Why have people lost interest in SpongeBob?

Sara SquarePants

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Many people have lost interest in this show, including me

Let me explain:

I used to be a fan of SpongeBob SquarePants as a kid and stuck with it as a teen/adult because I had hope that it would get better

Then Nickelodeon started to milk the show for all it was worth which turned me off from it even MORE

But everything changed when Stephen Hillenburg died!

I knew right then & there that I needed to move on from SpongeBob SquarePants

But why have other people lost interest?
 

EM.

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Yeah honestly the really expressive faces and dialogue just don't do it for me, hell I would rather rewatch a season 6 or 7 episode than I would season 11. Yes, even The Splinter
 

EmployeeAMillion

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For one thing, forums are no longer an easy, convenient place for discussion, at least not as much as they used to be 10 years ago. Plus I think Nickelodeon’s new management has somehow managed to be even worse, since they barely did anything with SpongeBob this year that would make fans happy. There was the Birthday Blowout, but besides that, we’ve got an unpredictable schedule, a new line of toys (just like every year), multiple spin-offs that the late Stephen Hillenburg likely didn’t want, and a third movie coming next year that looks good, but has gone through 7,000 rewrites. And all this wouldn’t be as bad as it is if the show were still interesting, but it isn’t. The wacky, nonsensical stylings of the Waller/Ceccarelli era aren’t entertaining anymore, just like Tibbitt’s trends were getting old by Season 7, and I don’t know if the show can survive another regeneration with new writers and ideas.
I also think the negative atmosphere coming from some corners of the fandom aren’t helping.
I knew right then & there that I needed to move on from SpongeBob SquarePants
Yeah keep telling yourself that.
 

Octavionknox888

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They should have done more with spongebob in this year because 20 years is a big milestone to be on without being cancelled
 

masterfulo46

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YOU have lost interest in SpongeBob?!

I am surprised

But you're right about Nick dropping the ball on this anniversary

It's so sad!

I too think that continuing the show after the movie might do more harm than good
I have counting the years down to this milestone and seeing nothing being done is saddening. Disappointment feels like an understatement. I think true fans can agree on this
 

Yoh Manta

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Spongebob still has some good episodes, but for the most part now, the humor is still too childish and overdone. I've been vocal about my opinion that I lost interest in SB a fairly long time ago, despite it still being something I would watch if there was nothing else on, but everyone seems to have their own reason for no longer keeping up with the show.
 

Grass-Skirt-Chase

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They should have done more with spongebob in this year because 20 years is a big milestone to be on without being cancelled
I think they’ve done a HELL of a lot with SpongeBob! The amount of merchandise, events, specials, announcements... As a person who is literally OBSESSED with SpongeBob, the amount that they’re doing with him for his “Best Year Ever” is actually somewhat overwhelming.
 

SpongeBobfan1987

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It's almost as if Nick forgot about SpongeBob's anniversary...
...and how a lot of people forgot that this decade is ending soon...

I see why just about anyone would give up on (or take a break from) SpongeBob SquarePants. I decided to take a break from SpongeBob in 2010/2011. It's been a long break, but I know I will return someday...too many other interesting cartoons and TV shows to watch out there, both old and new! During that long break from SpongeBob, I decided to become a Trekkie by going back and watching the Star Trek TV shows and theatrical films.

I most certainly agree, that even a train stops once in a while. Nickelodeon is milking SpongeBob like crazy, almost to Simpsons-like levels!

It's a good thing that Chris Savino decided to end Craig McCracken's The Powerpuff Girls Classic after its sixth season, even though the show was still quite successful, even though an anime spin-off was created in Japan that was based on the Powerpuff Girls franchise. A few years later, Craig McCracken gave the show a proper ending with a 10th anniversary special, "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!" Cartoon Network then decided to bring the series back from the dead, first with the 15th anniversary special "Dance Pantsed" and most recently that crazy 2016 reboot! No other franchise has seen this many different spin-offs or more, since at least Batman, Superman, Super Sentai/Mighty Morhin Power Rangers, Star Trek or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Let's hope SpongeBob doesn't get involved in too many chronologically-confusing spin-offs in the 2020s!
 

FutureSponge

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I honestly think it's just that the show has gotten old, and the generation that grew up watching it are mostly adults and older teens now, and for most people in that age range, they've stopped watching cartoons made for younger kids. There's also the quality of the show in general. While I believe that the 2nd movie, and seasons 9B-12 have been a MASSIVE improvement compared to seasons 6-8, it doesn't change the fact that that's still people's general impression of the show now.

Most casual viewers (which sadly makes up the majority of people who watch cartoons aimed at a younger audience) don't really care enough to give the newer seasons a chance because either A) like I said, they've just grown out of it and don't care enough about it anymore, or B) Spongebob has simply gained a status of infamy for everything past the first movie.

Infamy as a TV show, especially with how badly post-movie Spongebob has received it, is really hard to recover from. It's the same reason why shows like The Simpsons will sadly never be seen in the same light again as their golden age, even if they manage to improve and somehow become better than their roots. Once the general public makes up their mind on something, it tends to stay that way, forever. It's popular to hate Spongebob, and most casual viewers stopped watching somewhere around seasons 5-8, and with subjectively some of the worst episodes of the show being your last impression on it, combined with the hate boner the internet has for modern Spongebob in general, it makes sense why most people's opinions would stay the same and they wouldn't want to give the show another chance.

Also like I said, the show's just gotten old in general. While like The Simpsons, I believe Spogebob is a show that can live throughout and entertain multiple generations, we're kind of in an era now where most children's entertainment comes online through internet personalities and video games. Spongebob just isn't cool or relevant with the kids anymore, and the adults who grew up watching it have moved on and have a general distaste for the newer episodes. Seeing Spongebob on every corner I'm sure helped the show feel very over saturated and watered down too. He's essentially become the Mickey Mouse of Nickelodeon.
 

Sara SquarePants

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I honestly think it's just that the show has gotten old, and the generation that grew up watching it are mostly adults and older teens now, and for most people in that age range, they've stopped watching cartoons made for younger kids. There's also the quality of the show in general. While I believe that the 2nd movie, and seasons 9B-12 have been a MASSIVE improvement compared to seasons 6-8, it doesn't change the fact that that's still people's general impression of the show now.

Most casual viewers (which sadly makes up the majority of people who watch cartoons aimed at a younger audience) don't really care enough to give the newer seasons a chance because either A) like I said, they've just grown out of it and don't care enough about it anymore, or B) Spongebob has simply gained a status of infamy for everything past the first movie.

Infamy as a TV show, especially with how badly post-movie Spongebob has received it, is really hard to recover from. It's the same reason why shows like The Simpsons will sadly never be seen in the same light again as their golden age, even if they manage to improve and somehow become better than their roots. Once the general public makes up their mind on something, it tends to stay that way, forever. It's popular to hate Spongebob, and most casual viewers stopped watching somewhere around seasons 5-8, and with subjectively some of the worst episodes of the show being your last impression on it, combined with the hate boner the internet has for modern Spongebob in general, it makes sense why most people's opinions would stay the same and they wouldn't want to give the show another chance.

Also like I said, the show's just gotten old in general. While like The Simpsons, I believe Spogebob is a show that can live throughout and entertain multiple generations, we're kind of in an era now where most children's entertainment comes online through internet personalities and video games. Spongebob just isn't cool or relevant with the kids anymore, and the adults who grew up watching it have moved on and have a general distaste for the newer episodes. Seeing Spongebob on every corner I'm sure helped the show feel very over saturated and watered down too. He's essentially become the Mickey Mouse of Nickelodeon.

Thank you for understanding

I do think the show really has gone downhill and sadly many other people have as well

Also, I am now at the age where I should be moving on from kids' shows but I've stuck with the sponge because he was my childhood

IDK if it's right to compare SpongeBob SquarePants to Mickey Mouse since Mickey isn't tied to one show but Nickelodeon has been trying to mold him into the next "Mickey Mouse" and all these spin-offs are just even more proof of that
 
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eliugra

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Part of the issue for me is that all media is so spread out now, especially more than even just 10 years ago. What I mean by that is you have to go to not only different channels but different "TV" services now to watch what you want (I put TV in quotes because you don't even have to be seated at a traditional boob tube [I'm probably dating myself because now I bet that's a pretty old nickname for "television"]). Not to mention all the non-TV-show media (YouTube, paper books, ebooks, audiobooks) I barely have time to consume as it is! Not much against SBSP in general (although sometimes I wish the humor was smarter instead of, say, way overemphasizing Mr. Krabs' moneygrubbing personality and running used-before humor into the ground).
 

Mantis

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It just doesn't have the same charm it did when I was younger. If it was still the same quality I'd probably watch it more, but it's not. Plus I'm growing out most stuff I liked as a kid with an exception for a few things.
 

Sara SquarePants

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I think a BIG problem with SpongeBob is how the show is constrained by its formula, LITERALLY!

How many times must Plankton attempt to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula before it gets tired & old?

I feel like this may be holding the show back from reaching its true potential

I guess that's one good thing about the spin-offs since they will revolve around different characters and settings
 
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