Two episodes of "Spongebob Squarepants," one detailing a “panty raid” at a woman’s house, and the other an eerily prophetic story of a flu outbreak and resultant period of quarantine, no longer appear on Nickelodeon's streaming services.
Considering the fact that SpongeBob SquarePants is specifically geared toward children, it is understandable that Nickelodeon would be hesitant to keep these episodes in their digital rotation.
NICKELODEON has announced that the ‘Kwarantined Crab' episode of Spongebob Squarepants has been removed "due to sensitivities surrounding the global, real-world pandemic". Nickelodeon has also removed the "Mid-Life Crustacean" episode.
Both episodes, one detailing a “panty raid” at a woman’s house, and the other an eerily prophetic story of a flu outbreak and resultant period of quarantine, no longer appear on the new streaming service, a representative for Nickelodeon confirmed.
Originally airing in 2003 during the show's third season, "Mid-Life Crustacean" was about Mr. Krabs who suffers a midlife crisis with SpongeBob and Patrick attempting to help him feel better by taking him for a fun night out.
What likely led to the episode getting axed was a scene with Patrick suggesting the trio embark on a "panty raid" by breaking into a woman's underwater house to steal her underwear.
The victim turns out to be Mr. Krabs' mother, who catches the three in the act and sends the Krusty Krab owner to his childhood room for the night.
The controversial episode was included as a part of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob: The First 100 Episodes DVD box set, and was still present in the 2020 re-release.
When it originally aired on television, "Mid-Life Crustacean" was also paired with the episode "Snail Race," as SpongeBob SquarePants episodes are typically comprised of two stories. "Snail Race" has been pulled from digital sales along with "Mid-Life Crustacean," though the former is streaming on Paramount+ unlike the latter.
However, the representative refused to comment about which scenes in particular caused the issue, and if a content warning would have worked instead of removing the episode all together.
The second episode in question is titled Kwarantined Krab, a prophetic 2019 edition of the show that sees an outbreak of ‘Clam Flu’ at the Krusty Krab, with all those inside forced to quarantine in the restaurant.
“The Kwarantined Crab centers on a virus storyline, so we have decided to not air it due to sensitivities surrounding the global, real-world pandemic,” the Nickelodeon rep told IGN.
It’s unclear if it will be released again once the pandemic is in the rearview, but IGN reported that some Reddit users are claiming it’s not available on the recently-released Season 12 DVD.
Considering the fact that SpongeBob SquarePants is specifically geared toward children, it is understandable that Nickelodeon would be hesitant to keep these episodes in their digital rotation.
At the same time, the show exists in a compelling televisual spectrum, one that balances between the consumption of children and adults.
To this day, the series maintains a passionate older fanbase, including those who grew up with the series and now tune in as fully-fledged grown-ups.
On social media, gifs, memes, and clips re-share moments from kids’ cartoons of the nineties, including SpongeBob SquarePants that appear to depict tongue-in-cheek adult humor and double-entendres.
While “Mid-Life Crustacean” and “Kwarantined Krab” had to go, they are certainly not the only episodes that raise the intriguing question of what, exactly, represents age-appropriate humor. (NP)
Tags: #SpongebobSquarepants, #Nickelodeon