SpongeBob SquarePants Cleanup

Oh shit, didn't know this thread existed, but I'm so glad it does! (Also appreciate the shout-out, thank you!)

Anyway, I think those Aesop entries are shoehorns. The "Pizza Delivery" lesson is never spelled out. The lesson about being given participation awards is never spelled out, and I don't think the "leave policing to the authorities" entry is valid either because I recall several Police Are Useless jokes in the episode as well. I think these could go on Accidental Aesop if applicable, though.

I agree that the one for Pizza Delivery could qualify as Accidental Aesop.

Incidentally, there is now a discussion on the aesops on the Recap pages.

D'aww, you're welcome.

So about those recap pages... I think I'm just going to drop off some of the most questionable examples from A Pal for Gary, one of the most hated cartoon episodes of all time. Seriously.

Where do I insert my chainsaw?

Ugh. Just... chainsaw all of it.

Admittedly I haven't actually seen "A Pal for Gary" so I can't really say what's accurate/not misuse myself.

I'll give a proper review because I do remember the episode. I disliked it when I was a child even before I knew that was commonplace, but I still have common sense to understand it's just a bad episode.

• Bittersweet Ending: It wasn't a punishment, but Gary is depicted as pissed that he has to leave his comfy home to go to work with SpongeBob. However, it's all comedic, so does this trope really apply?
• Compressed Vice: Just straight up misuse. Has nothing to do with a never-before-mentioned bad habit.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot is misuse as not being out of universe. That's just plot progression.
• Darker and Edgier: Other than the pretty creepy monster it's not that edgy.
• Downer Ending: See the Bittersweet entry.
• The Irony entry relies on complaining, and clearly isn't deliberate.
• Pun-Based Title: Nobody says "Appall for [x]." It's "Appall at [x]" if anything.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Like you said, Patrick's absent from many episodes plus SpongeBob is still a comedic character.
• Unexpectedly Dark Episode: It's full of sadistic comedy. So are many other episodes from this time. Is Gary almost being eaten by a monster darker than other episodes? Even that is played for comedy so who knows! And that's been a thing in SpongeBob since the Alaskan Bull Worm.
• The Unreveal: If the reveal was never set up, then it's misuse. This would probably just be Law of Conservation of Detail.

YMMV:

• Bile Fascination: While I don't think TRS changed the definition to exclude stuff like this (yet), I don't think most people watch the episode for how bad it is if only because it makes people genuinely angry, so they'd rather avoid it.
• Fanon Discontinuity: IDK. It could count with better writing but at this point SpongeBob didn't have much continuity to forget anyway.
• Tear Jerker: It's not a sad moment. Gary's not even that sad IIRC, just annoyed and afraid. (Maybe we should check the TearJerker.Sponge Bob Squarepants for complaining after this...)
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: It might be valid if rewritten to get rid of the Took a Level in Jerkass complaining, but only if you consider the other plot something that was hinted at earlier in the episode, and not just "here's what I would do" misuse.
• The Woobie / Iron Woobie: Maybe Iron Woobie could fit here, because he's very sympathetic but withstands it all and manages to get himself and SpongeBob out of trouble.

Frankly I'm surprised Idiot Plot isn't here given the episode's plot relies on SpongeBob being even more clueless than usual. I could write up an entry that isn't malicious. (He is deliberately depicted as Too Dumb to Live in this episode, as he almost gets killed due to his naivety about Puffy Fluffy. That is the joke, though it didn't work for many people.)

Maybe we should check out SpongeBob SquarePants S7 E11 "One Coarse Meal/Gary in Love" next...

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 16th 2021 at 7:19:12 AM

I think Unexpectedly Dark Episode can stay. I saw this episode as a kid and the suspense of it, plus the actual reveal of the monster, gave me nightmares.

The last entry of Western Animation on Glurge seems a bit complainy about "All That Glitters," particularly after the discussion about whether or not the show has morals.

If we're checking out the most hated episodes, we should also look at "The Splinter", "One Coarse Meal", and "No Hat For Pat".

Edited by WarJay77 on Mar 16th 2021 at 9:14:46 AM

Wait, "No Hat for Pat"? I hear that one regarded as one of the best of season 6, actually. I think most of seasons 6-8 could do with a cleanup to remove Seasonal Rot negativity.

You sure? I always loathed it, but maybe that's just me then? I thought I heard other people say they hated it too, though.

Krabs is clearly portrayed as the villain, and the viewers want Patrick to succeed. It's pretty funny, too. Either way, I'm sure someone has managed to sneak complaining, since nobody really cares about the middle seasons of the show.

I'd debate you on the "pretty funny" part, but it's off topic. I might look at it anyway just to amuse myself though.

If we want to check which episodes attract complaining, we could check out what The Mysterious Mr. Enter and PieGuyRulz have said about specific episodes. Or even the DMOS page for the show. Off the top of my head, I think "Truth or Square," "Atlantis SquarePantis," and "Choir Boys" may also attract complaining.

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 16th 2021 at 1:05:01 PM

Oh, definitely.

"House Fancy" too. Mostly for that one scene. You know the one.

So I did a bit of checking.

SpongeBob SquarePants S 6 E 23-24 "Truth Or Square" is actually free of complaining. The YMMV page does have complaining issues, but I think the entries can be rewritten:

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The main reason why this episode is loathed by many SpongeBob fans is the constant hype that got it involved. Plankton is just unnecessary through the entire episode, Sandy and Spongebob's wedding is revealed to be a play and, most of all, Krabs does not tell the audience the Krabby Patty formula that was hyped to be finally revealed, at all. In fact, all of this nonsense seems to be a Take That! to fans who wanted latter two to happen.
• Uncanny Valley: The pirate puppet featured in the opening sequence is often considered hideously designed.

I think They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot is valid because many of the plots they teased in the trailer were ultimately not explored, and Uncanny Valley likewise may be valid since the puppet is humanoid but really uncanny.

Now let's look at Sponge Bob Square Pants S 6 E 1 House Fancy Krabby Road. The Recap page seems fine but the YMMV page has some questionable (but admittedly not awful) entries. (Nausea Fuel seems fine.)

• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment : The Toenail scene. Squidward never even had toenails to begin with (octopuses shouldn't even have those anyway), and the episode never referenced the scene again. I think this was plot relevant because it showed them moving a couch but I can't quite remember.
• Bile Fascination: Has landed itself on countless "Worst Of SpongeBob" lists almost solely due to the toenail scene. For curious viewers, it is not for the faint of heart.
• Broken Base: Some think that the episode is actually genuinely good, partially since Squidward actually wins for once in the end. Some people consider the episode mediocre, with people saying that other people overrate the episode merely because of Squidward's victory in the end. The mere presence of the toenail scene has made it all the more harder for some people to objectively judge the quality of the episode, as just that one scene has pretty much defined the whole episode for some. I guess this could count but I'm just making sure.
• Fanon Discontinuity: While several other episodes are easily more despised than this one, it has often been on the receiving end of this almost purely due to the toenail scene. Fanon Discontinuity for episodes that aren't super into continuity to begin with feels inaccurate, IDK. Plus the rest of the episode isn't really bad at all.
• Signature Scene: The infamous toenail scene. So much so that it colors people's perceptions of the episode overall.

Spongebob Squarepants S 6 E 12 Porous Pockets Choir Boys has no YMMV page, but does have a few items complaining about Spongebob's behavior in the latter episode.

• Downer Ending: Played for Laughs for Squidward, SpongeBob steals his spot at the choir audition and is in charge of turning the pages of the songbook.
• Jerkass: Both Squidward and SpongeBob are this here. Earlier in the episode, Squidward went out of his way to harass SpongeBob and act deliberately rude and arrogant toward him (and not to mention, he expressed visible joy at the thought of SpongeBob being depressed), but SpongeBob himself wasn't much better in this episode as he also deliberately went out of his way to harass and torment Squidward, all in an attempt to get him to listen to his song and let him come to the choir audition.
• Jerkass Ball: SpongeBob seems to be tormenting Squidward deliberately in an attempt to get the latter to listen to his song and let him come to his choir audition.

On a non-complaining note, there's a claim that "Porous Pockets" is a Whole-Plot Reference but I think it's too common a plotline to count:

• Whole-Plot Reference: The episode may have a similar plot to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, SpongeBob gaining incredible wealth and ditching someone he was close to like the protagonist does, and in the end, he immediately loses it all and is forced to go back to his old life and make amends with the person he wronged.

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 16th 2021 at 1:29:48 PM

Alright, I'm addressing a few things here;

• 'A Pal For Gary' doesn't have Idiot Plot, but it does have Idiot Ball, but I'm not sure if the entry is really that malicious:
  • Idiot Ball: SpongBob, Up To Eleven. If he had just heeded the old lady's warning about Puffy Fluffy, none of the traumatic events that Gary goes through would've happened. Lampshaded in an Aside Comment by the lady that no one listens to her.
• "A Hat for Pat" is nowhere near one of the most hated episodes. If anything, it's one of the episodes most people ignore because it isn't one of the widely hated ones.
• If there are any episodes we need to check out, there's also "Good Neighbors", "Best Day Ever", "To Love a Patty", "Whatever Happened to SpongeBob?", "Boating Buddies", "Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy", "Stuck in the Wringer", "Are You Happy Now", "Face Freeze", "Demolition Doofus", "Pet Sitter Pat", "Squid Baby", "Little Yellow Book" and "SpongeBob, You're Fired". Maybe "Ink Lemonade" as well.

Anyway, here's One Coarse Meal, which was my next target anyway, and is apparently so bad, even the people who made it don't like it.

Moral Event Horizon may still be in TRS, but the one consistent fact is that it only counts if there's some continuity going on that acknowledges how bad the moment is later. This episode's too self contained for MEH. However, I do think that the Never Live It Down entry is valid because a lot of people do seem to characterize Krabs as malicious towards Plankton while woobifying the latter as a result of this episode. Krabs has always been a jerkass to some extent but it's Depending on the Writer just how bad he can get, and the fandom brushes over "Jellyfish Hunter" much more.

You're right, fixed the title.

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 17th 2021 at 5:07:02 AM

There's actually a Broken Base entry? Last I checked OCM was one of the most hated episodes of the entire show and practically nobody likes it.

On a slightly related note, has there been any confirmation of the cast and crew not liking the episode? Though that's mostly because I don't really see episodes from seasons 4-8 brought up very often by the current crew.

Also, should we make a sandbox page or something similar with a list of the show's most hated/divisive episodes for the sake of easier cleanup?

Here's a possible Sandbox link -> Sponge Bob Controversial Episodes To Clean

×3 I think you meant "Jellyfish Hunter" at the end. Krabs wasn't even in "Jellyfish Jam".

I found out the crew didn't like it because it's on both the Trivia page and OldShame.Western Animation.

Gettin' right on it.

I meant more like official confirmation, like interviews or something similar.

Edited by SpongeBat1 on Mar 17th 2021 at 3:14:25 AM

Didn't find anything on the episode's wiki page about Creator Backlash.

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 17th 2021 at 5:16:17 AM

I've finished the sandbox page of controversial episodes, if there are any missing or any other recap pages with complaining feel free to add them. I also included Kamp Koral and the third movie in the sandbox, since we might want to keep an eye on them given their highly contentious status within the fandom (though Sponge On the Run's page didn't look too bad last I checked).

If there's no solid info confirming the staff or voice actors didn't like "One Coarse Meal", then I think we can cut Creator Backlash.

I went looking through some of the stuff on the list and I found this on Sponge Bob Square Pants Squids Visit To Square Pants Or Not To Square Pants:

• This episode has been heavily criticized, due to the plot which was about Spongebob—makes his house the same replica of Squidward's house. Some viewers said that the truth is: Sponge Bob sneak in Squidward's house, probably taking pictures of Squidward's replica. It might be true because: How would Sponge Bob know how to make the same replica of Squidward' s house. Then, there's the psychological horror scene where Squidward enters a catatonic state, and makes a horrific, disturbing face. Some viewers may find it's comical. After Squidward shrinks and disappears in the dark background, Squidward began to have a delusion of him having tea with his vaccum cleaner. Until he laughs historically. Causing Squidward to have mental breakdown, then faints. Finally, SpongeBob sleeps on the burnt out wreckage of Squidward's house.

That's not Trivia. It's 30% audience complaining, which would go in YMMV, and 70% just episode summary. No meta, no interesting factoids, just cut it.

Hell, the other entry isn't Trivia either. I don't know what it is.

• It Makes Sense in Context: During Squidward's horrific paranoia: Squidward said "Care for some casserole" to the vaccum cleaner, as he holds the burnt casserole. Of course he would, having tea with his vaccum cleaner.

Edited by mightymewtron on Mar 18th 2021 at 8:33:30 AM