OK... where do I even start with this?
Let's start with the first few seasons, 1-3. These episodes were really the cream of the crop, the best of the best. The plots were very organized and thought-out, the characters were well-developed, all-in-all a great show.
Then there was The Movie. It looked like production of Spongebob was coming to a sto— wait. A fourth season? No way!
At first glance this would be a very happy sight for the average Spongebob fan. But they had no idea how wrong they would be.
Season 4 was... OK. 75% of them were pretty good (Skill Crane, Krusty Towers, Good Neighbors, Squidtastic Voyage, Karate Island), and the rest... not so much (Whale of a Birthday, Bummer Vacation, Wigstruck, The Gift of Gum, Driven to Tears, Hocus Pocus). Something was... wrong. This wasn't the Spongebob we knew.
Then came Season 5. The beginning of the dark ages.
Any Spongebob fan could tell at this point that something is definitely wrong, no matter what. "Goo Goo Gas". "The Donut of Shame". "Waiting". Prime examples, especially "Waiting". This episode was a good example of Main/Flanderization, how Spongebob went from a goodhearted, naive guy to a complete Jerk Ass. SB is very obnoxious in this particular episode. Watch it for yourself, you'll see. Then take S1's Help Wanted, and compare the two. Big difference, huh?
Then there was Season 6. By now, all the writers have lost all creativity. "House Fancy?" Look at the toenail scene (if you dare). This is just like taking a scene out of Ren and Stimpy.
Then Season 7. Good God. The worst of them all. I won't go into too much detail about this one... I have a 400-word limit, you know! I'm about to 300.
Seasons 8 and 9, were a bit of an improvement, but not by much. There were a few good ones... Season 8's Drive Thru... um... that's really it.
Then we have the upcoming Movie #2. This, and Season 10, I'm really hopeful for, because Stephen Hillenburg is returning to the show (I think), and hopefully he'll put the Spongebob train back on track. The whole reason Spongebob went downhill is because Hillenburg left. He replaced his position as exec producer with Paul Tibbitt. I'm really hoping that Season 10 will be a big improvement to Spongebob, although no matter what happens, Spongebob will always be notable for the Seasons 5-9 downfall.
My View on SpongeBob
OK... where do I even start with this? Let's start with the first few seasons, 1-3. These episodes were really the cream of the crop, the best of the best. The plots were very organized and thought-out, the characters were well-developed, all-in-all a great show. Then there was The Movie. It looked like production of Spongebob was coming to a sto— wait. A fourth season? No way! At first glance this would be a very happy sight for the average Spongebob fan. But they had no idea how wrong they would be. Season 4 was... OK. 75% of them were pretty good (Skill Crane, Krusty Towers, Good Neighbors, Squidtastic Voyage, Karate Island), and the rest... not so much (Whale of a Birthday, Bummer Vacation, Wigstruck, The Gift of Gum, Driven to Tears, Hocus Pocus). Something was... wrong. This wasn't the Spongebob we knew. Then came Season 5. The beginning of the dark ages. Any Spongebob fan could tell at this point that something is definitely wrong, no matter what. "Goo Goo Gas". "The Donut of Shame". "Waiting". Prime examples, especially "Waiting". This episode was a good example of Main/Flanderization, how Spongebob went from a goodhearted, naive guy to a complete Jerk Ass. SB is very obnoxious in this particular episode. Watch it for yourself, you'll see. Then take S1's Help Wanted, and compare the two. Big difference, huh? Then there was Season 6. By now, all the writers have lost all creativity. "House Fancy?" Look at the toenail scene (if you dare). This is just like taking a scene out of Ren and Stimpy. Then Season 7. Good God. The worst of them all. I won't go into too much detail about this one... I have a 400-word limit, you know! I'm about to 300. Seasons 8 and 9, were a bit of an improvement, but not by much. There were a few good ones... Season 8's Drive Thru... um... that's really it. Then we have the upcoming Movie #2. This, and Season 10, I'm really hopeful for, because Stephen Hillenburg is returning to the show (I think), and hopefully he'll put the Spongebob train back on track. The whole reason Spongebob went downhill is because Hillenburg left. He replaced his position as exec producer with Paul Tibbitt. I'm really hoping that Season 10 will be a big improvement to Spongebob, although no matter what happens, Spongebob will always be notable for the Seasons 5-9 downfall.