SBC's Top 50 Best Episodes Ever 2018!

[Wumbo]

5. "Never trust a genie."

Christmas Who?, 291 points

(20 of 32 lists. Highest Ranking: #2, More)

http://spongebob.wikia.com/wiki/Christmas_Who%3F

Hayden: It's my almost annual Christmas tradition to watch this holiday classic. Sorry, stop motion, but even if you came out during my childhood I probably would've forgotten you. All of the main characters trying to understand simple list writing is comedic fun, Sandy is an effectively used plot device, and the Squidward/Spongebob relationship is at its most raw and impactful in terms of stakes. Squidward's skepticism and then selfless rush to fill the shoes of a false idol is the true meaning of Atheistmas. Combine that with a glorious musical number, the jackass symbol appearing on-screen, and a well-placed live action bit with loony bin Santa, you have Nick's best Christmas special. Yep, it outsold the Drake and Josh bonus movie. (Anything else I'd have to rewatch to compare but you get the idea). 

Wumbo: Even at the crotchety old age of 23, I still love Christmas. Such a warm and fuzzy time of the year, whether you follow the religion or not. As such, I have a soft spot for a good Christmas special, which is probably why this special has remained a mainstay in my top 5 and was even my #1 at one point. Making my list at #3 this year, I still absolutely adore this episode. It's the exact balance of comedy and genuine heart that makes these specials so great. It's wonderful to have Squidward realize he screwed up and try to make it up to SpongeBob, all in the spirit of Christmas. But the episode doesn't get too sappy, as the townsfolk in this one really bring the comedy. From just blindly believing in Santa Claus, enough to stay outside under a Christmas tree all night waiting for him, to taking everything in Squidward's house because they believe he's Santa doling out presents. I love the conceit that Bikini Bottom had never heard of Christmas before until Sandy, and consequently SpongeBob, introduced it to them. I love seeing Bikini Bottom celebrate their first Christmas, it's a bit like watching a baby take its first steps. And of course, the song in this one is just fantastic. Top 5 song of the series easily, if not the best overall. When Christmastime rolls around, like Hayden, I always make sure to flip this one on at least once.

[So Sejima]

Christmas Who is a nice episode l for sure, but the beginning keeps it out of my top 25. The beginning has momsnts like the song for sure, but given that the first half was mainly buildup some of it isn't in the show's absolute best, and given how great the show's best episodes are from stsrt to finish I excluded Christmas Who from mine for not having the same effect, especially as for winter episodes I prefer Snowball Effect.

However, this was one of Squidward's best appearances. From having reasonable doubt and being right (and a....big jerk!) to selling his entire house due to being inspired from his gift was a nice gesture, and by the end you can tell every character simply just didn't wamt to be let down by the holiday so when everyone wins, including Squidward given he has his wooden clarinet, it does create a nice feeling.

Real talk though Sandy's a bitch for not saying you need to sleep when Santa comes, c'mon girl how you forget to tell them that!?

[WinterArcanine]

Wet Painters: Amazing top 50 episode that could potentially be top 25. Hilarious episode with many amazing jokes. 

Christmas Who?: Another amazing episode, which is so amazing that it made my top 5. It's an amazing christmas special. The chsracters are at their best, espicially Squidward. The plot is amazing, the atmosphere is amazing, there's great humor, there's a great song, and show on. If I were to hate this episode, I'd feel like a............. *donkey noises*

 

 

Pranks a Lot (#34)

Missing Identity (#32)

Krab Borg (#13) (Why did I put this so low???)

Valentine's Day (#50) 

Squid's Day Off (#43)

Plankton's Army (#33)

Employee of the Month (#40)

Mid-Life Crustacean (#36)

Survival of the Idiots (#35)

Something Smells (#39)

The Great Snail Race (#45) (Might be higher but whatever)

Rock Bottom (#49) 

Clams (#41)

The Fry Cook Games (#44)

Imitation Krabs (#20)

Life of Crime (#30)

The Camping Episode (#9)

50: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V (#15)

49: Club Spongebob (#42)

48: ???

47: ???

46: My Pretty Seahorse (#46)

45: The Algae's Always Greener (#12)

 44: Fear of a Krabby Patty (#27)

43: ???

42: Big Pink Loser (#38)

41: ???

40: Have You Seen This Snail (#26) 

39: ???

38: ???

37: Squidville (#47)

36: ???

35: Pizza Delivery (#14)

34: Sailor Mouth (#22)

33: Idiot Box (#15)

32: Nasty Patty (#11)

31: ???

 30: ???

29: Wet Painters (#6)

28: ???

27: F.U.N (#48)

26: ???

 25: ???

  24: ???

 23: No Weenies Allowed (#37)

22: SpongeBob Meets the Strangler (#29)

21: Graveyard Shift (#8)

 20: Dunces and Dragons (#23)

 19: Roller Cowards (#24) 

18: ???

 17: ???

16: ???

15: ???

14: Krusty Towers (#19)

13: Snowball Effect (#25)  

12: Shanghaied (#7)

11: SB-129 (#28)

10: Mimic Madness (#31)

9: Can You Spare a Dime (#18)  

 8: Welcome to the Chum Bucket (#17)

7: ???

6: Frankendoodle (#10)

5: ???

4: Christmas Who? (#5)

3: ???

  2: ???

 1: Just One Bite (#21)

29/50, 15/25

 

[SpongeNicko]

No doubt about it, "Christmas Who?" is easily one of the greatest episodes this show has ever produced. Everything from the holiday spirit of the episode, to the humor, to the characters is so freaking awesome here! Plus it is one of the few specials that has enough story to actually fill the 23-minute run time! And for their first appearance, this is one of the very few times Patchy and Potty are actually funny! I can't sing enough praise for this episode; it made it as high as #8 on my list, and it is THE perfect holiday episode!

Edited August 2, 2018 by SpongeNicko
Typo on "actually".

[hippythehippo]

As someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, I still always come back to Christmas Who, and it always makes me feel the Christmas spirit. That takes a lot of extra work for the episode to resonate with me like that, which proves how great it is. It deserves top 5 status for sure.

[OWM]

What makes Shanghaied so legendary is just SpongeBob and Patrick’s complete inability to be an effective crew. It’s great contrast to the Flying Dutchman’s straight-laced personality. My favorites of their attempts to scare have to be the very first time, where SpongeBob does the magic trick “HOW DOES HE DOOO THAAAT?” “IT’S STILL A MYSTERY!” and the ice skating scene, which is so bizarre, unexpected and hilarious all in a few seconds.  And after all the Dutchman’s suffering, he just casually and hilariously says he’ll eat them. The perfume department scene also makes me laugh every time. I think it’s a combination of SpongeBob and Patrick’s overly melodramatic reactions and how much something that’s just mildly annoying becomes exaggerated to such an extreme length. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. The minor jokes here also stand out on their own incredibly well. The awkward silence after Patrick’s “LEEDLE LEEDLE LEEDLE LEE” I find to be much funnier than the actual joke. Squidward’s brief roles here are pretty great too, I like how he moves straight to criticizing the ship for its design rather than its smelliness. As for the endings, I can say two out of the three are pretty good. I adore how completely ignorant and unaware Patrick’s wish is compared to SpongeBob and Squidward’ desperate pleas, and how they just resignedly take the gum and accept their fate. Squidward’s ending is great too. I love how it just completely backfires on him and nothing ends up getting accomplished. 

 

Wet Painters is cool I guess

 

SpongeBob spreading Christmas to Bikini Bottom is brilliant. He just grows this immediate passion for the idea of Christmas, and his faith to Santa Claus is just so heartwarming. His handling of Christmas wishes is funny and unique, too. I love how all the different wishes seem completely weird and random, but then they all come together toward the end. The musical number is a perfect, festive midpoint to this whole episode. I love the hilarious little talk-singing the characters do, and when the song keeps progressing, Bikini Bottom gradually develops its own unique spin on Christmas. It’s so adorable and has such a strong sense of camaraderie. Afterward, Squidward comes in big time. I initially loved how his gloating contrasted with SpongeBob’s depression so much, but then his choice to dress up as Santa just to make SpongeBob happy struck me big. It reminds me of Dying for Pie, except SpongeBob is about ten times more overjoyed. From there, I like how Squidward pawning away his possessions represents the wishes described earlier and sort of his desire to keep SpongeBob in the Christmas spirit. You can also see that he gets this sort of hidden gratification out of all this. It’s powerful. And by the very end SpongeBob’s just vividly describing Santa and his selflessness and how he just radiated Christmas spirit. As for the Patchy scenes, they aren’t that funny, but I like how they’re specifically designed to look so cheap and low-budget. That also brings me to the Santa scene at the end, which has a similar effect. I especially love how it gets more and more phoned in as Santa keeps ho-ho-hoing.

50. ???

49. ???

 48. ???

47. The Camping Episode (#9)

46. Frankendoodle (#10)

45. SB-129 (#28)

44. ???

43. Missing Identity (#32)

42. ???

 41. ???

 40. ???

 39. ???

38. Sailor Mouth (#22)

37. Pizza Delivery (#14)

36. SpongeBob Meets the Strangler (#29)

35. ???

34. ???

33. ???

32. Just One Bite (#21)

31. Clams (#41)

30. ???

29. ???

 28. ???

 27. Idiot Box (#16)

26. ???

25. ???

24. Big Pink Loser (#38)

23. ???

22. ???

21. Graveyard Shift (#8)

 20. Something Smells (#39)

19. Snowball Effect (#25)

18. ???

17. Squid's Day Off (#43)

16. Fear of a Krabby Patty (#27)

15. ???

 14. Valentine's Day (#50)

13. ???

12. Imitation Krabs (#20)

11. ???

10. Nasty Patty (#11)

9. Roller Cowards (#24)

 8. Life of Crime (#30)

7. ???

6. Can You Spare a Dime? (#18)

5. Krusty Towers (#19)

4. My Pretty Seahorse (#46)

3. Christmas Who? (#5)

2. Shanghaied (#7)

 1. Wet Painters (#6)

Not on List:

Rock Bottom (#49)

F.U.N. (#48)

Squidville (#47)

The Great Snail Race (#45)

The Fry Cook Games (#44)

Club SpongeBob (#42)

No Weenies Allowed (#37)

 Mid-Life Crustacean (#36)

 Survival of the Idiots (#35)

  Pranks a Lot (#34)

Plankton’s Army (#33)

 Mimic Madness (#31)

Have You Seen This Snail? (#26)

Dunces and Dragons (#23)

Welcome to the Chum Bucket (#17)

Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V (#15)

Krab Borg (#13)

The Algae's Always Greener (#12)

[WhoBibbles]

Christmas Who is not only the best special, It's one of the most emotionally driven episodes of the show period. This is Squidward at his finest. While there's one SpongeBob/Squidward episode I love more than this, the episode still shows us why Squidward has a heart under all that pessimism and annoyance towards SpongeBob. It's such a sweet moment when Squidward decides to dress up like Santa to make him happy. It really reminds me of the 4th grade when one of the teachers dressed up like a Santa to do same for me, even though I wasn't celebrating Christmas. Squidward is such an admirable person for actually giving away his stuff to do more good for SpongeBob and I love moments like this. The special just fills me with joy, laughter and heartwarming feelings. It's a very strong Christmas special that deserves to be on top 5.

[JCM]

Christmas Who will always be perfect for this moment:

[Wumbo]

4. "There's a name for employees like this, but we'll call him Squidward!"

Krusty Krab Training Video, 301 points

(18 of 32 lists. 4 #1 votes - More/Fred/JCM/almy)

http://spongebob.wikia.com/wiki/Krusty_Krab_Training_Video

Honest Slug: Krusty Krab Training Video has to be one of the coolest episodes in premise alone and in execution is also holds up extremely well. This episode displays a major format break from the norm, perhaps being the most creative and unusual SpongeBob episode ever made. all while being very funny. The story (Or lack of a story) about just showing what a Krusty Krab training video would look like gives this episode a niche that no other episode can fill so it'll always hold a special spot in the wide pool of SpongeBob episodes. What elevates this one however isn't just its premise, it's the execution too. This is insanely funny with tons of humor ranging from traditional classic SpongeBob bits to parodying training videos. This episode is a classic.

Wumbo: Krusty Krab Training Video was #1 on the last countdown, which apparently got some people bothered. Can't seem to ever win with these countdowns. Wherever this episode places, I just hope it gets recognized still today how special this episode is in SpongeBob's canon. This is the first episode to eschew any sort of story in favour of doing something different: an instructional video format. This idea seems crazy, but if SpongeBob was ever going to pull it off, it would need to be in its heyday. What we get is one of the funniest episodes of the series. I can re-watch this over and over and every moment lands. Every line from this narrator kills me, from "Eager McBeaver" to "hoopla" to "ahem... GRAPH". It's one of the driest episodes when it comes to its humour, and it's such a change of pace from the normally off-the-wall and zany SpongeBob we've all come to know and love. But like I said, every moment hits. We've seen many episodes in the Krusty Krab up to this point, so this deconstruction of the way the restaurant and its people function is such a joy to see. Boat Smarts would try this format a few seasons later, but it just doesn't reach the apex that this one does. This episode is comedy gold, and I will hear no word to the contrary. It's a mainstay in my Top 10, and it should justifiably be a mainstay in this Top 10 as well. Fantastic episode that stands in a league of its own.

[WinterArcanine]

omg KKTV didn't make top 3 after all

I love you guys 

[SpongeNicko]

I honestly am shocked KKTV did not get placed in the Top 3 this year. Oh well. It still is a brilliant episode that well deserves the #3 spot I gave it on my list. The instructional format here is so amazing, especially because it makes the episode feel so unique. On top of that, the humor is again top notch here, and aside from The Algae's Always Greener and of course CWN, it might be the funniest episode in the whole series for me. I also love the troll ending of this episode, especially with all the buzz it caused on the school bus with people all assuming that the episode just simply cut off for them. The fact that next to no one knew that the ending was intentional just goes to show you incredible and clever the writing was here and how they handled it. Just an absolute masterpiece on every level, and I do honestly think it deserves to be in the top 3, but hey, #4 is still an acceptable spot for it.

 

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by SpongeNicko

[4EverGreen]

Unpopular opinion time, "Shanghaied" and "Wet Painters" are VASTLY over-rated! If you really think CAREFULLY about both of those episodes, they're BOTH just "Shaggy Dog Stories." And I mean that, in the sense that in the vast scheme of things, they don't REALLY contribute anything significant to the "Spongebob Squarepants" canon, other than "Shanghaied" being the first SIGNIFICANT role for the Flying Dutchman. Also, "Christmas Who?" is an okay episode, but I just like the stop-motion Christmas special better. Finally, "The Krusty Krab Training Video" episode ending, WAS "The Soprano's" series ending, six years BEFORE that ending ever came about!  Hopefully, the top three episodes will actually BE episodes that will be WORTH all the anticipation that everyone has been hoping for! (Waits to see how many users give me a "Sad" reaction for THIS comment!) Enough said!

[almy]

what

[President Squidward]

1 hour ago, 4EverGreen said:

Unpopular opinion time, "Shanghaied" and "Wet Painters" are VASTLY over-rated! If you really think CAREFULLY about both of those episodes, they're BOTH just "Shaggy Dog Stories." And I mean that, in the sense that in the vast scheme of things, they don't REALLY contribute anything significant to the "Spongebob Squarepants" canon, other than "Shanghaied" being the first SIGNIFICANT role for the Flying Dutchman. Also, "Christmas Who?" is an okay episode, but I just like the stop-motion Christmas special better. Finally, "The Krusty Krab Training Video" episode ending, WAS "The Soprano's" series ending, six years BEFORE that ending ever came about!  Hopefully, the top three episodes will actually BE episodes that will be WORTH all the anticipation that everyone has been hoping for! (Waits to see how many users give me a "Sad" reaction for THIS comment!) Enough said!

[WhoBibbles]

Lol 4ever.

KKTV didn't make my list but I really appreciate that episode for being perhaps the most unique episode of the show. What SpongeBob does best is comedy and that's why many people love it so much. However, the show isn't kind of a show that changes its format often to be creative and experimental compared to shows like Adventure Time, Ed Edd n Eddy and Wander Over Yonder but this episode is a shining example that the show can be experimental and do it perfectly. I love the whole concept of having a documentary on a food restaurant and while documentaries can be seen as boring, the episode knew that adding just as much humor to creativeness of the story would be much better. A lot of jokes work so well in a type of a documentary with stuff like POOP, Hoopla, dog SpongeBob, smashing SpongeBob like an insect, all of Squidward and Patrick interacting, "money is alwaus right", lousy Squidward sleeping and " I wish I weren't here right now". This episodes uses its different fornat to tell jokes and all of them are so funny. Story is cool, jokes are superb and characters are just as fun. I don't love this episode as much as others but this definitely deserves to have a high spot on the list.

 

Also that Sopranos tier ending was the best.

 

[So Sejima]

7 hours ago, 4EverGreen said:

If you really think CAREFULLY about both of those episodes, they're BOTH just "Shaggy Dog Stories." And I mean that, in the sense that in the vast scheme of things, they don't REALLY contribute anything significant to the "Spongebob Squarepants" canon

If you really think about it the ending to Band Geeks and Pranks a Lot were both never mentioned again as Squidward went back to sucking as a musician post Band Geeks and Invisible Spray is never brought up again, so it's safe to say those would be shaggy dog stories, but I could've sworn those were both in your top 5 for differing reasons! Seems really odd to me.

[WinterArcanine]

8 hours ago, 4EverGreen said:

Unpopular opinion time, "Shanghaied" and "Wet Painters" are VASTLY over-rated! If you really think CAREFULLY about both of those episodes, they're BOTH just "Shaggy Dog Stories." And I mean that, in the sense that in the vast scheme of things, they don't REALLY contribute anything significant to the "Spongebob Squarepants" canon, other than "Shanghaied" being the first SIGNIFICANT role for the Flying Dutchman. Also, "Christmas Who?" is an okay episode, but I just like the stop-motion Christmas special better. Finally, "The Krusty Krab Training Video" episode ending, WAS "The Soprano's" series ending, six years BEFORE that ending ever came about!  Hopefully, the top three episodes will actually BE episodes that will be WORTH all the anticipation that everyone has been hoping for! (Waits to see how many users give me a "Sad" reaction for THIS comment!) Enough said!

True, there should have been better episodes at this part of the list, such as Can You Spare a Dime

[WhoBibbles]

8 hours ago, 4EverGreen said:

Unpopular opinion time, "Shanghaied" and "Wet Painters" are VASTLY over-rated! If you really think CAREFULLY about both of those episodes, they're BOTH just "Shaggy Dog Stories." And I mean that, in the sense that in the vast scheme of things, they don't REALLY contribute anything significant to the "Spongebob Squarepants" canon, other than "Shanghaied" being the first SIGNIFICANT role for the Flying Dutchman. Also, "Christmas Who?" is an okay episode, but I just like the stop-motion Christmas special better. Finally, "The Krusty Krab Training Video" episode ending, WAS "The Soprano's" series ending, six years BEFORE that ending ever came about!  Hopefully, the top three episodes will actually BE episodes that will be WORTH all the anticipation that everyone has been hoping for! (Waits to see how many users give me a "Sad" reaction for THIS comment!) Enough said!

In what way these episodes don't contribute to anything? 95% of this show is the characters doing silly things and going on silly adventures that will barely be mentioned again. Status quo is a thing in cartoons, especially here. How exactly an episodic comedy show care that much about continuity? Squidward gets stuck in a forest at the end of an ep but we all know he'll be back. Throughout the show Patrick gets arrested, Mrs. Puff is arrested constantly, Mr. Krabs forces his employees to work forever, Bikini Bottom gets crushed by a worm, Bikini Bottom is on fire because of panic attack, Patrick goes to Rock Bottom again, Plankton gets large and destroys everything, Sandy is chasen to be eaten by SpongeBob and Patrick, SpongeBob got eaten by a box etc etc. Just like we know all alternative endings of Shanghied are no longer relevant but here's the thing. They are jokes. These episodes matter not because they'll matter to the narrative to the show, it's because they make us laugh. You think too deep in a show like this and I really don't find it reasonable you call these episodes overrated just because they get unfixable endings. 

[So Sejima]

Talking about KKTV itself it's a fun ep but that 30 second "da da da da da" gag was painful and that 30 seconds was honestly enough to keep it out of my top 25 with ease, a ton of episodes are flawless so that scene really sticks out. It felt like padding the runtime and it really bugged me while there's at least 25 episodes that I enjoyed start to finish. Sucks since the rest is genuinely hilarious such as Squidward's entire appearance, but there's too much competition for me to rank KKTV after that.

[WinterArcanine]

I have the same opinion on this as Trophy. I have it at 39th on the list i'm using but it'll almost certainly be lower in an updated list.

 

Pranks a Lot (#34)

Missing Identity (#32)

Krab Borg (#13) (Why did I put this so low???)

Valentine's Day (#50) 

Squid's Day Off (#43)

Plankton's Army (#33)

Employee of the Month (#40)

Mid-Life Crustacean (#36)

Survival of the Idiots (#35)

Something Smells (#39)

The Great Snail Race (#45) (Might be higher but whatever)

Rock Bottom (#49) 

Clams (#41)

The Fry Cook Games (#44)

Imitation Krabs (#20)

Life of Crime (#30)

The Camping Episode (#9)

50: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V (#15)

49: Club Spongebob (#42)

48: ???

47: ???

46: My Pretty Seahorse (#46)

45: The Algae's Always Greener (#12)

 44: Fear of a Krabby Patty (#27)

43: ???

42: Big Pink Loser (#38)

41: ???

40: Have You Seen This Snail (#26) 

39: Krusty Krab Training Video (#4)

38: ???

37: Squidville (#47)

36: ???

35: Pizza Delivery (#14)

34: Sailor Mouth (#22)

33: Idiot Box (#15)

32: Nasty Patty (#11)

31: ???

 30: ???

29: Wet Painters (#6)

28: ???

27: F.U.N (#48)

26: ???

 25: ???

  24: ???

 23: No Weenies Allowed (#37)

22: SpongeBob Meets the Strangler (#29)

21: Graveyard Shift (#8)

 20: Dunces and Dragons (#23)

 19: Roller Cowards (#24) 

18: ???

 17: ???

16: ???

15: ???

14: Krusty Towers (#19)

13: Snowball Effect (#25)  

12: Shanghaied (#7)

11: SB-129 (#28)

10: Mimic Madness (#31)

9: Can You Spare a Dime (#18)  

 8: Welcome to the Chum Bucket (#17)

7: ???

6: Frankendoodle (#10)

5: ???

4: Christmas Who? (#5)

3: ???

  2: ???

 1: Just One Bite (#21)

30/50, 15/25