Employee of the Month

This is the page about the episode. For other uses, see Employee of the Month (disambiguation).

Template:Episode/12b

Characters

• Squidward Tentacles
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Employee of the Month SpongeBobs
• Gary the Snail ^(cameo)
• Frank ^(cameo)
• Jimmy Gus ^(cameo)
• Billy ^(cameo)
• Mevis ^(cameo)
• Employee of the Month Squidward ^(debut)
• Anchovy
• Nat Peterson ^(cameo)

Synopsis

At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob reminds Squidward that it is the beginning of judging for the Employee of the Month Award. However, Squidward tells SpongeBob that the award is nothing but a scam, and Mr. Krabs is only giving it to him so he will work harder for less money, but SpongeBob does not believe him.

Employee of the Month wall

Mr. Krabs warns SpongeBob that Squidward might get the new Employee of the Month Award, and since SpongeBob has 26 consecutive awards (and wants a 27th), he starts worrying. Suddenly, he imagines his pictures as drill sergeants, and the one for March tells him Squidward is only telling him the award is a scam so he'll lose confidence in himself. Squidward says that he could get the award if he wanted to, and SpongeBob asks him to prove it. Squidward tells him that the award is fake, but SpongeBob refuses to believe him.

SpongeBob got trapped by Squidward.

After they both decide that they will arrive at the Krusty Krab earlier than the other; that night, SpongeBob tries to destroy Squidward's alarm clock so he will not wake up, but Squidward has several more in his closet. The two argue again about the award, and they say they do not even have to sleep. They both set several traps for each other as they both desperately try to reach the Krusty Krab first, and, after a temporary truce, both get there at the same time, just as Mr. Krabs opens the doors. They begin overworking in an attempt to impress him, doing more harm than good, scaring Mr. Krabs out of his wits in the process.

They then begin trying to make as many Krabby Patties as possible, eventually causing the Krusty Krab to explode. Krabby Patties rain down from the sky, to the delight of the citizens of Bikini Bottom thinking they're free, and while Mr. Krabs tries to make the people pay for them, SpongeBob and Squidward eagerly ask him who the Employee of the Month is (though it's unlikely the award will go to either of them due to destroying the Krusty Krab), giving Mr. Krabs a headache.

Production

Art

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Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Oyster Girls - Robert Alexander White [title card]
 ‣ Me for You - George Callert [opening]
 ‣ Captain Lenoe's - Michael Arthur, Colin Cater, Mick Graves, The Folk Players, Sarah Graves, Simon Ritchie ["This is gonna be a tough one, though."]
 ‣ Casualties of Love B - Mladen Franko [SpongeBob imagines Squidward's picture on the wall]
 ‣ Death Trap - Gregor F. Narholz [patty stuck to grill]
 ‣ SpongeBob Closing Theme - Steve Belfer, Nicolas Carr ["Making Krabby Patties?"]
 ‣ Dashing White Sergeants - Brian Douglas Gulland, Robert Alexander White ["This is war now, private!"]
 ‣ Agent Woodrow - The Woodies [SpongeBob spying on Squidward]
 ‣ Death Trap - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob hides in Squidward's pillow]
 ‣ Gator - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob destroys Squidward's alarm clock]
 ‣ Footsteps of Horror - W. Merrick Farran [SpongeBob and Squidward watching each other]
 ‣ Brahms' Lullaby - Brad Carow [Squidward playing clarinet]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (h) - Ronald Hanmer [Squidward sneaks out and falls into a hole]
 ‣ Seaweed - Steve Belfer ["Hey, Squidward, going somewhere?"]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer [Squidward climbs out]
 ‣ Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob, Squidward trapping each other]
 ‣ Volga Boat Men - Dick Stephen Walter [pulling a ship]
 ‣ Hawaiian Breeze - Jon Jelmer [truce]
 ‣ Timpani - Military (d) - Gary Kettel [Squidward and SpongeBob shaking hands.]
 ‣ War Clouds - Gary Kettel [Squidward and SpongeBob shaking hands.]
 ‣ Mavericks - The Woodies [they race to the Krusty Krab]
 ‣ The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band ["Money, money, gonna make some money..."]
 ‣ Mavericks - The Woodies [Krabs sees SpongeBob and Squidward]
 ‣ Twelfth Street Rag - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Look, Mr. Krabs, clean floors!"]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [ending]

*On the Season 1 and Home Sweet Pineapple DVD, Agent Woodrow is replaced with "Hercule Poirot" by Gerhard Trede.
**On the Season 1 and Home Sweet Pineapple DVD, Mavericks is replaced with "El Dementia" by The Surfdusters.

Release

• This episode is available on the Home Sweet Pineapple, Complete 1st Season, First 100 Episodes, SpongeBob, You're Fired!, Employee of the Month, and Karate Choppers DVDs.

Reception

"Employee of the Month" was ranked #36 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.

Trivia

General

• There is a PC game that has the same name of this episode, which was released in 2002.
• This episode premiered in Canada on September 30, 2000.
• SpongeBob imagines a drill sergeant version of himself in one of his Employee of the Month pictures, who demands him to work as hard as possible so that Squidward does not win. This one appears in the March picture, a reference to an army march.
• The drill sergeant design of the SpongeBob picture from this episode is the same design as the artwork on the North American cover of Battle for Bikini Bottom.
• SpongeBob's employee of the month portraits talk to him again in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
• Traps that SpongeBob and Squidward set up so that their opponent would not make it to the Krusty Krab early in the morning:
  • Spongebob's traps:
    • Squidward does not watch his way and falls into a hole Spongebob dug up.
    • SpongeBob traps Squidward in a bottle.
    • SpongeBob traps Squidward in a net.
    • SpongeBob ties up Squidward's arms and legs.
  • Squidward's traps:
    • Squidward nails boards onto SpongeBob's front door to make sure the latter cannot get out of his house.
    • Squidward traps SpongeBob in a cage.
    • Squidward tricks SpongeBob by giving him a Krabby Patty attached to a claw, which grabs SpongeBob's nose.
    • SpongeBob gets cut into pieces while running through a fence, looking like fries.
    • Squidward seals SpongeBob in a brick wall.
• Things that Squidward and SpongeBob do to impress Mr. Krabs:
  • Spongebob's deeds:
    • SpongeBob cleans the floor.
    • SpongeBob cleans dishes, deliberately drops them, then cleans the broken dishes with the mop.
    • SpongeBob puts his own money in the register.
  • Squidward's deeds:
    • Squidward cleans the tables. He rubs too hard, causing the tables to break in half.
    • Squidward tries to give Mr. Krabs flowers and chocolates.
  • Both SpongeBob and Squidward make a lot of Krabby Patties with two spatulas, causing the Krusty Krab to explode.
• This is the second time Squidward cooks for the Krusty Krab. The first time was in "Pickles."
  • Unlike in "Pickles," Squidward cooks Krabby Patties as good as SpongeBob does.
    • However, he could have learned how.
• This is one of the seven episodes in which the 1986 Paramount logo is plastered with the 2002 Paramount logo. The others are "Help Wanted," "Squeaky Boots," "F.U.N.," "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost," "Karate Choppers," and "Rock Bottom."
• When Nickelodeon was promoting The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius in 2001, there was an interruption where the Nick.com "Leaf" screen bug hovered up off screen, and Jimmy and Goddard were riding on the screen bug. After they get off, Jimmy then decides to play fetch with Goddard, but with the Nick.com logo. Later, after a few throws, Goddard then holds onto the leaf, while Jimmy tries to grab it out from Goddard's mouth, but when he gets it out from Goddard's mouth, there's a bitemark on the logo. Jimmy then places the screen bug back to its normal place, shrugs, and he and Goddard leave off-screen. The same thing happened when Nick aired the Rugrats episode "Pee-Wee Scouts."
• This episode, "Help Wanted," "Pickles," and "Best Day Ever" are the only four to have SpongeBob's bed placed on the right side of his room and not the left.
• This marks the first time where Patrick Star is absent in both episode segments.
  • However, he is mentioned in "The Chaperone," unlike this episode.
• SpongeBob says he won Employee of the Month 26 times in a row, meaning this episode falls at least two years and two months after "Help Wanted" when he was hired.

Cultural References

• When Squidward angrily says "Why you little!..." after SpongeBob traps him in a bottle, this is a reference to the same phrase Homer Simpson says to his son Bart before strangling him in The Simpsons.

Errors

"Chumbucket"?

• Sometimes, YTV accidentally lists this episode as "Chumbucket" instead of its actual name. The Chum Bucket is not even seen in this episode. Also, YTV sometimes says this episode originally aired on March 14, 2014.
• On the First 100 Episodes DVD, it says this episode originally aired on March 8, 2000.
• When SpongeBob shows the calendar showing "Annoy Squidward Day" on the 15th, the date of the 21st is right below it. In a real calendar, the 22nd would be below the 15th, so the week appears to only have six days.
• SpongeBob's calendar said it was "March" but on the picture frame, it says it was January. Also, the calendar had 28 as the last day of the month, meaning it must have been February in a non-leap year.
• SpongeBob mentions he has won the Employee of the Month 26 times to Squidward, but is pictured 43 times on the Employee of the Month wall.
• Unless Mr. Krabs started the "Employee of the Month" award in January, it should be March, not January.
• Right before SpongeBob imagines Squidward's face on the "Employee of the Month" award frame, the order of the awards is wrong:
  • On the third to last row, "February," "December," January," "February," "December."
  • On the second to last row, "April," "May," "March," "April," "May."
  • On the bottom row: "December," "January," "February," and "January."
• When SpongeBob is crying "How could the quality of my work slip so much?," the frame on the picture of Squidward says "January." But the frame before it says "February," then changes back to December.
• When the "Employee of the Month" awards are panning down when SpongeBob thinks Squidward might be right about the awards, in the last readable row, the order of the awards is "Mach," "April," "May," "March."
• When the drill sergeant SpongeBob is giving real SpongeBob a pep talk, the award after "March" is "February."
• When SpongeBob looks into Squidward's house to spy on him, Squidward sets his alarm clock on the nightstand with a lamp, but when SpongeBob goes into Squidward's house, the alarm is on the other nightstand with no lamp.
• If one looks closely in the scene where SpongeBob is in Squidward's pillowcase, SpongeBob's eyes turn green and then they are back to normal.
• When SpongeBob sneaks into Squidward's house, all of Squidward's furniture is in the room. However, while SpongeBob is running back and forth from the closet with the clocks in it, the room is empty.
• Squidward's clock says 9:00 when he goes to bed, but in his closet full of clocks, most of them say 8:05. They all later switch to the correct time.
• When SpongeBob goes to Squidward's closet it is filled with alarm clocks. In the next scene, he is breaking them, the others disappear, and is seen breaking one clock.
• When Squidward walks into the bottle, it seems he walks through the back but it is covered.
• When Squidward and SpongeBob finish shaking hands due to their "truce" and start running towards the Krusty Krab, the Chum Bucket is not visible.
• When Squidward and SpongeBob barge into the Krusty Krab, the handlebars on the door are clear instead of gold or brown.
• When Squidward is brushing his teeth, in his reflection the bubbles are behind his nose, but from behind, the bubbles are in front of his nose.
  • In the same shot, Squidward's neck does not connect to his head, rather going in front of it.
• On the November 8, 2018 airing, in a moment when SpongeBob is about to be trapped by the robotic arm, the screen freezes for a few seconds, resulting the intro theme from the CBS Show "Mom" ("Overture" by Russlan and Ludmilla) being played in the background. After a few seconds, the music stops and Squidward passes by the frozen SpongeBob before cutting to the next shot. It's unknown what the cause of this error was but it was likely interference with another channel

Running gags

• Squidward insulting the Employee of the Month award then getting drenched with Krabby Patty puree from a fan.
• SpongeBob and Squidward setting traps to prevent from one of them from going to the Krusty Krab.
• SpongeBob and Squidward desperately trying to win the Employee of the Month award.

See also

• Employee of the Month Award