Going back to Bikini Bottom: Are you ready kids?

Sophie Hicks questions Nickelodeon's decision to make a spinoff of SpongeBob SquarePants, a show well past its prime

Sophie Hicks
11th March 2019
Image- Flickr- Inside the Magic

Following the trend in reboots, Nickelodeon has announced that they are currently developing SpongeBob SquarePants spin-offs. I researched it assuming that the show ended, but no, it’s still going after 20 years. Whilst I’m not exactly Nickelodeon’s demographic anymore, I did spend a decent portion of my childhood watching re-runs of SpongeBob, so I have opinions on the reboot.

I understand why Nickelodeon would create a spin-off series; although the show may be losing views, SpongeBob still very much so exists. From the campaign for the Super Bowl to play ‘Sweet Victory’ after the death of Stephen Hillenburg, to the extremely successful Tony-nominated musical adaptation and multiple theme park attractions, SpongeBob is still popular. However, I think even children can see that the quality of SpongeBob episodes drastically declined over the years. So, is a spin-off series a good idea when the quality of the show has rapidly declined? Nickelodeon hasn’t shared much about the spin-off but have stated that it will probably focus on stories of the other characters of SpongeBob, such as Plankton or Sandy Cheeks.

However, even Brian Robbins doesn’t seem to know what it will be about either. If the president of Nickelodeon doesn’t even know what it’s going to be about, then is it needed? Even children can see when a network is just dragging a show on for too long.

I think even children can see that the quality of SpongeBob episodes drastically declined over the years

 

Personally, although Nickelodeon hopes it will increase their viewership, I don’t think it will. If it was on Netflix, maybe it would be popular. But I just don’t think the TV format will ever get the views it once had. The popularity remains because of nostalgia and how genuinely funny the show used to be, but now Nickelodeon need to move on with new concepts (or do re-runs of Avatar: The Last Airbender instead).

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AUTHOR: Sophie Hicks
Former TV Sub-Editor for The Courier and BA Media Communication and Cultural Studies graduate

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