Re-Evaluating my opinions on SpongeBob Season 1-8

EmployeeAMillion

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The Inside Job (Season 7, Episode 3b)
Original Airdate: July 19 2009
Episode 249 in standard order, Episode 247 in airing order
Plot: Plankton enters SpongeBob’s head and attempts to read his mind
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash and Mr Lawrence

[titlecard]129B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Secret Agent SquarePants

Say, haven’t I seen this before? The idea of Plankton being inside SpongeBob’s head and doing something with his brain was already done in his very first appearance, Plankton!. We’ve also seen him going inside SpongeBob’s brain since in Sponge Out of Water, and the the more Fantastic Voyage-like elements have been played with before in SquidTastic Voyage. You’re not getting anything new here, but let’s just hope they can teach an old dog new tricks. After all, it was clear SpongeBob was being made for a new generation of kids by this point, reruns of the old episodes notwithstanding. Let’s dive in until we’re all pink and sticky.

For what feels like the hundredth time, the episode starts with Plankton moping about his failure to win the Krabby Patty formula to Karen, especially after a father and his son come into the Chum Bucket, not to eat the food, but because they’re on a tour of the grossest places in Bikini Bottom. This is actually a good joke, as the posh clothes they’re wearing makes it seem like they’re dropping by after school. Karen gives Plankton the idea to wear a double-sided plunger contraption that can read minds, and to use it on Mr Krabs to attain the formula. This start is alright, even if it’s a bit on the slow side.

She shoots and aims Plankton at Mr Krabs, who seems to be standing outside without moving a muscle. After a few close calls with Squidward and Patrick, it’s revealed Mr Krabs is actually a cardboard cutout SpongeBob’s holding, which is a rather funny way of explaining how convenient it is Mr Krabs is just standing here, while also providing the inconvenience of Plankton getting inside SpongeBob’s head. The next little portion of the episode involves him plugging his contraption into different parts of SpongeBob’s body, like his eyes and ears, only for SpongeBob to lose his cool with not being able to see and/or hear. For such a new concept, it makes me wish the whole episode was just this, with Plankton plugging himself into different parts.

Unfortunately, the episode goes in a different direction after just two organs, as he goes right into SpongeBob’s brain, which it turns out is a pink, sludgy replica of his pineapple house. He learns from a secret file cabinet that the secret formula is located in the heart, but once he gains access to it, he morphs into a tiny SpongeBob clone and adopts his worldview, refusing to reveal the formula to Karen as that would be “stealing”. Things get even worse when he flies out and then gets stuck to Patrick’s head, and becomes a tiny Patrick clone instead. It’s unfortunate, that the episode had to end on this note, as it doesn’t make any sense. He’s not in contact with Patrick’s heart, or even inside him, he just turns into him by sheer accident.

Like I said, the episode has some good jokes. I already mentioned the two I like the most, the “highlights” if you will, of a father taking his son to see the Chum Bucket because it’s a dump, and of SpongeBob trying to position a cardboard Mr Krabs. However, there are a few more jokes than that, like the fact that Plankton essentially turns into SpongeBob after too much exposure to his heart, which could be a callback to how Mr Lawrence auditioned for the role back in 1996. I also enjoy the idea of SpongeBob’s eyes being unplugged turning him blind, and then his ears turning him deaf, as well as the shenanigans that ensue with Mr Krabs in the latter case, though their execution here doesn’t go above the standard call of being a joke.

Oh boy, when it comes to the animation in this episode’s there’s plenty of gross-out. First of all, the excessive veins, from inside SpongeBob to on Plankton’s eyes whenever his mind-reading gets too intense, this is an episode they wanted to make with some level of bodily realism. However, I find this to be excusable, because I can’t pretend stuff like Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy IV and SquidTastic Voyage wasn’t made to be squeamish either. You also get the grossness of the Chum Bucket at the beginning, which I’m a little more critical of. Sure it’s poorly run, but they’ve never dwelled on it being gross like this before. At the same time however, I wouldn’t expect it to be very clean.

Now onto characters. Plankton is your standard Plankton, just trying to get the Krabby Patty secret formula through any means possible, even if it means traversing someone’s body and pumping information from their heart. SpongeBob’s somewhat funny here, taking his random body problems with ease and then fear, while remaining oblivious of Plankton, even when he flies out right under his nose. As for negative characters, Mr Krabs and Squidward don’t have much of a purpose other than to make the Krusty Krab look more alive, while Patrick and his part to play in further changing Plankton is useless. Plankton was already not going to spill the beans in his SpongeBob form, how would killing his entire brain and leaving him a blithering dope further the story?

I don’t know if it’s because I’m 6 episodes in and am desperate to say something positive, but I can finally say that I enjoyed a Season 7 episode. Sure it’s messy and gross, but I find there to be some creative moments and a few jokes that, while not hilarious, work as jokes. I guess part of this can be attributed to it feeling like an extension of Plankton!, and in some ways a prelude to later “inside SpongeBob’s brain” jokes such as in Sponge Out of Water. Even then, I’d much rather watch those than this, but at the same time, I’d much rather watch this than any else in the season so far.

Question of the Day: If you were to try and read someone’s brain, who would you choose and why?

Tomorrow’s episode is one that’s pretty greased up. Until then, here’s that music that plays whenever something “spooky” is happening.
:sbthumbs:
 

EmployeeAMillion

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Greasy Buffoons (Season 7, Episode 4a)
Original Airdate: November 27 2009 (Episode 250)
Plot: In a last ditch effort to get customers, Mr Krabs and Plankton hype up grease
Written by Aaron Springer and Derek Iversen

[titlecard]130A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Clownfish Capers

Back when I started watching SpongeBob again around 09/10 to see if it was still worth watching, this is one of the episodes I happened to catch, and it really convinced me the show wasn’t worth watching again, at least not long-term. Although episodes like House Fancy and The Splinter had freaky, disturbing scenes and themes, Greasy Buffoons has always struck me as being slow with its gross-out, and therefore it seems to dwell on it more. Since there are some people out there who like this episode for its more general humour, I had no idea what to think of it when I turned it back on.

Take a wild guess where this episode starts:
A) With a pan across some sort of landscape, setting the scene for where the lead character is
B) Perhaps with a character starting his day-to-day routine, only for something interesting to happen down the line, or
C) On a slow day at the Krusty Krab
If you guessed C, you’d be right. Not slow as in there’s no customers, but slow as in each joke is drawn out and annoying. The pace ramps up a little when SpongeBob slips on some grease and accidentally messes up a customer’s order. Where the grease slick came from is never explained, but what is explained is that the Krusty Krab’s grease trap needs a clean. Mr Krabs takes SpongeBob to dump is behind the Chum Bucket in a truck (which SpongeBob drives), but they briefly question whether it’s legal. It’s not a good start to the episode when the pivotal conversation goes along the lines of “Shouldn’t we be in trouble for doing this? .....Eh, screw it!”

The next morning, Plankton slips in the grease while taking out the garbage, and comes up with a plan to use it to his advantage. He coats his meals in as much grease as possible, and that manages to rake in customers. Once again, Plankton getting customers rubs me the wrong way, especially if it’s for food that doesn’t even taste good. At least Chum Bucket Supreme and Chum Caverns mixed it up by admitting the customers were only eating chum for the atmosphere. Mr Krabs discovers this and urges SpongeBob to cook with more grease, which starts a cockfight between the two businesses to see how much grease they can put in their meals, which I could tolerate if it were a montage, but it’s 2 minutes of the episode involving customers going back and forth gorging on grease.

Eventually, Mr Krabs adds soup to the menu, which is pure grease. While taking an order to a table, SpongeBob sees how much this has affected the customers’ health, and has even made Patrick ill. Seeing how both his boss and rival have gone too far, he calls the health inspector to put an end to their feud. What follows is a pretty painful joke of SpongeBob trying to tell the health inspector they were feeding people grease, which is padded out by Krabs and Plankton trying to keep his mouth shut. Both the Krusty Krab and Chum Bucket are forced to close until the grease is cleared up, but SpongeBob helps out by absorbing it all. After all that happened, I’m surprised at SpongeBob for wanting to help Mr Krabs out. Sure he’s a good sport, but he didn’t wait long enough for the message to sink into his boss.

To give this episode the benefit of the doubt, there are some jokes that seem to be good, like the “fast food” remark at the very beginning. I also love when Mr Krabs hints that two employees should take out the grease trap, and Squidward fades away from the scene. He doesn’t even have to say anything, the odd nature of the joke does it all. However, there are some jokes that stink more than pure grease, like the aforementioned gag of Mr Krabs and Plankton keeping SpongeBob from spilling the beans. You also have the townsfolk acting without the slightest free will, all jumping between restaurants depending on which one has the greasiest meals. Shouldn’t there be at least a couple fit guys who leave after a while?

Guess what, it’s another gross-out episode, and a pretty lazy one at that. The main focus of the animation is grease, which while not horribly disgusting, is still unpleasant to base a whole episode around. By the end, you have a lot of the customers spitting and regurgitating it out of sickness, and that just leaves a sour taste in your mouth when Mr Krabs is still wanting them to earn him money. However, I do like the design of the health inspector, not just because his pear shape is geometrically pleasing, but because the suit he wears and what he says combine for a few funny lines.

The characters are the worst aspect to the episode. I’ll start with Mr Krabs for just how horrible he is. He gets SpongeBob to dump the grease in an illegal place, obviously not wanting it anymore, yet hypocritically forces him to make greasier products after seeing how successful Plankton is. I’m a little kinder on the idea of Plankton doing this because he’s a villain, but it’s still terrible how he and Mr Krabs are on the same wavelength by the end. The only character to have common sense most of the time is SpongeBob, but even then it’s a very flat variation of his Season 2-3 character, and he helps Mr Krabs out in the end despite how unethical he’s been for the past 2 weeks. Yeah, he says himself that the episode is set across a two-week span.

I guess that’s coincidental because I find this episode “too weak” to consider worthwhile. It’s not terrible, in fact it’s run-of-the-mill bad, but if it weren’t for a couple good jokes, this would be a pretty awful watch. You’re really seeing the rise of Mr Krabs’ less humane side now, and it doesn’t help when it’s directly linked to gross-out humour. The good jokes sprinkled throughout, I wouldn’t mind at all if they were in an episode with a much better story and much better characterization, but as it is, they tend to be deep-fried in a particularly unhealthy episode.

Question of the Day: Did somebody call the Health Inspector?

Now for an episode that I’ve honestly considered to be one of my favourites of the season. Until then, just remember what your Dad sings when you’re not around.
:sbthumbs:
 

EmployeeAMillion

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Model Sponge (Season 7, Episode 4b)
Original Airdate: November 27 2009 (Episode 251)
Plot: After SpongeBob thinks he’s been fired, he tries to find a new job and lands one as a model
Written by Casey Alexander, Zeus Cervas and Mr Lawrence

[titlecard]130B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Cream Pie

This is one of the few Season 7 episodes I remember leaving a good taste in my mouth (or eyes and ears). Given how each and every episode so far has been rocky in some way, this looked to be a mild breath of fresh air, in that there’s little padding- the plot’s always going and giving you jokes to laugh at. It’s almost as if I was watching SpongeBob SquarePants! After I rewatched it, I feel like my sentiments have stayed the same. It’s not a fantastic episode that will be remembered by me as a classic, but compared to the rest of the seventh season, it might as well be.

The story starts with SpongeBob doing his typical cleaning duties, such as wiping the grime off a bathroom mirror, and I like how he pours detergent on his head and it rubs it against the surface, it’s a lot of fun when they take advantage of the fact that he’s a sponge. Whether he’s a sea or kitchen sponge doesn’t matter, because this episode sorta treats him as both. However, his joyous day at work is ubruptly ruined when he overhears Mr Krabs talking on the phone about having to “let the little guy go”. After trying to measure his size against Squidward, he gets the idea Mr Krabs is referring to him as “the little guy” and thinks he’s fired. It turns out Mr Krabs was just talking about a pet scallop in his office that’s outgrown his cage.

When SpongeBob returns home to mope around, he sees Patrick borrowing his fridge, and they try to look for a new job together. Despite Patrick not being very funny here, I think this scene would teach a lesson about learning to find a job that suits you. After he tries to land a few jobs and fails, because he’s unable to not create Krabby Patties, which at least isn’t as forced of a joke as in Le Big Switch, SpongeBob seems to give up all hope again, until he and Patrick come across a billboard advertising a job for sponges. This is probably my least favourite part of the episode, as SpongeBob has a chance to be happy again, yet the joke’s dragged out to the point where it isn’t entirely funny, but it’s still a pivotal plotpoint, so I’ll let it slide.

Said billboard is looking for a TV model, and throughout the next portion of the episode, SpongeBob really just feels like a fun guy. His enthusiasm about his potential new job, even in time where him getting it seems questionable, is just infectious. This is really an example of Tom Kenny giving his all and making the episode better. However, it turns out the role is for a sponge commercial, where Hans (remember the giant human hand?) scrubs a naked SpongeBob around a dirty bathroom, which is hates to do. I guess a mirror is one thing but rubbing your body against a toilet is something else. He goes back to the Krusty Krab to beg for his old job, and a confused Mr Krabs gives it to him, but under the condition that he swab the bathroom, but at least it’s with a mop. All in all, it has it downsides and dragged out moments, but this was a pretty good story.

A good sign of a quality episode is when you don’t need to explain when things are funny. This just feels like a comedic episode where the story is funny and jokes come from its absurdity and outcome, which is all I’d ask for from SpongeBob. Much of the plot points like Mr Krabs letting “the little guy” go, Hans making a return, and SpongeBob’s disgust with having to clean a bathroom set are funny and make it seem like the story is flowing forward. As for animation, to get the weak stuff out of the way, the bathroom commercial scene isn’t liked for a reason. Although I don’t hate it, I can see why others would. It’s sticky and goofy enough for me, and I relate to SpongeBob in how a messy toilet is his last straw in going through with this. As for a minor positive, I love the wallpaper used for the BBTV station, its teal colour with TVs painted on are honestly appealing.

I genuinely found myself enjoying most of the characters in this episode, as opposed to a majority of them feeling dumb or useless. SpongeBob, as I’ve said before, is characterized brilliantly. Just how much his confidence in life rises after being literally flattened by sadness is inspiring, even if he doesn’t like his new job and goes back to the one he really loves. That still makes sense within his character. He can be childlish at times, but deliberately getting messy is where he’d draw the line, like back in The Battle of Bikini Bottom. I even found myself liking Patrick a couple times, because at least he’s trying to help SpongeBob, he boosts his friend’s motivation, and best of all, he has a hilariously stupid reason for wanting his friend to succeed- so he can pay for food for him to steal. Heck, we even get to see Hans again. I can’t remember him having a single appearance after the Movie so far (correct me if I’m wrong, but the latest was in Clams), and they did a good job of making him surreal and random again.

Personally, I don’t get why this episode doesn’t get more attention. Sure it has gross-out, and sure there are parts that dragged, but this is the closest thing Season 7 has to an icon after 8 episodes. The story, although fuelled by wacky misunderstandings, flows nicely with a decent pace, and it really feels like a funny story, not just a plot with jokes haphazardly plastered on. This is all helped by the characters bringing it to life, especially SpongeBob in one of his best appearances I’ve reviewed this year. This is an adequate recommendation, and I’m sure you’ll see it as well and truly fine compared to other episodes in the 7/10 range.

Question of the Day: Would you call yourself “the little guy” in a particular circle of friends?

Well this was a fantastic month+ of me reviewing, but I’m going to take a break again now. I just hope the next episode isn’t utter garbage or anything. Until then, nothing quite says the 50s like toilet humour.
:sbthumbs:
 

EmployeeAMillion

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Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful (Season 7, Episode 5a)
Original Airdate: January 2 2010* (Episode 252)
*copyrighted 2009
Plot: Squidward’s constantly struck with bad luck while clearing trash for community service
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash and Dani Michaeli

[titlecard]131A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Tentically Speaking

It’s too bad to be true. I come back after a break to review an episode about literal rubbish. Sure there have been episodes with scenes at the dump such as Artist Unknown and The Lost Matress, but since I have a clear idea of what episodes from the Season 6-7 era are like, I knew this would dwell on how disgusting the trash is. It’s not made any better with the fact that it’s an STP, which despite only being the second instance of the plot in this season so far, still feels like it’s dragged out beyond belief. Without further adeu, let me tell you why this episode is so disposable.

It begins with Squidward going for a walk and seeming to be genuinely enjoying his day. He sings and grooves to the background music, ignores SpongeBob much better than he has in years and has a smile on for most of the scene. However, things take a turn for the worse when he steps in gum. This leads to the best and only original content in the episode, which is Squidward battling the gum, trying to get it off him, but only making it bigger until it encapsulates him. After finally getting it off his tentacles, he’s approached by a police officer who assigns him to community service, which is where the episode takes a massive downward turn in quality.

While cleaning a segmented patch of algae which happens to be a park, Squidward comes across Squilliam again. Although their rivalry has always made an episode more interesting, this isn’t one of those cases. Squilliam’s point in the episode is to enforce that he’s much better at cleaning than Squidward is, so much so that he got a statue in his honor for cleaning up the entirety of Bikini Bottom in one week. I haven’t got much of an opinion on cleaning duties, so I’ll let that slide. The rest of this episode, I won’t let slide as easily.

While clearing several wagons’ worth of trash and doing his best to find an empty bin to place them in, he comes across SpongeBob in one of the plastic bags who was studying the life cycle of a Krabby Patty. That’s just way too wierd to see him doing, because I think he’d already know what happens to one on his own. He’s of use however, as he manages to clear up Squidward’s junk within seconds, though it’s revealed he just buried it under Squidward’s house, essentially making a garbage replica of it in the process. We get a long, uninteresting gross-out scene of Squidward living in this house, oblivious to the smell or texture and barely opening his eyes. I get what they were going for, making Squidward’s reaction, the payoff for the joke, seeming bigger, but when Squidward has to eat, drink and bathe in gunk and leftovers, it makes me feel queazy.

Once Squidward literally comes to his senses, he’s given a few more tickets and asks SpongeBob how he was able to clear the trash so easily, to which SpongeBob demonstrates his absorbency by sucking all the trash into his body. Trying to make his buddy feel better, he uses the trash to build a statue of Squidward, despite the fact he didn’t do much except for fill up one bag at the beginning. The statue’s stench is so powerful that it ends up melting Squilliam’s statue, and the episode ends with all the characters getting tickets. The story was uneventful, and more of a vehicle for gross-out jokes than any sort of cohesive narrative.

As I said, some of the jokes at the beginning can be a little funny. After all, it’s better to start out alright than to alienate your audience from the get-go. The bubblegum gag is the only real positive I got out of this, but at least it was something. The rest of the episode only gives two different jokes- the police offer giving Squidward tickets, and showing trash levels in Bikini Bottom only rivalled by New York City. They grow old and expire very quickly, especially the ticket gag, which is sadly what this episode has and will continue to be known for. Bubblestand has the bubble-blowing technique, Idiot Box has imagination, this has a police officer giving out tickets just because.

Speaking of the gross-out, that’s the biggest thing this episode has going against it. At least the ticket gag could be something you’d see kids talking about on the schoolyard, the garbage is just that, complete garbage. Everything from the look to the smell makes the episode less appealing. Not to mention the things they do with it, like Squidward living in it and SpongeBob absorbing it, which wouldn’t make this the episode for someone with a weak stomach. Also, am I the only one bothered with the occasional obvious fish head and bones in select piles of filth?

Now onto characters and what part they have to play. Squidward has to go through community service in this episode, and while they don’t make it unbearable, it’s just realistic enough to just seem unfair and tedious. SpongeBob sees nothing wrong with playing around with and absorbing garbage throughout the episode. Although he’s meant to be a kid and all, what kid would be this okay in playing with rubbish? As I said, Squilliam doesn’t have enough of a point in this episode to justify bringing back Dee Bradley Baker to do his voice, and the police officer that follows Squidward around is a one-dimensional joke that doesn’t end until the episode’s over. Throughout the episode, he gives out 10 tickets, almost one per minute, but 8 of which are written in the second half.

I wasn’t expecting this episode to be good (after all, just look at what it’s paired with), and it really ticked all the right boxes of a bad episode in my eyes. Between the slow pace, dry humour and lack of character, this feels like yet another instance where a gross-out episode was made just to pad out running time in the season. It also just seems like each Squilliam appearance gets worse than the last. I just hope Back to the Past isn’t significantly worse than I remember it, or his next appearance, whether it be Season 11 or 12, is just as bad. Either way, this is the last true Squidward VS Squilliam episode to date, so this makes Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful the real end of an era.

Question of the Day: What’s your opinion on people who put their trash in others’ bins?

Tomorrow’s episode is one that’s got the whole fandom and then some huffing and puffing. Until then, ugh, it’s happening again.
:sbthumbs:
 

SpongeBronyPH

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Keep BB Beautiful is pretty mediocre to me.

EmployeeAMillion said:
Question of the Day: What’s your opinion on people who put their trash in others’ bins?
It's just OK. Its the right place to throw away the trash, especially when sorting the recyclables.

And OH DEAR ME! :squidugh: A Pal for Gary is coming tomorrow! Get my blazing, fiery RAGE ready.
 

Klu

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Another episode that I liked as a kid... What was wrong with me?
Anyway, while premise had potential, episode overall was boring and pointless.
QotD: meh, I don't care about this much.
 

EmployeeAMillion

Season 12 Time!
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A Pal for Gary (Season 7, Episode 5b)
Original Airdate: January 2 2010* (Episode 253)
*copyrighted 2009
Plot: SpongeBob adopts another pet for Gary to play with that hates snails
Written by Casey Alexander, Zeus Cervas and Richard Pursel

[titlecard]131B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Clownfish Capers

Whenever I reach a milestone concerning one of the worst episodes of SpongeBob ever, that honour is typically only held within the confines of the SpongeBob fanbase. Do you think the average Joe is going to care too much about To Love a Patty or Face Freeze!? Unfortunately, today’s episode is one of those rare occasions where the hatred for it breaches into the mainstream. Pretty much everyone who knows SpongeBob these days knows A Pal for Gary is one of its worst episodes, but how did it get to be so infamous? If you’re a fan reading this, you already know full well why, but let me give my own opinion on the matter.

It starts with SpongeBob feeding Gary before going to work, but realising just how lonely it must be for a pet to be all by itself for an extended period of time. Unbeknownst to him though, Gary enjoys his time at home as he’s able to enjoy Western shows. This scene prematurely widens the gap between SpongeBob and Gary’s relationship, by making it seem like Gary has a completely different life from SpongeBob, and since this episode is set from Gary’s perspective in the most intense situations, it automatically paints SpongeBob as naïve and unlikeable, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

A day at work in which Mr Krabs lets a customer bring his pet inside only makes SpongeBob feel worse, and he takes it upon himself to get home to Gary and make it up to him, but ends up doing 5 extra hours for no reason other than vague irony. On his way home, he comes across a gypsy selling bizzare-looking fish, though SpongeBob doesn’t heed her warning that they hate other pets, screeching and growing large, fearsome fangs whenever they see them. Heck, he doesn’t even pay for it. He just finds one of them cute and calls it a day, and of course it’s the green one, so you know it’ll be villainous.

When he gets home and introduces Gary to Puffy Fluffy, we’re introduced to a routine in which Puffy Fluffy threatens Gary, Gary gets scared and SpongeBob scolds him for supposedly doing something wrong. It’s a tired cliché that’s been time-tested negative, yet the episode tries to employ it anyway. What makes it worse is Gary’s limited way of communicating with SpongeBob. At least in other episodes like Gary Takes a Bath and The Great Snail Race, SpongeBob’s able to understand what Gary says, but here he gets the wrong message every time Gary meows. That in and of itself is enough to make him seem like a frustrating jerk, but the episode infamously gets much worse.

Gary notices Puffy Fluffy has shed his skin, and has turned into a giant monster rummaging through the fridge. They fight and battle all night, with Fluffy almost successful in eating him alive, until SpongeBob wakes up, notices the destroyed house and continues to scold Gary. SpongeBob’s not blind or anything, he can clearly see and feel Puffy Fluffy, it’s just that the writers thought it’d be funnier if SpongeBob continued to yell at his pet in such a horrible situation. Eventually, Gary ties up Puffy Fluffy using some Western tricks he’d learned and it runs away. These two actions don’t even seem to correlate. The story finally ends with SpongeBob deciding to take Gary to work with him because he doesn’t trust him at home. It’s just a plot that’s nonsensical and backwards, and it’s all thanks to the one who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

Perhaps one of the bigger crimes this episode commits is being very light on comedy. The only funny thing I can remember off the top of my head is SpongeBob’s Mexican vibe during Puffy Fluffy’s first night in the house, eating enchiladas and referring to sleep as having a siesta. It’s just a shame it’s mixed in with the first couple instances of him being a jerk to his pet. The worst thing is I can’t really think up a solution to this problem. I don’t know how I can make misblaming story appealing to a modern audience that’s grown tired of how mean and cynical they are. It was pretty much an episode begging to be unfunny from the first pitch.

Ever wanted to watch a SpongeBob episode and feel threatened? This episode’s animation has you covered. Sure Puffy Fluffy is designed well and change into a monster is rather awesome, it comes at the expense of making this one of the scariest episodes of the series. Sure there’s been gross-out in this show and horrific faces, but you don’t get that thrill of genuine fear like you do here. It’s a shame that I’m not a big fan of horror, and even if I was, the poorly constructed story would take away a lot of the nightmarish charm of the episode.

Let’s just get the elephant out of the room, SpongeBob is a horrible character here. He starts off caring about Gary, but once he gets Puffy Fluffy, all his kindness and goodwill seems to fade. At least in your standard STP, it’s his moral inferiority to Squidward that’s exaggerated. Here, it’s his negligence towards his own pet, which leaves a far worse feeling and a much bigger dent on his character. Being a bad character is one thing, but when SpongeBob’s a bad authority figure, that crosses the line. The others aren’t even good. Gary has a fondness of Westerners out of nowhere, Puffy Fluffy is generally just a horror device, and Mr Krabs doesn’t have room to be likeable outside of liking money. They all band together to give characterization so bad, that it actively disillusions the episode.

I don’t take that description kindly. I know it’s just a cartoon, but with any other episode, the bad doesn’t outweigh the good to the point that I feel like I’m just watching a bad excuse for entertainment. This just feels like a string of gags, not an episode of one of the most popular and beloved animated series of all time. The lack of logic and love poured into this script makes it feel like a half-baked Canadian cartoon. There really aren’t any other words to describe A Pal for Gary, it was just a mistake. It’ll take me a while to decide whether this is the show’s worst episode, but so far, the magnitude of its badness is the most profound.

Question of the Day: What is the worst episode ever?

Tomorrow’s episode is one that nobody would want to claim.
:sbthumbs:
 

SpongeBronyPH

Giant Clam
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MY DEAR ::dolphin noise::ING GOD!!! A Pal for Gary. One of the most scary, annoying and aggravating episodes in my life. It's like Casey, Zeus and Richard give a middle finger to all SB fans everywhere. :patboo: (in blazing anger) I'M SO ::dolphin noise::ING BEAST-MODE RIGHT NOW!!!

I really wish Stephen Hillenberg ban this episode.

EmployeeAMillion said:
Question of the Day: What is the worst episode ever?

SITKWS, Little Yellow Book, SpongeBob, you're Fired; Yours, Mine and Mine; A Pal for Gary and To Love a Patty.
More bad episodes? Visit My Top 30 Worst SB Episodes!
 

Moxley♥

We out here in heaven, smoking big doinks in heave
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FROM THE GREAT STATE OF OBESITY
SpongeBuddyPH said:
MY DEAR ::dolphin noise::ING GOD!!! A Pal for Gary. One of the most scary, annoying and aggravating episodes in my life. It's like Casey, Zeus and Richard give a middle finger to all SB fans everywhere. :patboo: (in blazing anger) I'M SO ::dolphin noise::ING BEAST-MODE RIGHT NOW!!!

I really wish Stephen Hillenberg ban this ::dolphin noise:: (APFG).



SITKWS, Little Yellow Book, SpongeBob, you're Fired; Yours, Mine and Mine; A Pal for Gary and To Love a Patty.
More bad episodes? Visit My Top 30 Worst SB Episodes!
please refrain from being so vulgar, if this happens again you'll be getting a warning point, thanks.
 

Depressed Luigi

Dead Inspector
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MY DEAR ::dolphin noise::ING GOD!!! A Pal for Gary. One of the most scary, annoying and aggravating episodes in my life. It's like Casey, Zeus and Richard give a middle finger to all SB fans everywhere. :patboo: (in blazing anger) I'M SO ::dolphin noise::ING BEAST-MODE RIGHT NOW!!!

I really wish Stephen Hillenberg ban this ::dolphin noise:: (APFG).




SITKWS, Little Yellow Book, SpongeBob, you're Fired; Yours, Mine and Mine; A Pal for Gary and To Love a Patty.
More bad episodes? Visit My Top 30 Worst SB Episodes!
Well you weren't kidding about the rage thing O_O
 

EmployeeAMillion

Season 12 Time!
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Personally I think Puffy Fluffy is as cute as Pinkie Pie :pattongue:
At least Puffy Fluffy doesn’t bake his friends into cupcakes. :p

Yours, Mine and Mine (Season 7, Episode 6a)
Original Airdate: September 11 2010*
Episode 254 in standard order, Episode 272 in airing order
*copyrighted 2009
Plot: SpongeBob tries to share with Patrick, though greed gets the better of them
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash and Steven Banks

[titlecard]132A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Earl’s Revenge

Today’s episode is another one that I’ve never really cared for. I never found it to be well and truly awful, but I couldn’t bring myself to defend it. It just seemed like one of those bland, watered down SpongeBob VS Patrick stories that had become insanely common around this point. They used to be energised and funny, like in The Fry Cook Games and Rock-a-Bye Bivalve, but this just felt like I was watching two kids bickering for 11 minutes. Suffice to say, my opinion hasn’t changed and I still find this to be another weak Season 7 episode.

The story opens with Patrick ordering at the Krusty Krab, though it’s soon revealed that he didn’t have any money upon arrival. This begs the question of why Patrick came without money, but the answer is just because he’s dumb. He ends up ordering a kids meal with SpongeBob’s money, which costs a dollar extra despite being a smaller burger, and this just seems like an episode designed to strip Patrick of any of his redeeming qualities. Those being his humour an willingness to be with his friends, which are thrown out the window here for a rather nasty portrayal. Sure they paint it as him learning a message about sharing, but it doesn’t tick.

Patrick’s next big problem arises when he complains about the lack of toy in the kids meal, to which Mr Krabs hears and hastily makes one out a Krabby Patty and some straws. Unlike Patty in To Love a Patty, this new Patty Pal manages to last a whole day staying clean and healthy. A whole day of SpongeBob and Patrick throwing tantrums at each other over who gets to keep it. I can take an episode where they have to learn how to share, but this one just made both of them seem spoiled, SpongeBob for taking the ordeal too seriously, and Patrick for being a thief.

I don’t really have any other comment, that’s the whole story in a nutshell. When you strip away the fat, including SpongeBob and Patrick trying to negotiate, and them tumbling around Bikini Bottom in a fight, you haven’t got a lot of story. The most that happens is Sandy tries to teach them how arguments are brought on by a lack of communication, but the message doesn’t sink in. It all ends when Patrick eats the toy, but Mr Krabs reveals he made a boatload of them due to how influential SpongeBob and Patrick playing with it was. Exactly, because nothing says free advertisement like rolling around, clearly angry with the problem a toy has brought upon you. It’s just a mess, plain and simple.

At least you have the occasional lukewarm joke to balance it out a bit. The best part of the episode is SpongeBob introducing himself to Patty Pal, and Mr Krabs’ beautiful moment where he’s able to make a profit off it. The rest of the humour is rather average. You get the old routine of Squidward ignoring SpongeBob and Patrick’s antics, which doesn’t add anything new to the table, and I guess the design of the Patty Pal is a little cute in a dorky way. If the message about sharing and communication was a joke, they did a bad job of getting it across if none of the characters seemed to learn anything.

I have one major problem with the animation, and that’s the tumbling SpongeBob and Patrick make when fighting over the toy. Sure having it be a ball o’ violence would be much harsher, but it matches their current emotions and makes the ordeal seem stronger and funnier. Their weak rolly-polly tantrum they partake in, while at a medium pace, feels like it was placed at so because they wanted the point to sink in, as opposed to coming out comedically. On a much less nitpicky note, the effect of SpongeBob and Patrick drying up in Sandy’s treedome is fine, especially since I know what’s coming in House Sittin’ for Sandy.

The problems I have with the characters here are very much the same ones I had with them in Stuck in the Wringer, though only reserved for the two main characters. Patrick’s just as dumb and greedy as usual, but I really don’t get SpongeBob’s conflict in this episode. After all, since they’re fighting over a toy made out of a Krabby Patty, what’s stopping him, master fry cook, from cooking up another one for himself to enjoy? The rest of the characters only serve one purpose (Mr Krabs sells the toy, Sandy tries to resolve the fight), and that’s perfectly okay. It’s just such a mediocre portrayal of them that the main two characters’ rivalry overshadows it.

While this was an entertaining watch at points, it’s filled with too many logical holes and too much bad characterization to make it very worthwhile. SpongeBob and Patrick are once again at their worst, with much of the humour coming from how awful of a friend Patrick is. I’ll give it credit for putting a new spin on this sort of story, but that new spin is just the very mild variation of making it about a toy. Not helping is that the good stuff in it is so forgettable. I can’t see Mr Krabs’ reaction to money in this particular episode sticking with many people for very long.

Question of the Day: Have you ever tried to share something with one of your friends?

The next episode is one known for its cheap laughs. Until then, welcome back to outdated memes.
:sbthumbs:
 

SpongeBronyPH

Giant Clam
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I really hate Yours, Mine and Mine. :patboo: This ::dolphin noise::ty episode does not represent friendship. Patrick is an absolute disgrace in this atrocity.

https://www.sbmania.net/pictures.php?img=ydxxczITG3H%2ByrJPswxtYlvKhf1UJ6cJzuXUzT%2FuUsI%3D​
Patrick: Have you earned nothing about sharing?
angry_princess_twilight_by_evil_sparkle-d9natxx.png


EmployeeAMillion said:
Question of the Day: Have you ever tried to share something with one of your friends?
YES. That's what friendship is.
 
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