SpongeBob SquarePants (post-Season 5; Alternate Version)

As we all know, after Season 5 of SpongeBob SquarePants, one of Nickelodeon's most popular shows, the series began to deteriorate in quality with SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, among other characters being flanderized, the episodes encouraging bad morals such as bullying and crying to get your way, Hillenburg's lack of involvement, and most notably, the many torture episodes given to either Squidward or SpongeBob. Here is an alternate scenario of how the series would handle its quality with Hillenburg being involved in the future seasons and trying to keep it similar to the old seasons.

List of changes

 * Stephen Hillenburg would be involved in the show's future episodes until the eleventh and final season, which ended the same year as his death.
 * Paul Tibbitt would stay, but wouldn't become the showrunner from 2005 until 2015.
 * Due to him defending John Kricfalusi for being a pedophile, Vincent Waller wouldn't be involved in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise as Derek Drymon would become a showrunner of the series and its spin-offs since 2005.
 * Richard Pursel wouldn't be involved in the series either due to the same thing Waller did.
 * All of the flanderization to the show's many characters wouldn't happen.
 * SpongeBob, though still childlike, doesn't become an overly immature idiot who gets too emotional sometimes, and he wouldn't treat Squidward as if he were stalking him 24/7.
 * His voice is reverted back to low-pitched and in the same tone as the first three seasons.
 * Patrick would still retain his simple-minded nature, but wouldn't become a complete idiot or a jerk.
 * Mr. Krabs would still be greedy, but he doesn't treat his employees like trash or sell them for cash.
 * He wouldn't torture Plankton either.
 * Pearl would retain her emotional capabilities and wouldn't become a spoiled brat.
 * Plankton would still be more villainous and wouldn't be a constant punching bag, which leads to more episodes involving his evil schemes.
 * Plankton's wife Karen, though still snarky and loyal to her husband, wouldn't only be defined by her snarkiness.
 * Sandy wouldn't become a science-obsessed eccentric and, while still maintaining her interest in science, will still be interested in karate and Texas, those now being her defining interests.
 * Squidward wouldn't be such a grouch and remains good hearted, though he does retain his grumpiness. He later begins a character development sub-arc in the series where his view on the world begins to change, starting with SpongeBob, You're Fired!.
 * He also wouldn't be used as a punching bag and be hurt for no reason whatsoever.
 * He also wouldn't be a complete big jerk to SpongeBob.
 * Mrs. Puff would also not be a punching bag like Squidward and Plankton.
 * She would also begin teaching SpongeBob better, as with the latter paying more attention in her class in the middle of season 8, to the point where he earns his license in Season 10, which, in this version, is the penultimate season of the series.
 * Larry wouldn't become a coward and retain his bravery and strength.
 * The extras wouldn't form mobs or overreact.
 * Nickelodeon wouldn't demand more episodes and rush the production, which results in more good episodes and less bad ones.
 * A majority of the episodes and specials would be different and/or replaced with new episodes:
 * Atlantis SquarePantis would also be less of a filler and forced musical episode and would have a plot involving the characters helping the financially-troubled Bikini Bottom Museum of Natural History by getting artifacts from the Lost City of Atlantis, while Plankton plans on stealing the artifacts for himself to turn his home into an Atlantean-themed restaurant. The writers would also study more on Atlantean culture.
 * Truth or Square would be a better 10th anniversary special than it originally was, and would be retitled to the more suiting name of The Krusty Anniversary, while the video game retains the original title, and clips from the past seasons would be shown.
 * The Clash of Triton would be an entirely different double-length episode, and would involve a personality switch between Neptune and his son, Triton, and would now involve an evil Triton being accidentally freed from his imprisonment on a kinder Neptune's 5,000th birthday, and recruits SpongeBob and his friends to help stop him with the help of a weapon forged by Neptune should his son ever return.
 * Shuffleboarding would involve SpongeBob, Patrick, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy forming a shuffleboarding team against Plankton, Karen, Man-Ray and The Dirty Bubble (who Plankton has teamed up with to steal the formula and in a surprise twist, conquer Bikini Bottom).
 * The Card would involve SpongeBob going on the hunt for a rare Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy holographic trading card to give to Patrick for his birthday, which leads him into the town of Rock Bottom, where a greedy collector refuses to sell it.
 * SpongeBob, You're Fired! would be about Squidward blaming SpongeBob for a huge mess he made and causing him to be fired, leading him into a depression. Squidward, feeling guilty, tries to convince Mr. Krabs that it wasn't SpongeBob's fault. This is where Squidward's character development sub-arc in the series begins.
 * Glove World R.I.P. would be about SpongeBob and Patrick learning that a nearby competitor to Glove World is about to purchase the park and replace it with an extension of their own park, which prompts the duo to save the park with a petition signed by longtime park fans. They later discover that Plankton is the owner of Glove World's competitor and wants to purchase the park because of Mr. Krabs' successful Krusty Krab stand franchise.
 * The Good Krabby Name would be about Mr. Krabs planning on franchising his restaurant to other cities outside of Bikini Bottom, but he later becomes overwhelmed due to the high amount of management required.
 * Oral Report would be replaced with TBD, which involves Mrs. Puff becoming a successful author with the release of her autobiography book, which inspires SpongeBob to listen to his teacher more, slowly improving on his lessons.
 * A Pal for Gary would be replaced with Service Animals, which is about Mr. Krabs hiring various talented snails, including Gary, to be performers at the Krusty Krab in an attempt to boost frequent visits by patrons, with SpongeBob as their coach and director.
 * The Legends of Bikini Bottom arc wouldn't exist, as it is considered pointless.
 * The arc would be replaced with Pollution Solutions, a 4-episode canonical story arc about Plankton's chum-powered energy plant polluting the entire sea and the Krusty crew's plan to shut the plant down. The arc would deliver a message of anti-pollution and would be funded through the Greenpeace global campaign.
 * Big Sister Sam would be about Patrick discovering that he has a biological sister, Samantha Star, who is supposedly a successful scientist at the University of New Kelp City, and goes on a road trip to meet his long-lost sister. However, he later discovers that Samantha is actually a punching bag at the university because of her low intelligence, which prompts Patrick to stand up for Samantha, the episode delivering a message of anti-bullying.
 * TBA
 * The character focus would be balanced and not constantly lost.
 * The humor would still be slapstick-based and not violent.
 * The episodes wouldn't encourage bad morals and would instead encourage more good ones such as anti-bullying and anti-polluting.
 * The animation wouldn't be too downgraded and would try to be a mix of the first three seasons, albeit modernized.
 * The two movies, Sponge Out of Water and Sponge on the Run, would still exist, considering that those movies were successful as the first movie was, with the latter film retaining its original February 9, 2019 release date, getting tweaked to tell a new plot and keeping its original title It's a Wonderful Sponge.
 * Sweet Victory would be played at the Super Bowl LIII in honor of Hillenburg's death.
 * The show's two spin-offs, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years and The Patrick Star Show wouldn't exist to honor the wishes of Hillenburg not wanting any spin-offs to the show.
 * The show's run on TV would end in 2018 with the conclusion of Season 11, but would be wrapped up entirely in the 2019 hour-and-a-half TV movie, SpongeBob SquarePants: Plankton's Universal Takeover, which would end with the full 3:51 version of Sweet Victory by David Glen Eisley and Bob Fulick, who appear as guest stars performing the song alongside SpongeBob and the residents of Bikini Bottom, Ween performing Ocean Man, which was made popular through the end credits of the first SpongeBob movie, and a lot of the characters, including favorited incidentals making a comeback for the finale. The film would also be dedicated to Hillenburg, who also directed the film posthumously, as it was released after his death.