Danny: Oh, Bear is so beautiful. You don’t see SpongeBob singing about homeless people.
Kynan: Sesame Street doesn’t even do this. Bear is head and shoulders above any show I’ve ever seen when it comes to plain ol’ basic humanism. And they confront this stuff directly — it’s not like they’ve found a stray dog, and that’s a metaphor for homelessness. Jack’s just flat-out homeless.
Danny: Plus, it’s a Christmas show. I bet Disney wasn’t thrilled when Crazy Kriegmannote came to them with a feel-good holiday special about a magic berry and a homeless dog.
Kynan: Of course, it’s also possible that SpongeBob doesn’t sing about homeless people because, statistically speaking, there’s relatively few homeless people under the sea.
Danny: Yeah, housing prices are pretty reasonable down there.
"These excursions into rougher areas were all the more jarring because of the setting, where viewers used to cackling audiences wooing over the appearances of the wacky neighbor suddenly found themselves faced with sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, and death by drunk-driving, all played out in front of a live studio hush. Characters who'd barely had to emote further than shrugs of exasperation were suddenly left upset or afraid, leaving you trapped in the terrible no-man's land of feelings, with no laugh track to cling onto. It was like having your wacky uncle interrupt an armpit fart to tell you about the time he saw a dead body and that's why he drinks."
— Stuart Millard, So Excited, So Scared: The Saved by the Bell Retrospective
You see, folks, drugs are a major problem in our society. Drugs ruin lives, divide families, and lead to heavy-handed, preachy sitcom episodes like this one. Of course, we managed to make it delightfully funny and upbeat, but other shows aren't so lucky. There's an epidemic in television today that threatens the very fiber of the comedy we hold so dear. When one show does an anti-drug episode, other shows feel pressured to do one too. Now they're even going after the younger shows. I mean, we've only been on for a year, and here I am talking to the camera. So come on! Say no to drugs — and help put a stop to preachy sitcom endings like this one. It's up to you to make a difference.
—Robbie Sinclair, Dinosaurs
The other thing that bothered me was the constant pressure to do those wretched “Issue Episodes.” Drugs was the one they wanted. “Just say no!” But I was never comfortable with all that preachy nonsense. Why did television luvvies decide we knew how to save the world, when we mostly don’t know how to get home unless there’s a car outside.
