SBC's Top 50 Best Episodes Ever 2015 Edition!

[WhoBibbles]

Gosh, I hope we get Krusty Towers on this list.

Spoiler

don't worry about that 

 

[SpongeyKid]

Graveyard Shift was never really one of my all time favorites, but still enjoyable nonetheless. I loved the nighttime atmosphere at the KK with SpongeBob and Squidward. It had a different vibe, which was cool.

[Metal Snake]

Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy V is an episode I always had weird feelings about as a kid. It's a funny episode, but not a favorite of mine. I...would not put Pizza Delivery at #1 or #2, but I can at least agree that it's one of the best Season 1 episodes. Graveyard Shift is pretty cool. I loved how how they pulled off a telling of a serial killer story in a kid's show.

[4EverGreen]

I loved "Graveyard Shift." It shows that there IS some Spongebob and Squidward reciprocal bond, no matter HOW slight! Although I DO wish we got to see Dinosaur Dan make more appearances on this show, I think he would be a GOOD, interesting addition!

[almy]

IMO, 10 was a great episode, but, similar to 11, it really doesn't deserve to be THIS high on the list.

[MMM]

I may not be commentating on every episode after it gets posted but if I see the word "overrated" one more time...

Like seriously, I feel that word gets dropped after every single countdown reveal the last ten-fifteen rounds. At least provide insight why you think it's overrated because otherwise it's just you saying "it's good but it's overrated". That is a meaningless comment because I'm curious as to what aspect's you find overrated about the episode. Otherwise, it's just pointless to even post.

Can't wait for the Top 10 btw.

Next post after:

"MMaBBV" is HIGHLY overated, though; in my honest opinion.

Pretty good list though, can't wait to se where it goes from here.

[Wumbo]

9. "Gary loves balsa wood!"

 

 

Have You Seen This Snail?, 167 points

 

(12 of 26 lists. 1 #1 vote - Nuggets)

 

SpongeBob receives a paddle ball set in the mail and decides to play it. He is totally consumed by the challenge and forgets Gary for ten days. Gary feels neglected and runs away from home. SpongeBob is shaken from his infatuation with the arrival of Patrick, and cannot find Gary. SpongeBob finds a note saying that Gary has left in search of a new owner. Meanwhile, Gary has wandered into a new city, encountering a gang of snails. A kind old lady discovers Gary and mistakes him for one of her own pets, Miss Tuftsy. Gary is showered with love and food while SpongeBob goes to work, sad that Gary is still missing. Mr. Krabs encourages SpongeBob to work, but SpongeBob misinterprets him, and he takes the day off to look for Gary. He and Patrick puts up posters and signs everywhere in the hope of finding Gary.

 

Gary, at the old lady's house, has been fed a lot. The old lady puts out fresh sheets of flyers given to her by Patrick. Upon reading them, Gary realizes that SpongeBob truly loves him and wants him back. He tries to leave, but instead of doing that, he ends up going to the closet, filled with empty snail shells. When the old lady tries to feed him again, Gary finds that the old lady most likely has sinister motives—she is possibly trying to fatten and then eat him. He makes his escape, but the old lady chases him out onto the streets. Gary quickly finds one of the gangster snails he saw before, which the old lady now mistakes for Miss Tuftsy, and takes home instead. Back home, SpongeBob gives up on his search for Gary, and tries to forget about him by taking a walk, but his memories keep coming to mind and upsetting him. He is constantly reminded as the streets are filled with posters and signs for Gary. SpongeBob then hears a meow. At first he thinks he is imagining Gary is there, but then he turns around to find Gary is actually at his side, and he is overjoyed to see his beloved pet again.

 

SpongeBob is an aquatic comedy, work comedy, a character-based comedy, a comedy that explores the sometimes weird relationships between characters when they've been pushed to a certain extent, but even when SpongeBob pushes into a weirder or less-character consistent place, it's still the same show at the very core, and that is a show about an optimist. Even when SpongeBob becomes creepy or annoying or just all-around grating and awful, he is always happy. That's what makes SpongeBob's character work. That's arguably the biggest reason that the show is successful, because at a time when shows like South Park were getting hot because "hey wow self-aware snarky ass kids wow this is unusual we should like". SpongeBob came in and was an honest, heartfelt, feel-good character that was relatable. And even at his worst, SpongeBob's optimism was his greatest attribute, the one thing that stayed consistent.

 

Nuggets: SpongeBob is an aquatic comedy, work comedy, a character-based comedy, a comedy that explores the sometimes weird relationships between characters when they've been pushed to a certain extent, but even when SpongeBob pushes into a weirder or less-character consistent place, it's still the same show at the very core, and that is a show about an optimist. Even when SpongeBob becomes creepy or annoying or just all-around grating and awful, he is always happy. That's what makes SpongeBob's character work. That's arguably the biggest reason that the show is successful, because at a time when shows like South Park were getting hot because "hey wow self-aware snarky ass kids wow this is unusual we should like". SpongeBob came in and was an honest, heartfelt, feel-good character that was relatable. And even at his worst, SpongeBob's optimism was his greatest attribute, the one thing that stayed consistent.

 

In "Have You Seen This Snail", this is finally taken away for nearly an entire episode.

 

And that's why it is the show's best, to me. 

 

I mean, it's a huge risk. Take away the core essence of the show and you have what, at best, is going to be a hollow attempt at seriousness or at worst, something that ends up being wayyyy too dark or out-of-tone for a kids show. But instead of leaning on deeper themes or convoluted narratives, SpongeBob does what it does best: it stays simple, and manages to get a beautiful somber experience out of what amounts to an incredibly nothing premise. SpongeBob's negligence making Gary run away is absolutely nothing. But that's the thing. The episode has so much to do and so many different directions to go that it never has time to feel empty, because it's a steady stream of quality for all 22 of it's minutes.

 

Let's start with the animation. This is one of Aaron Springer's few episodes after the movie before his shift into a super-weirdo with his director habits in late Season 5, and even though you can see a bit of his newer style shining through in certain parts, this episode benefits greatly from the sort of empty, ambient feel that early Season 4 has, and it benefits from that. It's kinda quiet, but the more cartoony and loose style of this era benefited the episode majorly. I've doted on Season 4's animation enough on this site for it to be burned into all your memories forever, so this is the pinnacle of that animation, I'd say. Expressive, but solid, yet loose. Fantastic. Great. Flowing. Now. Enough of that.

 

The story, man! It's funny! It's deep! We can all relate to it in some form! It's got an emotional core! It's got that horrendously heartwrenching "Gary Come Home" song that's made many a person cry! We can all relate to hurting a person, or something we love, and turning it away or against us, and seeing SpongeBob go through such a human problem is just kinda surreal and endears us to him in a different way than the development we've been given for the Bob in past years. It's SpongeBob making another human mistake and paying dearly for it, but instead of the two or three minutes of SpongeBob dealing with his problems we'd get in episodes like Christmas Who, we get a whole episode devoted to SB's psyche and a funny little subplot about how you shouldn't look gift horses in the mouth and a lesson in Nacho appreciation with Gary. It's loaded down with hilarious gags, from "I ONCE TOOK THAT CHALLENGE" to the scented pinecones gag, to the "____ drops by Squidward's House" meme that this episode successfully created, it's a deep somber episode that explores characters and new locales (<3) but it showed that it didn't have to sacrifice humor to do that.

 

I just dunno, man. Seeing a different side to SpongeBob, whilist getting great animation, an attempt at deeper storytelling, and hilarious jokes? It's the perfect episode. It works on every level. Thank you Aaron Springer and Paul Tibbitt.

 

 

SOF: this made my list (#6), while it was one of heartwarming episode. SB & Patrick were looking for Gary as he ran away from home. SB didn't know how much he loved his pet so much. the song is pretty sad, too. All in all, very heartwarming episode IMO.

 

katniss: I've never owned a pet. However, that doesn't stop this episode from packing an emotional punch for me. SpongeBob adores Gary and I really feel for the yellow fella after his pet goes missing. "Gary Come Home" is one of the best songs in the series and always manages to give me the feels. And what impresses me is that there still manages to be jokes such as Patrick's line about the apocalypse. I'm glad that we got an entire special dedicated to this little snail and how much he means to SpongeBob.

 

Wumbo: Okay, so disclaimer before my commentary. This one's not going to be quite as positive. But let's start with the positives anyway.

 

SpongeBob really does hit every emotional note possible with this one, and it really does work. The song really helps to propel that emotion to the next level, as good music should. And the ending is more than earned, as SpongeBob wins back his likability easily by searching high and low for Gary after being so selfish earlier. They also take us to a completely new environment, which is nice. Grandma, voiced by Amy Poehler (I didn't know that, cool) serves as an interesting... well, villain-esque character and a problem for Gary.

 

All good things about this episode, and I can definitely see why so many like it enough to put it this high collectively. But it didn't make my list, for one big reason.

 

At its core, SpongeBob SquarePants is a comedy. If I'm going to put an episode on my list, then I expect to laugh. Hard. And despite the emotional storyline and the interesting new setting, there is an absolutely staggering lack of laughs in this one for me. I see above that others found humour in this episode, but every time I watch this I'm completely straight-faced all the way through (save for maybe an errant tear or two). And I'm sorry, despite everything, that is a big, big problem for me. I wouldn't watch an episode of House, M.D. to see a vaudeville show, I wouldn't watch Breaking Bad and expect a Saturday morning cartoon, and while this episode is good, it does not represent why I watch SpongeBob. I think what frustrates me the most is I'm not against an episode having an emotional core. Far from it! My favourite episode ever has, IMO, one of the strongest emotional bonds of the series. But it also knows how to combine that with side-splitting laughter, as do all the other episodes on my list, tearjerker or no. And I have to give those ones credit over this one, because they made me laugh, and this one didn't.

 

But here's the important thing: if you liked the episode, great! If you loved it, awesome! If you thought it was funny, wonderful! More power to you. Don't let my personal qualms with the episode take away from your enjoyment of it, because clearly there were enough people that felt the same to make it this high on the list. I just have to be honest about why this one is far from my list of favourites, but at the same time I can see why it gets so much praise, because the things it does well, it does very well.

[So Sejima]

9 huh, I expected more of a mid 30s or not at all honestly. I always thought of this as a 9/10 episode, not list quality but considering the commentary I am definitely going to take in a serious re-evaluation of this episode.

[WhoBibbles]

To be perfectly honestly, I think Have You Seen This Snail managed to be a really great mix of comedy and heart. It definetly made my list. I can see why you didn't find it to be one of the finest episodes tho, Wumbo. 

After all, this special isn't as amazing as..............................................................................................................

[Sweat]

Oh yeah, this made my list, and it's the only post-movie ep on it besides Dunces and Dragons which we already covered. I can't think of a single episode that Gary did better in the spotlight.

[WhoBibbles]

Oh yeah, this made my list, and it's the only post-movie ep on it besides Dunces and Dragons which we already covered. I can't think of a single episode that Gary did better in the spotlight.

Gary was badass in Gary in Love.

[almy]

9 huh, I expected more of a mid 30s or not at all honestly. I always thought of this as a 9/10 episode, not list quality but considering the commentary I am definitely going to take in a serious re-evaluation of this episode.

This is basically exactly what I was thinking.

[Clappy]

Idk where I would place this on my all time list. I had way too many episodes in consideration for it and I didn't have it on there. But when it comes to this one, it's in my personal Top 3 of Season 4 with Krusty Towers/Mrs. Puff You're Fired. It pulls off the drama incredibly well while still pulling in some good moments of comedy and SpongeBobness. Like this feels like a classic and should be considered as one.

[The Guy With the Computer]

I'm enjoying this list so far.

[Wumbo]

8. "Okay. Besides spitting molten foodstuffs at me, what else do you do for fun?"

 

 

The Camping Episode, 189 points

 

(9 of 26 lists. 3 #1 votes - OMLJ/Clappy/MMM)

 

Squidward looks forward to a weekend of peace and quiet when SpongeBob and Patrick decide to go camping. However, he is disappointed to learn that they are camping in SpongeBob's front yard, right outside his window.

 

Squidward confronts them and tells them that they can't be "camping" if they're ten feet away from SpongeBob's house, and decides to join them in their "camping," after getting the impression that the gang think Squidward to be not manly or qualified enough to camp. After he is unable to set up his automated tent, he decides to sleep under the stars.

 

The gang begin roasting marshmallows while Squidward goes to his house to get his can opener. However, they stop him from doing so, saying that it "just doesn't seem to fit the camping spirit." So Squidward decides to eat the marshmallows, but Patrick repeatedly blows on his burned ones, sending them flying into Squidward's face. SpongeBob then plays the "Campfire Song Song." Squidward dislikes it, and begins playing "Kumbayah" very badly on his clarinet, and SpongeBob stops him by shooting a marshmallow through his clarinet and into his windpipe, causing him to choke.

 

After Squidward recovers and yells at them, SpongeBob claims that it's not safe to play the clarinet outside at night, and then begin talking with Patrick about sea-bears and the things that attract them. Squidward attempts to disprove their existence by doing all the things that supposedly would attract a sea-bear, such as eating cheese cubes, wearing hoop skirts, waving flashlights, wearing clown shoes, etc.

 

Sure enough, a sea-bear soon appears and begins mauling Squidward. SpongeBob and Patrick draw an "anti sea-bear circle" in the dirt, of which Squidward is also skeptical. After being attacked for the sixth time, Squidward leaps into the anti-sea bear circle. When the sea-bear leaves, SpongeBob mentions the sea-rhinoceros. Squidward fearfully asks what attracts them, and Patrick replies "The sound of a sea-bear attack". A sea-rhinoceros then appears and grunts at Squidward, and SpongeBob says: "Good thing we're all wearing our anti-sea-rhinoceros undergarments," except for Squidward didn't have a pair on.

 

OMLJ: Yeah, big whoop. I put a pre-movie episode that gets a lot of love at the #1 spot. Band Geeks was also #4 on my list, but could you blame me? Those two episodes are one of the finest episodes of the series, especially The Camping Episode. It is considered one of the funniest episodes in my book. Heck, I even found the Squidward abuse funny and I don't even like it that much. The song was also great too, but it's not the best part of the episode. No, that goes to the scene where they roast marshmallows. Bonus points for "Swedish Barnacle Balls". This is an episode I have absolutely no problems with at all.

 

Clappy: Only #8? Fight me til I die fam.

 

For real though, I'm pleased with it being ranked here compared to last go around where it didn't even crack the Top 10. That was crazy since I always thought this was consider as one of the best episodes of the entire series from a majority of the fan base. Now why is this my number one? Simple. It's fantastic when it started and it's fantastic when it ends. That being said, I do understand where some nitpicking comes in. I've been more open to people's complaints about Squidward gets unrealistically sabotaged too many times. And to that, I say:

 

I DO NOT CARE!

 

Squidward had it coming to himself the entire time the moment he decided to join the camping trip. He wasn't forced, he got himself into it with his own ego misinterpreting SpongeBob and Patrick's simple message. He then causes the sea bear/rhino sabotage himself by acting like an a-hole to SpongeBob and Patrick by doing everything to provoke a sea bear. It was not to help them, he was doing it with mean-spirited intentions. He gets punished accordingly.

 

Enough about the reasons to not like it, the reasons I do like it is because of how memorable it is. This episodes has far too many memorable moments from the Campfire Song Song, the sea bear attacks, Squidward's sea bear provoking, the marshmallow gag, fake propaganda magazines, Squidward thinking they would get lost and being happy....people these are some of the best jokes/moments of the entire series. Also, this episode has a hidden factor of greatness for me since I love camping. I go to the outdoors at least once a year and it's one of my favorite family past times. Watching some of my favorite cartoon characters do this is a treat for me and I enjoy watching it.

 

Always will be the best episode of the series forever. If the writers can ever manage to top this, I will be thoroughly shocked.

 

MMM: Ahh, yes. I think the plot is pretty simple, and complicated at the same time...it's hard to explain. It's also a pretty funny episode, from the main jokes such as the sea bear underwater, and even the little touches such as "Swedish Barnacle Balls". I don't know why, but that just cracks me up. The characters are at some of their best, with the different character types of Spongebob, Patrick and Squidward really playing out to the writer's advantage. Also, this is one of, if not, the only episode that feels like it was staged in real time. There's no transitions, time cards, none of that, and it really feels great. There are just so many things that this episode does right and then some, that makes it my favorite episode of the series.

 

Wumbo: The Camping Episode. One of the most revered episodes of the series. Do I like it? ...yeah! I think it's... good.

 

I mean, it does have a lot of memorable, classic moments in it, such as the song and the sea bear attacks. It's yet another example of what the writers can do with one location only. And I do find myself enjoying it whenever I watch it. But unlike other classic episodes, this one just misses that "classic" spark for me. Honestly, I think it's a little too mean-spirited and grim. It's not the sea bear attacks that bother me, but when you see Squidward's bruised, mangled body after them... yeah, that gets a little hard to watch, no matter how much he has it coming. And he does have it coming, because Squidward acts really unlikable in this episode, too. He's not really using dry humour or sarcasm here, he's just... angry. Uncomfortably so. As a result, when the episode focuses on SpongeBob and Patrick's antics, it shines. When we have to see Squidward struggling to put up a tent, choking on a marshmallow or just being generally sour, it takes away from what I think is supposed to be a fun episode. I can't exactly pinpoint what I don't like about Squidward here, but it's something.

 

So, do I like this episode? Yes. Would it come even close to cracking my top 25? No sir. But I am glad to see it here, as a Top 50 would just feel wrong without this episode present.

[Sweat]

This is one of those episode where if you hate it because of "Squid abuse" then to me you are overly sensitive. Squidward had it actually coming, so if you're gonna get mad at his "abuse" then I basically have no other choice then to think you're stuck up. I don't care if I'm blunt, but that really is a mindblowingly stupid reason to hate this episode.

[WhoBibbles]

This is one of those episode where if you hate it because of "Squid abuse" then to me you are overly sensitive. Squidward had it actually coming, so if you're gonna get mad at his "abuse" then I basically have no other choice then to think you're stuck up. I don't care if I'm blunt, but that really is a mindblowingly stupid reason to hate this episode.

I don't mind people hating the ep TBH but I agree that Squidward deserved the abuse.

This wasn't on my list but I love this episode so much too.

[Katniss]

I can see why others would love this episode but I wouldn't consider it one of my favorites.

[Metal Snake]

Have You Seen This Snail? is my second favorite special. The Camping Episode is funny, but I never thought it was one of the best episodes, to be honest.

[SpongeyKid]

I love The Camping Episode. So memorable, funny and just a classic episode in season 3 and in the series in general.