D’oh! Wait, that’s not his catchphrase. *Ahem!*
BARNACLES! TARTAR SAUCE!
Much better.
Yesterday was the premiere of what became Nickelodeon’s biggest, most successful cartoon character. One could say, he’s the cable network’s equivalent of their Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny.
Like many characters who manage to live on for more than three seasons, Spongebob’s longevity is due to his appeal to all audiences so his adventures with Patrick, Squidward, Sandy, Plankton and Mr. Krabs entail jokes that kids don’t always understand. Tommy Kenny (the voice) being an on-again/off-again stand-up comedian helps.
I do have a quick confession to make. Initially, I didn’t like SpongeBob. What little I had seen wasn’t funny to me and I got pulled into the trap of expressing an uninformed opinion (I’ve improved over the years not to do this) based upon the show’s popularity. I did come around because Spongebob would be on before, after or during the other cartoons I did want to watch in the Aughts (Fairly Odd Parents, Jimmy Neutron, My Life as a Teenage Robot namely).
The show did have a brief hiatus of several years and when it returned, there were new writers and obviously came the expected…it’s not as good as it used to be. I’m on the fence leaning toward disagreeing. Yes, Spongebob’s voice has changed a bit. Yes, the jokes different, a logical thing given the changes. However, people have to remember, everything changes and the writers do have to explore new ideas to avoid repeating past stories. Otherwise, the complainers would have a different gripe to make.
Let’s see if Spongebob can make it to 30 as cable and its networks justify to adapt to a streaming-based future without Disney acquiring him.