01b. Reef Blower

This episode has always been somewhat of a favorite of mine, in my younger years I was a huge Disney animation fan and loved the old silent shorts i.e. Steamboat Willie so this episode always stuck out to me, being the only episode with no dialogue is a unique distinction and to me I really can't imagine this episode with it. A lot of this episode brings small laughs or giggles, I love Spongebob's extreme length just to clean a shell, I like Squidward turning purple and Spongebob's very worried look when all the water in the ocean is in the reef blower, also the animation is a big improvement over Help Wanted, I know in production order this one was made much later in the second half of the season but it is just nicer to look at. The expressions are also top notch, you can really tell what each character is feeling, minor nitpick but why have we never seen Spongebob's garage again that has always bugged me. I almost gave this episode a 10/10 but it doesn't do enough to warrant that as although its very good it doesn't deserve 10/10 still to me its a really enjoyable fun episode.

1b Reef Blower (Great Episode) (9/10)

1. Reef Blower (9/10)
2. Help Wanted (9/10)
 
This episode is... fine I guess. Of course the whole no dialogue thing is unique but I don't really find it to be all that interesting. The episode does a really good job at expressing emotion through facial expressions and movements, though. There were some fun moments in here, but it just feels kind of bland to me.

Average episode (6/10)

1. Help Wanted (9)
2. Reef Blower (6)
 
7.5/10

The dialogue being non-existent made it a tad bit more boring, but it was alright. I loved some of the jokes, like when SpongeBob was pulling the string and the reef blower sucked up all the water. Not the biggest fan of it, but it's pretty good.

1: Help Wanted (9.5/10)
2: Reef Blower (7.5/10)
 
This one has really good humor, although I actually think this could have been funnier with dialogue. While this was enjoyable I found it to one note to be among the best of the pre-movie era. I give Reef Blower a 62/100

1. Help Wanted: Amazing (100/100)
2. Reef Blower: Good (62/100)
 
I really like this episode. It's honestly one of my favorites from Season 1. 8.5/10.
 
This episode is simply fun. I like the silent aspect to it which I think adds a lot given how short the episode is. It also does a great job at introducing the neighbor dynamic between SpongeBob and Squidward, once again without a word being spoken. Really great episode. 8.5/10.
 
This episode is good! Having a short and silent episode is creative and original! It's crazy that SpongeBob sucked up all of the water and nearly kill Squidward! I like the environment of the episode as well!

I'll give it a 9/10 (Good episode)

(I like that the fact that many people upload this episode to YouTube and didn't get taken down!)
 
Last edited:
I think Reef Blower is an amusing short. Interesting visual events and humor. I've always liked the part where Spongebob sucks in the entire ocean's water with his reef blower. I like that this short does something different in that it's one of the few silent episodes in the series. Interesting that Season 1 had a short before Season 5 started doing them. This short was made because the pilot episode wasn't 11 minutes, so something else was needed to fill the gaps. They could have made Tea in the Treedome slightly longer though, I've seen other shows do that. Overall, I think this is an amusing, unique short. But not the most memorable episode of the show understandably.
 
A very fun episode to make things grand. The whole no dialogues idea is very cool.

Rating: Amazing Episode

Rankings:
Reef Blower (Amazing!)
Help Wanted (Amazing!)
 
It's a fun little short, and the character expressions help fill the gap left by the absence of dialogue. I can't rank it higher than a lot of the full-length episodes, but it's still good for what it is.

Episode Rating - 7/10

1. Help Wanted (9/10)
2. Reef Blower (7/10)
 
Powerstars said:
Personally, I love this episode. A silent episode is a great idea, and I'd love if there were more short episodes that played with two 11 minute episodes. This episode also has a great gag at the end with the water being sucked up. Overall,:

Premise: 8/10
Execution: 9.5/10
Click to expand...
Help Wanted is 8 minutes
 
This episode is a fun little short. I feel like the best way to think of it is as an extension of "Help Wanted" (which is actually what it's meant to be, which is why its so short). When you think of this episode this way, it also becomes an extension of the character and show introductions that started in "Help Wanted".

This short is all about the neighborly relationship between Squidward and SpongeBob. Of course, this will be explored in much more detail later in season 1, but it's a good introduction to their dynamic, since "Help Wanted" only had them interact for a few lines, and not much directly. Additionally, the episode does a great job at showing more of both Squidward and SpongeBob's characters. SpongeBob is a very energetic character, clearly going above and beyond trying to get the shell off of his lawn. He's also a bit silly. We saw all of this in "Help Wanted", but "Reef Blower" extends this characterization, cementing these traits into the character of SpongeBob. As for Squidward, we see at the beginning of the episode (just like the previous one) that he's not exactly a pleasant guy, given the way he knocks what is essentially trash or a weed into SpongeBob's yard just so it won't litter his own. And then of course, the episode ends with a classic bit of universal justice, as many SpongeBob episodes do.

We also once again get a good peek into the atmosphere of this world and its zaniness, as well as how it ignores the laws of physics.

"Reef Blower" is remarkably funny for being an episode completely without dialogue, so huge credit to the storyboarders here. Also, I think it's...interesting that the reason the episode is without dialogue is so the studio could skip out on paying the voice actors (source, if you're curious). I know the long-standing rumor has always been that the recording got corrupted, but nah, that's the actual reason. Either way, the crew did great even with this mandate by the studio, so I'm not going to complain. I think the episode is great as it is. The only reason I don't put this episode in the "amazing" tier is because although it is very funny, I am a big word humor fan, so having no dialogue does make it a bit harder for this episode to connect for me, at least to the point where it's on the top tier. And also, it's just too short! It's a supplement, rather than an episode. Nothing wrong with that, but it means that "Reef Blower" just doesn't quite make it to the big leagues.

Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8.5/10
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top