SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season

Are you ready, kids (and hooked adults)? After getting your feet wet with the many assorted SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon compilations, immerse yourself in the full first season of the silly and surreal underwater world of Bikini Bottom. For those who have yet to take the plunge, SpongeBob SquarePants is an "absorbent, yellow, and porous" sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. His best friends include Patrick, a clueless starfish who probably thinks Chicken of the Sea is made of chicken, and Sandy, a Texas squirrel who resides in an underwater dome. Bikini Bottom's wet blanket is SpongeBob's curmudgeonly neighbor, Squidward. Not since Pee-Wee's Playhouse has a so-called children's show attracted such a fervent adult following. SpongeBob's idiosyncratic characters, smart writing, and Pythonesque looniness are irresistible bait to landlubbers of all ages, and there are very few cartoons in this deep, see-worthy collection you'd want to throw back. Among the first-season classics: "Ripped Pants," in which SpongeBob goes to increasingly desperate depths to play the fool; "F.U.N.," in which SpongeBob tries to reform the evil Plankton; and "Hooky," in which SpongeBob and Patrick enjoy the extreme sport of riding fishermen's hooks to the surface and jumping off ("they're covered with free cheese!", Patrick exults). A whale of an extras package--including audio commentaries, sing-alongs, and segments about the production of the series--make this boxed set the catch of the day. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)