The fourth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, aired on Nickelodeon from May 6, 2005, to July 24, 2007, and contained 20 half-hour episodes. The series chronicles the misadventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The season was executive produced by series creator Hillenburg, while writer Paul Tibbitt acted as the supervising producer and showrunner.
The show underwent a hiatus on television as Hillenburg halted the production in 2002 to work on the film adaptation of the series, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Once the film was finalized and the previous season had completed broadcast on television, Hillenburg wanted to end the show, but the success of the series led to more episodes. Paul Tibbitt would take over Hillenburg's position as showrunner and began working on a fourth season for broadcast in 2005. Hillenburg remained with the show, but in a smaller advisory role in which he reviewed each episode and offered suggestions to the show's production crew.
The show itself received several recognitions, including the three Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Cartoon from 2005 to 2007. "Fear of a Krabby Patty" and "Shell of a Man" were nominated at the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). It also received a nomination for "Bummer Vacation" and "Wigstruck" at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards for the same category.
Several compilation DVDs that contained episodes from the season were released. The SpongeBob SquarePants: Season 4, Volume 1 and 2 DVDs were released in Region 1 on September 12, 2006, and January 9, 2007, respectively, while the complete set was released in Region 2 on November 3, 2008, and Region 4 on November 7, 2008. The second volume was released in Region 1 before several episodes aired in the United States. On November 13, 2012, The Complete Fourth Season DVD was released in Region 1.
The season aired on Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom, and was produced by United Plankton Pictures and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. The season's executive producer was series creator Stephen Hillenburg.[1] In 2002, Hillenburg and the show's staff members decided to stop making episodes to work on the 2004 film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, after completing the third season.[2] As a result, the show went into a two-year "self-imposed" production hiatus.[3] During the break on television, Nickelodeon expanded the programming for the third season to cover the delay, however, according to network executive Eric Coleman, "there certainly was a delay and a built-up demand."[4] Nickelodeon announced nine "as-yet-unaired" episodes would be shown during the break.[5]
Once the production on the film was completed, Hillenburg wanted to end the series "so the show wouldn't jump the shark", but Nickelodeon wanted to produce more episodes.[6] Hillenburg said "Well, there was concern when we did the movie [in 2004] that the show had peaked. There were concerns among executives at Nickelodeon."[7][8] Hillenburg resigned as the series' showrunner,[9] and appointed Paul Tibbitt, who previously served as a writer, director, and storyboard artist of the show, to overtake the role.[10] Hillenburg considered Tibbitt one of his favorite members of the show's crew,[11] and "totally trusted him".[12] Tibbitt still helmed the showrunner position, until October 2015 when Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli took his position, and also functions as an executive producer.[10][13] Hillenburg no longer wrote or directly ran the show on a day-to-day basis, but reviewed each episode and delivered suggestions. He said, "I figure when I'm pretty old I can still paint. I don't know about running shows."[9][14]
In November 2004, Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and the rest of the crew confirmed that they had completed four new episodes for broadcast on Nickelodeon in early 2005,[15][16] and planned to finish about 20 total for the then-fourth season.[15][16] In particular, Kenny said, "Kids were happy watching them for the 3,000th time. It was the parents who've been busting my chops for new episodes."[17] He remarked that it would be "the same show, the same sponge".[17] On May 6, 2005, the season premiered with the episodes "Fear of a Krabby Patty" and "Shell of a Man".[17][18][19] "Fear of a Krabby Patty" was the first episode to be broadcast after the show's intermission.[17][18][19] It was written by C.H. Greenblatt and Paul Tibbitt, while Alan Smart served as animation director.[20]
Animation was handled overseas in South Korea at Rough Draft Studios.[12][21] Animation directors credited with episodes in the fourth season included Larry Leichliter, Andrew Overtoom, Smart, and Tom Yasumi.[a] Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Casey Alexander, Steven Banks, Mike Bell, Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash, Zeus Cervas, Greenblatt, Tom King, Tim Hill, Kyle McCulloch, Dani Michaeli, Chris Mitchell, Mike Mitchell, Aaron Springer, Tibbitt, Vincent Waller, Tuck Tucker, and Erik Wiese.[a] The storyboard directors for this season were Alexander, Bell, Brookshier, Cash, Cervas, Greenblatt, King, Chris Mitchell, Springer, Tuck Tucker, Brad Vandergrift, Waller, and Wiese.[a]
The fourth season featured Tom Kenny as the voice of the title character SpongeBob SquarePants and his pet snail Gary. SpongeBob's best friend, a starfish named Patrick Star, was voiced by Bill Fagerbakke,[22] while Rodger Bumpass played the voice of Squidward Tentacles, an arrogant and ill-tempered octopus.[23] Other members of the cast were Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, a miserly crab obsessed with money who is SpongeBob's boss at the Krusty Krab;[24] Mr. Lawrence as Plankton, a small green copepod and Mr. Krabs' business rival;[25] Jill Talley as Karen, Plankton's sentient computer sidekick;[26] Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel from Texas;[27] Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff, SpongeBob's boating school teacher;[28] and Lori Alan as Pearl, a teenage whale who is Mr. Krabs' daughter.[29][30]
In addition to the regular cast members, episodes feature guest voices from a range of professions, including actors, musicians, and artists. For instance, in the episode "Have You Seen This Snail?", American comedian and actress Amy Poehler guest starred as the voice of Grandma, a sweet old woman who adopted Gary after he ran away.[31][32] Musician Stew also appeared as a voice, performing the song "Gary, Come Home".[31][33][34] Show writer C.H. Greenblatt made an appearance in the episode "Selling Out" as Carl.[35][36] Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway returned in the episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture", reprising their roles as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, respectively.[37] Brian Doyle-Murray reprised his role as the Flying Dutchman for "Ghost Host".[38] In "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired", English actor Robin Sachs voiced Sergeant Sam Roderick, a driving instructor who took over Mrs. Puff in teaching SpongeBob.[39] The Young Ones stars Christopher Ryan, Nigel Planer and Rik Mayall appeared in the episode "Chimps Ahoy" as Sandy's bosses—Professor Percy, Dr. Marmalade and Lord Reginald, respectively.[40] In the entry "Karate Island", Happy Days and The Karate Kid star Pat Morita guest starred in a post-humorous role as Master Udon, a scammer who kidnaps SpongeBob to make him buy real estate.[35][41] Morita died on November 24, 2005, from kidney failure at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the May 2006 episode was dedicated to Morita's memory.[41]
The season was critically acclaimed by media critics and fans. Paul Mavis of DVD Talk gave both of the season's volumes 4½ stars. The episodes "Fear of a Krabby Patty" and "Shell of a Man" were nominated at the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour), but lost to South Park's "Best Friends Forever".[42] The show was also nominated at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards for the same category for the episodes "Bummer Vacation" and "Wigstruck".[43] At the 33rd Annie Awards, C.H. Greenblatt, Paul Tibbitt, Mike Bell and Tim Hill won for Best Writing in an Animated Television Production for the episode "Fear of a Krabby Patty".[44] "Fear of a Krabby Patty" won for a Special Award at the 2005 Annecy International Animated Film Festival.[45] At the 2006 Golden Reel Awards, the episode "Have You Seen This Snail?" was nominated for Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated.[46] The show itself received several recognitions, including the three Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Cartoon from 2005 to 2007.[47][48][49] It also received a nomination at the 21st TCA Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming, but lost to Degrassi: The Next Generation,[50] and at the 23rd TCA Awards for the same category. However, the series did not win.[51]
The episodes are ordered below according to Nickelodeon's packaging order, and not their original production or broadcast order.
"Fear of a Krabby Patty": After seeing Plankton's tactic of keeping the Chum Bucket open for 23 hours, Mr. Krabs decides to keep the Krusty Krab open 24/7. Eventually, SpongeBob suffers a mental breakdown and develops a fear of Krabby Patties due to the nonstop work. Plankton pretends to be a psychiatrist, naming himself Dr. Peter Lankton in order to treat SpongeBob's phobia, and in turn get the Krabby Patty secret formula. Much to Plankton's dismay, SpongeBob stays asleep during a hypnosis session, where he overcomes his phobia in a dream, and goes back to the Krusty Krab fully rehabilitated.
"The Lost Mattress": Mr. Krabs is having trouble sleeping on his old mattress, so Patrick and SpongeBob buy him a new one and Squidward takes the credit. Unbeknownst to them, Mr. Krabs' money was in the mattress that has been thrown to the dump, causing him to fall into a "cash coma" and end up in the hospital. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward try, but they are unable to retrieve the mattress from the dump due to a guard worm. Mr. Krabs is kicked out of the hospital for not having insurance and lands right on the mattress, waking him up, and he takes his mattress back from the worm.
SpongeBob takes the "Dirty Bubble Challenge" with his new paddleball set and neglects Gary in the process, which causes him to run away and be adopted by a senile old fish who mistakes him for her snail. While the woman seems gentle, she overfeeds Gary, who soon learns the old lady's bad history with snails.
"Skill Crane": Mr. Krabs purchases a skill crane for the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob wins something from the machine every time he inserts a quarter, while Squidward loses every time. This drives Squidward insane, and soon he puts all of his money, as well as the deed to his house, into the machine, trying to beat it. When SpongeBob tells him the secret to winning, Squidward finally wins something — a hairless teddy bear. His constant bragging eventually gets the better of him.
"Selling Out": Mr. Krabs sells the Krusty Krab to a franchise restaurateur and retires, leaving SpongeBob and Squidward with an over-peppy new manager and a new way of business. The new manager renames the Krusty Krab to "Krabby O' Mondays" (based on TGI Fridays). Mr. Krabs, bored of retirement, takes a job as a busboy at the Krabby O' Mondays, but is shocked at the changes, especially to the Krabby Patties, now made with synthetic gray glop spray-painted to look like what was originally served at the Krusty Krab. Mr. Krabs then destroys Krabby O' Mondays, buys it back, and gets SpongeBob and Squidward their original jobs back.
"Enemy In-Law": Plankton falls in love with Mr. Krabs' mother and begins to date her. When Mr. Krabs finds out, he tries to convince his mother that Plankton is only after the Krabby Patty secret formula, but Mama Krabs orders her son to stay out of her personal affairs. Mr. Krabs painfully obliges, until Plankton decides to pop the question. The next day, Plankton asks Mama Krabs to marry him, and Mr. Krabs tries to stop him. When she says no, Plankton asks for the secret formula, and Mama Krabs — finally seeing what Mr. Krabs was trying to tell her – angrily beats him up.
"Patrick SmartPants": After falling off a cliff and accidentally receiving a brain coral, Patrick's intelligence increases significantly. SpongeBob wants Patrick to play with him but he finds SpongeBob childish and declines, and befriends with Squidward and Sandy instead. When Patrick's friendships with them quickly fall apart and falls into a slump, he realizes he misses being SpongeBob's friend, and after a round of fun not doing the trick, he jumps off the cliff again, and he and SpongeBob find out that he landed in a brain coral field. Patrick soon relocates his actual head, and he returns to normal.
"Krusty Towers": Due to his high hotel bill, Mr. Krabs believes hotels to be a gold mine and opens Krusty Towers, including a motto that says that guests must never be denied any of their requests (plagiarizing the motto from the other hotel). When Patrick checks in, Mr. Krabs orders Squidward to cater to his every whim, no matter how ridiculous it is. Squidward finally has enough, he quits and returns – as a guest, taking advantage of Mr. Krabs' motto. Squidward's unreasonable demands force Mr. Krabs to regret his motto. When the hotel falls apart and the four end up hospitalized, Mr. Krabs discovers that hospitals are way more overpriced than hotels, and decides to open one himself.
"Chimps Ahoy": Sandy's benefactors from the surface threaten to pull her from the treedome if she cannot come up with an invention, and SpongeBob and Patrick decide to help her.
"Whale of a Birthday": Pearl is turning sixteen years old, and warns Mr. Krabs not to give her a cheap party and gifts, like in the past. Mr. Krabs sends SpongeBob out with a credit card to buy presents for Pearl, and she turns out to love her party and gifts in the end.
"All That Glitters": While preparing a Monster Krabby Patty, SpongeBob's spatula snaps loose and he needs another one. SpongeBob invests all his money (and his own clothes) for a fancy hi-tech spatula. The mechanical spatula then refuses to do the job of a regular spatula, and then it runs away. The episode ends with his beloved spatula (which had recovered from its injuries) flipping some Krabby Patties. SpongeBob yet had to face another Monster Krabby Patty, this time snapping his arms – but he laughs at them without pain.
"New Leaf": Plankton says he is giving up on his many attempts to steal the Krabby Patty formula, and has decided to turn the Chum Bucket into a gift shop. He even renames the Chum Bucket to The Chumporium. But Mr. Krabs is smart not to believe him, certain that it is just another one of Plankton's schemes to get the secret formula.
"Bummer Vacation": SpongeBob is forced to take his vacation days at work, but he refuses to accept that. When Patrick is hired as his temporary replacement, SpongeBob goes crazy and tries to get back to his favorite place, only to be kicked out by Mr. Krabs every time.
"Squidtastic Voyage": SpongeBob and Patrick cause Squidward to swallow his clarinet reed and they must retrieve it.
"The Thing": After Squidward's day is ruined yet again by SpongeBob and Patrick while he is trying to watch public television, he rides his bike into a cement mixer and emerges as a hideous-looking, unusual creature that SpongeBob and Patrick adopt.
"Driven to Tears": Patrick successfully passes his driving exam and it goes to his head, which makes SpongeBob very envious. Patrick repeatedly rubs his license on SpongeBob's face, causing SpongeBob to lose his temper.
"Born to Be Wild": SpongeBob finds a patch from a biker's jacket in Jellyfish Fields of a biker club he encounters and immediately becomes frightened. Believing that the biker club is called "The Wild Ones" and that they are heading to attack Bikini Bottom, he and Patrick attempt to dress as tougher bikers themselves hoping to save the town.
"The Pink Purloiner": There is a migration of many exotic jellyfish species. SpongeBob and Patrick bring their nets to catch them. However, SpongeBob's jellyfish net is missing and he thinks Patrick stole it.
"Best Day Ever": SpongeBob wants to have the best day ever. He keeps a list of pastimes, including working at the Krusty Krab, jellyfishing, karate, and watching Squidward perform. However, several problems that occur that SpongeBob has to help fix prevent him from doing them. The people he helped earlier make it up to SpongeBob by performing a concert for him in the end.
The first ten episodes of the fourth season were released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on September 12, 2006.[83] The "Volume 1" DVD release features bonus material including animatics and featurettes.[83] The remaining ten episodes of the season were also released under the title "Volume 2" in the United States and Canada on January 9, 2007.[84] The DVD release also features bonus material including music videos, shorts and featurettes.[84] In Region 2 and 4, the DVD release for the season was a complete set. On November 13, 2012, The Complete Fourth Season DVD was released in Region 1, five years after the season had completed broadcast on television.[85]