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— Fred, various episodes
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Fred[4] is a background/recurring fish best known for screaming "My leg!" in painful situations. He debuted in the episode "Reef Blower," and his catchphrase is first used in "Boating School." He is featured prominently in the episode "My Leg!."
This character model's name has varied; in most appearances from seasons 1 to 10, he was nameless, with the exception of "Patty Hype" in which Tom calls him Fred in a very brief throwaway line. His name was given as Clint in "Big Sister Sam" from season 7. In season 10, the new showrunners re-adopted the name Fred after seeing it on fan-made wikis. They mistakenly believed that Fred was a fan-given name.
In February 2019, Mr. Lawrence said: "Fans started talking about [the 'my leg' gag] and named him Fred."[5] In October 2019, Vincent Waller said, "By that, he means the fans named him and we went, 'That's a good name for him. That'll work.'"[6] Tom Kenny elaborated: "Bask in the power of the internet: the fans named him Fred."[7]
Description
Fred's model
In most episodes, he appears as a greenish-brown-colored fish with light tan fins and black eyes. He wears brown pants and a black belt with a gold belt buckle.
He occasionally appears wearing a white collared shirt in episodes such as "Squilliam Returns" and "The Sponge Who Could Fly."
His character model appears lavender in "The Sponge Who Could Fly" and blue in numerous other episodes (e.g. "Something Smells"), and lime-green in "Party Pooper Pants". He also wears round glasses in that episode.
Although the sclera of his eyes are usually white, they are yellow in "The Inmates of Summer."
He is a lighter shade of green in "Grooming Gary" and "Big Sister Sam."
Personality
He is shown to be friendly and nice to others most of the time. However, he is very accident-prone, as he is often seen falling and screaming for many reasons.
The running gag was often caused by SpongeBob's antics and naive nature, making him bothered for his obnoxiousness, but is close friends with him.
Fred is sometimes disruptive as shown in "Patty Hype," where he yells at a loud crowd.
Despite his accident-prone nature, Fred shows care towards others.
Name
His name, Fred, was first used in the episode "Patty Hype". When he met up with Tom, they greeted each other with their first names. SpongeBob calls him by this name throughout the episode "My Leg!". In the episode "ChefBob", when he yells "my leg!", Mr. Krabs responds by yelling "Shut up, Fred!". In the episode "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout", when Plankton tries out his torture theme, he has Fred tied up in a leg trap and says "It's a theme party. Get into it. Say it, Fred."
Vincent Waller has also confirmed that the production team uses the name Fred for him.
He is called Clint in "Big Sister Sam."
Biography
His first appearance is in the episode "Reef Blower." However, he is barely seen in the episode, as he is in a boat as SpongeBob zooms past him.
He's the most often seen dining at the Krusty Krab. He was one of the first two background characters seen in "Reef Blower," with Harry being the other guy.
Fred's name is revealed in the episode "Patty Hype," where he is advertising the Shell Shack's talking and singing dog.
"Party Pooper Pants" reveals that he went to kindergarten with SpongeBob.
He is famous for the running gag in which he screams his catchphrase, "My leg!", when something such as an explosion takes place. He first says it in the episode "Boating School."
He is seen screaming this phrase out loud in "Arrgh!" when Mr. Krabs throws him out of the Krusty Krab by his legs. This is one of the more well-known "My leg!" instances.
Fred is seen in "Something Smells" as a blue fish. He is also famous for his quote, "Deuueaugh!," which has become a popular internet meme.
One of his more notable appearances was in "Jellyfish Hunter." He sang the song "Hey All You People" after trying a Jelly Patty.
In "A Pal for Gary," Fred is seen buying a nudibranch with his son, Monroe Timmy. Fred appears in "Face Freeze!" as the fish in Mr. Krabs' story of the eponymous condition. In The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Fred's "My leg!" is heard after Mr. Krabs throws aside the top bun of the stone Krabby Patty.
In Tutor Sauce he appears blue and is seen eating a Krabby Patty but just stale buns. He then has to pay extra for "emotional patties."
He is prominently featured in the episode "My Leg!" where he tries not to hurt his leg in the risk of getting it placed by a robotic leg. SpongeBob then tries to keep Fred's leg out of harm's way until he finally reveals that he likes to be in the hospital so he can be with Nurse Bazooka (a nurse he is secretly in love with). SpongeBob tries to help Fred by doing many dangerous attempts to purposely hurt his leg, but they just keep failing. When Fred finally ended up in the hospital (after getting run over by the ambulance twice), he sings the song "My Leg is in Love " to show Nurse Bazooka how much he loves her. She enjoys the song and the two end up dating. This episode is Fred's biggest role yet.
Trivia
- His biography in Sponge Star Patrick Pants acknowledges his status as an internet meme due to his "deuueaugh" line from "Something Smells."
- The "My leg!" gag has the most running gag appearances in any episode. It has also become a famous internet meme.
- SpongeBob has been the cause of Fred yelling "My leg!" more than any other character.
- Episode 7 of Bikini Bottom Mysteries claims he breaks his leg on purpose to visit his crush, due to an unhealthy obsession, and that he was also obsessed with Kevin C. Cucumber.
References
- ^ Incidental Model Sheet 1
- ^ "Grooming Gary." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. November 28, 2008. Television.
- ^ "A Pal for Gary." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. January 2, 2010. Television.
- ^ Patty Hype
- ^ https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/tca-2019-spongebob-cast-talks-craziest-fans-from-bowie-to-obama
- ^ https://www.comicsbeat.com/nycc-19-interview-spongebob-producers/
- ^ https://thepopinsider.com/news/first-look/nycc-spongebob-appreciation-day/
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