SpongeBob SquarePants

:This article concerns the show itself; for specific information regarding the show's title character and namesake, see SpongeBob SquarePants (character).

History

Origin (1993–1999)

SpongeBob's history can be traced back to 1993 when Rocko's Modern Life first aired. One of the producers was Stephen Hillenburg, a cartoon worker/marine biologist who loved both his careers. When Rocko's Modern Life was cancelled in 1997, Hillenburg began working on SpongeBob (although some sketches trace back to 1996). He teamed up with creative director Derek Drymon, who had worked on shows such as Doug, Action League Now!, and Hey Arnold!. Drymon had worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life as well, as did many SpongeBob crew members, including writer Tim Hill and voice actors Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence. Another crew member with previous Nickelodeon cartoon experience was former Angry Beavers story editor Merriwether Williams, who worked on that show for its first few seasons and switched to SpongeBob in July 1999.

Related Topics:
1993 - 1997 - 1996 - Derek Drymon - Doug - Hey Arnold! - Tim Hill - Voice actor - Tom Kenny - Doug Lawrence - Merriwether Williams

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During production of the show, Hillenburg provided a concept of short comics with the same style of the show, but the characters looked different. SpongeBob used to be named SpongeBoy, and used to wear a red hat with a green base and a white business shirt with a tie. The name "SpongeBoy" did not make it into the show since the name was already officially trademarked by Bob Burden, creator of Flaming Carrot. Hillenburg later chose the alternative name "SpongeBob." The original name was once referenced in the show by Mr. Krabs' line, "SpongeBoy, me Bob!." The Krusty Krab was originally spelled with the letter C rather than K, but Stephen Hillenburg thought K's were funnier.

Related Topics:
Bob Burden - Flaming Carrot

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Rise to popularity (1999–2000)

In 1999, SpongeBob aired its first episode, "Help Wanted/Reef Blower/Tea at the Treedome", after the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. At this time, Rugrats was at the height of its popularity and had already outlived dozens of other lower-budget cartoons. SpongeBob, with its generally lower-class animation and humor style more rooted in clever word-play and culture-references unlike the potty humor that made Rugrats so popular, was expected to be just another one of those shows. Although it struggled in its early days, its ratings flew up. After about a year, it surpassed Rugrats as Nick's most highly rated show. SpongeBob's signature voice (provided by Kenny) and humorous style was enjoyable to both younger and older audiences. Many people attribute the "Fall Of Rugrats/Klasky-Csupo/Rise Of Low-Budget Cartoons" to SpongeBob.

Related Topics:
Potty humor - Klasky-Csupo

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Peak years (2000–2003)

The show began its second season in 2000 with more high-quality animation and even more popular episodes. By then it was clear to the world that SpongeBob had opened the door to many other cartoons to use more "adult" senses of humor and come from smaller companies. In 2001, The Fairly OddParents aired from the then-small Frederator company. It focused on a sense of humor similar to SpongeBob?s, only more realistic, slightly crazier (and more suggestive to "adult" topics), and with more pop culture references; this show managed to become a hit as well and currently ranks behind SpongeBob as Nick's second most popular show. That same year, Invader Zim aired, created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez; it had a dark but silly sense of humor (similar to Vasquez's other comic books) that managed to attract a very loyal cult following consisting more of teens and adults than young children (Though also containing a moderate amount of preteens). SpongeBob, however, was the leader of all these shows and had by this time started its now famous merchandise line.

Related Topics:
Animation - Cartoons - 2001 - Frederator - Pop culture - Jhonen Vasquez - Comic books - Cult following - Preteens

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2002 also saw a bright side, as the first part of that year saw SpongeBob at its peak. The beginning of the third season produced many classic episodes and focused on the same style and animation concepts. The year also saw another more low-budget show with popularity ('), but things changed late in the year. There was high speculation that the show would be canceled very soon. Fans were devastated and online petitions were widely distributed. Rumors of a movie closing the show in 2004 were all over talk, but fans just wanted more show. The highly extended third season lasted through 2003, with fans on their knees, and 2004, the year that would decide everything. What was thought to be the last episode, "SpongeBob Meets The Strangler/Pranks A Lot" would air in October of 2004 and the movie was to be released in November of that year.

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The Rerun Years (2003–2005)

2003 was arguably the darkest year the Spongebob community had ever seen, Spongebob's first gay controversy involving the "Rock-A-Bye-Bivalve" episode was now major, with conservative parents being particularly concerned about the show. The hiatus era looked hopeless, and many doubted the 4th season would materialize.

Related Topics:
Gay - Conservative

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The show continued to gain high approval ratings, and the president of Nickelodeon announced that the show would continue. The future looked positive for the cartoon, with Hillenburg remaining Executive Producer but giving the Supervising Producer job to Paul Tibbit. As its movie only achieved over $85,000,000 in revenue in the United States, it has been assumed that the show's popularity has declined. The Rugrats Movie, on the other hand, earned over $100,000,000 in the United States (it was around this time that the animated series which it is based on, Rugrats, was at the height of its popularity. Ironically, that movie would also be considered Rugrats jump the shark moment by many fans.).

Related Topics:
The Rugrats Movie - Rugrats - Jump the shark

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Season 4 (2005- )

The ads for its fourth season first aired publicly during the 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The new episodes began on May 6. So far, four new episodes and eight segments of new episodes have aired, with more upcoming including an episode about Gary running away and a sixth Mermaidman & Barnacle Boy.

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The first new episode of Season 4, "Fear Of A Krabby Patty/Shell Of A Man", was a huge hit with many fans who had long been bored with the show and many more faithful ones who have been waiting for new episodes for years.

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They did, however, start dividing them around September 24th.

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The animation is like the movie now.

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