See SpongeBob writers, this is a Patrick episode done right.
He's not too jerky, he's really funny, it makes fun of his stupidity without him being too obnoxious. Perfect!
This was the 2nd episode of SpongeBob I ever saw (the first being MM&BB III, but let's not get into that too much here), and ever since it has always been my favourite. Something about all the jokes in it makes me laugh every single time I see it.
If you're new to the show and don't know where to start, this is one of the episodes you should see.