SpongeBob SquarePants (TV Show)

Summary of Show
SpongeBob SquarePants (often referred to simply as SpongeBob) is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom". The series' popularity has prompted the release of a media franchise, contributing to its position as Nickelodeon's highest rated show, the most distributed property of MTV Networks, and among Nicktoons' most-watched shows. As of 2011, SpongeBob SquarePants is the only Nicktoon from the 1990s that has not ended yet and is 15th in IGN's top 100 animated series list.

The basis for SpongeBob SquarePants was formed by Hillenburg in 1984 while teaching and studying marine biology at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California, where he wrote the comic strip The Intertidal Zone, which starred various anthropomorphic forms of sea life, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters. He left the institute to become an animator in 1987, and later attended the California Institute of Arts in 1992. In the institute, he made his thesis film Wormholes (1992), which led to his hiring as a director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and executive producer of the series Rocko's Modern Life by creator Joe Murray. He started to develop the series in 1996 following Rocko's Modern Life's, and pitched the series to Nickelodeon in 1998 and was later green lit for a first season.

The pilot episode of SpongeBob SquarePants first aired episodes in the United States on Nickelodeon on May 1, 1999, following the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The first episodes were called "Help Wanted", "Reef Blower", and “Tea at the Treedome". The "official" series premiere followed on July 17, 1999, with the second episode, "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants." The show reached enormous popularity by 2000 and has remained popular since. A feature film of the series was released in theaters on November 19, 2004. The series celebrated its tenth anniversary on July 17, 2009. SpongeBob was renewed for a ninth season on January 3, 2011. (Note: the definition of season for this show is that more episodes have been ordered for future airing.)

For more information about SpongeBob, visit the Spongebob Squarepants page, here, or here.

Opening Scene

 * A Clay-animated SpongeBob is shown.

Season 1

 * Episode 1 Celebrity Birthdays: SpongeBob and Patrick appear in the picture with jellyfish Mort.
 * Episode 6 Wall-E-Nator: SpongeBob appeared in front of the Krusty Krab looking round.
 * Episode 7 Cliffordfield: After Big Bird (Sesame Street) gets squished by Clifford, he looks like SpongeBob.
 * Episode 8 Mad vs. Wild: Gary the Snail appeared as the snail that Bear Grylls ate.
 * Episode 8 Who Wore it Better?: SpongeBob was one of the contestants wearing a white chiffon sun dress.
 * Episode 12 Celebrities Without Their Makeup: SpongeBob was displayed in an Elf costume.
 * Episode 16 iAYCarly: SpongeBob and Patrick make a cameo at the end in a Mexican-version.
 * Episode 20 Law & Ogre: SpongeBob appeared as one of the pictures behind the Big Bad Wolf store.

Season 2

 * Episode 4 (30) Pirates of the Pair of Tweens: Plankton appeared on top of Captain Jack Sparrow's head when he's planking on the Crabby Crust restaurant. The Crabby Crust is also a parody of The Krusty Krab.

Trivia

 * Patrick, Gary the Snail, and Plankton made cameos throughout the show.