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SpongeBob SquarePants Season 5 Review

The fifth season of SpongeBob SquarePants continues its downward trend in quality and adult appeal as it plays it squarely for children more often than not.

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“Why, Mr. Krabs? Why does he hate us so?“

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Friend or Foe is amazing! It’s by far the greatest episode of this otherwise clunky season. It offers us an essential backstory to Plankton and Mr. Krabs’ rivalry and it was an ingenious idea to make Krabs just as responsible for his hate. The episode is both entertaining and informative. The Original Fry Cook gives us a rival for SpongeBob in the kitchen and it produced some great, fun anxiety for the sponge.

Night Light is not atmospheric enough unfortunately, Rise and Shine is boring in Patrick’s morning routine, Waiting is a very silly toy-centered episode and Fungus Among Us is quite a forgettable Gary episode. Spy Buddies is an action-packed, fun Plankton episode, Boat Smarts is okay, but again overly short and I do not particularly love this style of episodes. Good Ol’ Whatshisname offers us such a fun competition between SpongeBob and Squidward.

New Digs is forgettable, Krabs a la Mode is far from the most memorable Plankton stories, Roller Cowards is a dull rollercoaster episode, Bucket Sweet Bucket is definitely fun, but still there are too many Plankton episodes in just this one season, thus blunting their impact overall. To Love a Patty is utterly ridiculous in its plot, but it does have its own childlike charms. Breath of Fresh Squidward is a typical episode in its concept, but Money Talks is quite fun in its funny money-centric storyline.

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SpongeBob vs. The Patty Gadget is definitely entertaining, though also as silly as most episodes here. Slimy Dancing is a forgettable dancing episode, but The Krusty Sponge is a fabulous storyline centering on critics and because I always love that particular subject matter, I was loving it here as well. It fits perfectly into this show and I wish more episodes utilized this premise as well.

Sing a Song of Patrick is utterly annoying, A Flea in Her Dome is a fine Sandy outing and we get very little of her in this season sadly, The Donut of Shame is a much ado about nothing kind of affair, The Krusty Plate is far from memorable, Goo Goo Gas is simply ludicrous and Le Big Switch is actually very well developed in its plot and situations and quite engaging for sure.

Atlantis SquarePantis is a special that is over half an hour long, but overall it’s only solid. I loved its setting, its animation and actually some songs are good, but most aren’t, this special shouldn’t have been a musical throughout and, although the characters get their good moments for sure, the overall plot is more silly than substantial.

Picture Day and Pat No Pay are both entirely forgettable, BlackJack introduces this annoying bully and the results are very mediocre, Blackened Sponge is similar to the aforementioned episode unfortunately, but Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob is clearly one of the better of the duo’s episodes due to the introduction of Plankton. It’s a high-concept episode that really works and the stakes are high. The Inmates of Summer, To Save a Squirrel and Pest of the West are all very annoying, uninteresting episodes.

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20,000 Patties Under the Sea isn’t as interesting as it should have been, though it is solid. The Battle of Bikini Bottom is ridiculous, What Ever Happened to SpongeBob? is fine and different, but not as memorable. The Two Faces of Squidward is a silly Squidward becomes handsome storyline that works due to its emphasis on fun animation and humor. SpongeHenge actually becomes better and better with the end result being quite inspired. Banned in Bikini Bottom is stupid, but Stanley vs. SquarePants is well utilized in its premise with the ending being so much fun.

Overall, I liked this season, but the emphasis on silly childish episodes hurt it in the long run. There are some great stories here, but most are too ridiculous.

Worst Episodes: Rise and Shine, Waiting and BlackJack.

Best Episodes: Friend or Foe, Le Big Switch, SpongeHenge and The Krusty Sponge.

My Rating – 3.5