Why People HATED Spongebob Season 4

[@weegee_hates_the_blind]

To me, Season 4 had it's highs and lows. It tried its best to maintain the overall tone of the first 3 seasons. They made use of the new animation style to make some more over the top scenes, but it also lead to a more dull and soulless look that would only get worse as the series progressed throughout the late 00s. My ultimate gripe was that when the episodes were bad, they were outright unwatchable.

[@dabatman5187]

I feel like it was the last season with some actual great episodes

[@andykishore]

I think the first half of Season 4 is quite good.

[@MR-SINISTER76]

​@@dabatman5187 idk i think some episodes from later seasons were good like sandcastles in the sand mimic madness or some of planktons episodes based mainley on him and karen

[@lucas8663.]

I love season 4 except for a few episodes Also honestly the newer SpongeBob episodes don’t really work for me They like are too jumpy and weird

[@dabatman5187]

@@MR-SINISTER76 yeah no what I was trying to say is that it had some episodes that were just as good as classic SpongeBob and had a similar spirit to classic SpongeBob, which is something later season had less of

[@a5tr4l]

As a little kid, I always noticed that season 4 felt oddly different from the previous seasons and I even used to call it “SpongeBob’s awkward phase”

[@andykishore]

Me too.

[@djalexander7723]

That sounds appropriate. It wasn't good but it wasn't awful. There were some good episodes and some bad ones.

[@musicalojay]

@@djalexander7723 I have the same feeling for Season 5. Season 6 is where it REALLY went wrong, especially Season 7.

[@Geminisparkles]

I noticed it too as a kid and usually avoided the episodes 🤣

[@cartertankersley4637]

no you sidnt

[@SuperNintendoChalmers096]

Season 4 is literally a 50/50 Season. It was with Season 1 the most experimental Season trying new types of story, humor and animation style.

[@maxleon61702]

Yep.

[@PaulJeffries56.]

I think season 5 was the most experimental.

[@s1nistr433]

The first half of season 4 and the second half literally feel like completely different shows, with the second half feeling a lot more like 5-8. I wouldn't be surprised if the first half of the seasons were leftovers / half-written scripts by Stephen Hillenburg with the writers filling in the gaps.

[@SuperNintendoChalmers096]

season 5 tried other type of storytelling plots like the shorts, but 4 was the one that felt like a mix between the golden era and the obscure era @@PaulJeffries56.

[@fortynights1513]

@@s1nistr433 The first handful of season 4 episodes are said to be ones where the script was lying around from before the first film, but they hadn't gotten around to animating it in the third season's production cycle.

[@connornoiles2447]

The fact we are even still talking about it shows just how important this show is to so many people

[@Jac0d9]

Especially considering it's a kids comedy. A lot serious shows don't get this much amount of reviews.

[@AlexG-jk8tc]

People hated Season 4 because it was an easy scapegoat. By now, everyone knows the phrase "after the movie, SpongeBob got bad", but that's really just a generalization. Very rarely do shows immediately "get bad" with the first episode back ("Principal And The Pauper" was Simpsons S9E2); it was simply easier to say that the problems began with the first post-movie season.

[@yareyarejose5080]

nah, they hated it cuz there was an obvious change in writing quality. which isnt surprising considering a lot of the old writers left and they got a new director. i remember being a kid and watching season 4 and feeling something was off, and at that point i just stopped watching the show entirely. i can rewatch seasons 1-3, and to this day a friend of mine and i quote some of the episodes from those season, but everything afterwards is pretty bad. before you say that i just hate new spongebob, i actually enjoyed sponge out of water and thought sponge on the run was okay. season 4 just represents the beginning of the characters' flanderization

[@paperdawn]

Ey, thanks for the shoutout! I used to see some of your videos pop up years and years ago! Its super cool to see you still at it :) Really good retrospective on the topic! It was a strange time to be a Spongebob fan for sure.

[@andykishore]

13:06

[@Dimensioneer88]

Krusty Towers is very underrated and I like how it basically makes fun of its own premise.

[@Zequi2006]

Is a really smart episode.

[@PurpleMoon799]

its my favorite!

[@Joe_Kerr_9797]

My favorite episode of Season 4

[@ShadowtheYouTuber523]

It's not, everyone points to it when discussing the best episodes of the season.

[@gnnascarfan2410]

It’s a very self aware episode for sure!

[@TDUShelby]

Good Neighbors was the first time I actually disliked a SpongeBob episode, as a kid. I can appreciate bits of it nowadays, but at the time, I would often change the channel. Season 5, I remember having some personal favorites, such as Spy Buddies and Sandcastles in the Sand. I remember very little about season 6. Slowly rewatching the show has been a blast from the past, and I'm having a great time. What I'll rediscover past the first movie is anyone's guess.

[@Unsubscribbled]

Sandcastles in the Sand is actually from Series 6.

[@TDUShelby]

@@Unsubscribbled Whoops. That era kind of blends together in my head. Point still stands, though.

[@Unsubscribbled]

@@TDUShelby It certainly does.

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

I think Skill Crane and Good Neighbours stated the trend of "most Squidward episodes make him suffer if he cant get with the wacky stuff by Bikini Bottom" and yet I can never bring myself to record over the episodes

[@claykuperus]

@@Thomasmemoryscentral In skill crane at least it was more on squidward for getting so obsessed over the game, on top of the fact he became arrogant and assholish afterwards which made his suffering more justified. Good neighbors though he didn't do shit to deserve the torment he got in that episode

[@neonthunder3261]

Mr. Enter, the production quality on this video is actually pretty impressive and the attempt to capture the mid-late 2000s era internet also feels quite nice. Rare W.

[@fortynights1513]

The internet in 2008 and earlier feels very different on a side note

[@neonthunder3261]

@@fortynights1513 LITERALLY. Wish I could time travel to be there myself. I was vaguely familiar with it but very young at the time, so I witnessed like the late YTP era and a lot of the videos discussed here like MoBros's and PieGuyRulz

[@maxleon61702]

Yep.

[@fortynights1513]

@@neonthunder3261I didn’t go on KZbin much until 2011. The site now for all its issues is far from useless. As for the web as a whole, the biggest difference I tend to notice is that up to 2008 it feels like the internet was a part of life, but far from seemingly the only thing people were on. And in the years since, it feels like everyone is using it for just about everything.

[@casketbase7750]

Mr Enter talking about SpongeBob? Splendid.

[@andykishore]

It's tradition.

[@dmer-zy3rb]

What year is it? Lol

[@0Jmpc]

​@@andykishoreyep.

[@tylerb.gaming762]

Always has been

[@db_41000]

Even at the time (6 y/o at the time) I thought it was strange that Karate Island was voted the best episode of the countdown. I remember liking it as a kid but it was far from worthy of being considered the best SpongeBob episode.

[@chloenieuwsma4846]

Yeah I was mostly just confused. Like what the heck?

[@andykishore]

I was also 6 years old when Season 4 was still airing.

[@katlyndobransky2419]

This was one of my favorite episodes as a kid lol

[@milkbaggy__]

i hated that episode - the visuals were so gross to me :/

[@linearprogramming837]

yeah i liked it but still even nowadays its far from the best

[@TECH097]

For those curious about that Top 20 Worst Spongebob Eps, MoBros actually vehemently disowns his Spongebob videos because he sees how fueled by rage and discourse they were. Since then he's chilled out, not only making new YTPs but also some more level headed reappraisals of the episodes he covered. He even riffed on his old list very recently with his Rant Parody character named Mr. Exit.

[@Jac0d9]

His new channel is called Anim8ball

[@dannykazari]

Really felt like in the mid 00's, all Nick would air was Spongebob seasons 4-6 when the show was on. Seasons 1-3 were not aired nearly as often. And I think that helped contribute to people getting sick of those middle seasons.

[@fortynights1513]

I remember seeing pre-film episodes in those years a fair amount. But the show could have been hurt a certain amount by overexposure in general.

[@eatatjoe]

Oh yeah, I do remember them going all out on airing seasons 4-6 instead of moderating themselves.

[@CDCB2]

4:37 Hey, super cool that you used Nickstory Archives in this video! Could you please cite us in future videos that use information from the site? Thanks!

[@grindsmore]

Yeah @TheMysteriousMrEnter, don't be a Ferris Wheelhouse.

[@Cerracrossing]

Citation added in the description! Sorry, didn't realize I forgot to name you in the editing!

[@CDCB2]

@@Cerracrossing All good, thank you!

[@meguca640]

What’d you think of his tribute to PieGuyRulz?

[@ozziecomedian1786]

Something about season 4’s animation always made it feel recognizable. The graphics seemed to improve while still looking classic at the same time to me.

[@Zequi2006]

SpongeBob with eyebrows 😮

[@tylerb.gaming762]

@@Zequi2006That one scene in wet painters:

[@Zequi2006]

@@tylerb.gaming762 It's just a scene

[@tylerb.gaming762]

@@Zequi2006 yeah but SpongeBob didn’t have eyebrows in every season 4 episode

[@Zequi2006]

@@tylerb.gaming762 I know, but it's one of the most noticeable. Along with season 5 and 6.

[@jamesmoyner7499]

Nickelodeon either has shows end too soon like Life As A Teenage Robot, Angry Beavers, Harvey Beaks, etc or has then last too long like Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents, Hey Arnold, and Rugrats. It is rare for a show to last the perfect amount of time like Avatar.

[@Galvatronover]

I’d put hey Arnold in the former since it lasted the least of the shows you group it with

[@jamesmoyner7499]

@@Galvatronover I personally feel it went past it's prime in season 3

[@fortynights1513]

I’ve heard that Viacom who owns Nickelodeon likes to keep properties around that they know people will watch and advertisers would want to fund as much as any of the big media conglomerates. Probably why they keep SpongeBob going regardless of what people think of it. It has brand recognition after all.

[@fortynights1513]

@@jamesmoyner7499 Hey Arnold question since you seem to be familiar with it: What is the name of the episode where they discover treasure on an island and get arrested for it?

[@DavidDumbedDown]

This comment was made at 14:22 o clock

[@Bruhboyy]

SpongeBob season 4 wasn't that bad. Compared to the seasons after it, it's at least something you can watch without needing to take a break from watching like the other seasons. it had it's good and not so good episodes but It still was a pretty good season

[@ddjsoyenby]

agreed' considering they were forced to make double the episodes with less time it's a miracle it ended up ok enough.

[@ericwest9493]

@@ddjsoyenby I Like the first half of SB Season 4 But the 2nd half sucks

[@MidnightWhisper]

I feel like Band Geeks would've worked in place of Karate Island--it's immensely popular and the ending seems very celebratory for the whole marathon idea and fits the mood. It just fits the ending with a bang kind of thing, though there are certainly many other popular episodes that would've worked, that's just the idea that came to my mind.

[@NickTheEnlightened]

Agreed but then we also have to remember that it was probably a lot of little kids that voted on these episodes. If I had to guess why Season 4 episodes ranked so highly in that countdown it was probably because of recency bias with it being the current season at the time, thus it was the season whose episodes most kids were able to recall easiest.

[@vivaldireal1741]

Chocolate with Nuts is definitely funnier and more iconic

[@MidnightWhisper]

@@vivaldireal1741 Chocolate with Nuts is definitely one of the best episodes! I only went with Band Geeks because it's probably equally loved and ends with a bang so it suits the whole theme they were going for if that makes sense as a celebration, plus it has a lot of slapstick and iconic lines childrens like, but Chocolate with Nuts is a great one too. As for @NickTheEnlightened, I didn't even think about the fact little kids with recency bias might've caused that! It's still weird seeing such a lack of the most popular episodes but that is possible.

[@930bestvideos]

Before watching the video, I think that SpongeBob season 4 is highkey underrated. I consider it part of the show’s golden era.

[@JoseTheAlolachu]

I agree

[@danielsurvivor1372]

Highkey underrated? As in very underrated?

[@thiscat9712]

me too

[@ThePandaAgenda]

@@danielsurvivor1372 yes that’s what they said

[@ShadowtheYouTuber523]

I think it's mediocre but season 5 I'd say is more underrated cuz I honestly thought it was better.

[@prodigy-hu6dy]

It’s a weird full circle where MoBros is parodying your 2013 persona and you’re shouting out his coining of the Squidward Torture P*rn

[@benbushman7687]

I’d say hate is a STRONG word. Then again, I was also 8 at the time of its airing.

[@legendbtv]

Hate is a strong word that’s for sure, that’s what KZbinrs use to reel you into watching the video lol.

[@elliottpak]

Hate is a word people throw around all over the place on the internet

[@FilmPassionprod]

Hate is indeed to strong a word. Yeah everything was off with Hillenburg stepping down, different writers and different animation style but again we were just kids. We didn’t know any of that! So I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the show should’ve ended after movie as intended like everyone else is saying. Remember by that time of 2004-2005 most of the shows we watched like Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Invader Zim, etc (including the shows on CN and Disney Channel) all ended without any explanation, or at least any send off? For us any new episodes was good news. Also remember when we watched the credits and on the other side of the screen there was always a preview of the next new episode for next week. But then after a long while than normal they would stop showing previews and that’s how we know the show was done (and also tells us it’s not one of those hiatus’ that happen after like a few weeks of consecutive episodes or when the season ends because at least the shows came back)

[@joshmontemayor1212]

Honestly, I don't hate the post-1st movie era as much as everyone else does. Yes. There are a good amount of bad episodes in that era, but there are also a few good episodes from that era too like "Roller Cowards" & "Pest of the West."

[@Canyoutakeitallaway]

Dunces and Dragons is a great episode too

[@Vanilla_The_Star_Bunny]

For me I do not like it post 2nd movie

[@BigNateDoggOG]

Season 4 is fire it doesn’t start going to shit till season 6 or 7.

[@benm5970]

@@Vanilla_The_Star_Bunny For me the reason I don’t like the post 2nd movie era is that in terms of its comedy, the over exaggerated animation/expressions and things like that it felt like it was just trying way too hard, like every frame of animation was trying to become another meme worthy face/moment, to the point where it was just really exhausting to watch

[@toxinqwerty]

Pest of the West was dogshit lol

[@TuesdaysArt]

I found you through your collab with Pieguyrulz. Hearing you talk about him warms my heart a little.

[@philly_sports1558]

That promo hyping up Season 4 of SpongeBob airing right after a Season 1 episode of Avatar made me feel so old, man. It’s crazy that was almost 20 years ago.

[@fortynights1513]

The fourth season of SpongeBob and the first of Avatar aired simultaneously. Up through Avatar, only one Nicktoon didn’t see a third season. Then I believe the next seven after that wouldn’t.

[@MsJoyMaeda]

Season 4 was actually around the time I discovered Spongebob. I was 6 years old, looking for something to watch while dad made dinner, and I landed on a season 4 Spongebob episode. Based on nostalgia alone, I really like season 4. As an adult now and after watching seasons 1-3, season 4 isn't as good compared to them. But it holds a special place in my heart.

[@zahkrosis666]

God bless Pieguyrulz. I hope he's doing great.

[@samiam2003]

what happened to him? is he ok?

[@zahkrosis666]

@@samiam2003 Retired off YT out of disgust of how people are online, and his own stress.

[@brytilaar]

Also Cosmodore too. Although that he's a groomer though.

[@dinosori]

Actually Jeanette McCurdy said Karate Island was her favorite spongebob episode. Granted she said this during the Truth or Square marathon 16 years ago, but still.

[@requiem6465]

That guy who yells about squidwards house is a internet treasure

[@tommyg4842]

Goodbye pieguy I’m glad you got some credit here in this video I wished more people talked about you

[@jytvreal]

When season 4 came out people actually liked it and treated it the same along with the previous seasons, i guess when season 6-8 came out people unfairly grouped 4 with it

[@jodigga7]

No we actually realized that a different team made it and learned how different it actually was.

[@moonblossum2546]

I mean he showed evidence of people not liking it even back then. It seemed to be split back in the day then as time went on it became the popular opinion that season 4 is bad.

[@ahadpanjwani6811]

Where do people get this false information from? People hated season 4 when it was airing at the time source: Spongebuddy Mania the oldest SpongeBob forum go read the old posts there

[@jytvreal]

@@moonblossum2546 Those posts back then were from 2006 though and thats when season 4 started to show its bad side

[@Hawkwing4567]

Season 4 is kind of a mixed bag, as was with season 5. When we got into seasons 6-8, that's when things took a nosedive in the series. A few of the episodes that they showed (even before the ones from seasons 6-8) sent the wrong kind of message to the viewers. Rock-a-Bye Bivalve, Money Talks, and Squid Baby among the episodes, sent a bad message to the degree that it did. Is anybody not ignoring the fact that the viewers who watched those episodes witnessed Mr. Krabs, Spongebob, Squidward and Patrick (twice) wearing diapers? Like...how old are they in the episodes? That's not the kind of imagery that should be on a show meant for kids.

[@BebopBerserker]

Been watching since 2014, i remember when the Patrick's a Prick list went up. Glad to have stuck around with you for so long. I wish the best for you dude. I always look forward to seeing you in my feed

[@KerzacTransformed]

I remember watching the Spongebob Top 100 marathon with my step sister, and we were both so disappointed by the final picks

[@fortynights1513]

Fine event, but it started a trend of SpongeBob events that were unrealistically hyped to generate ratings.

[@aidanaylward9237]

Tell me why I thought it said pickle

[@C0DYM4N99]

I'd love to find out where Band Geeks and Chocolate with Nuts placed.

[@fortynights1513]

@@C0DYM4N99 I looked it up, Band Geeks was 38, and Chocolate with Nuts was 45. Also, Sailor Mouth should be higher than 96th.

[@wolfworks7339]

Yeah I don't know what happened there, but I can definitely see why people called shenanigans. You're seriously going to tell me karate island beat out Tea at the Treedome? Bubblestand? Hall Monitor? Suds? FREAKING ROCK BOTTOM?? I don't buy it. If that is seriously how the votes got counted up then something was wrong with the system. The nostalgia alone should have put those episodes above anything from season 4.

[@intheclear3492]

I like season four. Not every episode, but it has plenty of good ones.

[@KyanosOnslaught]

9:13 As someone who found your channel when "Top 10 Patrick's A Prick Episodes" was exploding in the algorithm, it is amazing to see how this Cartoon Analysis Community got its start.

[@alcarbo8613]

The biggest thing that has changed is people like me who grew up watching SpongeBob well into the post-movie era are now adults, and able to provide our perspectives, defending Season 4, 5, and even much of Seasons 6-8

[@fortynights1513]

Also, when people are looking at the show, they are more clearly looking at the show itself and not the hype it received

[@fortynights1513]

@calokifilm6392Unrealistic hype that oversells something can lead to counter opinions that underrate that same thing.

[@lotus_flower2000]

6 to 8? I think "6 and 8" would fit better.

[@DwaveG.]

No, anything past Season 1-3 had a massive drop in quality of the writing.

[@Jac0d9]

That's with any kids show, it gets hated than the people who grow up with it defend it.

[@katlyndobransky2419]

I love how apparently it’s out of character for SpongeBob to be arrogant towards Sandy whereas in Pressure, they all bullied her to the point where she almost killed herself… seasons 4 and 5 were great in their own right. It was around seasons 7 and 8 that things went south

[@vessbear5187]

Killed herself?????? In a kids show?????

[@legendalt123]

​@@vessbear5187Yeah, she took off her helmet and almost drowned

[@SonicmanChannel]

Season 4 is a hidden gem in my eyes.

[@ddjsoyenby]

it wasn't as bad as we made it out to be.

[@SonicmanChannel]

@@ddjsoyenby I always liked season 4 a lot, fear of the krabby patty being one of my favotite episodes of the show

[@toadfan64]

Nah, S4 had some gem episodes, but overall it is a meh season. It's still much better than what followed, but it doesn't make s4 any better.

[@SonicmanChannel]

@@toadfan64 wont disagree on one part, there were some bad ones.

[@shrimpyyyy]

coping

[@lizzy_rascal]

I'm so glad youtube decided to recommend this to me. I used to watch your videos all the time back in the 2000s, but my life got so busy I didn't spend much time on KZbin and i swear I spent years trying to find your channel again but kept getting pointed to rebeltaxi. Your stuff is so underrated yet i basically grew up on it. I fucking love your videos dude. I'm so glad to see you're still uploading.

[@ltmmoviereviewsharrison3462]

To me Season 4 and 5 have some of the most underrated episodes.

[@ShnobbsReal]

Exactly.

[@Peppmintleaf]

I'm so used to youtubers making 2hr+ documentaries on specific topics like this that those 15 minutes almost felt like a preamble to the main topic But either way, it was well edited and the intro animation threw me over a loop. You've came so far Enter as a content creator that it's honestly so inspiring to see you still chugging along all these years later. keep up the good work my guy!

[@Muramasa1794]

Season 1-3 will forever be cherished

[@fortynights1513]

1-3 were great, 4 is not too much worse, then it declined more. I’ve also heard good things about the stuff that Hillenburg worked on when he came back at the end.

[@lotus_flower2000]

With a few exceptions... Does anyone actually "cherish" episodes like "dumped" and "the paper"?

[@NickTheEnlightened]

​@@lotus_flower2000I actually love The Paper LOL, it's such a silly and dumb episode but I also think that's why it's fun to watch. I do agree with Dumped though, that's easily my least favorite episode of the "classic era" and really the only episode of the first 3 seasons that I'd probably place in my Bottom 100.

[@fortynights1513]

@@NickTheEnlightenedThe one that I always see on worst pre-movie episode lists that isn’t that terrible in my book is “I Was a Teenage Gary”.

[@NickTheEnlightened]

@@fortynights1513 Yeah. I'm not crazy about that episode by any means, but it's not bad at all IMO. It is absolutely one of the weaker pre-first movie episodes but that's also not saying too much when practically all of that era is solid outside of maybe like 5-10 episodes at most (and even then I'd really only consider like 3 or 4 to be truly "bad").

[@InvaderWeezle]

I feel like SpongeBob season 4 has a lot of parallels with Rugrats season 4. Both shows were coming off a pause after their third seasons (Rugrats because they originally ended after 3 seasons, SpongeBob because of the movie), and with their fourth seasons came a huge shakeup in the writers' room, as well as a show creator not returning (Paul Germain for Rugrats, Hillenburg for SpongeBob). Neither show's season 4 is as bad as what would eventually come later, but both are where the cracks start to show for problems that would only get worse later.

[@sandalsfish9949]

Hi, Sandals here. I'm not sure if you remember me but this was an awesome video that really captured in detail the history of the season's reputation, why it became that way and why it's soured reputation wasn't quite deserved. In my personal experience, Season 4 is my personal favourite season of all time. The pre movie era was absolutely golden, and it was hard for a somewhat new staff to adjust to the show's formula. What I appreciate about this season a lot is how it attempted to stay true to the show's original tone and style, with similar story structure, brand of comedy, music and atmosphere. I do understand a couple aspects are a bit bugged (leading to things like Good Neighbors being hated for it's ending), but what put it above for me is it's storytelling. Episodes in this season managed to tell stories that are more complex than what came before, even injecting pathos. Some of the show's most emotional episodes like Have You Seen This Snail, New Leaf and Patrick SmartPants were episodes capable of invoking emotion. Other episodes like Best Frenemies, Selling Out and Shell of a Man showed it's share of sweet moments. That was all mixed in with episodes that exist just to be extremely funny such as Bummer Vacation and Krusty Towers. And the comedy overall was as funny as ever. I feel like this season truly offered everything. Even the episodes considered "the worst" like the mentioned Gift of Gum were backed by a solid story (The Gift of Gum being an episode that focuses on SB and Patrick's friendship, and a chaotic climax). The season also showed the best in characters. Mr. Krabs is at his absolute best and most likable in this season, Sandy's character is expanded upon, Patrick gets focus in episodes where he has more personality than just being the idiot best friend, and Plankton having the most intelligent plans in the show's history. They even manage to make the Flying Dutchman sympathetic! And in general, every episode at the very least had something unique or creative to offer, and it never once felt like it retreated what the show had done before but worse. Anyway, that's just my perspective on this season, but it's great seeing people realising what this season of SpongeBob truly means to people, and why it is worthy of being considered part of the classic era. And this video was a really good way to explain where the hate came from, and why it's for the best now that the season's sour reputation is slowly fading away. Enjoyed the video a lot. Thanks!

[@DementedDuskull]

IT is honesty bewildering seeing Mr. Enter mention MoBroStudios, since his Spongebob videos are the reason I found this channel. We've come full-circle, sponge-boys.

[@flyingfist4203]

I didn't realize season 4 was generally disliked back in the day. Always heard the best of spongebob was between the first four and six seasons. Makes me wonder where we will see the various seasons in another decade or when the show officially ends.

[@nascarfanatic2425]

Season 4 is probably the most unique season of SpongeBob SquarePants. It felt like it was trying to re-identify the show while still trying to hold up the glory of what made the show so popular. When I re-analyzed seasons 4-6, that time period was rough, but not as bad as I thought it was. (At least seasons 4 & 5) But even the bad episodes from Seasons 4 through 6 (and there were a lot of them) weren't in a large enough quantity or even bad enough in quality to kill the good will the show had overall. The good episodes they aired during that time I felt kept the show still above the rest. Needless to say, how good SpongeBob SquarePants was in the decade it was most well known for combined with how fun it is to talk about SpongeBob-- whether good or bad-- is why I consider SpongeBob SquarePants the best cartoon of the 2000's, and why it also probably ranks high on a best list of the 2010's. Hell, not factoring in Kamp Koral and The Patrick Star Show, it's still a candidate for the best cartoon of the current decade. And that's more than I can say about other shows that have suffered a seasonal rot. Dexter's Laboratory didn't last long after its seasonal rot started. The original Powerpuff Girls died early into its seasonal rot. Fairly Odd Parents' original run died during its seasonal rot. Family Guy has spent more than half of its entire life in a seasonal rot. You also realize that SpongeBob's seasonal rot isn't as bad as the seasonal rots of the previously mentioned shows. IMO, the worst episode of SpongeBob is SpongeBob You're Fired. That holds NOTHING compared to even the average bad episode of Family Guy. Something like Leggo my Meggo. And we know Family Guy's really bad episodes. Seahorse Seashell Party, Screams of Silence, Herpe the Love Sore, Fresh Heir, Life of Brian, Christmas Guy, Peter-assment, Not All Dogs Go to Heaven, Quagmire's Dad, Quagmire's Mom, Trump Guy, etc.

[@maxleon61702]

And for Family Guy's case, don't forget the one and only, little embarrassment to end all kinds of embarrassments that can single-handedly make Ralph Breaks the Internet, Brave, The Good Dinosaur, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, The Loud House Movie and Cars 2 look and feel even way more superior by comparison: Stewie, is, Enceinte. No seriously, that's the episode where we literally got to have Space Runaway Ideon's Ideon to destroy this one into pieces for once and for eternity.

[@dylandoesbasketball]

season 4 was solid, sometimes i like the re-watchability more simply because i've watched 1-3 so many times and it gets old

[@ShnobbsReal]

Yes.

[@brytilaar]

I like the widescreen format used in your videos. And the Cartoons from 1991 to 2007 Barnyard would always be the Golden Age of Nicktoons.

[@skibot9974]

Personally what I feel is that after the first movie due to Nick’s erratic schedule it became a lot harder to figure out at a glance which seaosn was which. For example July 2009 premiered an episode of Season 5, 6, and 7 in the same week. As a result it was a lot easier to generalize everything after the movie as bad Personally I’m a big fan of 1-5 but I haven’t watched regularly since the second movie. In fact I haven’t watched ANY Spongebob since the 20th anniversary special

[@kootunesscrewy]

To be fair, I'm not really a big fan of Spongebob, other than Season 1, but I will say that there are alot of good shorts like My Leg, Wet Painters, Dying For Pie, Fear of a Krabby Patty and Sir Urchin and Snail Fail. It's just a good comedic cartoon. Not the best as the other ones like Looney Tunes.

[@nsos28]

Dude, I need to watch more of your channel. great editing style and commentary

[@NerdyChocolateLabradoodle]

I'll be honest with you, even back in 2015, which was the year I first discovered the online Spongebob community, I always thought the hate for the mid-season era of Spongebob was extremely overhyped. To me personally, I never thought that Spongebob was outright "bad" per-say during seasons 6-8, just more hit or miss, and even then, I never thought the "bad" episodes were outright unbearable either like they were all too often made out to be, just below average. Seasons 4 and 5 however, I always felt were extremely underrated, mainly because I didn't think there were too many "bad" episodes from those seasons, with many episodes even being up to par with the first three seasons (at least in my opinion).

[@ZekeFreek]

I think documenting old forum threads n order to understand historical trends and opinions is an underappreciated form of preservation. Cool to see.

[@ScootaNinja]

I feel like everyone is in agreement with the real best episode being band geeks. While I like that episode a lot, my personal favorite is the snowball effect.

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

Band Geeks as the big winner of classic Spongebob I cant disagree with. On top of all the usual humour and the introduction of Squilliam, Squidward winning at the end is the icing on the cake

[@wigwagstudios2474]

band geeks is too overrated for me. its good but honestly i like a decent amount of episodes better

[@fortynights1513]

@@wigwagstudios2474 What’s your favorite?

[@wigwagstudios2474]

SB-129 is probably my fav I watch it a lot if i watch SpongeBob

[@ntfoperative9432]

Ok, let’s start a chain guys “The winner takes all, it’s the thrill of one more kill”

[@toganium4175]

Apparently Jeanette McCurdy of all people said Karate Island is her favorite SpongeBob island, though I’m not sure how much weight that holds since (at the time) teen actors aren’t the best critics.

[@andykishore]

Well we know how much Nicckelodeon loves to cash in on their celebrities, even if they are minors at the time.

[@alejandrokudo5463]

1:06 I liked how, when he describes classic SpongeBob, he uses a footage from a modern episode, but when he describes modern SpongeBob, he uses footage from a classic episode.

[@ryanbarth6691]

Oh irony

[@TrevortheTrainFan]

In my opinion, Season 4 of SpongeBob was an okay season. But it’s not as good as the first 3 seasons in terms of writing and comedy. However, it does have some good episodes here and there. I can say the same thing for Season 5.

[@mbdg6810]

Yep

[@augustusfreeman4032]

You can say the same thing for every Spongebob season to be honest.

[@ScooterCat64]

@@augustusfreeman4032 Season 7 would probably be the hardest...

[@lotus_flower2000]

I wouldn't compare season 4 with 5. Some of the season 4 episodes could actually pass as season 3. 5 is where things shifted completely.

[@dannigro8794]

Season four was pretty good but you could tell that the tone was different. However, it did have a lot of good episodes like Where’s Gary and Fear of a Krabby Patty. The problem is when you have a third season, stretched over the course of three years and the writing changes from 2001 to 2004. It’s going to be noticeable and people had a lot of time in those few years when they were rerunning the same 55+ episodes from 2001-2004. It was like Family Guy season four, which ironically debuted that same month it was still pretty good but people can tell it was different.

[@ellieporter3270]

Watched a lot of your stuff back in the day as a teen. This is a quality mini doc, well done.

[@misslady2639]

I always say to myself, if Spongebob ended after the first movie we wouldn't have songs like "Gary come home"

[@PowerRangersFanAntiDinoFury]

Oh my God, please tell me that's in season 4 or 5?

[@PowerRangersFanAntiDinoFury]

Don't bag on someone's love for their pet please lol.

[@SammySesame]

That was from Season 4.

[@jlev1028]

It should've ended with the 10th anniversary special which should've been written better.

[@fortynights1513]

We aren’t implying that no good content came after the first film, but most of us agree that Hillenburg would have gotten what he wanted creatively if the first three seasons were the only ones.

[@cyber-thundr_]

I can see what Nickelodeon tries to do with SpongeBob in Season 4. They try to make the series to go for a more cartoonier approach to it in both that particular season & season 5. The character animation is more reminiscent to the art style of recent Nicktoon shows at that time like CatScratch & The Mighty B, where the character animation is meant to be more playful with the large use of squashing & stretching.

[@pokemonmanic3595]

I was 10 years old when Season 4 was out so it pretty much the first season where I kept up with the show regularly. Many of its episodes are a staple of my childhood: Krusty Towers, Skill Crane, Best Frenemies, Patrick Smartpants, Fear of a Krabby Patty and of course who could forget the legendary Dunces and Dragons as well as Have You Seen This Snail?

[@sasamichan]

I have noticed a trend with people in general but especially with kids they only think about what's new and what' right in front of them. Thats why the best episode of a certain show is always from the current season and why if some one hosts an award show with multiple creators the host gets all the wins and why if a character hero's costume has been worn by many people the one who had the most air time gets remembered. Kids minds are not fully developed which is why they can't decide important things like who wins a contest or what they want to be when they grow up. its why they don't vote. IDK there are lots of names you could give this era. New 52, Post Crisis, Renounce, Sponge Now, All-New All-Different Sponge , Post Disney Trilogy, thee JJ years , The post Gravity Falls Era, XD, The remake era, too woke , Clone Saga, Post One More Day, the revitalization, after the blip, Jumpping the Shark, ABY

[@DiehardtNG10]

Yea I’m 22 And never really had many episodes of the show I didn’t like growing up

[@samsquanch1996]

Season 4 definitely wasn't as bad as the seasons that came after.

[@matthiasrauert8397]

Awesome vid man. Especially the ending made me rly feel things. Can't belief sometimes how long i spent with the show and its utube community.

[@davyjones3105]

Always a pleasure to see you talk about Spunch Bop again

[@giuseppeparry1365]

With the whole marathon thing, it's possible that kids simply preferred the new episodes bc they were new, and they'd probably seen the episodes from seasons 1-3 many times already, either on repeats or on discs (idk what the disc situation for Spongebob was in 2005, but I'm assuming the first 3 seasons were out). I know when I was a kid, every new season I watched was always my favourite, simply bc they were new. I at least think Karate Island was a very different episode, and I can see why some people would rank it as their favourite, even if it wasn't my personal favourite. People like different stuff. Though you're right. I had no idea how S4-heavy the marathon was. It does seem suspicious, but I don't see what advantage rigging the contest would give. I suppose it would save Nick money not making a working system to count votes which people had to monitor, while still getting the promotional material... eh, who can say?

[@FilmPassionprod]

I know, I feel that’s usually them case when kids tend to pick stuff more current. Like i often compared that to when Cartoon Network had that Fancy Anvil awards show and for Best Cartoon classics like What’s Opera Doc and I Love to Singa lost to Mock 5 from Dexter’s Lab.

[@NoahLeeNG]

Season 4 was great in my opinion! when it’s good it’s on par with the first 3 seasons, but when it’s bad it’s not nearly as bad as some of the worst episodes in season 6-8

[@zacharrowood6178]

9:36 that remix of Dreamscape sounds so sick. I know that's not at all the focus of this video but whoaaaa

[@zacharrowood6178]

Wait a second is that the music from that one Mario party 7 map

[@bluemario610]

this video reminded me when I was like "Really? Karate Island was #1?" At the time I just thought too many little kids voted because karate or something, not because the episode was good

[@velocity1852]

Season 4 is really weird in tone but honestly it’s not that different from the forgettable episodes of season 3 like the sponge who could fly or the house party one. You can see why they wanted to stop the show by the end of season 3. My best guess with season 4 is that took a lot of rejected scripts or ideas from 3 and just made them cause the new writers didn’t know what to do. Also side thought, I think season 4s unfunny because there’s something wrong with spongebobs character. It’s like he’s not even there most of the time and when he is he’s sad or just kinda normal. Most of the time he’s just secondary to Patrick, Sandy, or Squidward. It’s like they literally didn’t know what to make him say

[@JoeDan54]

What's funny is that this is still my favorite season of the show. Skill Crane and Driven to Tears in particular still rank highly with my favorites Also very interesting to see abney317's name show up here, he's known today for being the GOAT of Mario Kart 64

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

Skill Crane is hilarious I love when the crane says Loser

[@lightningdude4282]

What are you doing here, JoeDan?

[@fortynights1513]

Was Spy Buddies in this season?

[@thepandorica1660]

​@@fortynights1513season 5

[@Oneforus21111]

​@@fortynights1513 s5

[@codytidwell5086]

Season 4 is the first season I remember airing from beginning to end. Watched every episode as they aired and I remember, even as a kid, feeling like a certain “spark” was gone. Still enjoyed the show at the time but some episodes were just DOA: Good Neighbors, Funny Pants, The Gift of Gum….

[@j.m.turner1756]

I always loved Season 4. I grew up with it and the first three seasons all together, and thought of them as a whole (and Season 5, too, kinda).

[@digitalzealot7026]

Omg exactly. A lot of classic episodes that ppl love are from this season. The "downfall" of SpongeBob is more gradual, so it's unfair to draw a harsh line between the "good" and "bad" seasons by cutting it off from seasons 1 - 3.

[@digitalzealot7026]

@Calokifilm I don't understand~

[@tunakann7629]

I'm so glad Mr enter has continued to upload and improve

[@cedenoa001]

So in a way: Pieguyrulz indirectly created the cartoon community.

[@benpopalisky1168]

Watching this brings back memories from about 10 years ago of watching videos on bad SB episodes.

[@pendazareyrodriguez]

As a SB fan, I own the first four seasons and a dvd of his best moments which hold the “pilot” episode and I never knew season 4 was hated. I could see why, but some episodes are good

[@joadarium9605]

The security system TAKES CONTROL OF SQUIDWARD’S HOUSE

[@MetaKnight964]

From what I heard people loved it until season 6 onwards.

[@PowerRangersFanAntiDinoFury]

Which leads to a first 100 episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants on DVD release. SpongeBob was awesome in it's first three seasons, but season 4 and season 5 had enough going for it that made it watchable.

[@PowerRangersFanAntiDinoFury]

I hate SpongeBob SquarePants season 6 onwards... I don't even remember most of those seasons. I'd rather stick with the memory of what made it good

[@SNAAAAAKE92]

7:40 Why does this episode make me wanna blast “ STFU”by Filth Frank I would really appreciate the lyrics “nobody even wants you here“

[@zayncuriosity23]

I consider Season 4 to be an absolute classic season. Seasons 1-4 were some of my favorite cartoon content of all time. I was never aware people hated it.

[@TheGamingSiri]

Ultrawide user here. Very impressed with the editing work on this one, it really offered it a cinematic feel most YT videos don't have, in spite of its short length. One thing I'll mention is the blur effect on the laptop scene was a little off. I'd recommend feathering the blur a lot more when doing shots like that in the future, or try to get a more dynamic angle of the laptop (if not both).

[@carlblaskovich2812]

Is this like your first KZbin video?

[@davemac9563]

Season 4’s first half made me hopeful. The animation was different and the style changed, but the humor was still present and it showed SpongeBob could evolve and still be funny. But the second half, or at least starting with good neighbors, it sort of started the decline of SpongeBob so quickly

[@fortynights1513]

I read somewhere that some of the early season 4 episodes were scripts that they’d already written pre-movie but hadn’t animated.

[@pepearown4968]

@@fortynights1513Yes. Episodes like Selling Out were like that, which is why it’s one of the best in the season, and best episodes past seasons 1-3.

[@writteninstars]

Man, I remember watching the episode where Mr. Krabs forced SpongeBob to work for 24 hours as a kid all the time right after it premiered. Also remember the ‘Best Day Ever’ promo too.

[@princessaur]

Oh man, I miss PieGuyRulz. I hope he's doing well.

[@Prollan06]

He said recently that he's leaving youtube (in a community post)

[@princessaur]

​​@@Prollan06 I know. That's why I hope he's doing well lol.

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

​@@Prollan06why?

[@Prollan06]

@@kittykittybangbang9367 Mainly because his channel has been stagnant for a long time and because he isn't the same anymore. You can still read the full post in his channel if you want the full version

[@0Jmpc]

Poor Cosmo.

[@JeremyBelpoisX]

This was a very insightful video on a subject I honestly didn't give much thought to for years. I hated Nick for milking SpongeBob and leaving everything else to dry out while greenlighting the worst content ever (Sanjay & Craig, Fanboy and ChumChum, Breadwinners, etc) but then... something happened. The bad content went away. While I got into other things, I noticed SpongeBob got better. And the people who I thought would or should never stop ranting about the "ScumBob days"... did just that, like you. We've changed, but I'm glad we've all had that weird transitional period and I wish us all luck for the future. (And man do I miss the KZbin you showed off in the beginning of chapter 4, lol)

[@MemeJuiceVids]

Season 4 was alright. I saw new spongebob on tv recently and it didn't feel like spongebob at all

[@duglife2230]

I have a lot of nostalgia riding on Season 4 and 5, personally. l was born in 2000, so I was just "gaining consciousness" around those years, so these, along with reruns of s1-3 were some of my first memories of SpongeBob. 4 and 5 don't hold up as well as an adult, especially with all the Squidward torture, but I cannot fully write them off due to the nostalgia I have for them.

[@mooseman3027]

Episodes like Fear of a Krabby Patty, Shell of a Man, The Lost Mattress, Krabs vs. Plankton, Skill Crane, Have You Seen This Snail?, Dunces & Dragons, Bummer Vacation, Born to Be Wild, Best Frenemies, and even Wishing You Well could probably fit very well in the pre-movie seasons, so yeah, Season 4 has it's ups and downs

[@ronbee8525]

You said season 12 and 13 and I audibly went "MY GOD is it STILL ALIVE?" D:

[@BradenINSANE]

It's interesting that you use Pieguy footage considering he just thought season 4 was okay

[@diarawisteria2218]

That's because that's part of his point. Then again, you seemed to make this comment before fully watching the video.

[@diarawisteria2218]

@Calokifilm No? Mr. Enter uses the footage of Pieguyrulez in exactly the way Braden says he does--using it as an example of someone who just thought S4 was okay. The only reason it would be "interesting" is if Mr. Enter had used it as an example of literally anything other than what it was. I would believe that Braden, who made the comment when the video had literally been out for less than two minutes, said that pre-emptively due to the thumbnail. So Braden judged the video by its thumbnail, making a "point" that was disproven by just...watching the video.

[@ArsonRaboot]

7:54 You have mentioned Whatever Happened to Robot Jones a fair amount of times before (Teenage Robot and Pickle & Peanut to name a few) but i don't think you've given your full opinion on it. I'd really like to know, because it's my favorite cartoon and this makes it seem like you don't like it.

[@ScatMonkey777]

How I see Spongebob could be categorized: S1-3: The Golden Era S4-5: Post Movie Decline S6-9 Part 1: Dark Ages S9 Part 2-S11: Post Sequel Renaissance S12-13+Spinoffs: Milking a dead cow

[@JuanGomez-ke5py]

S12 13 the ironic self-aware era

[@TheHolyCrapGuy]

S1-4 is the golden era

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

7:55 - 7:58 *"Online polls can get some strange results sometimes..."* Haha, that brings back memories of a different kind, mainly 2004 with Nickelodeon's U-Pick Live's Old School Pick. Mainly... lots of manipulating the polls using an auto-clicker so You Can't Do That On Television would actually win / air on both days where it was a choice.

[@MxCartney_Lou]

I just rewatched season 4, and I loved it….same with Season 5 (except Atlantis Squarepantis) the quality tipped DRAMATICALLY in season 6 in my opinion

[@theluckiesteh9058]

You know, Mr. Enter is actually a pretty good historian.

[@josiahtheawkward6008]

0:32 this rant makes me laugh every single time

[@zaccaryvega]

6:07 bruh this actually got a chuckle out of me

[@jytvreal]

Mrenter is finally talking about season 4?

[@4wingedowl]

This was a very informative video and i would love to see more like this in the future from you!