Jump to content
  • Advertisement

189. SpongeBob, You're Fired


Jinjo

  

41 members have voted

  1. 1. Rating?

    • 5/5 Stars: Welcome back, me lad!
      6
    • 4/5 Stars: Please let me back at my job!
      4
    • 3/5 Stars: Why Mr. Krabs?!?
      8
    • 2/5 Stars: Here's your pink slip, you're canned, I'm giving you the axe.
      5
    • 1/5 Stars: You're fired.
      17


Recommended Posts

In my opinion, for even some of the worst episodes, there's usually some things that I can say I enjoy or can see where they tried. Is SpongeBob had any continuity, Demolition Doofus may have been great because Mrs. Puff's actions would be justified, cutting back to how many times she had to deal with injuries and high prison record. The Splinter clearly shpwed effort from the art department in drawing the grotesque designs, even if it does come out as ugly and the only thing moving the plot. Stuck in the Wringer did well to show SpongeBob's character and had Patrick show true regret, and I found the dark humor in Pet Sitter Pat hilarious, even though I then feel guilty about it. Even my current least favorite episode, "Are You Happy Now?", did show the depression realistically, and SpongeBob actually treated it that way.

 

This is the only episode where I cannot say that. While I have little strong hatred for it, this absence brings it down to 22 minutes of my time that was not only wasted completely. Even if you were gonna remind me of the "I'm Ready" return, I would just shrug it off. (Mooncation and The Way of the Sponge did it first) The main problem is that every last part of the plot and every last attempted joke has either been done before or is nothing special. First, they just reinforce SpongeBob is a good fry cook for 2 whole minutes. Maybe it was because they wanted to surprise you when Krabs fires him, but the twist fails immediately given the title is literally SpongeBob You're Fired! (Which is another case of the Patty Caper) And Krabs fires him for really stupid reason. I mean, is getting one nickel (a joke used from Bummer Vacatin) really worth cutting your profit in half trying to find a frycook that good for less pay? SpongeBob's pretty much the only option. And then we get another 2 minutes of the "plot twist" with crying. Again, that joke was used before (Karate Choppers, Grandma's Kisses, A Day Without Tears). Maybe these re-used elements were going for clever references. However, tht doesn't work out well if they are flat-out incorporated into the plot without any indication. Plus, no continuity again. Same thing goes on for the entirety of the first half. SpongeBob goes home incredibly depressed to Gary for Patrick to break in randomly, and Patrick explores the joys of unemployement, and SpongeBob goes out to prove he can be better. Wait, haven't I heard of this entire thing before? Yeah, I think the majority of the special was unintentionally taken from Model Sponge.

 

However, I will get one thign out of the way: some people are offended by the potrayal of unemployment, literally leading to a political debate inolving people mooching off unemployment benefits. I flat-out think they were going for the opposite message, it was clearly stated by SpongeBob that it was the wrong route to take. Besides, causing the government to get into this is dumb anyways.

 

But yeah, the second half just shows the same old "Le Big Switch" gag four times over. And after it was rendered that getting a job was pointless, there was one scene of SpongeBob making snail food that was amazing, because get it, they DIDN'T go that route because that may lead to something interesting. And the guys who literally threw the food in the trash come back for a fight scene that was pointless, because there was no conflict that could actually lead to a good climax. And besides, the climax was also used to create a plot hole. And it ends with SpongeBob coming back despite the harsh treatment given to him. Seriously, it doesn't even feel like he does feel anyting for this guy. All Krabs cares about here is money.

 

So, how would I improve upon this episode? Well, I really can't say anything. When there's no effort put into something, there's not really anything to fall back on to really know what was being attempted to begin with. When you don't know what the issue is, you can't fix it properly.

 

Final Conclusion: I'll give this episode a 0/10. It really isn't bad by any means, but it's lacking of any redeeming qualties or interest that makes it at least interesting to watch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Frankly, I find this to be the worst episode of the entire series. While I don't want my thoughts compiled into an essay, I'll sum them up, this is the Johnny Test of the franchise. Everything about this is ripped from previous episodes (and executed poorly), the humor is SEVERELY lacking, the pacing is slow as hell, and that Nick had the AUDACITY to market this as a special. Also this episode made me discover that "Spongebob Expert" is an actual thing -_-. That's the kind of crap you make up as a little kid. I can imagine conversations at parties being like this, "So Chelsea, are you working these days?" "Yeah, at Nickelodeon." "Oh that sounds cool! What do you do there?" "Oh, I'm a Spongebob expert." "Heh??" "Is there something wrong?" "No, I just need to get going cause THAT IS NOT A JOB!"

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand all of the hate for this episode I honestly liked it but it was a bit boring at times but it still was enjoyable but Mr Krabs firing SpongeBob for nickel was dumb but he got what he deserve in the end and I really liked how Squidward saved SpongeBob from the restaurant owners and wanted him to come back and the funniest part was when Patrick punched his head

7.5/10

  • God Himself 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

...Here we go. Spongebob You're Fired is basically the pinnacle of boring episodes from the show. There are few episodes that manage to get this dull. There are even fewer that go on for this length. Indeed, SBYF is infamous for being mainly composed of filler. So many scenes here are unnecessary and only serve to pad out time. The plot itself is unnecessary (Spongebob is fired just because Mr. Krabs wanted to save a nickel) and it goes nowhere from there... well, technically it goes SOMEWHERE, just the episode is so disconnected that it barely does anything reasonable. No one here is especially likeable either: Spongebob is sort of annoying at times (near the start, there's a crying scene which goes on for far too long), Patrick is an obnoxiously dumb idiot yet again here, Squidward is just... there most of the time, Mr. Krabs is greedy again and fires Spongebob for an especially greedy reason, Sandy takes advantage of random people by feeding them "free" radioactive waste (which causes Patrick to grow a weird face on his head) and the other characters here barely serve any purpose. Hell, this episode barely serves any purpose. It's a disjointed mess, and there's nothing redeemable here. The fight scene near the end was mediocre, there was absolutely no humour other than some puns that fall flat and overall, again, this episode is BORING. Again, it's rare for an episode to be up to this level of disinteresting but oh boy, does it go there. A combination of weak writing, poor execution, tons of filler, unlikeable characters and an overall boring and forgettable setup lead to one of the most widely-hated specials of the show, and not without good reason.

FINAL RATING: 1/10 (TERRIBLE episode)

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/11/2013 at 10:56 PM, SpongeBobsNumber1Fan said:

Hi guys,

 

You may remember me if you were on the SpongeBob Wiki during the time when they actually had comment sections on articles. I always like to read what people think of new episodes, so I've been coming here for quite some time, but now that I have more time on my hands I will be contributing to the discussion for new episodes from now on. Anyway, here's what I thought of "SpongeBob, You're Fired!":

 

I LOVED this episode!!!! In my opinion, this is one of the best, if not the best, episode of Season 9 so far. The beginning was cute, I loved how SpongeBob split himself into tiny SpongeBobs to clean the dishes. The scene where he gets fired is very good because it just seems so... real. There isn't any dramatic build-up, Mr. Krabs just gives it to him straight. I do think it's a bit ridiculous that he got fired just for a nickel, but Mr. Krabs would sell SpongeBob's sould for 62 cents, so... maybe it's not too far of a stretch. I loved the "canned", "pink-slipped" and "axed" puns. When SpongeBob started to cry it made me genuinely sad. It literally broke my heart a bit to see him that way. I don't think I've seen anything as depressing on SpongeBobb since "Have You Seen This Snail?". This is a good thing, it means that the scene was very powerful and it touched my heart. So I think it was very well done, and representative of what happend in the workforce every day (not the crying part, the part where really good employees get laid off just to save some money). And to anyone who says SpongeBob cries too much: He just had his lifelong dream crushed before his eyes. You would cry, too!

 

The scene with SpongeBob coming home to Gary is depressing at first, but it was really heartwarming how Gary comforted SpongeBob. SpongeBob is right, there's nothing like the unconditional love of a pet! It was also really sweet how Patrick was upset by SpongeBob's crying. That is a true friend! And it was hilarious when SpongeBob couldn't say he got "fired" and Patrick started naming foods that started with F, especially when he said "I can't think of any more foods that begin with C!". :)

 

The "Early The Next Morning" time card looked really cool. :D

 

SpongeBob's appearance the next morning was quite depressing, especially his "Best Day Ever" mug... for some reason, this really pulled on my heart, probably the idea of SpongeBob making a slight attempt at cheering himself up, but failing miserably. Patrick trying to teach SpongeBob the joys of "fun-employment" was really funny, especially with SpongeBob trampling Squidward's petunias and trying to stick to Patrick's rock using Gary's snail slime.

 

It was cute how SpongeBob pulled off a piece of himself, dunked it in his coffee, then ate it, only to have it grow right back. I loved the scene with Sandy. Patrick's second head was hilarious, as was Sandy's "psychological experiment". I thought it was awesome how Sandy was concerned about SpongeBob and tried to cheer him up and get him back on his feet (Spandy Moment!), and how Patrick encouraged SpongeBob to follow his heart. It was really great to see SpongeBob revert back to his positive, happy self thanks to his friends' encouragement. This was really inspiring! It was so great to hear SponheBob's trademark "I'm Ready!" again, we haven't heard that in a very long time! :D

 

The scenes of SpongeBob trying out jobs at those fast-food places were well done, too. The Weenie Hut, Pizza Piehole, Taco Sombrero, and Wet Noodle were all very creative and I love how each owner wears a costume of his restaurant's primary menu item, and how each owner is named after this food item (Mr. Weiner, Pizza Pete, Señor Taco, and Noodle Guy). I also love how The Weenie Hut is a reference to Weenie Hut Jr.'s. It was funny seeing SpongeBob make patties out of each food item and then get fired for it, and then mistake each restaurant owner for Mr. Krabs and complain about getting fired. It was sad to see him cry so much but this was justifiable. I also liked the snarky comments SpongeBob made to each restaurant owner when he got fired.

 

It was realy nice to hear SpongeBob refer to the snail food by it's brand name, Snailpo, this was a nice nod to the earlier seasons. I like how SpongeBob made his own snail food, this scene showed that SpongeBob was able to become happy by making others happy. :)

 

It was hilarious to see SpongeBob get kidnapped by the fish in the hot dog costumes and kept as prisoner in The Weenie Hut. It got even more wacky when each fast-food restaurant owner tried to capture SpongeBob and almost ended up ripping him to pieces! This was a fantastic and hilarious scene. I loved how the Krabby Patty Man turned out to be Squidward... to be honest I really didn't see that coming! It was so touching and heartwarming how Squidward was the one to invite SpongeBob back to the Krusty Krab... he didn't want to admit it, but you could tell that Squidward really did care. It was also great seeing SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs make up, perhaps Mr. Krabs will try to be a bit less cheap from now on. I literally let out a cheer when SpongeBob exclaimed "My life has purpose again!"! It was great seeing SpongeBob restore the Krusty Krab, he's back and better than ever! :D

 

I do admit that this ending was sort of predictable, but it was still really well executed and quite touching and heartwarming, I felt. I knew The Krusty Krab couldn't last without SpongeBob! It was cool to see all the fast-food restaurant owners eating together at The Krusty Krab. The ending with the 5-cent fee to use the bathroom was funny as well, but I do feel bad for Old Man Jenkins! I hope he found his nickel. :)

 

If I could make one suggestion to the writers, it would be this: what they cold have done is have Mr. Krabs say, "Sorry, SpongeBob, but a nickel's a nickel. Besides, I just burned the last of the patties and now me customers are gone! I need to come up with a gimmick to get them back." At this point, SpongeBob would say, "I have an idea!" and the scene would cut to SpongeBob serving Hot Dog Patties, Pizza Patties, Taco Patties, and Noodle Patties to many happy customers including the fast-food restaurant owners. SpongeBob would then be hired back. An ending ike this might flesh out the episode and give some added meaning to SpongeBob's job hunting. But don't get me wrong, I still LOVE the ending we got! :)

 

All in all, "SpongeBob, You're Fired!" was a cute, clever, funny, original, deep, and powerful episode. From the wacky plot to the characters' personalities to the references to old episodes, this episode is one of mt very favorites, not only from Season 9, but of all time! I like how the episode promotes the power of optimism, friendship, and perseverance, while also teaching a bit about the economy. I absolutely LOVE this episode and I give it a 10 out of 10! :D

?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spoiler

Ah, this episode. An episode so controversial, that some people consider it both the worst special AND the worst episode of all time, while others consider it middling or good. Back in 2016, I claimed that this episode was overhated(lol), but as I started to look at my old review, I realized that this episode had quite a few noteworthy problems that I have failed to address back then.

One thing that really stood out like an ugly wart was the reference to unemployment. Truth be told, I never took that into account back then, but it really annoyed me when Patrick thought that being unemployed is awesome. No, sir, it's not. This episode really did disparage those who rely on social service programs to, well, survive. I'm middle class, but I can definitely say that the vast majority of people that rely on safety net programs aren't lazy. It's just a terrible stereotype. Political messages in SpongeBob can work, but here, it was just botched. At least SpongeBob did say "unemployment may be fun for you, but I need to get a job" in a relatable way, which meant that SpongeBob was indeed motivated to get back to work. All in all, the rather unfortunate portrayal of unemployment wasn't the worst part of this special, but it's still worthy of attention. 

From the get go, the conceptualization of SpongeBob being fired from his job was pretty derivative. SpongeBob's been fired from his job twice: once in Karate Choppers, and once in Squid on Strike. Here, the reason that Krabs fired SpongeBob was just....preposterous to say at the least. He fired the little sponge over a nickel. It's the equivalent of a manager firing someone just because the manager didn't like the color of that person's hair. Pretty illogical, right? Well, that really took Krabs' greed up to eleven. Krabs' greed in Penny Foolish was also pretty bad, but Penny Foolish was at least somewhat interesting and creative. SpongeBob, You're Fired, on the other hand, is the opposite of innovative. It appropriated so many ideas from seasons past, like Le Big Switch, Bummer Vacation, and Krusty Dogs. I get that coming up with unorthodox storylines for a show that's been on TV for well over a decade is not the easiest feat, but I don't really think that's a valid excuse. Many s11 episodes are proof that the writers can still come up with experimental ideas, and the funny thing is that the entirety of s11 came out after this episode. 

SpongeBob spent a great deal of this episode completely dejected. While being fired from a job can be absolutely devastating for a lot of people, SpongeBob's job is not his only personality trait. If it was, it would make him a flat character. Plus, Bummer Vacation portrayed SpongeBob's workaholic side in a much better way. Well, I will say that SpongeBob did show his caring side towards Gary, which was quite nice considering the trainwreck that was A Pal for Gary. Also, SpongeBob's depression was portrayed in a genuine way. 

After SpongeBob and Patrick visit Sandy, SpongeBob is motivated to find another job. SpongeBob tried finding employment at 4 different restaurants, but to no avail. Ok, while I definitely think that SpongeBob saying his classic catchphrase was the best part of the episode since it brought back all of those good pre-movie and early post-movie (s4 and s5) vibes, it was ruined by a parade of filler. Filler isn't inherently bad, but if I can cut out large parts of the episode and lose nothing of substance, it can be a problem. Pointless would be the best word to describe the scenes where SpongeBob worked at 4 different restaurants. Again, it really felt like a poor man's version of Le Big Switch, due to SpongeBob turning everything into Krabby Patties. In Le Big Switch, SpongeBob tried to use all sorts of ingredients, but they all turned into Krabby Patties. It was ridiculous, but hilarious nonetheless thanks to the overall absurdity. In this episode, on the other hand, there's no absurdity or hilarity in the restaurant scenes. Just derivative, unfunny, and tired dreck. Inoffensive, but uninspired. Another thing that really irked me was that SpongeBob was able to successfully prepare delicious food for Gary and Patrick, and he did it without having to put their food between two hamburger buns. Consequently, this rendered the restaurant scenes completely useless. 

We then get the weenie guy, the pizza man, the taco dude, and the noodle mate all fighting over SpongeBob, until a giant Krabby Patty comes and rescues the sponge. I'll be frank: I actually really enjoyed the fight scene. Quite a bit, as a matter of fact, because it's the most captivating part of the whole episode. It was all the better to realize that the giant Krabby Patty was indeed Squidward, which was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, Squidward's reason for saving SpongeBob was not out of the kindness of his heart, but rather due to his disdain for the smell of burnt Krabby Patties.

I will give benefit to the doubt that Krabs at least regretted his decision to fire SpongeBob, but it was not enough to redeem his character here. In fact, Krabs installing a pay toilet contradicted his decision in a really mindless way. 

Ok, in spite of my utter disdain for Krabs, the uninspired plot, and the loads of booooring padding, I actually don't find this episode an abomination. Don't get me wrong; I still don't like this episode at all, but it definitely had a few redeeming qualities that saved it from being a complete and total pain to watch. I liked the very beginning with SpongeBob preparing Krabby Patties as per usual; it was indeed adorable and very SpongeBob-esque. The scenes with Patrick's mutated head were all pretty comical as well. Definitely bizarre, but I would rather have something hilariously ridiculous than painfully boring. SpongeBob caring for Gary was genuinely heartwarming; it was a breath of fresh air to see SpongeBob look after his snail after seeing the sponge severely mistreat him in A Pal for Gary. Heck, SpongeBob himself wasn't half bad in this special. Sure, he did cry for a whole minute, and he did show off his workaholic tendencies, but it was delightful to see SpongeBob return to his good-natured self. It was proof that SpongeBob really does mean well, and he is a genuine nice guy most of the time. Also, it was cool to see Squidward save SpongeBob, despite the fact that Squidward stated that he hated the smell of burnt patties.

With all of that being said, this special is still quite boring, unoriginal, and redundant. The plot had very little merit, and the positives are greatly overshadowed by the negatives. I wouldn't recommend this episode to anyone unless they are a dedicated fan of the show. At least it wasn't as bad as The Clash of Triton, but still. In my opinion, this episode is worthy of a 3/10. 

CAPTAIN'S LOG UPDATE: Honestly, the redeeming qualities are insignificant compared to the many, many, many flaws that this episode contains. I'm starting to realize that I was too lenient with my rating of this episode in 2020. Yeah. This episode doesn't really have much going for it, besides an oceanful of padding and a profound lack of anything with substance. It's worthy of a 2/10 at best, at this point. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/17/2016 at 3:39 PM, SquiddyFace said:

I don't understand all of the hate for this episode I honestly liked it but it was a bit boring at times but it still was enjoyable but Mr Krabs firing SpongeBob for nickel was dumb but he got what he deserve in the end and I really liked how Squidward saved SpongeBob from the restaurant owners and wanted him to come back and the funniest part was when Patrick punched his head

7.5/10

…I don’t even know what to say about this old trash opinion but at least I finally figured out how abysmal this entire special is now….

 

Seriously what can I say about this entire episode? Not only is it one of the worst specials but it’s also one of my least favorite episodes of the entire series. It revolves around SpongeBob being fired for a nickel and finding a new job. Yes he’s fired for A NICKEL…because for some reason Krabs is so cheap that he cares more for a single nickle than his own employee. It doesn’t even make sense…why would he fire him for a nickel if SpongeBob is the main reason why his restaurant is successful??? (and pretty much where he gets his nickels). Don’t get me starting on the crying/depressedbob moments…they drag on and on and ON…it’s like an eternity of obnoxious nonsense. Patrick is in here just to make the pacing and whole episode feel even slower and dead. Dear lord the entire “funemployment” scene feels so dead of creativity and jokeless…even episodes like Free Samples, Waiting and Move it or Lose It have more purpose than this entire 6-9 minute slog of unfunny, buncha nothing “funemployment” scenes. Also gotta love ya Sandy, nice feeding innocent “freeloaders” toxic food which is clearly not out of character for ya. Sadly it doesn’t get any better from there as SpongeBob finally decides to find a new job…HOWEVER he can’t make anything else but Krabby Patties so therefore he gets fired four times in a row with the same thing happening over and over again…it’s not funny…it’s beyond repetitive and lazy…the show can do so much better than this. But after all of this complete utter nonsense, he returns home and makes yummy snail food for Gary which…has really nothing to do with what happens in the episode. It’s like the whole purpose for that moment was to fill up time or the writers were burning out of ideas at that point. I don’t even know what to say except this entire scene is just nothing. What comes after is no better either as SpongeBob gets kidnapped by all of the restaurant owners he worked for…it’s not funny, it still feels repetitive and I don’t even get the whole point of why they want to outright kidnap SB to work for them like this. Finally someone in a Krabby Patty outfit (disguised as Squidward) beats up all of the owners and saves SpongeBob but….who would’ve guessed it….the Krusty Krab was a complete mess without SpongeBob…what a totally original and clever ending!

 

Everything about this episode is entirely recycled to the point where even the title is similar to a certain S4 episode. It’s completely unoriginal, drags out way too long, half of it feels disconnected, pacing is absolutely horrendous, really unfunny and the ending is probably the most predictable thing you’ll ever in SpongeBob’s history. To think that this was the finale for the post-movie era…all I can say is that i’m glad that the show went into a hiatus so that we can never experience a horrendous seahorse pile of a special like this ever again.

 

Rating: 0/10 (Bottom 5)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...