海绵宝宝:十年後仍然狂吸收视率 by Elizabeth Blair SpongeBob SquarePants makes no sense. Created by marine biologist turned animator Stephen Hillenburg, the character lives in an underwater pineapple in a place called Bikini Bottom. He keeps company with a lumpy starfish named Patrick, a cranky neighbor named Squidward, a greedy crab of a boss and an evil plankton. 海绵宝宝毫无道理可言。海洋生物学家Stephen Hillenburg创造了海绵宝宝，他住在深海的大凤梨里，住在一个叫「比基尼泳衣」的城市。他和一只笨笨的海星「派翠克」是好朋友，有一个暴躁不安的邻居「章鱼哥」，还有一只贪婪的螃蟹老板和一只邪恶的浮游生物。 The show is like The Honeymooners meets The Flintstones — on speed. Brown Johnson, the vice president of animation for Nickelodeon, says it was a fight to get SpongeBob on the air. 这个动画就像天雷勾动地火。Nickelodeon动画公司副总裁Brown Johnson说，要播出海绵宝宝简直就像在打仗。 "Certain parts of the business at Nickelodeon were like, 'Oh no. It'll never be successful. It's about a sponge. What's that? It's yellow. That's a bad color,' " she recalls. 她回忆，「Nickelodeon公司对海绵宝宝的部份想法是，『噢不。不可能会受欢迎的。主角是一块海绵。这算啥？他还黄黄的，这颜色很糟。』」 But now, 10 years after SpongeBob made its on-air debut, the show is still wildly popular. One week last month, nine of the top 20 shows on cable were SpongeBob cartoons. According to Nickelodeon, 45 million people over 18 watch the show every month. President Obama, Scarlett Johansson and LeBron James are among the character's legion of fans. 但是，现在距海绵宝宝初次播映已经过十年了，而且这部动画还是超受欢迎。上个月某一周，有线电视收视率前二十名的节目有九个是海绵宝宝。每个月有四千五百万个超过十八岁的观众观赏海绵宝宝。欧巴马总统、Scarlett Johansson和Lebron James都是海绵宝宝粉丝军团的成员。 SpongeBob is so popular that Nickelodeon squeezes everything it can out of it. You can buy SpongeBob underwear and SpongeBob macaroni and cheese. 海绵宝宝实在太受欢迎了，Nickelodeon尽其所能地压榨海绵，挤出周边商品。你可以买到海绵宝宝内裤、海绵宝宝通心面、海绵宝宝起司。 "If we are sort of down in the ratings we sort of put it everywhere," says Johnson. "Sometimes it's on eight times a day." 「如果收视率有点下降，我们就会狂播海绵。」Johnson说，「有时候一天播八次。」 Syracuse University professor Bob Thompson says it's impossible to overestimate how much SpongeBob has penetrated American culture. 雪城大学教授Bob Thompson说，绝不能低估海绵宝宝渗透美国文化的能力。 "You watch when you're a little kid and you like it because it's pretty and it's funny and they do goofy things," says Thompson. "You watch it again when you're 10, and suddenly all of the new mysteries of life begin to pop up in here as well. And then you watch it when you're a 21-year-old in a frat house and suddenly there's a whole other quality that appeals to you." 「当你还是个幼童时就开始看海绵，你也喜欢看海绵，因为他很可爱、他很好笑、他们会做蠢事。」Thompson说：「你十岁时又开始看海绵，忽然间你又在海绵宝宝的世界里，开始看到了生命中的所有新鲜、神秘。当你二十一岁，你在死党家看到了海绵宝宝，接着你又在海绵宝宝的世界里发现了其他更吸引你的魅力与特质。」 SpongeBob the character is an eternal optimist — though one prone to melodrama. Tom Kenny, who provides the voice of SpongeBob, calls the character "pretty bipolar ... his highs are very high but he can also be dashed into the most abject sorrow." 海绵宝宝是永远的乐观主义者──虽然他的个性变化很戏剧性。Tom Kenny是海绵宝宝的配音员，他认为海绵宝宝「很两极化....他嗨起来会嗨到疯掉，可他也会因挫折而深深感到难过、悲伤。」 Kenny says he'll gladly be the voice of SpongeBob for another 10 years. Kenny说他很乐意再为海绵宝宝配音十年。 "Even if the show doesn't go for 10 years, I'll be the guy pushing a grocery cart around with a tinfoil hat on his head going 'Hey you know who I used to be?' " he jokes. 他开玩笑说，「就算海绵宝宝没有演十年，我也会推着杂货车，戴着锡箔纸帽子，然後到处问人：『嘿，你知道我以前是做什麽的吗？』」 结论：谁还敢说海绵宝宝是小孩看的脑残动画　科科 -- doldrums:spongeBob=prestige:abase 右边减少左边 --

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