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My Top 5 Proudest Moments (#SOF8)


TJ

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Just a little idea I came up with in celebration of the festival. In this post, I will detail what I see as the top five things I have ever written across any of my productions. Basically, the five proudest moments of my Spin-Off career. (I'd love to see other people do something similar btw)

Without further ado:

5. United / Island's Finest (Team SpongeBob; June 11, 2017)

The two part season finale of Team SpongeBob's ninth season was such a blast to write. First I wanna start off by saying that the show's ninth season was when I felt it hit it's magnum opus.  Season 9 completely revitalized the show and reinvented it's entire structure. Tighter plotter, far better writing, and a heavier mixture of superhero and comic book influences. The finale brought together the seasons's two central stories (the divide between Team SpongeBob and the rise of Triton/E.V.I.L) in a wonderful conclusion. The action pieces were some of the hardest I've had to craft as I had to make every set piece action packed, but flow in just the right way. In the end, I believe I did a terrific job. The ending also sets up plot lines for Season 10 very effortlessly.

4. A Tom and Lou Christmas (The Adventures of Tom and Lou/Snowcember Ball 2015; December 14, 2015)

Two years after The Adventures of Tom and Lou ended, I decided to do a bit of a one-off reprisal for 2015's Snocember Ball. I have to say that the writing for this special was unlike anything in the original show. Not only did my writing style improve so much between the time the show ended and the time of this revival, but the special was also more dramatic than comedic. After I realized how I wanted Tom and Lou's story to end (officially), I decided to explore them deeper than I did during the show. I wanted to analyze their feelings - especially towards each other. Yes, Tom and Lou both came to the realization that they were in love with one another. I think the beautiful thing about it is that there's all these (unintentional on my part) signs in the original show of how it could go in that direction. Tom's relationship with Evelyn is also analyzed, as he realizes that she was no longer who he desired to be with. Their breakup is given a heart breaking, but beautiful gravitas in which they are both frank and honest with each other. In the end, Tom goes after Lou and proposes. The way they drive off at the end, with Tom asking "where to?" and Lou saying "Anywhere!" directly mirrors the very first episode of the show were they have the same line exchange at the end of the episode. In that way, I thought I brought their story full circle quite beautifully.

3. 2010 (Team SpongeBob; December 13, 2017)

Oh my god, guys. This episode is one of my favorite things that I have ever EVER written. 2010 in a nutshell sees Debbie and Aria go back in time to July 27, 2010. Not only is that the day Team SpongeBob formed in-story, but it's the exact day that the show premiered on SBC. What I loved about this episode is that I basically got to recreate the pilot episode of Team SpongeBob - and it is revealed that the show exists through a causal loop by fact of Debbie and Aria telling Shin to transport SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick to Karate Island in the first episode. That also solved a big plot hole in that regard that I hadn't addressed over the show's history. Why exactly did Shin summon SpongeBob and friends to Karate Island? This episode answers that, as a completely new narrative is created that dances along the edges of the very first episode in an absolutely flawless and fitting way. Great action pieces throughout as well. I also got to include references to other spin-offs within the Teenjverse, linking all of the shows to that one particular day: July 27, 2010. This episode is one of the brightest examples of my Spin-Off writing prowess. 

2. Crisis of the Jelliens (Miss Appear, The Quickster, Mystic Guardians, and Knights of the Multiverse; March 12-15, 2018)

The second annual Teenjverse crossover was the most ambitious yet. Not only did I include four different shows, but I had to write those four different shows into four different episodes and still keep the tone of each part's respective hosting series. The Miss Appear part felt like a Miss Appear episode, the Mystic Guardians part had to feel like a Mystic Guardians episode, and then there had to be all of these crossover elements all centered around the plot of an invading alien species. For this special, I drew inspiration from a SpongeBob Squarepants episode (everyone knows the fan favorite "Planet of the Jellyfish"). I think going forward, I'd like all crossovers to draw inspiration from a SpongeBob episode or special, kind of as a way to honor the show. Without it, my spin-offs wouldn't be possible after all. This crossover special was so insane to write that it actually halted production on both Miss Appear and Knights of the Multiverse for several weeks after. So much had to go into the plot and crafting the best fight sequences possible. A special attention to detail had to be a priority. I had to seed the story fluently throughout each part. And I had to juggle 27+ characters. Now imagine doing that not across one, not across two, not across three, but across FOUR different episodes on four different works (one of whom was not my own). Once again, I give a special thanks to Jjsthekid for allowing Mystic Guardians to join. In that way, he helped an already special event become even more spectacular. Balancing all that I did and still producing an insane, high quality four part romp squarely places this as my 2nd proudest S/O moment. However, my #1 proudest moment is something very tied to my heart and the genesis of my writing career on this site. And that is....

 

 

1. Eschaton / Long Live Team SpongeBob (Team SpongeBob; January 30, 2018)

The two part series finale of Team SpongeBob brought to a close eight years of storytelling. This episode was a juggernaut to write, because it had to have off-the-walls action fitting for a final showdown and close the chapter on a show that had been running for nearly a decade. This episode managed that beautifully - a true testament of how far I've come as a writer. Like the episode, 2010, the show's series final ties in time travel to make for an incredible tie in to seasons past. SpongeBob and Aria travel back to the Season 8 finale and stage King Neptune's death, revealing that King Neptune had never actually died. Another struggle was writing that huge throw down between Debbie and the Ice Queen. I had to find a way to make the sequence huge enough to convey the sense of two immensely powerful beings going at it. I decided to use Victoria's control over the Divine Jewels as a way to showcase the final battle in places on Karate Island and on Bikini Bottom. The ending piece has SpongeBob and Linda finally marry - something I attempted in Season 5, but had them not go through with it. It felt appropriate to have that happen here in the series finale. The relationship between the two has always been the heart of the show - especially in the earlier seasons. Finally, writing the end scene with SpongeBob 'releasing' the team from active duty, having everyone place an item in a time capsule, and then them all going their separate ways... it was emotional. I think I about teared up as I was finishing that. The way the show also sneakily sets up the plot for Knights of the Multiverse, my newest show, was very clever and exciting imo. It's like, if you watched TS but had no interest in Knights - all you would know is that Debbie is still out there on another adventure. In fact, all of them are. Alex and Aria are exploring the world, SpongeBob and Linda are dealing with married life, and Pearl is attending university. As a storyteller, even in the series finale, you never wanna end it without the hint of more adventure for your characters to come - whether that be off screen or not. I think I accomplished that in a nice way.

And last but not least, the ACTUAL final scene is of SpongeBob's descendants in a far future. His great grandson (Tron) and his great great granddaughter (Sally). Tron has been telling her all the stories of SpongeBob and his team - something I really wanted to end on: the fact that Team SpongeBob's legacy is one that lives on forever.

 

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