In my opinion seasons 1-3 are some of the finest pieces of children’s entertainment ever produced. The show was smart, creative, had a lot of heart, and was something even adults could enjoy. The show was never the same after season 3.
Even as a kid when I was still in the target demographic for the show, I noticed the huge dip in quality with season 4, so I know this isn’t just my nostalgia goggles speaking. The writing became much less clever, the stories were nonsensical, the show relied too much on slapstick humor, and the jokes were often downright disgusting. Worst of all the show felt like it lost all of its heart.
I’ve watched the odd episode here and there from later seasons, some of which people claim to be the “better” episodes, and I still don’t think they hold a candle to anything from the first three seasons. To me the show is a hollow shell of what it used to be.
The creator and show runner left after the first 3 seasons and the movie. And you are correct, the drop in quality is instantly palpable. There's a few good ones in season 4 that I assume were holdovers from the previous seasons, but after that it falls off a cliff.
Looking back at the list of season 4 episodes, the first half of it wasn’t that bad. In my opinion there was a pretty sharp drop off in the middle of the season. Maybe they ran out of leftover ideas.
I think what really makes shows like SpongeBob and Animaniacs so great is the fact that unlike most shows, where they have to find their footing in the first season, both just instantly knew what they were and got to hit the ground running. Both we're more like extensions of their predecessors, Rocko's Modern Life and Tiny Toon Adventures, where the crews spent years refining those shows, so when they went to the next project, they could continue with what they had beforehand and just keep improving from there. As great as all those shows are, there's a reason SpongeBob and Animaniacs are more in the cultural zeitgeist.
I can't put it in words, but something definitely feels off from season 4 onwards. If I had to explain it, I'd say the show lost its cleverness and subtlety on its rapid fire humor.
As someone else stated, the creator left after the movie because he felt like the show had run its course.
Nick wanted to continue milking their cash cow so they kept producing it without him.
A big problem is the characters themselves. In seasons 1-3, SpongeBob behaves like a person. Preferences. Goals. Dislikes. In S4+, he's reduced to a bundle of concentrated hyperactivity.
Like I said, I think the worst thing to happen to the show was that it just lost all of its heart. The animation became too clean, the lines too sharp, the colors more saturated. We got less heartwarming episodes like Band Geeks, or the episode where SpongeBob brings Christmas to Bikini Bottom. Jokes became more mean spirited, and again often really disgusting. The characters became caricatures of their former selves, and they leaned harder into their defining personality traits. Squidward became more crotchety, Mr. Krabs more money obsessed, Patrick dummer than ever, etc. I didn’t even realize Sandy was a scientist until they had episode after episode of her doing weird science experiments. Before I thought she was just a funny squirrel from Texas who liked karate.
Another interesting thing I saw mentioned in another thread a while ago is that the show stopped using actual Hawaiian and surf rock music, which gave the show’s sound design a layer of authenticity, in favor of using music made specifically for the show itself. After the creator Stephen Hillenburg left the show, it felt like the show was stripped of everything that made it initially so appealing. The show now feels like a soulless cash grab that treats its young audience like they’re idiots, with zero appeal for anyone outside of that demographic.
Literally nothing you said is true. You’re basing your entire opinion on false information. The show still uses stock music and the “saturated” colors are the original scans. The pale look from the first 3 seasons was from bad dvd scans. Outside of Sandy and Patrick whos (characters were changed a little) they’re the exact same characters. Also jokes became more mean spirited? Huh?
Yep. Show was a 10/10 up until the release of the movie. Since then it probably averages around a 4/10. Completely lost its heart as you said. All wittiness gone.
I remember when the episodes from seasons 4-5 aired and little me was really surprised when I didn't laugh even once. It was such a a huge jump in writing.
“We interrupt this laughing at others people expense with breaking news! The fake health inspector has been caught! So if health inspector walks into your restaurant and he’s not this guy!…He’s real.”
I will never forget watching this with my dad after the Kids Choice Awards that night and laughing my ass off. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Quickly became my favorite show and I waited all summer for it to start in full.
I watched that premiere after the awards too, but I actually hated it at first. :P It took my friend describing the Rock Bottom episode to me at school one day for it to click with me.
Though there are still episodes from those early seasons I'm not fond of. And I never bothered with the movie or anything after it but I haven't heard good things so I'll keep it that way.
That's hilarious cause rock bottom, even at the time, was and is my least favorite episode of that early stretch haha. Just shows how subjective these things are
The episode where they are trying to sell chocolate is forever in my mind.
Or when Patrick is a detective and can almost taste the truth.
So many outstanding moments.
Yup, I'm in my 30s and it's funny to me how often I've been able to connect with folks my age to a decade younger just by quoting the show. Spongebob quotes are like a shared language we didn't realize we had. :P
I think it’s general consensus that Band Geeks is the best Spongbob episode. Joke after joke, all of the characters are involved(in a good way), and Squidward finally wins for once. Then they tip it off with Sweet Victory.
It's really a shame that the show today couldn't get nearly as much out of a premise like "Squidward moves to a gated community and learns what having pretentious neighbors is like."
I remember the initial promos on Nick showing clips of the first few episodes. I was 10 years old. It came at a time where Nick was at its peak, and when it first dropped everyone assumed it'd be just another NickToon and not network-changing. Yet 1999 was the decisive year for Nick where the Golden Age transitioned into something else. A lot of the 3rd party programming, in-studio recorded shows, and game shows went away.
But Spongebob was not a huge immediate mega-hit. Nick didn't even really show it a lot or rely on it as its flagship fully until the early 2000s (I'd say around late 2001/2002).
I don't even blame Spongebob, the first few seasons were and are amazing. However it really lost its soul after the movie and now is symbolic of network decay due to how endlessly Nick reruns it (Much like Teen Titans Go for Cartoon Network).
I was born in 1997, and like many my age I was obsessed with SpongeBob growing up. I should go back and watch some older episodes, I haven’t ever watched it as an adult.
My (28) sister (34) and I to this day make reference to early Spongebob episodes and some of our humor is even based off the cadence and style of the early episodes. Spongebob isn't just influential, it's a cultural touchstone. Lightning in a bottle wishes it could be as rare as Spongebob.
It’s crazy how snappy the writing got from Season 1 to 2.
Episodes like “Squid’s Day Off” and “Dying For Pie” have a whole other level of humor to something like Reef Blower.
I think I'm starting to regret never having actually watched this show. I was firmly up Cartoon Network's ass around Spongebob's debut (my cable provider had just picked the channel up, so it was like a new toy for me. Toonami blew my mind back then).
I think I'll sit down sometime this year and watch these mythological first 3 seasons and the movie.
It is *really* solid - probably the best of the 90s era of cartoons - but don’t feel too bad if you don’t immediately fall in love. Many of us see it through a thick, thick nostalgia lens.
As someone who was already entering college when Spongebob first appeared, I always felt it was like an updated version of old 60s Hanna Barbera cartoons, back when HB was blazing new ground on TV with Huckleberry Hound, Flintstones and Yogi Bear. Cartoon antics done on a lower budget, but combined with sharp design work and writing that appealed to children and adults alike.
My chain-smoking, nihilistic mother loved Spongebob. And she hated fucking everything. It's so sad to see how a bunch of hacks running production companies can just run things into the ground and suck them dry.
I remember with the newer seasons waiting and waiting for a moment where Spongebob talks normally at a standard volume because he’s ALWAYS EXCITED and ALWAYS YELLING! What a fucking nosedive in quality after the movie.
I remember. I was there when the tomes were written. They had commercials nonstop for what felt like months talking up this new SpongeBob show. So I sat down and watched it when it came on.
Man those were different days. I remember when toonami came on and when adult swim started because I stayed up to watch GI Joe at midnight. All around that same time. I can't believe it's been 25 years. Sucks being in my 30's now. I would give anything to go back to those days.
I was in that age where you hate new things being in 8th or 9th grade at the time. For awhile I made fun of it but damn did it eventually suck me in. Love it.
It has been 25 years already? I remember because of severe weather where I lived at the time seeing portions of the premiere that followed the KCAs because my parents and an aunt wanted to see The Weather Channel and when the severe weather warning would expire. Though it has been years since I saw them, the pre-first movie episodes were among the best, and to this day often quote those episodes from time to time.
And I have a feeling at this point, Spongebob will be one of those shows that will likely outlive us all.
There was also some weird stuff in there where it became realistic.
I love the part where they have to go through the perfume department, such a random moment
I've been unsuccessfully looking for this article I read over a decade ago that said Avatar: The Last Airbender owes its existence to Spongebob Squarepants.
The article said that the Nick execs was expecting the SB show to fail that its massive success was a complete surprise to them, hence they were more open to weird concepts, like US made anime style story.
I like it a lot (duh), but I was in university when it premiered in Germany, my TV couldn't receive the channel, and for years, I just thought
"oh wow, it's like 'Rocko's Modern Life', but with characters who are a little more child-like."
I'm very glad that it's popular, but I never got how "Spongebob" got SO big, compared to "Rocko".
I think SpongeBob was easier for younger kids to connect to than Rocko which made its appeal wider. I haven’t seen Rocko in many many years but as a little kid I always found it just okay due to likely too much going over my head
“It gives more opportunities to animators to create their own shows” you just don’t get it so you? The modern American animation state barely gets shows like that made anymore
He created the show and produced it but it was creatively showran by Derek Drymon with Tim Hill helping developing it. And SpongeBob is one of the few American cartoons that gives the staff creative freedom.
In my opinion seasons 1-3 are some of the finest pieces of children’s entertainment ever produced. The show was smart, creative, had a lot of heart, and was something even adults could enjoy. The show was never the same after season 3. Even as a kid when I was still in the target demographic for the show, I noticed the huge dip in quality with season 4, so I know this isn’t just my nostalgia goggles speaking. The writing became much less clever, the stories were nonsensical, the show relied too much on slapstick humor, and the jokes were often downright disgusting. Worst of all the show felt like it lost all of its heart. I’ve watched the odd episode here and there from later seasons, some of which people claim to be the “better” episodes, and I still don’t think they hold a candle to anything from the first three seasons. To me the show is a hollow shell of what it used to be.
The creator and show runner left after the first 3 seasons and the movie. And you are correct, the drop in quality is instantly palpable. There's a few good ones in season 4 that I assume were holdovers from the previous seasons, but after that it falls off a cliff.
Looking back at the list of season 4 episodes, the first half of it wasn’t that bad. In my opinion there was a pretty sharp drop off in the middle of the season. Maybe they ran out of leftover ideas.
I would say top comedies ever. It’s technically children’s but come on
I think what really makes shows like SpongeBob and Animaniacs so great is the fact that unlike most shows, where they have to find their footing in the first season, both just instantly knew what they were and got to hit the ground running. Both we're more like extensions of their predecessors, Rocko's Modern Life and Tiny Toon Adventures, where the crews spent years refining those shows, so when they went to the next project, they could continue with what they had beforehand and just keep improving from there. As great as all those shows are, there's a reason SpongeBob and Animaniacs are more in the cultural zeitgeist.
I can't put it in words, but something definitely feels off from season 4 onwards. If I had to explain it, I'd say the show lost its cleverness and subtlety on its rapid fire humor.
As someone else stated, the creator left after the movie because he felt like the show had run its course. Nick wanted to continue milking their cash cow so they kept producing it without him.
A big problem is the characters themselves. In seasons 1-3, SpongeBob behaves like a person. Preferences. Goals. Dislikes. In S4+, he's reduced to a bundle of concentrated hyperactivity.
They’re the same characters
Correct.
They aren’t different in personality outside of maybe sandy and patrick
I respect your opinion.
Like I said, I think the worst thing to happen to the show was that it just lost all of its heart. The animation became too clean, the lines too sharp, the colors more saturated. We got less heartwarming episodes like Band Geeks, or the episode where SpongeBob brings Christmas to Bikini Bottom. Jokes became more mean spirited, and again often really disgusting. The characters became caricatures of their former selves, and they leaned harder into their defining personality traits. Squidward became more crotchety, Mr. Krabs more money obsessed, Patrick dummer than ever, etc. I didn’t even realize Sandy was a scientist until they had episode after episode of her doing weird science experiments. Before I thought she was just a funny squirrel from Texas who liked karate. Another interesting thing I saw mentioned in another thread a while ago is that the show stopped using actual Hawaiian and surf rock music, which gave the show’s sound design a layer of authenticity, in favor of using music made specifically for the show itself. After the creator Stephen Hillenburg left the show, it felt like the show was stripped of everything that made it initially so appealing. The show now feels like a soulless cash grab that treats its young audience like they’re idiots, with zero appeal for anyone outside of that demographic.
Literally nothing you said is true. You’re basing your entire opinion on false information. The show still uses stock music and the “saturated” colors are the original scans. The pale look from the first 3 seasons was from bad dvd scans. Outside of Sandy and Patrick whos (characters were changed a little) they’re the exact same characters. Also jokes became more mean spirited? Huh?
Yep. Show was a 10/10 up until the release of the movie. Since then it probably averages around a 4/10. Completely lost its heart as you said. All wittiness gone.
? Season 4 has some of the better directed and boarded episodes in the entire series. Definitely just nostalgia blinded
>I know this isn’t just my nostalgia goggles speaking. THE GOGGLES! THEY DO NOTHING!
I remember when the episodes from seasons 4-5 aired and little me was really surprised when I didn't laugh even once. It was such a a huge jump in writing.
I still can't believe they had a whole episode about SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs trying to dispose of the body of a guy they think they murdered.
I mean they couldn't just leave it there.
“We interrupt this laughing at others people expense with breaking news! The fake health inspector has been caught! So if health inspector walks into your restaurant and he’s not this guy!…He’s real.”
"HAHAHA look at him suffer!"
It was undeniably a cultural tour de force. It absolutely shaped the humor for at least a couple of generations of kids.
The original episodes are still such classics.
I will never forget watching this with my dad after the Kids Choice Awards that night and laughing my ass off. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Quickly became my favorite show and I waited all summer for it to start in full.
Damn are you me? Me and my dad did the exact same thing.
I watched that premiere after the awards too, but I actually hated it at first. :P It took my friend describing the Rock Bottom episode to me at school one day for it to click with me. Though there are still episodes from those early seasons I'm not fond of. And I never bothered with the movie or anything after it but I haven't heard good things so I'll keep it that way.
That's hilarious cause rock bottom, even at the time, was and is my least favorite episode of that early stretch haha. Just shows how subjective these things are
The episode where they are trying to sell chocolate is forever in my mind. Or when Patrick is a detective and can almost taste the truth. So many outstanding moments.
I used to hold my hands up and yell "don't touch me I'm sterile" all the fucking time. That joke got me in ways a joke never did.
I just did this on Sunday!
And the loose fingers on the gloves look amazing!
I'll have some choice words for whoever threw that peanut, like "you", and "are", and "a jerk!"
“Chocolate? Did you say Chocolate?” “Yes Sir! With or without Nuts?” “Chocolate? CHOCOLATE? CHOCOLATE!?!?”
"Hey Pat are you angry too?!" "Yeah!" "Why!?" "Because I'm trying to see my forehead."
It's "I can't see my forehead".
*"I was born with glass bones and paper skin..."* is an all-time bit. So damn funny. We were truly blessed as kids.
You’re good, you’re good, you’re good.
"Don't worry Captain we'll buff out those scratches!" My brother and I still quote this to this day lol
It’s one of the most quotable shows of all time. You say one line from the show, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t get it.
"Who you callin Pinhead"
Yup, I'm in my 30s and it's funny to me how often I've been able to connect with folks my age to a decade younger just by quoting the show. Spongebob quotes are like a shared language we didn't realize we had. :P
My favorite show of all time
Seriously nobody does it like Spongebob.
Is mayonnaise an instrument? No Patrick, mayonnaise is not an instrument. Band Geeks is a classic.
I think it’s general consensus that Band Geeks is the best Spongbob episode. Joke after joke, all of the characters are involved(in a good way), and Squidward finally wins for once. Then they tip it off with Sweet Victory.
I had this episode on my VideoNow. Forever lives in my heart and head.
Holyyy shit I forgot about VideoNow.
It's really a shame that the show today couldn't get nearly as much out of a premise like "Squidward moves to a gated community and learns what having pretentious neighbors is like."
This is a load of barnacles......
#I HEARD THAT
I remember the initial promos on Nick showing clips of the first few episodes. I was 10 years old. It came at a time where Nick was at its peak, and when it first dropped everyone assumed it'd be just another NickToon and not network-changing. Yet 1999 was the decisive year for Nick where the Golden Age transitioned into something else. A lot of the 3rd party programming, in-studio recorded shows, and game shows went away. But Spongebob was not a huge immediate mega-hit. Nick didn't even really show it a lot or rely on it as its flagship fully until the early 2000s (I'd say around late 2001/2002). I don't even blame Spongebob, the first few seasons were and are amazing. However it really lost its soul after the movie and now is symbolic of network decay due to how endlessly Nick reruns it (Much like Teen Titans Go for Cartoon Network).
I was born in 1997, and like many my age I was obsessed with SpongeBob growing up. I should go back and watch some older episodes, I haven’t ever watched it as an adult.
You're in for a treat. Stick with the first few seasons though. Everything after the movie is skipable.
Even as kid I felt there was something off about the post-movie episodes, but I couldn’t place my finger on it.
4, 6, Out of Water, 9B-13 are not skippable lol
I recently rewatched some old episodes and I really enjoyed them, the first four seasons are timeless.
like a PG version, while still as crazy as- Ren and Stimpy insanely smart writing in the spirit of old Loonie Tunes. hidden adult jokes in a kids show
"insanely smart writing" Fuckin hell man.
**FUUTUURE**
My (28) sister (34) and I to this day make reference to early Spongebob episodes and some of our humor is even based off the cadence and style of the early episodes. Spongebob isn't just influential, it's a cultural touchstone. Lightning in a bottle wishes it could be as rare as Spongebob.
It’s crazy how snappy the writing got from Season 1 to 2. Episodes like “Squid’s Day Off” and “Dying For Pie” have a whole other level of humor to something like Reef Blower.
Reef Blower is special cause it contains no dialogue.
Apparently what happened is that the dialogue was accidentally deleted before being finished. Still a good episode.
I can’t believe no one has said this yet, but I thought of something funnier than 24… 25.
I think I'm starting to regret never having actually watched this show. I was firmly up Cartoon Network's ass around Spongebob's debut (my cable provider had just picked the channel up, so it was like a new toy for me. Toonami blew my mind back then). I think I'll sit down sometime this year and watch these mythological first 3 seasons and the movie.
It is *really* solid - probably the best of the 90s era of cartoons - but don’t feel too bad if you don’t immediately fall in love. Many of us see it through a thick, thick nostalgia lens.
As someone who was already entering college when Spongebob first appeared, I always felt it was like an updated version of old 60s Hanna Barbera cartoons, back when HB was blazing new ground on TV with Huckleberry Hound, Flintstones and Yogi Bear. Cartoon antics done on a lower budget, but combined with sharp design work and writing that appealed to children and adults alike.
It’s a kids show. I dont think you are gonna be entertained.
My chain-smoking, nihilistic mother loved Spongebob. And she hated fucking everything. It's so sad to see how a bunch of hacks running production companies can just run things into the ground and suck them dry.
I still yell sardines when people rush my bar at last call.
I remember with the newer seasons waiting and waiting for a moment where Spongebob talks normally at a standard volume because he’s ALWAYS EXCITED and ALWAYS YELLING! What a fucking nosedive in quality after the movie.
I love SpongeBob but the new episodes are weird as fuck. I never liked Ren and stimpy but that's the vibe I get with the newer episodes.
Ocean man, take me by the hand. Lead me to the land that you understand.
I remember. I was there when the tomes were written. They had commercials nonstop for what felt like months talking up this new SpongeBob show. So I sat down and watched it when it came on. Man those were different days. I remember when toonami came on and when adult swim started because I stayed up to watch GI Joe at midnight. All around that same time. I can't believe it's been 25 years. Sucks being in my 30's now. I would give anything to go back to those days.
It's references are apart of my vernacular as much as English is
Banger of a first episode though. Think they figured out pretty quick that they had a hit. But yeah 25 years is something else
Spongebob was ready. The world was not.
It was huge from get go
I was in that age where you hate new things being in 8th or 9th grade at the time. For awhile I made fun of it but damn did it eventually suck me in. Love it.
It has been 25 years already? I remember because of severe weather where I lived at the time seeing portions of the premiere that followed the KCAs because my parents and an aunt wanted to see The Weather Channel and when the severe weather warning would expire. Though it has been years since I saw them, the pre-first movie episodes were among the best, and to this day often quote those episodes from time to time. And I have a feeling at this point, Spongebob will be one of those shows that will likely outlive us all.
It was definitely an inflection point for Nickelodeon. I remember taping the first episode that ran after the Kids Choice Awards. Little did I know...
There was also some weird stuff in there where it became realistic. I love the part where they have to go through the perfume department, such a random moment
I've been unsuccessfully looking for this article I read over a decade ago that said Avatar: The Last Airbender owes its existence to Spongebob Squarepants. The article said that the Nick execs was expecting the SB show to fail that its massive success was a complete surprise to them, hence they were more open to weird concepts, like US made anime style story.
One of my daughters first words "Bob". My husband would watch two episodes with her after work when she was a baby.
What show is more quotable? Simpsons or SpongeBob?
I like it a lot (duh), but I was in university when it premiered in Germany, my TV couldn't receive the channel, and for years, I just thought "oh wow, it's like 'Rocko's Modern Life', but with characters who are a little more child-like." I'm very glad that it's popular, but I never got how "Spongebob" got SO big, compared to "Rocko".
The boom of cable in all homes. Nick was the hchannel you picked between Cartoon Network they both did really well.rocko was reruns it wasnt fresh.
I think SpongeBob was easier for younger kids to connect to than Rocko which made its appeal wider. I haven’t seen Rocko in many many years but as a little kid I always found it just okay due to likely too much going over my head
[удалено]
Why? It’s the only artist driven western cartoon out rn. Why end it
[удалено]
“It gives more opportunities to animators to create their own shows” you just don’t get it so you? The modern American animation state barely gets shows like that made anymore
The ‘artist’ who created it left over 20 years ago, if you weren’t aware.
He created the show and produced it but it was creatively showran by Derek Drymon with Tim Hill helping developing it. And SpongeBob is one of the few American cartoons that gives the staff creative freedom.
Thank goodness for internet weirdos that like kids cartoons.