Review: SpongeBob SquarePants Presents: The Tidal Zone

Overview

SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone is a journey into an hour of television where two dimensions can become three, and French divers can wear black ties.

Our Take

Inspired by iconic anthology shows such as Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Tales from the Crypt, and the Night Gallery series, the titular “Tidal Zone” brings together various shows & spin-offs within the Spongebob franchise such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Patrick Star Show, and Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years (the Paramount+ exclusive series). And given the non-canon and bizarre nature of these six episodes within a 1-hour format, it’s a visual treat for those who actually follow each of these shows.

This 1-hour special was made by executive producers Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller who were faced with the challenge of finding a way to a pre-established weird show “even weirder”. With the “French narrator” filling in for the sort of narrator in a Rod Serling-like fashion with stories that put their own spin on weird ideas and concepts that were either sort of parodied in “Treehouse of Horror”, or ideas of alternate universes such as an opposite world where everyone’s a robot or a “freaky friday”-inspired scenario where Plankton’s robot wife Karen switches her consciousness with Patrick by accident, or Mr. Krabs getting a cursed payphone that leads to all sorts of chaotic consequences.

Overall, this was a decent 1-hour event that manages to cross over various shows within Spongebob’s universe. It’s hard to believe a long-running franchise like this hasn’t had anything like this that isn’t a Halloween special. I give it points for creativity at least for “out-weirding” itself, and given the popularity that Spongebob has obtained for decades, I have the feeling we might get more of these in the future.