1. Pizza Delivery – season 1, episode 5a:
In this episode that I have deemed the best episode of Spongebob Squarepants of all time, Mr. Krabs demands that Squidward and Spongebob deliver a pizza to a customer, resulting in the co-workers getting lost in No-man’s-land, Bikini Bottom. They’re lost, they’re hungry, and they’re Squidward’s angry.
But – the pizza is for the customer, and flawless employee Spongebob won’t let Squidward eat any of it. Pizza Delivery has the undervalued nostalgia of being episode five of the entire series and it benefits from the aforementioned chemistry of Spongebob and Squidward. Pizza Delivery is an in-depth look at their relationship, and it set the tone for just how strange the show could be.
Spongebob is constantly taking wilderness tips from “the pioneers,” who ate coral and hitchhiked by dancing interpretively for cars, much to Squidward’s chagrin. These moves are amusing and charming, while Squidward’s bitterness is easy to relate to. And at the end of the episode, Spongebob uses a magic rock to transport them home. Could there have been a more pleasingly absurd ending?
Well, reader, what do you think? Is there an episode that I left off the list? Or is there a different program we should be honoring? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!