This is an official remake of "The True Lost Episode", mostly since the original wasn't really thought out that well (at least for a reedit of something less... kosher) and could've used some ironing out. Enjoy! (also some of this was based on sharktv's take of the original story cause i liked it)
The uncertainty of memory is a common experience for many people. Some may have a more extreme case of forgetting large amount of detail, while others may simply misremember smaller, more insignificant descriptions. The memories themselves can also take many forms, either being violent and traumatic, or wistful and rose-tinted. While memory is a fragile concept (and strenuous at best), when a large group of people have the same recollections as each other, there tends to be stronger evidence for something being more... concrete. For the people tuned into Nickelodeon, those memories were anything but insignificant.
April 1st, 2010[]
The date of April the first is ordinarily a silly, fun way to prank others during April Fools' Day (or commonly spelled as April Fool's Day). This day has often been celebrated by others by doing harmless practical jokes or poking fun at other's expense; usually with either fake products, seemingly ordinary videos that switch formats (dubbed "bait-and-switch" by some), and the like. For the children's entertainment juggernaut Nickelodeon, this would be a good chance to capitalize on a fun custom and help boost viewership for the channel. The channel would advertise a "brand new" episode to be aired on April first, which was treated as a major event akin to the Ultimate SpongeBash. These ads would play out fairly normally, with clips from various episodes edited to praise/promote the special much like other Nickelodeon ads at the time.
However, even during this time, people spotted something odd with the corresponding ads. When clips of SpongeBob were shown, viewers noted that SpongeBob's design looked slightly weird compared to his normal appearance. In some scenes, SpongeBob lacked a mouth, and the accompanying dialogue SpongeBob would have had was seemingly edited out. In other scenes, his eyes were completely edited to have a red tint, akin to someone crying or, as one user noted "like a person sobbing for hours".
Frame from a now deleted YouTube video showing SpongeBob's altered appearance ("spooky spongebob ad"; circa 2010).
It's unknown if the ads were reported, as information about said ads are scarce aside from some screenshots and recollections by others. Regardless, the ads would continue to air until 7PM, where the main event would begin.
And when things would go wrong.
The Event[]
The event, dubbed "SpongePril" by some, would begin with a timer counting down from 10. Viewers speculated as to what exactly this new episode would be, with many on various forums excited for this event and tuned into the channel, anticipating a new premiere for an episode. When the timer reached 0, a clip of Patchy the Pirate would play, with him equally as excited as the viewers about the episode. As the camera zoomed into his television set, people online and offline would soon see what the event had to offer... only to be met with a bitter realization.
Yes, as anti-climatic as it was, the "new episode" promised turned out to be a showcase of SpongeBob's walk cycle taken from "The Sponge Who Could Fly". Many were left disappointed that this was a simple April Fool's joke, while others were pleasantly surprised with a reairing of the titular episode. Forum users would give some praise to Nick for having the audacity to do an April Fool's event, considering the network's reputation. There was the occasional rant post about how "Nick ,kuined SpongeBob" due to this or something to that effect; typically something that would happen with any forum, give or take. Though, one post among the discussion would catch a lot of people off-guard, with it simply reading:
"April Fools' episode glitch???
"hey forum, i decided to keep watching the episode since i wanted to see tswcf (call me a nostalgia-hound, whatevs) and i noticed that spongebob... stopped moving? is this supposed to happen?"
The Interference[]
The post would attach a now lost video clip showing what seemed to be a glitch in the broadcast, causing SpongeBob to freeze in place along with a noise blaring in the background. Many on the forum would dismiss this as the user having a bad signal or the result of bad weather. This wouldn't be notable, had it not been for other users, who would contradict this claim by posting multiple images, screenshots, and videos of the "interference", showing this wasn't just an isolated incident. As the episode continued to air, these "glitches" would continue to escalate.
Text would begin to pop up during the video deterioration, though what was meant to be stated within the text is unclear. When the video returns, SpongeBob's appearance was completely altered. His limbs were now stretched far longer than they should be, along with his eyes now having a red tint akin to the ads. One of his pupils were much larger, and another seemed to be distorted into cracks along his eye, leaking a black fluid. Along with this, his mouth was missing, with a patch of yellow skin where it once was. SpongeBob was staring into the camera, with audio of heavy breathing playing in the background, increasing in volume as SpongeBob continued to stare toward the viewer.
Screenshot of the broadcast, depicting SpongeBob's altered appearance.
Suddenly, the audio of what sounded like a man screaming would be heard, with the episode cutting to black. After a few seconds, it would cut to a title card for an episode. Where the episode title would be was instead a blank image (taken from the episode Your Shoe's Untied, oddly enough), along with no music or sound effects. Any credits to whomever worked on the episode is also absent.
The episode in question would go as "normal", being Patrick doing his daily routine, though with SpongeBob edited out. Some notable things about the "episode" were the visuals strangely edited to be in black and white, which caused some to believe that their television set was broken or improperly set up. The episode continued through Patrick's routine until it ended with Patrick returning to Conch Street, with SpongeBob stood in front of his house, back facing the camera.
"Oh hiya, SpongeBob!"
Patrick greeted SpongeBob with friendly wave, though SpongeBob didn't respond.
"...SpongeBob?"
Patrick's expression changed to a look of concern/confusion. Again, SpongeBob was unresponsive. Patrick simply shrugged, mentioning something about "being one of those days" and walked off-screen. There was a bubble transition to Patrick watching television. Based on the sounds of crickets heard over the static, it's assumed this took place at night. It cuts to the television, displaying static across the screen.
"I hate this channel."
Patrick pointed the remote at the screen, about to turn the television off, when the sound of something opening catches his attention. It cut to an image of Patrick's rock house being opened slightly, revealing the night sky. Patrick scoffed, and it cut to a scene of him closing the house. When it cut back, SpongeBob was standing behind the couch, taking on the same appearance as shown before, though with both of his eyes completely blank. In addition, his mouth was now visible, with a row of human-like teeth behind a layer of now-torn flesh. Patrick didn't seem to notice, as they sat back down. After a few seconds, the sound of bones cracking could be heard as SpongeBob's pupil (as his other eye seemed to be missing) rolled forward, now staring at the viewer. SpongeBob's pupil then suddenly shifts toward Patrick, and lunges toward him.
The visuals distort into a nigh-incomprehensible mess, with the audio similarly muffled and unintelligible. Many people swore that they could see an image of Patrick's mangled body within the distortion, though this has been not been confirmed. After this, it cut to a technical difficulties screen, though this would not last long as it cut to a series of images, each showing Conch Street as well as Bikini Bottom severely wrecked by some unknown force. Buildings were torn down, the ground near them was either charred or ripped apart, and the sky in each image was a dark red. After this, it cut to SpongeBob, now in the direct center of the carnage. White text would slowly fade in with one word:
"Rejoice."
Recreation of the end part of the broadcast, provided by an anonymous user.
The screen would cut back to the original Sponge Who Could Fly episode, with Patchy disappointed about the supposed "lost episode".
Reaction and Response[]
Many people online were rightfully horrified and baffled at the broadcast, with many stating the visuals were "nightmare-inducing alone". There was also some confusion about the included episode within, if there was a meaning to the episode or if it was simply put in for the sake of scaring viewers, with some speculating it possibly being a piece of vent animation or something similar included. Though, again, this is unconfirmed. However, what would cause more confusion would be Nickelodeon's official response to the tampered broadcast:
Nothing.
No response from Nickelodeon or anyone who worked on said broadcast has been officially stated, despite the numerous complaints filed against the company. It's unknown why this is, though, due to the broadcast's obscurity in comparison to other, much larger events, it was very easily swept under the rug. This also extended to videos covering the event, with a large majority of them being taken down by Viacom likely to hide the broadcast from public view (or due to copyright reasons, as some have speculated), making them lost media.
Currently, the identity of the hijacker or group of hijackers remains unknown, though given the timing and everything surrounding the broadcast, it's likely they had connections to Nickelodeon at some point.
Recovery[]
So far, some images of the event have been recovered, though surviving videos have still yet to be found or released. Due to some of the forums being either closed down or entirely revamped, a lot of the original forum posts discussing the event have also been made unrecoverable, though screenshots have thankfully survived. If anyone has any other images or possible videos recording the broadcast, feel free to let us know. We need all the help we can get.