I'm With Stupid (SpongeBob SquarePants)

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"I'm With Stupid"
What a stupid friend Patrick really is.
Series: SpongeBob SquarePants
Part of Season: 2
Episode Number: 17b (37b)
Air Date: October 19, 2001
Writer: Aaron Springer
C.H. Greenblatt
Mark O'Hare
Director: Aaron Springer
Previous episode: Procrastination
Next episode: Sailor Mouth
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV (Airing order)

"We felt the original iterations of the characters, while they worked for that episode, they were boring as characters. They were NOT entertaining or fun. These two are so much more fun."

Vincent Waller while talking about why they made Bunny and Cecil

I'm with Stupid is the second half of the seventeenth episode of the second season of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Synopsis

SpongeBob pretends to be stupid to make Patrick look smart in front of his parents.

Stupid Qualities

  1. It is unfairly cruel towards SpongeBob, like Patrick, Janet, and Marty all think that he is stupid and treat him as so. Not helping is that it is revealed that Janet and Marty aren't Patrick's parents, so it turns out SpongeBob was tortured for nothing.
  2. Patrick is at his absolute worst in this episode in terms of pre-movie era as he treats SpongeBob horribly and ignores him when the latter is trying to convince him that he isn't truly stupid.
    • Granted, Patrick is not the brightest character around, but even he isn't that dumb to never realize SpongeBob's idea in the first place.
  3. It is also hypocritical that Patrick dislikes being treated like an idiot by his parents (he is dimwitted, however, but that isn't the point), only to treat SpongeBob the same way his parents did to him.
  4. For some reason, Janet and Marty are aware of where Patrick lives and who he is, even though they never actually had a son.
  5. The pacing isn't very good.
  6. Patrick never gets his comeuppance for his actions towards SpongeBob, and yet he is the one who gets the good ending.
  7. Both Janet and Marty are no better for being very annoying characters, with their laughs becoming stale quickly with Janet's laugh being the most annoying.
  8. The idea of SpongeBob trying to act dumb for Patrick's parents was a great idea of an episode, but it was sadly ruined by Patrick's behavior.
  9. Plot hole: In the scene where SpongeBob has had enough of Patrick, Janeth and Marty, when he comes out of Patrick's house through the wall and makes a hole in the wall, why is the sky behind the hole, when the house of Patrick is underground?

Smart Qualities

  1. There were no problems in the beginning, and it starts off pretty decently.
  2. C.H. Greenblatt and Aaron Springer, the storyboarders, whatever take a good over the top poses
  3. SpongeBob and Squidward are still likable.
  4. SpongeBob biting Patrick in the finger was very satisfying to see and it actually made it as his down special in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.
  5. Nice ending: Patrick finding his real parents is heartwarming, but that still doesn't excuse Patrick from his actions.
  6. Some funny jokes and lines:
    • The note and letter are one of the greatest visual gags in the entire series.
    • The way that Patrick laughs after his parents reacted to SpongeBob's house is funny.
    • "Janet?! Marty?! Who are you people?!"
    • "Marty, I'm scared!"
    • "Oh, that's right, honey! We don't have a son!

Reception

This episode received a mixed response from fans. Some fans, such as PieGuyRulz, loved the episode for its jokes, while others, such as the Mysterious Mr. Enter, disliked it for Patrick's obnoxious behavior.

Mr. Enter ranked this episode as the ninth worst "Patrick's a Prick" episode.

Trivia

  • PIEGUYRULZ' rating for this episode is the complete opposite of Mr. Enter's opinion, being that the former calls it good (despite admitting that the plot seemed flimsy at best) while the latter calls it an Animated Atrocity and the worst episode of the pre-movie era.
  • Jem Reviews said this episode was way better than the Jimmy Neutron episode, Carl Wheezer, Boy Genius in his Top 10 WORST Episodes of GOOD Cartoons video.
  • Some people think that it's the worst episode of the classic era, alongside with "I Was a Teenage Gary", "Grandma's Kisses", "Dumped", "Party Pooper Pants", and "The Great Snail Race".
  • Ironically, this episode is paired up with the "Procrastination".
  • Patrick's parents would later appear in the Season 12 episode "Patrick's Tantrum".
  • Speaking of Patrick's parents, they are going to be different in The Patrick Star Show, which can be a good thing.
    • Even more thankfully, though on an unrelated note, Sam Star will not be in the show and is replaced by Squidina.
  • Thomas F. Wilson and Susan Boyajian voice both Patrick's fake parents, Marty and Janet, as well as his real parents, Herb and Margie.
    • Thomas, surprisingly also voices Cecil Star in The Patrick Star Show.
  • Ironically, two writers that wrote for this episode also wrote for the episode "Band Geeks", and they’re both in the same season.
  • Some fans say that this Season 2 episode is worse than "Dumped".
  • Some fans say that this is the downfall of Patrick’s Funny Stupidity.
  • Since May of 2005, this episode and its sister episode Procrastination appear to be washed out and less saturated on Nickelodeon, appears washed out and less saturated on airings on Nickelodeon, Nicktoons (until October 2019), and Teennick. The desaturation and loss of sharpness could have occurred during the copying process when three scenes from the previous episode were cut, though this theory remains unconfirmed. Though a digital version of this episode is currently available on Amazon, iTunes, and Paramount+, and airing on Nicktoons after October 2019.

Videos

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