Mid-Life Crustacean
| "Mid-Life Crustacean" | |
|---|---|
| SpongeBob SquarePants episode | |
| File:Mid-Life Crustacean.png Mr. Krabs partaking in a panty raid with SpongeBob and Patrick, which treats his midlife crisis, the former unaware they were doing it in his mother's house. | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 15b |
| Directed by | Frank Weiss |
| Written by | |
| Produced by |
|
| Production code | 5572-210[1] |
| Original air date | January 24, 2003 |
"Mid-Life Crustacean" is the second half of the 15th episode of the third season and the 55th overall episode of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The episode premiered on Nickelodeon on January 24, 2003.[2] It is no longer rerunning on Nickelodeon as of 2018, and is also not available to watch on Paramount+, or to be purchased digitally on Amazon. It can be streamed from Amazon Prime or watched on home media releases.[3]
The episode's title is a play on the phrase "midlife crisis."
Plot
Mr. Krabs struggles to get out of bed; after getting up, he asks Pearl if she thinks he's old, which Pearl says she does. When he arrives to the Krusty Krab, he overhears a customer complaining that their Krabby Patty tastes weird, which their mother comments that it is "all old and dried out," comparing it to Mr. Krabs, upsetting him further. After SpongeBob and Patrick announce their "big night out," Mr. Krabs asks to join, in an attempt to feel young again.
During the evening, SpongeBob and Patrick arrive to Mr. Krabs' house, and the three characters take off to a laundromat, where SpongeBob and Patrick watch their faces spin in the mirror's reflection of a washing machine; Mr. Krabs finds this activity boring, and would rather see more of the night life. They then partake in several more bizarre activities, none of which satisfies Mr. Krabs. At an arcade, SpongeBob, Patrick and several children ask Mr. Krabs if he's "feeling it" multiple times, which angers him, berating the duo. As he's about the cancel his night out, Patrick then changes his mind when he reveals that they are going out on a "panty raid," grabbing the interest of Mr. Krabs.
When SpongeBob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs arrive to grab a woman's underwear from her dresser drawer, they are caught, and it turns out that the woman happens to be Krabs' mother. Because of this antic, she grounds her son; SpongeBob follows him and apologizes, to which Mr. Krabs forgives him, and says that being in his old bedroom made him feel young again. After SpongeBob and Patrick leave, Mr. Krabs is ordered by his mother to shut off his bedroom lights.
Reception and controversy
In its initial aring, the episode received generally positive reviews from critics and fans. "Mid-Life Crustacean" was listed as the 79th best episode of SpongeBob SquarePants by TV Guide.[4] In an article discussing the controversy around the episode by Comic Book Resources, writer Reuben Baron considered it a great episode, reasoning "There's tons of great character-based humor driven by Mr. Krabs' mid-life crisis, Pearl's embarrassment about her dad and SpongeBob and Patrick's gleeful strangeness."[5]
In 2018, the episode was removed from rotation. While it has not been officially confirmed by Nickelodeon, it is heavily suggested that the "panty raid" scene has led to this removal.[6][7][8] The sister episode "Great Snail Race" can be watched on Amazon (paired with "Gary In Love), and can still be watched on Paramount+.[6] In response, there has been a petition to restore the episode.[9]
Allegra Frank at Slate commented "...as a nostalgia buff who looks to Paramount+ solely to sate that need, seeing a small piece of SpongeBob history be stripped away by its parent company is jarring. There are tons of other 11-minute SpongeBob adventures to enjoy, but there’s nothing like watching an episode and having that warm feeling of remembering it; I’m sad I won’t get to have that with that now-infamous "panty raid" episode anymore."[8]
References
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants Production Codes
- ^ "SpongeBob SquarePants S3 E14 The Great Snail Race; Mid-Life Crustacean: Watch Full Episode Online". DIRECTV.
- ^ Dastoor, Vaspaan (March 27, 2021). "Nickelodeon Pulled A Spongebob Episode Because It Was About A Pandemic". TheGamer.
- ^ "SpongeBob SquarePants' 100 Best Episodes Ranked". TVGuide.com.
- ^ Baron, Reuben (March 30, 2021). "SpongeBob SquarePants' Recently Banned Episode Was a Great One". CBR.
- ^ a b "SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes Pulled Over Storyline Concerns". IGN Africa. March 26, 2021.
- ^ Diaz, Johnny (March 30, 2021). "Two 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Episodes No Longer on Nickelodeon" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ a b Frank, Allegra (March 25, 2021). "Why Are These 11 Minutes Missing From SpongeBob on Paramount+?". Slate Magazine.
- ^ "'SpongeBob Squarepants' Fans Petition to Have Nickelodean Restore Controversial Episode". TV.
External links
| Seasons 1–3 | |
|---|---|
| Seasons 4–6 | |
| Seasons 7–9 | |
| Seasons 10–13 | |
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- 2003 American television episodes
- Animation controversies in television
- Midlife crisis in television
- SpongeBob SquarePants episodes
- Television controversies in the United States
- Television episodes pulled from general rotation