Young Nug Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 hehe im alive We hear it all the time. "Has SpongeBob gotten better?", they ask. "Yes, Seasons 8 & 9 have been great improvements.", We say. But now it's time to ask that question differently. Has it really improved? Season 6: haha what is this Season 7: This is boring and irritating. Season 8: Hey, this is actually alright! Season 9: Wow, this is great- What why is this awful A good episode? What? "I can't take these conflicting flavors!" And this is where we run into a problem. We can all agree that episodes are collectively better than they were a few years ago (but one year ago, however, is debatable), but by how much? We can get episodes that are wonderful, like the aforementioned "Eek, An Urchin", and a week later receive "Squid Baby", a horrible stumble-step backwards into Season 6 territory and a reminder of what the show once was. "Jailbreak" and "Squirrel Record" can air and be wonderful, showing the characters at their best (and in Sandy's case, funniest and most useful) and then "Little Yellow Book" can come and mess everything up, providing us with horrible character derailment and jerk attitudes from earlier bad episodes. So what's the problem? Inconsistency. You can say "But as a whole, the episodes are better", and that's partly true. But is it better to get straight C-'s (Season 6 era), or constantly fluctuate from D's to A's and end up averaging a C anyway (Season 9 era, subjectively of course). Going further with that example, is it better to have a student that is a slacker and has no potential, or have a student that shows potential and shows that he can be good if he tries, but constantly under-preforms because he is lazy? I think this has been my main problem with the show as of late. "Extreme Spots", "Eek An Urchin", "Jailbreak!", even "License To Milkshake"-- They are all fantastic examples of what the show is capable of, when it's trying. And "Squid Baby", "Squid Defense", and "Little Yellow Book" are examples of how easily the show can revert to being bad and weird. And that's what's wrong. Not specifically that the show can revert to Season 6-7 standards at the drop of a hat (although that is kinda scary), but it's that the show has shown how high it can go, even at this point....And it just never goes there consistently. Season 8 was a season filled with solid B+/A- material, and when we finally surpass that gold standard, we cannot keep it consistent. And that bugs me. I think if the Season can eventually rack up enough winners though, it'll be like Season 4, which is one of my favorite seasons. So we'll have to see. ....I'm not entirely sure why I wrote this, just felt like expressing my frustration with the show. Is it better to have an inconsistent handful of amazing episodes, okay episodes, and horrible episodes, or have a solid group of above average ones? Discuss. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wumbo Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Well, in a perfect world, we would still be at Season 2 quality, which was amazing episode after amazing episode. Unfortunately, the show has forced us to choose. I suppose it depends on how imbalanced the ratio is on good episodes to bad episodes. I'm not going to wade my way through crap for one or two excellent episodes, which is what I'd use to describe Season 5. I'll take Season 8 over that any day. But take Season 4. Yes, it had awful, awful episodes. But it also had many excellent ones, including two of my four favourite post-classics. This is a season I can get behind and defend, despite its flaws. Regardless, both are better than Season 6, but that was less a solid group of above average episodes and more a slog of mediocre to terrible episodes, so it's not a perfect comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E.V.I.L. Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I would take the solid average. What tends to happen when we are given inconsistent opinions, we dwell on the negatives. This isn't our fault as it is human nature to dwell on the negatives. Season 9 does have VERY STELLAR episodes, but despite that, we will always forget those for the abominations like Little Yellow Book. I believe one of the reasons people loved the pre-movie seasons was the fact that a negative episode was relatively rare (of course, Season 3 is a bit more bitter in my book than the other seasons). Maybe we had a few oddballs, like Dumped, or I'm With Stupid, or Party Pooper Pants, but overall, you could say each season had at least 80% good. Come to Season 4 and that takes a major downturn, with more bad than good. Obviously, when someone is so used to that wonderful selection, they'll forget about Krusty Towers and dwell on *drumroll* All That Glitters, Fungus Among Us, The Gift of Gum, etc. Therefore, the reason why Season 8 is considered so good and Season 9 is being taken as disappointing is because Season 8 (with a few very bad (Squidward's School FGU's)/very good (PlanetotJelly) whereas Season 9 is just mixing bags. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crushingmayhem Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I'd say its more half and half because Season 6 marked a decline in quality in many episodes despite the fact that it wasn't all that bad. While season 7 tried unsuccessfully to improve the show's reputation, but we can't deny that it had some good episodes. I personally think Season 8 was a slight comeback for Spongebob in many aspects including the fact that it embraced the more classic side of Spongebob as seen in the return of phrases such as "My leg!" and such. Not only that, but it also attracted a brand new audience since the previous generation lost interest in the show, the newer generation contributed to this. So i'd say yes but to a certain extent since not everything has improved in the show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 how come you have time to write this but not get on skype. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 This is why I don't like it when people judge episodes based on their seasons rather than their individual quality. Yes, Season 6 in general was bad, but it had great episodes like Cepholapod Lodge and Chum Bucket Supreme. Likewise, Season 2, which many SB fans consider the show's high point, had below-average episodes like Bossy Boots and Procrastination. Calling a season a series of straights A's or straight C's or straight F's only reinforces this practice. No season is completely consistent, and while some have been more consistent than others, they all have their good and bad episodes, just like in any show with multiple seasons. As for whether or not I think SpongeBob has improved, I do believe that it's in a better place than it was in the fifth and sixth seasons, simply because Seasons 8 and 9 show us that the writers are capable of creating good episodes on a regular basis. Even though the latter has more duds than we'd like, keep in mind that we aren't even a third of the way through the season yet, and this in no way suggests a downward or fluctuating spiral. Season 9 has some great eps as well as some that are terrible. I don't think that even the worst of this season comes close to the worst of Seasons 5/6, but that's just my opinion. All I'm saying is that we should stick around for more of the season until we make a final judgement, and when we do make that final judgement, not to let it influence our opinions of future episodes, which is how we got into this mess with the splitting of the fandom in the first place. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatBack Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Season 8, personally, wasn't amazing and is overrated. Better than Season 6/7 by a tad much, but still had bad, mediocre episodes that make me facepalm. Remember, for every Planet of the Jellyfish, there is a Move it or Lose it. Season 9 isn't improving from this, and besides Eek! An Urchin, NOTHING has struck me as remarkable by far. Currently, it is at the same state as Season 8, slightly worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick-Man! Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 am I the only one that loves the show as a whole.....? i agree with JCM never judge episodes based on their season. i am no big fan of little yellow book but i find it enjoyable. i only used to hate one episode and its grandma's cookies. but i learned to love it look i nver thought the show declined. it just had a hard time finding its spot again, and it did. season 9 is what a quarter over? maybe even close to halfway? i love all season 8 and 9 episodes. but i will say its improved from what it used to be. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patty Rose Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 how come you have time to write this but not get on skype. And the winner for Best One-Liner goes to... That! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Someone Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I am not sure because I haven't watched season 9 yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachBob95 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Actually, I made a similar thread like this a few weeks ago. To be honest, I like all episodes of season nine, including Squid Baby. But I have to agree with the statement that we shouldn't judge seasons as a whole. For instance, I used to think season 7 was all bad, but a few days ago I watched some episodes that I referred to as the best of the season. I was amazed with the high level of amusement. I do think the show is inconsistent. But if you ask me the better episodes are taking over in season 8 and nine, and the opposite happened in season 7. Season 6 became in my opinion kind of interesting since it marks a huge change in the show that I can not describe. Half of it was like the best of the two seasons we had before, the other half was a sample of the worst that was yet to come in season 7.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E.V.I.L. Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Actually, I made a similar thread like this a few weeks ago. Threads like this are probably the most common. However AN made it different by re-evaluating our opinions, which is always good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moar Boy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Wow, you guys are really good at composing long, thoughtful opinions. I think the show is actually improving, but I haven't watch all of the season 9 episodes, so I'm not sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wumbo Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Why does everybody like Planet of the Jellyfish that was the creepiest episode ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moar Boy Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Why does everybody like Planet of the Jellyfish that was the creepiest episode ever. Sometimes: Creepy=Good 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMM Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Well, we mostly have. Season 4 was a bumpy season IMO. While it had some of my very favorite episodes (Fear of a Krabby Patty), it also had some of my least favorites (The Thing). Season 5 was meh. There were three kinds of episodes in Season 5, two being common. The first kind was the all-out decent episodes (Slimy Dancing, Rise and Shine), the bad episodes (Atlantis Squarepantis, Waiting, Banned in Bikini Bottom), and the good episodes (New Digs, Krabs a la Mode). Season 6 was.... bad. One time I actually found myself talking to myself while looking through the list of Season 6 episodes and mostly saying "Agh, I don't like this one." (Choir Boys, Pet or Pests, Professor Squidward), but sometimes I went, "Hey, I like this one!" (Krabby Road, Chum Bucket Supreme, Single Cell Anniversary, Komputer Overload). Season 7 was OK. It had rechid episodes (A Pal For Gary, The Cent of Money, One Coarse Meal) but also good episodes (Perfect Chemistry, Buried in Time). Also some decent ones here and there (Enchanted Tiki Dreams, Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle). Season 8 then came. It was a fantastic season. Up until Ghoul Fools the season had decent or mostly good episode. THEN, stuff happened. Every episode was good (Plankton's Good Eye, haha get it, Mooncation). There were a couple baddies though (Restraining Spongebob, Are You Happy Now?), Season 9 has been mostly good so far. There have a couple bad episodes (Squid Baby, Evil Spatula), and the first forgettable episode for me (Jailbreak), but other than that, Season 9 has been going good, 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatBack Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Season 8, personally, wasn't amazing and is overrated. Better than Season 6/7 by a tad much, but still had bad, mediocre episodes that make me facepalm. Remember, for every Planet of the Jellyfish, there is a Move it or Lose it. Season 9 isn't improving from this, and besides Eek! An Urchin, NOTHING has struck me as remarkable by far. Currently, it is at the same state as Season 8, slightly worse. lol Eek! An Urchin actually being good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikurotoro92 Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Yes & no There have been a LOT of improvements but also mis-steps For one, the show is getting darker which can be attributed to Sponge out of Water Not to mention, most of the adult humor that made SpongeBob so beloved has disappeared with fart/butt jokes in it's place In other words SpongeBob SquarePants no longer is able to be distinguished from the rest of the kids' cartoons SpongeBob now is like Breadwinners, Teen Titans GO, or Sanjay and Craig It has lost it's identity Nickelodeon has let this go on for too long and it's time to stop IMHO 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Sponge Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 2 hours ago, Mikurotoro92 said: Yes & no There have been a LOT of improvements but also mis-steps For one, the show is getting darker which can be attributed to Sponge out of Water Not to mention, most of the adult humor that made SpongeBob so beloved has disappeared with fart/butt jokes in it's place In other words SpongeBob SquarePants no longer is able to be distinguished from the rest of the kids' cartoons SpongeBob now is like Breadwinners, Teen Titans GO, or Sanjay and Craig It has lost it's identity Nickelodeon has let this go on for too long and it's time to stop IMHO >"There have been a LOT of improvements" >*Goes on to say that SpongeBob has dived down into the same level of quality as some of the biggest punching bags for the most hated cartoons on the internet* 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippythehippo Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 (edited) Genius 6-8>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>wacky trash season 11 If only season 11 can make genius and non-wacky eps like the TERRIFIC Snooze You Lose Edited November 8, 2018 by hippythehippo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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