Why do you guys think Season 4 is a good Season/ do you think it's classic?

[hippythehippo]

Yo boy is back, and he is ready to piss some people off. The site is pretty slow today anyway, so why not.


There's one Season that I seem to be the minority in not liking, and that Season is Season 4. However, I never could what was wrong with it until recently. I never lumped it with the classics, as I felt the Season itself was far inferior to Seasons 1, 2, or 3. That doesn't mean this Season doesn't have any episodes I love, but the Season itself was a grab bag of quality. It had some truly excellent episodes, and some awful episodes. However, every Season has there duds, but people seem to hold this Season in such high regard, especially recently, so why not ask the fans themselves why they like it. I am going to label my points below, and leave it there.

Why I don't consider Season 4 a good Season

The Tone

This is probably the biggest thing off about the Season. This Season seems to take itself way too seriously. While this isn't a bad thing on it's own, as some stories work better as more serious than comedic, with Have You Seen this Snail as a shining example, some stories just feel too serious. Episodes like New Leaf, Wigstruck, The Thing, and Selling Out all are pretty much played pretty straight. I mean, maybe I'm used to the fun atmosphere of 9b-11, but seeing Bikini Bottom bully Spongebob for wearing a wig, with zero comedic value is a bit too much. I won't deny that Season 3 has a more negative tone, but the episodes are jam packed with comedy. Mid Life Crustacean isn't exactly the most happy story, but it turns out hilarious due to how they play the misery of the characters, compared to Krabs destroying Plankton's lively hood in New Leaf.

The Jokes

To give this Season some credit, it might have the best story telling of the series. Episodes had more complex plots, and things were more big than the simple premises from 1-3. The problem is I feel a lot of episodes don't have many jokes. Episodes like Squidtastic Voyage, New Leaf, Whale of a Birthday, and Funny Pants don't have many jokes at all (from memory). I guess it is a tradeoff, but I feel it isn't worth it, as there are a lot of episodes that I only chuckled one or two places.


The Mixed Quality

Maybe I am being harsh, but there are a LOT of meh and bad episodes this time around. I just cant seem to like episodes like Squidtastic Voyage, Whale of a Birthday, Hocus Pocus, or Driven to Tears, which are episodes that seem to ge more positive rep now. Even than, I don't understand what is to like about The Thing, Good Neighbors, All That Glitters, or Rule of Dumb. Than again, I love a lot of episodes in this Season too, sch as Bummer Vacation and Pick Purloiner, but there seems to be a lotf of forgetable or plain bad episodes this Season.

Overall, it averages to a meh. Some really good, some really terrible, the quality about balances out. Bad+meh is more than goods. I still think it's okay, but I feel calling it goo, or lumping it with the classics, is a huge overstatement.

 

[Klu]

Fof me personally, if season has more than 50% of good content it's worth something. Season 4, for me, at least, has roughly 75-80% of good content.
Some episodes maybe weren't that funny, but they have some charm, at least.

Though I won't be surprised if by the end of season 11, I won't be holding season 4 in that high regard as I do now.

 

[FinnDinner]

It tries to emphasis story a little bit more, but without good comedy. Why should I go to a comedy show if it's not funny? I consider the first half of Season 4 (ending at Wishing You Well) to be the closest to rivaling 1-3. Good Neighbors/Funny Pants/Squidtastic Voyage are the only duds I find in that section.

The tone in this kind of sucks, and I agree, it kinda takes itself a little too serious. The Thing is easily my least favorite episode of that season and is exactly why I don't compare this one to pre-movie.

Some of the good episodes though, shine really bright (i.e: Dunces and Dragons, Krusty Towers, Shell of a Man) to name a few, most of which come out of the first half.

Overall, I say watch the first half, with only a few duds, and then proceed at your own risk after Wishing You Well. If you are OK with half-aced gags and stories taking themselves too far, then you could probably get away with a good experience over the entire season, and that's why people probably find this season good @hippythehippo.

 

[Coffee_lover]

Season 4 is an solid overall.Sure,it have some weak episodes(Gift of Gum,New Leaf,Funny Pants)or downright bad(The Thing,SquidBob TentaclePants,All That Glitters),but it still have a lot of good or even godly gems that made this season a classic

 

[hippythehippo]

It tries to emphasis story a little bit more, but without good comedy. Why should I go to a comedy show if it's not funny? I consider the first half of Season 4 (ending at Wishing You Well) to be the closest to rivaling 1-3. Good Neighbors/Funny Pants/Squidtastic Voyage are the only duds I find in that section.

The tone in this kind of sucks, and I agree, it kinda takes itself a little too serious. The Thing is easily my least favorite episode of that season and is exactly why I don't compare this one to pre-movie.

Some of the good episodes though, shine really bright (i.e: Dunces and Dragons, Krusty Towers, Shell of a Man) to name a few, most of which come out of the first half.

Overall, I say watch the first half, with only a few duds, and then proceed at your own risk after Wishing You Well. If you are OK with half-aced gags and stories taking themselves too far, then you could probably get away with a good experience over the entire season, and that's why people probably find this season good @hippythehippo.

Pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly. But ehhhh, I thought the Season stopped being good at Ghost Host, but that might be just me.

 

[EmployeeAMillion]

I guess one reason I like it more than the other Post-Movie seasons is because it stays truer to the excitement of the earlier seasons. Even when episodes aren’t good, they’re trying more to be SpongeBob than their own thing, or a Ren & Stimpy clone. Of course comparing it to the Post-Sequel seasons is challenging, but I’ll see what I think of those at large when I get to them.

Spoiler

Also, it’s kinda silly that you like pointing out how Season 4’s overrated when your icon’s from a Season 4 episode. :P

 

[hippythehippo]

I guess one reason I like it more than the other Post-Movie seasons is because it stays truer to the excitement of the earlier seasons. Even when episodes aren’t good, they’re trying more to be SpongeBob than their own thing, or a Ren & Stimpy clone. Of course comparing it to the Post-Sequel seasons is challenging, but I’ll see what I think of those at large when I get to them.

Spoiler

Also, it’s kinda silly that you like pointing out how Season 4’s overrated when your icon’s from a Season 4 episode. :P

I assume you aren't as thrilled on Season 11 as I am. (Imagine an emoticon here, being on mobile sucks)

 

[Klu]

Pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly. But ehhhh, I thought the Season stopped being good at Ghost Host, but that might be just me.

So, you don't like The Pink Purloiner, Best Frenemies and Bummer Vacation?

 

[hippythehippo]

So, you don't like The Pink Purloiner, Best Frenemies and Bummer Vacation?

In fact, I love all 3 (mostly PP and BV though) all 3 are in my top 10 for the Season. But I think we both can agree the second half is mostly weaker than the first (I even think the second half is comparable to Season 8 generally)

 

[EmployeeAMillion]

I assume you aren't as thrilled on Season 11 as I am.

I meant it’d be challenging to compare Season 4’s quality to 10 and 11. I see a lot of good, and a bit of meh and bad, in those seasons, so from where I’m standing, I see them as on-par with 4. That may change when I actually analyse the episodes and delve into what they do right and wrong, but for now, they’re both in that “decent zone”.

 

[The Guy With the Computer]

I wouldn't say I like it fully, but I think it's a decent season because it features some really good episodes, some being among my favorite episodes of the series, and most of its bad episodes aren't really that bad. That said, a good majority of the season leans toward okay territory, as many of its good and bad episodes are close to the middle, and about half of the season is filled with episodes that are okay, but nothing special.

 

[McSponge]

Season 4 is incredibly overrated. Yes, I won't deny the a good chunk of the first half is full of great episodes (Some a fresh of breath air from the mediocre specials of Season 3. I don't think the latter half of Season 3 is honestly that bad. Yes, it's not as flawless as the first half, but I think what really kills the second half is really the sheer amount of unnecessary specials. Yeah the Patchy segments from those are classics, but the actual SpongeBob portions, I think everyone can agree, are pretty weak). But Season 4 as a whole just isn't that good of a Season. It's fairly mediocre with a lot of it's episodes ranging around the "mediocre at worst-decent at best" territory. Yes, there are some truly classics in this Season like Fear of a Krabby Patty, Krusty Towers, Shell of a Man, even Krabs vs. Plankton (Which tends to get overlooked). Season 5 had it's fair share of classics too, like Roller Cowards, Friend Or Foe, Sing a Song of Patrick, etc.

I think I've mentioned this plenty before, but Season 4 is mostly just mediocre. It has it's highs, and it's lows, but it rarely seems to reach that. A lot of duds aren't even really duds, while they aren't good episodes, there's usually some redeeming quality to it (Ghost Host, Whale of a Birthday, Driven to Tears, even the infamous Gift of Gum isn't that bad of an episode). Season 4 is generally around the same quality of content. I don't group it with Seasons 1-3, the tone of course is fairly off, the writers just couldn't recapture that spirit, charm, and sharp level of humor that was ever present within the first three Seasons (Especially in Season 3). It's an obvious drop in quality, as the general roots of the characters' flanderization are first planted around this point. The ever unpopular "Squid Abuse" episode makes it's debut with Good Neighbors, the Patrick's a jerk trope pops up in both Driven to Tears, and Rule of Dumb. SpongeBob's ignorance is also portrayed in Good Neighbors.

Pre-Movie obviously isn't innocent either. Krabby Land is infamous for being the beginning of Greedy Krabs, so this isn't exactly a problem just present in Season 4. But, Season 4 has a totally different vibe of the Pre-Movie era. It's practically a different show, even Fear of a Krabby Patty (One of the best episodes of the series) isn't anything like the Pre-Movie episodes, it's kind of it's own unique thing. And the humor, Season 4 is one of the lesser funny Seasons out there. I think hippo hit the nail in the lid, Post-Movie in general did a lot better with telling stories than they did with humor. Season 7 & 8's best episodes generally had a captivating story (Whelk Attack, The Inside Job, how the heck is the Season 8 finale's title slipping my mind, I don't know...). Sure, there are still really funny episodes like FOAKP and Krusty Towers, but there are still a lot of real bland episodes in this Season, that had the potential to be great episodes, but just fell flat in the humor department (Chimps Ahoy, Good Neighbors, Funny Pants, etc.)

Season 4 isn't classic by any means. No Season outside of 1-3 is classic. There can be modern gems like 9B, but none can simply match how great the Pre-Movie seasons were.

 

[TattleTale Strangler]

Seasons 1-3 will always be the classics. Having been a fan since the debut of SpongeBob in 1999, I can tell you that the transition between Movie and Season 4 seemed kind of out of place. I've always looked at Season 4 as the season that was trying to find which direction to take SpongeBob as a show, and this made for a pretty clumsy season. Some of the episodes are really good, while some are kind of bad. I think this trial and error of Season 4 is what gave SpongeBob the direction it needed to continue on for more seasons, and Nickelodeon was able to find out what worked and what didn't work. I think of it as the growth spurt season, if that analogy makes sense, where there were pains but ultimately it gave the show the push it needed.

Edit: wording

 

[MASTER OF BIKINI BOTTOM]

I find this Season along with season 5 classics, reasons:

They got memorable jokes and all the characters are still likeable

Every episode (Except for To Love a Patty) is likeable to me

Some plots are really creative

Patrick is still remarkable

MEMES

Some of the best songs are from these two

The weakest episodes are not even that bad

BUT THEY WILL NEVER BE SUPERIOR TO SEASONS 1-3 (Including Dumped and Party Pooper Pants)

 

[Sara SquarePants]

Season 4 is when Nickelodeon started to HEAVILY rely on the show

In other words this was the turning point for SpongeBob's transformation into a cash cow

 

[SpongebobMaster]

Of course I think its good! its my favorite!

 

[Neon2500]

Yo boy is back, and he is ready to piss some people off. The site is pretty slow today anyway, so why not.


There's one Season that I seem to be the minority in not liking, and that Season is Season 4. However, I never could what was wrong with it until recently. I never lumped it with the classics, as I felt the Season itself was far inferior to Seasons 1, 2, or 3. That doesn't mean this Season doesn't have any episodes I love, but the Season itself was a grab bag of quality. It had some truly excellent episodes, and some awful episodes. However, every Season has there duds, but people seem to hold this Season in such high regard, especially recently, so why not ask the fans themselves why they like it. I am going to label my points below, and leave it there.

Why I don't consider Season 4 a good Season

The Tone

This is probably the biggest thing off about the Season. This Season seems to take itself way too seriously. While this isn't a bad thing on it's own, as some stories work better as more serious than comedic, with Have You Seen this Snail as a shining example, some stories just feel too serious. Episodes like New Leaf, Wigstruck, The Thing, and Selling Out all are pretty much played pretty straight. I mean, maybe I'm used to the fun atmosphere of 9b-11, but seeing Bikini Bottom bully Spongebob for wearing a wig, with zero comedic value is a bit too much. I won't deny that Season 3 has a more negative tone, but the episodes are jam packed with comedy. Mid Life Crustacean isn't exactly the most happy story, but it turns out hilarious due to how they play the misery of the characters, compared to Krabs destroying Plankton's lively hood in New Leaf.

The Jokes

To give this Season some credit, it might have the best story telling of the series. Episodes had more complex plots, and things were more big than the simple premises from 1-3. The problem is I feel a lot of episodes don't have many jokes. Episodes like Squidtastic Voyage, New Leaf, Whale of a Birthday, and Funny Pants don't have many jokes at all (from memory). I guess it is a tradeoff, but I feel it isn't worth it, as there are a lot of episodes that I only chuckled one or two places.


The Mixed Quality

Maybe I am being harsh, but there are a LOT of meh and bad episodes this time around. I just cant seem to like episodes like Squidtastic Voyage, Whale of a Birthday, Hocus Pocus, or Driven to Tears, which are episodes that seem to ge more positive rep now. Even than, I don't understand what is to like about The Thing, Good Neighbors, All That Glitters, or Rule of Dumb. Than again, I love a lot of episodes in this Season too, sch as Bummer Vacation and Pick Purloiner, but there seems to be a lotf of forgetable or plain bad episodes this Season.

Overall, it averages to a meh. Some really good, some really terrible, the quality about balances out. Bad+meh is more than goods. I still think it's okay, but I feel calling it goo, or lumping it with the classics, is a huge overstatement.

Oh wow I thought I was the only one who noticed the takes itself too seriously thing?

I think for season 4 they were trying to do a lot of TV drama/soap opera parodies for some of the eps and I don’t know why. Just what the writers thought was funny at the time.