Covid-19 forced Nickelodeon to temporarily pull an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants

Studios and networks are very careful when choosing a release or premiere date for movies and television shows. Obviously, there is some sense: when Marvel comes to the market with a large tent pole like “Avengers: Endgame” you know it's for the start of the summer movie season. But for less star-studded efforts like “Captain America: Brave New World,” it might come in a less impressive time frame, like February or March, where there won't be as much competition. screens. Meanwhile, television is in the age of miniseries and short-season orders, so networks and streamers can now use the entire calendar year instead of working in the fall.

It's all a matter of time. And sometimes all the strategic development in the world can become irrelevant when an unpredictable global event knocks the world off its axis. When the 9/11 attacks brought terror home to the United States, a wave of panic began in which people questioned the purpose of entertainment. Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair foolishly declared that we had witnessed the end of the age of irony. In 2002, studios worked out their release schedules and developed films with potentially disturbing themes (such as The Sum of All Fears, Collateral Damage and Big Trouble).

More recently, Hollywood has been forced to confront the terrifying unknown of the Covid-19 pandemic. There were big logistical issues with big-budget movies coming out at a time when most unvaccinated moviegoers were playing it safe by staying at home and in the streaming queues. Unlike 9/11, which briefly called into question the world's penchant for action movies filled with disposable deaths, there weren't many movies about the spread of incurable diseases. In fact, the most visible representation of the pandemic, Steven Soderbergh's “Contagion” proved to be incredibly popular with the blocked audience. But it was a movie for adults. What about entertainment for children? Could they handle a movie or television show that addresses this extremely scary moment in their lives? When it came to SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon said absolutely not.

When “SpongeBob SquarePants” (which turned 25 last year) Season 12 started on November 11, 2018, with the COVID-19 pandemic still two years away, so there was no reason for anyone to worry about the episode titled “Warranted Crab.” The episode centers on the Krusty Krab being forced to close due to a clam flu outbreak, resulting in SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Mrs. Puff being quarantined at the facility. When Mr. Krabs announces that anyone known to have the flu must be locked in the restaurant's freezer, you know it's only a matter of time before SpongeBob and Patrick end up there.

In classic SpongeBob SquarePants fashion, the series, written before the outbreak of COVID-19, is too silly and obviously out of touch with reality to elicit anything other than belly laughs. But risk-averse Nickelodeon wasn't going to wait around to see if parents were outraged by “Warranted Krab.” It pulled the series from streaming on Amazon and Paramount+ and put it out of circulation until April 29, 2022. Fan displeasure was voiced on Reddit when the episode was initially taken down, but the outrage never reached full volume. dispute.

Interestingly, this wasn't the first time a SpongeBob SquarePants episode was pulled from streaming. In 2018, Nickelodeon added the Season 3 episode “Mid-Life Crustacean” with a storyline that finds the trio of Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, and Patrick breaking into a woman's house to steal her underwear. “SpongeBob SquarePants” certainly markets adult humor that often flies over children's heads, but these “Animal House” style hijinks feeling… ill-considered for a child's cartoon. I don't think the series should be permanently unavailable, but I do think it should probably be moved to a Blu-ray release with a proper rating.