Hello, people. It's JM SB FAN here, and today I'm going to be review season 1 of SpongeBob SquarePants. Yes, I'm doing season reviews now. I might do season reviews of other shows too when I start watching one. I know it's kind of cliché at this point considering a lot of other users like BSpongeSM02, Robski10, and Thelxinoe did reviews like these, but also online reviewers, like Jem Reviews (only season 7 though), PieGuyRulz, and A.S.K. Air. But anyways, it's time for me to analyze season 1 of SpongeBob SquarePants.
By calculating all the numbers I rated for episodes, it gives a total of 3215 points. Dividing it by the total of episodes, the answer is 78.41. So the mean rating is Good (78).
If this season has 41 episodes, the median would be in between the 20th and 21th-ranked episodes which are Suds and Bubblestand respectively. I rated both episodes . So the median rating is or a Solid (83).
This episode is absolutely hilarious. In this episode, Squidward separates SpongeBob and Patrick and it gets hilarious especially in the second half. Squidward befriending SpongeBob and Patrick makes for some great humor, such as Patrick falling asleep instantly when Squidward starts his clarinet, Patrick in the bath, and the insults SpongeBob and Patrick throw at each other. I also love how this ends up with karma for Squidward. This episode also ends in a heartwarming way.
This is the first episode that features Bubble Bass. And an amazing one at that. This episode shows SpongeBob’s personally perfectly. He thinks he messed up an order, and then he starts forgetting everything. Also, that’s relatable. Mr. Krabs also plays a great role here, when he helps SpongeBob to make a Krabby Patty. SpongeBob learns and comes back at the Krusty Krab. Bubble Bass lied to him and also other funny stuff like he ate the car keys. The ending was also great as well. Such a creative episode, I have to put it this high.
This episode in general is a phenomenal pilot episode. Each character is introduced very well with great pacing. There’s a lot of action when the anchovies come in. I also love the twist when the spatula Squidward and Mr. Krabs came up with actually exists. And of course, the sequence of SpongeBob making Krabby Patties on top of “Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight” playing in the background is iconic.
Yeah, this isn’t number 1. But I still love this episode. A customer orders a pizza, but the Krusty Krab doesn’t serve pizza. This leads to Mr. Krabs making a pizza out of Krabby Patties. There’s so many situations, it keeps me entertained. Not to mention, the Krusty Krab Pizza song was cool as well. This also gets hilarious in the last minute, where SpongeBob and Squidward forget the customer’s drink, leading to a fantastic scene of Squidward throws the pizza at the customer’s face, and a hilarious joke when the rock instantly took SpongeBob and Squidward back at the Krusty Krab.
#1. SB-129
File:SB-129 title card.png
The visuals is this episode is absolutely fantastic. One of the best animation next to Karen’s Virus. In this episode, we go from the future, to the past, to this weird “ALONE” dimension. While this episode is more focusing on the plot, this is also some awesome humor too, such as Squidward saying “Future!” while doing sit-ups, everything being chrome in the future (plus that one guy spraying something to make the flowers chrome), and Squidward apparently inventing jellyfishing, which foreshadows the scene at the past.
This episode isn’t bad, just kind of meh. There’s funny moments, like the game SpongeBob and Patrick made, the watermelon joke, and Patrick repeating everything SpongeBob says. But other than that, I find this episode kind of boring for the most part as it’s mostly SpongeBob and Patrick doing chores for Squidward, and them thinking he’s actually dead, when in reality, he’s not.
This episode felt very uncomfortable. SpongeBob turning into a snail gives me Face Freeze! vibes for some reason, as it’s incredibly slow and disgusting at the same time. Gary almost starving was uncomfortable as well. The ending was out of nowhere as well, though there is a funny joke of Patrick throwing a boot at Squidward saying, “Will you clam up?!”, but it still doesn’t save the episode as a whole for me.
So, this episode actually starts off fine. The start was okay, and the scene where SpongeBob and Patrick are playing in the rocket was quite charming. However, when the rocket gets launched, things go downhill. I really don’t like this plot of SpongeBob and Patrick kidnapping the Bikini Bottomites thinking that they are aliens. We know that they were still in Bikini Bottom and not actually on the Moon. Sandy even tries to talk them out of this, but they still trap her. This episode also ends incredibly abruptly.
This episode felt really obnoxious. SpongeBob’s constant squeaking with the boots get annoying really fast, and the rest of this episode felt really boring with slow moments. I actually feel Mr. Krabs in this one, and it’s not a good thing. Also, what the heck was that ending?
#1. Neptune’s Spatula
File:Neptune's Spatula title card.png
While the concept of a fry cook competition between SpongeBob and King Neptune sounds really cool, the execution was a major disappointment. I really hate the first half, which mostly amounts to unfunny jokes, consisting of Neptune not believing SpongeBob pulled the spatula as well as Neptune zapping Patrick. Also for some reason, Patrick’s face is on his butt. And it doesn’t go back to normal for the rest of the episode. I liked the "BEHOLD" joke (which features Tom Kenny in the shower), but that’s almost it. The competition was very mediocre at best. The visuals are cool, but they end up being a waste due to the obvious twist that SpongeBob's patties are good and Neptune's aren't.
So in general, season 1 was a really good start of the show. The atmosphere and plots are pretty nice and unique, and there’s some funny jokes from some of these episodes. The cel animation looks very smooth, and what makes this season more unique and the episodes in this feels more different compared to later in the series, where they use Digital Ink-and-Paint animation after this season.
While a lot of these episode’s plot feel simplistic, though understandable since it’s the first season. However, some episodes execute these simple plots really effectively. Episodes such as Naughty Nautical Neighbors, Pizza Delivery, and Opposite Day sound extremely simplistic, but due to some of the character interactions, the humor, and atmosphere, these episodes really shine as some of this season's best. There are also episodes that go all-out with their atmosphere, such as SB-129 and Sleepy Time, making use of the future and the past, and the diversity of every character's dream, respectively. The humor is also really solid in this season. There are some laugh-out-loud episodes such as Naughty Nautical Neighbors, Opposite Day, and Culture Shock, and there are great jokes that are present in most other episodes as well.
Of course, not every plot works well. There are certain episodes that focus too much on humor so the plot isn't good as a result. An example of this is Sandy's Rocket. I feel that the plot there mostly amounts to SpongeBob and Patrick being stupid, and I usually don't find characters being overly stupid to be funny. And then there's Neptune's Spatula, the episode that takes six minutes for its plot to actually start. The first half of this episode goes for jokes, but the problem is that these jokes are extremely repetitive and drag on, so I don't find them funny. It's really annoying considering that the actual plot of the fry cook competition ends up only being 2-3 minutes long.
Overall, though, the positives are much more present than the negatives in this season. This season does a great job at introducing characters, as well as setting up a basis for the show in general. While it's not the best season by any means, this season is quite enjoyable. Now it's time to give it a rating.
The mean rating is Good (78), while the median rating is Solid (83). Since there are 13 episodes I rated Amazing, I decided to go with the latter rating. While it isn’t one of the absolute best cartoon seasons, I still really enjoy it. So the rating adds up to Solid (81), and I think this season deserves just that.
Thanks for coming for my review. I put a lot of work on this, and I hope you enjoy it. Be on the lookout for The Fairly OddParents season 1 review soon, as I am starting that season. See you in season 2!
