Season 4 is So Perplexing

ryanator20x6

ryanator20x6

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I really don't get it. Some episodes feel exactly like pre-first-movie Spongebob, while others are feel distinctly post-first-movie. It has some of the best and worst episodes. Was there some sort of behind-the-scenes reason for this that I don't know of?
 
Season 4 in my opinion has some great episodes and some terrible episodes, but it was mostly lukewarm.

Season 5 is more perplexing if you ask me.
 
Season 4's crew was from a bunch of different eras, I suppose

Some from S2-S3, some from S5-S8, some people who wrote a couple then never again
 
Season 4 was like some awkward puberty period tbh. Sometimes it's good, other times it's bad, just a mixed bag all around.
 
Season 4 had some weird coloring and character designs, really. Also much of an awkward phase between Seasons 3 and 5.

I mean, SpongeBob had a slightly weird face, so did Sandy.

Season 4 is pretty fine, but I haven't seen too many episodes (as of recent) to judge the season as a whole.
 
I think it was mostly due to the addition and removal of storyboard directors/writers throughout the season. In the beginning, most of the crew was still compromised of pre-movie staff, but as the episodes went on, positions were changed and more new people were added, and most of the pre-movie staff had pretty much left.
 
BatteryMill said:
Season 4 had some weird coloring and character designs, really. Also much of an awkward phase between Seasons 3 and 5.

I mean, SpongeBob had a slightly weird face, so did Sandy.

Season 4 is pretty fine, but I haven't seen too many episodes (as of recent) to judge the season as a whole.
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If there was one thing that really characterizes Season 4, it's those really thick lines.

SUS said:
I think it was mostly due to the addition and removal of storyboard directors/writers throughout the season. In the beginning, most of the crew was still compromised of pre-movie staff, but as the episodes went on, positions were changed and more new people were added, and most of the pre-movie staff had pretty much left.
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While the really good episodes seemed to stop around halfway in, the first half itself was still pretty mixed. I guess that comes from multiple episodes being made at the same time along with crew members shuffling and out.
 
Season 4 was a transitional period with almost all the members of the original crew leaving and a new crew settling in. End result is a bag of diamonds and turds.
 
The first half was amazing.

The second half was mediocre.

What went wrong? I have no idea, but it was certainly a big change.
 
ryanator20x6 said:
If there was one thing that really characterizes Season 4, it's those really thick lines.
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IMO, those really slick cartoony lines had more life than the bland, stiff and messy lines in seasons 1-3.
 
SpongeyKid said:
The first half was amazing.

The second half was mediocre.

What went wrong? I have no idea, but it was certainly a big change.
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Yeah, some episodes in later Season 4 weren't all that shaped up to what they were.

Any estimation as to when the latter half began? The May/June 2006 episodes? The show's return in September?
 
BatteryMill said:
Yeah, some episodes in later Season 4 weren't all that shaped up to what they were.

Any estimation as to when the latter half began? The May/June 2006 episodes? The show's return in September?
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The first one that really sticks out as being bad is 4b in May 20, 2005 (Good Neighbors). The last one that really sticks out as being good was 12a in June 26, 2006 (Wishing You Well). A little bit before that one was where it started to really rot, and after it everything was okay at best.
 
Season 4 was def a transitional time, with new writers and people coming in and all that. I remember talking in the past about how season 4. In general I thought that the first half of season 4 was better than the second half. Which makes sense because the show was changing, the show showed change at the beginning of the season, but as it went on it became more noticeable. Overall a good season nonetheless.
 
I always thought that the episode about Mr. Krab's Mattress was from Season 2 or 3 because I liked it so much. I haven't seen it in a while, though.
 
Honestly, I always thought season 4 was part of classic era. There were a couple more meh and bad episodes compared to the earlier seasons, but I never seen it as a transition. It's probably season 5 or 6. IDK, but I'll check them again later.
 
I count Seasons 4-5 to be both part of the classic era. Seasons 6-most of 9 will be the modern era. The episodes produced after the second movie will be counted as the retro era.
 
BatteryMill said:
Season 4 had some weird coloring and character designs, really. Also much of an awkward phase between Seasons 3 and 5.

I mean, SpongeBob had a slightly weird face, so did Sandy.

Season 4 is pretty fine, but I haven't seen too many episodes (as of recent) to judge the season as a whole.
Click to expand...

If you think Season 4 had odd coloring take a look at Season 2, like in Imitation Krabs, the colors were so dark I almost thought something was wrong with my TV, some of Season 2 even looks older than season 1!

But with SpongeBob, his face was a little to small in S4, but I do think Sandy had the best design in Season 4.

But yes Season 4 is a transitional phase just like when most shows reach their 4th season a mix of classic and modern, kind of like Season 4 of Regular Show and Adventure Time.
 
If I had to guess it would be that some early season 4 episode ideas were formulated perhaps pre-movie with the pre-movie crew.

That strange shade of yellow they gave SB in S4, along with a paler red Mr. Krabs, are just two examples of horrid, nontraditional coloring that defined S4, even in its good episodes.
 
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