Top 10 Favorite SpongeBob episodes

SpongeBob has a lot of episodes. A lot of them are pretty good! A lot of them are pretty bad! But this page is for the good ones. All seasons are allowed, because they're all SpongeBob episodes, so if you have an episode smack dab in the middle of Season 6 that you just find hilarious, don't feel disinclined to include it! No need to pick "popular" choices either. If "Band Geeks" is nowhere on your list, well, that's just the way it be sometimes. Remember to be respectful of other peoples' choices and the like.

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10. "Mimic Madness" - (Season 10) - While there have been some varying opinions on "post-sequel" era SpongeBob, they do seem to lean positive, and I'm definitely one in the "post-sequel SpongeBob is good" camp. While I'd loved most of the episodes released in the era up to this point, (save maybe "Mutiny on the Krusty") "Mimic Madness" was the first that wowed me over enough to consider it one of the show's best, and for good reason too. The animation, voice acting, and humor are all pretty phenomenal, and it really takes the whole gag where "SpongeBob transforms into something" to a whole new level. Everything fantastic about this episode culminates in the "Who Am I?" song, which is definitely up with the show's best musical numbers, and maybe something a little too grand for a silly show about a talking sponge. I'm not complaining, though, it's absolutely fantastic.

9. "Squid Noir" - (Season 11) - I've never watched any film noir, but something about it feels so aesthetically... "me," that an episode like "Squid Noir" would be right up my alley. Its premise is pretty basic, with Squidward becoming a detective to find his lost clarinet, but the art direction, music editing, animation, and dialogue all really beef up what would already be a pretty thoroughly entertaining episode. I love SpongeBob's "Oh, Squidward, don't you know a suspect is just a friend you haven't cleared of charges yet?" line, and the scene where they try to play good-cop-bad-cop, but SpongeBob isn't prepared to be the bad cop and they just pamper Mr. Krabs instead. The style of this episode is very distinct, and really helps it stand out amongst the show's best episodes.

8. "Krusty Krab Training Video" - (Season 3) - "Krusty Krab Training Video" doesn't have quite the same level of "story depth" that the previous two episodes have, but it more than makes up for it with a unique format and absolutely golden humor. It nails the "cheesy training video" look on the head, making fun of the hilariously poor attempts at humor in such a way that it goes around to being extremely funny. Most of the characters are a bit exaggerated here, but in a sense that compliments the format, and really just makes all the funniest gags even funnier. The "POOP" scene is golden of course, and so is "Hoopla!" and "Maximum Overdrive," or else those moments wouldn't get so much recognition, but I think my absolute favorite gag here has to be the "Interfacing with Your Boss" segment, complete with an electrical chair on the title card. The comedic timing is just so perfect, it gets a kick out of me every time.

7. "Dying for Pie" - (Season 2) - Season 2 is my favorite season of SpongeBob currently, and one example of a particularly fantastic episode in this season has to be "Dying for Pie." SpongeBob and Squidward's dynamic is definitely one of the most fun on the show when done well, and this is quite possibly speaking, the best it has ever been done. Squidward, realizing SpongeBob's life is on the line, tries to do everything in his power to make sure SpongeBob has the best day of his life, and it's really fun to see the usually grumpy Squidward trying to make SpongeBob happy for a change. Of course, while the story and characterization is the main hook of the episode, this episode isn't without its fair share of gags either. The entire ridiculous set up of "bomb pies" is just too, too good, and while Squidward is willing to do whatever SpongeBob wants to keep him happy, it means he still has to put up with stuff like "open heart surgery" and "seeing everyone in town in a salmon suit." The ending is also a perfect conclusion, that satisfies the story with a dollop of humor.

6. "Krabby Patty Creature Feature" - (Season 11) - When I have to pause an episode a couple of times just to catch my laughter, you know it's a good one. I'm always up for a good monster movie parody, and "Krabby Patty creature Feature" is just that. Constantly lampooning every element of your average B-movie by transforming everyone in Bikini Bottom into horrible burger zombies is such a ridiculous premise, and the episode absolutely runs with it from start to finish. The "Moments Later..." time card gag and Karen being infected were the big two that really hit me, but this episode is packed from start to finish with several laughs, such as Bubble Bass's brief scene, (with a nice callback to "Pickles!" Bonus!) the little background details of the "food lab," and the climax at the Chum Bucket. While all of this is fine and dandy, I also have to reward this episode for being one of the best looking episodes of the entire series. Season 11 has gone all-out with the animation, but some episodes, such as this, "Cuddle E. Hugs," and "Stuck on the Roof" are particularly notable. The expressions really help emphasize SpongeBob's fear, and help really portray how the burger zombies should look, without ever feeling too disgusting or horrifying. I especially love Squidward, Bubble Bass, and Old Man Walker's burger designs. Probably my favorite post-sequel episode.

5. "Nasty Patty" - (Season 3) - Dark humor can either be done really really poorly, or really really well. This episode is a perfect example of the latter, with the plot pretty much being "SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs believe they killed a man, and try to hide his body." And it is absolutely hilarious. It's sort of hilarious to see SpongeBob acting so "diabolical," for a lack of better words, at Mr. Krabs's discretion, when they try to poison a phony health inspector looking for free food, and they try to escape what they believe to be a murder. However, the episode only gets funnier as we learn the health inspector is still alive, but he keeps getting knocked out at the most inopportune moments, continuing the illusion. The awkwardness created by all the characters here, trying to escape one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, is just wonderful, and a perfect way to do dark humor right, and the way the episode is written to put everyone in the worst possible scenarios at any given situation is just wonderful, the scene where SpongeBob stuffs the health inspector in his hat to hide him in the freezer because the back door is locked coming to mind, as well as the cops' entire presence here. A really solid episode with a wonderfully grim premise, "Nasty Patty" gets my top regards.

4. "Fear of a Krabby Patty" - (Season 4) - Season 4 is often considered when the show was going downhill, and while I still enjoy it, I can definitely agree, as the "okay" and "bad" episodes do start to take a notable presence. However, when the season was just starting, it seemed as though no one was expecting that, and for good reasons to. Hot off the trails of episodes like "The Great Snail Race" and "The Sponge Who Could Fly," and starting with this absolute gem, it seemed as though Season 4 was going to possibly be the best season yet. While that statement as a whole may have diminished given the test of time, that does nothing to disregard how fantastic "Fear of a Krabby Patty" is. While the Krusty Krab opening 24 hours was seen in the earlier "Graveyard Shift," I feel the alternate route taken by this episode is much funnier, and that's saying something, considering how good the former is. C.H. Greenblatt's writing and art direction really takes hold in this episode, with several hilarious expressions complimenting absurd, yet wonderful gags, such as the "Day 15" sequence, the therapy appointment with "Dr. Peter Lankton" at the end, and the giant monster Krabby Patties. Actually, why are less-than-pleasant Krabby Patties such a recurring theme here? This is like, the third episode in a row with that as a major plot point. Nonetheless, the absolute hilarity that "Fear of a Krabby Patty" brings is one only rivalled by a small handful of episodes.

3. "Planet of the Jellyfish" - (Season 8) - Huh. A Season 8 episode in the top three. Who woulda guessed? That being said, with an episode this good, it's kinda hard for me to put it anywhere else. As I said with "Krabby Patty Creature Feature," I love a good monster movie episode, and once again, this is precisely that, even more so. I love how hilariously the beginning just lampshades how these sort of movies start, ("I'm just gonna go jellyfishing by that creepy looking rock over there!") but once the Jelliens invade, it only starts moving uphill. The weakness of mayonnaise is played up to absolutely hilarious degrees, such as when a Krustomer orders a patty with extra mayo, only to get hissing from everyone else, and the "I hate mayo. And mustard." gag later on. I probably need to watch "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" someday to really appreciate "Planet of the Jellyfish," but from what I understand, this episode is pretty much a flawless parody, with some gags even reflecting the original source, such as when Gary ends up fused with a flowerpot, and the afforementioned behavior of the Jelliens. I also love how casually SpongeBob reacts to everything up until the reveal, such as just giving one Jellien popcorn when it tries to bite down on his brain, and just feeling a little confused at best when Patrick just grows a hat out of his head. It's not often that a post-movie episode packs this hard a wallop, but I mean, it does happen, and this is a perfect example.

2. "Band Geeks" - (Season 2) - I'm sorry fellas. "Band Geeks" is not my number one favorite episode. And it's note "Chocolate with Nuts" either, so don't go guessing that right now. It's not an episode probably any of you will expect, which only makes it more fun! That being said, second best episode of a show with some episodes this good isn't nothing to be disappointed about, and it's definitely some pretty close competition. "Band Geeks" has become one of the show's most notable episodes for very good reasons, introducing Squidward's rival Squilliam to the scene, throwing our favorite octopus a bone for a change, and coming with an absolutely fantastic rock ballad musical number at the end. Even if it's just an APM track technically, I can't think of anybody who wouldn't jam out to Sweet Victory on a good day. Of course, the fun with the music isn't the only thing "Band Geeks" has going for it, as the humor in this episode is absolutely phenomenal, or else it wouldn't be one of the most popular episodes ever. Almost every line of this episode is completely memorable, from the first line about Squidward having a "dying animal on the premises," to the "BIG MEATY CLAWS" line near the end, to Plankton's "Do instruments of torture count?" which I honestly like just a little more than Patrick's still funny "Is mayonnaise an instrument?" line. Combined with hilarious visual gags, such as the flag twirling scene, it's obvious that "Band Geeks" holds quite a place in the hearts of every SpongeBob fan. My only complaint is that maybe it's too memorable. As in, the jokes just hit so well that it means that every subsequent time you watch the episode, it's nowhere near as funny because you've practically already memorized it. Not a bad thing, but that's pretty much the only reason it isn't number one. But before number one, let's have some...

HONORABLE MENTIONS

 * "Chocolate with Nuts" and "Teacher's Pests" are two episodes I really love that are excluded for more-or-less the same reason: while much funnier than the average SpongeBob episode, in a sense, they're still "average SpongeBob episodes." When picking the top 10, I tried to really look for episodes with unique premises, fun character dynamics, fun stories and formats which really help them pop out against the rest of the crowd. These two episodes are still fantastic, and close runners up, but just not quite.
 * Until seasons 10 and 11 rolled around being that good, Season 1 was able to hold onto some of the lower spots on the list with relative ease with the hilarious "Pizza Delivery" and "SB-129" episodes. The former is a similar fun Squidward-SpongeBob episode to "Dying for Pie" and my absolute favorite, though to a bit of a lesser degree, while "SB-129" is a really funny time travel episode with the only real drawback being that I feel it could hold onto the future a little longer if it means cutting from the present and past. Both absolutely solid episodes, but I had to make room for "Mimic Madness" and "Squid Noir" somewhere!
 * None of these are 10/10 episodes like the others, but may as well give shout-outs to "Roller Cowards," "Not Normal," "Kracked Krabs," and "Sharks vs. Pods" for being the best episodes of their respective seasons. While they don't hit quite as hard as some of my absolute favorites, and even probably an even greater number of runner-ups like "Frankendoodle" or "Wet Painters," being the best of a season is still something worth taking note of. And with that, it's time for...

NUMBER 1
1. "Squid on Strike" - (Season 2) - Betcha didn't see that one coming, eh? Unless you saw me on those terrible SpongeBob forums beefing this episode into oblivion on the "Hurt and Heal" game. And for good reasons, too! This episode is absolutely phenomenal, being everything I think a SpongeBob episode should be. The story is simple, yet effective, being that Squidward invites SpongeBob to go on strike for a better wage at the Krusty Krab, but the naive and overly optimistic SpongeBob just doesn't quite get how to protest. This premise is just a gold mine of humor, and they made sure to mine every last nugget when writing this one. I love how Mr. Krabs tries to get SpongeBob and Squidward to pay to work at the Krusty Krab, the "pick it signs" SpongeBob creates, the whole "Krusty Krab Unfair!" speech, the entire concept of Squidward trying to lead some big revolution with the Bikini Bottomites, there's just not a single gag in this episode I can think of that doesn't hit and doesn't hit hard. I've seen this episode several times now, and each time, it manages to be just as funny as it was so many times before, which is really just a spectacle for an episode to do. SpongeBob and Squidward's contrast is just done so absolutely well in this episode, even if not quite as solid as in "Dying for Pie," I do think this near-finale for Season 2 is something worth talking about. I love how SpongeBob is really only in the strike for the excitement and the purpose of getting his job back, eventually legitimately destroying the Krusty Krab when trying to take Squidward's advice of "tearing down the establishment" to heart. There's so much I could talk about in this episode, but really, it's one I think you just gotta see yourself. While maybe not everyone's choice, I personally stand by the opinion that "Squid on Strike" is the best SpongeBob episode to date, and probably the best of all time, unless the current staff really knocks it out of the ballpark. But who knows? Maybe they will.