Reply #9: There was a time that I didn't allow my oldest son to watch that show.

[NNadir]

The first time we watched it together - and I watched every single show my oldest son watched with him and none of the shows my youngest watched - it seemed violent. Spongebob was getting smacked around.

My standards have relaxed considerably over the years, and I have probably seen nearly every episode of Spongebob by osmosis.

Actually, as cartoon shows go, Spongebob can be quite witty and droll, but my favorite kid's show for wit is often "Fairly Odd Parents." The send up of Governor Hydrogen Hummer is great! The show seems to often have an underlying political agenda of which I approve.

When I was a child, the most political - and wittiest - show on television was "Rocky and Bullwinkle." I feel particularly privileged to have grown up watching that show. It was purely fabulous, and highly literate, especially the "Fractured Fairy Tales."