108b. Plankton's Regular

[CheeseCrocker]

The worst of season 6, though this is pretty tame compared to the worsts of other seasons. This episode was pretty boring and repetitive and it didn't make me laugh that much. I like the concept, but it's not executed that well.

Bad Episode (3.5/10)

 

[JoeyBoi]

Meh. The episode definitely has it's moments and it's refreshing to see a spin on the typical Plankton plot, but it could've used more jokes and it got a bit repetitive after a while. The ending is also horrible, but I'm sure you've heard everyone complain about that at this point. Still, I don't hate this episode, but man does it feel like such a missed opportunity.

Average episode (5/10)

1. Not Normal (8)
2. Krabby Road (7)
3. House Fancy (6)
4. Patty Caper (6)
5. A Life in a Day (6)
6. Spongicus (5)
7. Nautical Novice (5)
8. Plankton's Regular (5)
9. No Nose Knows (5)
10. Suction Cup Symphony (5)
11. Sun Bleached (4)
12. Penny Foolish (4)
13. Gone (4)
14. Giant Squidward (4)
15. Slide Whistle Stooges (3)
16. The Splinter (3)

 

[SlipperytheTotodile]

Its alright. It was funny and all but the synopis is a bit weak

Rating: Mediocre Episode

Rankings:
Suction Cup Symphony (Perfect)
Krabby Road (Amazing)
A Life in a Day (Great)
Nautical Novice (Great)
No Nose Knows (Good)
Slide Whistle Stooges (Good)
Not Normal (Good)
Gone (Good)
Spongicus (Good)
Giant Squidward (Okay)
Penny Foolish (Meh)
Plankton's Regular (Mediocre)
Patty Caper (Bad)
House Fancy (Bad)
Sun Bleached (Bad)
The Splinter (THE ULTRA MEGA SCUM OF THE EARTH!)

 

[Pugs4Thugs]

One of the worst episodes of the entire series. Probably around #7 on my list.
This episode is like a prelude to One Coarse Meal, as it is cruel, unfunny, and kind of sick. The fact that Karen was the one behind everything in the end just made me sick to my stomach, and her motivations were just horrible. The episode barely even tries to make jokes, and the jokes it does make are absolutely abysmal. 3.6/10

LMAO. Sorry just had to laugh at my 2018 review for a second because this is hilarious. I was so very misled and naive back then...
Anyway, let's get to the show, shall we?

Oh joy, "Plankton's Regular" another episode that I’m unsure whether it's considered infamous or not. Some of my opinions on public reception are still heavily influenced by 2013-2015 era cartoon reviewers, so it’s hard for me to say what public consensus is outside of that sphere. As you can see by my old review, I used to think very very little of this episode. I'm sure it will surprise no one, at the rate these reviews have been going, that my opinions on this episode have changed, and are hardly so drastic.

The beginning of this episode, with Plankton stewing in his misery and failure, is a pretty good start to things. The startled laughter that comes from me when he ends up ripping off his skin is probably a good sign, right? Well, it’s no matter, because the episode gets right into things immediately with Nat walking into the Chum Bucket and asking for a chum stick. Plankton’s disbelieving reaction is pretty funny, and probably mirrors all of our reactions as well. It certainly mirrors mine. But you can’t help but feel a little happy for the little guy for actually managing to get a customer who likes his food. It’s even easier to feel happy after seeing him completely breakdown in the first few seconds of this episode. The only thing I don’t like in these first few minutes is that there’s not really all that much to laugh at. But I was engaged so it’s alright.

Moving on, we cut to the Krusty Krab, which I’m going to be honest and just say it up front; I wish this entire part of the plot was cut from the plot. In fact, I think this episode would’ve worked better as a short, and have it just be about Plankton and Nat, with everything going the way it does just without Mr. Krabs or even SpongeBob. And that’s just how I feel about it. As it is, this Krusty Krab stuff feels unneeded. I get why it’s here, because it is an episode about Plankton and the Chum Bucket, but it just makes both Plankton and Mr. Krabs look bad, because of Plankton’s completely unearned smug satisfaction, and Mr. Krabs’ obsession to not let Plankton even have one regular when he’s not even a threat to him businesswise. So it’s just kind of irritating on both parts. And then from here, the episode turns into a bunch of predictably unsuccessful attempts by SpongeBob to get Nat to come to the Krusty Krab instead of the Chum Bucket, and very few moments in these minutes are funny, and I’m hardly entertained. The part where SpongeBob “trips” has got to be the worst offender, because it drags on for wayyyyy too long. I will say though, the part where SpongeBob replaces Karen was pretty funny for how lowkey twisted it was. I also liked how there was a little bit of foreshadowing in Nat saying that the Krusty Krab chum was the “second foulest thing he’s ever tasted”. And the idea bulb eyes gag was pretty good.

Once we get the role reversal between Mr. Krabs and Plankton in earnest, it occurs to me that this is not as fun as I’d expect it to be. A proper Mr. Krabs and Plankton role reversal would be super entertaining, like in “The Algae’s Always Greener”. This episode is not that because of what I said earlier about both parties being irritating to my soul. Additionally, I don’t even get to enjoy the true role reversal that much because Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob’s attempt to steal Plankton’s formula is foiled in like…30 seconds, and Plankton gloating is again irritating. At least SpongeBob makes things much more enjoyable just by being his cheerful self.

And then we get the final, notorious reveal that Nat was actually paid by Karen to regularly eat at the Chum Bucket so that Plankton would stop complaining. And then Plankton starts crying just like he did at the beginning of the episode, with Mr. Krabs enjoying every second. As for my feelings about this ending, I find myself disappointed. Not because the ending is bad, but because I was expecting to feel more upset about it than I actually was. Honestly Karen is completely valid for doing this LMAO, because I too would be quite annoyed at Plankton by this point. If only he’d let go of the chum idea.

“Plankton’s Regular” had potential, I think. Not a ton of it, but it could’ve been more than what it ended up being if both Mr. Krabs and Plankton weren’t insufferable here. As it is, the only source of enjoyment I get from this episode is probably SpongeBob, and a few jokes here and there.

Episode Tier: Mediocre
Episode Score: 5.5/10

 

[distinctincident5624]

Meh episode in my opinion. There were some good ideas here but I REALLY could've gone without seeing SpongeBob with his skin ripped off...

 

[Faux Troll]

LMAO. Sorry just had to laugh at my 2018 review for a second because this is hilarious. I was so very misled and naive back then...
Anyway, let's get to the show, shall we?

Oh joy, "Plankton's Regular" another episode that I’m unsure whether it's considered infamous or not. Some of my opinions on public reception are still heavily influenced by 2013-2015 era cartoon reviewers, so it’s hard for me to say what public consensus is outside of that sphere. As you can see by my old review, I used to think very very little of this episode. I'm sure it will surprise no one, at the rate these reviews have been going, that my opinions on this episode have changed, and are hardly so drastic.

The beginning of this episode, with Plankton stewing in his misery and failure, is a pretty good start to things. The startled laughter that comes from me when he ends up ripping off his skin is probably a good sign, right? Well, it’s no matter, because the episode gets right into things immediately with Nat walking into the Chum Bucket and asking for a chum stick. Plankton’s disbelieving reaction is pretty funny, and probably mirrors all of our reactions as well. It certainly mirrors mine. But you can’t help but feel a little happy for the little guy for actually managing to get a customer who likes his food. It’s even easier to feel happy after seeing him completely breakdown in the first few seconds of this episode. The only thing I don’t like in these first few minutes is that there’s not really all that much to laugh at. But I was engaged so it’s alright.

Moving on, we cut to the Krusty Krab, which I’m going to be honest and just say it up front; I wish this entire part of the plot was cut from the plot. In fact, I think this episode would’ve worked better as a short, and have it just be about Plankton and Nat, with everything going the way it does just without Mr. Krabs or even SpongeBob. And that’s just how I feel about it. As it is, this Krusty Krab stuff feels unneeded. I get why it’s here, because it is an episode about Plankton and the Chum Bucket, but it just makes both Plankton and Mr. Krabs look bad, because of Plankton’s completely unearned smug satisfaction, and Mr. Krabs’ obsession to not let Plankton even have one regular when he’s not even a threat to him businesswise. So it’s just kind of irritating on both parts. And then from here, the episode turns into a bunch of predictably unsuccessful attempts by SpongeBob to get Nat to come to the Krusty Krab instead of the Chum Bucket, and very few moments in these minutes are funny, and I’m hardly entertained. The part where SpongeBob “trips” has got to be the worst offender, because it drags on for wayyyyy too long. I will say though, the part where SpongeBob replaces Karen was pretty funny for how lowkey twisted it was. I also liked how there was a little bit of foreshadowing in Nat saying that the Krusty Krab chum was the “second foulest thing he’s ever tasted”. And the idea bulb eyes gag was pretty good.

Once we get the role reversal between Mr. Krabs and Plankton in earnest, it occurs to me that this is not as fun as I’d expect it to be. A proper Mr. Krabs and Plankton role reversal would be super entertaining, like in “The Algae’s Always Greener”. This episode is not that because of what I said earlier about both parties being irritating to my soul. Additionally, I don’t even get to enjoy the true role reversal that much because Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob’s attempt to steal Plankton’s formula is foiled in like…30 seconds, and Plankton gloating is again irritating. At least SpongeBob makes things much more enjoyable just by being his cheerful self.

And then we get the final, notorious reveal that Nat was actually paid by Karen to regularly eat at the Chum Bucket so that Plankton would stop complaining. And then Plankton starts crying just like he did at the beginning of the episode, with Mr. Krabs enjoying every second. As for my feelings about this ending, I find myself disappointed. Not because the ending is bad, but because I was expecting to feel more upset about it than I actually was. Honestly Karen is completely valid for doing this LMAO, because I too would be quite annoyed at Plankton by this point. If only he’d let go of the chum idea.

“Plankton’s Regular” had potential, I think. Not a ton of it, but it could’ve been more than what it ended up being if both Mr. Krabs and Plankton weren’t insufferable here. As it is, the only source of enjoyment I get from this episode is probably SpongeBob, and a few jokes here and there.

Episode Tier: Mediocre
Episode Score: 5.5/10

An interesting review, though I don’t get why Plankton’s gloating irritates you. I agree that it’s technically unjustified, since he only has 1 customer but isn’t that a good thing? If he’s THIS happy about having one customer, he’s probably not seeking more anytime soon. As such, he’s not a threat to Mr Krabs, so Krabs need not worry about him. It seems that the only thing irritating Krabs is Plankton’s happiness. Or maybe it is specifically Plankton’s teeny bit of success and he’s jealous of that. Personally I’m not irritated by Plankton’s gloating at all because it led Mr Krabs to get all worked up over nothing and put in all this unneeded effort in order to ruin Plankton’s harmless success. Plankton’s gloating almost satisfies me because it brings out and exposes Mr Krabs’s pettiness.

I guess you could argue that Krabs sees it as a long-term threat. Like if Plankton has 1 customer, he can use that small bit of good reputation to attract more customers? But that’s not what the episode seems to be trying to convey at all. It seems like their intention was to portray Mr Krabs as petty and having that be a core element of the plot and/or comedy. (I originally said “core joke” but I’m not certain if the pettiness itself is meant to be a joke or just a comedic element to help support the actual jokes).

 

[Pugs4Thugs]

An interesting review, though I don’t get why Plankton’s gloating irritates you. I agree that it’s technically unjustified, since he only has 1 customer but isn’t that a good thing? If he’s THIS happy about having one customer, he’s probably not seeking more anytime soon. As such, he’s not a threat to Mr Krabs, so Krabs need not worry about him. It seems that the only thing irritating Krabs is Plankton’s happiness. Or maybe it is specifically Plankton’s teeny bit of success and he’s jealous of that. Personally I’m not irritated by Plankton’s gloating at all because it led Mr Krabs to get all worked up over nothing and put in all this unneeded effort in order to ruin Plankton’s harmless success. Plankton’s gloating almost satisfies me because it brings out and exposes Mr Krabs’s pettiness.

I guess you could argue that Krabs sees it as a long-term threat. Like if Plankton has 1 customer, he can use that small bit of good reputation to attract more customers? But that’s not what the episode seems to be trying to convey at all. It seems like their intention was to portray Mr Krabs as petty and having that be a core element of the plot and/or comedy. (I originally said “core joke” but I’m not certain if the pettiness itself is meant to be a joke or just a comedic element to help support the actual jokes).

I agree that the episode is clearly painting Mr. Krabs in the wrong here with his pettiness, which is why he's annoying here. Plankton's gloating irritates me because it feels less like genuine happiness (after a certain point), and more him just being smug, which would be fine if he had more than literally one customer. It's just a dissonance that doesn't work for me here I guess.

 

[SneakyMcSneakyPants]

Possibly unpopular opinion: I honestly love the part where Plankton rips his skin off at the beginning. It’s just so funny because it’s such an overreaction that literally comes out of nowhere.

 

[NOTSpongeblobmaster]

Some of the worst season 6 out there! it was mostly boring and bad and gross! that would have just gave it a 3.5 but the ending! it dragged it to the ground so badly it started bleeding with a 1.5!

 

[NOTSpongeblobmaster]

Some of the worst season 6 out there! it was mostly boring and bad and gross! that would have just gave it a 3.5 but the ending! it dragged it to the ground so badly it started bleeding with a 1.5!

the old review is mostly fine until the bleeding thing in the ground... ugh honestly why did I give this a 1.5? this episode honestly has nothing it makes me feel nothing until the ending which makes the episode worse on rewatches and this time it actively affected my enjoyment of the episode what an accomplishment season 6! you did something that a lot of episodes have! they actively get worse on rewatch the only semi redeemable thing in this episode is that I like the title card and it has a good concept that would later be done better with character liking chum in the Hankering

1. Krabby Road (10/10)
2. Not Normal (10/10)
3. Suction Cup Symphony (10/10)
4. Patty Caper (9.5/10)
5. House Fancy (9/10)
6. A Life In A Day (9/10)
7. Giant Squidward (8/10)
8. Spongicus (8/10)
9. Gone (7.5/10)
10. Penny Foolish (6.5/10)
11. No Nose Knows (6/10)
12. Nautical Novice (5/10)
13. Sun Bleached (3/10)
14. Slide Whistle Stooges (1/10)
15. Plankton's Regular (0.5/10)
16. The Splinter (0/10)

 

[NOTSpongeblobmaster]

ahh look who it is, my good old used to be in bottom 10 episode, we meet again plankton's regular... i really hated this episode i don't like how characters get they skin ripped off, specially plankton which is just.. ew... tbh the start wasn't horrible but it wasn't good, then the middle part with spongebob is in my opinion the 2nd worst part of the episode, he is so out of character here even in episodes that i didn't like, like nautical novice or sun bleached atleast he would have realized that what he is doing is wrong, but they don't do that here, instead he is boating buddies bad in this, the part where he tries to feed the customer a krabby is honestly really uncomfortable, it reminds me of a scene in breadwinners and i HATE breadwinners, tbh the ending was the worst part it has the yank the dog's chain trope which i do absolutely hate, mr krabs laughing at plankton crying is just one coarse meal levels of bad, i have nothing good to say about this episode.
Rating: 0/10
Overall Thoughts: very few good jokes, with annoying spongebob and a ending that just reminds me of dumped.

Real Rating: Abysmal (0/10)

 

[Hugs4Softie]

Me and @NOTSpongeblobmaster are reviewing a few "underhated" episodes of SpongeBob on Discord. We decided to start with Plankton's Regular, not really an infamous episode like One Coarse Meal. But in my opinion, it still sucks. This episode is bottom 25 worthy. It sucks, there was maybe one thing I found funny in this episode. But I gotta tell you guys about it, not just a hate rant, it's a review after all.

The episode is another Plankton and Krabs episode. Plankton is my favorite character, but not all Plankton episodes are good (like the one I mentioned earlier). NOTSpongeblobmaster told me this one was bad, and I had some hope in the beginning, maybe it was going to be okay or even tolerable. I was wrong.

The episode starts off with Plankton ripping his skin off to reveal the "bacon Plankton" as me and a few of my old ESB buddies would call it. I didn't actually know bacon Plankton was in this one. Kinda gross but I didn't really mind, I've seen worse. Plankton complains about his restaurant being empty because his food is awful and no one wants to eat it. This was kinda the start of the "twist" ending at the end (that I really hate but I'll get to that later).

Nat, my favorite incidental made an appearance as a major plot character! I wish he'd been bigger to the plot on a better episode because Nat has always been my favorite background character. I thought that it being a Plankton episode and having Nat appear as a major character would maybe raise the rating. One thing I do like about the next scene is Plankton's line "please don't sue me". But after that, I've already gotten pretty much past everything I liked about this episode.

Plankton has to tell Krabs about his new customer to rub it up in his face. Like Pugs actually mentioned:

Plankton's gloating irritates me because it feels less like genuine happiness (after a certain point), and more him just being smug

And that makes complete sense because he seems like he's only happy because he gets to rub it in Krabs face. Not because he has an actual good, loyal customer. If this part were cut from the entire episode, you would not be missing much to be real. And then comes SpongeBob. SpongeBob was one of my least favorite characters throughout this entire episode. He felt more like Mr. Krabs' yes-man who did everything Krabs wanted him to. There's nothing wrong with SpongeBob being a loyal employee, but he has opinions of his own and doesn't follow with everything. For example, let's take a great episode in Season 3, Can You Spare a Dime. You can't convince me that's the same SpongeBob that is in Plankton's Regular.

In this episode, SpongeBob was annoying and stubborn instead of the lovable character we usually want to cheer for. Who were we supposed to be cheering for in this episode anyway? They did not make that very clear. Are we supposed to be happy for Plankton? Are we supposed to want Krabs to be a selfish prick who can't fathom Plankton having just one customer? Honestly I don't want to cheer for the supposed-to-be good guys in this one. SpongeBob and Krabs were both insufferable characters in this one that I could never see being protagonists you're supposed to like.

It's about 5 minutes of SpongeBob and Krabs being awful and annoying trying to take Plankton's one customer away from him. Krabs has probably hundreds of customers, he has absolutely no reason to be jealous of Plankton, it makes no sense. I get it, he's supposed to be greedy and selfish, but he was a perfectly good character in many great episodes, like Best Frenemies and Friend or Foe (some of my favorites). Mr Krabs is a character that you can work with and make him really good, but then some episodes just have to take him and make episodes like this (or One Coarse Meal...). I can't stand this episode for this reason.

The end is no better. They reveal a little plot twist. Nat was being paid by Karen the whole time. Honestly I can't blame Karen for it, but it's not a great episode this way. (But on one hand, Nat is being straight up relatable, that's how I feel after eating that ranch in the fridge). And Mr Krabs and SpongeBob watch as Plankton sobs on the floor to end the episode. Isn't that soo funny he was crying on the floor? No it wasn't this episode sucks.

-

For a final rating I'd say 0/10 for making me sit through all that.

 

[NOTSpongeblobmaster]

Me and @NOTSpongeblobmaster are reviewing a few "underhated" episodes of SpongeBob on Discord. We decided to start with Plankton's Regular, not really an infamous episode like One Coarse Meal. But in my opinion, it still sucks. This episode is bottom 25 worthy. It sucks, there was maybe one thing I found funny in this episode. But I gotta tell you guys about it, not just a hate rant, it's a review after all.

The episode is another Plankton and Krabs episode. Plankton is my favorite character, but not all Plankton episodes are good (like the one I mentioned earlier). NOTSpongeblobmaster told me this one was bad, and I had some hope in the beginning, maybe it was going to be okay or even tolerable. I was wrong.

The episode starts off with Plankton ripping his skin off to reveal the "bacon Plankton" as me and a few of my old ESB buddies would call it. I didn't actually know bacon Plankton was in this one. Kinda gross but I didn't really mind, I've seen worse. Plankton complains about his restaurant being empty because his food is awful and no one wants to eat it. This was kinda the start of the "twist" ending at the end (that I really hate but I'll get to that later).

Nat, my favorite incidental made an appearance as a major plot character! I wish he'd been bigger to the plot on a better episode because Nat has always been my favorite background character. I thought that it being a Plankton episode and having Nat appear as a major character would maybe raise the rating. One thing I do like about the next scene is Plankton's line "please don't sue me". But after that, I've already gotten pretty much past everything I liked about this episode.

Plankton has to tell Krabs about his new customer to rub it up in his face. Like Pugs actually mentioned:

And that makes complete sense because he seems like he's only happy because he gets to rub it in Krabs face. Not because he has an actual good, loyal customer. If this part were cut from the entire episode, you would not be missing much to be real. And then comes SpongeBob. SpongeBob was one of my least favorite characters throughout this entire episode. He felt more like Mr. Krabs' yes-man who did everything Krabs wanted him to. There's nothing wrong with SpongeBob being a loyal employee, but he has opinions of his own and doesn't follow with everything. For example, let's take a great episode in Season 3, Can You Spare a Dime. You can't convince me that's the same SpongeBob that is in Plankton's Regular.

In this episode, SpongeBob was annoying and stubborn instead of the lovable character we usually want to cheer for. Who were we supposed to be cheering for in this episode anyway? They did not make that very clear. Are we supposed to be happy for Plankton? Are we supposed to want Krabs to be a selfish prick who can't fathom Plankton having just one customer? Honestly I don't want to cheer for the supposed-to-be good guys in this one. SpongeBob and Krabs were both insufferable characters in this one that I could never see being protagonists you're supposed to like.

It's about 5 minutes of SpongeBob and Krabs being awful and annoying trying to take Plankton's one customer away from him. Krabs has probably hundreds of customers, he has absolutely no reason to be jealous of Plankton, it makes no sense. I get it, he's supposed to be greedy and selfish, but he was a perfectly good character in many great episodes, like Best Frenemies and Friend or Foe (some of my favorites). Mr Krabs is a character that you can work with and make him really good, but then some episodes just have to take him and make episodes like this (or One Coarse Meal...). I can't stand this episode for this reason.

The end is no better. They reveal a little plot twist. Nat was being paid by Karen the whole time. Honestly I can't blame Karen for it, but it's not a great episode this way. (But on one hand, Nat is being straight up relatable, that's how I feel after eating that ranch in the fridge). And Mr Krabs and SpongeBob watch as Plankton sobs on the floor to end the episode. Isn't that soo funny he was crying on the floor? No it wasn't this episode sucks.

-

For a final rating I'd say 0/10 for making me sit through all that.

100% agreed