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Band Geeks

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If you were looking for the article about the DVD, then see Band Geeks (Korean DVD).

"Band Geeks" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 2. In this episode, Squidward creates a band to perform at the Bubble Bowl.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

One day, Squidward was playing his clarinet but was disturbed by a doorbell which is a doctor who arrived at his house after mistaking his clarinet playing for a "dying animal." He then receives a call from his former high school classmate and rival Squilliam Fancyson, who informs Squidward that he is the leader of a band that is supposed to play the prestigious Bubble Bowl the following week, but is unable to attend. He gives Squidward a backhanded offer to replace him, correctly suspecting that Squidward does not have his own band. However, Squidward defiantly insists that he does have a band and accepts the offer, before posting flyers around Bikini Bottom looking for people to join his band.

"Do instruments of torture count?"

"Do instruments of torture count?"

On the first night of rehearsals, Squidward brings his rented instruments to a practice hall filled with townspeople. Upon discovering that none of his prospective bandmates have any previous musical experience, Squidward teaches them the basics. Unfortunately, the night doesn't end well as Squidward gets pinned to the wall by drumsticks the players mistook as mouth instruments while Sandy beats up Patrick and shoves his body through the bore of a trombone after he kicks her leg.

Things do not get any better during the second day of training; while practicing a march through the street, two flag twirlers are killed when they spin their flags too fast, causing them to fly into the air and crash into a passing blimp. On the third day, Squidward checks on Plankton's harmonica solo, though he becomes exhausted and collapses from running back and forth between the holes since the harmonica is much bigger than him.

On the fourth and final day of practice, Squidward says that while none of them have made any improvement since the beginning, he suggests that everyone play loud so they will be good. Unfortunately, they take this theory a bit too literally as they play so loud and badly that the windows of the practice hall break and Squidward's face is deformed beyond recognition, prompting him to change the plan to playing extremely quietly so nobody will hear them. The band members then begin to insult each other, and despite Squidward attempting to quell the rising tensions, a mass brawl breaks out that damages most of the instruments. When the clock hits 10:00 PM, the fighting ends and everyone starts to head home.

Squidward stops them at the entrance and expresses his disappointment at their lack of progress and for not taking his dream seriously. After Squidward leaves in distress at his failure, a remorseful SpongeBob scolds the townspeople and asks them to think about all of the times Squidward came through for them. Despite drawing a blank, they are convinced enough to give practice one more try for Squidward's sake, with SpongeBob as the conductor.

At the day of the performance, Squidward prepares to finalize his band's cancellation, only to find Squilliam waiting for him at the entrance of the Bubble Bowl, wanting to watch him fail. Squidward tries to explain that his band can no longer play as they all died in a marching accident, but they suddenly appear behind him in full uniform with their instruments ready, forcing Squidward to go through with the performance.

The band performing "Sweet Victory

The band performing "Sweet Victory."

As everyone enters a huge glass dome, Squidward bemoans the humiliation that he is certain is awaiting him. The dome rises into a football stadium filled with human fans. Squidward, still fearing that the performance will be a disaster, nervously begins conducting. But to his and Squilliam's astonishment, the band performs "Sweet Victory" and it turns out to be a tremendous success. As the crowd sways in awe, Squilliam faints in shock and is carried away on a stretcher. Squidward throws away his baton and leaps into the air in triumph.

Production[]

Art[]

Model sheets[]

Storyboards[]

Music[]

( ‣ ) Production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Here Comes The Band! (A) - Dick Stephen Walter [Title card]
 • Squids Clarinet - Brad Carow [Squidward playing his clarinet/Squidward blasts his clarinet through the phone]
 • Vibe & Harp Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Squilliam Fancyson from band class?"]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["I hear you're playing the cash register now."]
 ‣ On The Beach - Kapono Beamer ["I gotta drum up a marching band fast!"]
 ‣ Band Atmosphere - Bert Ferntheil [Inside the band room.]
 • Marching Band Scales - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [Squidward, the brass, the woodwind, and the drums play scales]
 • Stars & Stripes Forever - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [Band playing]
 • Taps - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [Played after explosion]
 • Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield [Day four, plays faintly]
 • Marching Band Blast - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [Everyone plays loudly]
 ‣ Like Strange - Kenny Graham ["What did you say, punk?"]
 • Spongemonger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [The dust brawl starts]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill ["You took my one chance at happiness and crushed it."]
 ‣ Fates [#61.03] - Gregor F. Narholz ["What kind of monsters are we?"]
 ‣ Whisper from the Past [#63] - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob's pep talk]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (A) - Richard Myhill [Bubble Bowl]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (A) - Ronald Hanmer [Squidward sees Squilliam]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["I just wanted to watch you blow it."]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer ["That would be my band!"]
 • Steel Licks 40 - Jeremy Wakefield [Squilliam laughs]
 ‣ Gala A - Dieter Reith [Live-action football field]
 ‣ Send them Victorious (B) - Graham De Wilde [Fanfare]
 ‣ Sweet Victory 1 - David Eisley, Bob Kulick [Ending]

Release[]

Broadcast[]

Distribution[]

Reception[]

"Squid tries to "inspire" Bikini Bottom's doofy denizens into being a tight marching band – but it's like herding kittens. "Sweet Victory" is like the worst Night Ranger–type power ballad in history."
  • On the Winner Take All Sunday this episode was #6.
  • "Band Geeks" was ranked #1 during the SpongeBob's Top 100 event in the UK and Ireland from June 4-8, 2012.

Trivia[]

General[]

  • According to production art, this episode was originally called "Squid in Charge."
  • Harold SquarePants was originally planned to appear on this episode but was later cut.[5]
  • There is a book based on the episode named Star Power!
  • The coloring books Star Power! and SpongeBob's Best Days depict scenes that were never seen in the actual episode:
    • SpongeBob and his friends practicing for the performance after Squidward left.
    • SpongeBob naming his band "Captain SpongeBob's Jellyfish Jam Band," a reference to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
    • SpongeBob taking his shirt off during the "Sweet Victory" performance.
    • An extended ending where Squidward has changed his mind about SpongeBob's song.
    • However, it was already seen as white in some shots from "Walking Small."
  • The episode reveals that:
    • Evelyn's little Jimmy was trapped in a fire, and a fireman had to rescued him.
    • Larry took too many tanning pills; his heart gave out and had to be revived.
  • This is the first episode for a few things:
    • The first appearance of Squidward's rival Squilliam Fancyson.
    • In production and airing order, the first episode to have more than one timecard.
    • The first episode where Plankton appears but does not do anything evil in any way.
  • Squidward's flyer reads as follows: "Looking to add fulfillment to your dull, dull life? Then become a part of the greatest musical sensation ever to hit Bikini Bottom and be forever adored by thousands of people you don't know. Not to mention free refreshments! Practice begins tonight, 8:30 sharp."
  • A clip from this episode was used during SpongeBob on Nick at Nite bumpers in 2018.[6]
  • The Bubble Bowl "real-life" crowd is the footage used from a USFL Memphis Showboats vs. Tampa Bay Bandits game at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee back in the 1980s.
  • On day two when the band is marching down the street, they are doing a rendition of "Semper Fidelis," regarded as the official marching song of the U.S. Marine Corps.
  • After the flag twirlers crash into the blimp, one trumpeter plays "Taps." Taking a closer look also shows that Mr. Krabs sheds a tear when he puts his claw over his heart.
  • This episode came packaged in a PVD in black and white with the VideoNow personal video player by Hasbro. The episode was later released in color with "The Secret Box."
  • This is the third episode to end with a song. The first is "Help Wanted," and the second is "Your Shoe's Untied."
  • SpongeBob's eager face is used in the online games Reef Rumble and Nick's Not So Ultimate Boss Battles, and the video games Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny.
  • In the shot where SpongeBob sings the verse "On the world closing in," he can be seen wearing the Best Friends Forever Ring from "The Secret Box."
    • Both episodes are sister episodes.
"Is mayonnaise an instrument?"

"Is mayonnaise an instrument?"

Patrick playing the mayonnaise in "Upward

Patrick playing the mayonnaise in "Upward."

"Big...meaty..

"Big...meaty...claws!"

  • Numerous scenes and quotes from this episode have become famous internet memes:
    • "Yeah, uh, we're with the pet hospital down the street and I understand that you have a dying animal on the premises."
    • Patrick's line "Is mayonnaise an instrument?"
      • Patrick would later play the mayonnaise in the season 15 episode "UpWard."
    • Patrick kicks Sandy causing the latter to push him into a trombone.
    • Squidward's stretched face after the band played too loud.
    • Harold's line "Big, meaty, claws!"
    • SpongeBob's eager face.
  • This is a rare instance of a real car being mentioned when Patrick says that the owner of a white sedan left their lights on.
  • A clip from this episode was used at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show to honor the death of the show's creator, Stephen Hillenburg.
  • According to an interview with Sam Henderson on SpongeBuddy Mania, during the scene with the lighters, his hand can be seen in the audience.[7]
  • This is one of the rarest instances where Squidward defeats Squilliam at the end and remains victorious.
  • The guitar that Sandy plays bears a striking resemblance to a Gibson Flying V, while Mrs. Puff's guitar strongly resembles an ESP-AX 50.
  • On The Complete 2nd Season DVD and select Nickelodeon airings, the audience cheering is in 60 FPS while the animation is in regular animation FPS.
Band Geeks Uniform SpongeBob.

Band Geeks Uniform SpongeBob.

Pearl and a few others dressed up in the Band Geeks Uniform.

Pearl and a few others dressed up in the Band Geeks Uniform.

A reference to "Band Geeks" can be seen.

A reference to "Band Geeks" can be seen.

Dub facts[]

  • In some foreign dubs of this episode, Fred can be heard screaming "My Leg" after he collides with the airship together with Incidental 106, indicating that he and Incidental 106 survived the airship's explosion.
  • In the Latin American dub, Squidward talks about the part about kicking he says, "No SpongeBob, you think this is karate." "No Bob, ¿Crees que esto es Karate?"
    • In the same dub, while asking the drumline to repeat the line from his clarinet, instead of saying he says "Percussion," which is a far less common denomination of the instrument.
    • "Sweet Victory" is not dubbed and is in English.
  • In the Japanese dub of this episode, the French Narrator and the announcer in the stadium are unheard.
Italian_censor_of_Band_Geeks_(!!!!!)

Italian censor of Band Geeks (!!!!!)

  • In the Persian and Italian dubs of this episode, "Sweet Victory" is cut (shortened in the PSiM Persian dub) due to unknown reasons.[8] For Italian, likely due to commercial constraints, as the dub was commissioned for a commercial broadcaster (Italia 1), for Persian, likely as "music is haram" in Islam.
    • This also applied to the Indonesian version (on later airings only) as the song would cut like any other dubbed episodes with original music to save more time for other episodes to play. This lasted until April 2021, when the full episode played in normal, later reverting to cut episodes.
  • In the German dub, the word sedan is replaced with "Opel Kapitän," a German luxury sedan manufactured by Opel Automobile GmbH between 1938 and 1970.
Spongebob_Squarepants_M&E_Error_In_Romanian_Dub

Spongebob Squarepants M&E Error In Romanian Dub

  • In the original Romanian dub, Sandy's and Larry the Lobster's lines are muted, but this is likely because the Romanian TV station, Pro Televiziune, forgot to update the Sandy Cheeks and Larry the Lobster's lines.
  • When Patrick opens his mouth while talking with a trombone noise from being stuck in a trombone, the slider goes downwards from a higher-pitched noise to a lower-pitched noise. Correctly, the slider should have been sliding upwards.
  • After class is over on the way towards the door, the door flies open, revealing Squidward with his arms to his side, as if he had not touched the door.
  • The Turkish dub (the old one) has the following cut scenes and errors:[9]
    • The title card was mistakenly left in English undubbed.
    • When Sandy, Plankton, and Mrs. Puff start reading from a poster, Mr. Krabs' and Larry's scenes of reading the poster are cut.
    • In the scene when Squidward is supposed to say, "Wait, wait. I know tensions are high...," he cannot be heard saying that line in this dub. Instead, he is left mute at that part; all that can be heard are the crowd's voices overlapping.
  • In the Indonesian dub that aired on Global TV as well as Nickelodeon Asia (Indonesia), instead of saying "Is mayonnaise an instrument?," Patrick says "Is mine an instrument?" and instead of "Horseradish is not an instrument, either," Squidward says "Horse racing is not an instrument, either." However, when the episode was aired in Lativi (now as TvOne), the error didn't happen.
  • A shot of SpongeBob and Patrick playing at the Bubble Bowl can be seen on SpongeBob's memory book during the time-travel special, "SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up."

Cultural references[]

  • The Bubble Bowl is a parody of the Super Bowl, the annual final championship game of the National Football League.
  • The painting seen hanging in Squilliam's house resembles the style of Spanish painter Joan Miró.
  • The scene where the two flag twirlers end up flying into a blimp and causing it to explode and crash is a reference to the Hindenburg disaster of 1937 when a German zeppelin (similar to a blimp) filled with flammable hydrogen gas exploded and crashed while attempting to land in New Jersey, killing 36 people.

Errors[]

Listed "2000" in the end credits.

Listed "2000" in the end credits.

  • This episode along with its sister episode are incorrectly listed with a 2000 copyright date in the end credits.
  • Part of Pearl's skirt is gone when SpongeBob talks to Evelyn and Larry but reappears in the next scene, and then disappears again.
  • During the band's performance of "Sweet Victory" when the main cast is shown, Mr. Krabs is playing a purple keytar, but during the panning the keytar is green.
  • During the full band scene, all of the main cast moves up/down rows in some way, but Mr. Krabs does not move at all.
  • When everyone is talking to each other when Squidward enters the practice hall, Incidental 11's mouth doesn't move.
  • The characters switch places throughout this episode, examples include:
    • When everyone in the room is talking, SpongeBob and Patrick are sitting next to each other. However, when Patrick asks if mayonnaise is an instrument and when he says "Kicking? I want to do some kicking!" he is sitting next to Sandy.
      • Then, after getting beaten by Sandy, Patrick returns to a third seat.
The missing bottom of Plankton's triangle

The missing bottom of Plankton's triangle

  • When Plankton asks whether instruments of torture count as musical instruments, the bottom side of the triangle he is holding is left uncolored for a frame.
  • Throughout the scenes of the rehearsals, the characters constantly change instruments, including the drummer's drums to change between shots.
  • On the unremastered version (present on DVD releases and original airings on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons), during multiple scenes in which the screen shakes, it is surrounded by either a brown or blue border, as the effect was shot in 60 Hz rather than 24/29.97 Hz, which clearly arose during post-production, since most of the episode's original audience viewed on CRT TVs that are common at that time, in which most of it was hidden through overscan. This was fixed in the 2019 remastered version (used on streaming services and current Nicktoon airings as of 2019) by cropping out the borders.
  • When Squidward says that he really expected better of them, Evelyn's skin is green instead of pink.
  • When Squidward says "That's his eager face," his mouth is somewhat out of sync with the animation.
  • When "Spongemonger" plays, it cuts off after the beginning.
Big Mrs. Puff.

Big Mrs. Puff.

  • When Mrs. Puff slams Mrs. Krabs and Incidental 40 with her cymbals, she is bigger than normal; being almost twice her normal size.
  • When Plankton plays his work-in-progress harmonica solo, he is so small that he has to run back and forth along the harmonica to get to the right areas, which exhausts him. But in the later scene where he shouts "Correct!" in response to Squidward's theory, he's as tall as Sandy's boot.
  • When Squidward asks Plankton how the harmonica solo is going, the harmonica is not on the chair. A second later, it is on the chair.
    • The harmonica could have been on a different chair.
  • The saxophone is a woodwind instrument, but when Squidward tells the brass section to play, Incidental 40 can be seen playing the saxophone.
    • The saxophone can sometimes be grouped with brass instruments when playing in sections.
  • It is unknown how Sandy is able to play the saxophone when in her suit, due to her requiring it to breathe underwater.
  • When Squidward tells the woodwind section to play, one of the players is playing a brass instrument.
  • When it is day four, all the seats are missing.
    • This could be because it's the last day of practice so they removed the seats.
  • In the shot where Mr. Krabs asks, "When do we get the free food?" Sandy is sitting next to him. Two seats behind Mr. Krabs is Incidental 105. Part of him is shown, but the part that should be shown in Sandy's helmet is not there. It is not a trick with lighting because the part of Fred, who is sitting behind Mr. Krabs, that is in Sandy's helmet is shown.
Band Geeks 039
  • When the band is shown turning from above, Pearl's nose is unreasonably big and covers several people.
Bluish teeth error.

Bluish teeth error.

  • When the flag twirlers are exploding, Squidward's teeth turn bluish-gray/the color of his body skin, and his side of his mouth that is usually red is transparent, for a second.
  • During the scene where SpongeBob and Plankton harmonize in singing, SpongeBob's eyelid turns blue for a second.
Pearl without the "P" on her shirt, and Evelyn's green skin

Pearl without the "P" on her shirt, and Evelyn's green skin

  • When the glass dome containing the band originally rises to the field, it is seen to be approximately 10 yards in diameter and positioned just off of the center of the field. Later shots from within the dome looking outward show an entirely different perspective with many more white lines than would be expected.
  • In some scenes, while practicing, the "P" on Pearl's dress is missing.


Videos[]

Names in other languages[]

Language Name Meaning
Finnish Jalmarin pumppu Squidward's Pump
French L'orchestre The Orchestra
German Hör' mal, wer da spielt Listen to Who's Playing
Hungarian A tűzoltózenekar The Marching Band
Italian La banda The Band
Russian Оркестр недоумков (original dub) / Оркестр недотёп (censored re-dub)
Orkestr nedoumkov (original dub) / Orkestr nedotyop (censored re-dub)		 Band of Idiots (original dub) / Band of Duffers (censored re-dub)
Spanish (Latin America) La banda de tontos The Band of Fools
Spanish (Spain) Banda Geeks Banda Geeks

References[]

  1. ^ Cable Guide (UK) October 2001 - pg. 126
  2. ^ Nickelodeon UK - October 19, 2001
  3. ^ Nickelodeon UK - Continuity - October 4, 2001
  4. ^ Best Sound Editing in Television Animation - 49th Annual (2001) MPSE GOLDEN REEL AWARDS | Motion Picture Sound Editors
  5. ^ Band Geeks (Squid In Charge) - The Big Cartoon Database
  6. ^ Nick at Nite - SpongeBob bumpers (2018)
  7. ^ Sam Henderson Interview - SpongeBuddy Mania
  8. ^ Out Of Context International Dubs on Twitter
  9. ^ SpongeBob - Band Geeks Turkish dubbing error and cut scenes

Notes[]

  1. ^ Mistakenly listed with a 2000 copyright year in the end credits.
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