anyone else think this show has subtle stoner references also?

If you take a look at the gay men at DVDTalk, there is so much diversity within that group that it seems assinine to ever assert that "gays" are, as a group, for something more than any other group. Unless gays are for guys, or something like that, obviously.

breeders.....

I don't get the article at all. Millions of straight people, myself included, are also "hooked" on the SpongeBob cartoon. I'm sure thousands of Jews, Asians, Satanists, Smokers, etc. are as well. Who cares? All groups are going to have members that enjoy SpongeBob, but that doesn't mean that the show specifically caters towards them or that it contains subconscious tones tilted towards said group. Am I wrong here?

-Brian

No...you are absolutely right!!! Instead of just viewing this cartoon and enjoying the show....getting a few laughs out of it as even I do when watching it with my kids.....some in the gay community feel it necessary to turn this into a discussion that Spongebob and Patrick are gay because they hold hands.


I am sick and tired of certain segments of our population turning things into something it is not and was never meant to be....I want to know how any NORMAL person sits down and watches Spongebob....and comes away with the idea that the characters are gay??? The creator has already said they are not...but I am sure this will not be enough to sway certain opinions out there.

Deleted.

Nice to see another Cow and Chicken fan...that is the one cartoon on television that makes me laugh. I so love it when Cow turns into SuperCow and spouts Spanish!

As far as Spongebob...could care less about this series. Then again, I am one of those people that hasn't seen a single moment of Rugrat's either...

You know what *I'm* sick and tired of? People acting like gays have "stolen" something simply because they use it, or like it, or identify with it. Sponge Bob is a breakout TV show. People of all kinds are watching it. Like any fad, it is getting lots and lots of pointless stories written about it.

I'm sure there are gays out there that like to pretend it's all just for them -- same as some stoners do, same as some space-alien-conspiracy-theorists probably do. None of the gay posters in this thread seem to give a hoot about this show one way or another.

Some stupid TV station does a stupid "feature," over-generalizing about how much gays love a cartoon show. Like it's some official mascot. That gives you all the excuse you need to whine about how gays are trying to turn the show into a political statement, and how *we're* tainting it for NORMAL folks like you.

Yeah, that was our plan all along. We're now holding the word "gay", all rainbows, and Sponge Bob hostage. We will release them from our evil grasp only when you allow us to marry.

______________________________________

Amen to that one Adam.

Hee hee, that rocks. Adam, can I quote you in my sig? That is priceless...

[blush] My first sig... [/blush]

Would you like a tissue now?

And who is whining here....give me a break WHINO!!!!

Oh yeah....real priceless....

You are truly the master of witty retorts. I bow to a skill far greater than my own.

Whatever dude. I think you need to back away from this one slowly. You seem to be taking this argument a bit personally...

X

okay, I admit, I have never seen an episode... yet. But exactly what is the appeal of this show??

Great for kids, and also a lot of adult humor sprinkled in.

All you need to do is watch an episode with PLANKTON to know what I'm talking about...funniest character on the show!

It's very Ren and Stimpy-ish. Some gross out humor, all the characters are really stupid in one way or another, and the whole thing has a weird, almost psychadelic feel to it. I've just started catching it, and it's pretty good.

Just watch the episode when SpongeBob and Patrick learn the F-Word, and you'll be hooked in no time.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D7MNGA900.html

'SpongeBob' Surfaces at the Top

Oct 17, 2:44 PM (ET)

By FRAZIER MOORE

NEW YORK (AP) - Nickelodeon boss Herb Scannell remembers his reaction to a rough cut of the very first "SpongeBob SquarePants" cartoon.

SpongeBob - a bright-eyed, knickers-clad, sea-dwelling kitchen sponge - had realized his lifelong dream: He got hired as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab diner, where, right away, he proved his worth by single-handedly serving an invasion of ravenous anchovies.

But here's the kookie part: The sequence showing SpongeBob work his magic at the grill is accompanied by a 30-year-old recording of Tiny Tim warbling "Livin' in the sunlight, lovin' in the moonlight, havin' a wonderful time!"

"When I heard that," says Scannell, enjoying the memory, "I thought, 'This show is gonna go places we don't really expect.'"


And how. Premiering weekends on Nickelodeon in July 1999, "SpongeBob" won a weeknight berth two years later, and, soon after that, its benthotic hero was the biggest star in kids TV.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" recently completed a year as the top-rated show on broadcast or cable among youngsters 2 to 11.

It routinely claims several of the top 15 weekly cable-ratings slots and soaks up 61.5 million viewers per month, one-third of whom - reflecting its unexpectedly broad appeal - are adults 18 to 49. (It airs Monday through Friday at 8:30 a.m., 5 to 6 p.m., and 8 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 10 a.m.)

Another gauge of SpongeBob's popularity is merchandising, which this year is expected to reach $600 million in retail sales. Nearly 100 companies are marketing SpongeBob fare that includes skateboards, beach towels and paper towels, backpacks and mac-and-cheese. Not to mention Halloween costumes: Look out soon for legions of SpongeBob trick-or-treaters.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob is headed to the big screen. After producing 65 half-hours for television, creator Stephen Hillenburg has begun writing a "SpongeBob" movie, scheduled to reach theaters in 2004.

"It's gonna be long and hopefully funny, and it will star SpongeBob," confides Hillenburg when pressed for details.

While acknowledging that "when you set out to do a show about a sponge, you can't anticipate this kind of craze," Hillenburg is willing to offer a theory for its success: "Spongebob is an innocent, and people respond to an innocent. I don't think it matters if you're young or old."

"SpongeBob is childlike but not childish, a sort of boy-man like Jerry Lewis or Stan Laurel," adds Tom Kenny, who supplies SpongeBob's eager, braying voice he describes as "the Mayor of Munchkinland meets Elroy Jetson."

Simpler to explain is the setting for "SpongeBob." Hillenburg is a marine biologist-turned-animator.

But why, of all marine fauna, did he choose as his protagonist a sponge - and a synthetic, manufactured-looking sponge, at that?

"Even among an odd group of characters," Hillenburg reasons, "I thought that would automatically make him the oddest."

But it's tough competition in the seabed community of Bikini Bottom. There SpongeBob hangs out with his best friend Patrick, a dim-witted starfish; his sweetie, Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel from Texas who gets around in a diving suit; his cranky, clarinet-playing neighbor, Squidward; and his tight-fisted, er, -clawed employer, Mr. Krabs.

Together they enjoy a certain twisted cartoon logic that allows them, even in their watery world, to converse, sleep on linens with a pillow, sun bathe, fly kites, and, of course, fry up those delicious Krabby Patties.

A boisterous free spirit, SpongeBob exudes a happy-go-lucky attitude that "usually wins out," says Hillenburg - "or at least gets him into some interesting predicaments."

In one cartoon, SpongeBob vies with Neptune, the sea god, to establish who can make the best Krabby Patties. In another, he forgets how to tie his shoelaces, then realizes no one else in Bikini Bottom knows how, either - or even wears shoes. He frolics in an unexpected snow storm; fails his driving test; gets lost delivering a pizza; sets out to meet his superhero idols, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.

"There's an almost Dali-esque level of absurdity that you can latch on to," says Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University. "But at the same time the show is intent on not being ironic or hip."

"We just try to make ourselves laugh," Hillenburg sums up, "then ask ourselves if it's appropriate for children."

For now, perhaps for good, production on the "SpongeBob" TV series has wrapped as Hillenburg turns his attention to the feature film.

"This is what Steve wanted to do: work on one thing at a time," Scannell says.

Fortunately, Nickelodeon has stockpiled 15 unaired episodes to ration out before the film's release. And Scannell looks forward to "SpongeBob SquarePants" going international with its goofy goodwill: overseas TV sales are just beginning.

"It could be a kinder, gentler world," Scannell says, "if SpongeBob became a global icon."


Yikes, $600 million in retail sales? Boy, I would have loved to be the person that came up with the SpongeBob idea.

Chris

Well, I haven't seen any obvious gay references in Spongebob, until tonight. It's the episode where Squidward teaches art class.

When Spongebob finds out Squidward will be teaching, you can see the love in his eyes. Spongebob draws a perfect circle, and Squidward, being jealous of Spongebob's talent, crumples up the paper. Spongebob takes the paper and folds it up into an origami sculpture of the two of them playing "leapfrog".

Spongebob says "Look squidward, you're on the bottom!"

Squidward rips the paper up into little pieces, which Spongebob rearranges into a picture of them playing "leapfrog" again.

Spongebob says "You're on top this time!"

I mean, HELLO... obviously Spongebob is carrying a torch for Squidward. Maybe that's why Squidward is so mean to Spongebob all the time. He doesn't swing that way, and doesn't want to lead him on.