The novel coronavirus has forced Nickelodeon to temporarily pull a SpongeBob SquarePants episode

Studios and networks are very careful when it comes to choosing the release or premiere date of movies and TV shows. Obviously there are some things that are no-brainers: when Marvel quickly enters the market A huge prop like “Avengers: Endgame”, You know it’s targeting the start of the summer movie season. But when it comes to a less star-studded effort, like “Captain America: Brave New World,” it may be limited to a less eye-catching time frame like February or March, where there won’t be such fierce competition. For screens. Meanwhile, with television in the era of miniseries and short-season orders, networks and streamers can now use the entire calendar year instead of ramping up their consumption in the fall.

It’s all a matter of timing. And sometimes all the strategies in the world can become irrelevant when an unpredictable global event is thrown off-kilter. When the September 11 attacks brought terror to the United States, there was an initial wave of panic as people wondered what the purpose of entertainment was. Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair foolishly declared that we had witnessed it The end of the era of satire. Studios combed their release schedules and spotted films with potentially disturbing themes (such as “The Sum of All Fears,” “Collateral Damage,” and “Big Trouble”) through 2002.

Recently, Hollywood has been forced to confront the terrifying unknown that is the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There were big logistical questions regarding the release of big-budget films at a time when most moviegoers, without a vaccine, were playing it safe by staying home and surfing their streaming queues. Unlike 9/11, where the world’s appetite for action movies filled with disposable deaths was briefly called into question, there hasn’t been an abundance of films about the spread of incurable diseases. In fact, the most graphic depiction of the pandemic, “Contagion” by Steven Soderbergh It proved incredibly popular among closed-minded viewers. But this was an adult movie. What about entertainment for children? Can they handle a movie or TV show that addresses this remarkably scary moment in their lives? When it comes to “SpongeBob SquarePants,” Nickelodeon said absolutely not.

when “SpongeBob SquarePants” (which turned 25 last year) Entering its twelfth season on November 11, 2018, the COVID-19 pandemic was still two years away, so no one had any reason to worry about an episode titled “Kwarantined Crab.” The episode focuses on the forced closing of the Krusty Krab due to a clam flu outbreak, resulting in SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Mrs. Puff being quarantined in the institution. When Mr. Krabs announces that anyone known to be carrying the flu should be locked in the restaurant’s freezer, you know it’s only a matter of time before SpongeBob and Patrick end up there.

In classic “SpongeBob SquarePants” fashion, the episode, which was written before the coronavirus outbreak, is so absurd, so clearly divorced from reality, that it elicits nothing other than laughter. But risk-averse Nickelodeon wasn’t about to wait to see if parents exploded in anger over the Kwarantined Krab movie. It pulled the episode from streaming on Amazon and Paramount+, keeping it out of circulation until April 29, 2022. There was some fan discontent on Reddit when the episode was initially removed, but the outcry never reached the level of a full outcry. Controversy.

Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time an episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants” was pulled from streaming. In 2018, Nickelodeon elevated the third season episode “Mid-Life Crustacean” to a plot line that finds the sexy trio of Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, and Patrick breaking into a woman’s house to steal her underwear. Sure, “SpongeBob SquarePants” traffics in adult humor that often flies over kids’ heads, but… These tricks are Animal House style. I feel…understood for a children’s cartoon. I don’t think the episode should be permanently unavailable, but I do think it should probably be moved to the appropriately rated Blu-ray release.