As with every show, newer eras of cartoons can have their own fair share of great installments. Like the original pre-movie era, SpongeBob's modern era have some of the best the series have to offer. This list is dedicated solely to the best of the best of said era since if I did the worst, this wouldn't really come as anything surprising or interesting as it's been done to death because obviously SpongeBob has gone downhill after the first full-length film in 2004. A Worst list, just to make things more interesting, will come for the pre-movie era rather. (Even if most of the first three seasons' weakest are just not as appealing as others) Now for a few notes: I haven't seen every episode in the new era, so if I missed one of your favorites, don't freak out. And you won't be seeing anything from Season 11 on here either, as I've only watched through a lot of Seasons 7-10 overtime. Also, because time obviously flies by super fast in our world, if the episode was released anytime BEFORE this new decade (the 2010s that is), I'm not counting it. So, my apologies for not including Season 6's Sand Castles in the Sand.
File:Mimic Madness.pngIf you ever wanted the disturbing atrocity that is Face Freeze! to be fixed up for all the right reasons, look no further than Season 10's Mimic Madness. It's literally the hilarious type with SpongeBob's prized mimicking of other characters adding to the episode's solid reception. In other words, it's the little things in Mimic Madness like how SpongeBob cracks up everyone when he does his impressions, or even his fourth wall break when he mocks the french narrator. Did I mention the ending of how Squidward, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Plankton help bring back to his sane self turns them into mockers of him is full of solid comedy? You gotta admit; no matter how much you might hate the modern genre of SpongeBob, you can always make exceptions to his mixed bag of episodes. And Mimic Madness delivers on that.
Yes, Larry's Gym makes my list... and for good reason. Let's talk about this episode's clever twist. Everything Larry does with SpongeBob either involves getting him hydrated or doing crunches (which he does his usual annoying laugh in the process). In other episodes of the bodybuilding lobster, it's normally where Larry just acts as the lifeguard of the Goo Lagoon, this is first episode that takes an episode of Larry where he gets his own business and a bunch of other cooler plot points take place; Mr. Krabs spends the whole day at the gym - just to get in for free, SpongeBob is instructed to be hydrated while doing crunches in the process, and we see what Larry's like as a fattie.
This was a much desired aspect to see SpongeBob muscular even if he was just overhydrated by so much water. His muscular form was fun and unique while it lasted...?
File:The Incredible Shrinking Sponge.pngClear prof of why size often doesn't matter (as the saying goes more often than not), this Season 10 outing makes my list for showing how logic it can be for a plot to shrink SpongeBob when exposed to extreme heat. It doesn't hurt that all the madness SpongeBob brings out of those kids causes a serious chase that makes it all the more entertaining. It's also clever that SpongeBob gets mistakenly tossed by Mr. Krabs, and flicked back to the Krusty Krab by Karen, not to mention SpongeBob gets an interesting, if really disgusting, job when he's shrunk down to size. And yeah, it's sad to see poor SpongeBob not be able to flip patties, but then again, if he wasn't shrunk for once, we wouldn't have been given another newer and creative idea like this shining episode of Season 10.
If only we could ignore its sister episode that is Sportz'?.
File:Enchanted Tiki Dreams.jpgThe most beloved episode from SpongeBob's 7th season has this reputation for a good reason; Enchanted Tiki Dreams is glamorous. Here, we're treated to imagary of true paradise anyone would dream of, and everything in it for those who would love a tropical vacation. While it does start off slightly too torturous on Squidward, the other half of the episode easily helps to make up for it by making a paradise for Squidward as relaxing and realistically fun as possible - which adds more lairs of creativity to this episode, and when those tikis sing out their song... you know it only gets better.
What really helps set the mode is how the pacing is handled out through Squidward's lovely relaxation during the fun SpongeBob and Patrick secretly provide him, and also the name: Enchanted Tiki Dreams! Not only is it a clever take on treating Squidward with kindness after a little too much suffering at first, but one that adds newer innovative ideas for how much better than a ton of other Season 7 installments this chapter proved to be.
By its own plot, concept, and pacing, it's what you might imagine when you think of classic SpongeBob bringing back its old school charm to its newer modern era.
Anyone who can recognize with Squidward in some effort to wanna keep their own annoying neighbors away from their old homes can clearly see where this gem was going. For once, Squidward doesn't get the intolerable kind of annoyance, but rather that of hilarious pressure in an effort to fool SpongeBob and Patrick from thinking their homes are their's to visit when they foolishly think Nick Fishkins just bought their houses via a TV commercial. It's funny to see SpongeBob and Patrick cover shower with garbage, much less live in it, not to mention Squidward's pressure to assume SpongeBob and Patrick in that one night. And sure, Squidward doesn't get satisfaction in the end, but you know what? I didn't mind. A solid episode from a weak season like Season 9, and I think Mr. Enter had every right to call this one of the best of Season 9.
I'm not the only one who thinks Season 10 is a massive improvement over the rest of SpongeBob's seasons minus the first three, right? SpongeBob's tenth season has had plenty of great plots throughout - some more appealing than others. But out of them all, Feral Friends has to be my personal favorite. Considering it's a cartoon, the series is as unrealistic as it can be when it comes to its own personal theme, but this episode is the equivalent to the documentary series Planet Earth when it comes to observing just HOW every other sea creature common lives a lifestyle of their own.
Even if people say Patrick's feral form goes to far via the scene of him eject his organs from him to eat (*ahem* WatchMojo), this still rocks as an awesome episode unlike others that just push themselves too far without thinking twice. It's all the real elements of a classic episode meaning it's very much in the true spirit of SpongeBob.
It's a really sad thing that Mermaid Man's voice actor Ernest Borgnine passed away in Summer 2012, which gives me hopes that characters like SpongeBob's favorite superheroes never get replaced voice actors. That put aside, TBGCfV is one of the better newer episodes where Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy play major roles. Club for Villains is another simple superhero-themed cartoon episode. When a bunch of bad guys form together to seemingly plot revenge against Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, the action gets all the more intense and entertaining as any other superhero flick. There's a lot of little things about this episode that make it stand out. For one, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy get more screentime at being young than being old, adding a newer way of their development, and Spongebob and Patrick's lack of screentime really allow for the superhero duo to play out on video; just like when you wanna watch an episode of SpongeBob yourself. As you'd either be watching most of the first three seasons, or only the good episodes of SpongeBob's modern generation.
Yeah, the original MM and BB episodes might be better, but what's not to love about this sequel... other than that strange plot twist at the end?
Everyone knows the probably with most of Plankton's newer episodes, right? Unfair treatment. But regardless of how much he doesn't get the secret formula, Plankton's Pet is undoubtably the very best the newer era has to offer. SpongeBob has had Gary forever, and Patrick's had a rock at least once, not to mention Squidward and Mrs. Puff had snails (like SpongeBob had), and let's not forget about Mr. Krabs' pet worm (but Sandy has one too many to count). So it's only fair that the series finally gives Plankton one. And I think it's suiting and adorable that he finally gets a new friend besides his own computer wife Karen, and (sometimes) SpongeBob. The cherry on top in this episode is how Plankton's own pet amoeba scared off other scarier pets to save his own owner. This episode is prof that Plankton can have at least some fair treatment for his own fair good (and not where he receives the worst of the worst torture in disasters like One Coarse Meal and Plankton Retires).
Who says Plankton's newer episodes are all horrendously terrible?
And another Plankton-centered episode that makes my list, Perfect Chemistry is one of those better episodes with an interesting partnership with Sandy and Plankton without characters like Mr. Krabs being extremely OOC. Plankton transforming into a gassy form to try and steal the secret formula? Plankton and Sandy testing their new experiment on SpongeBob while fixing their own errors over and over in the process? And some humorous moments like Mr. Krabs taking the blame on Squidward for that gassy stench that Plankton transformed into? This episode is DEFINITELY worth praising and really deserves to be less divisive.
If there are a couple things we can learn from this episode, the first is that Plankton can make an interesting partnership with any character as long as that other character doesn't go all OOC. The second is that even if characters like Sandy interfere with his genius plan to steal the formula, it's just another clever way for him to fail without pushing the boundaries of the series too far unlike what Mr. Krabs often does when he catches his rival stealing the krabby patty formula.
I'm pretty sure most saw this one coming, and I'm pretty sure most will agree with me, but Planet of the Jellyfish does modern SpongeBob elements MUCH better. We have a new alien jellyfish ready to take over Bikini Bottom, a greatly paced plot, and the interesting plot twist of mayonnaise as the jellien species' weakness. It isn't JUST your typical clever SpongeBob episode that has the same charm that SpongeBob's classic era (before the first movie) had, it truly has all the wonderful element of the show one would come to know and love. The jelliens cloning other Bikini Bottomites was so creepy, but in a fascinating way. Not only does it get better from there seeing them all at the Krusty Krab, but SpongeBob finding out in the second half of the plot only makes this installment more charming. It's also humorous to see SpongeBob and Sandy go under cover as jellified clones before coming to wiping out them all with mayonnaise, and finally the last couple minutes; it's super satisfying to see SpongeBob and Sandy finish off the leader of the jelliens, and the ending gets clever when Mr. Krabs sells the melted freaky clone jelly relish, much less for Patrick to end the episode's dialogue with "Hold the mayo." Plus it's very clever for the episode question whether or not it's truly the end of the jellien race after Patrick's said line.
Planet of the Jellyfish is an unforgettable, yet sometimes divisive episode due to its release in SpongeBob's modern era, but if you at least give SpongeBob's newer seasons a chance, you won't find yourself despising this one - or even any of the others. And I say that with a passion because... everyone makes exceptions to anything that's lost its charm in recent times... besides SpongeBob.
Stay in touch, cause sometime later, if not sooner, my Top Ten WORST Pre-Movie Episodes will be published... Thanks for reading!
