Episode 223b Don't Feed the Clowns
Air-date: Febuary 12, 2018
Plot: Spongebob has to help a clown find a job after he is abandoned by the circus
Music: Calling All Clowns
Writer: Mr. Lawrence
With some of these episodes, I find it hard to say much about them. Maybe because there is not much to say, as the episode speaks for itself, and there is not much to disect. Maybe it is because it is so darn forgettable that it is not worth remembering the details. For whatever reason, Don't Feed the Clowns just has never stuck out in my mind. It always strikes me as an episode that sort of just fills out a slot, rather than something I will remember. Hopefully in this next viewing, Don't Feed the Clowns will give me some sort of reaction.
The episode begins at a circus, where Spongebob and Patrick are enjoying the spectacles. It is high energy and fast paced, and you sort of get sucked into what is happening on screen. The announcer fish tells to bring in the clowns, who arrive in a classic tiny car. They do a couple of stunts, and go away. Spongebob wants to go see the clowns backstage, much to the fear of Patrick, who thinks the clowns are wild animals. The 2 go backstage, and see the clowns having the time of their lives. Eating candy and doing stunts, the regular clown gig, except one who seems to be discriminated against. He doesn't get any candy, and the announcer refuses Spongebob to give any food to the clown. Patrick and Spongebob leave, as the circus packs up, leaving the clown behind.
Spongebob comes back the next day to feed the clown,only to see the circus has left. However, Spongebob discovers the clown who did not get any food yesterday is still there, all alone. Spongebob decides to take it upon himself to find the little clown a job. Their first stop is at a hot dog stand. Spongebob shows the clown how to make one. The clown tries to, but his clown urges (or whatever it's called) makes him throw the wieners in a circus like fashion. The people run away, as the guy who owns the stand comes around, and kicks the 2 out.
The next place they go is a business place, and the clown gets the job. However, much like the last place, the clown screws up the job. He gets fired, and finds Spongebob. The next job is being a firefighter, and unfortunety for thhe clown, there is a fire immidietly. Spongebob decides to tag along, and the firefighters end up at the boating school. Mrs. Puff is still stuck, so the clown goes on a ladder to save her, but instead squirts her with water, resulting in the clown getting fired. The last place the clown has is a bakery. As you can guess, the clowns clownlike nature results in chaos, resulting in him gettng fired. Spongebob realizes that clowns need to be with other clowns, and brings him to some place (hopefully the same place as Club Spongebob), and finds the clowns home, and the clowns get accepted in a nice ending.
People say this is a direct copy of Spongebob, Your Fired's structure, and on closer analysis, I can see similarities. The clown repeatedly getting fired from different places is very reminicent of the middle part of SBYF, though I do feel that this episode has more going on at the direct locations, and the episode does come off as more original. However, I feel that each job feels way to abridged to have any lasting value. I feel like all this could have been set up in a montage of gags, rather than explicitly showing it, as the way the episode does it feels very repetitive. Maybe there should have only been one place that they focused on, but with 4 places with the same punchline, it starts to get kind of old. I also am not sure why they decided to throw out the character arc that the clown had in the beginning, with the other clowns bullying him, because it seems rather strange at the end where the clowns just sort of take him back in with no questions. It makes the story feel rather pointless, and considering what happens, I feel more could have been done if they took a different direction. However, the episode does feel rather pleasent, and there is really nothing to frustrating going on. It just stinks that the story feels really predictable, when I feel more interesting options were there.
I'm going to be honest, this might be the least funny episode so far. Even Pat the Horse and Bunny Hunt, which I chatised for having incredibly junevile humor, at least tried harder to tell jokes, even though half the time it was hyperactive animation and characters being loud. I get that the clown getting fired in silly way is supposed to be a punchline, but when you repeat the same joke 4 times, it will start to get old, boring, and tiresome. I found the announcer using they guy as a whip to be kind of funny, as well as the "don't feed the clown" gag that the episode is based on, but other than that, it lacks good jokes, which is a shame since clowns are supposed to be the king of comedy.
What baffles me most of the episode is that they introduce Patrick in the beginning, only for him to be completly abondend once the circus is gone. This really hurts the episode, as Spongebob has to carry it all by himself. The clown can not talk, which results in Spongebob trying to convey everything to the audience. With Patrick, you have another character to bounce off of with Spongrbob, which could create a sharper dynamic, and better humor. With that said, Spongebob is perfectly fine in the episode. He wants to help care for the clown, and that is in line with his character. The clown is kinda cute in his mannerisms too, and I don't have much to discuss about him. He is a perfectly passable character, and all I can really say about him is that he is fine.
And that is Don't Feed the Clowns. It still fails to get an impression on me, besides meh. Everything it does is perfectly passable, besides the comedy. To be honest, a lot of this episode reminds me of Cave Dwelling Sponge, but that is a much better episode due to it having much more going on, with the Spongebob is framed plotline, along with more characters for Spongebob to interact with. Here, the plot is one note, and Spongebob has to carry the dialouge of the story. There really isn't anything bad or broken or harmful about the episode, but there is not much good I can say about it either. It doesn't leave me much besides "middle of the road", which is a shame, considering they could have had a lot of fun with the concept.
Rating: Average
Score: 5/10
Thoughts: (Just in the middle)
Place: #16/21
Season 11 as a whole
9/10
1. Teachers Pests
2. Squid Noir
8/10
3. There's a Sponge in My Soup
4. The Checkup
5. The Legend of Boo-kini Bottom
6. Larry the Floor Manager
7. Spot Returns
7/10
8. Sanitation Insanuty
9. Chatterbox Gary
10. Krabby Patty Creature Feature
11. Spin the Bottle
12. Man Ray Returns
13. Scavenger Pants
14. Cave Dwelling Sponge
5/10
15. Cuddle E Hugs
16. Don't Feed the Clowns
17. No Pictures Please
4/10
18. The Clam Whisperer
19. Stuck on the Roof
3/10
20. Bunny Hunt
2/10
21. Pat the Horse
QOTD Who has the more godly youtube channel, Todd Phillips or The DS Guy?