Re-Evaluating my opinions on SpongeBob Season 1-8

SquareSpongePantsBob

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I guess I thought it was a decent bit better and funnier than you did. I find it one of season 7's better episodes, but that's not exactly a glowing endorsement. 6/10 for me.

QotD-The title makes almost no sense to me, it's Krabs' secret recipe and Plankton's being Grandma who herself doesn't have any interest in it until Grandmum's the Word. I don't even think she had a recipe...

I'll be interested to see your The Cent of Money review.
 

Klu

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You know that Plankton's grandma already re-appeared recently, right? And this second appearance so much better than this boring chore of an episode.
QotD: I think title refers to Plankton in disguise.
 

Depressed Luigi

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QOTD: I think her secret recipe was to be a part of a bad episode and then never reappear with a good appearence until 8 years later
 

EmployeeAMillion

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The Cent of Money (Season 7, Episode 13b)
Original Airdate: July 7 2010
Episode 268 in standard order, Episode 267 in airing order
Plot: Mr Krabs uses Gary as a magnet for coins behind SpongeBob’s back
Written by Casey Alexander, Zeus Cervas and Dani Michaeli

[titlecard]139B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: SpongeBob Theme Song (don’t ask me which version, the wiki doesn’t bother to specify anymore)

During my first venture through Season 7, this was the episode I gave up on. It wasn’t the worst I had seen at that point, but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. How could I like Mr Krabs after this episode? Sure he’s not the main character of the show, but making him so villainous here is hard to watch. Sure he’s been greedy over his ability to help others, but never to such a disturbing extent. It also concludes the first half of the season, which I see as much worse than the second. I really hope my opinion on the series picks up from here, because it can’t get any lower than today.

The story kicks off with SpongeBob and Gary going for a walk, but they end up in a pretty shady side of town, walking right into a free parking area. There they meet up with Mr Krabs, and by fate, Gary shows off this new ability to attract coins. Essentially, his eyestalks wiggle and coins stick to his shell. There’s an explanation tacked on at the end, but it’s pretty cheap and I could get down with snails having magnetic shells for just one episode. SpongeBob addresses that it causes Gary pain, so this can only go in one direction- Mr Krabs using Gary as a tool to farm for money, and it’s sadly worse than it sounds.

Once they clear up all the loose change in the Krusty Krab, Gary’s shell somehow becomes more powerful, being able to rake in coins from customers’ pockets. Mr Krabs then easily convinces SpongeBob to do some impossible tasks, such as paint the Krusty Krab and rearrange the tiles on the walls, so he can spend more time using Gary as a magnet for other people’s money. I’m okay with Mr Krabs crossing a line, but at least wait until the third act for his actions to become illegal, or just hide them until you get a big, suspensful scene like in Jellyfish Hunter.

He goes all across Bikini Bottom to places like the beach and the laundromat, but hits the jackpot when he finds the video arcade, which looks and sounds more like a casino than it should. He quickly disguises himself as a pregnant lady with Gary as the child, not caring for the snail’s rapdily deteriorating health, but is stopped by SpongeBob, who’s caught up to him and has found out what he’s been doing. They get into a pretty long fight, and although I’m all for SpongeBob trying to knock some sense into his boss for once, it takes too long for the eventual flood of coins to crush Mr Krabs. You get a bunch of shots conveying “ooh, the money’s coming”, but it doesn’t come fast enough for it to feel like action. As I said, Gary attracts an avalanche of coins that manages to crush Mr Krabs (none actually stick to Gary as everyone evacuates the building though), and his hospital fine after sustaining several injuries is paid off by all the money he stole. Even if it ends on a moral note, Mr Krabs’ portrayal in this episode is anything but likeable.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but the comedy is once again lacking here. I can see where they were going with the routine of Mr Krabs sending SpongeBob off to do an impossible task, but it’s just an excuse to keep SpongeBob away from the real of problem he should be facing, which is the pet abuse Mr Krabs is putting Gary through. If the jokes about Gary getting unhealthy and having his shell break from how much metal has been coming his way really are jokes, then I’m sorry, they have to be some of the worst jokes in the series. Sure it isn’t “puppies vomitting” bad, but it’s still behaviour that I don’t condone. There are attempts to sneak in a few other jokes, but they’re not funny enough, especially in the arcade with Mr Krabs pretending to be pregnant and Old Man Jenkins losing his change.

The biggest problem I have with the animation are the couple scenes where the shot is focused on the buckets of coins in the arcade. I wouldn’t have a problem if they were all a collective 5 seconds, but there’s two seperate scenes involving them in great detail. We don’t need them more than 3 or 4 times because the arcade setting already establishes a jackpot on Mr Krabs’ part. You also get a few gross-ups of Gary’s poor condition, but they’re brief and aren’t the worst thing the season has given us in regards to gross-out. One positive I should note is that the design of the arcade is pretty well done. You can tell they initially wanted a casino (SpongeBob’s line about a life gone wrong sounds a bit harsh on gamers), so you’ve got a nice blue colours to make it feel inviting, a lot of bright arcade machines and a carpeted floor. It’s a location I wish could really come back, as long as a future episode featuring it is about gaming. Even then, the design of one location doesn’t justify anything about the rest of the episode.

There’s very little to like about the characters in this episode. Mr Krabs in particular destroys the episode for me. Sure he gets what he deserved, but the journey there is so mean and so evil that I couldn’t have been satisfied with any sort of karma he got. Him carrying Gary on a stick around town, and then telling SpongeBob he’s a useless fry cook isn’t him loving money, it’s him horribly abusing someone else’s pet. SpongeBob however has the worst scene in the episode, where he point-blank sees Gary in pain, but due to the situation not being spelled out to him, he suspects Mr Krabs is treating him well. If you want the negative side of every Gary episode condensed into one moment, this scene is for you. It doesn’t help that Gary was able to communicate with Mr Krabs later in the bathroom, raising the question of how this guy who doesn’t know what a “sneel” is understands one better than a seasoned owner.

Thankfully unlike yesterday’s episode, this is a bad episode which is interesting in how bad it is, but the more you find out what makes it go wrong, the more you hate it. I feel like at this point in the series, the writers had completely forgotten Mr Krabs was a protagonist, and were now putting him in villainous roles because it’s easier to write a greedy guts as horrible than sympathetic. Even putting him aside, the pacing is as slow as Gary himself, the comedy is near non-existent and there are some egregious plotholes. I just really hope the second half of Season 7 is better than the first half, because I don’t want to sit through a 25 episode period as bad as this ever again.

Question of the Day: When do you think Mr Krabs works as a villain?

Tomorrow kicks off the show’s very first special miniseries. Until then, this episode must be funny in a rich man’s world.
:sbthumbs:
 

Honest Slug

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Yeah, while I still think season 6 is the worst season overall, the first half of season 7 was probably the lowest point of the series. The second half is still bad, but not "Makes me want to kill myself" bad.

QOTD: When there's a motivation. He's a bad guy in Jellyfish Hunter and the Krusty Sponge, but you could see how a greedy businessman would do those things.
 

SpongeBronyPH

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The Cent of Money is meh, and Mr. Krabs is so mean spirited in this episode.

Answer to Q of the Day: In One Coarse Meal, where Mr. K dress himself as Pearl to scare Plankton to death. In most episodes of Modern SpongeBob, Mr. K only cares about money. His greed represents a very mortal sin.

Fact: The opposite of greed is generosity, a virtue.
 

RDSP

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Um... I actually used to like The Cent of Money... I hate it now.

QotD: When he goes too far with his buisness practices.
 

EmployeeAMillion

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Sorry for the brief inactivity. Although I’ve reviewed everything up to Krusty Dogs, I’ve found it hard going back to the old grind as school’s been getting stressful for me. I hope you understand that I’ve had to put school first, but don’t worry, I plan on getting Season 7 done by the end of April.

The Monster Who Came to Bikini Bottom (Season 7, Episode 14a)
Original Airdate: January 28 2011
Episode 269 in standard order, Episode 285 in airing order, Episode 281 in order of general release
*released on DVD November 16 2010
Plot: Patrick befriends a monster made of barnacles and toxic waste
Written by Aaron Springer and Dani Michaeli

[titlecard]140A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: The Creature (a)

Today marks my first trek through a SpongeBob miniseries. Season 7 and 8 are peculiar in that they each have a miniseries plastered somewhere in the middle, and they’re really just 3 episodes the writers tied around a certain theme, only for Nick to release them on DVD early removing any hype they could’ve had. For “Legends of Bikini Bottom”, the stories involve a mysterious or horrific vibe, often taking on a more adventurous tone than other episodes of this era. All I could really think of was how much more exciting these 3 episodes could be than the past 13, then I watched the first story and that excitement faded into oblivion.

What I wasn’t expecting when I researched this set of adventures is that 5 of them had Patchy segments! They were never released on DVD and were only used for the episodes’ premieres, making them similar to Shanghaied in that regard. I have to say, watching the first one on ES was a good idea. Set on a pirate ship in the middle of a stormy night, Patchy discovers treasure containing a book of SpongeBob legends, so he’s finally a pirate who does something. Even though we only see one location, the budget seems much better spent than his past couple outings, and I like the decision to make it more epic than funny. However, imagine being a kid in 2011 with this hyping you up for one of the most epic SpongeBob adventures to date, and then you watch The Monster Who Came to Bikini Bottom.

The story starts with Patrick running across a couple barrels of toxic waste over some barnacles, and he takes off one of the knobs keeping the waste contained for his collection. Because toxic waste is an automatic monster maker in fiction, it spills over the barnacles an creates a monster. This I can get behind, it doesn’t need to be toxic waste used for MM/BB merchandise. However, the episode grinds to a complete hault as the monster meets up with Patrick and is influenced by the starfish’s stupidity. This leads to a long, uneventful joke where they laugh at a snowglobe for French Narrator knows how long. It’s pretty much the epitome of dumb humour without any added intelligent bonus.

A while later, Patrick introduces the monster to his friends, starting with SpongeBob. Of course without any context, he’s completely freaked out and fears for Patrick’s life, and in a Family Guy-like fashion, he compares his emotion to one he felt yesterday when the Krusty Krab’s soda machine ran out of ice cubes. He eventually comes to his senses and meets the new monster, who they name “Rarg” after the sound his makes, which is of course a roar (paraphrased from the Dutchman’s introduction in Shanghaied). Rarg is so excited by his new friendship that he starts destroying conch street, turning the houses into pure CGi! The horror!

The rest of the episode plays out like a slightly better version of The Thing. The police come to trap the monster, but it escapes and heads on a rampage across Bikini Bottom. They try to chase him, but Patrick keeps them from harming Rarg, who then says something beautiful about losing a friend via exile, but SpongeBob comes around and says Rarg can be put to use. It ends with us seeing Rarg and Patrick in a snowy area crushing ice for the Krusty Krab. It has some heart and it makes good use out of a joke from earlier, but I think it’s an ending too good for the episode. The first two thirds of it were unfiltered idiocy, so an ending as sweet as this doesn’t feel earned. It softens the blow, sure, but it doesn’t excuse the fall.

I’d love the comedy here if it weren’t so focused on dumb jokes. Really, the start of the episode is just one big, long, annoying joke about Rarg meeting Patrick and being on his wavelength. Between giggling over a snowglobe and smelling each other’s armpits, it sets up a bad mood that can’t be avoided. They at least sneak in a few good jokes later on, such as Squidward wanting to be arrested so he can throw a tantrum and Rarg reading a magazine about toxic waste. These are both jokes that I think are okay, but they’re too little too late.

The animation is your standard gross-out with Rarg. Although I don’t think the barnacles on his back have as much of a part to play in it as in Barnacle Face, they’re still pretty disgusting, especially in the close-up of his armpit which I hate to think about. On a less painful note but still a pretty disgusting moment is when SpongeBob and Patrick are covered in his slimy saliva. Again, Rarg is a major culprit in bringing the episode down. Other than that, the animation isn’t very noteworthy. Just the very unnecessary CGi on the houses. The only major turn-on in this exciting legend is the large, gross monster who keeps changing in size.

As the first episode in a miniseries, new fans would have to expect their characters being in top condition, but this episode doesn’t deliver. Sure SpongeBob is fine, but Patrick is quite an idiot. I think during production, there was a struggle to figure out which character should be more of an idiot- Patrick or Rarg, but Patrick wins at times. Rarg wasn’t even born yesterday, and Patrick should at least know that having his house destroyed is a bad thing. Another comparison I can make to The Thing is that the police aren’t smart or likeable, though perhaps not as bad as before. It’s still one of their least competent portrayal, placing Rarg in a fence a tenth of his size and sneezing directly into a megaphone in another technically poorly plotted joke.

Even though it’s far from the lowest Season 7 has gotten, this still isn’t a good episode to kick off the show’s first miniseries. If I’ve learned anything from analysing the stories of this season so far, it’s that they tend to stink if the opening gives you nothing of substance. It feels like an admittance of defeat in the field of engagement, and this episode is no exception. If we just got the last act of the story intact and the opening to be more exciting, this could’ve been decent, but this seems like the sort of experience where you have to wait to have a good time, and that isn’t a good feeling when the experience is only 11 minutes long.

Question of the Day: Do you hate slow openings or annoying openings more?

I hope tomorrow’s episode won’t be junk. There’s a difference between junk and garbage though.
:sbthumbs:
 

SquareSpongePantsBob

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I liked the idea of two miniseries from seasons 7&8. Season 8's is a lot better to me.

TMWCTBB is only about a 2.5-3/10 for me. I agree with you on the good humor in a few parts but the episode overall is very slow during the first two thirds and the climax while one of the best points of the episode isn't too exciting. The story aswell doesn't really have an adventurous feel like one would expect for an adventurous miniseries. Half the episode is spent introducing Rargh, and the house destruction is kind of abusive and forced but did produce a funny moment from Squidward. I liked Patrick's speech too but the episode was also too gross in areas for a higher rating.
 

EmployeeAMillion

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Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle (Season 7, Episode 14b)
Original Airdate: January 28 2011*
Episode 270 in standard order, Episode 286 in airing order, Episode 282 in order of general release
*released on DVD November 16 2010
Plot: SpongeBob and the gang are sweeped away to the mysterious Bikini Bottom Triangle
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash and Dani Michaeli

[titlecard]140B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Out of the Crypt

Today’s episode is seen as the best of the LOBB miniseries, and I can see why. Its only competition is a bunch of stories that rely on a random adventure, but this one genuinely feels like it’s telling a story about a legend. The Bikini Bottom Triangle is based on the Bermuda Triangle, a mystical place in the Atlantic ocean where boats disappear, though this episode has a neat twist on the idea of a oceanic tall tale based around disappearing objects. Again, what’s its competition again? Vomitting slug gypsies and hillbillies that live in the middle of nowhere? I’m gonna savour this review!

One night, a mysterious fog and some beautiful singing sweeps across Bikini Bottom, vanishing as soon as it arrives. In an immediate jump-cut to the next morning with a light lever sound effect (which I’m sick an tired of this season doing), the denizens of Conch Street wake up and find they’re missing various items- SpongeBob’s foghorn, Gary’s shell, Squidward’s clarinet and Patrick’s cufflinks. With the exception of Patrick, who’s here for comic relief, each of these is an item they hold close, so having them gone is a real bummer, but not as bad as Mr Krabs also being nowhere, as Pearl explains while flipping patties (doing SpongeBob’s job for whatever reason). We know the fog had something to do with it, but they don’t.

A lone sea captain then gives an explanation as to what happened- the items (and possibly even people) were taken in a fog to the “Bikini Bottom Triangle” by the singing of mermaids. It’s the kind of inane nonsense that seems fitting coming from someone obsessed with sea legends, and the captain does a good job of making it sound mysterious. As if by coincidence, SpongeBob and Squidward are taken by the fog into a giant vacuum cleaner, which is on this mysterious island filled with junk. It looks like a dump but the piles of objects towering around aren’t as repulsive.

They manage to meet up with Mr Krabs, who’s getting a massage from a guy who was also transported to the island, and another wave of items is tossed onto the soil, including Patrick. Mr Krabs, wanting to go back since Pearl’s all alone with his money, instructs SpongeBob to find some help, and they come across the mermaids who sing for stuff to come. Unfortunately, they’re not very co-operative, stating that them getting lost or starving to death is TNOP (totally not our problem). At this point, the story seems to have gotten pretty lame, but they thankfully throw something new into the mix by having SpongeBob run low on his Krabby Patty meter. Mr Krabs fills it up with a Krabby Patty he finds, but that leaves the question- who cooked it? Plankton’s who he suspects, adding tension to their need to going back to Bikini Bottom.

I don’t know whether to consider the ending for the episode haphazard or clever, considering how infamous reset buttons have become. Essentially, Mr Krabs asks the mermaids for a way back, and sarcastically suggests they sing their song backwards, which works in sending everything on the island, including the mermaids, back to Bikini Bottom. Although an ending like this seems pretty lame on the surface, just seeing everyone in town find their belongings again smoothens things out. The mermaids head to the mall with Pearl, since she describes it as a place where you can get cool new stuff, and it turns out the sea captain cooked the Krabby Patty that saved SpongeBob. Once again, the story’s adventurous, and that’s all I could ask for.

For the first time in what seems like forever (not exactly forever, Frozen fand), an episode felt pretty funny. My favourite thing about this episode is Patrick, because he manages to offer several jokes without being too dumb or mean like usual. Trying to find his cufflinks, piggybacking SpongeBob during a hazardous climb, him trying to hang out with the mermaids (they finally borrowed something from the Movie), it’s fantastic to see him being a comedic highlight with no strings attatched. I also like some of the jokes with the massage guy who just happens to have gotten lost aswell. Heck, even the base joke of these Siren-like mermaids just being spoiled teenagers is a great way of modernising a myth. Overall, I’m a fan of this episode’s humour.

The most important thing about the animation is it’s set on an island comprised of junk. It’s not exactly a dump as we’ve seen in episodes like The Lost Matress, but rather mountains upon mountains of stolen objects, with tons of colour making the environment stimulating. A lot of junk that honestly makes the episode pop. Another positive I sould get out of the way is the design of the mermaids. They look cute as far as valley teenagers go, and it’s good to see a character’s design fit their personalities. The only thing I’m a little mixed on is Gary’s big butt from To SquarePants making a return. Then again, knowing the show’s other interpretation of shelless Gary, that might be a blessing in disguise.

Each of the characters has something to offer. The mermaids are a good mix of bratty teens quickly getting tired of new stuff, and ancient threats in how little they care for other people’s safety on the island. I’m fine with them being slightly villainous because they’re supposed to be monsters in some sense. The newly introduced sea captain is a funny mix of being a serious storyteller and an unintentionally silly old geezer who raspberries to make sound effects. The rest, especially our regular, all work as comic relief of varying types, especially Patrick. I’m not saying it’s fantastic, but all the characters have their positive aspects that benefit the story like good characters should.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I get to the end of this miniseries and this is its best episode, not because of the low expectations I have for it, but because this stands on its own as a pretty interesting SpongeBob episode. Between an actual story that flows nicely with actions affecting the outcome, animation that takes on a new concept to be colourful and characters that all have their own role, as little as they could be, this is a neat package. One more thing I should mention is the supposed Regular Show reference with Squidward getting his head stuck in a gumball machine. This episode aired after Regular Show debuted, which is something I never watched, but since this will have definitely been produced a year in advance, I like to see this as a mild prediction. That’s another little reason I find this episode to be notable.

Question of the Day: Are there any minors references in show you think could’ve really been predictions?

Out of the 6 LOBB stories, this next one is the 6th to air (and the 50th in Season 7 as a whole).
:sbthumbs:
 

EmployeeAMillion

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The Curse of the Hex (Season 7, Episode 15a)
Original Airdate: June 11 2011*
Episode 271 in standard order, Episode 297 in airing order, Episode 283 in order of general release
*released on DVD November 16 2010
Plot: The Krusty Krab is cursed by a Hex and starts losing money
Written by Aaron Springer and Richard Pursel

[titlecard]141A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Slovakian Czardas Duo

This always struck me as the most average of the LOBB stories. I remembered it having jokes, but also lacking any real substance that made it good or bad. Apparently this wasn’t an episode liked by Nickelodeon, as it aired during Season 8, outside of the LOBB event and without much hype. Given they gave the next three episodes the heads-up, which I’ll tear deep into in due time, I wonder why this was the one they skipped out on. It was time for me to find out, and I think I’ve got a good idea of why they didn’t want it within one of the show’s special events.

One day, a horrible storm surrounds the Krusty Krab, and a series of mini hurricanes takes away Krustomers who leave with umbrellas. The shift to a dim, grey light was clearly done for atmospheric purposes, but the umbrella joke only serves as a joke. One customer’s thinking of eating at the restaurant after closing time however, and that’s Madame Hagfish. The first thing she does when she meets Squidward is vomit, which is a real sign that you shouldn’t eat at a diner, yet she’s insistent on placing an order. Given she tries to pay in seashells, you can tell she’s not right in the head, but that’s no reason for Squidward and Mr Krabs to treat her like crud and kick her out.

Because he doesn’t want to see a customer disapointed, SpongeBob sneaks two patties out for Madame Hagfish to enjoy, but is stopped by Mr Krabs at the last minute. Hagfish, enraged by Mr Krabs’ cheapness, curses the restaurant, and it’s struck with inconveniences the next morning. At first Mr Krabs thinks it’s all superstition, but when the lack of customers and the random burning of money starts affecting him, he does his best to get the curse lifted. Sure it might be selfish of him to only want to lift this curse to save his own butt, but with two other people’s jobs at stake, this adds a little more tension. I’m not saying it’s good, Squidward sees himself out and Mr Krabs is only saving himself for the money, but again, it’s good when a story knows how to unfold.

Mr Krabs and SpongeBob drive all the way to Madame Hagfish’s trailer, and are told if they want tthe curse lifted, they have to get a gold doubloon from a sea serpent. What makes this particular doubloon so special when I earn at least 4 a day is out of the question, but the fight scene they put up, where Mr Krabs is almost crushed in a cobra-like manner and SpongeBob defeats the serpent with a few taps (so Karate Island wasn’t joking, that’s a real skill he has), is okay. Unfortunately, the ending’s rather underwhelming, and shoves you more questions than answers. Namely, how did Madame Hagfish put up a “Closed” sign to keep the Krusty Krab out of business, and how did nobody notice it? I guess as a bit of karma for still not believing in curse, Hagfish sends the serpent to the Krusty Krab, but it’s a rushed joke ending that isn’t worth the last laugh it delivers.

Let me get one thing straight, the comedy in this episode makes me laugh, but I wouldn’t consider it good comedy. Many episodes rely on different forms of humour intermixed into one complete package, but the only jokes that seem to be told in The Curse of the Hex are one-liners. Don’t get me wrong, I like some of them, like SpongeBob having the serpent’s business card and Squidward and Mr Krabs’ banter about the latter’s sleep mask, but how about throwing in some slapstick or wordplay? It just makes it seem like they were working on an animated sitcom, not a full-fledged cartoon that can take full advantage of its surreal nature. In short, more broken record-like gags, less Seinfeld.

One one hand, the best thing about this episode is its art direction inside Madame Hagfish’s trailer. It’s a bit cluttered, sure, but it gives off a mystical, unworldly vibe that fits with her character well. On the other hand, this episode loves it some gross-out. Between SpongeBob and Mr Krabs walking in the serpent’s “pudding”, which is clearly digested (SpongeBob even slips in it) and the design of Madame Hagfish (I know she’s a hag, but her face here’s a little extreme, given how young her voice actress sounds), this is an episode that’ll leave you with an ugly impression. Not to mention her vomitting slime in dead centre frame, which is almost never allowed to be shown on TV for a reason.

Noticing a pattern with my thoughts on this episode? Half of the characters are good, the other are weak. Mr Krabs could’ve had a bit of development if he knew the scope of the situation he got the Krusty Krab into, but he laughs off the idea of curses at the end making me think he hasn’t changed his mind (unless something destroys his restaurant). Madame Hagfish seems interesting at first, but the longer she isn’t used to her fullest potential, which is 10 minutes, the more she feels like a joke character. Kristen Wig does a good job of voicing her, but she sounds a bit too young in my opinion. As for SpongeBob and Squidward, they’re alright, SpongeBob because he feels like the only character to have heart, and Squidward because the episode’s sense of humour fits him the most.

With all that out of the way, why did Nickelodeon curse this episode to relative obscurity? I think it had something to do with the vomitting scene obviously. There’s gross-out, and then there’s flat-out portraying a character excreting their digested fluids uncensored. With the show skating on thin ice with gross scenes as it is, I’m sure this is where Nick thought the show went a tad too far. It’s not the grossest thing to come out of the show, but it’s up there, and it’s a shame that it’s the only memorable part of this otherwise mediocre episode. Unfortunately, this might be the second best it gets for LOBB.

Question of the Day: If you were to curse someone, how would you do it?

I’ve heard of shows going down the drain, but this is ridiculous!
:sbthumbs:
 

SquareSpongePantsBob

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Great review-just about exactly as I thought about it. Good comedy but wasn't the most energetic, and a bit gross in parts. I never see it talked about either so good to see it reviewed, probably a 5/10 for me. Still one of the top two LOBB.
 

EmployeeAMillion

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The Main Drain (Season 7, Episode 15b)
Original Airdate: January 28 2011*
Episode 272 in standard order, Episode 287 in airing order, Episode 284 in order of general release
*released on DVD November 16 2010
Plot: SpongeBob and Patrick head across Bikini Bottom to discover the sea floor’s drain
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash and Mr Lawrence

[titlecard]141B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Unknown Track

As far as LOBB stories go, this is often deemed as one of the worst. It isn’t because of its lack of adventure themes, trust me when I say it seems interesting at first, but all its promise and ability to be good quite literally goes down the drain. When you think of the worst things that can happen to an adventure story, boredom is usually the cuprit in actively destroying one. I’m not saying I hate it the most, because there are worse, but it’s the most uneventful, and for a legend, that just feels insulting to say. Shall we start from the waist up?

Once again, slow day at the Krusty Krab, where SpongeBob cleans the grill with his tongue. For some reason however, the kitchen starts leaking with water because something’s clogging up the sink, whose tap is still on. Exactly how it turned on is never explained, but it’s SpongeBob’s job (alongside Patrick who materialised into the kitchen) to pull the plug out. They’re stopped by Mr Krabs and told the story of “the Main Drain”, a mysterious drain that two kids pulled the plug off of years ago, taking the entire sea with them. Sure it’s the sort of tall tale that’ll scare kids out of doing something stupid, but ignoring the plot twist later in the episode, why doesn’t Mr Krabs want SpongeBob to pull out the plug? Sure he’s an incompetent boss at times, but how does he ignore how flooded the kitchen was due to the Krusty Krab’s plug?

Wanting to know if the Main Drain is real, SpongeBob and Patrick go looking for it. Their first course of action is to ask other old people if they know anything about its location, but Plankton seems unco-operative, giving no information other than telling them it’s a myth, and they’re then kidnapped by [an] Old Man Jenkins who doesn’t deliver anything either. Neither of these conversations further the story, or get SpongeBob and Patrick closer to their destination. They just serve to waste time and prolong the episode, which at this point had only spent about a minute establishing the history of the Main Drain and why it doesn’t make sense.

The duo’s next course of action is to scour the entire ocean looking for it, though this part is mostly spent on them trying to find a way of bubble transportation. I’m glad they’re still doing relatively imaginative stunts with bubbles, but it doesn’t get them any closer. Only when Patrick gets the idea to pull his rock like a horse do they manage to find it, and even ponder pulling it. This is then followed by a couple bogus plot twists, like Mr Krabs and Plankton revealing they were the kids who pulled the plug, which only further reduces the story’s believability. That doesn’t matter though, as Patrick pulls the plug, destroying Bikini Bottom, but it’s all revealed to be a bedtime story SpongeBob was telling Patrick (the second thing Pat the Horse pulled from this episode). The story felt like its main goal was to be a timewaster from beginning to end, and that’s never a good thing.

There are very few jokes in this episode, let alone ones that make sense. The one that sticks out to me the most is when Patrick says he isn’t into the whole walking thing, despite him make several paces throughout the episode. It’s minor, but it seems like another instance of him just needing to complain about something. Easily the best joke in the episode, also related to Patrick, is when Mr Krabs starts his story, but is twice interrupted by Patrick playing horror music. It reminds me of a similar fourth wall music gag in The Whole Tooth, which is probably the only reason why I laughed at it both times.

There isn’t much to say about the animation here. You get some gross-out with the joke of SpongeBob licking the grill to clean it at the beginning, but that’s it for real negatives. As far as water physics go, I’m not expecing an episode to portray them as being very realistic, plus the drain is used for more a horrific effect than to provide any source of realism. I guess the one thing I can compliment this episode for that isn’t shared with other episodes directly, are the jokes where SpongeBob tries to create a mode of transport using bubbles. It seems with every appearance, SpongeBob’s bubble-blowing technique is getting stronger and stronger, and it legitimately feels like a special ability at this point.

As for characters, SpongeBob and Mr Krabs are the only ones that provide anything for the story. The others, Patrick, Plankton and Old Man Jenkins, are there to either eliminate much-needed suspense, or in Squidward’s case, try to put in a few more jokes that don’t work either due to pacing or presentation issues. Even then, the main characters’ priorities aren’t elaborated enough for us to care. Why does SpongeBob want to see this apocalyptic drain plug, aside from Patrick pressuring him? Why does Mr Krabs have a fear/hatred of drain plugs due to something he very well survived from? It doesn’t matter considering it was all a dream/legend/bedtime story, right?

Well, it sorta does if you want to make a cohesive story that’ll grip your audience. The Main Drain doesn’t do that. It’s all a flimsy mess with very few jokes and even the characters aren’t that enticing, and they try to cover it up by making it a non-canon fantasy, which all the more makes it useless in the context of LOBB. Even if you take the twists out, you’ve still got an episode that spends most of its time sitting around doing nothing. No buildup in suspense, no character development, only a couple average visuals with the bubbles and that’s it. In conclusion, it’s proof that Nick should’ve pulled the plug on SpongeBob ages ago.

Question of the Day: Know any other good drainage puns?

Explosion from playing the guitar. I’m done. Until then, when I said they should’ve pulled the plug on SpongeBob, I didn’t mean it literally!
:sbthumbs:
 

SquareSpongePantsBob

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SpongeBuddyPH said:
The Main Drain sucks.
I don't know if you were doing the Question of the Day or not but either way that was exquisite.

Question of the Day: Know any other good drainage puns?
This episode should have been called The Plot Hole. :patboo:

I think I was too hard on it last time I rated it, there was some effort I suppose, but the insane amount of plot holes kills the episode for me. If Plankton and Krabs had pulled the plug how are they there!!! Had a more epic feeling I suppose than some other LOBB, and had some good parts at all, so I guess maybe a 2/10 I'll say?
 

EmployeeAMillion

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Trench Billies (Season 7, Episode 16a)
Original Airdate: January 29 2011*
Episode 273 in standard order, Episode 289 in airing order, Episode 285 in order of general release
*released on DVD November 16 2010, streamed on Facebook January 27 2011
Plot: SpongeBob and Patrick fall off a cliff into another hadal zone filled with country folk
Written by

[titlecard]142A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Hillbilly Party

Whenever I think back on Trench Billies, it’s usually as an episode filled with stereotypes. I know the way they’re portraying hillbillies here is meant to be satirical, but when was the last time anyone crammed this many hillbilly clichés into their work? 1925? I was also a bit skeptical about their bizzare location, appearances and overall unintelligent nature, which is putting it lightly. These all band together to make an episode that slightly offends me. I’m not a country guy myself, and I know very few people who would fit into these stereotypes, but it’s still such an ugly episode that I had a hard time getting to the end.

The story starts with SpongeBob and Patrick staring at a jellyfish. It’s an attempt at making an opening slow and atmospheric, but when that tone relies on SpongeBob breathing heavily and the fact they’ve been watching it for 4 days, it sets this up to be one of the least fun episodes of the show, and that’s saying something. Once the jellyfish starts moving, they chase it, but end up bonking their noggins together pretty hard, in a joke that’s so bad they did it again later in the episode. They continue to chase the jellyfish, but rush off a cliff in their excitement and once again plummet to the bottom of the sea.

Instead of a topsy-turvy world or a gauntlet of monsters however, they land in an outhouse being used by a fish with pupil-less eyes. It seems creepy at first, but you get used to it as more deep sea fish are shown, conveniently in an environment that seems to be well-lit though. In order to save their butts from execution, because these hillbillies are murderers for some reason, SpongeBob and Patrick have to partake in certain challenges, including banjo-playing and yodelling. They manage to survive because Patrick’s somehow a fantastic banjo player, making his competitor explode, and them belching corn soda is seen as yodelling by the hillbillies. The only one they skip out on is wrestling, possibly due to their previous experience in Krusty Krushers, and show off their jellyfish headbutt which earns them praise. I know they’re supposed to survive, but why do the hillbillies see headbutting as proof of a country stereotype?

Once they pass all the tests, they seem to get along nicely with the hillbillies and are given novelty rotten teeth (it’s just as goofy as it sounds). However, when they try to leave, they’re stopped and told they have to take care of the Ma for the rest of their lives. Yeah, this is around the point where we’re supposed to learn they’re irredeemable villains, but why change that in less than a minute? Essentially, SpongeBob and Patrick make it back up to the surface with no explanation and alert Squidward and Mr Krabs of the hillbillies, who have followed them up to the surface and aren’t hurt or burned by the sunlight. Mr Krabs then asks if they’d like to order, which works as they sit down for a bite, but when Mr Krabs eyes Ma and loves how many Krabby Patties she’s eating, the hillbillies think he likes her as an attractive woman and get them hitched. Ignore how some characters refer to her as their grandmother, making the situation much creepier, and ignore how Mr Krabs didn’t do anything to deserve a bad ending for one, because my major problem with this ending is how it could’ve been its own episode entirely.

The comedy in this episode is focused on repeating a joke exactly once (it’s now or never, SpongeBob and Patrick headbutting, the yodelling contest), or just going overboard with it like the pitchfork being used as a sign of threat. Even if these were good jokes, and trust me when I say they’re not, this sort of repetition with a majority of them will quickly desensitise an audience to its sense of humour. Another form of comedy comes from how they ignore what would be considered polite or acceptable behaviour higher in the ocean, which makes them annoying as characters. In short, this is a rare instance where I’m against how an episode tells its jokes.

The only thing I can get used to with the animation here is the design of the hillbillies’ eyes. Given they’re somewhat based on hadal creatures like anglerfish that can’t detect sunlight, it makes sense they’d have those sorts of eyeballs with no pupils. However, the rest of the design aspects, as well as the deep sea world they inhabit, is just very ugly. I get that country folk are easy for us city slickers to make fun of, but this does its best to de-glamourise the country lifestyle. You also get some gross-out with the corn soda SpongeBob and Patrick belch out, with the corn chunks making it look like vomit. It’s just an episode that needs to take a bath.

As a character-driven episode, this fails to get me invested in any of them, whether they be mainstays or new creations. SpongeBob and Patrick are just as airheaded than ever, and it never really seems like they accomplish anything. They just have to get through every challenge they’re put up against without any hassle or challenge, and it makes them seem one-dimensional as heroes as a result. The hillbillies all form together to make one stereotype, with only two (the fat ones) standing out, Ma Anglerfish because she’s their supposed leader, and the fat banjo player due to him not even being able to speak fluently. The rest are just made to fill out background space, and Mr Krabs and Squidward’s contributions to the story are minimal and happen at the last minute, so they’re not given enough time to be fleshed out.

I don’t know what I was looking for in this episode, but it didn’t deliver anything good. Although it isn’t right to get offended over a SpongeBob episode, I’m surprised this isn’t a more controversial episode in the mainstream. It’s not just a really lame story with hideous animation and characters, it just seems downright disrespectful to a group of people. I’ve said it before with the French in Le Big Switch, and I’ll say it again here, this is a pretty racist depiction. This isn’t just the worst LOBB episode, it’ss among the worst of the entire series in terms of how little quality material is delivers. I know I say that a lot now, but this is an episode where its bad elements creep up on you.

Question of the Day: Are there any episodes that you find to just be offensive?

Join me tomorrow as the LOBB miniseries is finally sacraficed for more varied episode themes. Until then, try to enjoy this music.
:sbthumbs:
 

SquareSpongePantsBob

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Trenchbillies is a 2/10 for me. I suppose the pupil-less fish is quite clever when you think about it, but a creepy design. Other than that it's an interesting location, but the episode is not a story I'd consider a "legend", and the episode itself was so strange and gross in parts and I agree with you about the same jokes over and over. Very low quality episode.

QotD-I honestly can't get offended by international stereotypes in cartoons. For example, I'm of mostly German descent and I found Squidward imitating a German family to be my favorite and funniest part of Sold! I suppose it's done in a more benign manner than it's portrayed with hillbillies in Trenchbillies, but I am fine with it. The only episode I'd say was wrong in that category was Sun Bleached.
 
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