Pizza Delivery (SpongeBob SquarePants)

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"Pizza Delivery"
SpongeBob SquarePants episode
Pizza Delivery (SpongeBob).jpg
Title card
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 5a
Directed by Sherm Cohen
Sean Dempsey
Written bySherm Cohen
Aaron Springer
Peter Burns
Production code2515-107
Original air dateAugust 14, 1999 (1999-08-14)
Episode chronology
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"Boating School"		Next →
"Home Sweet Pineapple"
SpongeBob SquarePants (season 1)
List of episodes

"Pizza Delivery" is the first segment of the fifth episode of the first season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants . It first aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 14, 1999. The segment was written by Sherm Cohen, Aaron Springer, and Peter Burns, and the animation was directed by Sean Dempsey. Cohen also functioned as storyboard director, and Springer worked as storyboard artist.

Contents

In the episode, the Krusty Krab receives a call from a customer ordering a pizza, and Mr. Krabs sends SpongeBob and Squidward to deliver it. When the two employees become stranded in the middle of a desert, they get into numerous predicaments. Along the way, SpongeBob tries to show Squidward the lifestyle of the pioneers.

In pitching the show to Nickelodeon, creator Stephen Hillenburg originally wanted the idea of having the characters on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway . The concept was later reworked for the story of the episode. The episode received critical acclaim, with most considering it one of the show's best episodes. In 2024, Rolling Stone named it one of the top 100 television episodes of all time.

Plot

SpongeBob (right) beatboxes while he and Squidward (left) deliver the pizza on foot in the middle of a desert after losing their boatmobile Pizza Delivery (SpongeBob and Squidward).jpg
SpongeBob (right) beatboxes while he and Squidward (left) deliver the pizza on foot in the middle of a desert after losing their boatmobile

The Krusty Krab restaurant receives a call from a customer demanding to deliver him a pizza, and Mr. Krabs decides to have Squidward deliver it. Squidward hesitates and asks why SpongeBob cannot just deliver it by himself. Mr. Krabs obviously was not listening clearly and declares "Great idea, take him with ya!", so SpongeBob and Squidward go to deliver a pizza. However, SpongeBob cannot drive, and is still in boating school. When he tries to shift into reverse, Korean texts for "go forward" and "go backward" appear in SpongeBob's illusion as he starts to hesitate. Then he "backs it up" whereupon Squidward and SpongeBob become stranded in a desert. SpongeBob then suggests to deliver the pizza on foot, and they start walking.

SpongeBob begins singing a song about the Krusty Krab pizza, and how it is the best pizza in the sea. Then they get whirled into a tornado, and Squidward tells SpongeBob to let go of the pizza, but the pizza saves their lives when SpongeBob transforms it into a parachute. SpongeBob shows Squidward some pioneer tricks, such as hitchhiking, eating coral, telling where civilization is by looking at what direction moss points, and even using rocks as vehicles. The eternally sceptic Squidward does not believe SpongeBob but has to reconsider when they end up driving the rock all the way to the customer's house. Sadly, their journey did not pay off too well. The customer gets extremely angry that he did not get the soda he says he ordered. SpongeBob starts crying. Angered that the customer made SpongeBob cry, Squidward knocks on the door and smacks the pizza on his face. After the confrontation, the two drive back to work, which ironically is only a few feet away but Squidward is already very worn out from the long pizza delivery.

Production

"Pizza Delivery" was written by Sherm Cohen, Aaron Springer and Peter Burns, with Sean Dempsey serving as animation director. Cohen also functioned as storyboard director, and Springer worked as storyboard artist. [1] Series creator Stephen Hillenburg's original idea for the series pitch was that the writers would write a storyboard for a possible episode and pitch it to Nickelodeon. [2] Hillenburg wanted to write an episode with SpongeBob and Squidward on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway , with Derek Drymon describing the film's story as about "an innocent, kid-like character who is traveling with a curmudgeon". [2] Eventually, the idea developed while they were working on it, but Hillenburg gave up the idea for the initial pitch. [2] Instead, they used another idea for the pitch which was in the series pilot episode called "Help Wanted". [2] Writers Aaron Springer and Sherm Cohen resurrected the road trip idea during the first season and used a lot of the ideas for "Pizza Delivery". [2]

Release

"Pizza Delivery" originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 14, 1999 at 10:00am, with a TV-Y7 parental rating. [3] The episode was released on the DVD compilation called SpongeBob SquarePants: Christmas on September 30, 2003. [4] [5] [6] It was also included in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 1st Season DVD released on October 28, 2003. [7] [8] [9] On September 22, 2009, "Pizza Delivery" was released on the SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes DVD, alongside all the episodes of seasons one through five. [10] [11] On April 29, 2014, "Pizza Delivery" was released on the "SpongeBob, You're Fired!" episode compilation DVD. [12]

Reception

Ratings

When this episode initially aired on Nickelodeon on August 14, 1999 at 10:00am alongside its sister episode "Home Sweet Pineapple," it was reported to have received 1.617 million viewers with kids aged 2–11, losing in that demographic to a rerun of Pokémon , which had 2.227 million by comparison. However, the episode beat out the rerun in total viewers, with a total of 2.471 million tuning to watch SpongeBob, [13] while Pokémon had averaged 2.326 million viewers that day. This left both shows tied in the ratings they had competed for over the last five weeks, beginning when SpongeBob first aired on Saturday morning on July 17. [14]

Critical response

"Pizza Delivery" received critical acclaim and is frequently cited as one of the show's best episodes. Rolling Stone ranked the episode #89 in their listing of the 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time, writing that "the absurdist humor that made SpongeBob SquarePants beloved across multiple generations is already at full strength in this early episode". [15] Jordan Moreau, Katcy Stephan and David Viramontes of Variety ranked "Pizza Delivery" the third best episode of the show. [16] Giving the episode 5 out of 5 stars, Bill Treadway of DVD Verdict said the episode is his "personal favorite of all the episodes", [17] writing that "this one is loaded with enough unique twists and hilarious comedy to bear repeat viewings." [17] In 2025, Mike Bedard of /Film ranked the episode No. 2 in their 15 Best SpongeBob episodes list. The writer called it "SpongeBob at its finest," as it showcases "the platonic ideals of all the main characters while delivering one brilliant joke after another." [18]

Emily Estep of WeGotThisCovered.com ranked the episode No. 1 on her "Top 10 Episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants" list, [19] writing that the episode "has the undervalued nostalgia of being episode five of the entire series and it benefits from the aforementioned chemistry of Spongebob and Squidward." [19] She also praised the episode as "an in-depth look at their [SpongeBob and Squidward] relationship, and it set the tone for just how strange the show could be." [19] Estep lauded the hitchhiking dances by SpongeBob, saying "These moves are amusing and charming, while Squidward's bitterness is easy to relate to." [19] Priya Elan of The Guardian ranked the episode at No. 3 on his top five favorite SpongeBob "moments," [20] while Andrew Firriolo of BuzzFeed deemed it the most memorable, saying that "Between the rock, the pioneers, and the Krusty Krab's pizza song, 'Pizza Delivery' is a treasure trove of funny moments." He also highlighted the friendship between SpongeBob and Squidward. [21] In 2009, "Pizza Delivery" was chosen by viewers on Nick.com as the No. 1 episode during a television marathon called "The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash". [22]

As of 2023, the episode alongside its accompanying segment, "Home Sweet Pineapple", rank No. 9 in the highest rated SpongeBob SquarePants according to IMDb, with a 9.1 out of 10 user rating. [23] In the iTunes collection "SpongeBob SquarePants: Tom Kenny's Top 20", Tom Kenny, the voice actor for SpongeBob, lists it as among his all-time favorite episodes. He writes in the description for the episode:

"The classic setup: SpongeBob and Squidward lost in the desert while delivering a pizza to a customer's home. Squidward just wants to get out of there, but SpongeBob sees his pizza delivery as a sacred oath between himself and the customer. I like when SpongeBob singing to himself—'The Krusty Krab pizza is the pizza' ...turns into a bizarre gospel jingle singer—'Krusty Kray -ya ya-yaaa-aaab!'" [24]

References

  1. ↑ SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 1st Season ("Pizza Delivery" credits) (DVD). United States: Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon. October 28, 2003.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Heintjes, Tom (September 21, 2012). "The Oral History of SpongeBob SquarePants". Hogan's Alley . Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ "SpongeBob SquarePants: Season 1, Episode 5". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  4. ↑ SpongeBob SquarePants: Christmas. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2003.
  5. ↑ Bovberg, Jason (October 6, 2003). "SpongeBob Squarepants: Christmas". DVD Talk. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ "SpongeBob SquarePants - Christmas". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 1st Season. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2003.
  8. ↑ Bovberg, Jason (October 26, 2003). "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season". DVD Talk . Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "SpongeBob SquarePants - Season 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  10. ↑ SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2009.
  11. ↑ Lacey, Gord (September 29, 2009). "SpongeBob SquarePants - The First 100 Episodes (Seasons 1-5) Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ Lambert, David (January 28, 2014). "SpongeBob SquarePants-Time to Hang Up His Spatula: 'SpongeBob, You're Fired!' on DVD". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  13. ↑ Cable TV Ratings: Nickelodeon (August 9–15, 1999) (Report). Nielsen Media Research.
  14. ↑ "'Sponge' a little wet". Daily News. August 24, 1999. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (September 2, 2024). "The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time". Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  16. ↑ Moreau, Jordan; Stephan, Katcy; Viramontes, David (June 8, 2021). "15 Best 'SpongeBob Squarepants' Episodes, Ranked". Variety . Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  17. 1 2 Treadway, Bill (November 10, 2003). "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  18. ↑ Bedard, Mike (January 17, 2025). "15 Best SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes, Ranked". /Film . Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Estep, Emily (December 5, 2011). "Top 10 Episodes Of Spongebob Squarepants". WeGotThisCovered.com. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  20. ↑ Elan, Priya (July 24, 2009). "Happy 10th birthday, SpongeBob SquarePants". The Guardian . Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  21. ↑ Firriolo, Andrew (May 1, 2024). "To Celebrate The 25th Anniversary Of SpongeBob SquarePants, I Ranked The 25 Greatest Episodes". BuzzFeed . Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Pizza Delivery". The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash. July 17–19, 2009. Nickelodeon.
  23. ↑ Anderson, Ashleigh (May 8, 2023). "The 10 Highest-Rated 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Episodes on IMDb". Collider . Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  24. ↑ "SpoongeBob SquarePants: Tom Kenny's Top 20". iTunes. 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
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