This felt a lot like a send off to MermaidMan and BarnacleBoy. If it was, then it was definitely a great one. Like others have said, it's the Best Day Ever done better, and I like all the allusions in here. The little play at the end was entertaining as well as heartwarming. Great episode.
Literally why do I keep coming across these reviews I do not remember making???
So, who else feels like this episode is “Overbooked” mixed with “Best Day Ever” mixed with “The Abrasive Side”? Nobody? Well, I can work with that! I stand by my assessment. And okay, yes the "Best Day Ever" comparison has been made (even by myself 5 years ago), but leave me be.
“Appointment TV” is another one of those episodes that pays tribute to the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy concept, and I can appreciate episodes like this. We start with SpongeBob getting really excited for the premiere of a brand-new MM&BB episode, and I can feel him. I love partaking in a good premiere every now and then. Though it has been a while. SpongeBob’s prepared for the episode, optimally setting up his living room and having popped in a tape to record the thing. I really liked the reference to my favorite episode, “Krusty Krab Training Video”, and I loved the joke with the two tapes of Mr. Krabs’ birthday.
The episode doesn’t premiere until that night, so that means that SpongeBob’s got a whole day to get through first. It’s interesting to watch him
not be super enthusiastic about his job for once, that’s such a rare occurrence for the little square dude. We get some gratuitous slo-mo, which I don’t care much about. But soon, the shift is over, and SpongeBob’s trying to rush home. Once he hits the first obstacle (I mean even before that, it was obvious), the general plot for much of the rest of the episode becomes obvious. He runs into Mrs. Puff’s boat, and she asks if he can help her change the tire. Of course, SpongeBob can’t say no. After using himself as a tire, SpongeBob goes straight home, and hey, maybe this episode won’t be so obvious after all—nope wait there’s Patrick. His rock got towed, and he wants SpongeBob to help him get it back. And we all know that this guy has no assertive bone in his body (when it’s convenient). I will say that the idea of Patrick’s rock getting towed is pretty funny. And of course, getting Patrick’s rock back takes a long time, and SpongeBob’s forced to pay for it. I thought we left that joke behind in season 8. And then Patrick doesn’t give SpongeBob a ride. I really am trying to be generous here and say that I understand the joke…but it’s still not funny lol. It’s just annoying and frustrating.
SpongeBob again tries to head home, but he’s stopped by Sandy who promises that her task will take less than a minute. We all know those are code words for “this is going to take a while”. I can at least appreciate that the various tasks SpongeBob is forced to do in this episode are varied and interesting. More interesting than the ones in “Overbooked”, let’s say. SpongeBob decides to cut his arm off and go straight home, unable to take not being there anymore. But of course, before he can get there, he’s quite literally grabbed mid-air by Mr. Krabs, who demands his help with sorting loose change. And then we get a montage of SpongeBob helping people even though he wants to go see Mermaid Man. Honestly, I’m surprised about some of the people he helps, like Plankton or the Flying Dutchman. And this part continues what I said earlier with SpongeBob having interesting tasks to do. The use of a montage here also helps make this plot point less frustrating than it could be, with everyone asking SpongeBob to help him in a way that disrespects his time a little bit. Because me personally, at the first wind of protest from someone, I’m backing down.
Finally, SpongeBob is able to go home, but by then it’s too late to watch the episode live. But hey, at least he’s got it taped! Well…that’s until he walks in and sees the tape malfunctioning, causing a disaster leaving SpongeBob’s house on fire. And this causes SpongeBob to lose it, sobbing uncontrollably. Gotta admit, I like the expressions here, they’re silly. Before I say anything else, I love Gary here, clearly caring for SpongeBob. Y’all know I love their little bond. Anyway, SpongeBob’s crying basically wakes up the whole town, bringing all of his friends (and other main characters + Larry lol) over to see what’s wrong. His expressions here are again funny and adorable.
Sandy decides that she and everyone are going to help SpongeBob because they’d taken advantage of him, because she’s queenie like that. And this is especially where the “Best Day Ever” comparisons come in, though they were already there earlier. The next day, Sandy lures SpongeBob out the house (which looks really cool btw), and brings him to a stage, where everyone has put on a re-enactment of the episode for him (probably made up, which makes it more endearing). Yes, it’s basically just like “Best Day Ever”, but guess what, I don’t care lol, this is adorable and heartwarming. And SpongeBob’s reaction is so cute.
Well, I must say that the last few minutes of the episode definitely made up for a lot of the frustration of the earlier stages of this one. Because before I was thinking a low Good at most, but now this episode definitely can land in Great.
Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.6/10