Was Paul Tibbitt worried about fatigue himself?

[Fear Of A Nerdy Patty]

Ironically even though many people find the Tibbitt era boring and repetitive, it also contains more experimentation than any of the other ones.

The season 4 premiere had an entirely different animation style than any other segment in the entire series, plus contained the first one dedicated to an event (Best Day ever).
Season 5 had 5 episodes containing shorts, plus a special that entirely dedicated itself to being a musical while before it was just one or two songs each (Atlantis Squarepantis). Truth Or Square went even further and had sections with different animation, tons of celebrity cameos not to mention was nearly an hour long (depending on which version you see).
Then season 7 and 8 had those "themed" episodes, Legends Of Bikini Bottom and Vacation. It's A SpongeBob Christmas! marked the first time a whole story got animated in stop-motion.

It seems to me like he was terrified of the show going stale and alienating the fanbase, but in the process he managed to do so anyway by gradually neglecting the most important aspect: The reason we love SpongeBob so much are for the characters, witty humor and the fascinating world that's been created. The experiments will always be secondary.

 

[Sara SquarePants]

I'm pretty sure Paul Tibbitt was indeed fatigued from the show (him and Stephen Hillenburg) and why wouldn't they be after the way Nickelodeon milks this IP to the point where all milk has been drained?

Personally, I like when this show experiments vs staying the same which gets boring

 

[Fear Of A Nerdy Patty]

I don't mind experiments either, even though they can be hit-and-miss. My point was more that they are not the most integral part of the show.

 

[Sara SquarePants]

So you're saying the experiments should always be secondary to the characters, setting, & plot, correct?

 

[Fear Of A Nerdy Patty]

Yep.

 

[Sara SquarePants]

Do you feel like SpongeBob is over-relying on experimental episode types?

 

[Fear Of A Nerdy Patty]

I'm not sure, but I wonder if the heavier reliance on them is why the regular episodes became much more hit-and-miss as a result. In season 1-3 (and 4 as well I guess) the experimentation was relatively sparse, but the plots and humor was still really well-written.

(Note I have never seen season 10-12, so can't comment on whether they strike a good balance there or not)

 

[Sara SquarePants]

That's an interesting thought and they could stand to tone down the experimental episodes a little bit