Le Big Switch

"Le Big Switch" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season five. In this episode, Mr. Krabs enters SpongeBob in a chef exchange program.

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Squidward Tentacles
• Dale
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Abigail Marge
• Dave
• Nat Peterson
• Nathiel Waters
• Tom
• Evelyn
• Le Schnook ^(debut)
• Harv
• Lloyd-Rich
• Frankie Billy
• Anchovies
  • Bryan Flounder ^{(pink; green)}
• Archie
• Mr. Crustacean ^(debut)
• Paco
• French Narrator
• Fish Waiting in line to enter Fancy!
• Martha Smith
• Thaddeus
• Fred
• Nancy Suzy Fish ^(pink)
• Fancy dandy fish ^(debut)
• Sheldon (fish)
• Buddy
• Wobbles
• Donna (orange fish)
• Charlie
• Harold "Bill" Reginald
• Harrison
• Mevis
• Other Fancy! customers
• Bikini Bottom Construction Company
  • Short construction worker
• Pearl Krabs ^{(voice only)}

Synopsis

Mr. Krabs, in an effort to increase profits and decrease costs, puts SpongeBob into a chef exchange program. SpongeBob goes to work for a restaurant named Fancy!, while the head chef, Le Schnook, works for the Krusty Krab.

Things do not start out well for SpongeBob, as the owner Mr. Crustacean demands that he cook quality gourmet. Unfortunately, SpongeBob is quite literally incapable of cooking anything but Krabby Patties, to the degree where he cannot even fry an egg without it instantly transforming into a patty. Mr. Crustacean continues to yell at him until he actually tastes a patty. Realizing how good it tastes, he begins to sell them to which all the rich clientele enjoy. Eventually, SpongeBob's time there is up and he is about to return to the Krusty Krab. Unfortunately, that is not what Mr. Crustacean or the customers want. They attach themselves to his ankles and beg him not to go. SpongeBob has to drag them out of the restaurant.

Meanwhile, things are not going well at the Krusty Krab. Le Schnook is none too pleased by Mr. Krabs' cheap attempts of setting up a lavish establishment. He refuses to cook unless his demands for expensive furniture, ingredients, and real silverware are met. As a result, the Krusty Krab (and Mr. Krabs) goes completely bankrupt and out of business. He sells (or "barters," as he calls it) the decorations, his home possessions, his office desk and chair, along with Squidward. Pearl calls him, thinking that the house has been infiltrated by burglars; Mr. Krabs assures her that they are just repo men. Before returning to Fancy!, Le Schnook gives Mr. Krabs a long bill for his services. Mr. Krabs breaks down crying, realizing what giving away SpongeBob cost him. It is at this time that SpongeBob returns with a massive chain of customers still attached to his ankles.

The episode wraps up with the Krusty Krab opening again. Old, new and rich clientele happily eat Krabby Patties off the floor like pigs. Squidward asks if they should even be eating on the floor. Mr. Krabs responds that the only thing they need is food and love.

Production

Music

 ‣ The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band [opening]
 ‣ Unknown Track 97 - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob kisses]
 ‣ Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [Squidward choking]
 ‣ Once Upon a Dream - Clive Richardson [SpongeBob brings food to a customer]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch [Squidward gets up]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [customer cries]
 ‣ Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Fine, have it your way."]
 ‣ Drama Link (d) - Hubert Clifford [Krabs kicks everyone out]
 ‣ The Girl I Left Behind Me - Brian Peters [chef exchange program]
 ‣ Steel Licks (b) - Jeremy Wakefield ["It was that easy?"]
 ‣ La Tour Eiffel - Nino Nardini [French chef arrives]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill [SpongeBob dropped off at a French restaurant]
 ‣ Une Nuit au Cabaret - Victor Cavini [inside the kitchen]
 ‣ Left Foot Forward - Graham Preskett [meanwhile at the Krusty Krab...]
 ‣ Accordeon Sur Seine - Daniel Jean Jeannin [everyone eating Krabby Patties at the French restaurant]
 ‣ Steel Licks (d) - Jeremy Wakefield [Krusty Krab out of business]
 ‣ Furtive Footsteps - Paddy Kingsland [phone call from Pearl]
 ‣ Down in the Dumps - Paddy Kingsland ["Oh, Mr. Le Schnook, I lost everything."]
 ‣ Dramatic Encounter - Gregor F. Narholz [the bill]
 ‣ Down in the Dumps - Paddy Kingsland [Krabs' desk taken away]
 ‣ Sad Parting (a) - Paddy Kingsland [Krabs crying]
 ‣ When Daylight Shines/Captain Lenoe's - The Folk Players [SpongeBob returns]
 ‣ Unknown Track 97 - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob kisses again]
 ‣ Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [Squidward chokes again]
 ‣ Captain Lenoe's - The Folk Players [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the To Love a Patty, Season 5 Volume 2, Complete Fifth Season, First 100 Episodes, and SpongeBob, You're Fired! DVDs.

Reception

• As of June 10, 2019, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 7.2/10 based on 205 ratings by users.^[1] TV.com users give this episode a rating of 8.8/10 based on 199 votes.^[2]

Trivia

General

• After this episode originally premiered in 2007, it didn't air again until two years later, when its sister episode, "Goo Goo Gas" premiered.
• When this episode premiered, it was paired with Fungus Among Us.
• There are 10 pineapples on the title card.
• In this episode, Squidward says that only pathetic losers with horrible taste would eat a Krabby Patty, but in "Just One Bite," Squidward discovers that he loves to eat Krabby Patties.
  • This episode may take place before that one, or that Squidward may not like Krabby Patties anymore because he blew up from eating too many, as in later episodes he's shown to think they're gross again.
• Mr. Krabs states Fancy! is far, far away, although Mr. Krabs dates Mrs. Puff there in the episode "Krusty Love" and it is still in Bikini Bottom.
• This is the only episode where the Fancy! restaurant is seen during the daytime.
• If one would play the part where SpongeBob puts the eggs in the pan frame-by-frame, the eggs immediately turn into a Krabby Patty, rather than gradually "growing" into one, as what cartoons usually do.
• The Krabby Patties are eaten by hand so the people wouldn't have to eat them off the floor.
• One of the French customers is the fancy purple fish from "That's No Lady."
• It's revealed that one of Pearl's friends (that first appears in "Whale of a Birthday,") who is orange with a purple dress and blue hair ate at Fancy!, meaning that she is rich, because a table for one at that restaurant costs $50,000.
• This is the only season 5 episode where Pearl's voice is heard, although she does not physically appear in any of them.
• In this episode, Mr. Krabs exclaimed that SpongeBob was the best fry cook he ever had, but in "The Original Fry Cook," he states that Jim was the best fry cook that he ever had, but maybe he meant SpongeBob was better in a different way, such as being more loyal or making more money.
• Tom appears with a mustache in this episode.
• In Indonesia, Le Schnook didn't say, "My eats." Instead, he says, "My ex."
  • It means Le Schnook did marry and divorce, but he is still living with his ex.
• This episode premiered on Ian McShane's 65th birthday and one year after "Once Bitten" premiered.
• This episode premiered in the UK on September 27, 2008 which was nearly a year after it aired in the USA.
• This episode premiered in the UK four years after Nicktoons The Show Must Go On! was released and three years after the release of The Complete 3rd Season and SpongeBob Goes to the Doctor.
• The French version of the episode is titled "Échange de chefs," which is approximately "Chefs' Exchange" when translated.

Cultural references

• The Rare Fruit of the Kazook Tree is based on the real-life Durian fruit, which has a smell said to resemble rotten eggs and gym socks, but it tastes really sweet.

Errors

• When SpongeBob is putting the bag of Krabby Patties in his briefcase, the bag was red, but in the next shot, the bag is brown and there is another bag in the other briefcase.
• Mr. Krabs could not have sold Squidward as he did not own him. Not to mention the fact that it is illegal to sell a person as property.
• When Squidward is being carried out the Krusty Krab, the fish's eyes on the right are closed and when he blinks they open, the opposite of what normal eyes do.
  • Also, when they take Squidward out, his eyes don't have an iris or pupil.
• Le Schnook appeared much shorter when he appeared at the entrance of Mr. Krabs' office after Squidward was dragged out.
  • Then, when he was walking up to Mr. Krabs, he was back to his normal size.
• Le Schnook gives Mr. Krabs a bill for his services when he was there as part of a temporary chef exchange program.
• When the movers lifted Mr. Krabs' desk, the chair appeared to be connected to it.
• Theoretically, SpongeBob would need to come up with a different name for his burger at the Fancy! restaurant, because "Krabby Patty" is copyrighted by the Krusty Krab.

Running gags

• Squidward choking on 'love'.
• SpongeBob making Krabby Patties every time he tries to cook.

References