finds only an I.O.U. Turns out Krabs has already sold his soul to a bunch of other ghosts. And SpongeBob. Why am I not even surprised?

This was an odd episode, and the concept is really stupid, but I actually found it pretty funny, so it’s forgivable. The scenes between Krabs and the Dutchman were great, and I loved the ending.

Rating: 8/10

Squidward, SpongeBob and Patrick all audition for a dance competition. Squidward doesn’t make the cut, but SpongeBob and Patrick do. Squidward tells them he didn’t make it because the judges thought he was too good for the competition, so SpongeBob and Patrick ask Squidward to train them. Squidward agrees as long as he gets to keep the trophy. Patrick gets a cramp during training which leaves only SpongeBob. Squidward, um, goes inside SpongeBob (so dirty) and sticks his arms and legs out of him so that he can do the dancing for SpongeBob. Yeah. Squidward gets a cramp during the competion and the judges think that his hopping around the stage in pain is part of the dance. They win the competition, but then SpongeBob reveals that Squidward was helping him with the dance and they’re disqualified. It turns out all of the competitors actually had people helping them, except for Patrick (who is rolling around the stage in pain due to another cramp), so he wins. The episode ends with an epilogue in which “The Cramp” is the new dance craze in Bikini Bottom.

This episode was okay. There were some funny moments, but I think this one would have done better as a short, it got a little boring sometimes.

Rating: 5/10

Sorry these reviews were so short, but I really didn’t have much to say about these episodes. It happens sometimes. There’s only so many different ways I can say “This episode is good” or “This episode sucks” or “Good God writers stop the Squidward torture what did he ever do to you”. I always try to find something interesting to say about each episode but you know what? Sometimes there’s nothing to say.

 

SpongeBob Reviews: Season 5 (Breath of Fresh Squidward/To Love a Patty)

This episode begins with Squidward waking up at 3:47 in the morning to find SpongeBob and Patrick in his bedroom. Seriously, Squid, start locking your door. SpongeBob and Patrick tell him that they come into his house every night and that it’s one of their favorite hobbies. That’s… really creepy, guys. You know who that reminds me of? Edward Cullen, one of my most hated fictional characters from one of my most hated franchises ever. Yeah. You guys are reminding me of him. You know, writers, there is a difference between SpongeBob and Patrick getting on Squidward’s nerves and SpongeBob and Patrick STALKING SQUIDWARD. Okay, okay, I’m getting ahead of myself here. Squidward kicks them out and puts an electric fence around his house, which still doesn’t keep SpongeBob and Patrick away because apparently those two are incapable of taking a hint. Squidward kicks them out again and gets shocked by the fence, which does something to his mind and makes him act nicer and happier. SpongeBob likes the new Squidward at first, but quickly becomes annoyed by him. Everyone seems to love the new Squidward and he is even made employee of the month, which SpongeBob takes very badly. Patrick throws a party for Squidward at his house and SpongeBob becomes furious when he sees the two of them “pogo dancing” together. SpongeBob yells at Squidward, saying that only he is allowed to pogo dance with Patrick and SpongeBob kicks Squidward out. He then feels bad and decides to go apologize. Squidward, SpongeBob and Patrick all get shocked by the fence again and it makes them all start acting like the old Squidward.

Like I said, the begininng of this episode is really weird. It’s another example of how the writers have flanderized SpongeBob’s personality and made him far too oblivious. This time it’s taken a step further by making him incredibly creepy, too. Besides that, I rather liked this episode. It was funny and I like the idea of SpongeBob and Squidward switching roles. Also, the ending is one of the most hilarious endings of the show.

Rating: 7.5/10

SpongeBob makes a Krabby Patty that he thinks is absolutely perfect, so he falls in love with it. You read that right. He. Falls. In. Love. With. It. Remember that scene from Just One Bite where Squidward dreams about marrying a giant Krabby Patty? Apparently someone decide we needed an entire episode of that. Anyway, SpongeBob starts calling it Patty and he, um, dates it? It’s going to sound weird no matter what. Eventually Patty starts to get moldy and smelly, so Squidward and Mr. Krabs try to convince SpongeBob to get rid of it. Krabs tells SpongeBob that he should eat Patty, so he does. And then he gets sick.

I just… I don’t understand how this episode was even made. How could anyone think this was a good idea? I guess Squidward and Mr. Krabs were kind of funny in this episode, so at least it has that going for it, but I can’t get past the fact that SpongeBob fell in love with a freaking Krabby Patty. That is the dumbest idea ever.

Oh yeah, and the episode has a lot of filler. SpongeBob sings some not-very-good song to Patty that goes on far too long.

Rating: 0.5/10

Hold on, I’m not done here. In this episode we get three disgusting close ups of Patty, which made me think about the gross Krabby Patties in The Algae’s Always Greener and Nasty Patty. So I decided why not make a poll on which Krabby Patty is the most disgusting? Yes, really.

The nominees:

The Algae’s Always Greener

Nasty Patty

To Love a Patty (1 and 3)

To Love a Patty (2)

Hm, it’s hard to choose. The Patty from The Algae’s Always Greener is disgusting (WHO’S EYE IS THAT?!), but Nasty Patty is tough to beat. I mean, the title of the episode is Nasty Patty. I think I’ll have to go with Nasty Patty here. Nice try, The Algae’s Always Greener and To Love a Patty, we have consolation prizes for you.

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!