# 10 Years of SpongeBob SquarePants **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801 "2009-07-13T00:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/81 "2009-07-24T18:54:03Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > “Coin-operated self-destruct…not one of my better ideas.” Reminds me of : Plankton: “Watch out Krabs, you will never catch me once I shift into maximum overdrive!!” Krabs catches Plankton, with out exerting any extra effort. Plankton “I knew I should have sprung for the turbo” ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/82 "2009-07-24T19:02:20Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Spongebob the lifeguard. “If I knew that being a life guard meant guarding peoples lives, I never would have signed up.” And related : “This working out thing, isn’t working out.” And “Just the thought of Mrs.Puff being in jail, scared and alone, makes me feel scared and alone.” ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/83 "2009-07-24T19:10:55Z")
From Bubble Buddy: [Spongebob has made a Soap Bubble Dummy.] At a line for the only Port-a-Head [IIRC] at Goo Lagoon: Spongebob (to a line of people waiting to use the facility): “My best friend is in there” First Random fish in line “Congratulations” Spongebob: “It’s his first time” F.R.F: “Once agian, Congratulations” [Time passes] Second Random Fish: “I’m going in there, 2 hours to wait is long enough!” Bubble buddy orders one of everything at Krusty Krab: Spongebob: “Uh, Squidward, you forgot his drink” Squidward “Oh, here you go, a bottle of our finest Cham…poo” And IIRC, also at the end of this scene, Squidward adds "If there is anything else I can do, please **hesitate** to ask. The entire Bikini Bottom population grows tired of Bubble Buddy in short order. They huddle around Sponge and bubble, a few of them holding needles. Spongebob “Is this one of those sewing circles I keep hearing about?” Later, everyone grows angry at Spongebob and Bubble Buddy Yes, I own the first four seasons of Spongebob on DVD. And I’m 26. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/84 "2009-07-24T19:14:52Z")
Around 2001, I’d heard of Spongebob, but I thought it was a little kid’s show. Like for preschoolers. I was 19 or 20 at the time so I had no interest in it at all. Then it got left on in front of me once and it was the episode where they were saying cursewords but they sounded like dolphin noises. I have rarely ever laughed so hard at a tv show. Part of it was the shock of the show being so NOT what I thought it was, but it wasn’t a fluke. The show is brilliant. > [@mobo85](#): > > Named one of the top 100 television shows of all time by _TIME_ magazine I think it’s one of the top 5 television shows of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/85 "2009-07-24T20:29:40Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Here’s the VH1 special: [Square Roots](http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?id=1614584), from the directors of _I.O.USA._ Hey thanks a lot for the link!!! I don’t get VH1 and I was mad I was gonna miss it. But the dopers come through again ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/86 "2009-07-24T20:42:24Z")
Another favorite I saw recently was the one where Ms Puff gets fired and they bring in a hardass shark drill instructor to teach Spongebob driving lessons. That obstacle course scene is great. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/87 "2009-07-25T14:28:36Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Spongebob has a lot of subversive humor, and for that I salute this show! spongebob%20transcript%20season%202/spongebob%20transcript%20Artist%20Unknown.html]this Spongebob fansite for transcript) SB also has a lot of submersive humour. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/88 "2009-07-25T18:56:05Z")
My LEG! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/89 "2009-07-26T00:03:51Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Around 2001, I’d heard of Spongebob, but I thought it was a little kid’s show. Like for preschoolers. I was 19 or 20 at the time so I had no interest in it at all. Then it got left on in front of me once and it was the episode where they were saying cursewords but they sounded like dolphin noises. I have rarely ever laughed so hard at a tv show. Part of it was the shock of the show being so NOT what I thought it was, but it wasn’t a fluke. The show is brilliant. > > I think it’s one of the top 5 television shows of all time. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it’s unquestionably in the top twenty or twenty-five. What I find fascinating about it are the remarkable similarities between it and “Ren & Stimpy.” I’d assume this is simply a matter of them coming from the same studio, but (suprisingly, to me) there isn’t a lot of crossover between the people who made the two shows. Ren and Stimpy was sublime (the first run, anyway; the later, homo-joke Adult Swim version was atrocious) but I cannot help but feel that SpongeBob is the real premium product, while R&S was just the warmup. R&S was hysterical at times but uneven; SpongeBob is consistently first rate and appeals to any age. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/90 "2009-07-26T01:55:32Z")
Some friends and I were having this conversation at the bar the other night. We’re all 30+ and were all perfectly willing to say we enjoy it. The thing I always like to point out to others to display that the show is NOT just for kids is the episode “Karate Island.” The whole thing is a gimmick on a Bruce Lee film and turns out in the end SpongeBob and Sandy’s entire adventure was a scam to get them to buy timeshares! Brilliant, and nothing a kid would understand. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/91 "2009-07-26T14:35:27Z")
Gorgon Heap: > [@](#): > > The whole thing is a gimmick on a Bruce Lee film No, it was a send-up of Kill Bill. Uma Thurman, Quentin Tarantino. No Lee. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/92 "2009-07-26T14:45:42Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > No, it was a send-up of Kill Bill. Uma Thurman, Quentin Tarantino. No Lee. No, it was _definately_ a send up of Bruce Lee’s final movie, _Game of Death_. Bruce, in a yellow tracksuit with black trim (used by Tarantino in _Kill Bill_ as an homage to Bruce Lee), goes upstairs in a building with a different, unique opponant (one was actually Kareem Abdul Jabar) on each floor. At the top floor is the head bad guy…except in _Game of Death_ he was trying to _kill_ Bruce, not sell him a condo. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/93 "2009-07-26T17:56:51Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Gorgon Heap: > > No, it was a send-up of Kill Bill. Uma Thurman, Quentin Tarantino. No Lee. No, it was definitely Game of Death. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/94 "2009-07-27T04:43:45Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What I find fascinating about it are the remarkable similarities between it and “Ren & Stimpy.” I’d assume this is simply a matter of them coming from the same studio, but (suprisingly, to me) there isn’t a lot of crossover between the people who made the two shows. I can not speak on the topic of Ren and Stimpy being related to Spongebob. (I would however, agree with you.) But then again, I would say that most of the currently run Nicktoons have a certain class of humor across the board, that is Strictly Nick. (See: Oddparents, Jimmy Neutron, Barnyard and Penguins of Madagascar ) \*\* Rocko’s Modern Life on the other hand, is another story. \*\* The creative producer for Rocko, is none other that Spongebob creator [Stephen Hillenburg.](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0384864/) ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/95 "2009-07-27T11:28:46Z")
I’d say Spongebob was the Ren And Stimpy formula applied with restraint. There are one or two ealry episodes where the ‘close-up, highly detailed, gross-out’ style that Ren and Stimpy used was applied to Spongebob. I didn’t know if it was a homage or if the same people were involved. I am, however, very happy Spongebob didn’t spin wildly off into wierdness like Ren and Stimpy did. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/96 "2009-07-27T14:07:08Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > Mr Krabbs: I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that hat makes you look like a girl > > Spongebob: Am I a pretty girl? Krabs: :nervous: “Well, uh, you’re beautiful.” :Priceless look on passing mailman’s face: Patrick: “Gone to store to buy more giant paper. P.S. Happy Leif Ericson Day! a hinga-dinga-durgen!” ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/97 "2009-07-27T14:18:05Z")
I guess SpongeBob and R&S have a few similarities here and there- mainly their quirkiness and use of stock cues (often in an ironic fashion) for background music- but SpongeBob rarely goes the gross-out route R&S went unless absolutely neccesary (“The Splinter” is a great example- by making SpongeBob’s splinter as gruesome as possible, we both feel SpongeBob’s pain and laugh at his overreactions to it). I think most cartoons Nick has had since R&S- Rocko included- have something “Nick” in their DNA- hard to explain, but sort of an ironic, zany, subversive humor. It works, and it works for SpongeBob. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/98 "2009-07-30T04:41:47Z")
Then again, there is the episode where Plankton takes Krabs to court for negligence over not having a wet floor sign. Some of the fun included:: Spongebob [To Krabs, in front of Krabs’ Lawyer] : “Hi Mr.Krabs, I’m here to practice my testimony.” Krabs: “Uh, that’s ok Spongebob you see, you are more of a uh…” [Krabs lawyer whispers into Krabs’ ear] Krabs: “A liabillity” Later in the episode, Spongebob bawls his eyes out, complaining that he was called a Liability. Another gem in the episode: Krabs’ Lawyer: “In fact, I Think we should counter sue, for everything that Plankton has” [Krabs’ Eyes then pop out of his head, and form the size of two HUGE gold bars.] Krabs’ Lawyer: “Does he always do that?” Squidward: “No, most of the time, they are silver.” ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/99 "2009-07-31T18:16:53Z")
I loved the Krusty Krab training video, and the “SB-129” episode they always show with it. Squidward on his back with his legs in the air saying “FU-TURE!..FU-TURE!..FU-TURE!” cracks me up every time! Rock Bottom was a great one too, with the language barriers (you had to talk making a pbbbt!" sound after every word) and Spongebob trying to catch the bus that would never come until he walked away from the bus stop. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801/100 "2009-07-31T22:28:17Z")
Jettboy: > [@](#): > > Bruce, in a yellow tracksuit with black trim (used by Tarantino in Kill Bill as an homage to Bruce Lee) Ah, my apologies. I recognized Sandy’s track-suit as the one Uma Thurman wore on the Kill Bill posters, and didn’t realize that they themselves were a reference to a specific earlier movie. Likewise, I recognized that the plot of Kill Bill was the Bride facing off one-on-one against a series of differently-skilled opponents, like the Spongebob Episode, but did not realize that a Bruce Lee movie also had this plot and was, to boot, set in a building to fight floor-by-floor, which was even more so referenced in the episode. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-years-of-spongebob-squarepants/502801.md?page=6)