The day was July 17, 1999 – a yellow sponge was revealed to the world. The rest is history.
For its 10th year anniversary Nickelodeon is giving its fans the “Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash Weekend.” From July 17-19, the 50-hour programming event hosted by Patchy the Pirate. It will air 11 SpongeBob premieres and a top-10 countdown of celebrities’ favorite SpongeBob episodes.
Here’s the rundown:
On Tuesday, July 14, at 9 p.m., VH1 will premiere Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants, the first full-length original SpongeBob SquarePants documentary from acclaimed producers Creadon O’Malley. Commissioned by Nickelodeon to commemorate the anniversary of the series’ first episode, the documentary chronicles the beloved character’s journey to international pop culture icon status and showcases the series’ impact on everyone from President Barack Obama, kids across the globe and San Quentin inmates who readily sing its catchy theme song. The one-hour documentary, features an opening song from Avril Lavigne and commentary from creator Steve Hillenburg, cast and crew members, industry experts, fanatics and celebrities like LeBron James, Ricky Gervais and Rosario Dawson.
On Friday, July 17, at 8 p.m., Nickelodeon kicks-off the 50-hour marathon with the premiere of “To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants”, which follows SpongeBob after his square pants have shrunk in the dryer. Unable to find a new pair, he tries round pants, but no one seems to recognize him as SpongeBob RoundPants.
The fun continues on Saturday, July 18, at 10 a.m. with the top-10 most memorable SpongeBob episodes as picked by fans on Nick.com. The night will be capped off with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie at 8 p.m.
On Sunday, July 19, a top-10 countdown of celebrities’ favorite episodes will air at 10:00 a.m. The weekend-long marathon culminates with 10 all-new premieres beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Nickelodeon’s celebration will continue this fall with the debut an hour-long TV movie event, “Truth or Square,” featuring celebrity guest stars Will Ferrell, Ricky Gervais, Craig Ferguson, and Robin Williams, among others. The special finds SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and Mr. Krabs locked inside a giant freezer on the night of the Krusty Krab’s anniversary celebration. While trapped, the friends look back on shared memories with shocking reveals.
