SpongeBob's age: a case study

Cha

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If every episode had some sort of reference (believe me, I do love references in SB episodes but I understand the limits) then they wouldn't feel as special. Band Geeks and other famous episodes don't use past references to get by. And that's the great thing about this show, each episode is an individual and you can tune in at any time to watch one.
 
E.V.I.L

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BubbleBud said:
The reason why he has no age is because the show has no stable canon-timeline. It's so scattered. There is the proof, one episode, he is a kid and then other episodes, he is a adult. No timeline (or least a very unstable one) and that's a shame for any show. The writers simply don't care about that stuff...

The writers don't care about connection, they don't sit there and think, ''Oh hold up, that doesn't connect to the information given in this episode or that episode..'', etc. They don't follow a timeline or a canon guideline. They just think episode by episode, more often now. I think it's just due to lack of creative thought. If the show had a better canon timeline, more people could buy into it and it will be very effective when the show ends due to fans making more thought out fan-fics, comics, and other things to fit in a stable canon timeline. A lot of things don't match up within this show, sadly. More sadly, I think it's gonna harm the show down the road, in the long run. They need to take points from Hey Arnold!... yeah, it had it's points (all shows do, but not as bad as SB) but it still had a canon timeline and it still had good episodes that had nothing to do with the previous episodes without ruining any previous episodes.
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The problem with timelines is that full creativity in plots is not allowed. If this show was just on a timeline, SB-129 would have never happened, Best Frenemies would have never happened, Truth or Square would have never happened, Employee of the Month would have never happened, etc. etc. We should use the lack of timeline to dish out as much creativity as you can.

One thing I hate about shows is how you have to watch every episode in order. I just don't feel that way with this show as you can show a beginner ANY episode you want. Isn't that better?
 
The Guy With the Computer

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TropicalNards112233 said:
I disagree, and here's why. First of all, the show has NEVER had a timeline, so to say it happens more often now is just wrong. If anything, there's more continuity post-movie than pre (Bubble Buddy Returns, Whelk Attack "I've had the suds before", Driven to Tears "Don't forget to feed Gary. Sometimes you forget to feed him"). Second of ly, SpongeBob isn't the type of show that would, or SHOULD, have a strict canon timeline. Sure, maybe a reference or two to a previous episode would be nice, but in all honesty, it isn't something that needs to be there. In a show like Hey Arnold, with it's brilliant writing, of course you have to develop the characters and make some kind of timeline. But in a SB type show, each episode can be different - and that's ok. It's what makes it good! SpongeBob is more of a Ren and Stimpy -esque show, in which you can put the characters in different situations regardless of the past (obviously not to the same extremes as R&S, but you get the idea).
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Yeah, I agree.
 

BrickSponge2015

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As I've stated elsewhere, in that same book Hillenburg stated that, in a nutshell, HE, THE CREATOR, doesn't really consider Sleepy Time canon.

And, also- I feel that the show DOES have a timeline, but it's in strange order. For example, Jellyfishing takes place after Christmas Who?. Survival of the Idiots takes place after Pre-Hibernation week. But, I do hate timelines :p
 
SBRoxMan

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BubbleBud said:
The reason why he has no age is because the show has no stable canon-timeline. It's so scattered. There is the proof, one episode, he is a kid and then other episodes, he is a adult. No timeline (or least a very unstable one) and that's a shame for any show. The writers simply don't care about that stuff...
The writers don't care about connection, they don't sit there and think, ''Oh hold up, that doesn't connect to the information given in this episode or that episode..'', etc. They don't follow a timeline or a canon guideline. They just think episode by episode, more often now. I think it's just due to lack of creative thought. If the show had a better canon timeline, more people could buy into it and it will be very effective when the show ends due to fans making more thought out fan-fics, comics, and other things to fit in a stable canon timeline. A lot of things don't match up within this show, sadly. More sadly, I think it's gonna harm the show down the road, in the long run. They need to take points from Hey Arnold!... yeah, it had it's points (all shows do, but not as bad as SB) but it still had a canon timeline and it still had good episodes that had nothing to do with the previous episodes without ruining any previous episodes.
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A timeline just wouldn't work with SpongeBob. The show doesn't really need a timeline at all, you can pretty much watch any episode without needing to understand earlier ones first. Plus, when timelines occur, you'll get people asking "shouldn't SpongeBob be at least 10 years older now?", or, "Why hasn't SpongeBob aged at all?" (People would often ask that about the Rugrats, The Simpsons children, or Ash from Pokémon, for example). Plus, having a timeline allows more continuity errors. Having no timeline means continuity errors can't really happen

As for SpongeBob's age, I've always thought age 20 would be too young for him, whilst age 30 would be too old. So I'd say he's around 25 or 26
 
BubbleBud

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I disagree with you, DMAP. If the show isn't supposed to have a timeline or connections, then we shouldn't of got Bubble Buddy Returns. The fact isn't that hard to see, why deny it? The writers and the brains behind SpongeBob doesn't care about a timeline or continuity, including Stephen Hillenburg himself. Yes, it's true that SpongeBob never really had a timeline and that's one of it's low points to me. That's gonna hurt the show in the long run, in my opinion. I don't think it would hinder much if it did have a timeline, shows with timelines are the best, in my opinion. And the show is already going through a harmful state, it's already divided the fanbase.

And to the other poster (Nards), it is more often in the later seasons, from my understanding. Simply because of it's *major* inconsistencies with the characters themselves. Mhm. One of the big reasons why there is such a divide in the fanbase. Least with the first three, heck, even into the fourth season, you had a stable consistency with the characters. Now, it's staggered... it's hit or miss. It's not stable and it's hurting the show, it may not be clear now but I think down the road, it's gonna show. There is major inconsistencies within the show currently that wasn't there in the pre-movie and it's already caused damage, major damage? Nah. Minor damage, yes.

Oh yeah... and it's possible to have a minor timeline without being brickwalled into anything. It's not going to limit any creativity... take a look at Rugrats. There was not a shortage of creative plots and the show had a minor timeline. It doesn't have to be IN YOUR FACE timeline, but gee, put a little thought into it. With SpongeBob, it's simply not there... it doesn't have a purpose. It's like, ''Okay... so is each episode divided into their own little worlds?'' It's way too confusing for grown fans. But like I said... the only major inconsistencies so far, is the characters themselves.
 

TropicalNards112233

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BubbleBud said:
I disagree with you. If the show isn't supposed to have a timeline or connections, then we shouldn't of got Bubble Buddy Returns. The fact isn't that hard to see, why deny it? The writers and the brains behind SpongeBob doesn't care about a timeline or continuity, including Stephen Hillenburg himself. Yes, it's true that SpongeBob never really had a timeline and that's one of it's low points to me. That's gonna hurt the show in the long run, in my opinion. I don't think it was be hindered if it did have a timeline, shows with timelines are the best, in my opinion. And the show is already going through a harmful state, it's already divided the fanbase.
And to the other poster, it's more often in the later seasons. Simply because of it's *major* inconsistencies with the characters themselves. Mhm. One of the big reasons why there is such a divide in the fanbase. Least with the first three, heck, even into the fourth season, you had a stable consistency with the characters. Now, it's staggered... it's hit or miss. It's not stable and it's hurting the show, it may not be clear now but I think down the road, it's gonna show. There is major inconsistencies within the show currently that wasn't there in the pre-movie and it's already caused damage, major damage? Nah. Minor damage, yes.
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Character consistency and show continuity are two completely different things.
 
BubbleBud

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TropicalNards112233 said:
Character consistency and show continuity are two completely different things.
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Well... not exactly. Not to me anyways.
 
E.V.I.L

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BubbleBud said:
Well... not exactly. Not to me anyways.
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Character consistency- Characters being how they would in every episode (Example: SpongeBob is the same as he is in Help Wanted and Fools in April)
Show Continuity- Everything going in a timeline (Example: The Krusty Krab breaking then still being broken in the next episode.)
 
BubbleBud

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My friend, characters are apart of shows so they should be included.
Shows host characters, so they should be included in the full package.
Characters are apart of the timeline, without the characters, who is going to do the actions within the timeline?
The concept of time is a mysterious thing friend. Characters switching back and forth without any explaining or reason so quickly is a part of the shows canon. It's like different characters.
... lol
 
Grubby Grouper

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People think the drivers license in Suds isn't correct, because it was in a dream. In the Spongebob Movie, it was made to end the series, but since it didn't, you could say it takes place in the future, which is why there's no Krusty Krab 2 in the show. So however old Spongebob is, the movie would take place 31 years since he got his job in Help Wanted. Also about that, since he got his job in the first episode, that would make the first 5 years of production be 30 years in the show. So if he was born in 86, that itself cant contradict anything about his age. But in conclusion, if your still reading, I just say its a cartoon, and his age is one of the least non-logical aspects of it.
 
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