[061a. Fear of a Krabby Patty]

What seems to be lost in the shuffle of all the hate for S4 (some of it deserved, some of it not) is that it actually started off pretty well. This isn't one of the best episodes of the series, but it's still quite good. It has some of the elements that made earlier episodes great, and some slick new animation, plus an amusing part for Plankton. I enjoyed the cut to Squidward's zombie-like face and bags under his bags, as well as Spongebob pulling out a piano from out of nowhere. The plot is decent, though it does recycle material from Graveyard Shift (most notably), as well as other episodes. It also paves the way for some of the problems that would plague the show later on (an overuse of Plankton plots, Mr. Krabs being an irredeemable, unlikable jerk) though there's nothing too bad here. The payoff, with the giant Krabby Patty talking to Spongebob in his dream, doesn't feel as funny as it should be. A decent start for S4, though, which was probably enough to give people hope that good things were in store for the series after the movie and hiatus...

Score: 7/10

[028. Christmas Who?]

This episode contains pretty much everything that made Spongebob great. It has an amusing plot that actually develops, some great lines and character interactions, a catchy and surprisingly well written musical number, and most importantly, a heart. You feel for Spongebob and the gang as they want so desperately for Santa to come to Bikini Bottom and give them what they want for Christmas. This might be Squidward's best moment as a character (Pizza Delivery and Band Geeks are the other ones, arguably), as he's both hilariously in-character for much of the episode, before discovering and understanding the true meaning of Christmas more than anyone else. Christmas Who? deserves it's status as not only a classic episode of Spongebob, but as a warm, highly enjoyable Christmas TV classic.

10/10

[041a. The Algae's Always Greener]

This episode was very good, and was an interesting way to start the best season of Spongebob. It's a type of episode I like to classify as trippy/psychedelic (though you could say the entire show is like that, lol) in that it's quite different in it's plot. Some may even say it's just strange, but it works well as both a look into Plankton's mentality concerning his rivalry with Mr. Krabs and his dissatisfaction with his own life, not to mention just a funny episode overall. Several moments are truly memorable (Plankton drinking his soda at odd times, Mr. Krabs with er, no clothes), and a couple have even transcended the episode itself to become memes (Spongebob's face while being critiqued, and SOILED IT!). Amazingly, some of the later episodes in S3 are even better, but this is a great one too.

Score: 8.5/10

[Squidward: A Life]

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