One of the most popular shows on Nickelodeon is SpongeBob SquarePants. It is an animated television show full of surreal comedy and fun. The SpongeBob series has a total of 12 seasons with numerous episodes. The story is about SpongeBob with his friends- Patrick, Squidward, and so many more dealing with adventures in Bikini Bottom, an underwater fictional city. This show is also one of the longest animated series running on television.
The inspiration for this show is from an unpublished educational book from 1989 by Stephen Hillenburg. This book is called The Intertidal Zone and was about underwater life. After the cancellation of Rocko’s modern life in 1997, Hillenburg started creating the SpongeBob SquarePants project. The original name of SpongeBob SquarePants was SpongeBob Ahoy! with the character’s name as SpongeBob rather than SpongeBob. Because of the trademark of previous names, the name was changed and now is globally popular.
SpongeBob
Here is a list of the best episodes in the entire series of this animated show. Go through each one of their summaries and choose the ones you find most interesting. The best part will be to watch all of them.
- Creator: Stephen Hillenburg
- Developers: TimHill, Derek Drymon, Nick Jennings
- Director: Derek Drymon, Vincent Walker
- Voice-overcast: Tom Kenny, Rodger Bumpass, Mr. Lawrence, Carolyn Lawrence, Lori Alan, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Jill Talley, Mary Jo Catlett, Carlos Alazraqui, Sirena Irwin, Mark Fite, Brian Doyle Murray, Michael McKean, Dee Bradley Baker, Bob Joles, Thomas F. Wilson, John O’ Hurley, Brad Abrell, Tim Conway, Sara Paxton, Paul Tibbitt, Frank Welker, Ernest Borgnine, Stephen Hillenburg, Marion Ross, Camryn Walling
- Narrator: Tom Kenny
- Streaming Platform: Nickelodeon
- Number of Seasons: 13
- Number of Episodes: 265
37 Best SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes
1. The Smoking Peanut
- Season: 2
- Episode: 12
- IMDb Ratings: 8.5/10
The Bikini Bottom Zoo is hosting its Annual Free Day. Mr. Krabs uses this opportunity to grab everything he can. The giant oyster, Clamu is going to perform tricks at the oyster stadium, so SpongeBob and Patrick go to watch his show. But once they reach there, they see Clamu sleeping. While Patrick is starting to leave the stadium, SpongeBob throws a peanut at the oyster which makes her stir a little.
But rather than doing a show for everyone, Clamu starts destroying everything and seems agitated. She also starts crying. SpongeBob thinks that he is responsible for Clamu’s crying. On the other hand, Patrick makes up his mind to find the person who has disturbed Clamu so much.
2. Graveyard Shift
- Season: 2
- Episode: 16
- IMDb Ratings: 4/10
Krusty Krab is preparing to shut down when a customer enters to order something. Squidward tells the customer about the closing. Krust Krab realizes the benefits of keeping his place open late in the night. He goes against the wishes of Squidward and stays open for 24 hours. SpongeBob likes the plan of doing the tasks he was not able to do in the morning.
But he is terrified of going out at night to throw trash. That is when Squidward decides to have some fun and start telling him about the “hash slinging slasher.” This is the story of a Krusty Krab who chops his hand and replaces it with a spatula that is rusty.
3. The Algae’s Always Greener
- Season: 3
- Episode: 1
- IMDb Ratings: 8/10
Plankton is tired of eating holographic meatloaf and tries to steal the secret formula of the Krabby Patty. Now plankton wants to change his life with Mr. Krabs. He uses the transmorgrifier to switch lives with him and wakes up in his office. The nameplate on the desk reads Mr. Plankton and he is extremely successful. He employees SpongeBob SquarePants as his employee and gives him Krabby patties for inspection in the alternate universe. Mr. Plankton is satisfied with his new-found success but SpongeBob notices something wrong with him.
4. Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost
- Season: 1
- Episode: 11
- IMDb Ratings: 5/10
SpongeBob and Patrick are annoying Squidward because of playing a loud game. Squidward feels like an artist after completing his wax sculpture. SpongeBob and Patrick start playing frisbee when Squidward goes to take a bath. The frisbee hits his wax sculpture and breaks it. The sculpture is so real that Patrick and SpongeBob mistake him for the real Squidward and assumes him dead because of the attack.
Squidward wears a white bathrobe and puts talcum on him when he comes out of the bathroom. Patrick and SpongeBob see Squidward and think his ghost has come to haunt them. On the other hand, the naughty Squidward plays along to have some fun. He does this to get himself entertained, pampered, and served.
5. Chocolate With Nuts
- Season: 3
- Episode: 12
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
A lifestyle magazine with the lives of wealthy people called Fancy Living Digest is in SpongeBob’s mail. He did not order the magazine when Squidward comes to collect it. The magazine was put into the wrong mail. But Patrick and SpongeBob are intrigued by the content of the magazine. They are curious to know how people are so wealthy and they ask Squidward.
On this Squidward replies saying that the healthy people are entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are people who make and sell items to get rich. SpongeBob and Patrick also want to live this fancy lifestyle and become entrepreneurs. They have the idea of selling chocolate bars to become rich. But it is going to be difficult to run the business as no one is buying their chocolate bars.
6. Party Pooper Pants
- Season: 3
- Episode: 11
- IMDb Ratings: 9/10
This is one of the best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes. It has two acts. The first act starts with the part at Patchy’s house. But SpongeBob does not go to the house party. The reason that SpongeBob was unable to go to the party because Patch’s invitation is destroyed by water. The second act sees SpongeBob organizing an event for everyone. He is reading the newspaper to them.
7. Krusty Krab Training Video
- Season: 3
- Episode: 10
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
Every new Krusty Krab employee has to learn to make the Krabby Patty which is a delicacy. The episode ‘Krusty Krab Training Video’ shows the entire procedure that every new person entering the restaurant has to learn. The video is divided into three parts-From Humble beginnings to The Krusty Krab today and also about the pieces of training of new employees.
8. Hall Monitor
- Season: 1
- Episode: 7
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
The time has come to select the right hall monitor at Mrs. Puff’s boating school. SpongeBob is the only child who has never played the role of Hall monitor. Mrs. Puff tries to find another candidate for the role but ends up giving it to SpongeBob. He is the boating school hall monitor and his day goes by in giving a long speech. The hall monitor day for SpongeBob comes to an end but then he decides that he is going to act as the hall monitor for the entire city. Doing this will cause a lot of chaos and disaster.
9. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy
- Season: 1
- Episode: 6
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
This season 1 episode will feature in different parts on separate seasons also. The episode is one of the best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes in the entire series. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are famous superheroes. Patrick and SpongeBob get to know that Mermaid Man and Barnacle boy are living in the Shady Shoals nursing home. They decide to visit them to encourage the superheroes to come out of retirement and fight evil.
10. The Two Faces of Squidward
- Season: 5
- Episode: 19
- IMDb Ratings: 3/10
SpongeBob takes Patrick to Krusty Krab on the ‘Take Your Friend to the Workday.’ Patrick helps SpongeBob in cooking and the duo starts singing. Squidward had a Krabby Patty. SpongeBob accidentally hits Squidward on his face while he was coming to tell them to stop singing. SpongeBob takes him to the hospital and starts crying after seeing Purple doctorfish. He wants to know if Squidward is going to be okay or not but instead gets to know that they will have to wait for two weeks.
11. Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful
- Season: 7
- Episode: 5
- IMDb Ratings: 3/10
Squidward leaves home and starts roaming around. Soon he steps on a piece of chewing gum and tries to get rid of it. Officer John thinks that the gum was thrown by Squidward and asks him questions. Squidward receives a ticket and community service from the police officer.
Squidward is doing his due to community service when Squillium tells him about the reward he got for cleaning up Bikini Bottom in a week. A statue of Squilliam was made because of the task he did. Squidward also wanted this recognition and takes up the challenge to clean Bikini Bottom in a week.
12. The Curse of Bikini Bottom
- Season: 7
- Episode: 7
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
SpongeBob and Patrick ask Squidward’s lawnmower to play. The duo starts riding the mower after the permission of Squidward. SpongeBob and Patrick reach the cemetery and are completely out of control. They ruin the shirt that Flying Dutchman was wearing for his date. The mower also shaves off the beard of the Flying Dutchman and starts yelling at SpongeBob and Patrick. To punish the duo, Flying Dutchman turns them into ghosts.
13. The Main Drain
- Season: 7
- Episode: 15
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
SpongeBob is at Krusty Krab cleaning the grill with a part of his own tongue. This is why the customer is not wanting to eat the Krabby Patty after seeing how SpongeBob cleans the grill. SpongeBob goes to cook when he comes across a puddle of water and slips. SpongeBob realizes that the water is coming out of the sink. Patrick helps SpongeBob clean the entire mess and to unclog the drain, SpongeBob tries to pull the drain plug. That is when Mr. Krabs stops them and tells them about the main drain story.
14. Krusty Dogs
- Season: 7
- Episode: 24
- IMDb Ratings: 7/10
SpongeBob makes a big order of Krabby Patties and leaves the leftover meat in the shape of a sausage. SpongeBob gives a new name to a new dish, Krusty Dogs. Mr. Krabs starts selling Krusty Dogs for double the price of the patties. To the disappointment of SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs renames his restaurant as the Krusty Dogs. Mr. Krab also gets a hog dog machine in place of the grill. SpongeBob and Squidward come together to bring Krabby patties back.
15. Love That Squid
- Season: 7
- Episode: 25
- IMDb Ratings: 5/10
Squidward cannot read the sign when Frankie orders food for Evelyn at the Krusty Krab. Evelyn sees that they are meant for each other because both of them cannot read. The love books that Squidward reads are disturbing with his head and he throws them away. SpongeBob tries to cheer him up and return the book. But Squidward is single and unable to find a companion.
SpongeBob tries to make Squidward understand that he will find love in the future. Just because he is single right now does not mean he will never be able to find love in his life. In the middle of this conversation, a beautiful female customer entering Krusty Krab attracts the attention of Squidward.
16. Frozen Face-Off
- Season: 8
- Episode: 4
- IMDb Ratings: 4/10
Perch Perkins and Johnny Elaine are hosting a sled race in Bikini Bottom. The prize for anyone winning the competition is one million dollars. Everyone at Bikini Bottom is preparing religiously for the race. Plankton also takes part in the race but cheats by placing a robot instead of him. SpongeBob and Patrick are almost at the same point in the race. Plankton reaches the safety of the secret formula but is unable to open it.
17. A SquarePants Family Vacation
- Season: 8
- Episode: 7
- IMDb Ratings: 1/10
SpongeBob SquarePants promises to everyone with special invitations to give them what they want for free. Mr. Krabs gets free money, Squidward will get his latte-sipping contest and Sandy can have a science experiment. Everyone accepts a special invitation and goes to SpongeBob’s house. But they are disappointed that SpongeBob has invited them to watch his vacation slides. Everyone starts watching the vacation slides of SpongeBob.
18. Bubble Troubles
- Season: 8
- Episode: 14
- IMDb Ratings: 5/10
SpongeBob and Patrick are bored with blowing bubbles, so they decide to change things a little. Patrick gets the idea of using hot sauce to make spice bubbles. He blows the spice bubbles into SpongeBob’s eyes which turn red. SpongeBob return blows a spicy bubble into the eyes of Patrick. SpongeBob and Patrick continue blowing spicy bubbles. On the other hand, Squidward is clipping off his bonsai and suddenly cuts it the wrong way. Squidward throws the bonsai out of the window. The bonsai gets destroyed by a spicy bubble of SpongeBob.
19. Bubble Buddy Returns
- Season: 8
- Episode: 15
- IMDb Ratings: 5/10
A letter is going to reach SpongeBob’s house inside a bubble. The bubble is causing mysterious things in the town. The letter inside the bubble reaches the kitchen of SpongeBob’s house. SpongeBob is with Gary eating a bowl of Kelp cereal.
On reading the letter, SpongeBob gets to know that it is from his friend from a long-time, Bubble Buddy. The letter is about bubble buddy requesting SpongeBob to babysit Shiny, his son. Bubble Buddy also sends his son Shiny inside the bubble along with the letter. SpongeBob takes Shiny to Squidward’s house and Shiny ends up creating havoc there.
20. Squid Defense
- Season: 9
- Episode: 5
- IMDb Ratings: 8/10
SpongeBob karate chops Squidward when he is working at the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob tells Squidward about his plans to start karate with Sandy. On the same day, Squidward goes to buy some groceries and the Creepy Creeper starts to approach him.
Squidward thinks the Creepy Creeper has come to snatch things from him and goes to SpongeBob’s house for help. Squidward requests SpongeBob to teach him karate too but because SpongeBob is not very good at the art, he s unable to help Squidward. SpongeBob and Squidward seek help from Sandy and request her to teach them karate.
21. SpongeBob You’re Fired
- Season: 9
- Episode: 11
- IMDb Ratings: 9/10
Squidward is sleeping at his job while SpongeBob is cooking Krabby Patties at Krusty Krab. Mr. Krabs comes to SpongeBob only to tell him that he is fired. Mr. Krabs is firing SpongeBob to save money and leaves SpongeBob sad. Squidward on hearing about SpongeBob requests Mr. Krab to fire him too.
Mr. Krab says that he cannot fire Squidward because of his senior position and experiences. SpongeBob does not care about the money and wants to work at Krusty Krab for free. Mr. Krab says that he did get a similar idea but doing so is an illegal activity that will lead to him losing his license.
22. The Incredible Shrinking Sponge
- Season: 10
- Episode: 8
- IMDb Ratings: 9/10
A female fish complains about some problem with the Krabby Patty at Krusty Krab. The patty has a sea urchin in it which freaks out Squidward. The urchin ends up on Squidward’s nose after his failed attempts to smashing it. SpongeBob helps Squidward with the sea urchin which falls on the grill. Finally, SpongeBob finds a mousetrap and the urchin inside it.
23. Krabby Patty Creature Feature
- Season: Season 11,
- Episode 7
- IMDb Ratings: 9/10
Two customers order Krabby Patties and Mr. Krabs serves it to them. But soon they get bored and want to try something else. This is when Mr. Krabs shows SpongeBob SquarePants his secret lab. Here Sandy is curating the recipe for a new kind of Patty. The Krusty Krab starts selling these secret patties to their customers. But as soon as people eat these patties, they become Krabby Patty creatures.
24. Bubbletown
- Season: 11
- Episode: 25
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
SpongeBob goes to visit his long-time friend, Bubble Buddy. He goes to Bubble town where Bubble Buddy is showing him around. SpongeBob likes the vibe of the town. SpongeBob reinvents the motor scooter of Bubble Buddy into a modern-looking motorcycle. The people of bubble town are fascinated by the skills SpongeBob has. SpongeBob has excellent bubble blowing skills and transforms things into something new.
But this fame does not last long for SpongeBob, and he creates a disturbance in the town. This happens because of stepping on the bubble puppies of a woman and slipping away on bubble soap. SpongeBob feels sorry for his actions but gets arrested by a bubble town police officer for the destruction of proper and causing terror. SpongeBob is taken to the Bubbletown Prison. Mr. Krabs helps SpongeBob and bails him out but after that multiple events happen.
25. The Krusty Slammer
- Season: 12
- Episode: 3
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
Plankton is going to prison for trying to destroy Krusty Krab to disturb the image of Mr. Krabs. But on reaching the police station, the police officer realizes that it is full and there is no place for Plankton. He lets Plankton go away. Mr. Krab seems very unhappy with the decision and decides to turn the Krusty Krab into a prison. Mr. Krab takes Plankton to the new prison where he tries to escape.
Plankton continuously fails at escaping from the prison. Krusty Krab gets converted into a proper prison with cells to hold all prisoners. The police officer who left Plankton comes to Krusty Krab to leave more prisoners too. Mr. Krabs punishes Plankton further by trapping him in a bottle. This bottle is for the secret formula which is now outside.
26. Squid’s on a Bus
- Season: 12
- Episode: 7
- IMDb Ratings: 2/10
Squidward is waiting to catch a bus and he scolds the driver for coming late. Squidward irritates the bus driver by continuously passing some annoying comments. The bus reaches the Krusty Krab and Squidward gets off. But before getting off the bus, Squidward tells the driver that he can do the driver’s job more efficiently. To this, the driver replies saying he can do Squidward’s job much better. Mr. Krabs is listening to their conversation and suggests them to switch each other’s jobs for a change.
So Squidward and the driver listen to Mr. Krab and interchange their jobs. Squidward starts driving the bus, but the passengers do not like him. But Squidward is enjoying his new job. On the other hand, the bus driver is not able to handle the pressures at the Krusty Krab and quits from the job. Squidward finally gets back to Krusty Krab, and all customers are happy to see him back at his job.
27. Shell Games
- Season: 12
- Episode: 10
- IMDb Ratings: 7/10
Tony who is a sea turtle is getting ready to go to Goo Lagoon to see other female turtles. This Tony is lifting his weights, listening to music on his player, brushing his teeth, and eating breakfast, all along thinking about the female turtles. Tony tries to come out of his shell and clean himself up. Squidward is also all set to celebrate because he thinks that Patrick is going away. Patrick breaks Tony’s morning almond when Tony was getting ready.
28. SpongeBob’s Bad Habit
- Season: 12
- Episode: 15
- IMDb Ratings: 2/10
SpongeBob while preparing an order for a customer listen to Squidward ranting about his job. Squidward is unhappy with his job, and nobody cares about it. While delivering the order, SpongeBob starts biting his nails. This disgusts everyone around. Squidward tells SpongeBob SquarePants that eating nails is a bad habit.
SpongeBob goes home and tries to stop biting his nails. He uses a different tactic to do so. SpongeBob does not let his hands near his mouth and even beautify his nails so that he does not bite them. SpongeBob also goes on a walk to feel fresh but is unable to avoid biting his nails. Later on, SpongeBob notices Mrs. Puff also biting her nails.
29. SpongeBob’s Birthday Blowout
- Season: 12
- Episode: 13
- IMDb Ratings: 9/10
This is one of the best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes and is divided into four parts. The episode starts in California where the pirate, Patchy is unable to start his boat. He has to deliver a gift to SpongeBob and has to go. At Bikini Bottom, Gary is singing happy birthday to SpongeBob SquarePants who has just woken up. Gary gives his gift to SpongeBob. The others, Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Mrs., Puff, Patrick, Bubble Bass, and Plankton are planning a special birthday surprise for SpongeBob’s birthday.
30. Lockdown for Love
- Season: 13
- Episode: 2
- IMDb Ratings: 8/10
This episode is the most latest episode of the show. It is the second episode of the thirteenth season. Plankton always values the secret formula more than his relationship with Karen. Finally, Karen has an outburst because of that. She wants them to spend a romantic night together without any interruptions and locks herself in the Chumbucket.
Plankton is still trying to get the secret formula while pretending to Karen that he is cooking a meal for her. Plankton has a plan of changing Patrick into a replica for himself. Then place that replica with Karen so that the original Plankton can go to get the secret formula.
The entire series is blissful to watch, and the storyline is interesting. Each of the episodes on this list is super fun to watch and you will have a good time. But it is also recommended that you watch the entire series. SpongeBob SquarePants is one binge-worthy animated show.
31. Welcome To The Chum Bucket
- Season: 2
- Episode: 14
- IMDB Ratings:
That quote contains a life lesson: you are what you’re made of irrespectively of where life requires you. Mr. Krabs ends up losing a bet to Plankton in “Welcome to the Chum Bucket,” forcing SpongeBob to start leaving the Krusty Krab and collaborate with Plankton at The Chum Bucket. Undoubtedly, SpongeBob isn’t the worker that Plankton expects someone to be because only the Krusty Krab can bring out the best in SpongeBob in terms of work accuracy and ethic. Furthermore, SpongeBob manages to miss The Krusty Krab (that also probably contributed to his lack of working well), and Mr. Krabs, though he will never admit it, manages to miss SpongeBob too though.
32. Texas
- Season: 1
- Episode: 18
- IMDB Ratings:
We’ve all felt homesick at a certain time or another, as well as Sandy becomes no different when she gets a specific instance of the blues but instead starts lacking Texas. SpongeBob and Patrick are blessed to do everything they can to cheer Sandy up, yet at times it’s necessary to let myself feel the heartbreak in order to push through it. This episode introduced us to Sandy’s song “I Wanna Go Home,” and if you’re anything like us, you probably sing it whenever you want to make it home.
33. Ripped Pants
- Season: 1
- Episode: 2
- IMDB Ratings:
“Ripped Pants” is classic SpongeBob because it was his very first episode to air. SpongeBob is the boy who started crying about ripped trousers due to an incident that immediately got him consideration in a funny he tore them while attempting to raise weights. Still, SpongeBob doesn’t realize that people are laughing at him rather than with him and continues to find ways to rip his trousers for attention. The residents of Bikini Bottom grow tired of SpongeBob’s antics quickly.
34. Patty Hype
- Season: 2
- Episode: 5
- IMDB Ratings:
SpongeBob develops the concept for a line of designer Krabby Patties in various colors in “Patty Hype.” In retrospect, Mr. Krabs may have begun taking SpongeBob up on this offer as it was incredibly unique. Notwithstanding, Mr. Krabs declines the plan, and you happen to know Squidward isn’t going to agree, so SpongeBob sets up his possess Krabby Patty stand, which starts well but quickly devolves into a disaster when real customers begin turning colors. At the very least, SpongeBob did not get sued.
35. Band Geeks
- Season: 2
- Episode: 15
- IMDb Ratings: 9.7/10
Squidward? A band manager? That’s precisely what occurs after Squidward gets off the mobile with Squilliam and decides to form a band for the Bubble Bowl. A certain task is not straightforward, as Squidward is without a group of experts who know how to work together. Still, he manages to complete it in time for SpongeBob’s prestigious Bubble Bowl halftime performance, which showcases SpongeBob displaying off his singers once more.
36. The Camping Episode
- Season: 3
- Episode: 57
- IMDb Ratings: 9/10
Surely SpongeBob, Patrick, but instead, Squidward would only encounter connection problems if they decided to go camping at night, right? Wrong. When setting up camp in the backcountry, you occasionally encounter uninvited guests, and for SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward, that customer is a sea bull that the three must battle. That’s not fun. It’s entertaining for us to observe but not for them.
Related: The 20 Best Cartoons For Adult of All Time
37. Mrs. Puff You Are Fired
- Season: 4
- Episode: 69
- IMDb Ratings: 8.5/10
Communicate about unfair termination. Mrs. Puff is dismissed because SpongeBob fails his car test (which he has failed dozens of times by this point), as it is perceived as a teaching defeat on her part. Everyone who has watched SpongeBob drive understands that he is essentially incapable of driving, which tends to leave Mrs. Puff with an intractable problem. This is eventually realized, and Mrs. Puff can reclaim the job she should never have lost.
