Mid-Life Crustacean: What Gives?

SpongeBob SquarePants is no stranger to questionable content that would fly past kids. Lots of cartoons have subtle adult references or skate on boundaries. This was a few weeks ago, but the 2003 episode, Mid-Life Crustacean got pulled from streaming. I didn't know it was pulled out of circulation on TV back in 2018, according to a Nickelodeon representative who talked to sites like IGN. Very quick, I'll mention another episode, Kwarantined Krab that got pulled because of COVID type scenarios. That's obvious. But back to the main point of this blog.

Crustacean is a Mr. Krabs led episode and one of his more unique episodes. He joins SpongeBob and Patrick for a night on the town and is pissed about what they think is good. For redemption, Patrick suggest a panty raid, but get caught by Krabs' mother. I'm assuming the panty raid bit is what got them busted in '18 and why it got removed from several streaming sites. This is why I hate the stigma of cartoons being only for kids, something that has been commonplace since the 1950s.

There are lots of cartoons that have hidden jokes, panty shots, various things that will get a chuckle or shocked expression from adults that used to watch those shows. They will understand a lot more material. But why SpongeBob? Unfortunately, he is still a current property and the show is still on the air after almost 22 years. Like Ren and Stimpy, and Rugrats, he is a cash cow. Not to mention the outrage culture and anyone that will look for any excuse to censor stuff.

Nickelodeon did not comment on why this occurred. That's a bad move. But it's not like Krabs came out a winner at the end of the episode. Maybe "standards" have changed over the years? If that's the case, re-evaluate every cartoon, then, if they are so "concerned". Hell, bring back those banned Beavis and Butt-Head episodes since they are much tamer compared to South Park and other shows. Get your hands on DVD's of the third season if you can. 

One last thing I'll mention is another episode, Just One Bite. While it's deleted scene of Squidward catching fire from gas is funny, it's not hard to understand why the bit is cut. I understand fans may want the uncut version, but that will never happen in the United States. It sucks, but nothing you can do.