Pokemon Original Series Scorecard

Pokemon Original Series Scorecard

Filler episodes in red

Indigo League

Pokemon, I Choose You!: 9/10

Pokemon Emergency!: 8/10

Ash Catches a Pokemon: 7/10

Challenge of the Samurai: 6/10

Showdown in Pewter City: 8/10

Clefairy and the Moon Stone: 9/10

The Water Flows of Cerulean City: 7/10

The Path to the Pokemon League: 3/10

The School of Hard Knocks: 7/10

Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village: 8/10

Charmander - the Stray Pokemon: 10/10

Here Comes the Squirtle Squad: 9/10

Mystery at the Lighthouse: 8/10

Electric Shock Showdown: 9/10

Battle Aboard the St. Anne: 8/10

Pokemon Shipwreck: 8/10

Island of the Giant Pokemon: 10/10

Beauty and the Beach: 5/10

Tentacool and Tentacruel: 7/10

The Ghost of Maiden’s Beach: 8/10

Bye Bye Butterfree: 10/10

Abra and the Psychic Showdown: 8/10

The Tower of Terror: 9/10

Haunter vs. Kababra: 8/10

Primeape Goes Bananas: 8/10

Pokemon Scent-Sation!: 4/10

Hypno’s Naptime: 8/10

Pokemon Fashion Flash: 7/10

The Punchy Pokemon: 9/10

Sparks Fly for Magnemite: 7/10

Dig Those Diglett!: 6/10

The Ninja-Poke Showdown: 9/10

The Flame Pokemon-athon!: 9/10

The Kangaskhan Kid: 4/10

The Legend of Dratini: 6/10

The Bridge Bike Gang: 8/10

Ditto’s Mysterious Mansion: 10/10

Electric Soldier Porygon: 8/10

Pikachu’s Goodbye: 10/10

Holiday Hi-Jinx: 5/10

Snow Way Out: 8/10

The Battling Eevee Brothers: 9/10

Wake Up Snorlax!: 8/10

Showdown at Dark City: 9/10

The March of the Exeggutor Squad: 8/10

The Problem with Paras: 7/10

The Song of Jigglypuff: 8/10

Attack of the Prehistoric Pokemon: 8/10

A Chansey Operation: 8/10

Holy Matrimony!: 10/10

So Near, Yet So Farfetch’d: 8/10

Who Gets to Keep Togepi?: 7/10

Bulbasaur’s Mysterious Garden: 8/10

Princess vs Princess: 7/10

The Purr-fect Hero: 8/10

The Case of the K-9 Caper!: 8/10

Pokemon Paparazzi: 8/10

The Ultimate Test: 9/10

The Breeding Center Secret: 9/10

Riddle Me This: 9/10

Volcanic Panic: 10/10

Beach Blank-Out Blastoise: 8/10

The Misty Mermaid: 8/10

Clefairy Tales: 9/10

The Battle of the Badge: 7/10

It's Mr. Mime Time!: 8/10

Showdown at the Poke-Corral: 8/10

The Evolution Solution: 8/10

The Pi-Kahuna: 9/10

Make Room for Gloom: 7/10

Lights, Camera, Quack-tion!: 9/10

Go West, Young Meowth: 10/10

To Master the Onixpected!: 8/10

The Ancient Puzzle of Pokemopolis: 8/10

Bad to the Bone!: 9/10

All Fired Up!: 8/10

Round One: Begin: 8/10

Fire and Ice: 8/10

The Fourth Round Rumble: 8/10

A Friend in Deed: 6/10

Friend and Foe Alike: 3/10

Friends to the End: 5/10

Adventures on the Orange Islands

Pallet Party Panic: 9/10

A Scare in the Air: 8/10

Pokeball Peril: 9/10

The Lost Lapras: 9/10

Fit to Be Tide: 9/10

Pikachu Re-Volts: 10/10

The Crystal Onix: 8/10

In the Pink: 8/10

Shell Shock: 8/10

Stage Fight!: 9/10

Bye Bye Psyduck: 8/10

The Joy of Pokemon: 7/10

Navel Maneuvers: 8/10

Snack Attack: 8/10

A Shipful of Shivers: 8/10

Meowth Rules!: 10/10

Tracey Gets Bugged: 9/10

A Way Off Day Off: 8/10

The Mandarin Island Miss Match: 7/10

Wherefore Art Thou, Pokemon: 6/10

Get Along, Little Pokemon: 8/10

The Mystery Menace: 7/10

Misty Meets Her Match: 8/10

Bound for Trouble: 9/10

Charizard Chills: 10/10

The Pokemon Water War: 8/10

Pokemon Food Fight: 8/10

Pokemon Double Trouble: 8/10

The Wacky Watcher!: 8/10

The Stun Spore Detour: 8/10

Hello, Pummelo!: 9/10

Enter the Dragonite: 10/10

Viva Las Lapras: 9/10

The Underground Round-Up: 8/10

A Tent Situation: 8/10

The Rivalry Revival: 9/10

The Johto Journeys

Don't Touch That 'dile: 8/10

The Double Trouble Header: 9/10

A Sappy Ending: 7/10

Roll On, Pokemon!: 7/10

Illusion Confusion!: 8/10

Flower Power: 8/10

Spinarak Attack: 8/10

Snubbull Snobbery: 7/10

The Little Big Horn: 9/10

The Chikorita Rescue: 9/10

Once in a Blue Moon: 7/10

The Whistle Stop: 7/10

Ignorance is Blissey: 10/10

A Bout with Sprout: 5/10

Fighting Flyer with Fire: 8/10

For Crying Out Loud: 6/10

Tanks a Lot: 6/10

Charizard's Burning Ambitions: 10/10

Grin to Win!: 7/10

Chikorita's Big Upset: 9/10

Foul Weather Friends: 8/10

The Superhero Secret: 9/10

Mild n Woody: 8/10

Wired for Battle: 9/10

Good Quil Hunting: 8/10

A Shadow of a Drought: 8/10

Going Apricorn!: 8/10

Gettin' the Bugs Out: 8/10

A Farfetch'd Tale: 7/10

Tricks of the Trade: 9/10

The Fire-ing Squad!: 9/10

No Big Woop!: 6/10

Tunnel Vision: 6/10

Hour of the Houndour: 9/10

The Totodile Duel: 8/10

Hot Matches!: 8/10

Love, Totodile Style: 5/10

Fowl Play!: 8/10

Forest Grumps: 8/10

The Psychic Sidekicks!: 8/10

The Fortune Hunters: 9/10

Johto Leagues Champions

A Goldenrod Opportunity: 9/10

A Dairy Tale Ending: 9/10

Air Time!: 10/10

The Bug Stops Here: 8/10

Type Casting: 7/10

Fossil Fools: 7/10

Carrying On!: 8/10

Hassle in the Castle: 8/10

Two Hits and a Miss: 7/10

A Hot Water Battle: 8/10

Hook, Line, and Stinker: 6/10

Beauty and the Breeder: 8/10

A Better Pill to Swallow: 6/10

Power Play!: 9/10

Mountain Time: 7/10

Wobbu-Palooza!: 9/10

Imitation Confrontation: 9/10

The Trouble with Snubbull: 8/10

Ariados, Amigos: 8/10

Wings N Things: 6/10

The Grass Route: 5/10

The Apple Corp!: 7/10

Houndoom's Special Delivery: 8/10

A Ghost of a Chance: 9/10

From Ghost to Ghost: 9/10

Trouble's Brewing: 9/10

All That Glitters!: 5/10

The Light Fantastic: 6/10

UnBEARable: 3/10

Moving Pictures: 9/10

Spring Fever: 8/10

Freeze Frame: 9/10

The Stolen Stones!: 7/10

The Dunsparce Deception: 8/10

The Wayward Wobbuffet: 8/10

Sick Daze: 7/10

Ring Masters: 9/10

The Poke Spokesman: 8/10

Control Freak!: 9/10

The Art of Pokemon: 6/10

The Heartbreak of Brock: 9/10

Current Events: 8/10

Turning Over a New Bayleef: 5/10

Doin' What Comes Natu-rally: 6/10

The Big Balloon BlowUp: 6/10

The Screen Actor's Guilt: 7/10

Right On, Rhydon!:7/10

The Kecleon Caper: 9/10

The Joy of Water Pokemon: 6/10

Got Miltank?: 6/10

Fight for the Light!: 8/10

Machoke, Machoke Man!: 9/10

Master Quest

Around the Whirlpool: 8/10

Fly Me to the Moon: 10/10

Takin' It on the Chinchou: 7/10

A Corsola Caper!: 9/10

Mantine Overboard!: 7/10

Octillery the Outcast: 8/10

Dueling Heroes: 9/10

The Perfect Match!: 10/10

Plant It Now…Diglett Later: 8/10

Hi Ho Silver…Away!: 8/10

The Mystery is History: 8/10

A Parent Trapped!: 8/10

A Promise is a Promise: 8/10

Throwing in the Noctowl: 7/10

Nerves of Steelix!: 9/10

Bulbasaur…the Ambassador: 7/10

Espeon, Not Included: 8/10

For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll!: 8/10

Extreme Pokemon!: 8/10

An EGG-sighting Adventure!: 6/10

Hatching a Plan: 8/10

Dues and Don’ts: 10/10

Just Waiting on a Friend: 7/10

A Tyrogue Full of Trouble: 6/10

Xatu the Future: 6/10

Talkin’ ‘Bout an Evolution: 8/10

Rage of Innocence: 8/10

As Cold as Pryce: 7/10

Nice Pryce, Baby!: 7/10

Whichever Way the Wind Blows: 6/10

Some Like It Hot: 6/10

Hocus Pokemon: 9/10

As Clear as Crystal: 7/10

Same Old Song and Dance: 6/10

Enlighten Up!: 7/10

Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up?: 8/10

Wish Upon a Star Shape: 6/10

Outrageous Fortunes: 8/10

One Trick Phony!: 7/10

I Politoed Ya So!: 8/10

The Ice Cave: 5/10

Beauty is Skin Deep: 8/10

Fangs for Nothin: 7/10

Great Bowls of Fire!: 8/10

Better Eight Than Never: 9/10

Why? Wynaut!: 6/10

Just Add Water: 8/10

Lapras of Luxury: 8/10

Hatch Me If You Can: 8/10

Entei at Your Own Risk: 8/10

A Crowning Achievement: 7/10

Here's Lookin At You, Elekid: 8/10

You're a Star, Larvitar!: 8/10

Address Unown!: 10/10

Mother of All Battles: 9/10

Pop Goes the Sneasel: 8/10

A Claim to Flame!: 8/10

Love, Pokemon Style: 8/10

Tie One On!: 10/10

The Ties That Bind: 10/10

Can't Beat the Heat!: 10/10

Playing with Fire!: 10/10

Johto Photo Finish!: 9/10

Gotta Catch Ya Latter: 9/10

Hoenn Alone!: 6/10

Movies

The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back: 7/10

Pokemon 2000: The Power of One: 6/10

3: The Movie: 9/10

4Ever: 6/10

Heroes: 7/10

Nick Yearly Recap 1993

Nickelodeon Yearly Recap 1993

Weinerville (3/10)

Once a upon time, there was a guy named Marc Wiener. He created a sketch comedy for Nickelodeon appropriately named Weinerville. Its format is an audience-participation comedy series that focuses on Weiner and his puppets making a show. I tried watching some of it online and what can I say? It's such an unpleasant watch I had to endure while doing my marathon that I almost abandoned due to me being busy watching non-Nick shows. I personally find the show unfunny. It's just a bunch of random humor crammed in for 30 minutes. Normally when I do these reviews, I tried to make it through a whole series as much as possible, but this show has sealed my decision. I can't even remember what I liked and hated about Weinerville. I did liked the animated skits that show up due to their creative artistic style, and some jokes do provide a chuckle here and there, but it's not enough to wow me entirely. I like puppets, but even these type of characters aren't enough to keep my attention watching a show. It lasted 68 episodes, and I only lasted 10 episodes. Sorry if this isn't an actual review, but you know a show doesn't win me over when I don't have much to talk about. Watch Weinerville at your risk if you want to know where the voice of Swiper the Fox and the map from Dora the Explorer came from. This show really put a pamper for 1993, because thankfully the rest of the new shows Nick premiered during that year were actually some of their finest works yet.

Legends of the Hidden Temple (9/10)

The only new game show to come out of Nick in 1993, it was all about adventures at a hidden temple. Hosted by Kirk Fogg, and starring Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of a talking rock, it features kids participating in quizzes as they explore a temple. It was a very popular game show and by that point, Double Dare was slowly becoming an afterthought.

The Adventures of Pete & Pete (10/10)

I honestly don't know what year to put this show in. I thought it either came out in 1989 (shorts) or 1991 (standalone specials), but it turns out it didn't become a full series until 1993. Anyways, the show revolves around two brothers with the exact same name (to distinguish from each other, they are referred as Big Pete and Small Pete). They both go on their own adventures and encounter in comedic situations. Before it became a series, there were 26 shorts produced in 1989, and between 1991-1993, there were a handful of special episodes. What I loved about this show is how laid back it was. And while it was a comedy, it stands out for being filmed on location (in New Jersey), therefore they did away with the laugh track. Pete and Pete was a show that wasn't afraid to take risks and have fun with its premise.

Rocko’s Modern Life (9/10)
I will review the whole show here due to its importance on animation:

Ranking Pre Movie SpongeBob Part Two

Ranking Pre Movie SpongeBob (Part Two)

79. Culture Shock (8/10)

This is the first episode to be fully set at the Krusty Krab and it's all about setting up a talent show, with Squidward serving as host (and performer). As it's an early episode, the plot revolves around the Krusty Krab financially struggling to keep customers coming to the restaurant. You'll see a bunch of supporting characters in this one, including the second appearance of Plankton and SpongeBob's parents. Though, Sandy literally came out of nowhere in that one scene where she is impressed with Gary's meowing poetry (and she doesn't appear again afterwards). Patrick didn't show up much in this one either outside of a couple times and his only line was laughing at nepotism. The rest of the episode showcases a difference between SpongeBob and Squidward's talent. One showcases his talents through genuine love, while the other showcases his talents in an egotistical way, causing him to be booed off. While this was a good episode to watch, you can tell how much of a narcissist Squidward was throughout it. He seems more concerned about his dancing skills than to watch other people's talents. Fortunately, SpongeBob saved the day by mopping the floor.

78. As Seen on TV (8/10)

The episode starts off rather slow if I'm being honest. The one thing I do like is that Krabs still owns a pet worm (which last appeared on Sandy's Rocket), but we don't see it again after this episode. The episode starts to pick up during the commercial which is as cheesy as you can get with Squidward and Pearl doing acting roles, in which SpongeBob made a big fuss about all because he made a brief appearance twice. Then an old man went up to him and said "he saw him on a commercial" despite the fact that it was a commercial for a cereal brand. Due to this, it causes SpongeBob to let fame get to his head. It's a rather entertaining episode as you get SpongeBob focusing on show business as opposed to being a fry cook. The striped sweater song is easily the highlight of it, since he is doing this while not helping the customers' hunger whatsoever. The episode ends on a satisfying note where he realizes his true calling isn't entertaining the customers, but rather feeding them.

77. I’m Your Biggest Fanatic (8/10)

Many fans assumed the episode was set during the events of I Was a Teenage Gary because SpongeBob and Patrick were getting ready to go to a jellyfishing convention. As for the plot itself, being a big fan of someone is a good thing, but as this episode proves it, looking up to a celebrity doesn't mean much if he or she is a major jerk. Kevin falls under that category and of course, he has a stereotypical bully name. Lots of cartoon characters with that name are assholes for some reason. But what made this episode work is that SpongeBob is very unaware of his actions until the very end and the anchovies stopped being on Kevin's side once SpongeBob saved the day. All of his attempts to impress Kevin were cool to watch as it means repeatedly harming the sea cucumber. But despite his small role, all of Patrick's scenes were just one of the biggest highlights because he just doesn't care about the rules and resorts to touching everything he sees. And although he's right about "hero worship", he spent the whole day obsessing a person in a jellyfish customer.

76. Pressure (8/10)

All of Sandy's appearances during this season so far have a couple things: either some sort of winter arc or being the butt of the jokes. Pressure falls under the latter where it continues the racist aspects of Squirrel Jokes, except it's a competition between land and sea creatures. It handled this prejudice story slightly worse as the sea creatures (SpongeBob and gang) were being a bit too snobby towards Sandy. I don't think they ever apologized for almost making her drown to prove a point. Other than that, it's a fun story, although some viewers will also take notice this land vs sea creatures competition can also equal to another cliched "boys vs girls" trope that a lot of the old cartoons did. (But it was never addressed in the actual episode, so that's a plus) The biggest highlight of the episode is the final few minutes where they all go to land for real. And the SpongeBob crew members will try to remind you that because every single on land sequences will always be done in live action.

75. Bubblestand (8/10)

This is considered the official premiere of the show, and if you don’t count Help Wanted as the first episode, it’s a pretty good start. It established the three main characters very well. SpongeBob is a cheerful sponge who loves to blow bubbles. Patrick is a lovable goofy guy who lives in a rock. And Squidward is the grumpy neighbor who plays a clarinet. As you can see, it’s a very peaceful episode where there’s moments of silence. It’s the definite season 1 episode as no other episode feels this calm. Even though there are a few loud scenes, they can feel odd considering its chill vibes. The only reason this isn’t a perfect episode because like with most season 1 episode, the pacing can feel a little off, but as I mentioned, I go easy on it because of its calm tone. Its plot is as simple as it go and it’s the perfect introduction to SpongeBob outside of the first episode.

74. Hooky (8/10)

The second to last episode of season 1, I was actually enjoying it a lot until the very end. So in this episode, the hooks have invaded Bikini Bottom and Mr Krabs is warning everyone about them but they don’t believe him. He tells SpongeBob a tale about how the hooks came to be and it comes with a consequence. Patrick thinks it’s a carnival. Even though it’s one of the final episodes of the season, you can slowly see Patrick devolving from a goofy starfish to an oblivious starfish who is unaware of the situation. But it works here because he tried to convince SpongeBob to have fun while he slacks off, and in the end, he got what deserved. So does the sponge himself, but personally, I always feel like his punishment was too much for me to handle. Trying to reduce him to a naked mess especially in front of Pearl and her friends feels wrong. And it turns out Squidward can make a good fisherman as he tricked SpongeBob into getting stuck with a hook. All in all, pretty good episode ruined by a mean spirited ending that takes karma too far.

73. Doing Time (8/10)

Mrs. Puff gets her own episode, and while I enjoyed it a lot for giving her more personality besides being the boating school teacher, it can be rather confusing. (No Free Rides did it better without making it one big dream sequence.) After yet another crazy attempt of getting his driving license, SpongeBob accidentally spills all the fruit punch at a retirement house and it led to Mrs. Puff getting arrested. We all know in almost all the boating school during the first 9 seasons, this is going to be a running gag, but here it’s being explored as a full episode as Mrs. Puff actually enjoys being stuck in jail as it’s just as an excuse for her to enjoy not being around SpongeBob. I find myself liking SpongeBob and Patrick’s parts more as it gave us more classic moments especially the bank robbing scene, the rock disguises, and Patrick liking chili. And there’s a character in this episode named Donna and its easy to guess her sexual orientation due to having a deep voice. The biggest downfall of the episode is how it ended. It’s so confusing, you don’t know whether the whole event of the episode is real or not. There’s a dream within a dream. Yeah, the All Just a Dream trope can affect an episode’s quality a bit.

72. My Pretty Seahorse (8/10)

It's springtime at Bikini Bottom and SpongeBob waters his flowers until he finds out that a seahorse (he named her Mystery) keeps eating them. They have fun together, but things go south when Mystery keeps eating things. So Mr. Krabs tells a story of how he let go of something precious (which was his money) and convinces SpongeBob to let go of Mystery. All is well until she ate Krabs' money. Another good season 3 episode and it revolves around SpongeBob getting a new animal as a buddy. Plenty of humorous moments and most of them of course came from Patrick, who didn't show up that much (like putting his sweater away under the sand, simply walking away from SpongeBob after being called a stupid animal, and that final scene). Oh, and a scene where Scooter and Squidward both get their butts kicked by Mystery for no reason. But my personal favorite joke has to be the running gag where someone gets teary eyed and there's onions in front of them. On a behind the scenes note, this is the first animated episode written by Kent Osborne and he's off to a good start before he move on to work on different shows over the years.

71. Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm (8/10)

The season 2 finale focused on Sandy's toughness and it ends on a pretty good note for her character arc after a season of being used as mockery and hibernation. A giant worm is eating everything at Bikini Bottom and only Sandy can stop it while Patrick suggests pushing Bikini Bottom somewhere else. SpongeBob spends the whole episode being a little annoying since he’s constantly worrying about Sandy potentially being in danger and this time he become a gloating guy when it turns out he was right. I do like that chase scene as it showcased SpongeBob and Sandy finally working together after constant arguments. Also, I forgot to point this out, but the CGI in that scene looks very amateurish that it looks like it came out a PS2 game. As abrupt as that ending was, it was kinda funny to see the worm landing on the Bikini Bottomites and he simply let out an “ouch” sound.

70. Hall Monitor (8/10)

The second episode that has to do with boating School in some capacity (SpongeBob serving as Hall monitor from Mrs. Puff's school). However, he takes too much advantage of his duty and turns the downtown area into a mess. It’s a funny episode where Patrick once again consume most of its comedic moments. Every thing he does in this episode is just a riot, especially screaming at the wanted maniac post. There’s a really perfect visual gag where the sky literally turns dark. It could’ve been a bit higher but there’s one major flaw: SpongeBob’s actions of turning the downtown into a mess is good and all, but eventually as the episode went on, he becomes oblivious to what damage he has caused. And the episode ends pretty much what you expect: Mrs Puff in jail, her first time in the series and it’s pretty much going to be a recurring joke.

69. Prehibernation Week (8/10)

The very first episode of season 2 to primarily focused on Sandy, it kickstarted her little story arc where she plans to do these extreme sports before she go on a deep slumber for the winter (subtle foreshadowing for her next big role). SpongeBob is reluctant to do them because he thinks they're dangerous, yet Sandy keeps pushing him to get involved and he repeatedly gets hurt. All of this bothers him so much that he decided to hide from her and it causes Sandy to lose her mind and destroy downtown Bikini Bottom after a failed attempt to "find" SpongeBob. Despite all the torture Sponge went through, this was a pretty good installment for him and Sandy. SpongeBob has every right to avoid doing extreme sports after what Sandy put him through. But at the same time, the search party is my favorite scene as it showcases the cluelessness and apathy of the Bikini Bottomites. After spending at Patrick's rock for a little while, Squidward decided to be a snitch and let SpongeBob on the loose, reuniting with Sandy. It ends on a good note for her as hibernation just started.

68. Karate Choppers (8/10)

SpongeBob and Sandy were already established karate choppers during their first meeting. About 20 episodes later, there would be an episode where they engage in karate. This would get in the way of SpongeBob’s job and Mr. Krabs would threatened to terminate him if he continues to do it. It happened anyways due to Sandy interfering and SpongeBob being the workaholic he is, doesn’t take it very well. Mr. Krabs keeps promising to him to stop doing karate, but then he finds out they are still doing it at the gym and this gives him an idea. The episode ends with Sandy actually getting a job at the Krusty Krab where she and SpongeBob are using their karate skills to make the Krabby Patty. Cue to a funny one liner from Squidward where he hates everybody. People will mention that this episode is one big metaphor to sex because of SpongeBob and Sandy taking their obsession of karate to a whole new level. (Of course it's a kids show, but it's pretty much played out like an addiction) It's full of really funny moments, but it can feel a bit repetitive in the beginning with how it's played out. Also, it seems like SpongeBob and Sandy were equally good at karate, but afterwards, Sandy had the advantage due to being physically stronger. The show won't have another karate themed episode until another three seasons.

67. New Student Starfish (8/10)

SpongeBob invites Patrick to the boating school so Patrick won't feel left out. But it turns out being a classmate is more than what SpongeBob wished for. After messing around at class, Patrick drew a picture of Mrs. Puff and she pinned the blame on SpongeBob, causing her to remove a star noodle. After an argument in the locker room, they are forced to have detention after the end of the class. When they see the egg is frozen, they saved the day. Very good episode, and it provided plenty of quotable moments, especially the “funnier than 24” line. And of course, it is yet another feud episode between SpongeBob and Patrick, something that happens almost every season. Here, it was handled decently and after spending in dentition hating each other, they set their difference aside and become friends again. On another note, this won’t be the last time Patrick has some involvement with the boating school, and it will also tear apart his friendship with SpongeBob.

66. Squid’s Day Off (8/10)

As the second episode of season 2, it still had some growing pains for the crew to get used to the then new art style. The episode is about Squidward getting put in charge of the Krusty Krab after Mr. Krabs gets injured. However, Squidward being Squidward decided to give the duties to SpongeBob to do some errands (which is being lazy) and he slowly goes crazy when he thinks SpongeBob might mess up as a boss. It's a pretty good episode with some fine comedic moments. Squidward is portrayed as this paranoid person who fears SpongeBob will screw up being in charge of the Krusty Krab and while it's mostly played for laughs, they execute it perfectly. Every passing visit leads to Squid losing his mind until he believes Sponge's behind on everything (including a toilet and a pair of corals that sounds like his laugh). He goes crazy and while he convinces SpongeBob he is done with his errands, SpongeBob points out to Squidward the whole episode could've been avoided if they forgot to close the Krusty Krab. Given it was Sunday where no one was there, the writers will try to make this consistent where it functions like Chik-fil-a: closed for no reason other than maybe religious reasons. My personal favorite moment is where Squidward imagines SpongeBob and Patrick as bigger idiots than they already are.

65. Tea at the Treedome (8/10)

Three segments in, and the show decided to introduced a main character who comes from Texas and is a squirrel who is obsessed with karate and science. The writers did a great job introducing a character who be part of the main character and they established her personality perfectly: beating up a clam. That character’s name is Sandy Cheeks, the first female character on the show to appear on the show. Season 1 went heavy with having SpongeBob and Sandy’s interactions and it made some of the fans ship them. This episode makes it very obvious that SpongeBob wanted to impress Sandy due to their different lifestyles. But after taking advices from Patrick, he soon finds out that breathing air is harder than it looks: Sandy lives in a dome with a big tree and it functions like you’re out of water, which gave SpongeBob so much trouble. While there are some good moments out of it (like “I NEEEEEED IT!”, it can be a little hard to watch SpongeBob slowly dehydrate over time and it didn’t took until the very last scene for Sandy to notice this big problem for her visitors: a water helmet is the solution if they want to keep visiting her.

64. Jellyfish Jam (8/10)

For a season 1 episode, it doesn’t really feel atmospheric, but rather it’s an episode that is heavy on sound. And the main plot point is the jellyfish loves jamming out to music that sounds an awful lot like Get Ready For This, which came out a few years earlier at this came out. SpongeBob invited one jellyfish to his house to dance to rave music, but it turns out that jellyfish is too attached to the music so literally overnight, it attracted more jellyfish to crash in at SpongeBob’s house. According to Squidward, the rave has been going on for 18 hours. He tried to balance out the noise by playing clarinet. So in Bubblestand, he actually played it very well, but it was this episode that established Squidward being a mediocre clarinet player (that Plankton already pointed out in his debut episode). And since then, it’s a running gag that every time this happens, the characters will cringe in fear at the sound of the instrument. The show don’t have continuity but his clarinet got broken during the house rave party but the next time we see it, it will be repaired. The episode ends with some of the most interesting visuals and music up to that point. I forgot to point out that this is the first time in the show to use CGI animation (SpongeBob’s pineapple bouncing + that and a brief shot at the end of the song animated digitally).

63. The Secret Box (8/10)

Another episode with a limited location and set of characters. SpongeBob and Patrick are the only ones to speak to each other (outside of one scene with Gary, who somehow learns how to say other words besides meow). The entire episode is all about SpongeBob’s desperate attempts of knowing what’s inside Patrick’s secret box. The dialogue mostly consisted of conversations between SpongeBob and Patrick and how they keep their secrets. It can be a bit boring at times (especially the scene where SpongeBob tries to not make so much noise at Patrick’s rock, and yet it didn’t wake him up but him speaking did). Patrick was this close to calling off their friendship over a box, but in the end, what was inside it was just a piece of string. Little did SpongeBob know, it was actually an embarrassing picture of him at the Christmas party. And don't forget about the best moment: Squidward's Easter Island house is alive, something that will be a recurring gag in the show.

62. Rock-a-Bye Bivalve (8/10)

This is the episode that made headlines for the wrong reasons: SpongeBob and Patrick raised a baby clam together, and the always sensitive conservative parents assumed they were raising it like the normal gay parents. The writers did a great job not trying to be subtle about it, yet it didn't stop the moral guardians from making a big fuss. What this episode succeeded at is how its plot showcased the differences of SpongeBob and Patrick raising the baby clam whose name is Junior. SpongeBob is portrayed as the mother who is the babysitter and functions like a traditional housewife, while Patrick is your typical bumbling father who is lazy and useless. Patrick's way of work is just him watching TV and the twist surrounding that his workplace was just being neglectful was funny. This of course leads to the two of them fighting like a married couple until they find out that Junior has been learning to fly this time, making their parenting a success (sort of). Very entertaining episode, it's a great way to scare all those sensitive Christians if they want to see the best representation of same sex couples in animation.

61. Scaredy Pants (8/10)

It's a Halloween episode and the plot is all about SpongeBob being repeatedly called a scaredy pants because he’s easily scared of everything. So he decided to out scare everyone by dressing up as a ghost (better known as The Flying Dutchman, in which almost everyone in town wants to dress up as him), but nothing seems to work until the very end. Very good Halloween episode that is also the first holiday themed episode. As you can tell, this episode only airs during October. It showcased SpongeBob’s tendency to get scared very easily and they executed perfectly on the idea as he tried to get his revenge by being a ghost. People will say the Bikini Bottom residents are being jerks for their actions but let’s be honest, they have always been horrible towards SpongeBob even during the classic seasons. They just rarely get punished but here they actually do and it’s not as frequent as it would become in later episodes. Besides its scary theme, it’s notable for the first physical appearance of the Flying Dutchman, who is of course voiced by a man who celebrates his birthday every Halloween and his ghastly sounding voice sure fits the casting. He’s the highlight of the episode, who show up in town because he was getting tired of being mocked by everyone who decided to dress up as him. In the end, it was SpongeBob that end up being the scary one.

60. The Smoking Peanut (8/10)

One day at the zoo, SpongeBob and Patrick were trying to take a picture of a clam (whose name is a SeaWorld reference), but after throwing a peanut to her, she has a rampage. Honestly, while it starts off a bit slow (and even Patrick acknowledges the slow beginning as he wanted some entertainment), the rest of the episode is really exciting. At first, the plot wants the viewers believe that SpongeBob and Patrick were criminals and are somehow responsible for everything they went wrong at the zoo. While the police did end up arresting Patrick (which he takes no part of this as the peanut incident was SpongeBob’s doing), SpongeBob spent most of the episode being worried about this crime. It played out like a mystery and the writers’ execution on it was just outstanding. By the final scene, it seems to be the biggest culprit for the event of the episode was Mr. Krabs being greedy. At that point in the series’ run, it was clear that he’s not the nice father figure he was known for in the first season, so be expecting more antagonistic roles and he does get his just desserts for his actions.

59. Pranks a Lot (8/10)

Ah yes, the very last episode ever of the original run. It focused on SpongeBob and Patrick trying to find an item to fool everyone in Bikini Bottom. After rejecting a few of them, they found the perfect item: an invisible spray. However, the clerk warned them about the fact that it strains clothes, so in order to play with it, they must be completely naked. During a fight, they accidentally made their clothes disappear, so they accidentally get caught being mocked by the residents. This gives SpongeBob an idea: being invisible means they can become ghosts and scare the whole city. They succeeded but they only need Mr. Krabs left to scare. They almost outsmart until they stopped being ghosts (the water turned them visible again). After explaining what happened, Mr. Krabs has no hard feelings with the duo until the episode ends with them being publicly humiliated. What a hell of a way to end the show, am I right? Good episode, but I’m sure glad that wasn’t the final episode of the actual series. SpongeBob and Patrick got their punishment, but it doesn’t scream series finale to anyone. Even SpongeBob getting promoted to assistant manager is more a finale feel than this. It’s very funny (although not as funny as its sister episode), don’t get me wrong, but it would be sad if the show ended this way. On another note, I did like that subtle Ghostbusters reference in one scene. Also I noticed that due to Sandy’s reduced screentime in season 3, this is the only time we see her treedome during the season.

58. Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy (8/10)

SpongeBob and Patrick are dressed up as their favorite superheroes and want to meet them, but they find out they’re retired as they currently live in a retirement home. They find never ways to come out of retirement but to no avail. It’s not until painting their invisible boat that caused them to fight back after being pushed to the limit. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy can still fight at their age but it seems like their only allies are their fellow senior citizens. What can I say? While it’s not their best episode as there’s a few episodes that are clearly better, it’s a good introduction to two superhero characters voiced by two recurring guest stars who always delivered funny line reads. They are sadly no longer with us, but the episode at the time stood out as it served as a reunion of their 60s navy comedy. Due to early installment weirdness (or most likely because this was their first encounter with each other), MM & BB are noticeably rude to Sponge and Pat as opposed to their next appearances. While MM has a fear of evil which still pops up in later episodes, he’s just as rude to the duo as Barnacle Boy is normally is (and even after this episode, BB still has his grumpy sidekick personality). Both of them can’t stand the two of them so much that coming out of retirement was the only way to get rid of them. At the end, they are back saving the day and they get a new series as well. Which have me thinking: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy basically lives in a reality show.

57. Boating School (8/10)

Another early episode where it introduced another important character. But it was a character who existence only to be because of meddling executives. SpongeBob is supposed to be an adult, but at the network’s request, in order for the target audience to see him as this childish adult character, they have send him to boating school run by a pufferfish simply named Mrs. Puff. The episode established that SpongeBob is a horrible driver and he has failed the test 38 times. Her first line established her character perfectly: she finds SpongeBob unpleasant and as the show goes on, his very existence is enough to traumatize her. I always consider her the female Squidward because they both don’t like him. For this episode only, Patrick is smarter than usual who helps SpongeBob conquers his fear of failing the boating test. But things start to go south when Mrs. Puff finds out SpongeBob is cheating from Patrick. I don’t mind these boating school episodes but you can tell how most of them are going to end. SpongeBob getting over his fear of driving and then something affects the plot that getting a drivers license is pretty much pointless. And Mrs Puff goes to jail (in this episode’s case, she went to the hospital).

56. Rock Bottom (8/10)

One day in Glove World, SpongeBob and Patrick take a bus. But they did not realize they were leaving Bikini Bottom. They got themselves in a pickle as they arrived down to a dark place called Rock Bottom. Patrick somehow found a way to go home while SpongeBob is stuck trying to find a bus. However, he keeps failing. Lots of viewers will call this a frustrating episode because of how many times SpongeBob has missed the bus. I got a theory why this episode happened: in the beginning, he repeatedly hit the bus driver with the glove balloon and he actually he didn’t paid for the ride. Because of that, the bus driver purposely tried to avoid SpongeBob as much as possible. It can get repetitive seeing him to miss the bus, but it’s a relatable experience for those who have missed a bus before. As this is season 1, it’s more focused on the struggles of trying to home as opposed to being a funny episode. I do like the touch of Rock Bottomites being only to communicate by blowing a raspberry in their sentence. After many failed attempts (including trying to consult the guy in charge of the bus station), SpongeBob finally got home by his own balloon after an angler fish tied the thing after finding it (when he shows up earlier in the episode, I always thought he stole it). What made the ending stand out from the rest of the show is that it actually ended with a bubble transition (and Patrick still hasn’t gotten off the bus yet).

55. Squirrel Jokes (8/10)

It’s comedy night at the Krusty Krab, and Mr. Krabs introduced a well known comedian and have the audience throw pies at him. SpongeBob, the respected fry cook, signed up to start off his comedy career. He has no standup experience, so he starts off on an awkward note. Cue crickets from the audience until he starts to joke about Sandy (specifically her species). This wins over the crowd that the next night, he tries doing other type of jokes after a serious talk from Sandy that they want to hear more offensive jokes. Sandy is rightfully offended and throughout the episode, she is harassed for being a squirrel. So she decides to get back at SpongeBob by being a dumb hillbilly. This is an interesting episode to discuss because it’s revolved around racism. SpongeBob wasn’t trying to offend his land squirrel friend, but the audience think otherwise who turned her into a laughingstock in town. The show always does a job at tackling serious topics that they still feel relevant over 20 years later. I’ll be honest with you, I’d rather listen to SpongeBob’s standup comedy than whatever the hell MAGA’s attempts at telling jokes. It’s rooted in bigotry, but it’s not as painfully unfunny as pronoun jokes. The ending had a good moral that it’s okay to laugh at everyone as long as you’re not being too offensive. The episode ends as SpongeBob tried joking about Patrick…

54. Missing Identity (8/10)

This episode’s plot is told through flashbacks. One stormy night at the diner, SpongeBob recalls how he lost his name tag. He didn’t noticed his missing tag until someone points it out to him and for a few times he (and Patrick) had a panic attack. The whole episode is basically SpongeBob trying to retract his steps on where he lost it. Patrick doesn’t help much but laugh at SpongeBob’s pain, but in the end he was the one that found the name tag. So, this is a flashback episode that has a high replay value. The name tag is a plot device that only exists for this episode (no other episode has acknowledged the Krusty Krab employees wearing one), but it’s very easy to know when SpongeBob lost it. I don’t have a good eye contact, but as he points it out, his shirt was backwards the whole time which means he prepared his day in a clumsy manner. It’s very complicated, but it still made by being a well written episode with plenty of funny sequences. Personally the highlight had to be SpongeBob trying out snail food and he got disgusted at it. The way the episode ends is hilarious - the woman at the diner isn’t named Betty (it’s the name of another woman who left her tag).

53. Your Shoe's Untied (8/10)

Patrick shows SpongeBob his new shoes even though he only uses them for his hands. SpongeBob tries to teach him how to tie shoes, but he doesn’t learn how. Throughout the episode, SpongeBob takes desperate measure on how to tie a shoe from the town but all of them are either shoeless or simply useless. The Flying Dutchman shows up and he showcase SpongeBob the wonders of laces, but even after all that, he’s just a ghost that doesn’t have legs. In the end, it’s Gary that solved the problems. It’s the start of season 2, and you can tell the animators at Rough Draft and Burbank were trying to adjust to the newly digitally animated style after only one season in cels. Even the backgrounds feel a bit off and there’s a couple frames where the characters are too off-model (like Squidward looking at the grill). Early season 2 was just the growing pains as they still look very much season 1, but with brighter colors. They would adjusted to this very quickly as the season goes on. For the sake of this episode, they retconned SpongeBob’s skills of typing his shoes since he actually done it in Rock Bottom (which was a few episodes earlier). So I’ll try to make a huge confession: I’m on the same boat as SpongeBob in this episode - I am horrible at tying shoelaces, let alone making a knot in general. It’s very relatable for those struggles at making bunny ears and that’s why I stick with lace less shoes. I really liked that little cameo with Painty the Pirate (for one second you thought the theme song was about to play). The Flying Dutchman’s appearance is a bit random since he doesn’t really solve SpongeBob’s dilemma, but it’s a good scene regardless. It ends on a really great and educational note - it can teach viewers on to tie your shows. It’s performed by Ween, a band that Hillenburg admired (their song Ocean Man would be used in the first movie credits).

52. Employee of the Month (8/10)

A normal day at the Krusty Krab turned into a competition between the two only employees, who are both neighbors. After getting tricked by Krabs that Squidward might show up on the employee of the month wall, SpongeBob takes it personally and decides to outsmart Squidward so he can continue his streak. However, Squidward repeatedly tells SpongeBob that the award is just a scam and after being bothered by it, he decides to win one himself. It gets out of hand by the end of the episode as there’s no declared winner. Honestly, this is a fun episode, but I can’t help but noticed how out of character the SpongeBob and Squidward dynamics are. You rarely see the two act so competitive. It’s also unusual to see SpongeBob feel threatened and constantly angry at Squidward since he’s always joyful around him. Squidward is out of character by the sense that he actually gives a crap about his job. Of course, he never wins employee of the month because he’s a very apathetic cashier and doesn’t have the best customer service, but when SpongeBob keeps reminding him about his winning streak, that’s when he decides to take the award seriously. For the next few minutes, we are treated a bunch of Looney Tunes-esque gags where they outsmart each other. They call truce but then forget about it as they tried rushing down the Krusty Krab. The episode ends on a sour note since we all know that no one wins.

51. Pickles (9/10)

One day at the Krusty Krab, Bubble Bass made a very detailed order and tricked SpongeBob thinking he forgot about the pickles. This causes him to lose focus on making a Krabby Patty. Mr. Krabs let him have the day off from work in order to think again. However, the Krusty Krabs starts to suffer without SpongeBob’s presence as Squidward is not a good cook, so Mr. Krabs try to get SpongeBob back. This episode is story and character driven so the jokes take a backseat as you tried to feel sympathy for SpongeBob’s failure of delivering a simple order. Bubble Bass is introduced perfectly and the writers wanted to make him a recurring character by being SpongeBob’s rival, but sadly they never did much with the guy. He was barely in any episodes during the first 9 seasons until they decided to have him be a part of the supporting cast as of the 10th season. He’s a love to hate character and I don’t mind him, but you can tell during his first scene, all the writers could think of was how out of shape he was (and in his final moments where he run away, clearly wheezing). This is one of Mr. Krabs’ best roles as he’s portrayed as the father figure who tried helping SpongeBob get his mojo back. The episode starts off fine, but as soon as he tried to get SpongeBob focused again, these final few minutes feel like an actual western showdown where SpongeBob try to make sure he deliver the order correctly. And the plot twist was executed perfectly as it’s turned out Bubble Bass was just a big fat troll who was messing with SpongeBob and hid so many things. The episode ends with Squidward getting booed because he’s both rude to customers and is a terrible fry cook.

50. Suds (9/10)

After leaving the fridge open all night, SpongeBob gets a case of the cold (or in this case, the suds). After calling Sandy, Patrick tries to warn him about the doctor and try to be a doctor to fix the problem himself. But he keeps making things worse and SpongeBob have become a ball. Sandy found out about what Patrick been doing and decided to take SpongeBob to the doctor, but they both fought over him. One treatment at the doctor and SpongeBob's back to normal. Patrick decided to get himself one, but apparently it's different. Not season 1's finest, but it's very memorable mostly for the fact that Patrick faked being a doctor. His attempts to fix SpongeBob after coming up with a conspiracy theory about the doctor is just funny. This is one of the first time Sandy interacted with Patrick and you can tell Sandy doesn't have the patience to deal with his stupidity. So when you see them interact with each other, that will be their chemistry. The ending is worth it for giving SpongeBob a happy ending and Patrick some karma for making SpongeBob's health worse.

49. I Had an Accident (9/10)

SpongeBob breaks his behind during a ski trip at Sand Mountain so the doctor orders him to stay at him house at all. But Patrick and Sandy want SpongeBob to go outside for a change, and their attempts to convince him keep failing until something crazy happens in the last few minutes. This does actually make SpongeBob go outside but he gets caught into the action. It's what you expect for a late pre-movie episode - it's on drugs. It had a very wacky premise and the longer it went on, the crazier it got. As I mentioned in the Suds section, Sandy doesn't get along with Patrick as much as SpongeBob and she spent most of the episode dealing with Patrick's stupidity (in one scene, she simply punched him). All of their attempts to try to get SpongeBob to go outside were funny. In fact, it didn't take until something was wrong with the second Patrick with the gorilla suit for him to notice what was wrong. This is where the episode got more bizarre and they decided to end on the most random note ever with the a family watching the whole thing and they just turned it off. Worth noting that Squidward appears in this episode, but they were all brief cameos (most of them are just amusing).

48. Krab Borg (9/10)

SpongeBob watches a movie about robots and the next day he thinks Mr. Krabs is a robot. Squidward was convinced at first, but he believes every word SpongeBob said. After repeatedly stalling Krabs and describing all the “symptoms” of his robotic self, they try to interrogate him by breaking his properties. It's such a ridiculous plot, I can't help but enjoy it. The whole robot thing is just funny from beginning to end and it's very quotable. There was one scene where Squidward's father was mentioned and we certainly will see this character many years from now (but that's for another story). Squidward ends up believing every single word SpongeBob and this is one of those times where he is willing to team up with him just to hurt Krabs. This is one of their best teamups because of how much they believe in the whole robot thing and it took until the final couple minutes for Krabs to snap. The destruction of Krabs' properties does feel mean on paper, but it's worth it for how he reacts. However, the episode starts to lose its stream in the homestretch and it ends in an almost similar manner as Squid on Strike.

47. Band Geeks (9/10)

After a phone call from Squilliam, he asks Squidward to cover for his band. So Squidward invites the whole town and chaos ensues. After a failed attempt to get along for 4 days, they practiced hard so that they have a good performance at the Bubble Bowl (an obvious parody of the Super Bowl halftime show, and it even featured stock footage of an audience watching a college football game back in the 80s). For anyone reading this review, you may be wondering why one of the most beloved cartoon episodes of all time is not listed in my top 10 favorites. I think people overrate this episode too much. Don't get me wrong, I understand the hype. You have the whole town involved with the plot and it does make for the best episode ever. But it had its weak spots, like the day three scene (Plankton blowing the harmonica and that just dragged on). The scene where they badly played their instruments can be a little bit on the loud side for my liking. And while I get that the final scene is iconic, there's better scenes out there. But other than that, I do enjoy the episode a lot, it's just not my favorite of all time. Patrick, of course, provides some of the most quotable lines of the episode where he really thinks mayonnaise is an instrumental and he pushes Sandy's buttons by kicking her, which leads to an ass kicking. My favorite scene of the entire episode outside of those humorous moments is the one where SpongeBob has a realization of what the band has done after letting Squidward's hopes down and make a pep talk, which sets up the happy ending. You don't see that type of ending for Squidward very often, so cherish it as much as you can if you watch anything from the post-movie seasons.

46. Squidville (9/10)

After SpongeBob and Patrick destroyed Squidward’s home by messing around with the reef blower, Squidward decided it’s time to move out of the neighborhood, so he move in to a place where octopi are the only species residing. He enjoys living at Tentacle Acres at first until he realizes how repetitive his daily routine have gotten over the next few days so he tries to spice things up. He causes a ruckus at the town while angering his fellow octopi. It's a really fun episode that showcases how much Squidward need SpongeBob and Patrick in his life, no matter how much they drive him crazy. I like seeing the reef blower from the season 1 episode of the same name again (it even plays the same track during the second half of that episode), as it gave me S1 vibes. "I hate this channel" should be quoted more often if you see anyone puts a crappy channel on tv (like cable news networks). Tentacle Acres feels like a metaphor for a conservative city cause the guards are racist towards anyone who don't share a species with the residents and they have a tendency to start a riot if someone question their way of living. Squidward ends up being dissatisfied with the how the city is, so he ends up moving back to his original home. All this while he never noticed SpongeBob and Patrick being there.

45. Mid Life Crustacean (9/10)

Mr. Krabs is starting to feel old during his normal routine. So, SpongeBob and Patrick gives him a night out so he can feel young again. It doesn’t go well with Krabs and after some advice from Patrick, he accidentally sneak in at his own mom’s house. A night out went wrong as he’s grounded. Ah yes, here we are - the episode got unfairly banned. I wonder which scene caused someone to make a big fuss about it that it warranted a ban. Because if it was that panty scene, I didn't see what's so wrong about it other than the fact that it was accidental on Krabs' part. It's not like it encouraged children to be perverts and do the same thing. A shame it's gotten the Stark Raving Dad treatment cause the actual episode is full of great moments. It takes advantage of an aging character's arc and has him join his younger friends for the ride. It's just a bunch of nonsensical youthful adventures. The funniest part is SpongeBob and Patrick yelling so loud they woke Squidward up. And not let's forget Patrick riding on top of a fish. But "Can you feel it, Mr. Krabs" is such a classic scene. It's close to being flawless, but the episode kinda starts to lose its stream in the final act, and it just ends abruptly with Krabs being grounded.

44. Patty Hype (9/10)

During a period where the Krusty Krab is struggling to receive customers, SpongeBob has an idea. He suggests the Krusty Krab could serve Krabby Patties in different colors. However, Mr. Krabs and Squidward laughed at the idea, so SpongeBob decides to open his own restaurant. With the help of Patrick, they serve it to one customer and all of a sudden, it’s a success. When Mr. Krabs wants to see for himself, he takes over but angry customers come to bite him in the butt. Very good episode with such an interesting plot. So, this episode opens similarly to Culture Shock where the Krusty Krab are struggling to find customers. Instead of attracting a talent show, Mr. Krabs tried to attempt many ways of the Bikini Bottomites to notice his restaurants, but they all failed. And that's where SpongeBob's idea comes into play. The part where Krabs and Squidward mocked him making a colorful patty was on the mean side. They really thought SpongeBob making his own patty is a bad idea. He ends up proving them wrong by making profits out of them. Honestly, even if these patties didn't end any side effects, I would've loved to eat them. Maybe that's why the Burger King SpongeBob meal reminds me of a Pretty Patty because the bread is yellow. The whole thing Krabs taking over the Pretty Patties business feels sudden, but the ending makes it worth it as he gets his karma after exploiting the customers and after he mocked SpongeBob's idea. So when the writers know when Krabs goes too far, he will get what's coming for him.

43. Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy II (9/10)

SpongeBob wins a conch signal during a Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy themed contest. He use it to alert his favorite superhero, but he abuses the power that it gets taken away from him. To cheer him up, the duo send the day with SpongeBob. While they are trying to ditch SpongeBob, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy encounter their enemy the Dirty Bubble. I consider this installment of Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy an improvement over their first appearance. Mermaid Man is slightly more likable here, although Barnacle Boy is still portrayed as the grumpy sidekick who is annoyed with the guy that admires him. I feel like the comedy lands much better here than the first one (the contest getting SpongeBob's name wrong, all the ridiculous requests to help MM & BB, the Atomic Flounder, the Batman parody song sung in the style of Jingle Bells), and they set a percussor for the iconic second season. It's not perfect though - the climax is resolved a little too quickly and MM & BB did ditch SpongeBob during their time together because they were getting tired of him. Oh, and this is the last episode animated in cels. They sure ended the first season on a high note. If it ended with Hooky, it'd be too mean spirited to end it with that considering how the episode ended.

42. Opposite Day (9/10)

After a fake happy birthday surprise, Squidward is fed up with SpongeBob and Patrick’s shenanigans, so it’s time for him to move out of the neighborhood. After a phone call with the realtor, Squidward declares its Opposite Day and tricks SpongeBob about it. SpongeBob and Patrick milks it for all their worth while the realtor comes in. But it ends up being too much for her once she sees there’s a bunch of people named “Squidward.” Opposite Day seems to be a very mixed episode. People either find it unfunny or they think it's one of the funniest episodes of the first season. I fall under the latter. Season 1's comedy isn't the strongest, but this episode is where it shined for the majority of the time. Almost every scene here lands - from the fake birthday surprise, the montage of doing the opposite, SpongeBob and Patrick imitating Squidward, and that realtor losing her minds over the many "Squidwards" (with a really great performance from Sirena Irwin). My only flaw is the whole scene of SpongeBob destroying his home. It felt a bit contrived and I noticed Squidward wasn't following the Opposite Day rules when he called SpongeBob the worst neighbor ever. And it's kinda hard to tell if he was really playing the charades if this was all an attempt to move out. The episode ends too quickly, but it's still amusing. I'd ranked this episode my 10th favorite episode of the season. It is that unfunny. Oops, I mean funny.

41. The Fry Cook Games (9/10)

It’s the 21st annual Fry Cook Games. After doubting SpongeBob’s fry cooking talents, Patrick signs up at the Chum Bucket to become one himself. And thus, we have another SpongeBob vs. Patrick episode on our hands. It makes for another classic episode, although it's not exactly perfect. The comedy is on point, but the writing could've been better in some spots. The feud between SpongeBob and Patrick came out of nowhere (as much as I find their arguments about their skin colors hilarious) and it only happens because Patrick hasn't seen much of SpongeBob's cooking to believe if he's worthy of competing in the games. I also think Patrick joining the Chum Bucket was so abrupt. Of course, it only took him 5 minutes to join, and was Plankton even at the restaurant when Patrick applied? And I felt like the episode could've easily been a half hour special, if you ask me. There was this montage before the wrestling stuff that only lasted a few seconds that the writers wished they could've done more to explore the other Fry Cook Games activities. Other than the writing issues, the humorous moments make the episode worth it as it's a great parody of the Olympics Games, but food themed. And you know the food lover in me would've felt hungry participating in these type of games.

40. One Krabs Trab (9/10)

During a yard sale, SpongeBob buys a number one hat from Mr. Krabs. After a few rich people notified him about how expensive it is, Mr. Krabs tries to steal it himself, but he met up with the dead skeletons at the graveyard. After taking it back, the sale was a failure as SpongeBob is already wearing another hat. A really funny episode season 3 had to offer. It's full of great lines and memorable scenes like the garage sale scene, "Am I a pretty girl?", Krabs haunting SpongeBob with a shopping item list, "what a baby," and the graveyard scene (which is the highlight, especially with Krabs killing all the dead bodies). I'm not a fan of how the episode ended though - all of that slaying at the graveyard was all for naught. On another note, I really hate how people use that digging scene to criticize Nickelodeon for trying to milk the SpongeBob franchise. It's just so disrespectful to Hillenburg. It's a short review, I got nothing else to say about this episode. But come back for part 3 as I rank 39 more episodes of pre-movie era.

Family Guy Scorecard (HD ERA, 2010s)

Family Guy HD Era (2010-2019) Scorecard

Season 9
"And Then There Were Fewer": 10/10
"Excellence in Broadcasting": 5/10
"Welcome Back, Carter": 7/10
"Halloween on Spooner Street": 9/10
"Baby, You Knock Me Out": 8/10
"Brian Writes a Bestseller": 2/10
"Road to the North Pole": 9/10
"New Kidney in Town": 9/10
"And I'm Joyce Kinney": 6/10
"Friends of Peter G": 7/10
"German Guy": 3/10
"The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair": 6/10
"Trading Places": 7/10
"Tiegs for Two":  6/10
"Brothers & Sisters": 9/10
"The Big Bang Theory": 10/10
"Foreign Affairs": 3/10
"It's A Trap!": 8/10
SCORE: 6.9/10

Season 10
"Lottery Fever": 6/10
"Seahorse Seashell Party": 3/10
"Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q.": 4/10
"Stewie Goes for a Drive": 8/10
"Back to the Pilot": 10/10
"Thanksgiving": 8/10
"Amish Guy": 7/10
"Cool Hand Peter": 10/10
"Grumpy Old Man": 7/10
"Quagmire and Meg": 7/10
"The Blind Side": 6/10
"Livin' on a Prayer": 6/10
"Tom Tucker: The Man and His Dream": 6/10
"Be Careful What You Fish For": 5/10
"Burning Down the Bayit": 9/10
"Killer Queen": 9/10
"Forget-Me-Not": 9/10
"You Can't Do That On Television, Peter": 8/10
"Mr. and Mrs. Stewie": 9/10
"Leggo My Meg-O": 9/10
"Tea Peter": 8/10
"Family Guy Viewer Mail No. 2": 6/10
"Internal Affairs": 7/10
SCORE: 7.1/10

Season 11
"Into Fat Air": 9/10
"Ratings Guy" : 8/10
"The Old Man and the Big 'C'": 6/10
"Yug Ylimaf": 10/10
"Joe's Revenge": 7/10
"Lois Comes Out of Her Shell": 8/10
"Friends Without Benefits": 4/10
"Jesus, Mary & Joseph": 5/10
"Space Cadet": 8/10
"Brian's Play": 9/10
"The Giggity Wife": 3/10
"Valentine's Day in Quahog": 9/10
"Chris Cross": 5/10
"Call Girl": 4/10
"Turban Cowboy": 3/10
"12 and a Half Angry Men": 7/10
"Bigfat": 7/10
"Total Recall": 8/10
"Save the Clam": 6/10
"Farmer Guy": 5/10
"Roads to Vegas": 7/10
"No Country Club for Old Men": 5/10
SCORE: 6.9/10

Season 12
"Finders Keepers": 6/10
"Vestigial Peter": 6/10
"Quagmire's Quagmire": 8/10
"A Fistful of Meg": 3/10
"Boopa-Dee Bappa-Dee": 7/10
"Life of Brian": 5/10
"In Harmony's Way": 7/10
"Christmas Guy": 6/10
"Peter Problems": 3/10
"Grimm Job": 5/10
"Brian's a Bad Father": 2/10
"Mom's the Word": 6/10
"3 Acts of God": 7/10
"Fresh Heir": 1/10
"Secondhand Spoke": 3/10
"Herpe, the Love Sore": 2/10
"The Most Interesting Man in the World": 7/10
"Baby Got Black": 7/10
"Meg Stinks!": 9/10
"He's Bla-ack!": 8/10
"Chap Stewie": 6/10
SCORE: 5.9/10

Season 13
The Simpsons Guy: 8/10
The Book of Joe: 6/10
Baking Bad: 7/10
Brian the Closer: 3/10
Turkey Guys: 7/10
The 2000-Year-Old Virgin: 4/10
Excellent Adventure: 6/10
Our Idiot Brian: 7/10
This Little Piggy: 6/10
Quagmire's Mom: 2/10
Encyclopedia Griffin: 5/10
Stewie Is Enceinte: 3/10
Dr C and the Women: 6/10
#JOLO: 8/10
Once Bitten: 6/10
Roasted Guy: 4/10
Fighting Irish: 6/10
Take My Wife: 7/10
SCORE: 5.9/10

Season 14
Pilling Them Softly: 7/10
Papa Has a Rollin' Son: 7/10
Guy, Robot: 8/10
Peternormal Activity: 9/10
Peter, Chris, and Brian: 8/10
Peter's Sister: 7/10
Hot Pocket Dial: 7/10
Brokeback Swanson: 3/10
A Shot in the Dark: 5/10
Candy, Quahog Marshmallow: 9/10
Peanut Butter Kid: 6/10
Scammed Yankees: 5/10
An App a Day: 6/10
Underage Peter: 7/10
A Lot Goin' on Upstairs: 10/10
The Heartbreak Dog: 4/10
Take a Letter: 8/10
The New Adventures of Old Tom: 7/10
Run Chris Run: 4/10
Road to India: 6/10
SCORE: 7/10

Season 15
Boys in the Band: 8/10
Bookie of the Year: 7/10
American Gigg-olo: 6/10
Inside Family Guy: 8/10
Chris Has Got a Date, Date, Date, Date, Date: 9/10
Hot Shots: 6/10
High School English: 5/10
Carter and Tricia: 7/10
How the Griffin Stole Christmas: 9/10
Passenger Fatty-Seven: 8/10
Gronkowsbees: 7/10
Peter's Def Jam: 8/10
The Finer Strings: 9/10
The Dating Game: 8/10
Cop and a Half-wit: 8/10
Saturated Fat Guy: 9/10
Peter's Lost Youth: 6/10
The Peter Principal: 8/10
Dearly Deported: 8/10
A House Full of Peters: 8/10
SCORE: 7.6/10

Season 16
Emmy-Winning Episode: Amazing
Foxx in the Men House: Okay
Nanny Goats: Meh
Follow the Money: Great
Three Directors: Great
The D in Apartment 23: Amazing
Petety IV: Okay
Crimes and Meg's Demeanor: Good
Don't Be a Dickens at Christmas: Good
Boy (dog) Meets Girl (Dog): Decent
Dog Bites Bear: Amazing
Send in Stewie, Please: Bad
V is for Mystery: Great
Veteran Guy: Okay
The Woof of Wall Street: Okay
Family Guy Through the Years: Good
Switch the Flip: Great
HTTPete: Meh
The Unkindest Cut: Mediocre
Are You There, God? It's Me Peter: Decent
SCORE: 7.2/10

Season 17
Married...with Cancer: Decent
Dead Dog Walking: Meh
Pal Stewie: Good
Big Trouble in Little Quahog: Great
Regarding Carter: Okay
Stand by Meg: Good
Griffin Winter Games: Meh
Con Heiress: Awful
Pawtucket Pete: Great
Hefty Shade of Grey: Meh
Trump Guy: Mediocre
Bri, Robot: Decent
Trans-Fat: Okay
Family Guy Lite: Decent
No Giggity, No Doubt: Okay
You Can't Handle the Booth: Great
Throw It Away: Meh
Girl, Interreted: Good
Adam West High: Good

Season 18
Yacht Rocky: 5/10
Bri-Da: 6/10
Absolutely Babulous: 8/10
Disney's the Reboot: 9/10
Cat Fight: 8/10
Peter and Lois' Wedding: 6/10
Heart Burn: 4/10
Shanksgiving: 5/10

Christmas is Coming: 6/10

Connie’s Celica: 5/10

Short Cuts: 7/10

Undergrounded: 7/10

Rich Old Stewie: 7/10

The Movement: 5/10

Baby Stewie: 8/10

Start Me Up: 6/10

Coma Guy: 6/10

Better Off Meg: 6/10

Holy Bibble: 4/10

Movin’ In (Principal Shepherd’s Song): 7/10

The Simpsons Middle Seasons Score

Season 9
The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson: 10/10
The Principal and the Pauper: 4/10
Lisa's Sax: 9/10
Treehouse of Horror VIII: 8/10
The Cartridge Family: 9/10
Bart Star: 7/10
The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons: 7/10
Lisa the Skeptic: 8/10
Realty Bites: 8/10
Miracle on Evergreen Terrace: 2/10
All Singing, All Dancing: 4/10
Bart Carny: 6/10
The Joy of Sect: 8/10
Das Bus: 7/10
The Last Temptation of Krusty: 6/10
Dumbbell Indemnity: 6/10
Lisa the Simpson: 7/10
This Little Wiggy: 9/10
Simpson Tide: 9/10
The Trouble With Trillions: 6/10
Girly Edition: 8/10
Trash of the Titans: 7/10
King of the Hill: 9/10
Lost Our Lisa: 8/10
Natural Born Kissers: 8/10

Season 10
Lard of the Dance: 7/10
The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace: 9/10
Bart the Mother: 9/10
Treehouse of Horror IX: 10/10
When You Dish Upon a Star: 4/10
D'Oh-in' in the Wind: 7/10
Lisa Gets an "A": 9/10
Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble": 2/10
Mayored to the Mob: 8/10
Viva Ned Flanders: 7/10
Wild Barts Can't Be Broken: 8/10
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday: 5/10
Homer to the Max: 8/10
I'm With Cupid: 6/10
Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers": 7/10
Make Room For Lisa: 5/10
Maximum Homerdrive: 6/10
Simpsons Bible Stories: 6/10
Mom and Pop Art: 8/10
The Old Man and the "C" Student: 6/10
Monty Can't Buy Me Love: 5/10
They Saved Lisa's Brain: 8/10
30 Minutes Over Tokyo: 10/10

Season 11
Beyond Blunderdome: 4/10
Brother's Little Helper: 6/10
Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner: 9/10
Treehouse of Horror X: 8/10
E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt): 7/10
Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder: 8/10
Eight Misbehavin: 6/10
Take My Wife, Sleaze: 6/10
Grift of the Magi: 7/10
Little Big Mom: 5/10
Faith Off: 4/10
The Mansion Family: 5/10
Saddlesore Galactica: 3/10
Alone Again Natura-Diddily: 5/10
Missionary Impossible: 5/10
Pygmoelian: 8/10
Bart to the Future: 5/10
Days of Wine and D'Ohses: 7/10
Kill the Alligator and Run: 1/10
Last Tap Dance in Springfield: 7/10
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge: 3/10
Behind the Laughter: 10/10

Season 12
Treehouse of Horror XI: 7/10
A Tale of Two Springfields: 4/10
Insane Clown Poppy: 8/10
Lisa the Treehugger: 7/10
Homer vs. Dignity: 2/10
The Computer Wore Menace Shoes: 5/10
The Great Money Caper: 3/10
Skinner's Sense of Snow: 9/10
HOMR: 9/10
Pokeymom: 6/10
Worst Episode Ever: 8/10
Tennis the Menace: 5/10
Day of the Jackanapes: 7/10
New Kids on the Blecch: 7/10
Hungry Hungry Homer: 9/10
Bye Bye Nerdy: 5/10
Simpsons Safari: 3/10
Trilogy of Error: 10/10
I'm Goin' to Praise Land: 6/10
Children of a Lesser Clod: 7/10
Simpsons Tall Tales: 6/10

Season 13
Treehouse of Horror XII: 8/10
The Parent Rap: 3/10
Homer the Moe: 5/10
A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love: 6/10
The Blunder Years: 6/10
She of Little Faith: 4/10

Brawl in the Family: 4/10

Sweets and Sour Marge: 8/10

Jaws Wired Shut: 9/10

Half Decent Proposal: 8/10

The Bart Wants What It Wants: 7/10

The Latest Gun in the West: 5/10

The Old Man and the Key: 6/10

Tales from the Public Domain: 6/10

Blame It on Lisa: 5/10

Weekend at Burnsie’s: 7/10

Gump Roast: 7/10

I Am Furious (Yellow): 10/10

The Sweetest Apu: 6/10

Little Girl in the Big Ten: 7/10

The Frying Game: 3/10

Poppa’s Got a Brand New Bag: 9/10

Season 14

Treehouse of Horror XIII: 8/10

How I Spent My Strummer Vacation: 7/10

Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade: 7/10

Large Marge: 5/10

Helter Shelter: 4/10

The Great Louse Detective: 7/10

Special Edna: 6/10

The Dad Who Knew Too Little: 8/10

The Strong Arms of the Pa: 4/10

Pray Anything: 5/10

Barting Over: 6/10

I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can: 8/10

A Star is Born Again: 7/10

Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington: 6/10

C.E.D.'oh: 5/10

Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky: 7/10

Three Gays of the Condo: 5/10

Dude, Where's My Ranch?: 6/10

Old Yeller Belly: 6/10

Brake My Wife, Please: 7/10

The Bart of War: 7/10

Moe Baby Blues: 10/10

Season 15

Treehouse of Horror XIV: 9/10

My Mother the Carjacker: 6/10

The President Wore Pearls: 7/10

The Regina Monologues: 5/10

The Fat and the Furriest: 6/10

Today I am a Clown: 6/10

'Tis the Fifteenth Season: 9/10

Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays: 7/10

I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot: 7/10

Diatribe of a Mad Housewife: 6/10

Margical History Tour: 4/10

Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore: 5/10

Smart & Smarter: 7/10

The Ziff Who Came to Dinner: 6/10

Co-Dependent's Day: 3/10

The Wandering Juvie: 8/10

My Big Fat Geek Wedding: 5/10

Catch 'Em If You Can: 7/10

Simple Simpson: 10/10

The Way We Weren't: 7/10

Bart-Mangled Banner: 3/10

Fraudcast News: 8/10

Season 16

Treehouse of Horror XV: 7/10

All's Fair in Oven War: 6/10

Sleeping With the Enemy: 8/10

She Used to Be My Girl: 5/10

Fat Man and Little Boy: 6/10

Midnight Rx: 6/10

Mommie Beerest: 8/10

Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass: 3/10

Pranksta Rap: 7/10

There's Something About Marrying: 5/10

On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister: 4/10

Goo Goo Gai Pan: 7/10

Mobile Homer: 5/10

The Seven-Beer Snitch: 6/10

Future-Drama: 8/10

Don't Fear the Roofer: 7/10

The Heartbroke Kid: 6/10

A Star is Torn: 6/10

Thank God It's Doomsday: 8/10

Home Away From Homer:  6/10

Father, Son and Holy Guest-Star: 7/10

Season 17

The Bonfire of the Manatees: 3/10

The Girl Who Slept Slept Too Little: 7/10

Milhouse of Sand and Fog: 5/10

Treehouse of Horror XVI: 7/10

Marge's Son Poisoning: 7/10

See Homer Run: 6/10

The Last of the Red Hat Mamas: 6/10

The Italian Bob: 4/10

Simpsons Christmas Stories: 5/10

Homer's Paternity Coot: 6/10

We're on the Road to D'ohwhere: 7/10

My Fair Laddy: 8/10

The Seemingly Never Ending Story: 8/10

Bart Has Two Mommies: 6/10

Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife: 4/10

Million Dollar Abie: 6/10

Kiss Kiss Bangalore: 3/10

The Wettest Stories Ever Told: 5/10

Girls Just Want to Have Sums:  6/10

Regarding Margie: 3/10

The Monkey Suit: 7/10

Marge and Home Turn a Couple Play: 4/10

Season 18

The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer: 7/10

Jazzy and the Pussycats: 8/10

Please Homer, Don't Hammer Em: 4/10

Treehouse of Horror XVII: 6/10

GI (Annoyed Grunt): 5/10

Moe'N'a Lisa: 8/10

Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair): 7/10

The Haw-Hawed Couple:

Kill Gil, Volumes I & II: 3/10

The Wife Aquatic: 6/10

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times: 5/10

Little Big Girl: 4/10

Springfield Up: 6/10

Yokel Chords: 5/10

Rome-Old and Juli-Eh: 6/10

Homerazzi: 7/10

Marge Gamer: 9/10

The Boys of Bummer: 3/10

Crook and Ladder: 7/10

Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot! 5/10

24 Minutes: 10/10

You Kent Always Say What You Want: 7/10

Season 19

He Loves to Fly and He D’ohs: 7/10

The Homer of Seville: 6/10

Midnight Towboy: 6/10

I Don’t Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: 8/10

Treehouse of Horror XVIII: 8/10

Little Orphan Millie: 5/10

Husbands and Knives: 3/10

Funeral for a Fiend: 6/10

Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind: 10/10

E Pluribus Wiggum: 7/10

That 90s Show: 2/10

Love, Springfieldian Style: 5/10

The Debarted: 7/10

Dial N for Nerder: 6/10

Smoke on the Daughter: 5/10

Papa Don’t Leech: 4/10

Apocalypse Cow: 6/10

Any Given Sundance: 7/10

Mona Leaves-a: 5/10

All About Lisa: 6/10

Season 20A

Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes: 7/10

Lost Verizon: 5/10

Double, Double Boy in Trouble: 6/10

Treehouse of Horror XIX: 8/10

Dangerous Curves: 4/10

Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words: 8/10

Mypods and Boomsticks: 3/10

The Burns and the Bees: 6/10

Lisa the Drama Queen: 4/10

The Cleveland Show Scorecard

The Cleveland Show Scorecard

Season 1

Pilot: 4/10

Da Doggone Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance: 5/10

The One About Friends: 6/10

Birth of a Salesman: 7/10

Cleveland Jr.’s Cherry Bomb: 4/10

Ladies’ Night: 5/10

A Brown Thanksgiving: 1/10

From Bed to Worse: 5/10

A Cleveland Brown Christmas: 6/10

Field of Streams: 4/10

Love Rollercoaster: 5/10

Our Gang: 8/10

Buried Pleasure: 3/10

The Curious Case of Jr. Working the Stool: 4/10

Once Upon a Tyne in New York: 5/10

Brown Knight: 5/10

Gone with the Wind: 5/10

Brotherly Love: 7/10

Brown History Love: 4/10

Cleveland’s Angels: 7/10

You’re the Best Man, Cleveland Brown!: 5/10

Season 2

Harder, Better, Faster, Browner: 8/10

Cleveland Live!: 5/10

How Cleveland Got His Groove Back: 7/10

It’s the Great Pancake, Cleveland Brown: 6/10

Little Man on Campus: 6/10

Fat and Wet: 5/10

Another Bad Thanksgiving: 4/10

Murray Christmas: 7/10

Beer Walk: 6/10

Ain’t Nothin’ But Mutton Bustin’: 8/10

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Roberta?: 5/10

Like a Boss: 6/10

A Short Story and a Tall Tale: 6/10

Terry Unmarried: 5/10

The Blue, the Gray, and the Brown: 7/10

The Way the Cookie Crumbles: 3/10

To Live and Die in VA: 4/10

The Essence of Cleveland: 6/10

Ship’rect: 5/10

Back to Cool: 5/10

Your Show of Shows: 7/10

Hot Cocoa Bang Bang: 8/10

Season 3

BFFs: 6/10

The Hurricane!: 7/10

A Nightmare on Grace Street: 8/10

Skip Day: 5/10

Yemen Party: 6/10

Sex and the Biddy: 7/10

Die Semi-Hard: 9/10

Y Tu Junior Tambien: 7/10

There Goes El Neighborhood: 7/10

Dancing with the Stools: 4/10

Brown Magic: 6/10

Til Deaf: 5/10

Das Shrimp Boot: 7/10

March Dadness: 5/10

The Men in Me: 4/10

Frapp Attack: 6/10

American Prankster: 7/10

BMOC: 6/10

Jesus Walks: 5/10

Flush of Genius: 3/10

Mama Drama: 6/10

All You Can Eat: 7/10

Season 4

Escape from Goochland: 8/10

Menace II: Secret Society: 8/10

A General Thanksgiving Episode: 6/10

Turkey Pot Pie: 7/10

A Vas Defens Between Men and Women: 5/10

Tis the Cleveland to Be Sorry: 6/10

Hustle and Bros: 6/10

Wide World of Cleveland Show: 6/10

Here Comes the Bride: 7/10

When a Man (or a Freight Train) Loves His Cookie: 4/10

Brownsized: 7/10

Pins, Spins and Fins!: 6/10

A Rodent Like This: 4/10

The Hangover Part Tubbs: 5/10

California Dreamin (All The Cleves Are Brown): 7/10

Who Done Did It?: 6/10

The Fist and the Furious: 7/10

Squirts Honor: 5/10

Grave Danger: 6/10

Of Lice and Men: 5/10

Mr. & Mrs. Brown: 5/10

Crazy Train: 5/10

Wheel! Of! Family!: 6/10

Rocko’s Modern Life Review: 90s Nick’s Finest

Rocko’s Modern Life: 90s Nick’s Finest

This is my third time binge watching the entire series of Rocko’s Modern Life as part of my NickJournals binge watch quest. However, since I previously attempted to review every episode on DeviantART to prepare for the tv movie, I never published the first season review as it was draft only. Rather than just copy and paste it, I’m just going to restate my opinions in shorter words. Without any further ado, let’s start reviewing this wonderful cartoon. Episodes are listed in production order, not broadcast order

Season 1

Watching the first season of Rocko, and comparing it to the later seasons is like night and day. Like Rugrats first season, it’s almost entirely focused on the protagonist. It’s also full of adult comedy, as most jokes will definitely make children confused at what’s going on. The theme song is very different than the one composed by the B52’s in later seasons. I like both versions, but I can’t help notice a charm to the original version since it’s more lively (Rocko saying a few words like “good as new” and yelling out Spunky’s name). Despite the difference, season 1 is still pretty good. We start off with two episodes that are watchable, but are held back for the same reason. They can be a bit repetitive with the slapstick since they both revolve on Rocko’s misfortune. But they have their fair share of hilarious moments, such as the frog with an attitude, Rocko using a bulldozer in order to win a game, the hippo lady (just the way she says “HOW DARE YOU!” in a deep voice is hilarious) and going to a nude beach means you have to be censored. I will say this that I prefer the carnival episode more since I can have a fun (or miserable) time playing carnival activities, as I’m not much of a beachgoer myself. Besides, we’re not getting too much Rocko solo episode after this season ends anyway, so too much of having solo Rocko adventures will get boring quickly. A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic focuses more on a personal problem of having a crappy vacuum cleaner. It turns out being hypnotized on a tv ad can convince you on buying a fancy new vacuum cleaner. In Rocko’s Modern Life style, the cleaner is far too powerful and starts to get out of control. Another good installment, but not relatable enough for me to consider it good. It’s a pretty bizarre episode to say the least considering how it started and ended. Canned tackled the importance of workforce. It also introduced Filburt the turtle and the Bigheads. Filburt is just a stranger during the first season and isn’t officially established as Rocko’s friend yet. Bev had a short role in the episode and there’s a scene where Rocko unwillingly called her as part of a not so kid friendly job. Ed, on the other hand, plays a bigger role as he serves as Rocko’s boss for just one episode and things don’t go well as planned. It’s the first episode I can officially consider great although the running gag with the spiders got old pretty fast and the ending don’t help matters much. Rocko’s Happy Sack is another Rocko solo adventure where he goes grocery shopping and have to meet the deadline of a sale. But grocery day became a dangerous day of him as he went through a lot of trouble just to buy foods. And we see the hippo lady again although the line delivery of “HOW DARE YOU” isn’t as priceless as last time. It plays out very similar to the beach episode unsurprisingly except that it’s set at a grocery store, but I will say this was the better episode due to having more memorable scenes. The most satisfying moment was when Rocko got really upset at Filburt for changing the price of his grocery and downright threatened him of doing something not nice if he didn’t get his way. It’s interesting to think this was before they considered official friends. Flu-in-u-Enza is one of the weakest episodes for the season. You know how I feel about sick day episode, they normally don’t interest me and this show don’t it differently than other examples it’s been done in animation. So of course, there’s some gross moments and the germs aren’t not really engaging characters. Not much else to say about this episode. Moving on to the first Heffer episode of the series, Who’s for Dinner is special for reasons. We meet his parents, who are a different species from him (a bunch of a wolves as opposed to a steer, hence their last name Wolfe). Not to mention, when Heffer started breaking down after learning he’s adopted, we get an outstanding performance from Tom Kenny, who was a new voice actor at the time and most of his line delivery during the early episodes of the show were noticeably flat. But this episode established him as one of the greatest voice actors and proved that despite voicing a bunch of goofy characters, can pull off emotional voice work when needed. It’s a really great episode, and it’s the first episode where Rocko plays a supporting role, and therefore, the slapstick is substituted for character development. Love Spanked is a Valentine’s Day themed episode where Rocko fall in love with one of his neighbors. However, when it turns out she’s dating another guy, Heffer sets him on a lovematcher search. Things keep backfiring, and Heffer puts him on a dating show. The episode was kinda underwhelming, but seeing Rocko paired up with Heffer was the highlight, though the last couple minutes were a bit messy and the writers didn’t know how to end the plot. Next, we move on to another love themed episode. But this time, it’s Spunky who’s in love and he’s attracted to a mop of all things. So Rocko has to get Spunky to snap out of it by taking to him to a dog psychiatrist. Not much to describe this episode other than the fact that it’s such a ridiculous premise, it worked for how cartoony it was to see a dog fall in love with a mop. Unbalanced Load is as generic as you get for a Rocko focused episode, as it plays out like a few other episodes where he engage in a realistic lifestyle. The only reason why the score is not lower is because the writers try to make it as surreal as possible by doing unrealistic things of doing the laundry. Rocko sure loves accidentally bumping into the hippo lady at the wrong moment. Now we are on what it probably the weakest pairing of the entire show and also the most adult it’s ever been. They’re big reminders that Rocko’s Modern Life was never meant to be a kids show. Considering it mostly contains grownup characters, it makes sense that a lot of the PG jokes occurred during the first season and this episode pairing make it very clear. Leap Frogs is all about Bev trying to seduce Rocko. Bev was very flirtatious during the first season but this episode is when she was at her most flirtatious and it wasn’t towards her own husband. It was a big enough deal for the episode to get banned on tv since this is something that won’t fly well on modern Nickelodeon. Bedfellows on the other hand is a worse segment since it’s a cliched “character stay over at someone’s house and starts to overstay their welcome by being too much of a headache.” Now Heffer is no Patrick Star during the middle seasons of SpongeBob, but his actions here rivaled him without the jerk part (he just constantly making things worse for Rocko). The nudist scene is such a bizarre scene although surprisingly SpongeBob would cover a nude beach episode in one of their spinoffs. Easily my least favorite episode of the show alongside a season 4 episode (but we’ll get to that when I cover the fourth season). It doesn’t offer anything interesting and when I do another binge watch, it will be skipped alongside its sister segment. Now we’re back to having an entertaining episode in No Pain, No Gain where Rocko and Heffer head to the gym where they are being trained by a Richard Simmons lookalike. Workout day is a dangerous day indeed and I can totally relate to the pain they went through the episode. It literally hurts to do physical activities and I can last like 5 minutes doing workouts. Next episode is literally called Who Gives a Buck and I believe they got away with giving it a title for a kids show. Not my cup of tea, but if Heffer wasn’t in it, it would be formatted exactly like other solo Rocko episodes of getting through a mundane task. Jet Scream is what I consider the first amazing episode of the show. Every scene is just a classic to watch. I never been to a plan myself, but if this episode taught me one thing is that you can try to overcome your fear of being on a plane by passing the time on engaging in entertaining activities. I like how the tables have turned for Rocko and Heffer in which the latter enjoys being in a plane while Rocko would rather take the bus instead. Dirty Dog is the first of three episodes featuring parasites living Spunky’s fur. As you can tell, it’s a parody of sitcoms due to the usage of laugh track. Their tiny adventures revolves on their boss coming over for dinner, all happening while Spunky is forced to take a bath. Good episode, but it’s a weird format and this won’t be the last we’ll see of those parasites. Keeping Up with the Bigheads? I'd rather keep up with their lives than the Kardashians, that's for sure. It's basically the sucker episode since it also involves cleaning out Rocko's house, except that it features Ed who tries his hardest to get rid of Rocko all because his garden was ruined. Personally, I find myself preferring this one more because it's funnier and has a more interesting plot. Skid Marks is a hilarious episode for one thing only. The running gag with everyone warning Rocko to not get the fat guy is just hilarious. The scene with the fat cat teacher is another highlight, just the way his lines were delivered with sudden shouts. But yeah, if I was ever in Rocko’s situation like this, I would’ve given up at driving because it seems like a difficult thing to do. The Good, the Bad, and the Wallaby is the very first episode where future Phineas & Ferb creators Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh worked together and they were storyboard/writing partners throughout the show. Their episodes tend to have a unique writing style - they’re a mix of character driven, slapstick, as well as having a musical fare. What I described their style is used in this episode. I don’t care much about the ranch lifestyle, but this was still a fun installment. The next episode is actually a refined version of the pilot. As you may expect for a pilot, it’s a Rocko focused episode. In the original Rocko was originally yellow, but he was recolored. The animation style changes a lot throughout the episode. It can go from being cartoony to normal in seconds. Outside of the behind the scenes stuff, the episode is very heavy on slapstick. Not my favorite episode of the series, but still worth watching for the animation budget alone. Power Trip is the first episode where Filburt plays a big role (as you can tell in the title card credits where the screen is green). His name was revealed for the first time ever, establishing him as part of Rocko’s friend group. It’s a pretty great episode and I enjoyed Carlos Alazraqui’s performance as Rocko the mean boss a lot. And the episode also introduced a Superman parody who is really big and boasts about his nipples. He’s a weird character, but I like his design. We’ll be seeing him again a few more times. To Heck and Back continues the good streak of character driven episodes, where Heffer literally dies and goes to hell. What made this one of season 1’s finest episodes is that Heffer finds the error of his ways and feel genuinely guilty for not being a good friend towards Rocko. The hell segments made it an interesting watch considering Heff and the devil (Peaches) are both voiced by Tom Kenny, so he’s talking to himself to the majority of the episode. The “all just a dream” plot twist don’t ruin the episode that much for me since the show will have a little bit of continuity as we head to the next few seasons. Spitballs and Popcorn Pandeminium are both Rocko+Heffer adventures (seems like we’re slowly moving away from Rocko only focused segments) with a different twist. One is a baseball episode where Rocko wants to get a baseball covered in spit and the other is a movie theater episode. Spitballs sounds gross on paper, but it ends up being a better episode than it sounds. Sports episodes aren’t my favorites, but as long as the story is interesting, I don’t mind watching them. The ending is rather heartwarming. Popcorn Pandemonium is a better segment as it takes a simple plot of going to the movies and make it into an entertaining story where Rocko and Heffer tries to make it to the right theater room but keeps getting into wacky situations. But the funniest part is that Rocko is mistaken as an employee of the movie theater because he just happens to sport the same outfit as the usher. Oh, and it’s a Dan/Swampy episode, so insert obligatory musical number (through a movie preview of all things). Cabin Fever is another decent episode where the focus is that Rocko, Heffer, and the Bigheads have to share a cabin together, much to Ed’s dismay. Half of the episode revolved on Ed trying to get out of the cabin, but to no avail. Considering that he’s an miserable jerk, 99% of the time he deserved his abuse (unlike another grumpy neighbor character). I don’t have much to say about the episode other than the fact that it’s the first episode where Stephen Hillenburg and Mark O’Hare had a story by credit. They would both soon become an important part of  Joe Murray’s shows. Finally, we end the season with a day in the limelight for Filburt as he attempts to pass a final exam at the dental school by examining Rocko’s teeth. The episode introduced Dr. Paula Hutchinson, a cat with a hook, and she would become a very important character in Filburt’s life. The reason why she was added to the show is because executives wanted to have a character with a hook for inclusivity. It worked and we will be seeing her again soon. Very good episode and if I say so myself I consider it the superior dental episode from a Nicktoon as it’s less gross (sorry Ren’s Toothache). With season 1 done, let’s recap the season. First half of the season had its fair share of weak story due to the fact that Rocko mostly get the spotlight to himself, hence the title of the show being called Rocko’s Modern Life. While they are not bad or anything, most of them follow the same structure. The characters aren’t fully developed yet, so they are very one-note. The animation quality is inconsistent (especially evident in the trash episode), and the voice work is rather monotonous outside of Rocko and Charlie Alder’s characters (since he was already an experienced voice actor when the show came out). But the humor makes up for it especially with how much envelope they were trying to push. It’s clearly not a TV-G or Y7 rated show, that’s for sure. Second half of the season is where the show starts to find its footing a little bit, but the show won’t get truly great until season 2 rolls around.

Season 2

The second season is where the show starts to grow. We get less Rocko heavy focused episodes and more episodes focusing on other characters. The season opens with an interesting story about the Bigheads’ only child working their life as an animator (the Fatheads was their creation). And yes if you’re wondering, I’m not going to refer their kid by their deadname since something important will happen to them in the future. Rachel Bighead is basically Joe Murray in animation form (passionate about cartoons). She has a very deadpan voice created by the creator himself until she starts yelling. It featured a nice moment between Rachel and her parents, and to repay the gesture, the next Fatheads episode featured a Rocko expy. Fun special, though the lack of Heffer (until his little cameo towards the end) was always odd. Pipe Dreams revolved on Heffer breaking a toilet where there’s a fish that spend all night rambling about random things to the point where it annoys the whole town. It’s not an outstanding installment, but it had its moments. Tickled Pinky is an odd episode but it still works because even though it a dream, you get Rocko and his appendix bonding at the carnival, except that the appendix got overboard with its demands. I prefer this segment more than the previous if I'm being honest. The #16 pairs are unique in that Rocko takes a backseat and the spotlight goes primarily to Filburt and Bev in both segments. The Lounge Singer is about Filburt trying to be a jazz singer, but he gets so nervous thinking about performing live on stage. Whenever he sings, it's Tom Kenny trying to do his best Frank Sinatra voice and it's a great performance. It's to be expected when the writing is from Swampy and Dan. It gives a little bit of development of the turtle and he’ll continue to grow as the show goes on. She's the Toad had Bev trying to improve Ed's workplace with the help of Hefner and Filburt after Ed gets nervous. It all goes well and despite the two getting caught up in the act, the credits all went to Bev. I guess the moral for this episode is that women make business decisions better. And it turns out saying “wee wee” makes 

Heff laugh. Down the Hatch is the second episode featuring the parasites, and I’ll say this: it’s a slight improvement over their first installment. Instead of playing out like a traditional sitcom episode, it feels more like an adventure. We do see the Fatheads again in this one and a vitamin based from the show serves as the plot device where the parasite thinks it’s a treasure. Road Rash, on the other hand, is perfect from beginning to end. Not only does it make me want to go on road trips and go sight seeing, but it is hilarious. From Heffer trying to make a speech about a rock attraction, the farmer who keeps talking about Ferb (hilarious in hindsight considering who worked on this episode), the excessive annoyance Rocko has with bagpipe music, the fact that they drive in a literal wiener, so much more. Easily in my top 5 favorite episode of the show. Boob Tubed is another classic episode. It showcases the trio getting hooked to television and hilarity ensues. They were actually watching telenovela at one point. Anyone who likes to spend their day offs watching tv on their couch can relate. However, like most other shows stated, TV can actually rot your brains, as proven with Heff, and it could also turns you naked. Community Sentence, while not my favorite installment of the show, is relatable for anyone who is struggling is arriving to work on time. Luckily for me, I don’t have to suffer through the same pain Rocko went through this episode. Mr. Smithy prevented the episode from getting a perfect score because he’s the definition of a really mean and strict boss. At first, he sounded like he care about Rocko’s misfortune of arriving to work late, but as the episode progressed, he just grew more and more annoyed. After finally arriving to work on time, Smitty repaid the gesture by firing him for no reason. Thankfully the episode threw Rocko a bone and decided to punish his boss for his actions. Rocko’s Modern Christmas is the show’s second special and it’s holiday themed. I didn’t watched the episode during my bingeathon so I wanted to save it for December. Hut Sut Raw is The Camping Episode of Rocko, except the characters actually went camping. While SpongeBob’s take on camping was realistic, this one goes for a cartoony take of going on a camp. Things get out of control during the trip and they all started starving themselves to death to the point where they started eating each other. So yeah  it’s one weird episode. Kiss Me I’m Foreign is an episode that is surprisingly topical to this day. Rocko is from Australia so he gets a reminder that he’s getting deported unless he married someone. Because of how corrupt this country is these days, the idea of a foreigner living in USA feels like its against the law unless they get certified a citizen. Enter Filburt, one of Rocko’s closest friend to ask and marry him. There are some ambitiously gay moments, but they are played out in comedic matter. Therefore, we get a bunch of hilarious moments with Filburt playing the role of a wife (and for some reason, a female judge kept bothering him). However, the whole thing is one big misunderstanding. In  the end, it’s the judge and the deportation guy that ends up getting married. Next up, we have an episode that doesn't really take advantage of its 22 minute length and therefore, it suffers from poor pacing and random plot. Rocko and Heffer go on a cruise trip with Heff's grandpa and crazy stuff happens there. Just not my cup of tea and as a result, I considered it my least favorite season 2 episode. Born to Spawn perfectly tackled the concept of growing up. Uniform Behavior showcased how getting too involved with a job can corrupts someone's mind and Heffer was simply being the bad cop. Hair Licked revolves around Rocko trying to look perfect for picture day. Very slow at times, but still decent. Gutter Balls is a bowling episode and they are always entertaining. Junk Junk Junkies has Rocko trying to pay off a pizza man while having a garage sale. Day of the Flecko is an episode mostly set at night, and it featured Rocko trying to get some shuteye, but a bunch of noises keep interrupting him. Very relatable for the insomniac. Snowballs is a very entertaining episode due to its winter themed. Frog’s Best Friend revolves on Ed having a dog. If I’m being honest, the lack of Rocko isn’t the reason why I’m not too big on this episode, but rather it just feels a bit repetitive. Short Story and Eye Capades are both about Rocko’s insecurities of his height and vision. I think the former is slightly better due to the way it was executed. Also, Joe Murray had a little cameo reminding Rocko about being off model. Season 2 is already an improvement despite a few weaker spots, but let’s what the next season have to offer.

Season 3

Season 3 explored more on the show’s strengths during the previous season. In production order, it starts off with two Halloween stories. They are fun episodes, but I had more of a blast with Sugar Frosted Frights. Filburt is reluctant to celebrate Halloween, but he goes on a sugar rush during trick or treating. Despite the disjointed ending, it's still an amazing episode. Ed is Dead: A Thriller is an interesting episode where Rocko believes Bev killed her husband. But it turns out Ed was getting a wart removal the whole time. Bye Bye Birdie is a bird sitting episode where Rocko has to look after Filburt's pet bird. After a series of bothering everyone in town, Heffer sits on the bird and accidentally killed him. Ehh, it's decent, but not one of my faves. Though it ends on a weird note - the bird mated with the monkey and she gave birth to bird/monkey hybrids. Belch of Destiny is about Heff's time as scout member and discovering an ability to belch. His dad doesn't approve of his talents, but in the end he accepts his dream as he has a gross talent as well. It's a stepup from the previous Heffer focused episodes imo. It ends on a much nicer note. The Emperor's New Joe is unusual in that it focused on the two chameleon brothers. They opened their own coffee shop and after Rocko disapproved of their coffee, they tell him their backstory. Apparently, all the familiar characters are playing different roles (like an anthology) with Heff playing the role of the czar. It's very complicated, but I enjoyed it for giving the chameleon some development. And it seems like in the show's world, they invented coffee. Schnit-Heads is another episode title that substitute a swear word. It's about Heff selling sausage. Very simple plot, but as a sausage, this episode is enough to make anyone crave for one. It went on a different direction in the final few minutes, but it's still executed nicely. Now we have an episode that plays out like a precursor to SpongeBob (co-written/directed by Hillenburg). Not only does it involved aquatic life in some way, but this episode played a bunch of APM tracks that would also be later used in SpongeBob. And we do see some aquatic creatures as well. Such an interesting episode for sure, considering its theme. Camera Shy also used an APM track in its title card. It's like the sequel to Boob Tubed, except that it's about Heff and Filburt recording videos of Rocko's life. I don't enjoy it as much as that one, but it has just as much entertaining scenes. Now we head on to the double Bighead pairing. First segment is about Bev developing a disease and she gets her a nose job, which changed her life. However, she went from liking it to hating it. Another episode that would be used for a SpongeBob episode. It starts off on a gross note, but it does a decent job at showcasing Bev’s pain of sense of smell. The next segment is about Ed suffering through a midlife crisis. So he decided to blend in with the younger lifestyle by hanging out with Rocko and friends, but he ends up being too clingy. It’s the better segment since I tend to enjoy the midlife crisis plots and had a good portrayal of Ed. Maniac Mechanic is about Rocko trying to get his car fixed. There’s a Frankenstein parody scene where Filburt acts like a mad scientist. Then, he fixed Rocko’s car and it went off by itself with Heff going on the ride. Very funny episode and it seems like cars are actual living beings. Rocko’s Happy Vermin is a solo Rocko episode (as evident by the blue background in the title card) and it serves as a sequel to the previous time Flecko was ruining Rocko’s night. I don’t enjoy this one as much as the previous episode, but it’s okay. Just feels a bit slow. Fortune Cookie is yet another episode that would later be used for a SpongeBob episode. Here, it's about Filburt suffering from bad luck. It's a cliched plot, but you can feel for Filburt for constantly suffering from misfortune everywhere he goes. The whole thing with the power man is weird since the word nipple was said a few times. But the episode takes on a weird direction during the final minutes as the world becomes ripped apart and then Filburt gets himself a happy ending. Dear John is about Rocko getting his kitchen fixed, but the beaver guy keeps making things worse (and he's a literal hyena). The highlight had to be Rocko reacting to his house being turned into a literal bathroom. Speaking Terms is an episode where Rocko and Heffer got into a fight for forgetting Rocko's birthday and so they tell their side of the story on a talk show. Honestly this was a hilarious episode, especially with how they portrayed their story (it's drawn in this very crude art style). It ends on a very bizarre note, with the sci Fi elements and all. Tooth and Nail concerns Rocko's nail biting habits. It's a totally relatable episode for all the nail biters out there. Wacky Deli is without a doubt one of the greatest cartoon episodes of all time. It needs to be seen to be believed. It's just 22 minutes of the process of making a cartoon and the whole thing is something that still holds up nearly 30 years later since there have been shows that went on longer than it needs to due to their popularity. Both parts are equally perfect from start to end. Next up we have a two parter of Filburt asking Dr. Hutchinson to marry him. While the previous special is obviously superior, this one was just as exciting to watch due to the fact that the status quo plays a role. They went from two strangers who met each other during a dental exam. An Elker for Heffer has Heff going on a date with an elf, but things get awkward when his wolf family tried eating her due to family traditions. Good episode, but I feel like the plot was losing steam during the last few minutes and it just ended abruptly. Scrubbing Down Under has Rocko receiving an award, but he had something stuck on his teeth, He attempts to get rid of the spinach, but to no avail. It's basically Ren's Toothache done right as it's more educational on oral care without grossing out the audience that much. Zanzibar, as you expect from the writing credits (Povenmire and Marsh's involvement) is a musical episode where half of the lines are sung. I won't consider it a favorite, but the songs were catchy and it's also educational as it taught viewers about taking care of the environment. We end the season with a weaker than average installment where there's literally no dialogue (outside of one scene). It played out like a silent cartoon and while the visuals are good, I'm not too keen on the lack of verbal lines. 

Season 4

Murray left the show, leaving Stephen Hillenburg in charge of the final season as a producer/creative director. It is notably a step down in quality, but it still seasons 2 and 3's strengths while the flaws it had were still utilized better the first season (characterization and plot being weaker in some aspects). I won’t review every episode separately here because this journal is growing long. I still enjoyed some episodes like

Static Cling

Conclusion