Imagine Season 8 Was Season 1

[Ron]

So, imagine you're flipping through channels and you see this new show called SpongeBob SquarePants. You're intrigued, so you stick with the show and watch its first season, which (when completed) is this:

• Accidents Will Happen/The Other Patty
  
• Drive Thru/The Hot Shot
  
• A Friendly Game/Sentimental Sponge
  
• Frozen Face-Off
  
• Squidward's School For Grown Ups/Oral Report
  
• Sweet and Sour Squid/The Googly Artiste
  
• A SquarePants Family Vacation
  
• Patrick's Staycation/Walking the Plankton
  
• Mooncation/Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation
  
• Ghoul Fools
  
• Mermaidman Begins/Plankton's Good Eye
  
• Barnacle Face/Pet Sitter Pat
  
• House Sittin' for Sandy/Smoothe Jazz in Bikini Bottom
  
• The Way of the Sponge/Bubble Troubles
  
• The Krabby Patty That Ate Bikini Bottom/Bubble Buddy Returns
  
• Restraining SpongeBob/Fiasco!
  
• Are You Happy Now?/Planet of the Jellyfish
  
• Free Samples/Home Sweet Rubble
  
• Karen 2.0/InSPONGEiac
  
• Face Freeze!/Glove World R.I.P.
  
• Squiditis/Demolition Doofus
  
• Treats!/For Here or To Go
  
• It's A SpongeBob Christmas!
  
• Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up Is Go!/Chum Fricassee
  
• The Good Krabby Name/Move It or Lose It
  
• Hello Bikini Bottom!
  

Do you think the show would've done as well as it has based on that as the first season? Would you have continued watching? Let's say SpongeBob debuted in 2013 instead of 1999, and that's the first season we saw... does it beat other cartoons airing right now? Does it still reach the status of a cult phenomenon?

[crushingmayhem]

Not really, but I think it would've lasted for a few years, similar to shows like Jimmy Neutron which lasted for about 4 years. But no, I don't think it would've lasted for more than 10 years since those episodes aren't quite innovations compared to how season 1 episodes were viewed in their time.

[Buttered Toast]

Indeed. One of the reasons Spongebob is still going on is because of the pre-movie era episodes.

[crushingmayhem]

Indeed. One of the reasons Spongebob is still going on is because of the pre-movie era episodes.

Pretty much; also, what made Spongebob such a hit when it came out was the fact that it was based on a Sponge who lived in a town under the sea, combined with all the toilet humor that it created. Something that wasn't too common back then, especially when you consider the way shows were made in the 90s. But the reason I said that it wouldn't have lasted as long was that it's possible that other similar shows would've already been on the air, therefore making Spongebob less successful than he is now.

[spongebobapantis]

I don't think that SpongeBob would be that popular now if that happened, considering the fact that we're still IN 2013. The Pre-Movie episodes helped to shape SpongeBob's reputation, while the newer episodes were for promotion.