227a. Drive Happy

[Matt0417]

[SIZE=11pt]I have alot of things to say about this episode. The first 2 minutes are SpongeBob going around trying different cars, or boats, and I would say it wasn’t filler if it was a funny scene. It isn’t that much though. BUT, then the episode introduces Coupe, the boat who’s just a damn jerk and likes fancy stuff. THis Coupe character is honestly pretty bad, but how is the rest of the episode? [/SIZE]

The reason Coupe becomes jerky is because SpongeBob works at a place he doesn’t fit in… when he could easily drop SpongeBob off and come back later….. I’m saying alot of negative things about this episode, but SpongeBob does get really mad and demands he go to work. And, it actually isn't a bad thing to me. It’s nice to see SpongeBob like this like in Can You Spare a Dime? Where he gets aggressive. And, I have to admit the design of Coupe is really nice, and just like in Chatterbox Gary, the guest voice is really good. Another negative thing about this episode, though, is Patrick. He honestly acts like his Season 6-7 self where he does stupid things and messes things up because of it. Overall, I was torn on okay or meh. It’s an okay episode. The characters for the most part are bad, but other aspects are okay-good.

Rating: 6/10 (Okay)

 

[jack_of_all_traids]

This is a neat little episode. I sorta like what they did with Coupe, but I feel his jerkiness could have been toned down a little. It's a breath of fresh air after the very mediocre "Don't Feed the Clowns", and it had that SpongeBob charm added to it. I was torn on whether I should give this a low "A" or a high "B". I decided to give it a pretty low "A".

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. Drive Happy (A)
10. Stuck On The Roof (B)
11. There's A Sponge In My Soup (B)
12. Pat the Horse (B)
13. Spot Returns (B)
14. Cave Dwelling Sponge (B)
15. The Clam Whisperer (C)
16. No Pictures, Please (C)
17. Cuddle E. Hugs (C)
18. Krabby Patty Creature Feature (C)
19. Don't Feed the Clowns (C)
20. The Check-Up (D)

 

[CheeseCrocker]

One of the weaker season 11 episodes. This episode is just a bunch of nothing until we get to the SpongeBob vs. Coupe sequence, which wasn't that amazing anyways.

Mediocre Episode (4.5/10)

 

[Sara SquarePants]

Possible title reference to the R-rated movie "Drive Angry"

 

[Pugs4Thugs]

“Drive Happy” is a middle-of-the-road episode. And by that I mean I can remember it, but not like every detail of it. And not just that, but I’ve never felt strongly about this one either. So it should be interesting to see if that opinion stays so benign.

This episode is surprisingly not a Boating School episode, though it is about SpongeBob driving. I’m surprised he’s not banned from all boat dealerships. If only cars were actually this customized. Anyway, the boat salesman proposes that since SpongeBob doesn’t have a license he should drive a sandwich a self-driving car! A self-driving car, that’s what I said. Ahem. Anyway. I like to think of this episode as a dig at Teslas, because I can’t stand the man associated with those cheap looking cars. SpongeBob falls in love with Coop, the self-driving boat, at first sight. And Coop’s got an attitude. And it doesn’t take long for that attitude to become a bad thing (for SpongeBob).

Within the first few minutes, this episode reminds me of a couple others, namely “All That Glitters” and “Gone”. And like usual, I’m cool with that. When Coop starts being…picky, it reminds me a lot of “Chatterbox Gary”, and how Squidward tried to sabotage our favorite snail. It wasn’t quite as funny though. But I will say, since we’re on the topic of episode similarities, this episode does manage to endear me enough to Coop that it avoids the problems that “Don’t Feed The Clowns”, “House Worming”, and “There’s A Sponge in My Soup” had, so nice work to the episode.

Coop proves to be a real character, wanting only the finest luxury for his car self. I like how this episode ignores the numerous times SpongeBob’s house has had a garage lol. Poor SpongeBob and Gary are simply terrorized by this car all night. See, it’s times like these that I really need SpongeBob to get mad like “Can You Spare A Dime?”. Please, please, please it would be so funny. Coop refuses to drop SpongeBob off at work because he can only be seen in the classiest of places. A good Krusty Krab roasting is fun every once in a while. And at this point, SpongeBob starts getting annoyed with Coop, which excites me, because I love seeing SpongeBob get passive-aggressive. On the rare moments that he’s full-on aggressive, those can be hit or miss, but usually hits. Anyway, we even get a little whiff of TrollBob in this part when SpongeBob acts like he’s gonna pee in Coop. Now that was funny.

Never separate SpongeBob from his job, because that’s when he gets serious. SpongeBob buys a steering wheel and pedal so he can forcefully drive Coop, license be d*mned. Their ensuing back and forth is really fun to watch, filled with great quips and gags. Eventually, their fight comes to an end when Patrick reappears and lifts Coop up like it’s nothing. And SpongeBob turns Coop into a kids ride. Dang, remind me to never get between SpongeBob and the Krusty Krab, because that’s cold.

One thing I noticed with this episode is that the humor is a little off. And the main problem is that for me, some of the gags just take way too long. Like the one with Squidward erasing the memory from his brain. It just…takes too long. I hope this doesn’t mean I have more of an attention problem than I already had. But I don’t think so. I just think the length of the gags isn’t worth the payoff. This only happens a couple times, but it’s worth noting. And there are other jokes that work just fine, like Coop eventually ejecting Patrick out of him is pretty funny. And deserved. The elevator joke was also really funny too. And SpongeBob calling out Squidward not caring was unexpected and hilarious.

Episode Tier: Good
Episode Score: 7.5/10