TV Show Review: SpongeBob SquarePants

My first exposure to SpongeBob SquarePants was seeing commercials for the sneak-preview episode following the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 1999. My oldest was only two years old at the time, and wasn't expressing any real interest in the show. And I have to admit, from seeing the commercials, I wasn't too sure about it myself.

Fast forward about two to three years later, when my oldest was about four or five years old. She discovered SpongeBob SquarePants and seemed to be interested in the show. Her younger brother, who was one or two years old at the time, also seemed to be interested. When they started watching the show, I decided to give it a chance. After watching several episodes with them, I realized it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. In fact, I found it kind of enjoyable. Now, my oldest child has lost interest in SpongeBob SquarePants, my middle child tolerates it but doesn't really watch it much anymore, and my youngest child has some interest in the series.

One of the things that I will always remember about this show is the "Have You Seen My Snail?" episode. The first time my middle child saw this episode, he cried during the song that's playing while the audience sees a montage of SpongeBob and Patrick looking for Gary. For several of the subsequent airings, even though my son knew that SpongeBob and Gary would be reunited, he would still cry at that exact same spot. It moved me that this show created an episode that resonanted so much with my child. My children have also enjoyed the humor that has appeared in SpongeBob SquarePants. And as a parent, even I can appreciate some the humor in the series.

Unfortunately, Nickelodeon seems intent on trying to run SpongeBob SquarePants into the ground. During the summer of 2010, it seemed like all the network was airing outside of their specialty blocks were SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly. Also, the quality of the series has gone downhill in recent years. The more recent episodes and specials for SpongeBob SquarePants just aren't as strong as the early episodes of the series; the early episodes had a certain charm to them, and it's this charm that I feel is missing from a lot of the more recent episodes of the series. Overall, though, the show is enjoyable viewing, where you get to spend half an hour looking at life through the eyes of an innocent sponge.