The third season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, aired on Nickelodeon from October 5, 2001 to October 11, 2004, and consists of 20 episodes. The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The season was executive-produced by series creator Hillenburg, who also acted as the showrunner. Season 3 was announced on September 20, 2000.[1] It began on October 5, 2001 with the episode "Just One Bite" and ended on October 11, 2004 with the episode "Pranks a Lot."
The season was well received by media critics and fans. During its run, SpongeBob SquarePants became the highest rated children's show on cable, with over 50 million viewers a month. The show received several recognitions, including its nomination at the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children's Program. The episodes "New Student Starfish" and "Clams" were nominated for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) category, while the entry "SpongeBob B.C. (Ugh)" won the same category. The season was also the first time the show received a nomination at the Kids' Choice Awards and won. It won the 2003 Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Cartoon, and also won the following year's Kids' Choice Award for the same category. Celebrities—including Justin Timberlake, Kelly Osbourne, Britney Spears, Bruce Willis, Noel Gallagher, rapper Dr. Dre, and Mike Myers—have been reported to be fans of the show.[2]
Several compilation DVDs that contain episodes from the season were released. The SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 3rd Season DVD was released in Region 1 on September 27, 2005, Region 2 on December 3, 2007, and Region 4 on November 8, 2007.
Production
During production of the previous season, Nickelodeon already renewed SpongeBob SquarePants for a third season on September 20, 2000, due to the show's high ratings across basic cable television.[3]
Hillenburg halted production on the show to work on the 2004 film adaptation of the series, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. After production on the film, Hillenburg resigned from the show as its showrunner and appointed staff writer Paul Tibbitt to overtake the position. Season 3 was originally set to end the series after the release of the first film, but the success prevented the series from ending, leading to a fourth season.
List
Trivia
- There were three years and six days between the airing of the season 3 premiere and finale. The only season that took longer to air is season 9 with four years, seven months, and one day.
- To date, this is the only season in which the APM tracks "Seaweed" and "Hello Blues" do not play.
References
- ^ Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants
- ^ Wareham, Mark (April 3, 2003). Yellow Fever; Bruce Willis Loves the Little Yellow Chap and Rob Lowe and Noel Gallagher Are Also Fans. Children's Cartoon Character SpongeBob SquarePants Is Attracting a Cult Following with Viewers Old Enough to Know Better. High Beam. Retrieved on February 13, 2018.
- ^ The First 100 Episodes Special Features: "Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob"
This page uses content from Wikipedia (original • authors). Both Encyclopedia SpongeBobia and Wikipedia are licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license. |