Nickelodeon wants more ‘SpongeBob’

Pull up for another meal at the Krusty Krab. Nickelodeon has ordered 20 more episodes of “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

That will make for a total of 100 adventures for the animated sea creature -- or cash cow, as they know him at Nickelodeon -- when the new episodes finish airing in 2007.

Nickelodeon stopped making new episodes while the “SpongeBob SquarePants” feature film was in production, and there was some question at the time whether the series would start up again. Then 20 episodes were ordered last year and are airing now.

It’s the kid-oriented network’s most popular show. Last week, for example, the 4.5 million people who watched “SpongeBob” on Saturday morning made it the most popular event on cable after football. It has also generated nearly $4 billion in merchandise sales since its 2000 premiere.