221a. No Pictures, Please

[Jjs Goodman]

Premieres: 

Monday, November 6th @ 7:00pm ET/PT

Encores:

Tuesday, November 7th @ 4:30pm ET/PT

Saturday, November 11th @ 9:30am ET/PT

Plot:

Patrick leads an enthusiastic stranger on a tour of his favorite places in Bikini Bottom.

Clips:

N/A

Edited November 7, 2017 by jjsthekid

[Jjs Goodman]

An okay episode, but I will admit this is one I'm probably not going to come back to anytime soon. Literally defined "middle of the road" to me. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't really one that held my interest either. The wackiness in the beginning was a bit unnecessary and went on too long, but at least it didn't go too far after that (although the fish bursting was kind of amusing). The tourist fish wasn't a bad character, but his "AMAZING!" gag got very repetitive, very fast. It felt like nothing really happened for most of it either. I did like The Twilight Zone references though, and I enjoyed the twist ending due to that, but they just made me wish they parodied The Twilight Zone farther than they did here. In general, it really feels like this one could've done a lot more with its concept than what we got, Twilight Zone parody or not. Patrick's portrayal was okay. I like how he did want to show the tourist fish around out of kindness, and he wasn't too annoying. When he did sort of act out of line, he at least got punished for it. Seeing Floater's Cemetery again was nice, although I wish we had a Smitty reference. But yeah, quite honestly this one was more forgettable than anything else. I wouldn't be surprised if this one escapes my memory bank by the time S11 is over.

Grade: C

Edited November 7, 2017 by jjsthekid

[FAS]

So that was an episode. It contains a strange Twilight Zone reference in the beginning and ending, making the episode pretty random at times. But with Mr. Lawrence writing this, it reached my expectations. I thought it was going to be a very bland here, but he did proved me wrong, thankfully, knowing that he's one of the better writers right now. My only flaws was the beginning was a little hyperactive and few scenes felt flat. Patrick and the tourist had their annoying moments, but thankfully they both kind of got called out for their distraction all over Bikini Bottom. Also, Both SpongeBob and The Loud House really have a thing for picture episodes, huh? They already have a few episodes focusing on this subject. Anyway, there's some amusing here such as the fish struggling to hold himself from peeing, the visual gag of Squidward seeing red while kicking out Patrick and the tourist (him turning red in anger might be a fitting moment for You Bring the Color. Am i right with the pun I made there?), the tourist literally disappearing and a few more. I ended up enjoying this episode more than I excepted, honestly, since its humor was strong here and didn't came off forced nonsense last season. All in all, Doug Lawrence is continue to impress me with his writing skills, even if the plot should've been better.

[4EverGreen]

I actually thought this episode was pretty great, and I was wondering why they were referencing "The Twilight Zone" at the very beginning of this episode!  I thought that this episode was pretty well-paced, very good visuals, definitely nothing TOO unexpected for "Spongebob Squarepants!" Definitely unexpected to see the cemetery return, and what IS it with Patrick entering the households of random fish lately?!  Of course, the SURPRISE ending twist REALLY made the episode for me, and I am SO shocked, that just last month, I wrote an episode of "Squid" where Plankton got STOMPED on, and in this episode, that's precisely what happened to him HERE!!!! (Spongebob: "It's like they're WATCHING us!!!!") This is a concept that DEFINITELY needs to be revisited again, and EXPANDED on in the future!  All in all, I'd give this episode a 10/10!  Enough said!

[Hayden]

Yeah 4Ever, Plankton getting stomped on, zany coincidence. Clearly more strange than the end of this episode since the series never has established the Plankton getting squished gag. Check your house for spy cameras. Oh nevermind, you've probably already been chipped.

I should've known The Tidal Zone beginning was a set-up but Patrick finding a fellow idiot didn't seem that unusual. Take out that referential gimmick and what do you really have the other 10 minutes? We don't need to be introduced to every SB character like the tourist was. Fish skeleton cemetery was right idea, but too little too late. 

"If you look to your left, you'll miss everything on your right" was the only Tour Guide Patrick moment I liked. Oh, and him "having a key" to the dome.

Spongebob's warning at the end smash cutting to an instant enormous mob also got a chuckle. Patrick lucked out that Mr. Amazing scared off the retribution coming for him.

Final Grade: Backing away

[NegiSpongie]

This was an okay episode for me. Some of the moments were amusing like some of Patrick's lines while he was a tour guide, Squidward turning red with anger and get snapped at in the shower, the bit with Plankton getting stomped on and him being in the camera. The twist at the end really got me with the Twilight Zone reference. I did not expect it.

[WhoBibbles]

This one was just okay but also kind of disappointed. I wasn't expecting The Twilight Zone twist at all and that end was just amazing af. Too bad rest of the episode played out like your typical SpongeBob episode. It started off with a different tone and I liked how it was going, especially with the background music but the middle part was just so dull with a few exceptional parts like Patrick trespassing some daddy's house and him saying the daddy swore him before. Patrick was also fine for carring this all by himself but it's nothing special. If this episode had been a full parody of The Twilight Zone, this would have been a cool parody but unfortunately It fell into same old stuff we've seen in this show.

Grade: B-

[McSponge]

Originally written: November 7th, 2017

No Pictures, Please is a pretty odd episode. I have a feeling that this could possibly be another Halloween episode, considering the fact that it parodies The Twilight Zone. However, it could just very well be the writers wanting to go for more surreal concepts that you can only really get away with in cartoons. And for that, I must applaud the writers. They definitely try to have fun with experimenting in these newer episodes, pushing the boundaries and limits in according to what they can write. Often focusing on a character other than SpongeBob or Plankton (Who tend to be the main focus of a good amount of this series' episodes), or changing things up a bit with different scenery. This episode kind of mixes these two elements, along with the inclusion of a new character. But, does the plot really stand out as something original? Actually, it really does. The concept of this episode, Patrick giving a tour of Bikini Bottom is a pretty genius idea, one that's never been done in the series at all. It's kind of cool knowing the staff can still produce an episode filled to the brim with originality, especially since Season 11 plots tend to have at least some element showcased in a previous episode recycled. I think there are only a few episodes in recent time which have mastered showing off an entirely new storyline. Even my favorite episodes in this Season seem to struggle with this. Krabby Patty Creature Feature has a very similar setup and execution to Krusty Dogs (Even a climax which can parallel the climax to Mermaidman vs. SpongeBob). Spot Returns, a very similar layout to Bubble Buddy Returns, Man Ray Returns, quite similar to Shuffleboarding. This episode manages to have a concept that stands out as something unique. However, is the execution all that grand? Well...this is where the episode faces some problems...

You see, I love the overall basic synopsis of this episode. Patrick giving a tour of Bikini Bottom is an opportunity to present some golden material. Unfortunately, somehow this episode just bombs the concept. I don't really care for this new character. His constant "Ooohing and Ahhhing" is a really annoying running gag that is run into the ground faster than you can say Doofenschmirtz Evil Incorporated (One of my favorite cartoon running gags). He has no personality, he's just as soulless as the executives who pulled Welcome to the Wayne off of Nick. The only time we actually see some personality differing from his constant amazement at the sites around him is when he accidentally pulls of RibEye's arm! Sure he's decent during this sequence, as well as during the plot twist, but I really don't like this guy for a majority of the episode. He's just so unpleasant to witness, I get he's a stereotype of a common tourist, but c'mon! Every single joke is just Patrick showing off something stupid, or doing something stupid, followed by this guy's obnoxious "Oooh's". If anything, I'd rather the episode take time to poke fun at annoying tourists, rather than just flat out making the guy a shallow one-dimensional object. I think Spat had more emotion in All That Glitters than this guy had in the first 9 or so minutes of this episode! There are plenty of sequences that could've been cut in order to deliver some time to further establish this guy's character. Get rid of the sequence at Sandy's, the "Not wearing a helmet" gag was old by Season 8. Remove the toilet sequence at the Krusty Krab, it's too similar to The Sewers of Bikini Bottom".

That being said, with this guy being an extra layer to some of the most tame and uninspired jokes in the series, you can tell this episode's sense of humor is extremely messed up. I don't mean that in a cruel sense, I meant that the humor is just botched in this episode. The extra effort into producing a great joke seems lost in a majority of these jokes, they all just feel like the simplest jokes you could possibly make in an animated cartoon. And I know the writers and storyboard artists are capable of producing clever and creative jokes, because they do so a few times in this episode! The sequence in which Squidward kicks Patrick and the tourist out of his house is hilarious! The added layers of creativity onto the simple joke of Squidward slamming the door of his house (Being the parts in which he opens/slams the entire front of his house, and a flower cloud of all things) were super creative and was probably the highlight of the episode. And even better, the hilarious optical allusion twist with SpongeBob appearing as if he's running on the tourist and Patrick was an insanely clever gag that proves to be more entertaining than any of the lines the characters have in this episode. The intelligence in these gags shine, adding a unique twist on a standard joke can take it to a whole other level. If the writers bothered trying to incorporate that special creative edge found in these jokes on just about every major gag in the episode, this could've been one of the funniest episodes in the Season. Alas, it isn't, as the episode mostly relies on cheap lines, some of which don't even make sense, and feel random just for the sake of being random (Like Patrick wanting balloons at the start of the episode. A short little bit that's paced well enough to set up a plot point which establishes the rising action? Yes. A funny joke? Not even close. Why does he want balloons? Because he's stupid? He's not really portrayed as being stupid in this scene aside from that joke...). The worst joke in the episode is probably Patrick sucking SpongeBob's thumb. It's just so pathetically executed, it just screams the bottom barrel of jokes. How could've this scene (Which shouldn't even belong in this episode, seeing that it doesn't have any effect on the overall climax in which the citizens are furious at Patrick) be saved with a special twist? Maybe have Patrick be embarrassed about sucking SpongeBob's thumb, thinking he made a fool of himself, only to turn to see the tourist is sucking his thumb. That would at least bring some sort of comedic twist to the joke that could've made it a simple, chuckle-worthy gag.

So our main character is annoying, great jokes are hard to find, lots of moments tend to have a concept that sounds like a good idea, yet they end up being written in such a generic way that feels as though this is some little kid's show, what good is there in this episode? Well, as I mentioned, there are a few really great gags (One of which is the visual gag with Patrick's bellybutton eating the ice cream cone), and I really admire this episode having an original concept, but probably the most fascinating part of the episode is the last 2 or so minutes. The cemetery sequence was fairly entertaining, I really liked RibEye's design, and I thought he was an interesting character. The chase sequence was animated very well, great cartoony animation, especially Patrick's legs, those felt very reminiscent of some older cartoon, though I can't exactly tell what it is. Oh yeah, one thing I want to mention is that in the beginning of the episode, Patrick really reminds me of Stimpy. His super wacky animation, and the intelligent dialogue he's given is really reminiscent of Stimpy, in fact, he reminds me of Stimpy right up until the point where he shows off the first site in Bikini Bottom.

Anyway, the plot twist was SUPER unexpected. In fact, I completely forgot about the Twilight Zone intro by this point, so having this new character be some sort of supernatural being really caught me off guard, and I have to praise this episode for delivering this plot twist. The episode doesn't make this character seem out-of-the-ordinary at all in this episode, so having this unique plot twist made for a very solid and memorable ending.   

The only problem I have with this ending is that it's not really explained why this guy disappears, but I guess the introduction to the episode does kind of give some kind of background as to why strange things such as this event occurs. In fact, now that I think about it, I really applaud the writer of this episode for how he introduced the main character, in a way that seems normal on the surface, yet when you analyze this being a little bit more, you start to see a deeper, underlying message conveyed through his introduction in the episode. Everyone runs off the bus, however, this guy shows up out of nowhere about half a minute or so after everyone's in line to head to the bathrooms. The fact that he's alone and came off the bus long after everyone else really does make you think that this could be a subliminal way of foreshadowing this mysterious man not being who you think he is. If this was done intentionally, then whoa...maybe the crew who worked on this episode DID implement more thought into some of these sequences.

Is the deepest I've ever gone in a SpongeBob review? Oh well, I give it a 5/10. Kind of a middle-in-the-road episode. Great animation, some good gags, and a clever plot twist, along with an interesting premise. Generic, awful jokes, annoying dialogue, unnecessary or recycled humor.

It's an Okay Episode.

[WinterArcanine]

While this episode is flawed, it's still a decent episode. It has a few good gags such as when Sandy says she wishes she had a bit more water and then her treedome gets flooded, and "and if you look to your left, you'll miss everything on your right). SAdditionally, while it's probably a cop-out ending, the tidal zone thing was pretty cool. However, most of it is boring and forgettable, and the tourist is a really bland character who just repeats "AMAZING" a billion times until the last minute. 6/10.

[josemiguex]

This episode is just hilarious, while the plot is pretty simple the humor is great, a lot of gags and jokes made me laugh, it feels like a Mickey Mouse 2013 short though

8/10