196a. The Fishbowl

[Jjs Goodman]

 

Premieres: 

Monday, May 2nd @ 5:30pm ET/PT

Encores:

Saturday, May 7th @ 9:30am ET/PT

Plot:

When Sandy tries to study SpongeBob and Patrick's behavioral patterns, her science experiment goes awry.

Clips:

1.) http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/spongebob-squarepants-196a-clip.html

Edited May 2, 2016 by jjsthekid

[Joe Biden]

Looks interesting

[Coolnnice]

http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/spongebob-squarepants-196a-clip.html

[So Sejima]

Uh, 4/10? It coulda been worse yet it wasted so much I'm not sure if I can even give this a proper grade after 10 viewings.

 

Also: WHY WAS SQUIDWARD IN THIS, THERE WAS NO POINT BESIDES THAT AWFUL ENDING

[Jjs Goodman]

I'm not really sure how to feel about this one right now. I missed a minute and a half of it, but my initial impression is that it was kind of disappointing, dull, and didn't really go anywhere. It feels like they could've done more with the concept and only barely touched the surface. I'm not going to properly review it in-depth until I rewatch it to be fair.

Edited May 2, 2016 by jjsthekid

[Minty Car]

Just the biggest, blandest ep IMO. 5/10 might be a little kind, but one of the few recent eps I've been just bored to death by.

[SpongeOddFan]

Yeah, I think Fa saidd it the best, it kind of dull, come off in nowhere, so it wasn't that great episode IMO

[Less_SpongeBob]

After first impression, I enjoyed this. It was a whole lot of fun throughout with how much it poked at simple scientific experiments in every monotonous and predictable trial with as much exaggeration as it did. Sandy was particularly great in showing her pursuit in experiments as passionately and persistently as she did, and Patrick did quite a lot to make the simple tasks of eating ice cream or counting sand seem like such a big deal. Getting to see Squidward express love toward ice cream was also fun, and was really new and I hope that we see it used for jokes more. (if only he could get some) Animation's once again colorful and expressive. I'd say the only major problem was how in-your-face it was about the slapstick and arguments. At times the humor was, for lack of a better word, too fast-paced and loud. As strong as the humor was, shoving unlimited cameras, childish screaming from Patrick, and ice cream at every moment is crazily out-of-nowhere.

I'll give it a 7/10. It's above average and I hope they do more episodes where we see the four in full, but I hope that they add a heck of a lot more subtlety because the fast-paced, exaggerated shenanigans are completely out of control..

[CDCB]

One of the most boring episodes ever. I expected Sandy to follow SB and Pat around during the day and observe them in secret, or something like that anyway... but instead we got 11 minutes of SpongeBob and Patrick staying in the same place and Patrick being an out of character ass. The only remotely funny joke was the running gag of Squidward trying to get free ice cream, and like Fa said to me in PC, it's bad when minor Squid abuse is the best part of an episode. 

Great premise, beyond lackluster execution.

2/10

[Hayden]

Patrick's visual gags were cranked up to 11 in this installment, and not a single one landed comically.

SB/Patrick had one of their famous baby feuds and somehow Sandy knew Squidward would take the ice cream bait (in regards to that sloppy ending that you can tell was just them struggling to resolve it).

Honestly this episode should've just been Sandy going around Bikini Bottom making observations like on the bus, at least it'd be slightly less obnoxious and new to see an episode about Sandy mildly irritating citizens in the name of science.

1/10 I hope Nick isn't rushing these out.

[NegiSpongie]

It was a pretty okay episode for me that had a few funny moments, especially with Sandy trying to study the sea creatures. There's also that Squid Abuse and Jerk Patrick that people love so much. Looks like the original showrunners can put it in. While not the best, it was okay.

[Steel Sponge]

It was nothing special. The gag with Squidward and ice cream was funny, I'll admit, but the ending also came out of nowhere and fell flat. If there's any score I can give it, it would be a light 6. Really, it could've been worse. Patrick had his jerkish moments (*cough* Fry Cook Games, New Student Starfish *cough*), but he at least apologized for being rude by the end (same for the pre-movie episodes I just mentioned, so don't get angry with me), as well as Sandy admitting to her actions and that she didn't intend for things to fall apart.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Steel Sponge

[SG19]

1 hour ago, Steel Sponge said:

It was nothing special. The gag with Squidward and ice cream was funny, I'll admit, but the ending also came out of nowhere and fell flat. If there's any score I can give it, it would be a light 6. Really, it could've been worse. Patrick had his jerkish moments (*cough* Fry Cook Games, New Student Starfish *cough*), but he at least apologized for being rude by the end (same for the pre-movie episodes I just mentioned, so don't get angry with me), as well as Sandy admitting to her actions and that she didn't intend for things to fall apart.

I haven't seen this episode and I doubt it's as bad as Little Yellow Book, Squid Baby, or Spongebob, You're Fired!

[Chrdrenkmann]

I think people who find Patrick jerky in this episode missed the fact that Sandy manipulated him. She used psychological tricks such as calling him "the boss" or the different ice cream bowls. It's the actual plot of the episode, not some cheap throw away gag. Sandy also was concerned about his behavior and on top of that he even apologized. It's nothing near season 8 territory.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Chrdrenkmann

[Sauce Mama]

Is no one going to talk about the "EUREKA" guy? I thought that bit was hilarious. I actually liked this episode. The ending was out of nowhere though...

[So Sejima]

3 hours ago, Sauce Mama said:

Is no one going to talk about the "EUREKA" guy? I thought that bit was hilarious. 

It came out of nowhere and felt really forced and cringey, like they needed a joke to fit an extra 5 seconds more than anything else, it was far from feeling natural, and I was disturbed the 2nd time they did it.

[4EverGreen]

4 hours ago, Sauce Mama said:

Is no one going to talk about the "EUREKA" guy? I thought that bit was hilarious. I actually liked this episode. The ending was out of nowhere though...

I agree, I was REALLY surprised they brought him back (and the fact that there was a second one; REALLY random!) At least it wasn't entirely Patrick's fault that he was a jerk in this episode, and he even realized/apologized for it! He's making PROGRESS!!!! Here's hoping the rest of this week's premieres are just as good, if not even BETTER than this episode!

[So Sejima]

Am I the only one who's taken off by the blame it on science instead route of the apology, it just seems like the apology means nothing, yeah he did it so there's something, yet there's still that lingering feeling right after. :/

[WhoBibbles]

I still haven't seen this episode from what I'm hearing It really sounds bad. Too bad, I was looking forward to this so badly. Maybe it'll be better for me but rn I'm pretty skeptical about this. :/ 

[Avis Reviews]

One of my least favorite of the season. It's really really boring, and Squidward gets shoehorned in just to get tortured. While it's not much, it's unnecessary. Also, jerky Patrick returns for about the second half of this episode. I heard people try to justify it because he kind of apologized at the end, but no, instead he specifically says, "I blame science". It's not justified and it's extremely annoying to watch. Overall, I give it like a 3.5/10. It's not nearly as bad as Squid Baby, Little Yellow Book, and Spongebob You're Fired, but it's still awful nonetheless.