01a. Help Wanted

The pilot. Not that amazing like BG, CWN, CW. The pilot is not always the best. But still it's good.


Grade: B+
 
I didn't know that Derek Drymon used to be a writer instead of a creative director.
 
loking back who knew that this episode would be the start of something awesome 14 years ago?
 
Season: 1

Episode: Help Wanted

This episode was an classic. The plot was simple, but amazing. The characters were very different (seems very logic to me). I loved Spongebob's enthusiasm and Patrick's speech (he wasn't stupid in this episode). 10/10
 
MasiHosseini said:
Season: 1

Episode: Help Wanted

This episode was an classic. The plot was simple, but amazing. The characters were very different (seems very logic to me). I loved Spongebob's enthusiasm and Patrick's speech (he wasn't stupid in this episode). 10/10
Click to expand...
And then it was all downhill from there... :P Gosh, what a different character he was fifteen years ago. I'm not saying for the better necessarily (well, maybe I kind of am), but still...
 
"There it is....the finest eating establishment ever established for eating."
"Do you smell it? That smell. A kind of smelly smell. A smelly smell that smells. Smelly.... ANCHOVIES!"
"Look at me, I'm- NAKEEEEEEED!!!!!!"

One of my favourites too!
 
I hated season 1 (some episodes I liked). I never really liked the animation, Seasons 2-3 are amazing.
 
I've been watching Spongebob for a long while now, but I decided that I would actually watch all the episodes, from the very beginning, and comment on them. I'm not going to review them in-so-much as I'm going to grade them on whether or not I enjoyed them.

Help Wanted

Comments:
Y'know, the biggest oddity about this episode is that Patrick comes off as a very supportive friend who, while slightly clueless, isn't downright stupid.

“Who made a spatula out of toothpicks in woodshop?” That... has interesting implications. Mostly being that Spongebob and Patrick either went to the same school together or Spongebob told him that little detail. I know continuity isn't a thing in Spongebob, but it's lines like that that really make you wonder. The episode does a nice job portraying that they're friends either way.

The rest of the episode was pretty fun too. I don't feel strongly about Squidward or Mr. Krabs either way just yet, but I notice that Squidward, at least in this episode, seems less... apathetic to his job I suppose? Or well, he has more patience. I mean, it fits considering that Spongebob hasn't started working there yet, but fun to note.

Grade: 4/5, Great. I enjoyed the episode well enough, but it wasn't perfect. But we're off to a great start.
 
Great start to a great cartoon. 10/10 loved it. My favorite part was the montage where SpongeBob was feeding the anchovies, it's classic. Tiny Tim's "Livin' In The Sunlight" fit perfectly along with it.
 
I'm sorry guys, but this episode is very overrated. I think there's a lack of humor and it's not really entertaining IMO. Probably a 5.5/10.
 
As a kid, my favorite episode was Band Geeks.
As an adult, Help Wanted is probably my all-time favorite episode. Possibly due to nostalgia, but possibly because of my personal, very biased feelings about television pilots in general. I usually find that the pilot is the most charming and genuine episode of a show, because it feels less polished and more "hand-crafted," if you will. You really get the sense that someone drew and painted it by hand. You know what I mean?

"Help Wanted" is not the funniest Spongebob episode, nor is it the most poignant, or the most clever. But it's incredibly charming and genuine. I also really like the way the pilot is drawn- the lines are more wiggly, the animation is less smooth but a bit more expressive. There's just something about the pilot that really speaks to me. It has a special place in my heart.

Plus, a lot of adults can relate to the experience of REALLY wanting your dream job! I love the scene where Spongebob is trying to go to the Krusty Krab to apply for the job, but at the last second, he loses confidence in himself and literally runs away, almost crying, but Patrick (who seems to be a lot nicer in this episode than in others) gives him a much-needed pep talk. I like that Spongebob is really outgoing and eager, but he's still sensitive and vulnerable at the same time. (The face Spongebob makes when he first looks in the mirror to see himself in his new uniform totally melts my heart, too!)

The music is also great, as well! Pretty sure that this episode introduced an entire generation of kids to Tiny Tim. The one thing that bugs me is the washed-out colors. But it's the pilot, so that doesn't really matter.

Next year I'll be studying animation full-time in college. I hope that maybe someday, I can make something like this.
 
Let's get this straight, shows don't often have their best work at the first episode. It's just natural. At that point, the people working on the show still were experimenting with the elements and are trying to perfect it, and it doesn't usually happen on the first try, even if the show evolves to be amazing. Looking back at Frienship is Magic as an example, sure, it's one of my favorite shows of all-time and if it weren't for episode one, it would have never come to being, but the first episode had numerous flaws, the characters were only portions of themselves, there was some forced dialogue, and it feels like some things were just missing. Not knowing what else there was, though, I thought it was great and moved on. A pilot only needs to be good enough to get on the network and gain a following, and it can grow from there.

However, I can say that this episode was better than the Friendship is Magic two-parter, as it was a show that didn't need all the elements of something beautiful, thrilling, or whatever, it just needed to be funny. And it succeeded at that, giving us many classic jokes, starting with great ones like SpongeBob's morning routine, and ending with a reprise of the Patty making, while still introducing us to the now-iconic character. Going through it by each aspect...

First is the animation. While it was slightly rough and off-model, it was still very fluid that provided a lot of energy, and had it's own unique quirk. Then there's the story, well, plot thing. The idea with an episode in this season is that after a basic premise is made, they make up all the jokes that can tie into it and surround it with a story. It was interesting here. It was a creative and crazy way of doing something as simple as getting a job application. With Mr. Krabs and Squidward denying, they kind of get what they deserve when the anchovies destroy the place, and they realize just what they were going for with SpongeBob and how much of a gift he was, and it was nicely complimented by a mild action scene with a nice musical number from Tiny Tim. The humor was also very good, because when the memorable jokes like Patrick's terrible motivation "stick", they allow rewatch value with even the subtlest of moments given a subtle joke such as a smoke puff from the chimney or "I want my mommy Mr. Squidward" that you have only in the back of your mind.

Overall, this was a great way to start off the show and a window of what was to come for the future, and that's all it needed to be.

I think I gave it an 8.5, but I'm not exactly sure.
 
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