226b. Don't Feed the Clowns

Depressed Luigi

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Synopsis - When a small clown gets left behind by the circus, SpongeBob takes the hapless harlequin under his wing.

Well...... that sounds interesting. Hopefully this is kinda similar to There's a Sponge in my Soup and they do a bunch of good jokes about clowns.

Discuss this episode when it airs on Feburary 16th, 2018!
 
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Wintermelon43 said:
Synopsis - When a small clown gets left behind by the circus, SpongeBob takes the hapless harlequin under his wing.
Joker and Harley Quinn go to Bikini Bottom? I'm in.
 

Squidy

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I have no idea what to rate it. Some was Good, some was Meh, and some was Bad. Maybe a 4/10? I don’t know. Beginning was Meh Middle was Bad, and Ending was Good. So it gets a SCUMBOB for now until I decide what to call it as its real.
 

LARRY22

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I have no idea what to rate it. Some was Good, some was Meh, and some was Bad. Maybe a 4/10? I don’t know. Beginning was Meh Middle was Bad, and Ending was Good. So it gets a SCUMBOB for now until I decide what to call it as its real.

Shouldn't it get a meh since 1/3 was good, 1/3 was bad, and 1/3 was meh?
 

WayslideCool

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My dad is on a business trip so I have no clue what's going on but it's a clown episode and that is already straight up my alley. 10/10.

No really though, I'll rate the episode tomorrow when I can see it on Amazon.
 
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I missed the beginning of the episode, but I have to say the rest wasn't really that special. It was pretty much completely dependent on visual gags (I guess that's expected for an episode about a clown), and as a whole felt really generic and formulaic. The clown in the bakery going crazy with pies; yeah, didn't see that coming. >.>

The ending was nice, but like Pat the Horse, I really didn't find anything outstanding in this episode that would make me want to rewatch it (although I missed the beginning which could've been good). It was very middle of the road. 5/10 for now.
 

Klu

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Clear cut meh episode. It wasn't offensively bad like Pat the horse or Sportz, this episode felt more SpongeBob-like, wasn't that stupid and had couple of funny gags, but unfortunately most of the episode are screaming, laughing, slapstick and more screaming. One of the more Mr.Lawrence's weaker scripts, but still not bad, just middle of the road.

5/10.
 

Depressed Luigi

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i thought this episode was amazing and funny, idk y some didn't seem to enjoy this? oh well i am still looking forward to today's new episode later

Because people have opinions. Not everyone is going to have the same opinions.

Anyway, I guess I never said anything about this episode, but personally I thought this was good, but nothing special. For some reason I liked that clown :P
 

Ellie Williams

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Wintermelon43 said:
Because people have opinions. Not everyone is going to have the same opinions.

Anyway, I guess I never said anything about this episode, but personally I thought this was good, but nothing special. For some reason I liked that clown :P
when i heard about this episode being made, i thought it was gonna be like an IT parody
 
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It was alright overall. I don't have any strong feelings towards it. It was a harmless episode with couple of decent gags but nothing really amazing or interesting happens. It was weird that Patrick disappeared from the episode like that and some of the slapstick was just eh. At least the clown got a happy ending I suppose. Not Mr. Lawrence's best work of this new era for sure.

Grade: B-
 

Tyler730

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This episode was lackluster. The circus scene were mediocre, the “don’t feed the clowns” gag wasn’t too bad, but not great either. Additionally I felt really bad for the little clown being pushed around. The whole job plot has been overused at this point. It was nice to see chef from Le Big Switch return, but that doesn’t save this episode. Also the ending is one I have no words for. Overall a really weak episode.

Rating: Bad
 

WayslideCool

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Okay, I've seen the episode now. I liked it, but not quite as much as some of the other episodes as of late. It felt a little too heavy on the slapstick, but I suppose I can let that slide. That's kinda the way clowns are. Clowns practically breathe slapstick. I'd say my favorite part of the episode was the Little Clown himself. I thought he was pretty cute. Anyone who knows me knows I can't hate an episode about clowns unless it's entirely horrific, but I do like the general structure of this episode, even if the whole "job hunt" thing is something we've seen before. I don't really have much to say on this one. I love the interpretation that clowns are not exactly "human." Er... fish.

SCORE: 7/10

Nothing outstanding, but still decently fun. I can see why the community is more neutral towards this episode, but I sure love me a good clown enough to raise it at least one point.
 

TheGreatServer

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This is a fairly underrated episode in my opinion. While there aren't too many jokes, There are many sweet moments.

8/10
 

McSponge

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Don't Feed the Clowns is a very odd episode. Again, like an episode that came out almost a year ago (Krusty Katering), for some very odd reason, I just get Disney vibes from this episode. It feels like you're regular ol' Mickey Mouse cartoon, with the every man (Mickey/SpongeBob) feeling compassion for some kind of underdog creature, tries to help it out, if causes chaos, eventually takes it to where it's belong, they live happily ever after. It's a standard layout, yet I can't help feel this overall odd vibe from this episode. It certainly doesn't feel like a SpongeBob episode, more like SpongeBob's been transported into some other universe, or something like that. So you're telling me clowns are their own species in Bikini Bottom? That's a creative idea, but just...weird...

I don't know, at least it's a better execution that a...*ahem* certain other weird introduction in Season 11...

SnjvMeUl.png


Even though I hate this episode, I will never not love this image.

Anyway, Don't Feed the Clowns is such an odd episode, yet it kind of makes sense. Making clowns their own species in this episode is kind of brilliant. Okay, it's not..."brilliant", it's a word that I feel kind of sums up this situation, but it's as cleverly thought out to be described as being "brilliant". I'd say it's...kind of genius in a way, since clowns aren't fish...they're humans...but they're their own species...?

Somehow in it'd odd way, the overall conception of making clowns their own species in this series opens up the door to plenty of possibilities, without having to deal with the confusion of retcons.

https://www.sbmania.net/pictures.php?img=RPKscdGaOiFeQKeI9ILkSGk3Vb8%2BR4Ex7Tc5%2FZFWrCQ%3D

Okay, well, not as many retcons as there would be had this entire "Separate species" detail was left out.

As for the conflict itself, it's definitely not that original. In fact, when you look at it closer, it's kind of like Big Pink Loser. Only all the special traits found in that episode (The comedic timing, the brilliant pacing, the heartfelt moments) are all out the door. The plot's execution is...entertaining to say the least. It's not groundbreaking, or anything, but it certainly isn't that boring. It's kind of structured in three separate parts, the set-up of SpongeBob and the clown (Which I think was perfectly handled, slowly building SpongeBob's overall impression of the clown, while he, himself stays true to his character), the different jobs SpongeBob and the Clown try out (Which definitely have some funny gags thrown in these sequences), and finally SpongeBob's ultimate exception of the clown's fate.

Yeah, it's premise is similar to that of Big Pink Loser, but the execution of this episode's conflict certainly strays it away from matching Big Pink Loser's overall execution. I didn't mind this episode's execution that much, each scene seems to bring in something new and entertaining. The only scene I didn't care for was the hot dog scene, and even then I admired the unique design of the vendor.

Surprisingly, for an episode starring a clown the slapstick doesn't really go willy-nilly. In fact, it only seems to pop up when necessary, and actually is a necessary plot device to keep it chugging along.

There are actually some pretty clever jokes in this episode, I especially loved the pie gags with the different flavors. And the animation, holy crap, the "DON'T FEED THE CLOWNS!" animation is some of the best I've ever seen in this series. While the pacing may be a little sluggish at times, I personally feel as though this episode features some fairly amusing sequences. In general, the comedy isn't too grand, but it definitely has it's moments. There aren't really any jokes that bomb in this episode, either. I also gotta add, the ending where we see the Clown Prairie was hilarious.

As for the characters, I definitely give Mr. Lawrence props for making the clown silent. I don't know, the effect of the character's silence definitely allows his actions to build up his personality, a good general characterization I must admit. It kind of makes the clown more likable in a sense, I definitely found myself rooting for the clown at some points in the episode, even if that clown kept screwing up, he didn't seem to be that annoying of a character. SpongeBob, as he is in pretty much all Post-Prequel episodes, is spot on in this episodes. His desire to help the underdog, his caring and compassionate attitude all perfectly makes him a grand protagonist. In general, the two definitely work well together as main characters.

Overall, this episode is a Good Episode. It definitely has some flaws, but it's still a harmless and entertaining episode. It has it's clever moments here and there, with some likable characters thrown in. It's nowhere near a Great episode, but it definitely is much better than some of the episodes in recent time.

I give it a 7.4/10
 

iedasb

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When I was watching I wondered if I did really put SpongeBob on, or some other random cartoon, then I looked again it was yellow. Well, maybe it's The Simpsons, but no. It's was square. And it was scary. Not because I have fear of clowns, which I don't, because it had NOTHING TO DO with SpongeBob.
House Fancy, The Splinter, One Coarse meal is MORE "SpongeBob" than this weird episode.

Btw, I love you "SpongeBob". But teach the kids that clowns are PEOPLE wearing makeup.

Also, the voice acting for this episode was weird. I'm used to watch SpongeBob both in english and in Portuguese(idk how the portuguese dub will be) but the english dub, aside from SpongeBob, was really weird, the other characters voice sounded weird, and looked like they recored with a cellphone. Maybe it's my ear, I hope not, but it was weird...
 

Amphitrite

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This was a pretty strange episode, in a good way of course. I thought the general premise wasn't too special, but the execution wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it was pretty funny that this episode treats clowns as if they're wild animals, especially how Patrick portrayed it, and I kind of wish the episode went that direction. Going into the actual episode, I found it pretty funny. The little clown himself was really adorable and I felt bad that he was being pushed around by the other clowns. It was also nice of SpongeBob to take him under his care. Granted, the episode became a "job hunt" episode later on, a lá SpongeBob You're Fired, with the clown getting a new job, he clowns around, then gets fired, but I personally think it did enough different to make it stand out. The gags were varied up very well even if some of them were predictable. I was kind of expecting one of those jobs to be the Krusty Krab, but it was never in this episode surprisingly, but I'm kind of glad it wasn't since that would be too cliche. I also liked the ending when the SpongeBob let the clown run free with the other clowns. Also, maybe it's just me, but this entire episode, like season 10's Whirly Brains, gave off some kind of weird Ren & Stimpy vibe in terms of the story, some of the humor, the really fluent animation style, and the characters and their characterization, particularly the little clown, the ringmaster and the clown's bosses consisting of these giant, short-tempered characters with huge mouths whenever they get angry. It almost felt like some crossover with said show, so it definitely doesn't feel much like a SpongeBob episode. Heck, this very easily could have been a R&S episode if you just replaced some of the characters with characters from the aforementioned. I'm rating it an 8/10. I can see people not liking this episode, though. If you like slapstick/visual humor and clowns in general, I highly recommend this episode. But if you crave creative dialogue humor and clever jokes, then yeah. This episode isn't for you.
 
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