For old time's sake...
SpongeBob SquarePants - Tentacle-Vision/I ♥ Dancing
Tentacle-Vision:
Squidward gets upset his favorite show Fab And Fancy gets cancelled (he sure seems to like shows with the word "Fancy" in them), but gets excited once he discovers an easy opportunity to get his own television spot. Unfortunately a certain yellow neighbor risks jeopardizing his chance...
This is a solid Squidward-centric story. Stories where he tries to be successful can be of varying quality, some of them too cruel in their treatment of him. But although he's unlucky here, it's very entertaining and never goes too far.
SpongeBob's enthusiasm and stupidity once he goes to tell Squidward he's on TV, not realizing he's interrupting him right on the air made me chuckle. It's even funnier once Patrick butts in, then accuses his friend of lying when he runs back home and doesn't see himself on the screen since he just ran away from the studio.
The disaster gets even bigger once Squid decides to let the nincompoops assist him just so they'll stop bothering him. We know from MMBB VI to never, ever trust Patrick with a camera. Confusing Squidward for the paintings of him as well as mindlessly wagging the camera up and down. It's not until he literally ties Patrick to the camera that it's finally still. SpongeBob screws up in an amusing way as well by putting the microphone inside his mouth several times.
It collapses entirely once the whole town joins in, for example Mr. Krabs advertising Krusty Krab live on air and Plankton turning his death ray on everything and wrecking the place. Pearl in her cheerleading outfit yelling "Fight, team, fight!" has to be the best part of it though. Not really sure what Sandy was doing however. Her role was a little confusing.
I also thought it was strange Squidward got kicked out of his own house. He could've just been asked to go into a different room. Nevertheless, seeing Zeus The Guitar Lord and the Bikini Bottom residents rocking it out is a fun, energetic ending. You feel a little bad for Squidward sure, but his cockiness throughout makes it feel less jarring to see him lose.
I ♥ Dancing:
SpongeBob realizes how much he loves dancing and starts doing it everywhere he can. A talent scout discovers him and suggests entering a dance competition. Green with jealousy, Squidward is set on making him lose so he won't be able to perform when it's time.
We already saw these two dance in in Slimy Dancing, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. I often find it enjoyable when Squidward is scheming, and his attempts to wear down SpongeBob makes for really good comedy. His absurdly impressive dancing had me laughing the whole time, particularly when he forms a flirty mermaid with the ribbon.
Eventually, Squidward finally thinks of a dance which the sponge can't do, which causes him to collapse from exhaustion. The devious plan worked out perfectly. And indeed, he actually wins the audition. I love how boring and one-note his winning dance is. Something tells me this judge doesn't set very high standards. But lo and behold, Squilliam is here! Although he won the audition, they were only looking for a partner to Squilliam in his show. And not only that, he has to perform that silly dance SpongeBob showed him earlier to absolute perfection. For some reason I found it funnier when Squilliam shows him, just because of that added "UH!" at the end.
SpongeBob is an awfully good sport about losing as well, even sitting in the audience and casually telling Patrick he was up for the part.
Despite the hit-and-miss quality of this season, it's nice to see it start off on a promising note.