Template:Episode/238a
Characters
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Patrick Star
- Barnacle Star/Barnacle Boy
- Gary the Snail
- Eugene H. Krabs
- Captain Tightwad
- Squidward Tentacles
- Doctor Negative
- Sheldon J. Plankton
- Mrs. Puff
- Sandy Cheeks
- Bubble Bass' friends
- Larry the Lobster
- Flying Dutchman (cameo)
- Old Man Jenkins (fat and green)
- Santa Claus (Cameo on one of SpongeBob's VHS tapes)
- French Narrator
- The Moth (cameo)
- Sinister Slug (cameo)
- Impound worker (debut)
- Bikini Bottomites
Synopsis
SpongeBob wakes up and is excited because it's a special day: The long-lost episode of The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy will be broadcast on live TV. SpongeBob has fancied up the atmosphere of his living room to celebrate and recorded the broadcast on his VCR in case he misses it. He then proceeds to get ready for work.
At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob becomes impatient and notices that things are going slower than usual, so he tries to get things done in a quick amount of time to speed up the process of his shift. After he is done with work, he runs outside to get home in time for the new episode. However, he bumps into Mrs. Puff's boatmobile and notices that it has a flat tire, so he offers to fix it for her.
Afterward, SpongeBob finally gets home, only for Patrick to need some help as well: He lost his rock and it got sent to the Impound Yard. Although with laborious effort, SpongeBob finds it and Patrick drives off on his rock. However, he turns down SpongeBob's request for a ride home, leaving him to get there by walking.
While walking home, Sandy needs help counteracting a leakage in her treedome, so SpongeBob helps her by shoving his finger in the hole. However, the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy lost episode is almost on air, so SpongeBob refuses to offer anymore help and runs home in a hurry. During the process, Mr. Krabs grabs him and forces him to help organize his coins.
A montage then plays of SpongeBob reluctantly doing favors for the various townspeople, causing him to miss out on the live broadcast of the special.
After tedious work, SpongeBob prepares to watch the VCR recording of the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy lost episode. However, he then notices that he forgot to set the VCR to stop the recording feature at a certain time, thus causing the tape to tangle itself up and wreak havoc upon his house, causing a fire. The tape then proceeds to collapse.
SpongeBob enters a state of depression and his chances of seeing the episode has been shattered. When SpongeBob's friends learned about it, they realized what they had done: they took his kindness for granted and inexplicably ruined his chances of seeing the lost episode he's been looking forward to watching. Out of sympathy and remorse, his friends collaborate and agree to recite a play of the lost episode to make up for him missing it.
The next day, Sandy convinces a disheveled SpongeBob to come out of his house and see the surprise that she and his other friends planned for him. The surprise turns out to be a play recital of the long-lost Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode, albeit a poorly-acted one.
SpongeBob is overwhelmed and thanks his friends for making his misfortune up to him. The episode ends with Old Man Jenkins joining the play.
Production
The episode was confirmed by Vincent Waller on March 29, 2018.[1]
Storyboards
Music
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
‣ Moloka'i Nui A - Kapono Beamer [Title card]
‣ Marching to Honolulu - Kapono Beamer [opening]
‣ ? ["...so I can relive the magic over and over forever!"]
‣ Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Hmm, but which tape to use?"]
‣ Victory Chords - [ProjectSAM Symphobia Colours: Animator] ["Oh, here we go!"]
‣ Ensemble Gliss - [ProjectSAM Symphobia Colours: Animator] [SpongeBob puts tape in VCR]
‣ Hot Steel and Slide Licks (I) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob goes to work]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks (n) - Jeremy Wakefield ["But today is moving so slowly."]
‣ Lopey Sailor's Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Everything is slowly at the Krusty Krab]
‣ Monster Wave - Nicolas Carr, Fabian Fernandez, James King [SpongeBob runs out of the Krusty Krab]
‣ Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob bumps into Mrs. Puff's boat]
‣ Midget March - Cedric Palmer [Mrs. Puff asks SpongeBob to help her change the tire of her boat]
‣ Twelfth Street Rag - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob tries to replace the tire of Mrs. Puff's boat]
‣ Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob thinks for a second]
‣ Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob gets an idea]
‣ Happy Links 6-9 - Paul Fenoulhet [Mrs. Puff drives home]
‣ Happy Links 1-5 - Paul Fenoulhet ["I still have time to get home before my show, if I pick up the pace."]
‣ Happy Links 6-9 - Paul Fenoulhet [Patrick asks SpongeBob to help him to get back his rock]
‣ Walking on the Beach A - Mac Prindy, Kapono Beamer [Patrick looking for his rock at Impound Yard]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks (b) - Jeremy Wakefield ["Wait, wait, Patrick! Could you give me a...ride?"]
‣ Kitsch Twist - Harold Geller, Desmond Champ [Sandy asks SpongeBob help]
‣ Eight Comical Cuts - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob runs home]
‣ Sailor's Sting 24 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["Boy-o, you gotta help me sort me loose change!"]
‣ Four More Comical Cuts - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob runs home again]
‣ Gator - Steve Belfer [Montage of SpongeBob helping different people]
‣ Clumsy A - Bernd Gesell [SpongeBob arrives tired at home]
‣ Dramatic Cue (g) - Ronald Hanmer [VCR spits out mangled tape and SpongeBob's house ends up on fire]
‣ Saltwater Works - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob crying]
‣ O Makalapua (b) - Kapono Beamer ["All right, listen up. SpongeBob has helped every single one of us dozens of times over. But we ain't been very helpful to him today."]
‣ M'Wanna - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob is depressed at home]
‣ Piano Flourish 2 - Sam Fonteyn [Plankton comes out on stage]
‣ ? ["It's time for the exciting conclusion to...!"]
‣ The Old Pianoplayer - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch [Start of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy play]
‣ Relentless Chase - Keith Nichols ["You should give up while you can, Mermaid Man."]
‣ Rescued - Keith Nichols [End of play]
• He's Our Mermaid Man - Andrew Goodman, Eban Schletter [Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, Mrs. Puff, Gary, and Plankton sing this.]
‣ Moloka'i Nui (a) - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob thanks everyone for the play]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks (b) - Jeremy Wakefield ["Cheese it, everyone! It's Old Man Jenkins!"]
‣ Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Action Theme - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr, Pat Irwin [Ending]
Trivia
General
- This episode premiered in the Netherlands on October 26, 2018, two days prior to its premiere in the United States.
- This episode premiered 19 years after "Scaredy Pants" and "I Was a Teenage Gary" premiered.
- SpongeBob owns the following VHS tapes:
- "How to Make a Bed"
- "Krusty Krab Training Video"
- The bottom of the spine reads "POOP," an obvious reference to the abbreviation "People Order Our Patties."
- "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"
- "Mr. Krab's Birthday Party"
- "Plankton Ruins Mr. Krab's B-Day"
- "SpongeBob's Birth" (the tape SpongeBob uses to record the episode over)
- When this episode first aired, it was paired up with "Bubbletown."[citation needed]
- When this episode premiered in Wallonia, it was paired up with "Spin the Bottle."
- Some objects from older episodes reappear in this episode:
- SpongeBob's wringer from "Stuck in the Wringer"
- Toothy Toothpaste from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
- The Mermerang from "Shuffleboarding" (seen in a poster)
- The Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy-themed Krusty Kid's Meal from "Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob"
- Tan Accelerator from "Sun Bleached"
- SpongeBob acting like a crossing guard is a nod to "Hall Monitor."
- SpongeBob is revealed to own a Mermaid Man wristwatch.
- SpongeBob references "Home Sweet Pineapple." When he goes home, he hugs his house and says "home sweet pineapple!"
- Squidward's backyard retains its appearance from "Bunny Hunt."
- This episode is similar to "Best Day Ever" as SpongeBob plans to do something, but his plans are ruined and then his friends make up for it in the end.
- SpongeBob previously watched a lost episode of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy with Patrick in "The Bad Guy Club for Villains."
- This is the second episode in which Plankton wears a Man Ray helmet.
Cultural references
- One of SpongeBob's videotapes is a reference to the classic 1970 Rankin/Bass Christmas special Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.
- The book Mrs. Puff was reading is a reference to Gone with the Wind.
Errors
- When SpongeBob says "Play," only the left half of his mouth moves.
- The video tapes show Mr. Krabs' name as "Mr. Krab's."
- TV listings were going to have this and its sister episode scheduled to air on October 5, 2019. However, it turned out to actually be an airing of Truth or Square.
Video
References