Would you believe me if I said Kotaku didn’t originally intend for a ranking of the best SpongeBob Squarepants episodes to line up with the series’ 27th anniversary? It’s true! We were literally just talking about putting one together yesterday without realizing that today, May 1, marks 27 years since the animated comedy first debuted on Nickelodeon.  It’s kind of sad to say that SpongeBob Squarepants has been living in mediocrity for longer than it was good, as most would readily admit the show declined heavily in quality after its third season when original showrunner Stephen Hillenburg stepped down from the role. Hillenberg directed the original 2004 movie and intended for it to be the series finale, but like many popular things, SpongeBob Squarepants was kept alive because Mr. Krabs’ greed is art imitating life.…