SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom

This article is about the 2003 video game. For the remake, see SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
North American cover art
Developer(s)	Heavy Iron Studios AWE Games (PC) Vicarious Visions (GBA)
Publisher(s)	THQ
Director(s)	Shiraz Akmal
Producer(s)	Kristian Davila
Designer(s)	Joel Goodsell
Programmer(s)	Jason Hoerner
Artist(s)	Joffery Black
Composer(s)	Jimmy Levine Robert Crew Alex Wilkinson
Series	SpongeBob SquarePants
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance GameCube PlayStation 2 Windows Xbox
Release	NA: October 29, 2003 EU: November 28, 2003
Genre(s)	Platform, action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is a 2003 platform video game based on the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants, developed by Heavy Iron Studios and published by THQ for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Separate versions, developed by Vicarious Visions and AWE Games respectively, were released for the Game Boy Advance and Windows. While the versions released for consoles were 3D platform games, the Windows version of the game is a mini-game compilation, and the Game Boy Advance version was a 2D platformer.

All versions of the game feature an original storyline, in which the player attempts to defend Bikini Bottom from an invasion of robots created by Plankton with a machine called the Duplicatotron 3000, playing as SpongeBob in all versions, as well as Patrick and Sandy in the console versions. The series' voice actors reprise their roles, with the exception of Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs and Ernest Borgnine as Mermaid Man, with both roles instead being voiced by Joe Whyte. The game was released on October 29, 2003, in North America and in Europe on November 28.

Battle for Bikini Bottom received mixed or average reviews according to Metacritic. Edge included the Game Boy Advance version on its list of top handheld video games of the 21st century. It was a commercial success. The game has gained a cult following and a large speedrunning community presence.

A remake of the home console version, titled SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, was released on June 23, 2020. It was developed by Purple Lamp Studios and published by THQ Nordic for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It includes an all-new multiplayer mode and cut content from the original game.

Gameplay

Patrick in Goo Lagoon. An enemy G-Love robot can be seen in the background.

Home console versions

Stephen Tyrone Colbert[1] (/koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR;[2] born May 13, 1964)[3] is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014 and the CBS talk program The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since September 2015.[4][5][6]

Colbert originally studied to be a dramatic actor, but became interested in improvisational theater while attending Northwestern University, where he met Second City director Del Close. Colbert first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago, where his troupemates included Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, comedians with whom he developed the sketch comedy series Exit 57. He wrote and performed on The Dana Carvey Show before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the television series Strangers with Candy. He gained attention for his role on the latter as closeted gay history teacher Chuck Noblet.

Colbert's work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show gained him wide recognition. In 2005, he left The Daily Show to host The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report was a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows including The O'Reilly Factor, in which he portrayed a caricatured version of conservative political pundits, earning Colbert an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006, which he did in character. This event led to the series becoming one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series. After ending The Colbert Report, he was hired in 2015 to succeed retiring David Letterman as host of the Late Show on CBS. He hosted the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2017.

Colbert has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and three Peabody Awards. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2006 and 2012.[7][8] Colbert's book I Am America (And So Can You!) was listed No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2007.

Early life Colbert was born in Washington, D.C.,[2][9] the youngest of eleven children in a Catholic family.[10][11] He spent his early years in Bethesda, Maryland.[12] He grew up in the Charleston suburb of James Island, South Carolina. Colbert and his siblings, in descending order by age, are James III, Edward, Mary, William, Margo, Thomas, Jay, Elizabeth, Paul, Peter, and Stephen. His father, James William Colbert Jr., was an immunologist and medical school dean at Yale University, Saint Louis University, and finally at the Medical University of South Carolina, where, from 1969, he served as the school's first vice president of academic affairs.[13] Stephen's mother, Lorna Elizabeth Colbert (née Tuck), was a homemaker.[14][15][16][17]

In interviews, Colbert has described his parents as devout people who also strongly valued intellectualism, and taught their children it was possible to question the church, and still be Catholic.[18] In an interview, Lorna has described Stephen as rambunctious.[19] As a child, he observed that Southerners were often depicted as being less intelligent than other characters on scripted television; to avoid that stereotype, he taught himself to imitate the speech of American news anchors.[20][21]

While Colbert sometimes comedically claims his surname is French, he is of 15/16ths Irish ancestry; one of his paternal great-great-grandmothers was of German and English descent.[22][23] Many of his ancestors emigrated from Ireland to North America in the 19th century before and during the Great Famine.[14][24] Originally, his surname was pronounced /ˈkoʊlbərt/ KOHL-bərt in English; Stephen Colbert's father, James, wanted to pronounce the name /koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, but maintained the /ˈkoʊlbərt/ pronunciation out of respect for his own father. He offered his children the option to pronounce the name whichever way they preferred.[10] Stephen started using /koʊlˈbɛər/ later in life when he transferred to Northwestern University, taking advantage of the opportunity to reinvent himself in a new place where no one knew him.[2] Stephen's brother Edward, an intellectual property attorney, retained /ˈkoʊlbərt/; this was shown in a February 12, 2009, appearance on The Colbert Report, when his second oldest brother asked him, "/ˈkoʊlbərt/ or /koʊlˈbɛər/?" Ed responded "/ˈkoʊlbərt/", to which Stephen jokingly replied, "See you in Hell".[25]

On September 11, 1974, when Colbert was ten years old, his father and his two brothers nearest in age, Peter and Paul, died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 while it was attempting to land in Charlotte, North Carolina.[26][27] They were en route to enroll the two boys at Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut.[11][28] He has discussed the impact on him and his philosophy of grief and suffering.[29][30] Lorna Colbert relocated the family from James Island to the George Chisolm House, in downtown Charleston and ran the carriage house as a bed and breakfast.[31][32][33] Colbert found the transition difficult and did not easily make friends in his new neighborhood.[10] Colbert later described himself during this time as detached, lacking a sense of importance regarding the things with which other children concerned themselves.[21][34]

He developed a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, of which he remains an avid fan. During his adolescence, he also developed an intense interest in fantasy role-playing games, especially Dungeons & Dragons,[34][35] a pastime which he later characterized as an early experience in acting and improvisation.[36]

Colbert attended Charleston's Episcopal Porter-Gaud School, where he participated in several school plays and contributed to the school newspaper but was not highly motivated academically.[34] During his adolescence, he briefly fronted A Shot in the Dark, a Rolling Stones cover band.[37][38] When he was younger, he had hoped to study marine biology, but surgery intended to repair a severely perforated eardrum caused him inner ear damage severe enough to preclude a career involving scuba diving, and leaving him deaf in his right ear.[10][39]

For a while, he was uncertain whether he would attend college,[40] but ultimately he applied and was accepted to Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia, where a friend had also enrolled. Arriving in 1982, he majored in philosophy and continued to participate in plays.[41][42][43] He found the curriculum rigorous, but was more focused than he had been in high school and was able to apply himself to his studies. Despite the lack of a significant theater community at Hampden–Sydney, Colbert's interest in acting escalated during this time. After two years, he transferred in 1984 to Northwestern University as a theater major to study performance, emboldened by the realization that he loved performing, even when no one was coming to shows.[34] He graduated from Northwestern's School of Communication in 1986.[44]

Early career in comedy

Colbert and his wife Evelyn McGee at the 2006 Time 100 While at Northwestern, Colbert studied with the intent of becoming a dramatic actor; mostly he performed in experimental plays and was uninterested in comedy. He began performing improvisation while in college, both in the campus improv team No Fun Mud Piranhas[45] and at the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago as a part of Del Close's ImprovOlympic at a time when the project was focused on competitive, long-form improvisation, rather than improvisational comedy. "I wasn't gonna do Second City", Colbert later recalled, "because those Annoyance people looked down on Second City because they thought it wasn't pure improv – there was a slightly snobby, mystical quality to the Annoyance people".[36] After Colbert graduated in 1986, however, he was in need of a job. A friend who was employed at Second City's box office offered him work answering phones and selling souvenirs.[34] Colbert accepted and discovered that Second City employees were entitled to take classes at their training center free of charge.[36] Despite his earlier aversion to the comedy group, he signed up for improvisation classes and enjoyed the experience greatly.

Shortly thereafter, he was hired to perform with Second City's touring company, initially as an understudy for Steve Carell. It was there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he often collaborated later in his career. By their retelling, the three comedians did not get along at first – Dinello thought Colbert was uptight, pretentious and cold, while Colbert thought of Dinello as "an illiterate thug"[46] – but the trio became close friends while touring together, discovering that they shared a similar comic sensibility.[34]

When Sedaris and Dinello were offered the opportunity to create a television series for HBO Downtown Productions, Colbert left Second City and relocated to New York to work with them on the sketch comedy show Exit 57.[34] The series debuted on Comedy Central in 1995 and aired through 1996. Although it lasted only 12 episodes, the show received favorable reviews[47][48] and was nominated for five CableACE Awards in 1995, in categories including best writing, performance, and comedy series.[49]

Television career The Dana Carvey Show (1996) Main article: The Dana Carvey Show Following the cancelation of Exit 57, Colbert worked for six months as a cast member and writer on The Dana Carvey Show, alongside former Second City castmate Steve Carell, and also Robert Smigel, Charlie Kaufman, Louis C.K., and Dino Stamatopoulos, among others. The series, described by one reviewer as "kamikaze satire" in "borderline-questionable taste", had sponsors pull out after its first episode aired and was canceled after seven episodes.[50] Colbert then worked briefly as a freelance writer for Saturday Night Live with Robert Smigel. Smigel brought his animated sketch, The Ambiguously Gay Duo, to SNL from The Dana Carvey Show; Colbert provided the voice of Ace on both series, opposite Steve Carell as Gary. Needing money, he also worked as a script consultant for VH1 and MTV, before taking a job filming humorous correspondent segments for Good Morning America.[34] Only two of the segments he proposed were ever produced and only one aired, but the job led his agent to refer him to The Daily Show's producer, Madeline Smithberg, who hired Colbert on a trial basis in 1997.[51][clarification needed]

Strangers with Candy (1999–2000) Main article: Strangers with Candy During the same period, Colbert worked again with Sedaris and Dinello to develop a new comedy series for Comedy Central, Strangers with Candy. Comedy Central picked up the series in 1998 after Colbert had already begun working on The Daily Show. As a result, he accepted a reduced role, filming only around 20 Daily Show segments a year while he worked on the new series.[34]

Strangers with Candy was conceived of as a parody of after school specials, following the life of Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old dropout who returns to finish high school after 32 years of life on the street. Most noted by critics for its use of offensive humor, it concluded each episode by delivering to the audience a skewed, politically incorrect moral lesson.[52] Colbert served as a main writer alongside Sedaris and Dinello, and portrayed Jerri's strict but uninformed history teacher, Chuck Noblet, seen throughout the series dispensing inaccurate information to his classes. Colbert has likened this to the character he played on The Daily Show and later The Colbert Report, claiming that he has a very specific niche in portraying "poorly informed, high-status idiot" characters.[11] Another running joke throughout the series was that Noblet, a closeted homosexual, was having a "secret" affair with fellow teacher Geoffrey Jellineck, despite the fact that their relationship was apparent to everyone around them. This obliviousness also appears in Colbert's Daily Show and Colbert Report character.

Thirty episodes of Strangers with Candy were made, which aired on Comedy Central in 1999 and 2000.[53] Though its ratings were not remarkable during its initial run, it has been characterized as a cult show with a small but dedicated audience.[54] Colbert reprised his role for a film adaptation which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and had a limited release in 2006. The film received mixed reviews. Colbert also co-wrote the screenplay with Sedaris and Dinello.[55]

The Daily Show (1997–2005) Main article: The Daily Show Colbert joined the cast of Comedy Central's parody-news series The Daily Show in 1997, when the show was in its second season. Originally one of four correspondents who filmed segments from remote locations in the style of network news field reporters, Colbert was referred to as "the new guy" on-air for his first two years on the show, during which time Craig Kilborn served as host. When Kilborn left the show prior to the 1999 season, Jon Stewart took over hosting duties, also serving as a writer and co-executive producer. From this point, the series gradually began to take on a more political tone and increase in popularity, particularly in the latter part of the 2000 U.S. presidential election season. The roles of the show's correspondents were expanded to include more in-studio segments and international reports, which were almost always done in the studio with the aid of a greenscreen.[34]

Unlike Stewart, who essentially hosted The Daily Show as himself,[56] Colbert developed a correspondent character for his pieces on the series that was a parody of conservative political pundits such as Bill O'Reilly.[57] Colbert has described his correspondent character as "a well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot"[58] and "a fool who has spent a lot of his life playing not the fool – one who is able to cover it at least well enough to deal with the subjects that he deals with".[34] Colbert was frequently pitted against knowledgeable interview subjects, or against Stewart in scripted exchanges, with the resultant dialogue demonstrating the character's lack of knowledge of whatever subject he is discussing.[59][34] Colbert also made generous use of humorous fallacies of logic in explaining his point of view on any topic. Other Daily Show correspondents have adopted a similar style; former correspondent Rob Corddry recalls that when he and Ed Helms first joined the show's cast in 2002, they "just imitated Stephen Colbert for a year or two".[60] Correspondent Aasif Mandvi has stated "I just decided I was going to do my best Stephen Colbert impression".[61]

Colbert appeared in several recurring segments for The Daily Show, including "Even Stevphen" with Steve Carell,[62] in which both characters were expected to debate a selected topic but instead would unleash their anger at one another. Colbert commonly hosted "This Week in God", a report on topics in the news pertaining to religion, presented with the help of the "God Machine". Colbert filed reports from the floor of the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention as a part of The Daily Show's award-winning coverage of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections; many from the latter were included as part of their The Daily Show: Indecision 2004 DVD release. Other pieces that have been named as his signature segments include "Grouse Hunting in Shropshire", in which he reported on the "gayness" of British aristocracy, his mock lionization of a smoking-rights activist and apparent chain-smoker, and his cameo appearances during his faux campaign for president.[63] In several episodes of The Daily Show, Colbert filled in as anchor in the absence of Jon Stewart, including the full week of March 3, 2002, when Stewart was scheduled to host Saturday Night Live. After Colbert left the show, Rob Corddry took over "This Week in God" segments, although a recorded sample of Colbert's voice was still used as the sound effect for the God Machine. Later episodes of The Daily Show have reused older Colbert segments under the label "Klassic Kolbert". Colbert won three Emmys as a writer of The Daily Show in 2004, 2005, and 2006.[64]

The Colbert Report (2005–2014) Main articles: The Colbert Report and Stephen Colbert (character)

Colbert, in his television series persona, prepares to interview Michelle Obama. The set of The Colbert Report satirized cable-personality political talk shows. Colbert hosted his own television show, The Colbert Report, from October 17, 2005, through December 18, 2014.[65] The Colbert Report was a Daily Show spin-off that parodied the conventions of television news broadcasting,[20] particularly cable-personality political talk shows like The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity, and Glenn Beck.[36][57] Colbert hosted the show in-character as a blustery right-wing pundit, generally considered to be an extension of his character on The Daily Show. Conceived by co-creators Stewart, Colbert, and Ben Karlin in part as an opportunity to explore "the character-driven news", the series focused less on the day-to-day news style of the Daily Show, instead frequently concentrating on the foibles of the host-character himself.[66]

The concept for The Report was first seen in a series of Daily Show segments which advertised the then-fictional series as a joke. It was later developed by Stewart's Busboy Productions and pitched to Comedy Central, which green-lighted the program; Comedy Central had already been searching for a way to extend the successful Daily Show franchise beyond a half-hour.[67] The series opened to strong ratings, averaging 1.2 million viewers nightly during its first week on the air. Comedy Central signed a long-term contract for The Colbert Report within its first month on the air, when it immediately established itself among the network's highest-rated shows.[68][69]

Much of Colbert's personal life was reflected in his character on The Colbert Report. With the extended exposure of the character on the show, he often referenced his interest in and knowledge of Catholicism, science fiction, and The Lord of the Rings, as well as using real facts to create his character's history. His alternate persona was also raised in South Carolina, is the youngest of 11 siblings and is married.[70] However, Colbert's actual career history in acting and comedy was often downplayed or even denied outright, and he frequently referred to having attended Dartmouth College (which was at the forefront of the conservative campus movement in the 1980s) rather than his actual alma mater, Northwestern. In July 2012, Colbert added two years to his contract with Comedy Central, extending the run of The Colbert Report until the end of 2014.[71]

The final episode on December 18, 2014, featured a rendition of "We'll Meet Again" and appearances from former guests of the show, including Jon Stewart, Randy Newman, Bryan Cranston, Willie Nelson, Yo-Yo Ma, Mandy Patinkin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tom Brokaw, David Gregory, J. J. Abrams, Big Bird, Gloria Steinem, Ken Burns, James Franco, Barry Manilow, Bob Costas, Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, Bill de Blasio, Katie Couric, Patrick Stewart, George Lucas, Henry Kissinger, Cookie Monster, Alan Alda, Eliot Spitzer, Vince Gilligan, Paul Krugman, and a text from Bill Clinton, and appearances by Alex Trebek, U.S. and coalition Afghanistan forces, and further characters (a space station astronaut, Santa Claus, Abraham Lincoln, etc.).[65]

The Late Show (since 2015) Main article: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Colbert with actor Ethan Hawke in 2018 On April 10, 2014, CBS announced in a press release[72] that Colbert "will succeed David Letterman as the host of The Late Show, effective when Mr. Letterman retires from the broadcast." On January 12, 2015, CBS announced that Colbert would premiere as the Late Show host on Tuesday, September 8, 2015.[73] The first guest of the new Late Show was George Clooney.[74] The show has a much more political focus than David Letterman's Late Show.[75][76]

During his tenure as the host of The Late Show, Colbert hosted the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, broadcast on CBS on September 17, 2017.[77] More recently, he and his Spartina Productions company had signed a deal with CBS Studios, through which programs such as Tooning Out the News and Fairview are produced. Colbert is also an executive producer on Comedy Central's Tha God's Honest Truth.[78]

Politics Although, by his own account, he was not particularly political before joining the cast of The Daily Show, Colbert has described himself as a Democrat according to a 2004 interview.[79][80] In an interview at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Institute of Politics, he said he has "no problems with Republicans, just Republican policies".[81] During the 2016 election, Colbert was critical of democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, descrbing her as someone who has "been around for a long time, but actually represents [...] what you would think of as the common systemic corruption of Washington, D.C." adding "I think people's hesitancy about Hillary Clinton is completely reasonable. [...] I can imagine that Trump might be the only person she could beat because she's not a great candidate. And she's got a lot of flaws and a lot of baggage that she can't shake off, however historic or even prepared for the job she is in this case."[82][83]

Colbert supports the implementation of the Medicare for All plan introduced by Bernie Sanders, considering it "a sensible fix to Obamacare".[84] When asked about his views on abortion, Colbert positioned himself as pro-choice.[85] On the intersection of faith and politics, Colbert has pointed out that his views are in line with those of Cesar Chávez.[86][87][88] Colbert has been critical of Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians.[89][90][91][92] During the 2023 writers strike he showed his support to the writers, saying: "I'm a member of the guild. I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions."[93] In May, 2023, Colbert was permanently banned from entering Russia alongside 500 other Americans, due to being “involved in the spread of Russophobic attitudes and fakes.” These bans were made in response to U.S. imposed sanctions on the country.[94]

2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner Main article: Stephen Colbert at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner On Saturday, April 29, 2006, Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Standing a few yards from U.S. President George W. Bush[95] – in front of an audience the Associated Press called a "Who's Who of power and celebrity"[96] – Colbert delivered a searing routine targeting the president and the media.[97] In his politically conservative character from The Colbert Report, Colbert satirized the George W. Bush Administration and the White House Press Corps with such lines as:

I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound – with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.[98]

Colbert received a chilly response from the audience.[99] His jokes were often met with silence and muttering, apart from the enthusiastic laughter of a few in the audience.[100] The major media outlets paid little attention to it initially. Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor Todd Gitlin claimed that this was because Colbert's routine was as critical of the media as it was of Bush.[101][102] Richard Cohen, also writing for The Washington Post, responded that the routine was not funny.[103] The video of Colbert's performance became an internet and media sensation,[104][105] while in the week following the speech, ratings for The Colbert Report rose by 37% to average just under 1.5 million total viewers per episode.[106] In Time magazine, James Poniewozik called it "the political-cultural touchstone issue of 2006".[107] Writing six months later, New York Times columnist Frank Rich referred to Colbert's speech as a "cultural primary" and called it the "defining moment" of the 2006 midterm elections.[108][109]

2008 presidential bid Main article: Stephen Colbert 2008 presidential campaign Under his fictional persona in The Colbert Report, Colbert dropped hints of a potential presidential run throughout 2007, with speculation intensifying following the release of his book, I Am America (And So Can You!), which was rumored to be a sign that he was indeed testing the waters for a future bid for the White House. On October 16, 2007, he announced his candidacy on his show, stating his intention to run on both the Republican and Democratic platforms, but only as a "favorite son" in his native South Carolina.[110] He later abandoned plans to run as a Republican due to the $35,000 fee required to file for the South Carolina primary;[111] however, he continued to seek a place on the Democratic ballot and on October 28, 2007, campaigned in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, where he was presented with the key to the city by Mayor Bob Coble.[112]

After announcing his presidential ticket, he asked his viewers to cast their votes by donating to Donorschoose.org, an online charity connecting individuals to classrooms in need.[113] Colbert's promotion inspired $68,000 in donations to South Carolina classrooms, which benefited over 14,000 low-income students.[114] Colbert teamed up with Donorschoose.org again in 2008 by asking supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to do the same. As a lead-up to the Pennsylvania primary, he created a "straw poll that makes a difference" by which people could donate to Pennsylvania classroom projects in honor of their favorite candidate.[115] Colbert viewers donated $185,000 to projects reaching 43,000 students in Pennsylvania public schools.[116]

On November 1, 2007, the South Carolina Democratic Party executive council voted 13–3 to refuse Colbert's application onto the ballot. "The general sense of the council was that he wasn't a serious candidate and that was why he wasn't selected to be on the ballot", stated John Werner, the party's director.[117] Several days later he announced that he was dropping out of the race, saying he did not wish to put the country through an agonizing Supreme Court battle (referencing the 2000 election, wherein a tight recount in Florida was settled in a landmark Supreme Court decision).[118] CNN has reported that Obama supporters pressured the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council to keep Colbert off the ballot. One anonymous member of the council told CNN that former State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum had placed pressure on them to refuse Colbert's application despite his steady rise in polls.[119]

Though Colbert's real-life presidential campaign had ended, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada established in an interview on The Colbert Report that Colbert's campaign was still going strong in the fictional Marvel Universe, citing the cover art of a then-recent issue of The Amazing Spider-Man which featured a Colbert campaign billboard in the background. Background appearances of Colbert campaign ads continued to appear in Marvel Comics publications, as late as August 2008's Secret Invasion No. 5 (which also features a cameo of an alien Skrull posing as Colbert). In October 2008, Colbert made an extended 8-page appearance webslinging with Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man issue No. 573.[120] Colbert voiced the president of the U.S. in the 2009 film Monsters vs. Aliens.

2009 solidarity with U.S. troops in Iraq War

Colbert greets troops and civilians at Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, June 5, as part of his "Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando" tour Colbert arrived in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 5, 2009, to film a week of shows called "Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando" sponsored by the USO (United Service Organizations).[121] Colbert had a suit tailored for him in the Army Combat Uniform pattern.[122] During the first episode (which featured a cameo appearance from U.S. president Barack Obama), Colbert had his hair cropped in a military style to show his solidarity with the troops. One Army major said that "shaving of the hair is an amazing show of support" that was "very touching." USO Senior Vice President John Hanson said the shows are an important diversion for the troops.[123]

2010 Congressional testimony On September 24, 2010, Colbert testified in character before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Security. He was invited by committee chairwoman Zoe Lofgren to describe his experience participating in the United Farm Workers' "Take Our Jobs" program, where he spent a day working alongside migrant workers in upstate New York.[124][125][126] At the end of his often-humorous testimony, Colbert broke character in responding to a question from Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, and explained his purpose for being at the hearing:

I like talking about people who don't have any power, and this seems like one of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come and do our work, but don't have any rights as a result. And yet we still invite them to come here and at the same time ask them to leave. And that's an interesting contradiction to me. And, you know, 'Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers,' and these seem like the least of our brothers right now ... Migrant workers suffer and have no rights.[127]

Democratic committee member John Conyers questioned whether it was appropriate for the comedian to appear before Congress and asked him to leave the hearing.[128] Though Colbert offered to depart at the direction of the committee chairwoman, Lofgren requested that he stay at least until all opening testimony had been completed, whereupon Conyers withdrew his request.[129]

Conservative pundits took aim at Colbert's Congress testimony not long after.[130]

'Painfully awkward and pointless, it made the committee's majority members look ridiculous. Colbert can be very funny, but his kind of sarcasm only works in some contexts, and a House committee hearing room does not appear to be one of them.' – Yuval Levin, The Corner[128][131] 'As John Conyers notes, the media and spectators turned out to see whether Colbert would address the panel seriously as an expert on immigration and make the panel a joke, or stay in character and make the panel a bigger joke,' – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air.[128][132]

2010 Washington, D.C. rallies Main article: Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

Colbert at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear In September 2010, following Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally, a campaign developed that called for Colbert to hold his own rally at the Lincoln Memorial.[133] On the September 10, 2010, episode of the Daily Show[134] and The Colbert Report, Stewart and Colbert made preannouncements of a future event. On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Colbert announced competing rallies on the Washington, D.C., Mall on October 30, 2010, Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity", and Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive". Both were eventually merged into the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

2011 Political Super PAC Main article: Colbert Super PAC See also: South Carolina Republican primary, 2012 In May 2011, Colbert filed a request with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking for a media exemption for coverage of his political action committee, ColbertPAC, on The Colbert Report.[135][136]

In June 2011, during a public meeting, the FEC voted 5–1 to grant The Colbert Report a limited media exemption. The exemption allows unlimited donations of airtime and show resources to promote the Colbert Super PAC without requiring disclosure to the FEC, but only for ads appearing on The Colbert Report. Following the hearing, Colbert formally filed paperwork for the creation of his Super PAC with the FEC secretary.[137]

2012 South Carolina GOP primary After the 2012 New Hampshire primary, a poll for the subsequent South Carolina primary taken by Public Policy Polling (of 1,112 likely GOP voters, Jan 5–7, 2012) was reported to place Colbert at 5%, one point ahead of Jon Huntsman polling at 4%, in spite of the fact that Colbert was not on the ballot. This poll showed Colbert to be closely behind Rick Perry's 7% and Ron Paul's 8% (with Romney at 27%, Gingrich 23% and Santorum at 18%). On the January 11 episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert asked his audience if he should run for president in South Carolina, to which he received strong applause. He then stated that he would be making a "Major Announcement" during the next day's show. On January 12, Colbert started his show by discussing his role in the presidential campaign, then addressed the law preventing him from being a presidential candidate while running his Super PAC. With the help of his lawyer Trevor Potter, he then signed over control of his Super PAC to Jon Stewart, with the organization title then being referred to as "The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC".[138] Immediately after this legal block was out of the way, Colbert announced, "I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the President of the United States of South Carolina. I'm doin' it!" He reiterated in the interview portion of that show that "I'm still in the exploratory phase" of his presidential campaign.

On the January 16, 2012, episode, Colbert satirically encouraged his viewers to vote for Herman Cain in the South Carolina primary. As Cain was still on the ballot, despite having recently dropped out of the race, Colbert announced that he would consider any votes cast for Cain to be in direct support of his own possible candidacy.

Other work Colbert is co-author of the satirical text-and-picture novel Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not, which was published in 2003 by Hyperion Books. The novel was a collaboration between Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello, and tells the story of a small town threatened by the impending destruction of a massive dam. The narrative is presented as a series of fictional interviews with the town's residents, accompanied by photos. The three authors toured performing an adaptation of Wigfield on stage the same year the book was released.[139][140]

Colbert at Florida State University Colbert appeared in a small supporting role in the 2005 film adaptation of Bewitched. He has made guest appearances on the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent,[141] and on the first season of the US improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He voiced the characters of Reducto and Phil Ken Sebben in the Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, but left the show in 2005 to work on The Colbert Report. His characters were both killed, though he returned to voice Phil for the series finale. Colbert also has provided voices for Cartoon Network's The Venture Bros., Comedy Central's Crank Yankers, and American Dad!, and for Canadian animated comedy series The Wrong Coast. He appeared as Homer Simpson's life coach, Colby Krause, in The Simpsons episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs".[142][143]

Colbert at the launch of his show's book, I Am America (And So Can You!) Colbert filled in for Sam Seder on the second episode of The Majority Report on Air America Radio, and has also done reports for The Al Franken Show. He appeared on a track on Wig in a Box, a tribute album for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Colbert read the part of Leopold Bloom in Bloomsday on Broadway XXIV: Love Literature Language Lust: Leopold's Women Bloom on June 16, 2005, at Symphony Space in New York City.[144] He appeared in a series of TV commercials for General Motors, as a not-too-bright investigator searching for the elusive (and non-existent in real life) "Mr. Goodwrench". He also portrayed the letter Z in Sesame Street: All-Star Alphabet, a 2005 video release.

Colbert is a producer of The 1 Second Film, the world's largest nonprofit collaborative art film. His video request that IMDb list his credit for The 1 Second Film ("it is as valid as most of my credits") enabled thousands of the film's producers to be listed in the massive movie database until they were removed in early 2007.[145]

Colbert has released one book associated with The Colbert Report, I Am America (And So Can You!). It was released on October 7, 2007, by Grand Central Publishing. Grand Central Publishing is the successor to Warner Books, which published America (The Book), written by The Daily Show staff. The book contains similar political satire, but was written primarily by Colbert himself rather than as a collaboration with his Colbert Report writing staff.[146]

On November 23, 2008, his Christmas special, A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!, aired on Comedy Central. It was released on DVD in November 2008.[147]

In January 2010, Colbert was named the assistant sports psychologist for the US Olympic speed skating team at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[148] He was also invited to be part of NBC's 2010 Winter Olympics coverage team by Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports.[149] In April 2011, Colbert performed as Harry in the concert-style revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company, presented by the New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln Center.[150] The show, featuring Neil Patrick Harris in the starring role, ran for four nights and was filmed for later showings in movie theaters, which began June 15.[150] In May 2011, Colbert joined the Charleston to Bermuda Race yachting race, as captain of the ship "the Spirit of Juno".[151] He finished second, five miles behind leaders "Tucana".[152]

Since 2012, Colbert has collaborated with the Montclair Film Festival, of which his wife is a founder and current president of its board.[153][154] Every year since its foundation, Colbert has participated by hosting an annual fundraising event and leading Q&As and conversations with directors, writers, journalists, and actors such as: Jon Stewart, Rob Reiner, Steve Carell, J. J. Abrams, David Itzkoff, Ethan Hawke, Rachel Weisz, and Meryl Streep.[155][156] He is also part of the Montclair Film advisory board.[157]

After the resignation of South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint to run Heritage Foundation, Colbert was named a possible candidate for appointment to the seat being vacated by DeMint, which would have triggered a special election in 2014 to finish out DeMint's term. Although Governor Nikki Haley announced promptly that she had no intention to nominate Colbert to the Senate, a poll showed Colbert as a favorite among South Carolina voters.[158][159]

Colbert guest-hosted Only in Monroe, a public access television show in Monroe, Michigan, for an episode that aired July 1, 2015. He interviewed the program's regular hosts, and also the rapper Eminem (whom he pretended never to have heard of), and put a humorous slant on the local news and community calendar.[160][161]

On July 17, 2016, Colbert hijacked the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, while dressed as Caesar Flickerman from The Hunger Games series.[162][163] After he was taken down from the stage, he commented, "Look, I know I am not supposed to be up here but let's be honest, neither is Donald Trump."[164] Colbert also dressed as Flickerman on his show, prior to the stunt, to announce the candidates who had ended their runs in the 2016 election.[165]

Aside from hosting his talk shows, Colbert has gone on to host other types of shows. Since 2014, Colbert has hosted the Kennedy Center Honors for three consecutive years.[166][167][168] In 2017, Colbert hosted the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.[169]

In 2018 it was reported that Showtime was developing Hello Nancy, a biopic based on the nonfiction book On Her Trail, My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star by John Dickerson, with Colbert and his wife Evelyn serving as executive producers.[170][171] The couple also served as executive producers for In & Of Itself, a film version of Derek DelGaudio's off-Broadway show of the same name.[172]

In 2018, Stephen Colbert used a fake children's book Whose Boat is this Boat?, incorporating unedited quotes from President Trump during his tour of North Carolina after Hurricane Florence, as a joke against Trump and raised over $1 million for relief funds.[173]

Influences Colbert has said his comedy influences include: Don Novello,[174] Phil Silvers,[175] Alec Guinness,[176] Bill Cosby,[42] George Carlin,[36] Dean Martin,[36] Jon Stewart,[2] Monty Python,[177] Steve Martin,[178] and David Letterman.[179] In 2017, Colbert said due to the sexual assault allegations made against Cosby, he can no longer listen to his comedy.[180]

Colbert has also cited Jim Gaffigan,[181] Maria Bamford,[182] Joe Pera,[183] John Mulaney,[184] and Eric Andre,[185] as some of his favorite contemporary comedians.

Among comedians who say they were influenced by Colbert are Nathan Fielder,[186] James Corden,[187] Mindy Kaling,[188] Hasan Minhaj,[189] Jordan Klepper,[190] Ziwe Fumudoh,[191] Sara Benincasa,[192] John Mulaney,[184] Derrick Beckles,[193] Julie Klausner,[194][195] and Billy Eichner.[196]

Personal life

Colbert with his sons, Peter and John, at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008 Colbert is a practicing Roman Catholic and used to teach Sunday school. He is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church Monastery.[18][197][198][199][200] Colbert is an avid reader and his favorite authors include: J.R.R. Tolkien, J.D. Salinger, Robertson Davies, George Saunders, Larry Niven, Henry Kuttner, and Isaac Asimov.[201]

Colbert has been married to Evelyn "Evie" McGee-Colbert since 1993.[202] She is the daughter of prominent Charleston civil litigator Joseph McGee, of the firm Buist Moore Smythe McGee. His wife appeared with him in an episode of Strangers with Candy as his mother.[203] She also had an uncredited cameo as a nurse in the series pilot and a credited one (as his wife Clair) in the film. McGee-Colbert actually met Jon Stewart before she met her future husband in 1990. They met at the world premiere of Hydrogen Jukebox at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston. Colbert later described the first moment he met Evie as being a love at first sight encounter; however, moments after they met, they both realized they had grown up together in Charleston and had many mutual friends.[204][205] The couple have three children, and live in Montclair, New Jersey.[206][21]

During his college and Second City years, Colbert suffered from bouts of depression and anxiety, for which he had to be medicated.[200][207][208][209] In a 2018 interview, Colbert told Rolling Stone:

I needed to be medicated when I was younger to deal with my anxiety that I had thrown my life away by attempting to do something that so few people actually get away with, or succeed at ... Xanax was just lovely. Y'know, for a while. And then I realized that the gears were still smoking. I just couldn't hear them anymore. But I could feel them, I could feel the gearbox heating up and smoke pouring out of me ... I stopped the Xanax after, like, nine days. I went, 'This isn't helping.' So I just suffered through it. I'd sometimes hold the bottle, to go like, 'I could stop this feeling if I wanted, but I'm not going to. Because I know if I stop the feeling, somehow I'm not working through it, like I have got to go through the tunnel with the spiders in it.'

And then one morning I woke up and my skin wasn't on fire, and it took me a while to figure out what it was. I wake up the next morning, I'm perfectly fine, to the point where my body's still humming. I'm a bell that's been rung so hard that I can still feel myself vibrating. But the actual sound was gone [because] I was starting rehearsal that day to create a new show. And then I went, 'Oh, my God, I can never stop performing.' Creating something is what helped me from just spinning apart like an unweighted flywheel. And I haven't stopped since.[210]

Colbert used the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator during a segment of The Late Show, which identified him as an INFP.[211]

Awards and honors Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Stephen Colbert In 2000, Colbert and the other Daily Show writers were the recipients of three Emmy Awards as writers for The Daily Show and again in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 he was nominated for a Satellite Award for his performance on The Colbert Report and again in 2006.[64] He was also nominated for three Emmys for The Colbert Report in 2006, including Best Performance in a Variety, Musical Program or Special, which he lost to Barry Manilow.[212] Manilow and Colbert would go on to jokingly sign and notarize a revolving biannual custody agreement for the Emmy on The Colbert Report episode aired on October 30, 2006. He lost the same category to Tony Bennett in 2007 and Don Rickles in 2008.

In January 2006, the American Dialect Society named truthiness, which Colbert coined on the premiere episode of The Colbert Report, as its 2005 Word of the Year. Colbert devoted time on five successive episodes to bemoaning the failure of the Associated Press to mention his role in popularizing the word truthiness in its news coverage of the Word of the Year.[213][214] On December 9, 2006, Merriam-Webster also announced that it selected truthiness as its Word of the Year for 2006. Votes were accepted on their website, and according to poll results, "truthiness" won by a five-to-one margin.[215]

Colbert at Knox College In June 2006, after speaking at the school's commencement ceremony, Colbert received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Knox College.[216] Time named Stephen Colbert as one of the 100 most influential people in 2006 and 2012[7][8] and in May 2006, New York magazine listed Colbert (and Jon Stewart) as one of its top dozen influential persons in media.[217] Colbert was named Person of the Year by the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado on March 3, 2007,[218] and was also given the Speaker of the Year Award by The Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) on March 24, 2007, for his "drive to expose the rhetorical shortcomings of contemporary political discourse".[219]

Colbert was named the 2nd Sexiest TV News Anchor in September 2006 by Maxim, next to Mélissa Theuriau of France and was the only man featured on the list.[220] In November 2006, he was named a "sexy surprise" by People in the Sexiest Man Alive honors[221] and in the December 2006 issue of GQ he was named one of GQ's "Men of the Year".[222] In 2012, he was listed as No. 69 on Maxim Magazine's Hot 100, becoming the first man to be included on the list.[223]

Colbert has received three Peabody Awards, in 2007, 2011, and 2020.[224] He was nominated for five TCA Awards for The Colbert Report by the Television Critics Association.[citation needed]

After the Saginaw Spirit defeated the Oshawa Generals in Ontario Junior League Hockey, Oshawa Mayor John Gray declared March 20, 2007 (the mayor's own birthday), Stephen Colbert Day, honoring a previous bet with Stephen. At the event, Mayor Gray referred to the publicity the bet brought the city, remarking, "This is the way to lose a bet".[225]

Colbert was honored for the Gutsiest Move on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007, for his performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.[226] In August 2007, Virgin America named an airplane, "Air Colbert", in his honor.[227] On October 28, 2007, Colbert received the key to the city of Columbia, South Carolina, from Mayor Bob Coble.[228]

Colbert with his Peabody Award, May 2012 On December 20, 2007, Colbert was named Celebrity of the Year by The Associated Press.[229] On April 2, 2008, he received a Peabody Award for The Colbert Report, saying in response, "I proudly accept this award and begrudgingly forgive the Peabody Committee for taking three years to recognize greatness".[230]

In 2008, Colbert won the Emmy Award for writing again, this time as a writer for The Colbert Report. Colbert delivered the Class Day address to the graduating class of Princeton University on June 2, 2008, and accepted the Class of 2008 Understandable Vanity Award, consisting of a sketch of Colbert and a mirror.[231] He also has been announced as the Person of the Year for the 12th annual Webby Awards.[232]

In January 2010, Colbert received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his album A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!. He also announced the nominees for Song of the Year while toting a pre-released Apple iPad.[233] Colbert was the 2011 commencement speaker for Northwestern University, and received an honorary degree.[234] In 2013, Colbert again won the Emmy award for writing for The Colbert Report.[235][236][237] In 2014, Colbert won the 2014 Best Spoken Word Album for his audiobook America Again: Re-becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't.[238][239]

In January 2013, Rolling Stone placed him at number 2 in their "The 50 Funniest People Now" list.[240] In December 2014, Paste named his Twitter one of "The 75 Best Twitter Accounts of 2014" ranking it at number 7.[241] Colbert received an honorary degree from Wake Forest University as the 2015 commencement speaker.[242]

In 2015, Colbert was awarded the third highest honor within the Department of the Army Civilian Awards, the Outstanding Civilian Service Award, for substantial contributions to the U.S. Army community.[243]

In 2017 and 2018, Colbert was named one of "The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media" by The Hollywood Reporter.[244][245] He was chosen as one of GQ's "Men of the Year" for its December 2017 issue.[246] Colbert was placed at number 32 in Vanity Fair's "2018 New Establishment List".[247] Other placements in earlier lists include number 40 in 2017[248] and number 28 in 2011.[249]

In May 2021, Colbert received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Yale University.[250]

Ben & Jerry's AmeriCone Dream ice cream In February 2007, Ben & Jerry's unveiled a new ice cream flavor in honor of Colbert, named Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream. Colbert waited until Easter to sample the ice cream because he "gave up sweets for Lent".[251] Colbert donated all proceeds to charity through the new Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund, which distributes the money to various causes.[252][253]

Species named in honor

Aleiodes colberti lays eggs inside caterpillars. At least five species have been given scientific names honoring Colbert. In 2008 a species of California trapdoor spider was named Aptostichus stephencolberti.[254][255][256] The spider was named for Colbert after he reported on his television series that Jason Bond, a professor of biology at East Carolina University, had named a different species of spider Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi after the Canadian rock star Neil Young, and began to appeal for a species of animal to be named after him.[257] On a later edition of The Colbert Report, Colbert revealed that Bond would name a spider after him, with Colbert claiming, "And all I had to do was shamelessly beg on national television."[258] Other species named for Colbert include a species of Venezuelan diving beetle named Agaporomorphus colberti and a Chilean stonefly named Diamphipnoa colberti, both formally described in 2008.[259][260] On his 45th birthday, Colbert was sent a framed print of his eponymous beetle by the biologists who named it.[261] In 2014, a species of parasitic wasp from Ecuador, Aleiodes colberti, was named for Colbert, along with newly described species named for celebrities Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Ellen DeGeneres, and Shakira,[262][263] and in 2016 a rove beetle, Sonoma colberti, was named after Colbert's on-screen persona.[264]

COLBERT Treadmill Main article: Treadmill with Vibration Isolation Stabilization In 2009, NASA engineered a new treadmill for the International Space Station. It was taken to the ISS by the Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-128 mission in August 2009. The complex machine is now used eight hours daily by astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station in order to maintain their muscle mass and bone density while spending long periods of time in a zero-gravity environment. While engineers at NASA were constructing this treadmill, it was simply called T-2 for more than two years. However, on April 14, 2009, NASA renamed it the "Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill", or COLBERT.[265] NASA named the treadmill after Colbert,[266] who took an interest during the Node 3 naming census for the ISS module, Tranquility.

Colbert urged his followers to post the name "Colbert", which upon completion of the census received the most entries totaling 230,539, some 40,000 votes more than the second-place choice, Serenity.[267] The COLBERT is expected to last the life of the ISS and will have seen about 38,000 miles of running when the Space Station is retired in 2024 or later,[268] but it was also built with a 150,000-mile lifespan (if needed until 2028 or beyond). Colbert realized he was the recipient of an extremely rare honor—the COLBERT (a backronym) is the only piece of NASA-engineered equipment in space that is named after a living human being—when astronaut Sunita Williams came on The Colbert Report to announce that NASA had named the treadmill after him.[269]

C.O.L.B.E.R.T. logo being applied to the Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill at NASA before Launch C.O.L.B.E.R.T. logo being applied to the Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill at NASA before Launch

Launch of Discovery Mission STS-128, which delivered the COLBERT to the ISS Launch of Discovery Mission STS-128, which delivered the COLBERT to the ISS

Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov exercises on COLBERT in the Harmony Node of the International Space Station. Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov exercises on COLBERT in the Harmony Node of the International Space Station.

The crew who delivered Stephen Colbert's honorary space treadmill The crew who delivered Stephen Colbert's honorary space treadmill

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1997 Shock Asylum Dr. Dewalt Short film 2003 Nobody Knows Anything! TV Newsman 2005 The Great New Wonderful Mr. Peersall Bewitched Stu Robison 2006 Strangers with Candy Chuck Noblet Also writer and producer 2008 The Love Guru Jay Kell 2009 Monsters vs. Aliens President Hathaway (voice) 2011 Company Harry Filmed production 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Lake-town spy Cameo[270] 2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman Paul Peterson (voice) 2017 Too Funny to Fail Himself Documentary 2020 In & Of Itself — Executive producer[271] Television Year Title Role Notes 1993 Missing Persons Chet Davies Episode: "Cabe... What Kind of Name Is That? 1995–1996 Exit 57 Various 12 episodes; also co-creator and writer 1996 The Dana Carvey Show Various 8 episodes; also writer Spin City Frank Episode: "The Competition" 1996–2011 Saturday Night Live Ace / Dr. Brainio (voices) 14 episodes; also writer 1997 Apartment 2F Various roles Episode: "1.6" The Chris Rock Show Announcer (voice) Episode: "1.5" 1997–2005 The Daily Show Stephen Colbert (correspondent) 1,316 episodes; also writer 1999 Late Night with Conan O'Brien Violin Player Episode: "1,144" Random Play Various 2 episodes 1999–2000 Strangers with Candy Chuck Noblet 30 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer 2001–2007 Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law Phil Ken Sebben / Myron Reducto / Various voices 34 episodes 2002 The New York Friars Roast of Chevy Chase Himself Television special 2002 Crank Yankers Rob (voice) Episode: "1.1" 2004 Curb Your Enthusiasm Tourist Man Episode: "Opening Night" Law & Order: Criminal Intent James Bennett[141] Episode: "The Saint" The Wrong Coast Various voices 2 episodes 2004, 2006 2015 The Venture Bros. Professor Richard Impossible (voice) 3 episodes 2005 American Dad! Dr. Dandliker (voice) Episode: "All About Steve" All-Star Alphabet The letter 'Z' Sesame Street special 2005–2014 The Colbert Report Stephen Colbert (host)[20] 1,447 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner Stephen Colbert (host) TV special 2007 The Simpsons Colby Krause (voice) Episode: "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" 2008 A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! Stephen Colbert TV special 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear Stephen Colbert (host) TV special 2012 The Office Broccoli Rob Episode "Here Comes Treble" 2013 Alpha House Stephen Colbert Episode: "Pilot" 2014 @midnight Stephen Colbert Episode: "156" 2014–2015 BoJack Horseman Mr. Witherspoon (voice) 2 episodes 2015 House of Cards Stephen Colbert Episode: "Chapter 27" The Mindy Project Father Michael O'Donnell Episode: "Confessions of a Catho-holic" Rick and Morty Zeep Xanflorp (voice) Episode: "The Ricks Must Be Crazy" 2015–present The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Himself (host) Also executive producer and writer 2017 At Home with Amy Sedaris Himself Episode: "Gift Giving" 69th Primetime Emmy Awards Himself (host) TV special 2018–2020 Our Cartoon President — 46 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer Wolf Blitzer / Various voices 25 episodes 2018 Harvey Birdman: Attorney General Phil Ken Sebben (voice) TV special 2019 Madam Secretary Himself Episode "Hail to the Chief" 2019–2022 Critical Role Capo / Lucky Jack 2 episodes 2020–present Tooning Out the News — Co-creator, writer and executive producer 2021 Girls5eva Alf Musik Episode: "Alf Musik" Teenage Euthanasia Announcer (voice) Episode: "Dada M.I.A." 2021–present Hell of A Week with Charlamagne tha God — Executive producer 2022–present Fairview — Executive producer Video games Year Title Voice role 2005 Outlaw Tennis Announcer Theatre Year Title Role Venue Ref. 2011 Company Harry Concert with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center [272]

The game is a 3D platform game, requiring players to collect three main types of items. 'Shiny Objects' are the game's currency and can be used to pay tolls within game areas or to buy golden spatulas from Mr. Krabs. 'Golden Spatulas' are used to grant access to new areas, being hidden throughout the game and can also be earned by completing tasks set by Squidward Tentacles and several other characters from the cartoon. Patrick's 'Socks' are also spread throughout the game and he will reward SpongeBob with a Golden Spatula in exchange for 10 of his socks. SpongeBob can also blow bubbles to form different shapes as special attacks/moves which can be used to advance further in the game, and can learn two new bubble moves from Bubble Buddy as the game progresses.

Props are also included in the game. Trampolines help the player bounce to further ledges or platforms, buttons activate certain things throughout the game, and pressure pads are like buttons; however, the effects of it are only active while the player stands on the pressure pad, or there is another object placed on top. Once whatever is holding down the pressure pad is removed, its effects of it are undone. There are also character-specific abilities, such as Sandy being able to swing from Texas hooks, SpongeBob being able to dive downward on a bungee hook, and Patrick's ability to pick up and throw melons called "Throw Fruits" and ice cubes called "Freeze Fruits". Though some areas can be navigated by any character, several sections can only be completed with a specific character, due to each one having unique abilities. SpongeBob can create a bubble helmet for head-butting enemies. Patrick can throw objects at buttons, robots, and pressure pads, and can throw "Freeze Fruits" into the bodies of Goo to freeze them. Finally, Sandy can glide over large gaps and destroy enemies and objects with her lasso.

Windows version

The Windows version features a series of mini-games and greatly differs from the console versions. In the game, SpongeBob's friends have been captured, and to free them, the player must play multiple games while collecting objects, including a game show-style trivia game where he must score 500 points to free the character from the cage. The player then takes control of the freed character in a game where the character locates more objects and battles the robots. Once all items are collected (money, magic shop items, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's gadgets, SpongeBob's dressing clothes, and various pieces of a machine), SpongeBob must return the items to their rightful owners.

Game Boy Advance version

The gameplay for the GBA version is much different as well, as it is a 2D platform game. Rather than being non-linear, like the home console versions, the GBA version is level-based, although still visits most of the locations from the home console versions. Combat is much more limited, done through blowing bubbles onto enemies to turn robots off or back on; robots cannot be permanently destroyed, as replacements will appear through a portal in their starting positions, so enemies are used to solving platforming challenges. SpongeBob can ride a seahorse named "Mystery" on certain levels. Like other GBA games of its era, it uses a password system rather than saves.

Plot

Home console versions

In Bikini Bottom, Plankton, the evil genius owner of the Chum Bucket, has built a new machine called the Duplicatotron 3000 to produce an army of robots, which he plans to control to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. After creating them, he realizes that the switch on the Duplicatotron has accidentally been set to "Don't Obey". This leads the robots to seize control of the Chum Bucket out of Plankton and wreak havoc all over Bikini Bottom.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob and Patrick are playing with toy robots and horses. SpongeBob and Patrick are bored with the toys and wish they could play with real robots. Patrick uses his "magic wishing shell", believing it will make their wish come true the following morning. SpongeBob wakes to find that his house has been trashed by real robots. He receives a fax from Mr. Krabs, stating that he would give SpongeBob a Golden Spatula for every certain amount of Shiny Objects he collects for him. Shiny Objects must be collected to open or activate various tolls throughout the game. Outside, SpongeBob finds a disappointed Plankton, who lies and claims that the robots appeared suddenly and kicked him out. Plankton convinces SpongeBob to help him back into the Chum Bucket by embarking on a perilous quest to find golden spatulas and get rid of the robots, secretly intending to regain control of them once back inside.

Every area in the game has a unique set of missions to collect Golden Spatulas including a main overarching mission. SpongeBob travels to Jellyfish Fields, where he finds that Squidward has been stung by jellyfish. He manages to defeat King Jellyfish in a battle and obtains some of his jelly for Squidward's stings. SpongeBob also helps Mrs. Puff by locating stolen steering wheels in Downtown Bikini Bottom, stolen paintings in Rock Bottom, and missing students in the Kelp Forest. King Neptune calls SpongeBob and Patrick to the Poseidome to defeat Robot Sandy. He then goes to the Mermalair, where he fights Prawn, one of Mermaid Man's archenemies. He also helps Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy several other times throughout the game. Other quests include completing tasks for Larry the Lobster, his pet snail Gary, and the Flying Dutchman, in other areas like Goo Lagoon, Sand Mountain, and the Dutchman's Graveyard (where Sandy beats the Dutchman in a fight). Later, SpongeBob and Sandy save Squidward from Robot Patrick.

SpongeBob then falls asleep, allowing him to enter his friends' dream worlds to search for more golden spatulas. After Plankton, SpongeBob, and his friends finally gain access to the Chum Bucket, they discover the gigantic Robot SpongeBob and learn that Plankton was responsible for making the robots. Plankton sets the switch on the Duplicatotron to "Obey" (by placing an Obey sign over the don't obey setting), only to find out Robot Plankton has been controlling the robots instead. Robot Plankton remarks to SpongeBob that he has interfered in his plans for the last time, simply stating “SpongeBob, meet SpongeBob”. SpongeBob attempts to disable Robot SpongeBob's brain from the inside while fending off frequent attacks from Robot Plankton. Upon succeeding, SpongeBob hopes that Plankton learned his "lesson". The Duplicatotron produces several more Robot Planktons, which begin arguing among themselves. The game ends after SpongeBob says that their work is not done, as there are still many robots running amok in the city.

The game then cuts to The Spongeball Arena, where the player rolls around in ball form in a large arena, while the credits roll on the screen. If the player collects all 100 golden spatulas, the game ends with a special surprise cutscene of all the game's characters singing the theme song.

Game Boy Advance and Windows versions

In the Windows game, SpongeBob and Patrick have a robot tea party with toy robots and SpongeBob wishes upon "the first falling clam" that robots "were people too". The next day, Bikini Bottom gets attacked by an army of robots. Patrick, Sandy, Gary, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs are captured by robots and locked inside cages. SpongeBob works his way through Bikini Bottom, the Flying Dutchman's Graveyard, the Kelp Forest, the Chum Bucket, and the Mermalair to locate his friends and various objects stolen by the robots. After all locations' games are played, a video is unlocked for the end of the game where SpongeBob and Patrick discover that Plankton was the one behind the robot invasion. Plankton admits that it was his fault and that the robots are not listening to him and the only way to control the robots is to set the switch to "obey" mode. Instead, Patrick fools around with the machine, accidentally pulling its obey switch off, which turns off the machine and deprograms the robots. After SpongeBob and Patrick leave, Plankton tries to tell them that he will be back with another plan.

The Game Boy Advance version is a 2D platform game with four chapters, each containing seven levels, all of which have their own unique puzzles. In the game, Mr. Krabs thinks the robot invasion is putting him out of business, so his assignment for SpongeBob is to fight the robots to get into the Chum Bucket to shut down Plankton's Duplicatron.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	GBA: 64% GC: 74% PS2: 73% XBOX: 72%
Metacritic	GC: 71/100 PS2: 71/100 XBOX: 70/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
IGN	7.3/10
NGC Magazine	32/100
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	8/10

SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregation Metacritic. The game holds a 4.5 out of 5 from the Official PlayStation Magazine. IGN rated the game a 7.3 out of 10, praising the sound, graphical style, and gameplay, saying, "While its generic collect, jump, and kill mechanics, the variety and general SpongeBob zaniness keep things fresh." GMR magazine gave a review score of 8/10, they gave praise to the game's camera system as being solid and adjustable and noting how the comic humor holds the standard platforming elements in place concluding “Like Bob himself, this game holds its water and is, in fact, remarkably fun.” More harshly, NGC Magazine's Rob Pegley lamented that the game "manages to combine the hideous touchy-feel values of the programme with a poor plot, badly designed levels, ... some awful collision detection ... awful music and poor humour."

The game has won numerous awards, including favorite video game at the 2004 Kids' Choice Awards, and entered the Player's Choice, Platinum Hits, and Greatest Hits for GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 respectively.

The Game Boy Advance version sold an estimated 710,000 copies, while the PlayStation 2 version sold an estimated 880,000. In 2006, Edge magazine ranked the Game Boy Advance version at number 34 on its list of "The Century's Top 50 Handheld Games", while placing the PlayStation 2 version at number 67 on its list of "The Top 100 Games of the 21st Century", both lists arranged by the number of copies sold.

Remake

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated

Years after the game's releases, it has gained a cult following, positive reappraisal from contemporary critics, and a large speedrunning presence, with Heavy Iron Studios expressing interest in a remake or sequel, as well as requests from the game's fans for a remake. This was granted nearly two decades after the game's original release, with the announcement of Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated on June 5, 2019, ahead of E3 2019, albeit by a different developer from the original game. The remake was developed by Purple Lamp Studios and published by THQ Nordic and features an all-new multiplayer mode and content that was cut from the original game. The remake was released 1 year later on June 23, 2020.

See also

• SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (video game)

External links

• SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom at IMDb
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox) on MobyGames
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (Windows) on MobyGames
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom on speedrun.com
• Game manual (Xbox)