Haven’t written anything on the forums for a while!
Anyway, since I don’t even have basic cable in my room (I’m not a TV-watcher at all, really), I see my SB episodes through the DVDs that come out. Noting that folks are still waiting on “Wigstruck” from another thread, I thought I’d briefly review the 7 episodes that came out on the “Whale of a Birthday” DVD (which includes that episode.) Since it appears that I might be reviewing episodes that many of you haven't seen yet, possible small plotline spoilers may follow:
“All That Glitters”: 2/10
As I mentioned on another thread earlier, this is one of the worst episodes of SB that I’ve seen. OK, there are a few funny lines here and there, so I’ll give it a 2. But what is it with SB and nudity? (See below)
“Whale of a Birthday”: 4/10
This one was OK at best, nothing special. Definitely better than “All That Glitters.” Loved Mr. Krabs’ comment about it being more appropriate for Pearl to have her bedroom on the ground floor.
“Once Bitten”: 6/10
I thought this episode was awful the first time I saw it. This was mainly because Gary’s behavior didn’t make any sense. The episode was better the second time through, since now Gary’s behavior could be accounted for.
“Chimps Ahoy”: 10/10
This is one of the best SB episodes I’ve seen, in any season. The whole concept of Sandy’s bosses coming over to critique her inventions was very clever, and it also helps us head-scratchers understand what Sandy was doing in an underwater tree dome in the first place (“Doesn’t make much sense, when you get right down to it,” as Dr. Marmalade put it, one of the many great lines in this one.) If I had a gripe, it would be that the plotline is a bit too close for comfort to “Texas.” I keep expecting “Mister Doctor Professor Patrick” to ask Spongebob “Do you think she knows the Muffin Man Song?” after Sandy finishes hers.
“Bummer Vacation”: 7/10
This is one of those rare episodes I did end up catching on TV, but I tuned in about 3-4 minutes into the episode, and so I didn’t know which one it was. Overall good concept that was executed well, but could have been better. Patrick laughing at his static-filled TV was classic. Like the thread that reviewed this episode, I too thought the Krusty Krab action figures part was clever.
“Wigstruck”: 9/10
This episode is very good. Spongebob comes across a ridiculous-looking wig and wears it everywhere, not realizing that everyone’s laughing at him, not with him. Overall, I think they’ve captured the essence of Spongebob’s naivete fairly well here. Sandy, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward all have hilarious exchanges with Spongebob as they see the wig (and the fact that Spongebob loves it) for the first time.
“That’s No Lady”: 7/10
Not a bad episode by any means. Like “Wigstruck,” the writers captured Patrick’s stupidity fairly well. The ending was just terrible and again leaves me wondering (as with “All That Glitters”) what it is about this show’s seeming obsession with nudity. Oh well.
