Season 8

The eighth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, was announced on December 15, 2009 by Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids & Family Group president Brown Johnson. In December 2009, Nickelodeon ordered enough episodes to bring the series up to 178 episodes.^[1] Previously, when season 7 was announced in March 2008, the number of episodes was brought up to 152 episodes.

Season 8 premiered on March 26, 2011 with "A Friendly Game" and "Oral Report" and ended on December 6, 2012 with "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"

On April 11, 2012, with the premiere of the episode "Squiditis," the season surpassed Rugrats, which had 172 episodes, and afterwards became Nickelodeon's longest-running Nicktoon.

The season was released on DVD on March 12, 2013, three months after it had completed broadcast on television. Season 8 consisted of 42 11-minute segments and five 22-minute specials.

Production

• Main article: Season 8/production

List of episodes

Title card	#	Title	U.S. airdate	U.S. viewers (millions)
	153a	"Accidents Will Happen" (tr • ga)	July 18, 2011	3.80[2]
	Squidward is injured at work and forces Mr. Krabs to pamper him while he recovers.
	153b	"The Other Patty" (tr • ga)	June 25, 2011	3.82[3]
	Mr. Krabs and Plankton compete to steal the Flabby Patty recipe.
	154a	"Drive Thru" (tr • ga)	July 19, 2011	3.68[2]
	After Mr. Krabs finds a hole in the walls of the Krusty Krab, he transforms it into a drive-thru.
	154b	"The Hot Shot" (tr • ga)	June 18, 2011	3.49[4]
	SpongeBob gets driving lessons from the son of a legendary race-car driver.
	155a	"A Friendly Game" (tr • ga)	March 26, 2011	4.55[5]
	SpongeBob builds his own mini-golf course in his house.
	155b	"Sentimental Sponge" (tr • ga)	April 2, 2011	3.27[2]
	SpongeBob struggles to part with some items because of the memories they evoke.
	156	"Frozen Face-Off" (tr • ga)	July 15, 2011	5.76[6]
	Everyone in Bikini Bottom is participating in a worm-sled race to win one million dollars.
	157a	"Squidward's School for Grown-Ups" (tr • ga)	June 4, 2011	5.02[7]
	Patrick tries to act mature after he grows a beard.
	157b	"Oral Report" (tr • ga)	March 26, 2011	4.55[5]
	SpongeBob is nervous about giving an oral report for boating school.
	158a	"Sweet and Sour Squid" (tr • ga)	July 20, 2011	3.58[2]
	Plankton attempts to strike up a friendship with Squidward in order to get the secret formula.
	158b	"The Googly Artiste" (tr • ga)	July 21, 2011	3.61[2]
	Patrick's artwork is coveted by everyone in town after an art critic praises it.
	159	"A SquarePants Family Vacation" (tr • ga)	November 11, 2011	3.57[8]
	Patrick goes on vacation with SpongeBob's family to the Great Barrier Reef.
	160a	"Patrick's Staycation" (tr • ga)	November 8, 2011	3.01[2]
	SpongeBob comes up with a solution when Patrick can't afford a vacation.
	160b	"Walking the Plankton" (tr • ga)	November 7, 2011	2.97[2]
	Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob go on a free cruise, and Plankton follows them.
	161a	"Mooncation" (tr • ga)	November 10, 2011	2.83[2]
	Sandy takes SpongeBob to the moon for a vacation.
	161b	"Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation" (tr • ga)	November 9, 2011	3.14[2]
	Mr. Krabs takes a vacation from work and brings SpongeBob along with him.
	162	"Ghoul Fools" (tr • ga)	October 21, 2011	3.91[9]
	SpongeBob and Patrick find a houseboat haunted by ghost pirates.
	163a	"Mermaid Man Begins" (tr • ga)	September 23, 2011	2.65[10]
	SpongeBob and Patrick learn the story of their heroes' origins.
	163b	"Plankton's Good Eye" (tr • ga)	September 23, 2011	2.65[10]
	Plankton acquires a second eye, which changes his personality and vision.
	164a	"Barnacle Face" (tr • ga)	September 16, 2011	4.39[11]
	SpongeBob attempts to remove a barnacle from Pearl's face.
	164b	"Pet Sitter Pat" (tr • ga)	September 16, 2011	4.39[11]
	Patrick watches Gary while SpongeBob attends a birthday party for his grandmother.
	165a	"House Sittin' for Sandy" (tr • ga)	September 30, 2011	3.33[12]
	SpongeBob agrees to be Sandy's house sitter, but things go wrong when Patrick arrives.
	165b	"Smoothe Jazz at Bikini Bottom" (tr • ga)	September 30, 2011	3.33[12]
	SpongeBob and Squidward attend Kelpy G's concert.
	166a	"Bubble Troubles" (tr • ga)	November 25, 2011	3.28[13]
	SpongeBob and Patrick search for oxygen for Sandy after they ruin her supply.
	166b	"The Way of the Sponge" (tr • ga)	November 25, 2011	3.28[13]
	SpongeBob works toward getting a karate belt.
	167a	"The Krabby Patty That Ate Bikini Bottom" (tr • ga)	November 25, 2011	3.27[14]
	A Krabby Patty grows too large after Mr. Krabs adds Sandy's scientific ingredients to it.
	167b	"Bubble Buddy Returns" (tr • ga)	November 25, 2011	3.27[14]
	SpongeBob attempts to keep Bubble Buddy's son out of danger after he is put in charge of taking care of him.
	168a	"Restraining SpongeBob" (tr • ga)	April 2, 2012	2.04[2]
	Squidward puts a restraining order on SpongeBob.
	168b	"Fiasco!" (tr • ga)	April 5, 2012	1.69[2]
	Plankton mistakenly swipes a piece of art instead of a Krabby Patty.
	169a	"Are You Happy Now?" (tr • ga)	March 31, 2012	4.12[15]
	SpongeBob tries to help Squidward find his happiest memory.
	169b	"Planet of the Jellyfish" (tr • ga)	March 31, 2012	4.12[15]
	An evil jellyfish kidnaps Bikini Bottomites and clones them.
	170a	"Free Samples" (tr • ga)	April 6, 2012	1.67[16]
	Plankton tricks customers into hating Krabby Patties, and Mr. Krabs tries to win them back.
	170b	"Home Sweet Rubble" (tr • ga)	April 4, 2012	2.40[2]
	SpongeBob gets his pals to help him fix up his pineapple home, which is in need of serious repairs.
	171a	"Karen 2.0" (tr • ga)	April 13, 2012	2.25[17]
	When Plankton upgrades to Karen 2, the original Karen leaves and gets a job at the Krusty Krab.
	171b	"InSPONGEiac" (tr • ga)	April 9, 2012	2.02[18]
	When SpongeBob can't get enough sleep, he asks for help from Patrick.
	172a	"Face Freeze!" (tr • ga)	July 21, 2012	3.65[19]
	SpongeBob and Patrick's faces freeze after making too many silly faces.
	172b	"Glove World R.I.P." (tr • ga)	April 3, 2012	2.71[20]
	SpongeBob and Patrick spend a final day at Glove World! before it shuts down forever.
	173a	"Squiditis" (tr • ga)	April 11, 2012	2.27[2]
	SpongeBob fears he has caught Squidward's illness.
	173b	"Demolition Doofus" (tr • ga)	July 21, 2012	3.65[19]
	Mrs. Puff enters SpongeBob into the demolition derby, where his bad driving makes him a star.
	174a	"Treats!" (tr • ga)	April 10, 2012	2.15[2]
	Gary is eager to indulge in some snail snacks SpongeBob brought home.
	174b	"For Here or to Go" (tr • ga)	April 12, 2012	2.52[21]
	Plankton wins a free Krabby Patty, but Mr. Krabs is determined not to let him have one.
	175	"It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" (tr • ga)	December 6, 2012[note 2]	3.63[22] (CBS) 4.61[23] (Nick)
	Plankton turns everybody in Bikini Bottom naughty by feeding them his special Jerktonium fruitcakes, all in an effort to get his Christmas wish.
	176a	"Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!" (tr • ga)	October 14, 2012	2.28[24]
	Plankton and Man Ray join forces and try to override the Krusty Krab.
	176b	"Chum Fricassee" (tr • ga)	October 21, 2012	2.30[25]
	Squidward quits his job and starts working at the Chum Bucket, where his cooking makes him famous.
	177a	"The Good Krabby Name" (tr • ga)	September 3, 2012	3.36[26]
	Mr. Krabs sends SpongeBob around town to promote the Krusty Krab.
	177b	"Move It or Lose It" (tr • ga)	October 21, 2012	2.30[25]
	Mr. Krabs and Plankton circulate petitions about the bulldozing of their restaurants.
	178	"Hello Bikini Bottom!" (tr • ga)	October 8, 2012	2.76[27]
	Mr. Krabs takes over as band manager for SpongeBob and Squidward.

Trivia

• This is the first season for multiple things:
  • The first season to premiere during Nickelodeon's rebrand. Season 7 premiered months before it.
    • This is also the first season to have every episode premiere after the rebrand.
  • The first season to have all of the episodes premiere in the 2010s.
  • The first season to have an episode that does not use the show's regular 2D animation style. In this case, it applies to "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," which was animated in stop-motion instead.
  • The first season to not have any animated title cards.
• This is the last season to be produced in the 4:3 aspect ratio. The only episode from this season not produced in 4:3 is the episode, "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!", making this the second and final season to have one episode be in widescreen with the rest of the episodes being animated and produced in 4:3, while the first instance of this was in season 6 with its "Truth or Square."
• This is the only other season besides season 7 to have a miniseries; in this case, it applies to episodes 159–161, which comprise SpongeBob's Runaway Roadtrip.
• Starting with this season, the episodes are not PAL-pitched in some countries.
• This season has the most double-length episodes out of any season in the series, with five.
• This season is tied with season 3 for the least amount of title drops.

Videos

References

1. ^ Nickelodeon Caps SpongeBob SquarePants' 10th Anniversary Celebration with New Season Pick Up Order - TVbytheNumbers
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Friends (NBC): Ratings Recap
3. ^ Cable Top 25: "BET Awards", "True Blood", "NASCAR", and "Burn Notice" Top Weekly Cable Viewing
4. ^ Nickelodeon/Nicktoons Ratings Thread, Page 12 - Anime Superhero Forums
5. ^ ^{a b} Cable Top 25: "Jersey Shore" Tops Weekly Cable Viewing
6. ^ Cable Top 25: Japan v. USA, "Pawn Stars", "The Closer", "American Restoration", and "Home Run Derby" Top Weekly Cable Viewing
7. ^ Cable Top 25: "Pawn Stars", "SpongeBob", "WWE Raw" Top Weekly Cable Viewing
8. ^ Cable Top 25: Bears v. Eagles, "The Walking Dead", "Nebraska vs. Pennsylvania State" Top Weekly Cable Viewing
9. ^ Friday Cable Ratings: "Smackdown" ties "SpongeBob"; plus, "Sanctuary", "Boss", "House of Payne" and More
10. ^ ^{a b} Friday's Cable Ratings: "Smackdown" Keeps Crown at Syfy
11. ^ ^{a b} Friday Cable: "College Football", "SpongeBob", "Smackdown", "Star Wars: Clone Wars", "Haven" and More
12. ^ ^{a b} Friday Cable Ratings: Rain Shortened "Yankees v. Tigers" Tops Night, "Haven", "Clone Wars", "Smackdown" And Much More
13. ^ ^{a b} Friday Cable Ratings: "Gold Rush" and "For Better or For Worse" Lead Night; "Smackdown", "Clone Wars", And More
14. ^ ^{a b} Friday's Cable Ratings: "Gold Rush" Continues Demo Reign For Discovery
15. ^ ^{a b} Cable Top 25: "Kids Choice", "WWE", and "How To Rock" Top Cable Viewership For Week Ending April 1, 2012
16. ^ Friday Cable Ratings: "WWE Smackdown" Is Top Original Show; "Fairly Legal", "In Plain Sight", "Say Yes To The Dress", "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives", "Masters" and More
17. ^ Friday Cable Ratings: "Storage Wars" on Top, "Friday Night Smackdown", "Ultimate Fighter Live", "Fairly Legal", and "In Plain Sight"
18. ^ Monday Cable Ratings: "Pawn Stars" Wins Night, WWE Raw, "Basketball Wives", "The Secret Life of The American Teenager", and "La-La's Full-Court Life"
19. ^ ^{a b} Saturday's Cable Ratings: "An Officer and a Murderer" Tops Originals in 18-49
20. ^ Tuesday Cable Ratings: "Tosh.0" Wins Night Again, "Dance Moms" in Second Place; "Hardcore", "Pawn", "Justified", "Storage Wars Texas", and "Real Housewives"
21. ^ Thursday Cable Ratings: "Swamp People" Wins Night, "Punk'd", "Sold!", "Sweet Genius", "Pauly D. Project", "Chopped!", And More
22. ^ Friday's Broadcast Ratings: ABC Leads Holiday Pack With Originals
23. ^ Thursday's Cable Ratings: NFL Tops Chart With Broncos v. Raiders
24. ^ Sunday's Cable Ratings: AMC's "Walking Dead" Mauls the Competition
25. ^ ^{a b} Sunday's Cable Ratings: "The Walking Dead" Once Again Devours the Competition
26. ^ Monday's Cable Ratings: "Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta", "T.I. and Tiny", "Switched at Birth", WWE Raw, "Major Crimes", "Perception", and More
27. ^ Monday's Cable Ratings: ESPN Remains Untouchable With "Monday Night Football"

Notes