Why Nickelodeon Banned The SpongeBob SquarePants Episode Mid-Life Crustacean

Since its series premiere in 1999, “SpongeBob SquarePants” has honed the art of weaving brisk, humorous shorts to fill out its 30-minute episodic timeslot. Most of these mini-arcs that feature our favorite yellow sea sponge are self-contained adventures that never fail to entertain. The series’ tone has always been lighthearted and happy-go-lucky — pitch-perfect for children growing up watching it — but slivers of adult humor have always strewn throughout with an older audience in mind. Most of it is pretty harmless, such as the silly dolphin noises in the “Sailor Mouth” episode that are meant to be a stand-in for cuss words, or SpongeBob waking up extremely hungover after drinking too many “milkshakes” at a bar in “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.” While subtle jokes of this variety will inevitably (and hopefully) fly over a child’s head, these subject matters often take an inappropriate turn, inviting controversy and criticism.

There have been instances of “SpongeBob” episodes being yanked off the airing schedule due to unfortunate circumstances that can be chalked up to ill-timed coincidence. The episode “Kwarantined Crab” comes to mind, as it was pulled from streaming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its thematic reflection within this episode. The subject matter wasn’t intentional by any means: the episode was written 2 years before the global pandemic, with the Clam Flu spreading across Bikini Bottom played mostly for laughs. The ban was a temporary measure on Nickelodeon’s part, as the episode was made available from May 2022 onward, and is still available to watch.

However, this was not the case with “Mid-Life Crustacean,” segment two of season 3, episode 15, which got embroiled in an undergarment-related controversy and has been out of rotation since 2018. What exactly happens in this infamous episode and why is it banned?

No one can evade a mid-life crisis, not even the hyper-capitalistic Mr. Krabs, who struggles to get out of bed at the start of “Mid-Life Crustacean.” Things get progressively more depressing for him as society’s tendency to age-shame crushes his spirit (one of his customers calls him an “old and dried out” Krabby Patty), which prompts him to relive the wonders of youth. Asking to join SpongeBob and Patrick on a night out worth remembering, Mr. Krabs tries to relish the antics that the duo partake in but ends up feeling even more jaded. This is when Patrick reveals that they’re going out to steal a woman’s underwear (dubiously dubbing it a “panty raid”), which lifts Mr. Krabs’ spirits right back up. To add to this, the target of this act turns out to be Krabs’ mother, which upsets both mother and son.

Misogynistic undertones aside, this would have been fine in an animated series solely aimed at adults, but a kids’ show is hardly appropriate for the showcasing of such themes. “Mid-Life Crustacean” has been completely pulled off Paramount+ for this reason, and this entry, along with its companion episode “Snail Race,” is currently unavailable to stream on Amazon Prime in the U.S. However, you may find it featured on home media releases, or come across portions of the episodes on YouTube. If you ask me, I think that the episode should not be banned indefinitely (knee-jerk censorship can be a slippery slope) and that it can be made available with an age-based rating and a disclaimer.

If we overlook the age-inappropriate segment, the episode itself is pretty great. The classic laughs and gags that pepper the premise heighten the nostalgic yearning for simpler times, associated directly with the promising sheen of youth. “Are you feeling it now, Mr. Krabs?” everybody asks the dejected shop owner, who is, infact, not feeling it at all. The mimicry of what is considered “youthful” ends up being a hollow premise, as nostalgia can be revisited anytime we want, regardless of age. Or perhaps, it is a just silly little episode about an adventure gone wrong and I’m reading too much into it.