226b. Don't Feed the Clowns

[Honest Slug]

This episode wasn't good, but less like a SpongeBob episode than One Coarse Meal and The Splinter, really? Plus SpongeBob is not an educational show. Overall though this episode was pretty mediocre. Like most new episodes it felt like a bunch of predictable slapstick with little else, I kinda like the clowns though.

5/10

 

[Matt0417]

[SIZE=11pt]Clowns have been touched on before in SpongeBob, but only for short scenes or jokes, there really hasn’t been any stories dedicated to clowns. So, I was actually pretty pumped for this episode. Although, there’s 4 minutes of the episode before SpongeBob actually decides to help the clown, SpongeBob and the clown have a very sweet relationship. Also, the fact that every job SpongeBob assigns the clown has something similar to what a clown would like, for example a bakery having pies, is pretty funny on the inside. Other than that, there wasn’t that much comedy. I do like the circus staff guy randomly saying the title of this episode in a funny infliction though. Even with no comedy and a few minutes of minor filler at the beginning, it’s a sweet episode that shows that SpongeBob’s soul as a character has returned[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Rating: 8/10 (Great)[/SIZE]

 

[jack_of_all_traids]

I wasn't too thrilled by this episode. I like the premise, but the execution just falls flat. I like some of the things they did with this episode, but overall, not a very memorable one.

THE LIST:
1. Scavenger Pants (A+)
2. Teacher's Pests (A+)
3. The Legend Of Boo-Kini Bottom (A+)
4. Squid Noir (A)
5. Chatterbox Gary (A)
6. Man Ray Returns (A)
7. Spin The Bottle (A)
8. Larry The Floor Manager (A)
9. Stuck On The Roof (B)
10. There's A Sponge In My Soup (B)
11. Pat the Horse (B)
12. Spot Returns (B)
13. Cave Dwelling Sponge (B)
14. The Clam Whisperer (C)
15. No Pictures, Please (C)
16. Cuddle E. Hugs (C)
17. Krabby Patty Creature Feature (C)
18. Don't Feed the Clowns (C)
19. The Check-Up (D)

 

[Pugs4Thugs]

“Don’t Feed The Clowns” is another one of those season 11 episodes I don’t remember. Like at all. My vague impression of this episode is a mix of “House Worming”, “Rock-A-Bye Bivalve”, and that one episode from Regular Show with the baby ducks. Oh and the one with the unicorns too. This is, again, an extremely vague impression, because I don’t remember much in the way of actual scenes in this episode. I think I know the basic plot? But I’m avoiding looking at the Wiki for answers, so I could be very far off. Guess I’ll have to rewatch this episode and see.

The episode begins with SpongeBob and Patrick having fun at the circus. Which I suppose is a location we’ve never seen in Bikini Bottom before, so that’s fun. Once the clowns come in, I realize pretty quickly that this is not going to be the episode for me. First off, clowns don’t amuse me in real life lol. But also, in the show, it means it’s about to be a festival of slapstick. And I’m going to be honest, slapstick works best for me when it’s characters we know (that’s one of the reasons why Squidward being a butt-monkey is so funny). Having it be these random clowns? Yawn. And also treating the clowns like they’re wild animals? Big yawn. Clown stories are more interesting when it’s a real person behind the makeup lol.

As you might imagine, I continue to be quite a bit bored when SpongeBob and Patrick go backstage to see the clowns. I truly just don’t care about the clowns or the plight of the littlest one. I mean sure, SpongeBob’s kind heart is nice to see, but I don’t really…care? SpongeBob tries to help the little guy get a new job after they’re left by the circus, but the clown is only good at being a clown. How shocking. Sorry, I’m being rude to this episode, but I need to convey how much I truly don’t care.

This episode, as I’ve mentioned, suffers from “being about a character they haven’t given me reason to care about”-itis. The same disease suffered by “House Worming” and “There’s A Sponge In My Soup”. So I suppose that’s one bad thing about this trend towards having episodes be about different characters other than the central ones, even though I do like the trend in general. But they have got to stop introducing characters for one minute and not giving them enough substance to make them likable enough for me to care. Maybe I just take a long time to warm up to people, but I don’t know. I mean I really liked Rube, and the grandma in “Mall Girl Pearl”. Or the Sharks, or the characters in “The Getaway”. So clearly this isn’t always an issue. Just sometimes.

Yeah, I really don’t have much to say about “Don’t Feed The Clowns”. It felt like I was outside of myself watching this whole thing. And yes maybe that’s a problem I need to look inward about, but doesn’t change the fact that this episode bores me to pieces. Also, I don’t like how Patrick completely disappears after the first 2 minutes. Maybe if he stayed around, the episode could’ve been more interesting because of some real interactions between SpongeBob and the clown. But instead, we just get an episode decently similar to “Stanley S. SquarePants”, except I like that episode more. Also, SpongeBob should’ve been more passive-aggressive in this one, now that woulda been funny.

Episode Tier: Mediocre
Episode Score: 5.2/10

 

[Spongeboy Fan 123]

8/10