55b. Mid-Life Crustacean

I used to give this episode a 9 because of the plot feeling original, but after a rereview, I began to notice the depressive tone flowing through this episode. The premise, while isn't very original and creative, is still effective for any show to use, but what's the point of it being used in SpongeBob? Season 3 has the problem of SpongeBob and Patrick feeling too mature, and this episode definitely shows them as out-of-character protagonists. Also, there isn't that much substance in this episode either, just SpongeBob, Patrick having fun with Mr. Krabs. Also, I'd like to talk about the tone; It's not SpongeBob at all. It feels like some drama that tries hard to clarify its message, but fails at it because at the final project tells Mr. Krabs feeling too preverted and the entire second act, he doesn't change his character a bit. First, he joins SpongeBob and Patrick, but then the episode got too dramatic where he becomes too cranky due to being fed up with their nerdy activity. I used to find it funny at first, but there are countless minutes of the sad tone that made me so sad to dare call it 9 again.

2.5/10
 
TheDivertRealm said:
I used to give this episode a 9 because of the plot feeling original, but after a rereview, I began to notice the depressive tone flowing through this episode. The premise, while isn't very original and creative, is still effective for any show to use, but what's the point of it being used in SpongeBob? Season 3 has the problem of SpongeBob and Patrick feeling too mature, and this episode definitely shows them as out-of-character protagonists. Also, there isn't that much substance in this episode either, just SpongeBob, Patrick having fun with Mr. Krabs. Also, I'd like to talk about the tone; It's not SpongeBob at all. It feels like some drama that tries hard to clarify its message, but fails at it because at the final project tells Mr. Krabs feeling too preverted and the entire second act, he doesn't change his character a bit. First, he joins SpongeBob and Patrick, but then the episode got too dramatic where he becomes too cranky due to being fed up with their nerdy activity. I used to find it funny at first, but there are countless minutes of the sad tone that made me so sad to dare call it 9 again.

2.5/10
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The "depressive tone" I think you're talking about is at the beginning of this episode, and is to setup how old Mr. Krabs is. Even still, it's not too soap operay, there's gags with Pearl, good visual gags, and it's interesting to see more of Mr. Krab's house. So I think it serves as a good setup, and it's interesting how it starts with the beginning of his day.

I think the premise is original, because Mr. Krabs makes it original, they have SpongeBob and Patrick take him all over the place, and it's really fun, so yeah I think it is creative.

I do agree, in the weeker episodes of Season 3, SpongeBob acts too mature (like PPP and TGSR) but here is probably is most immature they are acting. It's can be geared towards adults and still be funny, and I think it works well.

The "lack of substance" is short, quick, creative buildup for Mr. Krabs to be pushed to the edge, it's also really funny which helps it.

It doesn't follow a usual SpongeBob tone, but neither does SB-129, or Rock Bottom, or even MM&BB V to a certain extent, it's not necessarily a bad thing. When Squidward got sad in Band Geeks after a setup that was more mellow, does that make it more depressive in your eyes? It's exactly the same thing here, he snapped just like anyone did.

Also, I don't see any perversion, Krab's wanted fun, and that's exactly what it is, don't read too much into it, it's about the same as calling SpongeBob and Patrick gay in Rock-a-Bye Bivalve.

Overall, it has a good mix of sad tone (which isn't even that sad) and fun, I think it works very great. It's supposed to be kind of a crack at Mr. Krabs, it's not really a depression episode like "Are You Happy Now?" or "Once Course Meal", no they don't really do that structure. You can have you're own opinion, I don't care, but I just think you kind of misinterpreted what they were going for with this episode, I'd be happy to discuss this with you.
 
I thought it was interesting that this concept was presented in SpongeBob of all things. Maybe it was an attempt by the writers to get a laugh out of the parents of the kids watching this show? Either way, this is one of my favorite episodes. It doesn't let up on gags that both adults and kids can enjoy, and it is definitely one of the dirtier episodes of the series.
 
I don't like this episode. The beginning's alright, but after that, the townspeople act like jerks to Mr. Krabs for no reason other than to drive the plot. SpongeBob and Patrick yelling loudly was obnoxious. The only good thing was the "eavesdropping" line. Mr. Krabs trying to do cool stuff with SpongeBob and Patrick honestly just bored me. Then the "panty raid" part. Writers, this is a kid's show. You don't want to give them ideas. Once it begins, it gets revealed that they were doing it in Mrs. Krabs' house. That's not funny. That's creepy. Either Mr. Krabs didn't recognize his mom's house or he just decided to go along with it. The former doesn't make any sense, and the latter makes the situation even creepier. So yeah, didn't like this one. I don't want to have to sit through it again.

Ranking so far:
1. Chocolate With Nuts (A+)
2. Snowball Effect (A+)
3. Wet Painters (A+)
4. Krusty Krab Training Video (A+)
5. Can You Spare A Dime? (A+)
6. Idiot Box (A+)
7. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V (A)
8. Just One Bite (A)
9. No Weenies Allowed (A)
10. Nasty Patty (A)
11. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV (A)
12. Rock-A-Bye Bivalve (B)
13. The Bully (B)
14. Doing Time (B)
15. Ugh (B)
16. Squilliam Returns (B)
17. The Algae's Always Greener (B)
18. Krab Borg (B)
19. One Krab's Trash (B)
20. Clams (B)
21. My Pretty Seahorse (C)
22. Club SpongeBob (C)
23. SpongeGuard on Duty (C)
24. New Student Starfish (C)
25. As Seen On TV (D)
26. The Great Snail Race (D)
27. Party Pooper Pants (D)
28. Mid-Life Crustacean (E)
 
Decent episode. There was quite a few gags, but this doesn't really stick out that much besides the "Are you feeling it now Mr. Krabs?" line.

Good Episode (7/10)
 
I liked this one. There was some pretty funny jokes and also some memorable moments. I don't really have much to say about this one other than that it was kind of dull at points. Also, I have NO idea how the whole panty raid thing got past the sensors. They don't mention it for like a quick gag or anything, it's literally a crucial part in the plot. That's just insane to me.

Good episode (8/10)

1. Chocolate With Nuts (10)
2. Krusty Krab Training Video (10)
3. Idiot Box (10)
4. Mermaidman and Barnacleboy V (10)
5. Wet Painters (9)
6. The Algae's Always Greener (9)
7. Snowball Effect (9)
8. Can You Spare A Dime? (9)
9. Rock-A-Bye Bivalve (9)
10. Just One Bite (9)
11. Krab Borg (9)
12. As Seen On Tv (8)
13. One Krabs Trash (8)
14. Nasty Patty (8)
15. Mid-Life Crustacean (8)
16. New Student Starfish (8)
17. No Weenies Allowed (8)
18. My Pretty Seahorse (7)
19. Squilliam Returns (7)
20. Mermaidman and Barnacleboy IV (7)
21. The Great Snail Race (7)
22. Clams (7)
23. The Bully (7)
24. Doing Time (7)
25. Ugh (6)
26. Spongeguard on Duty (6)
27. Club Spongebob (6)
28. Party Pooper Pants (4)
 
I rewatched it also now. This episode is great! Way better than I remembered it. I give it 9/10
 
OLD REVIEW NEW ONE BELOW

Its banned why? (INAPPROIATE) its good

10.0/10 Excellent
 
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Well we are at the banned episode of season 3. This one was pretty funny and i like the plot. Are you feeling it now Mr. Krabs is a good quote. The only bad quality was the Panty Raid scene.

Rating: Great Episode

Rankings:
No Weenies Allowed (Golden)
Idiot Box (Perfect)
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V (Perfect)
Krab Borg (Amazing!)
Wet Painters (Amazing!)
The Algaes Always Greener (Amazing!)
Just One Bite (Amazing!)
Squlliam Returns (Amazing!)
My Pretty Seahorse (Delightful)
Krusty Krab Training Video (Astonishing)
The Great Snail Race (Great)
Ugh (Great)
Doing Time (Great)
Snowball Effect (Great)
Mid-Life Crustacean (Great)
One Krabs Trash (Good)
Can you Spare a Dime? (Good)
SpongeGuard on Duty (Okay)
Rock-a-Bye Bivalve (Okay)
Club SpongeBob (Meh)
New Student Starfish (Meh)
MMABBIV (Meh)
Clams (Bad)
Nasty Patty (Bad)
The Bully (Bad)
As Seen on TV (Bad)
Party Pooper Pants (Sucky)
 
I was gonna skip out on writing a review tonight because y'all I am tired, but you guys are lucky that I managed to pull myself together enough to get this out. So, today we've got "Mid-Life Crustacean!"

Now, let's just address the elephant in the room. I wasn't going to but you guys know I love to talk so...here I am. Yes, it got taken off Paramount+ (or whatever it is that happened) because of the panty raid joke. Firstly, before I get into this, that joke doesn't ruin the episode for me. But it does leave a bad taste in my mouth half the time. And here's how I feel about the "ban": It's too little too late. It's no secret that this is a really weird and out of place joke. Like why are SpongeBob and Patrick of all people conducting panty raids??? It's odd, it's weird, there's no doubt about that. And then the act itself is equally odd and weird, and generally makes me a bit uncomfortable. But the thing is, this episode had been out for well over a decade, nearly two when it was "banned". That to me screams PR stunt. Why did this pass the censors in the first place? Who was in the writers' room when the joke was created? You see how the issues here extend far beyond just the joke? So my problem isn't the joke itself (or isn't only with it, because as I've said it's very weird), but how it reveals the way Nickelodeon functions. And that's all I'll say on that, so let's get into the real review, shall we?

As I have said many, many times before, I love how SpongeBob SquarePants is a show about adults meant for children. So you can imagine my joy when I see that this episode is about Mr. Krabs having a literal mid-life crisis. Like how much more adult can you get than an episode exploring middle age??? And this episode does that very well, in a way that's funny and very...accessible for kids to understand. So it makes it an enjoyable experience for all ages.

I love how the beginning of this episode really lays it on as thick as possible that Mr. Krabs feels old as H. We've got him creaking out of bed with the music, and then the ginormous pill that Pearl dutifully gives him. Honestly, when I was a kid, I could not take pills at all, they all felt like that one huge pill. The sequence of Mr. Krabs walking to the Krusty Krab is great, with the boy scout and his arm ending up coming off, with Harold being a jerkwad for no reason (he could've just walked around Mr. Krabs from jump) along with the hilarious turn signal joke, and with the line to the cemetery ice cream stand. Really, the townspeople in this episode are just so out of pocket, like I'm thinking of that mother who literally just calls Mr. Krabs old and dried out for no reason lmao, too funny.

And then we get the entrance of the young people, SpongeBob and Patrick. Fun fact, I used to have a highly pixelated image of the whole back-and-forth ending with "I'm already hearing voices!" as one of my computer backgrounds. And it's still a moment that holds up, especially once Squidward gets involved (great facial expressions everywhere here too). I love how Mr. Krabs starts eavesdropping on the two of them, especially when his eyes end up landing on SpongeBob's shoulders.

The suave dorkiness of SpongeBob and Patrick in this episode is just amazing. I really love that it feels like we're watching them from a different perspective, because we are, given that this episode is about Mr. Krabs. And I love that we as the audience can pick up on the fact that they probably have nothing stereotypically "cool" planned, especially once they arrive "fashionably late" (the joke landing perfectly with the time card). I love the back and forth part with Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, and Patrick, especially once Pearl comes in to save us from the cringe. See, that's how you do secondhand embarrassment without being hard to watch! SpongeBob's (and Patrick's) ever-present optimism is such a highlight of this episode, seeing him never get really bogged down no matter how much other people insult him.

The montage of SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs having a "night of debauchery" is fun too. Honestly I would enjoy some of these things let me be real for a second. Like the pool at night? Reading at the library? Count me in! But I love the repeated "are you feeling it now Mr. Krabs?" culminating in the hilarious scene when the crustacean has finally had enough. Also, I love the music in that scene, Dombummel. It played previously in Patrick's dream in "Sleepy Time", and also in "Shanghaied" when SpongeBob and Patrick ice skate.

And then, of course, we have the last bit of the episode. I love the little painting of SpongeBob and Patrick when they say "not lame!", it's very cute. And I've already talked at length about the panty raid joke. I think the appeal of it is how absurd it is, but again it's just really freaking weird. Especially when it turns out to be Mr. Krabs' mom. It's so messed up that you have to laugh, which I do. But also I have questions about SpongeBob's "you didn't ask"...you're telling me that SpongeBob and Patrick knew this was Mr. Krabs' mom's house???? Okay...talk about making a weird scene even weirder. Moving on, I do love how in order to feel young again, Mr. Krabs has to have his metaphorical butt handed to him by his mother. Him laying in his childhood bedroom is a nice way to close out the episode.

"Mid-Life Crustacean" is a really solid episode. It's enjoyable and funny, even if not packed with that many amazing jokes. However, my main problem with this episode is, of course, the panty raid joke that works for me sometimes, and...doesn't others. Do I think it should've been banned? Hmm...no. I don't. The joke is not nearly as bad as some make it out to be, but I'm not going to deny that it doesn't make me uncomfortable. It's just an unfortunate situation, sitting on the precipice between acceptable and not. The joke really shouldn't have made it past critical reflection in the first place, but that didn't happen, so this is where we're at now. Keeping this somewhat poor joke in mind, I have to put "Mid-Life Crustacean" in my "Great" tier, though honestly it probably would've been there without the joke.

Episode Tier: Great
Episode Score: 8/10
 
Masterpiece. 10/10.
 
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i don't know how to watch this episode i guess i will give it a rating when i get the first 100 episodes dvd
 
I loved this episode, seeing it get banned really made me sad. (In fact, if anyone knows where to watch the episode still, please tell)

Me and my sister often watched this one. Definitely an A Rank Season 3 episode!

It was funny, the jokes were great. I appreciate when the humor can be enjoyed by kids and adults. One of my favorite lines was the classic "are you feeling it now, Mr. Krabs?"

About the panty raid. That part never bothered me as a kid, and it still doesn't. It was a stupid reason to ban an episode. I thought it was hilarious and so did my parents (also SpongeBob fans).

10/10 shouldn't have been banned.
 
Hugs4Softie said:
I loved this episode, seeing it get banned really made me sad. (In fact, if anyone knows where to watch the episode still, please tell)

Me and my sister often watched this one. Definitely an A Rank Season 3 episode!

It was funny, the jokes were great. I appreciate when the humor can be enjoyed by kids and adults. One of my favorite lines was the classic "are you feeling it now, Mr. Krabs?"

About the panty raid. That part never bothered me as a kid, and it still doesn't. It was a stupid reason to ban an episode. I thought it was hilarious and so did my parents (also SpongeBob fans).

10/10 shouldn't have been banned.
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argh ye matey I know a way that a pirate can watch that episode! arrgh!
 
Funny episode
  1. Krusty Krab Training Video (15/10)
  2. Chocolate With Nuts (13/10)
  3. The Algae's Always Greener (10/10)
  4. Can You Spare A Dime? (10/10)
  5. Rock-A-Bye-Bivalve (10/10)
  6. No Weenies Allowed (10/10)
  7. Krab Borg (10/10)
  8. Idiot Box (10/10)
  9. Nasty Patty (10/10)
  10. Just One Bite (10/10)
  11. Mid Life Crustacean (9.5/10)
  12. One Krabs Trash (9/10)
  13. Wet Painters (8.5/10)
  14. Club Spongebob (8/10)
  15. Mermaid Man And Barnacle Boy V
  16. Mermaid Man And Barnacle Boy IV (8/10)
  17. My Pretty Seahorse (8/10)
  18. As Seen On Tv (8/10)
  19. Clams (7.5/10)
  20. Snowball Effect (7.5/10)
  21. The Bully (7.5/10)
  22. Doing Time (7/10)
  23. Spongeguard On Duty (7/10)
  24. Ugh (6.5/10)
  25. New Studen Starfish (4.5/10)
  26. Party Pooper Pants (4/10)
  27. Squilliam Returns (3.5/10)
  28. The Great Snail Race (3/10)
 
(Are you feeling it now, Mr. Krabs?)

A bit sad to see this episode get banned because of the panty raid, it's pretty great. Yeah, it's probably not something to put in a kids cartoon, but at least Mr. Krabs gets punished for what he does (albeit lightly).

You know, while The Sponge Who Could Fly is the Spongebob "Lost Episode", I consider this one to be the true lost episode as it isn't aired anymore and was scrubbed off of Paramount+. Overall, it's a classic and it's a good thing I got the 300 Episode DVD so I can view this lost episode (unless they removed it).
 
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