What would you think if the series ended with the movie?

[Cha]

I would probably be devastated for a while, but the movie ended the show so nicely. I'd likely hang onto the merchandise and still like the franchise some.

[crushingmayhem]

I seriously doubt the movie will end the series. Especially since it will gain ratings and thus, it will keep getting aired. The show might be different post-second movie, but I don't see it lasting another decade. I could be wrong though.

[Wumbo]

This thread is asking what if it ended with the first movie.

[terminoob]

I think it would've been weird, definitely, and it wouldn't have turned into such a juggernaut. I'm a bit torn on if I would've preferred it or not, though.
 

On the one hand, most of the people who grew up watching the show stopped watching shortly after the movie because they were getting too old. No one in my high school was watching the new episodes; we all just regurgitated quotes from pre-movie episodes. It'd have a really nice status as a "golden era" show, and it'd be lumped together with stuff like Rocket Power, Hey Arnold, Rugrats, Invader Zim, ect. Shows that we grew up with and then got canceled (or legitimately ended) just as we were getting too old for them.

On the other hand... it would've ended up getting a really nice status as a "golden era" show, and it'd be lumped together with stuff like Rocket Power, Hey Arnold, Rugrats, Invader Zim, ect. As in: no one who didn't grow up with it would know what the hell it was. The show would've wrapped up nicely, the people who grew up with it would be out of Nick's target demographic, and the popularity of it would've remained the same... except kids today wouldn't know it because Nick would've stopped airing reruns shortly after the movie (maybe a year? half a year?) and they would've moved onto new programming.

It's a toss-up. It depends on if you want the show all to yourself and have that crisp pre-movie quality, or if you want it to be shared with everyone and have it maybe not be so nice of a quality. Nick's certainly making bank off of it though, so I think they made the right decision.

[Mikurotoro92]

Actually yes, I think SpongeBob should have ended with the first movie

Nickelodeon/Viacom made the wrong decision to renew it!

That's what ruined them

Now they're paying the price

Edited February 5, 2018 by Mikurotoro92

[Steel Sponge]

3 hours ago, Mikurotoro92 said:

Actually yes, I think SpongeBob should have ended with the first movie

Nickelodeon/Viacom made the wrong decision to renew it!

That's what ruined them

Now they're paying the price

For what?

Trying to save their company from a big financial loss by keeping their most successful show alive? For reasons, Nick has heavy reliance towards SpongeBob, and for reasons, the heavy reliance can be a bad thing, but uncancelling this show wasn't the biggest mistake that Nick has ever made.

[Night-Waker]

It certainly wouldn't be as big as it is now, in fact as others have mentioned kids today wouldn't even know about it. Honestly though... I'm glad it didn't end. Yeah, we got the "dark ages" with seasons 6-8 (Although even those seasons had some decent episodes sprinkled in there), but then we also wouldn't have seasons 4-5 or 9-11, SOOW, and now the Broadway musical and the third movie in 2020. Not to mention it's now reaching new generations of kids all over the world who will grow up with both new AND old SpongeBob. I dunno, I just feel like ultimately this show has done more good than bad overall.

[SneakyBoots]

One sentence...

This forum probably wouldn't exist.

[ElectricPikachu]

If Spongebob ended at the first movie, I never would discover the show. The older fans really should think about others instead of themselves and their childhoods.