Veteran’s Day Special for Nick

Nickelodeon rang up record-setting numbers with Veteran’s Days specials for SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.

The half-hour SpongeBob special, Where’s Gary, notched a 14.9 rating among kids 2-11 in its 8 p.m. premiere time slot Nov. 11, drawing 4.8 million of those watchers, and a 17.4 among kids 6-11, translating into 3.4 million of those viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Those demo numbers trailed only those registered by the Super Bowl and its kickoff segment in 2005, according to Nick officials.

Where’s Gary -- in which SpongeBob and Patrick retrieve Gary after the neglected pet has left home -- was the highest-rated SpongeBob ever among kids 6-11 and tied the Lost Episode, which aired March 21, 2003, among kids 2-11.

Nick Jr.’s one-hour Dora the Explorer special, Dora’s Dance to the Rescue, pulled an 11.2 rating among kids 2-5, attracting 1.4 million of the preschool set. That was the second-highest-rated preschool program of the year, behind Dora’s Pirate Adventure in January.