Stephen Hillenburg, the sole creator of the long-running, beloved TV series Spongebob Squarepants, passed away on Monday from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 57. Hillenburg came up with the idea for Spongebob in the mid-90’s, which first officially aired in 1999, all of which he wrote and edited through Nickelodeon.
Over the course of only 19 years, Spongebob has pushed over 240 episodes, multiple films, numerous video games, theme park rides at several different amusement parks and even its own Broadway musical.
In commemoration of Hillenburg’s brilliant impact on the world of animation, here’s a throwback to some of the most iconic Spongebob episodes and scenes (in no particular order, there are really too many good moments to count):
“Not Normal”- Season 6, Episode 4:
Squidward tells Spongebob he’s not normal, so Spongebob goes on a mission to be “normal,” speaking in a monotone voice, intentionally acting boring and eventually glossing over into a normal, poreless, Sponge. Squidward eventually turns normal in the end. Not sure which is funnier.
Courtesy: Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
“The Two Faces of Squidward”- Season 5, Episode 33
In this episode, Squidward accidentally hits himself on a door and turns “handsome.” After getting treatment from a doctor and hitting himself again, he gets even more handsome. Eventually, he runs into a pole in the Krusty Krab and turns back to his normal self, which he’s kind of okay with so that people will stop harassing him for being so beautiful.
Courtesy: Encyclopedia Spongebobia
Pizza Delivery- Season 1 Episode 5: “Krusty Krab Pizza”
It would honestly be sinful of me to leave this one out. This is the episode where Squidward and Spongebob have to go on a long journey together to deliver a Krusty Krab pizza. Everything random that’s possible happens on the way: Spongebob almost gets run over trying to hitchhike, Squidward and Spongebob use the pizza as a parachute in a tornado, they get lost, try eating coral and eventually drive to the customer’s house on a rock.
Courtesy: Tenor
In the end, the customer doesn’t pay for or accept the pizza because they didn’t bring him a Diet Dr. Kelp. Spongebob ends up crying and Squidward then slams the pizza in the customer’s face.
“Graveyard Shift”- Season 2, Episode 16
Squidward makes up a story about a fry cook that haunts the Krusty Krab in order to scare Spongebob. According to Squidward, the cook accidentally severed a hand when cutting Krabby Patty meat, replaced it with a spatula and then got run over by a bus on his way home from work. The signs that he’s coming back for vengeance are “flickering lights, a phone call with nobody on the sending line and the arrival of the bus that killed him” (Encyclopedia Spongebobia). In the end, they actually think the Hash-Slinging Slasher is there, but it turns out just to be someone applying to work there.
Courtesy: Costumet
“Club Spongebob”- Season 3, Episode 2
All hail the Magic Conch. Patrick and Spongebob join a club in a treehouse where the Magic Conch is their leader. Squidward wants to join and they say he won’t fit in. He gets angry, climbs the tree and forces himself in, only to find out that they literally meant he physically won’t “fit in” because they themselves have been stuck in the tree house for 3 days. Squidward grabs onto another tree in an attempt to get out, but the tree they’re on snaps and launches them into a remote forest in the middle of nowhere. Spongebob and Patrick worship the Conch shell and follow its answer “nothing” when they asked what they should do, sitting with blank stares without moving. Squidward gets angry, denounces the shell and storms off on his own. Eventually, a crashing plane drops their food supply right into Spongebob and Patrick’s hands and they refuse to share it with Squidward because the Magic Conch keeps saying “no” to him. When a park ranger shows up, Squidward begs him for help, but he ends up joining Spongebob and Patrick and worshipping the Magic Conch too.
“Survival of the Idiots”- Season 2 Episode 9
Spongebob and Patrick decide to play in the snow in Sandy’s tree-dome while she’s hibernating for the winter. They argue over who’s Dirty Dan and who’s Pinhead and make such a ruckus that Sandy half-wakes up and is a now giant, monstrous version of herself. She’s between sleepwalking and attacking them, but they eventually get her back to sleep and then decide to use her fur to wear in the cold, first plucking then ripping strips (Sandy roars every time they do it, they’re really pushing their limits.) Eventually, they get so loud again outside that Sandy fully wakes up and goes after them, and they have to use their hot breath on the door to escape because it’s frozen shut.
Courtesy: Tony’s Blog
“Frankendoodle”- Season 2 Episode 14
An artist on a rowboat accidentally drops a pencil into the ocean and it lands in front of Spongebob and Patrick, who soon realize that whatever they draw will come to life, naming it the “The Magic Pencil”. Spongebob creates ‘Doodlebob’ to scare Squidward but it ends up stealing the pencil and using it to create chaos in Bikini Bottom. Spongebob tries to erase him, but a lone arm remains and he recreates himself. Luckily, Spongebob is able to close him into a book in the end.
“Something Smells”- Season 2 Episode 3
Spongebob wants to make himself a sundae for breakfast, but he’s out of ice cream, so he uses onions, ketchup and the remains of a dead peanut plant. His breath smells so bad that people start to run away in disgust from him throughout the day. Spongebob notices, becomes confused and asks Patrick why this may be (who doesn’t have a nose and can’t smell him.) Patrick tells him of the tale of “The Ugly Barnacle”:
“Once there was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died. The end.”
Eventually, he shares his sundae with Patrick and realizes that they’re not ugly, their breath just stinks.
“Snowball Effect”- Season 3, Episode 6
When Spongebob and Patrick are having a snowball fight, Squidward is trying to have a relaxing day at home and tries to get them to quiet down. They try to get him to join, but he won’t, and they get offended and stop. At this point, Squidward is entertained by watching them and tries to get them to play again, but they won’t. He starts to throw snowballs at them and gets so reckless and into it that Spongebob and Patrick leave, unbeknownst to him. Squidward continues to throw snowballs behind his fortress because he thinks the snow that’s dropping from the tree above him are snowballs that Spongebob and Patrick are throwing.
“Rock-a-Bye Bivalve”- Season 3, Episode 9
That one episode when Patrick and Spongebob find a little clam and literally raise it as their own baby, naming it “Junior” and acting like its parents (honestly the LGBTQ+ representation we needed.) They eventually start arguing over who’s spending more time with him and who’s parenting better when Patrick comes home late from a work party when he was supposed to give Spongebob a break from Junior. In the midst of their argument, Junior jumps out a window and they freak out that he died and that they’re horrible parents, only to find out that he can fly. He kisses Spongebob goodbye and when Patrick asks for a goodbye, kisses him goodbye after dropping a coconut on his head for being a bad parent.
~
In memory of Stephen Hillenburg: 1961-2018.
You can donate to the ALS foundation here.