Underrated Post-Movie Episodes

darkrage6

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Since nobody started a thread for overrated post-movie episodes, I thought i'd do one for underrated PM episodes.

I think i'll start with "The Card" as I just recently saw the Truth or Square DVD(I do have to admit my opinion of that special isn't as high as when I first saw it, I do recognize the complaints people like Mr Enter and PieGuyRulez have about that special, but I still enjoy it for all the celebrity cameos and the neat visual sequences, and of course those alternate versions of the theme song!).

People tend to hate this episode mostly for the "You can't expect my usual brand of stupidity" line from Patrick as it gives some people the impression that he's doing stupid and dangerous stuff on purpose. Whereas I personally see that line as more of Patrick having one of his once in a blue moon moments of clarity that he occasionally has in other episodes(Squidtastic Voyage comes to mind) and I personally laughed my ::dolphin noise:: off at it, as I like it when the show does meta-humor like that.

Having played quite a bit of Yu-Gi-Oh in junior high and high school, I could totally relate to Spongebob and his desperation to get that one rare card(All Grown Up did a similar episode complete with a Yu-Gi-Oh parody where Chuckie gives away his dad's stamp collection in a desperate attempt to get a super-rare card, and interestingly enough, both episodes end with the main character getting the card they were after from the very last booster pack that was bought by someone else)I have many memories of asking my mom to take my Target or Walgreens in an attempt to get a rare card or two from a booster pack so I could use it against my classmates(the rarest cards I had were the ones that came with Stairway to the Destined Duel, Sinister Serpent, Valkyrion and Harpie's Feather Duster, too bad I gave away all my cards as opposed to selling them online, oh well live and learn).

Patrick being fascinated by counting was good for a laugh, as were all the crazy uses he found for the rare card(cleaning his grill made me laugh the most, though him needing to use it as a lockpick was a bit odd since he never needed a key for his house in any episodes before or after this one). Also liked the twist with him having the other 4 rare cards the whole time.
 
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Followed :)

To me I just can't seem to get much enjoyment out of the episode because there's a lot of filler in the episode, Patrick's a jerk, not even counting that one line, and there's a pretty big plot hole throughout the episode. I do see where you're coming from though.
 

darkrage6

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jack_of_all_traids said:
Followed :)

To me I just can't seem to get much enjoyment out of the episode because there's a lot of filler in the episode, Patrick's a jerk, not even counting that one line, and there's a pretty big plot hole throughout the episode. I do see where you're coming from though.
What plot hole? I didn't notice any myself.
 
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Not plot hole, my bad. I meant something like, missed solution. SpongeBob and Patrick could have easily traded cards because Patrick only wanted a simple card and doesn't care what he has.
 
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McSponge said:
Bucket Sweet Bucket
omg yes

IAmAGoofyGoober2004 said:
Kracked Krabs, I rarely see anyone pay attention this episode, but I like it a lot. The chemistry between Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob was highlighted in this episode and it's just a nice episode overall, at least in my opinion.
Not quite as much yes
 
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Perfect Chemistry, which I don't see many people talk about. Even if it was a little reliant on fart jokes, it's one of the better Season 7 episodes and I really enjoyed the character interaction.
 

darkrage6

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jack_of_all_traids said:
Not plot hole, my bad. I meant something like, missed solution. SpongeBob and Patrick could have easily traded cards because Patrick only wanted a simple card and doesn't care what he has.
Oh yeah, I never even thought of that, oh well, I can overlook that for the sake of the plot.

Now onto the other unpopular episode from the Truth or Square DVD-Choir Boys.

If there's a criticism to be had for this ep, it's that it feels like a retread of Cephalopod Lodge(Sponge barges into a place Squid likes hanging out in and ruins it for him) only less funny(and the repeated singing of "Figaro" or whatever the name of that piece of music it gets a repetitive). Still it's a decent enough watch.

The lengths SB goes to in order to tag-along with Squidward were good for a laugh(Spongebob posing as a policeman in particular, that bit reminded me of that syndicated Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon where Sonic would often trick Scratch and Grounder with paper-thin disguises).

It's interesting to compare "Boys" to "Lodge" in the latter Squid gets sidelined through no fault of his own, here he does act a bit arrogant at choir practice, so you can see why they were eager to replace him with Spongebob. Both episodes also end with SB trying to make it up to Squid but he still ends up getting shafted. I have to say I preferred this episode's ending with Squid being a page-turner, as it seemed funnier and more fitting then CL's ending.
 
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Honestly I hated Choir Boys. I can see where you're coming from, but I didn't enjoy anything about the episode. Plus it has the worst quote in the whole show in my opinion. But I respect your opinion, and your points were pretty good.
 

darkrage6

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jack_of_all_traids said:
Honestly I hated Choir Boys. I can see where you're coming from, but I didn't enjoy anything about the episode. Plus it has the worst quote in the whole show in my opinion. But I respect your opinion, and your points were pretty good.
What quote would that happen to be?
 

darkrage6

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jack_of_all_traids said:
"What a lucky break! Now I have a captive audience!"

:facepalm:
I can see why that line would bug people, but I found it funny.

Now since i've reviewed the two unpopular episodes from the Truth or Square DVD, I suppose I might as well dive into TOS itself.

As I said before my opinion of it has gone down a bit, but I still don't think it's terrible, I will say that I recommend watching the extended version on the DVD as opposed to the abridged version that's shown on TV, as that one cuts out some of the best celebrity cameos. Of the cameos, Will Ferrell's, Robin Williams(RIP) and Pink's were the most amusing(Triumph's cameo was the strangest, as I only knew who he was because he was featured in that one Eminem song from Encore, and i'd wager the vast majority of SB fans aren't going to know who the heck this puppet is).

For the complaints most people have about the special that I agree with-the wasted potential, I think they could've made the underground tunnels beneath the KK a bit more imaginative(I did like the scene with the security cameras, reminded me a lot of the Simpsons episode Burns Heir, speaking of which Mr Krabs does act like Burns at times in later reasons) and it feels like Plankton trying to steal the formula should've been more epic then it was, feels like he wasn't utilized all that well(though that scene was Krabs refusing to give the formula even in a memory was funny). Also there is a bit too much focus on Patchy(who I find hit and miss, sometimes he's funny, sometimes he's not, here he was occasionally funny, like when trying to call Tina Fey and Rosario Dawnson, and unfunny like with the overdone running gag of not realizing Spongebob wasn't real) and it feels like his role should've been trimmed down a bit and given us more Spongebob(another missed opportunity, when Patchy was showing the film reels, I was hoping that part would be like the Simpsons 138th episode Spectacular where we'd get actual deleted scenes like say that one infamous scene in Just One Bite, but the alternate versions of the theme song were funny enough to make up for it).

Now for the positives, I do have to say this special was still more good then bad(though not as enjoyable as Atlantis Squarepantis, though i'll get to that one soon enough) the retro flashback sequences were both well done(the old KK commercial reminded me of that old Duff commercial in The Simpsons "Duffless", wow i've really got The Simpsons on the brain lately haven't I?) that Mickey Mouse esque one where everything has a face made me think of Cuphead. Also most of the jokes that were there were solid enough, even if there were less then expected(Patrick freaking and destroying the walkie talkie in particular).

Also SB himself was good in this episode, I liked how he was able to give the KK a nice makeover even with the low budget Krabs gives him to do so, really shows him putting his imagination to good use for something other then his own enjoyment(though he gets that too) also his singing at the end was pretty good.

So yeah overall a mixed bag as far as the specials go(though I will say I prefer it over Spongebob's House Party, which felt like an 11 minute episode unnecessarily stretched out to 22 minutes for no good reason) and it didn't feel quite as "special" as it did the first time I saw it a decade ago, but I still don't despise it either. I can only hope the 20th anniversary special(if it is in fact real) is an improvement.
 

darkrage6

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Now for a pre-movie episode that gets a lot of retroactive hate due to Mr Enter-"I'm With Stupid". I get the dislike people have for it, but for me the comedy is enough to make up for Patrick being a jerk. Spongebob acting nuts with comedy gold and Patrick forgetting the plan was pure gold, even the ending with Patrick's real parents cracked me up(I guess being dumb is kind of a trait with starfish in Spongebob's universe?).

I do think the episode could've been improved by say Spongebob finding Patrick's real parents, as it is he dissapears and that plot thread gets unresolved.
 
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Yeah, I agree that I'm With Stupid is kind of overhated. It's not great but there are 7 pre-movie episodes I consider worse. Those are:

I Was a Teenage Gary
Grandma's Kisses
Dumped
Artist Unknown
Party Pooper Pants
Mid-Life Crustacean
Krabby Land
 

darkrage6

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jack_of_all_traids said:
Yeah, I agree that I'm With Stupid is kind of overhated. It's not great but there are 7 pre-movie episodes I consider worse. Those are:

I Was a Teenage Gary
Grandma's Kisses
Dumped
Artist Unknown
Party Pooper Pants
Mid-Life Crustacean
Krabby Land
I quite liked Krabby Land and Mid-Life Crustacean(i'm surprised as hell Nick allowed the "Panty Raid" line though).

I was a Teenage Gary is dark but not as good as it's sister episode.

Grandma's Kisses was alright, but would've been better if Squid and those other jerks got some comeuppance at the end.

Artist Unknown is alright, it became more fascinating when I read the TVTropes Recaps page for it and learned that the episode was intended as a TakeThat! towards art schools, as apparently robbing students of creativity by forcing them to follow the rules really is a problem in real life.

Dumped is a weird one, it's tone is all over the place, though the ending made me laugh(as did Patrick brushing his armpits with his toothbrush).

Party Pooper Pants is probably my least favorite special, as mentioned before it really feels like a regular episode stretched to half an hour for no good reason, it has it's moments, but overall the second half is just not that enjoyable.
 
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darkrage6 said:
I quite liked Krabby Land and Mid-Life Crustacean(i'm surprised as hell Nick allowed the "Panty Raid" line though).

I was a Teenage Gary is dark but not as good as it's sister episode.

Grandma's Kisses was alright, but would've been better if Squid and those other jerks got some comeuppance at the end.

Artist Unknown is alright, it became more fascinating when I read the TVTropes Recaps page for it and learned that the episode was intended as a TakeThat! towards art schools, as apparently robbing students of creativity by forcing them to follow the rules really is a problem in real life.

Dumped is a weird one, it's tone is all over the place, though the ending made me laugh(as did Patrick brushing his armpits with his toothbrush).

Party Pooper Pants is probably my least favorite special, as mentioned before it really feels like a regular episode stretched to half an hour for no good reason, it has it's moments, but overall the second half is just not that enjoyable.
You make some good points. I might want to rewatch those episodes sometime in the future.
 

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I don't mean to bump up this post, but I feel like "House Fancy" and "SpongeHenge" are two very underrated episodes. The former being because Squidward actually wins out in the end, and the latter for frankly IMO being cool and kind of like a scifi flick from the 50s and 60s.
 

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Planet of the Jellyfish
Krabby Road
House Fancy (This one just gets a bad rep because of the toenail scene imo)
Patty Caper
New Fish in Town
 
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