JCM's Fave 50

[VinylTheVampire]

Big Pink Loser?

YESSSS.

[almy]

please keep going

[JCM]

please keep going

Oh hey, more than one person still cares about this.

I'll probably start it up again next week.

[almy]

yay

[Patrick-Man!]

I must say after spending minutes reading this I really enjoy your list. i do hope you keep this up

[JCM]

It's been a little over a week, but good enough.

#24 - Mid-Life Crustacean

"I guess you're gonna miss the panty raid."

What I like about this episode is that it has Mr. Krabs being less of a cheapskate and more of a regular old man. He's not looking for another way to make a quick buck, but instead he's looking for a way to be young again, and after years of seeing him chasing pennies, it's a breath of fresh air for me. Now for the other two main characters: SpongeBob and Patrick are their regular naive selves, and it's amusing to see them try to act cool and try to convince Mr. Krabs that they're cool when it's obvious that they're anything but cool. We get a lot of the season's trademark humor in this episode, and the panty raid, of course, will always be unforgettable. (Even though I had no idea what was going on when I originally watched it; oh, to be a kid again. Now I know how Mr. Krabs felt.)

#23 - Pizza Delivery

"The Krusty KRA-YEAH-YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH PIZZA IS THE PIZZA YEAH FOR YOU AND ME-E-EEEE!"

This is the highest Season Oner on the list, and I wouldn't have it any other way. This was always one of my favorite episodes, from when I started watching the show around the turn of the century to now, when despite repeated viewings, I still can't get enough of the thing. I just love how it explores the dynamic between SpongeBob and Squidward, the first episode to prominently feature the two characters alone (besides Reef Blower, but since it's like three minutes and has no sound, I'm not counting it). It starts out as we expect, with SpongeBob annoying Squidward and Squidward yelling at SpongeBob, and as the episode progresses, we get more of the same. But it's the end of the episode, which I'm sure that all of you are familiar with, that truly redefines their relationship. It's not black-and-white anymore; we see a side of Squidward that tolerates the yellow guy and even, dare I say it, considers him as a friend. Of course, he'll never admit that that side of him exists, but the hints that'll be sprinkled through the rest of series will say otherwise.

If you've been following this list from the start, you'll notice that I called F.U.N. the episode that established SpongeBob's potential for longevity. While I stick with that assertion, I'll add that Pizza Delivery was the episode that established SpongeBob's viability. Without either, the show would not be what it is today, and that's why I consider them-no, that's why I consider the entire first season, if not the best, the most important season of SpongeBob.

[Wumbo]

Hey JCM, finish this up fast enough and I can use your Top 25 for the Top 50.

Great choices btw, but Arrgh! would be my top Season 1 pick.

[JCM]

screw it i'm finishing this thing right now

 

#22 - Snowball Effect

"What's this? Drops of rain frozen into ice crystals? I shall harness their energy and rule the world!"

 

 

Snowball Effect is another hilarious episode courtesy of season three. It uses the generic Squidward-doesn't-want-to-do-something-fun-but-SpongeBob-and-Patrick-convince-him-to-do-it-anyway formula, but it takes that formula and produces something wonderful and creative from it. This is one of four episodes in my Top 25 that utilize the formula, and it probably works so well because of how easily Squidward's personality can clash with SpongeBob's and Patrick's in various entertaining ways. One of the show's strengths has always been how memorable the characters are. When you have great characters, the plots will write themselves, and sometimes, you won't even have to worry about having a plot at all. Snowball Effect is not a plot-heavy episode, but it makes up for it in spades with its character interactions.

 

#21 - Missing Identity

 

"The most important meal of the day, servin' it up Gary's way! Pop!"

 

 

There's nothing I love more than an episode that changes up the regular format of the series, and Missing Identity, which starts out in a noir-like manner, is no exception. This episode parodies the moody crime dramas that were prevalent in the 40s and 50s, and sprinkles in some of the underwater silliness that we had come to expect from the show, to great success. SpongeBob tells the story of how he lost the titular identity, (which is really a name tag) and the steps he took to find it. There is no femme fatale or corrupt policeman, but there is a Patrick, and that's all we need. SpongeBob attempts to find his missing identity, and Patrick messes everything up at every turn. Despite this, they do end up finding SpongeBob's name tag, and where it is may surprise you. Unless you've seen the episode before. Then you won't be surprised at all. Either way, it's a very strong episode, and even though the episode it was paired with (Plankton's Army) got pretty much all of the promotion for the week leading up to its premiere night, Missing Identity undoubtedly came out on top. Here's to looking at you, sponge.

 

#20 - Clams

 

"This is the reward we get for all our hard work? Fishing for stinky clams on a smelly old boat on a filthy lagoon?"

 

 

While Missing Identity parodied a whole movie genre, Clams parodied a single film, and with just as much brilliance. Watching Mr. Krabs' slow descent into madness after losing his millionth dollar to a giant clam is nothing short of great television. The episode's mocking of how the beast only appears when suspenseful music plays is a breath of fresh air after over 30 years of Jaws rip-offs. What better time to review this episode than right after Shark Week, which reinforced the rule that "scary creatures underwater = lots and lots of eyeballs"? This entire show takes place underwater, but the creative way that the writers managed to re-interpret Jaws in a world where sharks are mostly nonthreatening (see: SpongeGuard on Duty) deserves attention in and of itself.

 

I'll be back tomorrow with numbers 19, 18, and 17, and more if I can find the time, but I probably won't. See you then!

[MMM]

Oh man, I remember lurking on SBM and reading this. Time for some catching up.

 

 

50 - Good spot

49 - Way too high

48 - The tiniest bit too high

47 - A little too high

46 - Really good episode

45 - A little too high

44 - A little too low

43 - Best post movie

42 - Decent

41 - A lil higher

40 - A little too low

39 - Thank you

38 - Too high a bit

37 - JCMs for JCM

36 - A little too high

35 - A little too low

34 - Maybe in the 40s for best

33 - SOMEONE ELSE WHO LOVES THIS EPISODE

32 - 30 spots too low

31 - A little too high

30 - Maybe in the 90s for best

29 - Too high

28 - A little too low

27 - Maybe in the 80s for best

26 - Just about yes

25 - A little too low

24 - Too high

23 - A little too high

22 - About yes

21 - A little too high

 

 

But I do respect your opinions.

[JCM]

#19 - Gary Takes a Bath

 

"I'm a dirty boy."

 

 

This is the shortest episode of Season 2, with a running time of under seven minutes. Due to this, its plotline is simpler than most, but the gags are more rapid-fire than ever. It jumps from silly to cute to disturbing, but it always keeps me laughing, and for that reason, I'm putting Gary Takes a Bath, one of the season's funniest episodes, in my Top 20.

 

#18 - Survival of the Idiots

 

"You're nothing but pure evil! Just like newspaper comics!"

 

 

This is the first Sandy-themed episode to appear on my list since Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm (at #49). Sandy is an interesting character, don't get me wrong, and she'll appear a lot more as we go up the list, but I thought that this was worth mentioning. Sandy's episodes tended to be the least memorable of Season 2. Even this episode, the highest Season 2-er featuring the squirrel on this list, doesn't have a lot of her, at least not her in her regular form. I guess the writers weren't as comfortable with Sandy as they were with the rest of the cast, and as a result, their strongest writing went to the episodes that featured the male characters more prominently.

 

But enough of that. Here's what I think about the episode itself: It's hilarious. Next!

 

#17 - No Weenies Allowed

 

"I'll have you know I stubbed my toe last week, while watering my spice garden, and I only cried for twenty minutes."

 

 

This is another Sandy-related episode, and like the last one, Sandy doesn't appear in it very much at all. That's probably for the best, though, because SpongeBob's attempts to get into the Salty Spittoon are much funnier than SpongeBob and Sandy's adventures in the Spittoon would ever have been. This episode is similar to another Sandy episode, MuscleBob BuffPants, in that it focuses on SpongeBob is trying to prove that he's something he's not, in that case strong, in this case tough  In both instances, he manages to deceive people into thinking he's such a thing, and in both instances, it horribly backfires on him. I think this episode did that better, though, because once again, it focuses less on the after-effects of the deception and more on its lead-up.

 

Final thought: Seeing Patrick go beserk after being called "tubby" was the highlight of the episode for me, and it shows that, when provoked, Patrick can shed his gentle nature in a second.

 

That's it for now! Come back tomorrow for...this thing! Yeah.

[MMM]

Gary Takes a Bath isn't my favorite, but not my least favorite.

This is a good spot for Survival.

A few spots too high for No Weenies Allowed bud.

[JCM]

#16 - Club SpongeBob

 

"Praise the Magic Conch!"

 

 

This episodes takes the generic strand-the-main-characters in-the-middle-of-nowhere storyline and makes it more crazy and absurd than any other show besides SpongeBob could get away with.

 

#15 - Nasty Patty

 

"What a brave man, going in the line of duty like that! Why? Why? Why?!"

 

 

This is a dark episode, probably the darkest in SpongeBob's history. I'll never know how the writers managed to get the pitch alone by the Nick studio executives. but I'll forever be happy they did.

 

#14 - Just One Bite

 

"I remember my first Krabby Patty."

 

 

More internet memes come from this episode than any other, and it's not hard to see why. From "unsure" Squidward to smirking SpongeBob, this episode uses creepy close-ups and character expressions to their maximum comic effect, and for that reason, Just One Bite gets a place in my Top 15.

[MMM]

16 - WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT?

I respect your opinions, but I hate Club Spongebob.

 

Otherwise good choices.

[JCM]

#13 - Have You Seen This Snail?

 

"Somewhere I hope you're reading my latest three-word poem: Gary come home."

 

 

Throughout the show's history, Gary has always been treated as a background character. I understand the reasons; there's not a lot to do with a character who sits around and says "meow" for most of the day. Still, a double-length episode that not only gives Gary a major role but focuses on the snail for the duration of the 22 minutes is well-deserved and very much welcome. This episode shows that Gary is not only an important character but maybe the most important out of all them. Gary is part of what makes SpongeBob who he is, and nothing demonstrates that more than the image shown above, of the previously jolly little sponge sniveling behind an empty food bowl, reduced to a shell of what he once was. Rarely before has the series had such an emotional resonance, and there was no better episode to have it in than this one, the first two-parter not padded with scenes of Patchy the Pirate and his sarcastic parrot, scenes that would have dragged this episode down and kept it off of my list for sure. (As they did with all the Season 3 specials, which were good ideas turned gimmicky and stale.)

 

#12 - I Had An Accident

 

"I know of a place where you'll never get harmed, a magical place with magical charms. Indoors, indoors, indoors!"

 

 

This episode gets its place on my list by being really freakin' funny. Whether he's breaking his butt on a sandboarding fall, or talking to a penny, a chip, and a napkin, or getting beaten up by a live gorilla, you can always count on SpongeBob to give you plenty of laughs at his expense. And the ending is just a perfect little piece of meta-humor that reminds you that you could be doing something productive right now and makes you all the more happier that you aren't.

 

#11 - Something Smells

 

"There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died. The End."

 

 

This is one of the earlier Season 2 episodes, and it also happens to be one of the best. The writers did well by choosing a plot that had tons of potential for comedy. SpongeBob eats a snack that turns his breath sour, and he has no idea! What could go wrong? A lot, it seems, and with Patrick to accompany him in figuring out what's repelling people, the jokes keep rolling along. This episode wasn't quite good enough to make my top ten, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it's awesome, especially considering how young the show was at the time.

 

We're down to the final ten! Due to school, I'll have to start on it Saturday, and then we'll continue up the list every Saturday from then on. Don't miss it!

[MMM]

All three really good episodes.

[JCM]

Due to the SBU shutdown, I didn't have time to do the next two reviews last Saturday. As consolation, I'll update this again on Labor Day and continue with the Saturday schedule from there.

 

#10 - Christmas Who?

 

"I can't believe anybody would celebrate a holiday where a jolly prowler breaks into your house and leaves gifts."

 

 

This was the first-ever SpongeBob special, and the one I'm most fond of. It uses many of the conventions that we would see in later specials, like the Patchy segments and the musical number, but it uses them well. It has much of the brightness and bubbliness you'd expect from a SpongeBob Christmas special, but it also has a tinge of satire, which is evident in quotes like the one above and in the general atmosphere of this episode's Patchy segments. You can tell that the pirate is a parody of overly-enthusiastic Mr. Rogers-types who talks down to the audience while behaving like a child himself. He's very much a delight here, and if he'd been contained to just this special instead of getting re-used and having the joke behind his existence ruined, I'd think more highly of him.

 

Since this is the only episode of its kind in Season 2, it actually feels special, and as a result, the producers put more effort into it than they put into the trilogy of "specials" in season 3. Like I said in the previous post, they were all good ideas, but they didn't deserve the treatment that Christmas Who? got because there wasn't really anything extraordinary about them. They would have come out better as 11-minute shorts, and the crew would have been able to reserve all fanfare and pirate shenanigans for an episode that actually merited it. An episode like Christmas Who?.

 

#9 - Squilliam Returns

 

"We're just a clever visual metaphor used to personify the abstract concept of thought."

 

 

SpongeBob isn't exactly a series known for its continuity. That's why appearances from characters like Bubble Bass and Bubble Buddy in Season 9 were considered such big deals. Obviously, Squilliam's appearance in this Season 3 episode isn't as big of a deal, but it's still worth noting. The episode that Squilliam was in before this one was Band Geeks, an episode considered by many to be the greatest one ever. I'm not sure if that influenced the writers' decision to revisit the character, but the basic structure is similar to BG: Squilliam brags to Squidward about how successful he and his unibrow is, Squidward tells Squilliam that he's something he's not, and Squidward works to cover up his lie and make himself look good in front of his rival. This episode, however, trades the subtly that came with Season 2 with the wackier, outlandish humor of Season 3, creating an episode that is not only distinct from Band Geeks but just as funny, making it a worthy successor. So put down that tiny violin. There will be no sad music tonight.

 

And that's it for the first two installments of my Top Ten! Two more will be coming this Labor Day!

[WhoBibbles]

I like Squilliam Returns but I felt bad for Squidward at the end. Not one of my favorite episodes. I love Christmas Who 

too. Can't wait to see the next episodes.

[MMM]

Ah well, both of these are in my top 20

[Supergameman]

Good list so far.

[Wumbo]

Yay, Christmas Who!