1/5 Prepare for the longest rant on the decline in Spongebob quality you will ever read
  by
Hello, my name is Beatrice. I'm twelve years old, and a long-time Spongebob fan. I'm writing regarding the sharp decline in the quality of Spongebob episodes that we have been seeing for several years now.


Seasons one-three were great. This would have to have been the Golden Age of Spongebob. The writing was competent and didn't "talk down" to the audience, and the show, though primarily aimed at children, was clever enough for adults to enjoy it as well.
The movie was alright. Not bad, but not great either.
Season four is okay. Some episodes are very good--"Krusty Towers" and "The Lost Mattress" are prime examples--but there has definitely a change in tone, and the title character is much more annoying and childish than he used to be.
Season five starts out decent, but quickly degenerates into such disgraceful episodes as "Goo Goo Gas" and "Whatever Happened to Spongebob" (what an ironic title).
Season six: really, really bad. Awful. To say that it's a shadow of the show it once was would be the understatement of the year.
Season seven: I haven't seen any episodes from season seven, but judging by the direction things have been headed, I don't think I want to.


{{Please note that I am not insulting the writers themselves; I'm merely addressing the fact that they aren't doing a good job}}
Here is my theory:
The new writers who came with the resignation of series creator Stephen Hillenburg lacked the "zip" of the older ones. They seemed to be aware of this fact. They figured, "We know we can't write worth a darn. So, let's just gear the show towards undiscerning little kids--they've been our real moneymakers anyway."
And their plan worked. Though older fans were starting to turn away from the series, they were still making money. So then they thought, "Why not go a notch lower? It'll take less time and effort, and the kids won't even notice."
And it worked again.
They've been continuing with this general downward trend--getting lazier and lazier--and now they're churning out episodes that are so sloppily put together, so insulting to the viewer's intelligence, that they're genuinely painful to watch. To quote my brother, who is also a Spongebob fan: "The new ones are horrible."


These new writers don't even seem to understand the characters. They've simply taken each one's main character trait and taken it to such an extreme that it's not even funny: Spongebob, as obnoxious as possible. Patrick, as stupid as possible. Squidward, as mean as possible. They're not at all charming like they used to be--they're caricatures of their former selves, that's what they are.


There are fewer jokes and plot twists per episode (it takes less time and thought); one gets the sense that everything is drawn out to accommodate the standard 11-minute time slot. That includes the jokes, which are dragged out to painful lengths (see the season five episode, "A Flea in her Dome").


Very recent episodes seem to be avoiding remotely unfortunate endings, as if the kids wouldn't be able to handle it. It can't even be done in a humorous manner (see the season three episode, "Clams"), because that would just be TOO MUCH for them to take.


Now, on to the DVD itself: the only decent episode on this DVD is the titular "Spongebob vs. the Big One". The rest are so bad that if I didn't know better, I might think that someone was doing a parody of Spongebob. ("No Nose Knows" especially.)


In the years since the movie, the show has gone from a clever, well-made cartoon to--as one critic put it--"something it once wasn't: just another kid-pandering attention-waster."


I doubt Spongebob will ever actually get better. When it really hits bottom and loses all of its fans (I know that will happen), it will most likely be cancelled rather than going back up to previous quality. And when that happens, Nickelodeon will collapse because the centerpiece of Nickelodeon popularity will no longer be there. Maybe they will have learned their lesson? I don't know.


Whatever the case, I have (needless to say) stopped seeking out new episodes. In fact, I think I did in the mid-fourth season. The only reason I have seen recent episodes is because my little sister is a die-hard Spongebob fan, and she often wants me to join her in watching them. She's too young to recognize that this show is going down the drain (pun intended), but she will soon. In fact, there will come a time when it sinks so low that even the small children it's clearly aimed at will feel compelled to move on to other, better cartoons.


Thank you for reading my rant.


-Beatrice Larison


P.S.: If anyone else has their own theory about what brought on this general decline in quality, please leave a comment and say what it is.


5/5 Great
  by ABC Snoopy (New Jersey)
This is a great SpongeBob special. I really enjoyed it. The other episodes are good too. More people should give it a change and to write good reviews about it.

1/5 Just keeps getting worse and worse...
  by Stephen G. Kohn (Phoenix, AZ)
This was some of the worst episodes I've ever seen. The first was the best on the DVD, but the rest are going way downhill. To make a good point in fact, there was at least 2 times that they went to a "Family Guy style cut-scene" where they go totally off topic with some live action and totally pathetic joke about old people drinking sports drinks. Apparently the writers are out of material, or simply don't care enough anymore, and are resorting to ripping of Family guy and other adult cartoons. The voice of Spongebob is even becoming more deep and angry, because it isn't about fun anymore, it's about cramming already used humor down our throats.

Spongebob was famous for being innocent and fun with subtle adult humor tucked in. Now the adult humor is being shoved down our throats, and I'm not sure why a child would even enjoy it anymore. It's harsh, it's obnoxious, and the jokes are getting really lame. After the 4th season, the writers got enough money to just start throwing anything at us expecting to get paid anyways. I'm returning this DVD, and I'll never buy another one until they get back to what made this cartoon so enjoyable for any age. I won't buy anything spongebob related because the New episodes are ruining all the old ones for me. Spongebob was unique, and now they just want to jump on the bandwagon of any other cartoon. Southpark, Family Guy, and so forth are enjoyable because they don't have lines to cross. That's there appeal, and it can only work for them. Spongebob was suppose to go close enough to make it funny, and it felt good watching it, reminding you of your own childhood a bit.

So No, I don't suggest you buy it, because the writers have lost all the love and skill they used to put into it. You might as well download the first episode somewhere like iTunes, but don't waste your money on the whole DVD.

5/5 One of the few things I can sit through with the kids.
  by K. A. Sinacori (Orange County)
My sister-in-law thinks I'm crazy to invite Spongebob into our lives. She thinks he's low brow and will have a bad influence on the kids. I say, if Spongebob is wrong, I don't want to be right. And I've spent time with her kids. They are humorless little drones. I'll take a subversive dose of Spongebob if it means my kids turn out to be entertaining people. And since we're a surfing family, we had to purchase this movie. We are now ready to tackle the Big One ourselves! This DVD does not disappoint. But when does Spongebob ever?

4/5 SpongeBob Vs. The Big One
  by Ellen R. Fissel (South Mountain, PA USA)
I rented this DVD and surprisingly, most of the episodes are very good. The first episode stars Johnny Depp as surf guru Jack Kahuna Laguna. This episode is one of the best double length SpongeBob episodes out there. It is a lot better than the episodes "Whatever Happened To SpongeBob?", "Have You Seen This Snail", and "The Sponge Who Could Fly". We even have a live-action guest appearence of the singer Davy Jones.

While it may be better to wait for these episodes to come out on a season box set, if you want a good DVD this one is it. Below is the episodes that are contained on this DVD.

1. SpongeBob Vs. The Big One (Great episode, hopefully Jack Kahuna Laguna returns in future episodes with Jonny Depp reprising his role.)
2. A Life in a Day (not bad, better than some other episodes)
3. Sun Bleached (reminds me of the time I got really burnt in the sun at Ocean City, Maryland)
4. Giant Squidward (a good one)
5. No Nose Knows (utterly stupid)
6. Patty Caper (another good one)
7. Plankton's Regular (ok, lingers between a good or bad episode)

While not all the episodes are great, most are worth watching at least once. Buy now and enjoy!