SpongeBob Squarepants

SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series and media franchise. It is one of Nickelodeon's "Nicktoons". Although its original network is Nickelodeon, it is broadcast across the world (see International Following for more details). more...

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It was created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, and is produced through his production company, United Plankton Pictures Inc. Most episodes of the comedy, set in the Pacific Ocean, takes place in the city of Bikini Bottom and the surrounding lagoon floor. The pilot episode first aired in the United States on Nickelodeon after the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999. The "official" series premiere followed on July 24, 1999 with the second episode, "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants".

Setting

The main character, SpongeBob SquarePants, is a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, while his squid neighbor Squidward Tentacles lives in an Easter Island head. His other neighbor and best friend (on the other side of Squidward), is a pink starfish named Patrick Star, who lives under a rock. Squidward often gets annoyed when SpongeBob and Patrick bother him.

SpongeBob's house-pet is a snail named Gary, whose "meow" is similar to a housecat. Although Gary only speaks in a few episodes, the characters have shown an ability to understand him. In addition to this, underwater worms bark exactly like dogs, and are kept on chains. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees; buzzing, stinging, and producing delicious "jelly", mocking the name "jellyfish", while still referencing a bee's honey. The jellyfish are also collected and appreciated like butterflies, as shown in the episode Jellyfishing. Jellyfishing (using a net to catch jellyfish) is one of SpongeBob's favorite hobbies. Fish, as a rule, are not important characters, but are common in the community.

SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, a fast-food restaurant, as a fry cook with Squidward Tentacles who is a cashier. The Krusty Krab is owned by Mr. Eugene H. Krabs, commonly referred to as "Mr. Krabs". At the Krusty Krab, Spongebob makes Krabby Patties.

Sheldon J. Plankton (commonly referred to as "Plankton") is Mr. Krabs' arch rival who owns a low-rank fast-food restaurant called The Chum Bucket, and he spends most of his time plotting to steal the recipe for Krabs's popular Krabby Patty. Plankton's computer wife, Karen, alternately helps him in his schemes or bickers with him.

Sandy Cheeks is another friend of SpongeBob. She is a squirrel that lives in an underwater tree-dome in Bikini Bottom. Sandy has a Texas accent and is from the state itself. When not inside her tree-dome, she wears a diving suit with a globe helmet to protect her oxygen environment.

Perch Perkins is the news reporter of Bikini Bottom. He is 35 years old as of Once Bitten. He is fond of ice cream and news stories.

Popularity

SpongeBob is the only cartoon to consistently make the Top 10 list in the Nielsen ratings, and is the first "low budget" Nickelodeon cartoon, according to the network, to become extremely popular. Low-budget cartoons had not garnered as much esteem as higher-rated (and higher-budgeted) shows, such as Rugrats, although when SpongeBob aired in 1999, it had gained a significant enough viewers in the ratings to be considered popular, eventually becoming more popular than Rugrats had ever been. SpongeBob follows other Nickelodeon shows that have attracted "older" followers: The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, the Kablam! skits, Action League Now! and The Angry Beavers. Other shows have followed in this trend as well: Invader Zim and The Fairly OddParents won a similar fan base when they aired in 2001, and the latter is now second only to SpongeBob in popularity, while the former attracted a cult following. At the time of writing, SpongeBob is the most popular cartoon on television, and it was considered to be the flagship cartoon for Generation Y. The show debuted in 1999, and during that time, Pokémon was still the biggest craze. SpongeBob did not gain its popularity until around 2000, and it has remained popular since then. SpongeBob SquarePants is the top TV series on Nickelodeon.

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