I’ve been watching these “SpongeBob SquarePants” DVDs for a few years now, and it’s hard to get excited about these random episode/segment compilations. Now we are getting a selection of segments from the last couple of years. While I find the randomness of these releases frustrating, the show is still funny and there is some great stuff here.
On the latest DVD Extreme Kah-Rah-Tay we get:
Squid Defense
The Way Of The Sponge
House Sittin’ For Sandy
The Krabby Patty That Ate Bikini Bottom
Extreme Spots
Squirrel Record
Face Freeze
Demolition Dufus
One of the running gags of the series is the ongoing karate feud between SpongeBob and Sandy. This serves as the theme for this collection – at least the first few segments.
The first segment deals with Squidward learning the fine art of karate for self defense. Next up SpongeBob goes up against Sandy’s karate mentor Fuzzy Acorns in a test for his first belt. Both of these are some of the lesser segments in the history of the show, unfortunately. Patrick finally shows up in the third segment where Sandy Cheeks needs a house sitter, and it takes a little while, but this is much more reminiscent of the show’s earlier seasons. Then there’s one that focuses on Mr. Krabs and Sandy intially, with appearance by Plankton in what is an almost spot-on homage to 50s B-movies. Johnny Knoxville provides a guest voice in the next segment that is inspired by his previous television crew. Sandy then tries to top a number records by doing some crazy stuff. Mr. Krabs offers a tale of the “if you keep making faces like that it will get stuck that way” and SpongeBob and Patrick take it to heart. Finally SpongeBob is at the center of an accident that injures his driving instructor Mrs. Puff, and she comes up with an idea that might rid her of him for good.
For fans of the series, there’s enough here to enjoy, but this is certainly not something to show people what the series is all about. While these segments all go with the “extreme” theme in some fashion, only the first two deal with karate. And then there’s the fact that these aren’t all as funny as some of the other segments of the show.
Still, for “SpongeBob SquarePants” fans Extreme Kah-Rah-Tay might be worth picking up, but you need to be a fan of the show already. You might be better off holding out for a more comprehensive season set.