SpongeBob Squarepants – The First 100 Episodes (Nickelodeon DVD Set)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B Episodes: B+
Who lives
in a Plexiglas case on your DVD shelf?
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! Actually
the first 100 Episodes of Spongebob
Squarepants to be exact. It is hard
to believe that an odd little cartoon that some thought never had a chance
managed to take the world by storm to become an instant classic. The series has seemingly garnered a universal
appeal with its blend of creativity and solid humor; pulling in a diverse
audience of children and adults alike.
The first
episode of SpongeBob Squarepants
aired shortly after the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards; with the series
picking up its official run in mid-July of the same year. The series had a rough start, not finding a
solid audience and suffering low ratings, with creator Stephen Hillenburg
fearing cancellation; but after Nickelodeon discovered the marketability of SpongeBob talks of cancellation went
out the window and the series was quickly renewed for a Second and a Third Season. The series has just celebrated its Tenth
Anniversary; not bad for a series that wasn’t meant to last, right? It is hard to believe how much that little
yellow square has engrained himself into our pop-culture; just start singing
that catchy theme song and see what happens.
Like a serene blend of Ren &
Stimpy with Rocko’s Modern Life
(same creator), SpongeBob has
managed to steal both our hearts and minds as it has brought us countless fits
of laughter for the first 100 episodes and beyond.
For a
long time I was a casual fan of the series, catching it here and there as it
was on; but as the Season Box Sets of SpongeBob
Squarepants hit DVD I suddenly got hooked.
With each coming DVD set I couldn’t get enough, gobbling up each episode
with ease. As SpongeBob Squarepants has become solid staple of the Nickelodeon
lineup there seems to be no stopping the animated nautical giant. The series falls somewhere between classic
Hanna Barbera animation and Adult Swim’s absolute absurdity; dancing the line
so nicely that it is awe inspiring. As I
could sit here and spout off all the 100 episodes included in this amazing set;
the fact of the matter is that each episode is just as good, if not better,
than the one that cam before it. The set
includes all episodes up and through Season
Five and at this rate Spongebob is
going no where.
I highly
recommend this set to everybody. As
previously mentioned the series has universal appeal that will give any viewer
hours and hours of comedic insanity. It
is no shock that SpongeBob Squarepants is
a bit “off” or weird, but the series creators have made no excuses for their
brand of zaniness and in fact it is the constant absurdities that make the
series so memorable.
The technical
features on this massive (and I mean massive) set are quite good, but for all
intents and purposes are merely transfers from the original season
releases. The set is contained in a very
thick Plexiglas case that then houses a cardboard box with a separate slipcover
that inside contains the 13 discs with the 100 episodes and the 14th
disc with all the bonus features. All in
all just from the effort put into creating the massive set, it was clear more
good things were to come. The picture on
the 100 episodes is presented in a Full Frame image that has a progressively
better quality as the episodes go on; this mainly attributed to the switch from
hand cel animation too digital (not to mention a bigger budget). The colors are consistent and bright throughout
with a crisp image that makes for a great viewing experience. The episodes do have a degree of “blur” and
“grain” (as it can best be described) as not all aspects are perfect and do not
seem to be remastered in any way. The
episodes were seemingly taken directly from their standard definition
broadcast, rather than going back tot the original source material. With all that said, however, the set is good
enough and will please any fan. The
sound is a simple Dolby Digital Stereo that gets the job done, but is far from
thrilling as it comes heavily from the front.
The sound is crisp and boisterous, though fans will be disappointed with
the lack of 5.1 surround track; which should have been a no brainer for Paramount to complete.
The
extras are fun and there is a lot to dig through; as the extras include:
- Commentary Tracks: 11 in all
from cast & crew; with most tracks coming from later episodes
[episodes 84-88; 91, 95, 99, 100].
The tracks are very interesting and give great insight where the inspiration
for the series comes from.
- Kick-Wam Pow Music Video
- Life Lessons from Bikini Bottom Featurette
- Help Wanted: The Seven Seas
Edition Featurette
- Square Roots: The Story of
SpongeBob Squarepants Documentary (Originally aired on VH1). Probably the best feature on the set as
it gives fans a glimpse behind the scenes to an inspiring series that has
more to offer than most people realize.
I highly
recommend this set, once again, as it contains all the first 100 episodes in
one nice and massive set. The price is
right, the content is there and will be a nice addition to ANY DVD library.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
