Idiot Box

If you were looking for the article about the box, then see idiot box (object).

Episode Information
General
Production code:	178
Season №:	3
Episode №:	44b
Airdate:	March 1, 2002 September 5, 2002 See more... September 3, 2002 (EBS) September 5, 2002 March 18, 2003 September 4, 2003 October 10, 2004 May 15, 2006 June 5, 2006 December 9, 2007 January 10, 2009 November 29, 2009 November 17, 2016 July 8, 2019 August 28, 2020 July 30, 2021
U.S. premiere time (EST):	8:15 pm
Copyright year:	2001
U.S. viewers (millions):	N/A
Running time:	11 minutes
Sister episode(s):	"Nasty Patty"
Credits
Guest(s):	Steve Kehela as TV Narrator
Writer(s):	Paul Tibbitt Kent Osborne Merriwether Williams
Storyboard Artist(s):	Carson Kugler William Reiss Mike Roth
Storyboard:	Paul Tibbitt Kent Osborne
Animation:	Andrew Overtoom
Creative:	Derek Drymon
Chronology
Previous	"Nasty Patty"
Next	"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV"

"Idiot Box" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from Season 3. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick use their imagination to play with an empty box.

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Patrick Star
• Incidental 154
• Squidward Tentacles
• Helicopter pilot ^{(heard only)}
• Police ^{(heard only)}
• Criminal ^{(heard only)}
• King Neptune ^(mentioned)
• Box "How it's made" Narrator ^{(heard only)}
• Old professor
• Incidental 41 ^(cameo)
• Incidental 48
• Boxing Championship announcer ^(debut)
• Incidental 5 ^(cameo)
• Incidental 7 ^(cameo)
• Incidental 27 ^(cameo)
• Other Boxing Crowd Members
• Cowboys ^(mentioned)
• Robots ^{(heard only)}
• Pirates ^{(heard only)}
• Gary the Snail

Synopsis

The episode starts with Squidward coming outside his house to see a TV getting delivered to SpongeBob and Patrick in a box. He is shocked that they ordered such a large TV, only for them to use the box rather than the TV. He asks the two why they are playing in the box instead of using the TV, and they say that with imagination, they can do anything they want to do. Squidward takes the TV, while the other two play Mountain Climbing Adventure in the box.

The box.

When Squidward gets annoyed by the two playing loudly with each other, he kicks the box, only to cause what sounds like an avalanche inside. He opens the box to see if the two are alright, only for them to have just been imagining themselves mountain climbing. Squidward goes back to his house and tries to find a box to do what SpongeBob and Patrick are doing, but is unable to find one big enough. After kicking the box in frustration, he hears police sirens outside and initially assumes they've come to arrest him for kicking the box, but the sounds turn out to just be coming from SpongeBob and Patrick in their box.

Feeling angrier still, Squidward kicks his small box across his yard and SpongeBob and Patrick take it. He watches TV to get his mind off of boxes, only for all the channels to be about boxes. He then hears what sounds like a space rocket launching coming from the box and thinks the two are using a tape recorder to make all the noises, so he goes inside to find out. When he finds that they don't have a tape recorder, he goes inside the box and starts playing with them to see how they play. However, the sounds that come from the box don't occur, so he goes back to his house in frustration.

At night, when the two get out of the box and go to bed, Squidward decides to go inside the box to find the button he feels sure is making all the sounds, but he doesn't find it. When he starts pretending to drive a race car and hears the sounds of the race car, a garbage truck picks up the box and dumps it off into The Dump, making Squidward feel like he's actually driving a boat. It doesn't end well when Squidward ends up falling on his face in the dump. The next morning, SpongeBob and Patrick find out that their box is gone and then go see Squidward, unbeknownst to the two that he is not home, leaving the audience unsure, and ending the episode from there.

Running gags

• While Squidward is watching TV, every show is all about boxes in the respective channels: documentary, educational, soap opera, and sports.
• SpongeBob saying "Imagination" whilst showing a rainbow with his hands.
• SpongeBob and Patrick making noises inside the box, but whenever the box is opened, the noises stop.

Production

Art

Storyboard #1

Storyboard #2

Storyboard #3

Storyboard #4

Storyboard #5

Storyboard #5

Music

( ‣ ) Associated production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 • You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [title card]
 ‣ Vergnügungspark - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob and Patrick hopping]
 ‣ Awakening Memories - Paul Fenoulhet ["Squidward, we don't need television."]
 ‣ Full of Beans - Robert Schreier [mountain climbing adventure]
 ‣ Dramatic Climax - Mike Sunderland ["Hang in there, buddy. The chopper's on the way."]
 ‣ Joust - Fredric Bayco ["Attention, climbers! Please hold on!"]
 ‣ Death in the City - Jack Beaver [police sirens]
 ‣ City Desk - Ronald Hanmer [show about boxes being made]
 ‣ Once Upon a Dream - Clive Richardson ["I couldn't afford a present this year..."]
 ‣ Parallel Dimension - Gregor F. Narholz [rocket launch]
 • Steel Sting - Jeremy Wakefield ["Laugh at me, will they?"]
 ‣ Journey to the Magic Island - Gregor F. Narholz ["Welcome aboard, Squidward!"]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["Why won't this thing turn on?"]
 • Steel Licks 3 - Jeremy Wakefield [that night]
 ‣ Hawaiian Happiness - Jon Jelmer [SpongeBob and Patrick go home]
 ‣ Finders Creepers - Paddy Kingsland [Squidward sneaks into the box]
 • Idea Vibe - Nicolas Carr ["Hello, what's this?"]
 • ? Vibes - Nicolas Carr ["What the...?"]
 • You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [box taken to dump]
 ‣ Tympup A - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Halloween, SpongeBob Goes Prehistoric (Russian only), Complete 3rd Season, Christmas Who? (South Korea version), The Tom Kenny Collection, Sponge in Service, First 100 Episodes, Holidays with SpongeBob 3-DVD Gift Set, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies (Danish and Norwegian only), SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 4, Complete Third Season, From the Beginning, Part 1, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, SpongeBob ScaryPants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, 2-Season TV Pack, The Third & Fourth Seasons, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs.
• This episode is also available on VideoNow.

Reception

• "Idiot Box" was ranked #62 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.
• This episode is number 5 on The Tom Kenny Collection on iTunes and Amazon.com. His description says:

"SpongeBob and Patrick turn an empty box into a fantasy play land using only their "imaginations."_[sic] Since Squidward lacks any imagination, he resents anyone who does! The ultra-dramatic and over-the-top action movie fantasy scenarios that our boys playact in the box are really funny (sounds can only be heard)."

• "Idiot Box" was ranked #2 during the SpongeBob's Top 100 event in the UK and Ireland from June 4-8, 2012.

Trivia

General

• This is the second episode that involves a box as a main focus. The first is "The Secret Box."
• The title card is an animated television transition. This is mostly seen on vintage televisions when one changes the channel.
  • It is also one of the few animated title cards of the series.
• "Idiot box" is a slang term for TV.
• Plots of this episode were later used in the first part of the LeapPad Interactive Book and Cartridge SpongeBob SquarePants: Salty Sea Stories, which was released in 2003 by LeapFrog Enterprises.
• On September 27, 2017, there was a National EAS alert that appeared about 5 minutes into the episode (2:20 PM EDT).
• Squidward finds a sombrero in the hatbox and wonders why he hadn't worn it before. He later does wear it in "The Camping Episode."
  • This means that this episode takes place before "The Camping Episode."
• This is a list of things SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward thought of in the box:
  • Mountain Climbing
  • Police Chase
  • Space Shuttle Launch
  • Battle of Robot-Pirate Island
  • Race Car Driving
• During the "space shuttle launch" portion, a brief bit of audio from STS-51-L, on which the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster occurred, could be heard.
• When SpongeBob is reading in bed, his pillow is nowhere to be seen.
  • It could be possible all his pillows are in the laundry.
• This is the third episode where its title card is animated. The first being "SB-129" and the second being "Prehibernation Week."

• This episode was reenacted in a live table read during the San Diego Comic-Con panel in 2015, and was the most voted for the episode to be reenacted.
• When Squidward went inside the box, SpongeBob and Patrick were using their imaginations, but they were not making noises. It is probably because Squidward left the box open.
• The scene of SpongeBob making a rainbow and saying "Imagination!" has become a popular internet meme.
• In Battle for Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game, SpongeBob's Truth or Square, and Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, boxes can be used to teleport around the levels which resembles the box from this episode.
• In Indonesia, instead of saying, "Boxing Championship," the narrator says "Box Boxing Championship," because "box" and "boxing" have different meanings.
• Because its sister episode "Nasty Patty" was banned in Israel due to its dark content, this episode was also banned as well. However, it is still available in English in the night marathon, along with "Nasty Patty."
• When Squidward ends up in the dump, he lands face first in a pie. This is the second time that Squidward gets hit in the face with a pie. The first was in the episode "Dying for Pie."
• In the EBS version of the Korean dub, this episode was permanently paired up with "Doing Time," due to its sister episode being banned.
• According to the production code (5572-178), this was produced as a season 2 episode.
  • The same happened to "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV" and "As Seen on TV."

Cultural references

• One of the equations, F = ma², is a reference to Newton's Second Law, (F = ma) which means Force=mass times acceleration, and Einstein's Mass-Energy Equivalence formula, (E = mc²).

Errors

The colors of SpongeBob's "imagination" rainbow are flipped upside-down.

• When SpongeBob makes a rainbow with his hands, the colors are upside-down.
• When Squidward says, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" his voice is out of sync with the animation.
• Squidward's mouth does not close when he says, "Where's that remote?"

Squidward's wrinkles are missing.

• When Squidward is planning to get inside of the box, his forehead wrinkles are gone for a couple of seconds.
• Squidward tears up the note that SpongeBob had written, but in the next shot, all the pieces of the note disappear.

SpongeBob's house is missing.

• When the garbage truck drives away, SpongeBob's house is missing. Also, an arrow appears on the box.

The path to Patrick's rock is missing.

• At the end of the episode, the path to Patrick's house is missing.

Video

San Diego Comic Con 2015 SpongeBob SquarePants Full Panel Nick

Full Comic Con Panel

References

Awards and nominations for SpongeBob SquarePants V • E Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing in Television Animation – Music Nominees: Stephen Hillenburg, Donna Castricone, Nicholas R. Jennings, Alan Smart, Peter Burns, Doug Lawrence, Derek Drymon, Alex Gordon, Donna Grillo, Jennie Monica, Krandal Crews, Jim Leber, Justin Brinsfield, Tony Ostyn, Nicolas Carr (for "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy"/"Pickles;" 2000) • Nicolas Carr (for "Fools in April"/"Neptune's Spatula" in 2001; for "Jellyfish Hunter"/"The Fry Cook Games" in 2002; for "Wet Painters"/"Krusty Krab Training Video" in 2003; for "The Great Snail Race"/"Mid-Life Crustacean" in 2004) • Jimmy Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn and Paulette Lifton (for "Mid-Life Crustacean;" 2004) Best Sound Editing in Television Animation – Sound Nominees: Nicolas Carr (for "Karate Choppers;" 2000) • Andrea Anderson, Jimmy Lifton, Monette Holderer, D.J. Lynch, Vincent Gutisetti, Jeff Hutchins and Gabriel Rosas (for "Rock Bottom"/"Arrgh!;" 2001) Best Sound Editing in Television – Animation Nominees: Timothy J. Borquez, Jeff Hutchins and Daisuke Sawa (for "The Secret Box"/"Band Geeks;" 2002) Best Sound Editing in Television Animation Nominees: Jimmy Lifton, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn and Chris Gresham (for "Nasty Patty"/"Idiot Box;" 2003) Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated Nominees: Jimmy Lifton, Nicolas Carr, D.J. Lynch, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn, Chris Gresham and Paulette Lifton (for "Pranks a Lot"/"SpongeBob Meets the Strangler;" 2005) • Vincent Gutisetti, Jimmy Lifton, Nicolas Carr, Monique Reymond, D.J. Lynch, Mark Howlett, Jeff Hutchins, Aran Tanchum, Mishelle Smith and Paulette Lifton (for "Have You Seen This Snail?;" 2006) • Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Jason Stiff, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "SpongeHenge;" 2008) Best Sound Editing: Television Animation Nominees: : Chiho Oyamada Carr, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Daisuke Sawa, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Eric Freeman, Dan Cubert, Lawrence Reyes, Jason Stiff, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "Suction Cup Symphony;" 2009) • Chino Oyamada Carr, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Eric Freeman, Tom Syslo, Keith Dickens, Jason Stiff, Sergio Silva, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One;" 2010) Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR Animation in Television Nominees: Devon Bowman, Justin Brinsfield, Nicolas Carr, Andrea Anderson, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Eric Freeman, Tony Orozco and Danny Tchibinda (for "Gary's New Toy;" 2013) • Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Eric Freeman, Bobby Crew, Keith Dickens, Gabriel Rossas and Tony Orozco (for "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!;" 2013)