I agree on cutting all of the Designated Hero entries. Spongebob and Patrick, while mostly sympathetic, are clearly and deliberately shown to often be very annoying to others. And Mr. Krabs is pretty much always meant to be morally grey, and is sometimes a straight-up antagonist.
Also, while I don’t really remember “Shuffleboarding”, it sounds like that Spongebob and Patrick were meant to be in the wrong.
back lolFound this on the YMMV:
- Scapegoat Creator: Post-movie episode haters have multiple scapegoats: Casey Alexander, Zeus Cervas, Derek Iversen, Sean Charmatz, Richard Pursel, and Paul Tibbitt. However, some of these people have worked on the show from the beginning, and are considered better as artists than writers.
This was obviously added by a fan of a a certain animation critic who I will not name, complete with some real dicey and wholly inappropriate potholes attached to the names of certain infamous writers. It barely even has context on top of that, making it a borderline ZCE. This seems like an obvious cut, so should I do it?
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallYup.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure PurenessThanks, it's gone.
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallReally glad we're doing something about this. Complaining about Seasonal Rot is a pretty big pet peeve of mine, and I owe it all to the crap this show's gotten in the past 15 years.
Here's some cutworthy entries under Harsher in Hindsight.
- Some of the most reviled episodes of the show even make it hard to watch previous episodes. Try watching "Friend or Foe" (which is about how Mr. Krabs and Plankton used to be friends before Krabs' success with the krabby patty tore them apart) and "Best Frenemies" (where Krabs and Plankton form an Enemy Mine to investigate the success of the new Kelp Shakes) after "One Coarse Meal" (which had Mr. Krabs remorselessly use Plankton's fear of whales to drive him into suicide), or try watching "Have You Seen This Snail?" (where SpongeBob spends a good deal of the episode missing his pet snail Gary and desperately trying to find him) and "A Pal for Gary" (where SpongeBob is completely oblivious of his new pet Puffy Fluffy's violent nature and is an Ungrateful Bastard when Gary saves his life from the creature) in succession.
- Any episode where Mr. Krabs shows that he deeply cares for SpongeBob, like in "Welcome to the Chum Bucket" when he sings "I'll trade it all away, if you come back to stay" (referring to SpongeBob) in the "This Grill Is Not A Home" song, are a lot harder to watch after "SpongeBob, You're Fired", where he is willing to (and does) fire SpongeBob just so he can save a nickel.
Not to play devil's advocate, but I don't think it's an entirely baseless entry. The amount of vitriol Tibbitt received while he was showrunner is almost frightening, and people tended to blame him, Casey, and Zeus for everything.
The example as written had to go; we can probably write a new one.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure PurenessI don't know about those ones, I think they may count. Could be rewritten, though.
I thought it would be worth mentioning that there is an entire WMG entire page dedicated to discussing the show's Seasonal Rot. While some of the theories are admittedly clever (such as the post-movie episodes being told from a more cynical character's point of view), quite a few entries are something along the lines of "The execs are deliberately trying to get the show cancelled for some reason". I'm aware that some of the entries on that page disregard the rule about WMG not being about stuff outside the work, but I thought I'd bring it up here first.
This was just added to WhatAnIdiot.Sponge Bob Square Pants:
- We see this recurring Con Man who sells candy bar bags at a reasonably high price, which SpongeBob and Patrick fall for. For his last scam, he pulls a Wounded Gazelle Gambit on them, which is enough to cause them to break down in tears and give up all the cash they've earned to sell more chocolate for him.
You'd Expect: That guy to be arrested for stealing all the money SpongeBob and Patrick earned.
Instead: He isn't.
You'd also expect: For SpongeBob and Patrick to suspect something up with their "injured customer" when he asks them to sell chocolate in exchange for their cash, firmly tell him no, keep their cash and leave.
Instead: They fall right for it, causing them to have a Despair Event Horizon having lost all their money and there's no one left.
Fortunately: That guy was the only customer they didn't sell any chocolate to.
- We see this recurring Con Man who sells candy bar bags at a reasonably high price, which SpongeBob and Patrick fall for. For his last scam, he pulls a Wounded Gazelle Gambit on them, which is enough to cause them to break down in tears and give up all the cash they've earned to sell more chocolate for him.
...Spongebob and Patrick aren't intended to be intelligent, shrewd characters. This is entirely in-character for them. (And, as kids, I feel like we all fell for the "glass bones and paper skin" speech the first time around too ).
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure PurenessI kinda wonder if we should do a what an idiot cleanup since we have entire for clearly stupid characters so giving them entries like that seems pointless. Lol.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."There's one. Also a What An Idiot Wick Check so we can go to TRS one day.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure PurenessI think there’s a clean up thread for that, though I don’t think it’s had a lot of activity recently.
Edit:
Edited by costanton11 on Mar 9th 2021 at 2:03:06 PM
I've removed that example (honestly, the first "you'd expect" comes off as complaining about the guy being a Karma Houdini). I may go through the rest of that page...
I don't know whether to bring this up here or the Analysis clean-up thread, but I assume I'll get more feedback here.
The Analysis subpage for the show is entirely focused on why the show underwent Seasonal Rot, which I think is beyond the scope for what an Analysis page should do. Honestly, there's nothing here that you can't find summarized more succinctly on a Seasonal Rot entry.
So, should this page be cut?
Yeah, that does seem a bit redundant.
Also found on the YMMV page:
- Catharsis Factor: Any moment where Squidward gets a victory that isn't snatched away from him at the last moment, it's incredibly satisfying. Especially when it's against Squilliam, which is a huge part of why "Band Geeks" is so enduringly popular. "Enchanted Tiki Dreams" has also become popular among fans, in which SpongeBob and Patrick build Squidward a tiki land where he can relax, full of things he likes to do. Even after the tiki land is destroyed, Squidward is still happy, as he gets to hit SpongeBob and Patrick with a swinging boat.
- The ending of Pineapple RV. After acting like insufferable and ungodly lucky morons for yet another "Squidward Torture Porn" episode, it's very gratifying to see SpongeBob and Patrick freak out from the combined music of Squidward's clarinet and the Warbling Water Lilynote in the last 30 seconds of the episode.
I don't know about the first bullet, but the second bullet seems needlessly complain-y. Should I cut the second bullet? And what, if anything, should be done about the first?
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallThe first seems okay tbh.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."Thanks. How about the second?
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallYeah that just sounds like bitching which I would cut.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."Thanks. I've cut the second bullet.
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallOther YMMV entries of note:
- Discredited Meme: The "Mocking SpongeBob" meme quickly got this treatment, due to its repetitive naturenote , the meme encouraging Jerkass behaviour, or simple annoyance at the meme using the wrong picturenote Is this really a Discredited Meme? I still see it referenced from time to time, and even Nick and Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated have referenced it.
- Fanon: Although the movie is still widely beloved by the fanbase, some fans prefer to consider "Band Geeks" as the unofficial series finale, since it features the entire main cast coming together to help Squidward finally win, and placing it at the very end means all his misfortunes have passed and gives him a happy ending. It's widely considered the series' best episode and feels very climactic, so it's not surprising many fans would like to think of the show going out on a high note. I don't necessarily have a problem with this one, but it doesn't seem to be a widely-held headcanon as far as I know.
- Idiot Plot (specifically, these examples):
- Other notable examples include "Stuck in the Wringer" (SpongeBob uses a wringer instead of a towel, then gets glued in by Patrick in an incomprehensible display of stupidity) or "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants" (SpongeBob is compelled to start a new life because Patrick doesn't recognize SpongeBob while he's wearing round pants). It's safe to say that most plots pushed forward by Patrick will end up like this. I'd cut the "incomprehensible display of stupidity" bit, otherwise this one's fine.
- "The Algae's Always Greener". Plankton's machine is a Story-Breaker Power that allows him to swap lives with Mr. Krabs. Rather than using it to learn the Krabby Patty formula, he takes a major level in dumbass and spends the entire episode literally making out with the burger. The episode ends with Plankton reverting to his former life, still unable to achieve his life-long goal even when it was right in front of him. This one is just all kinds of nitpicky and seems to be missing the point of the episode. Plankton wanted to switch lives with Krabs to get a taste of his success, not just to get the formula. Not to mention he didn't even need to learn the formula, considering he now owns the Krusty Krab and thus has no reason to steal it.
- Offending the Creator's Own: Some of the show's memetic faces (such as SpongeBob's reaction to being told he was using too much sauce in "The Algae's Always Greener") have been criticized by some for being racist caricatures of East Asians. The show is animated by Rough Draft Studios, which is located in South Korea, and thus many of the artists who animated those faces were Asian themselves and probably never found them offensive. Has anyone actually criticized these faces? While I have occasionally seen people refer to the "EH EH EH" face as a "Chinese face", along with the "Hory Shet" meme, I don't think I've seen people outright complain they're racist.
- Only the Creator Does It Right: Most online reactions to Season 4 and beyond (mainly Season 6-8), which were done without the level of input from creator Stephen Hillenburg as the preceding 3 seasons. Hence the cheers from the fanbase when Stephen Hillenburg was announced to be returning for the second SpongeBob SquarePants movie, and the series after that. Needs to be updated for tragically obvious reasons.
- Ron the Death Eater:
- Patrick especially is prone to this treatment. Particularly because of his infamous quote in "The Card", fans have been outright calling him a complete sociopath when he clearly means no harm (at least for the most part). Granted, he does act insensitive towards SpongeBob in episodes such as "Driven to Tears", "The Splinter", "Stuck in the Wringer", "Yours, Mine and Mine", "Oral Report", "Pet Sitter Pat" and "Little Yellow Book", but people tend to exaggerate Patrick's traits, with some even calling him one of the most evil characters in cartoon history, despite the fact that he still has his nice moments such as "Have You Seen This Snail?" and "The Pink Purloiner". While Patrick may still qualify, is that "evilest character in cartoon history" opinion even held by anybody outside of Mr. Enter's fandom? Even then, it's completely died down what with him deciding to move on from SpongeBob reviews.
- Plankton is also subjected to this and Draco in Leather Pants. While he has done some genuinely bad things, there are those who make it like he's always acting so terrible and ignore the episodes where he's hardly villainous, if at all. Sure, he does bad things sometimes, but it's okay to notice when he's doing things like, say, saving Karen's life, competing more legitimately with Krabs (albeit, often gloating over small victories), showing that he has standards, or treating Squidward like an actual, valued employee. He's not wholly on the side of good or anything, but far from the monster his detractors make him out to be. I don't think I've ever seen people who outright hate Plankton/exaggerate him into a monster. As the entry mentions, he's much more prone to the Draco in Leather Pants treatment, and fans still seem to Love to Hate him at worst.
- Seasonal Rot (specifically the last note):
- The general consensus is that Season 4 was when the rot kicked in (although that season has since been Vindicated by History to a number of fans), and Seasons 6 and 7 were the peak of the rot.note Seasons 5 and 8 are... "mixed" among fans. The good episodes in them are generally better-received than the ones from Season 6 and 7, but the bad episodes in them include some of the most reviled episodes of the show.note The first have of Season 9 was similarly divisive. The good episodes are better-received than the ones from Season 5-8 note , but the worst episodes of the first half are some of the most reviled episodes of the show.note While "Sponge Bob, You're Fired" does seem to be mostly disliked, I think "Little Yellow Book" might be more infamous.
- Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped:
- "Sun Bleached" shows that tanning is unattractive, dangerous, and just plain stupid. I think this is a case of trying to find a moral when there isn't one, considering tanning is actually glamourized for most of the episode, aside from the joke at the end.
- They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Many fans of the earlier seasons claim that seasons 6 and onwards are downright awful because the mood of the show changed considerably due to changes in the staff. This feels like a ZCE example and probably fits Seasonal Rot better.
- This could apply to some post-movie fans for the post-sequel era (Seasons 9B-present), overlapping with the same pre-movie fans. Those people hate how ridiculously different it has become with the sudden Denser and Wackier tone and constant Off-Model drawings, alienating some of the viewers. This is a valid and semi-frequent complaint I've seen about the current episodes, though I think it could be rewritten to be a bit less complain-y.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
- "Truth or Square" crams in so many plotlines that none of them really get much time to develop or are inconsequential. SpongeBob and Sandy getting married? Yeah right, it's just a play. Plankton trying to steal the formula with everyone else trapped? Not a chance, he only appears for a few minutes and he doesn't even have a plan. Want to learn the Krabby Patty Formula after all these years? Too bad, they just cut it off before anything can be revealed. And despite all of the celebrity cameos, most of them did nothing. Way too complainy, this one. Rewrite it, since it is still a common criticism of the special.
- "Squid's On A Bus" involves Squidward swapping jobs with a bus driver. At first it seems like the episode will mainly focus on Squidward without SpongeBob interfering for once, while setting up a potential B-Story where SpongeBob will be interacting with a new and potentially interesting character. Guess who shows up on the bus not soon after the switch, despite his characterization having him supposed to be working at the Krusty Krab by now. This seems more like a personal nitpick than an actual wasted plot.
- Wangst:
- When Mr. Krabs is cheap, Pearl tends to whine about it. That's kind of the joke.
- SpongeBob whining about his broken spatula in "All That Glitters". I'm pretty sure this is meant to be Played for Laughs, at least at the beginning of the episode.
- Taken Up To Eleven in "A Day Without Tears", where SpongeBob whines about... everything in that episode. Again, that's the joke.
- Mr. Krabs getting angry at SpongeBob over losing two dollars to Bubble Bass in "Pickles".
- The scene before in the same episode has Mr. Krabs pathetically begging Bubble Bass to reconsider taking his two dollar refund. His cheap offers are pretty hilarious as well. THAT'S THE JOKE.
- Were Still Relevant Dammit:
- [...] SpongeBob SquarePants has mostly averted this during its run. In 2019, the series had started doing pop-cultural references, which were never done before, however said references are of very dated (and deceased) celebrities such as Peter Lorre and Jerry Lewis. This probably fits better in Parental Bonus.
- WTH, Casting Agency?: Specific to Norway, but irritating nonetheless. SpongeBob's Norwegian actor, Tommy Karlsen (the same guy who played Ickis from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Meowth in Pokémon), recognized for his typecasting with "psycho"/"unstable" characters, was for reasons unknown replaced by Trond Teigen (famous for his role as Aladdin, among other action roles). Teigen's attempts at imitating Karlsen's psychotic performance come across as forced and shoehorned. We can probably cut the "irritating nonetheless" bit. I'm also not sure I'd describe pre-movie SpongeBob as "psychotic".
- Win Back the Crowd:
- As of 2014, Stephen Hillenburg has returned to the show, and his presence is definitely felt. Fan reception to the second movie was quite positive, and many of the problems from previous seasons are addressed in the latter half of Season 9: The characters generally act like their old selves, and the Black Comedy has been greatly toned down. Again, out of date.
Edited by SpongeBat1 on Mar 10th 2021 at 2:27:09 AM
In regards to the Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped example, several recap pages for the show have An Aesop in the trope list. For example, this one for Pizza Delivery:
An Aesop: Be nice to the person who delivers your order (or anyone else giving you customer service, for that matter), even if they made what you perceive to be a mistake. And for that matter, don't lie about what you ordered just to get freebies. If you didn't lie, however, then try listening to the person about why your order came the way it did.
Or these for Hall Monitor:
- An Aesop:
- Even if you're awarded for being outstanding (or given an award that everyone gets, like a participant award), it doesn't mean you're good at everything else. Know your limits.
- Leave the jobs like policing to the authorities.
Whose TV Tropes page needs to be cleaned? SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!
In all seriousness, though, the SpongeBob SquarePants page is a bit of a mess, bloated with complain-y entries about Seasonal Rot and other controversial changes or moments, reading way too deeply into things, and potentially outdated information. The main problems I want to address are on the YMMV page and some of the moments subpages as well, as well as individual recap pages for more infamous episodes.
Recurring problems tend to be misuse of Designated Hero and Designated Villain that would fit better under Designated Monkey or Unintentionally Sympathetic/Unsympathetic, treating jokes in a show famous for Negative Continuity too seriously, complaints regarding Never Live It Down moments, and shoehorning of terms coined by The Mysterious Mr. Enter and other Caustic Critics like "Torture Porn" (Squidward or otherwise).
To start with, here are the Designated entries on the YMMV page:
(Also shoutout to Tropers/Mightymewtron, whose Nostalgia Critic cleanup thread served as great reference for writing this one.)
Edited by SpongeBat1 on Mar 8th 2021 at 12:47:47 PM