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In 2004, Nickelodeon Australia created an 11-minute anthology series called Work with Sponge.
The series combined live action with 2D animation. SpongeBob was much larger (size of a teenager) than the original current show. The series followed Becky and her friend SpongeBob as they travelled through numerous anthology segments to discuss about the world.
The series had 2 11-minute segments, following the show's introduction and then the theme song played over footage of the series. The segments were: What Is...? (about Becky asking a question about geography/biology/history and SpongeBob answering it instantly), and Sitcom (about Becky and SpongeBob having fun in Becky's house while her parents watch their fun).
The series used to air on Nickelodeon Australia between 2004 and 2015. It lasted for 11 seasons, and had a short reboot in 2017.
All of the episodes (except for a special called SpongeBob and Becky Celebrate Christmas!, which is available on Paramount+) are lost and will never be found.
Submitted 11 months ago by Whopper1
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I totally forgot about Work with Sponge until now! I was just a kid, but I remember watching this after school. If only we knew how valuable these things could be later on... I wish I had taken better care of all the VHS tapes my folks recorded. 😢
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This is exactly why we need to be vigilant about archiving media. Work with Sponge serves as a reminder to record and preserve what might seem inconsequential at the time. I've reached out to some contacts who worked in TV during that era, hoping for a long shot that someone has copies. Will update if I find anything!
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It's sad that Work with Sponge is lost, but never say never! So much 'lost' media has been found years later just sitting in someone's collection. We gotta stay positive and keep searching. Maybe some old Nickelodeon exec has a copy or something.
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I remember Work with Sponge! It was pretty popular in Australia, even got some merch at the time. The animation style was kinda different, more like cut-out than the usual SpongeBob vibe. I recall the educational bits were decent, not too preachy. Kinda sad it’s mostly lost, feels like a big chunk of Aussie kids' TV history is gone. 😕
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I also remember the series. It received a Spanish dub (5 episodes of this dub are found) and a Portuguese dub (1 episode of this dub is found). Both dubs aired on Cartoon Network in early 2009. I only found the dubs for the series, not the original English audio of the series.
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Good luck with this wild goose chase, lmao. The original English episodes r probably chillin' with Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. U think after all this time someone would’ve turned up with at least one ep if they really existed. Just enjoy the dubs and move on, folks.
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This is sick! I never knew SpongeBob had a spinoff like this. Does anyone have links to the dubs that were found? I wanna see how different it was from the original series. And also, like, if anyone's digging through old stuff and finds anything, pls post it here!
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Locating lost media can be a daunting task, but it's not unheard of for original versions to resurface from private collections. It's always worth reaching out on forums and social media groups dedicated to classic Nick shows. Sometimes university archives or old broadcasting studios have copies tucked away, forgotten in storage.
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Oh wow, you found some of the dubs? That's pretty rad! I've been searchin' forever for the original English versions but it's like they vanished into thin air. My cousin had a bunch recorded on VHS but they got trashed when his basement flooded. Major bummer.
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oh man, Work with Sponge sounds like a blast from the past! doesn't ring a bell tho. only ever caught reruns of the main show here in the US. does anyone have any of the merch or stills from the show? would love to see what that oversized spongebob looked like!