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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia

"Restraining SpongeBob" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 8. In this episode, Squidward puts a restraining order on SpongeBob.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

Restraining SpongeBob 022

At home, Squidward wakes up from bed and is increasingly annoyed by SpongeBob sharpening his trusty spatula. As he walks to the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob annoys him by repeatedly asking if he can walk with him. Once they end up at work, Squidward gets angry. SpongeBob continues to be annoying, especially when he cannot seem to figure out the mustard dispenser is empty, with its sound effects causing a patron to think Squidward has a farting problem.

An irritated Squidward enters the kitchen to get it through to SpongeBob. Eventually, he leans on the grill, and accidentally burns his right tentacle. When SpongeBob tries to put the fire out with a bucket of water, he accidentally spills it onto the floor, causing Squidward to slip.

As Squidward flies through the air, SpongeBob tries to catch him in a jellyfishing net, but it breaks, and it accidentally drops Squidward into the deep fryer. The more SpongeBob tries to help him by running over to the deep fryer, by pulling out a fried Squidward, the more he accidentally bungles things, and further injures Squidward by tripping over a mop. After accidentally tripping over the mop, SpongeBob now lands into the order window, causing Squidward to flip right out of the basket, and knocking out a customer's Krabby Patty. The customer then accidentally bites into Squidward's own flesh, resulting in Squidward screaming in pain, and the customer freaks out.

The customer now throws Squidward back to SpongeBob, and lands into the mouth by bouncing right off. When Squidward crashes into a soda machine, breaking it, Mr. Krabs now comes out of the office crying, and SpongeBob goes over to him and asks if he is all right. Squidward screams and runs from him, hiding behind a table. When SpongeBob gets closer, Squidward resorts to climbing the walls and ceiling of The Krusty Krab to get away from him. Mr. Krabs then reveals SpongeBob "really set him (Squidward) over the edge."

The next day, Squidward gives SpongeBob a "gift": a restraining order, which his three lawyers from the law offices of Harry, Combover, and Bald, explain to him. They tell SpongeBob that he cannot come within 15 feet of Squidward or he will go to jail. SpongeBob is confused, but when Squidward tells him that he cannot prepare Krabby Patties if he is in jail, he is struck with fear and he does everything he can to avoid coming within 15 feet of Squidward.

SpongeBob resumes working, but unfortunately, the window from which SpongeBob gives orders to Squidward is within the 15 feet range, so the cash register and the counter are moved to the right, by the restroom door. SpongeBob tries to give the orders to Squidward by means of a pole, but Squidward ignores it. When SpongeBob tells Mr. Krabs that he is having trouble with his work due to the restraining order imposed on him by Squidward, Mr. Krabs states that he doesn't know what a restraining order is, but since it is hindering business he tells SpongeBob he has to think of another way or he'll have more stars removed from his employee performance chart. Mr. Krabs then removes a gold star from SpongeBob's performance chart, causing the latter to freak out and he began thinking of a way to make his job easier and he immediately got an idea.

In the next scene, Patrick is tiptoeing to Squidward. Squidward tries to ignore him, but it does not work. Patrick tries to tell Squidward he now has a hat. Mr. Krabs reveals that he hired Patrick as a middleman. Squidward will not stand it now that the employees are both his annoying neighbors, so he marches over to Mr. Krabs and complains to him. However, Mr. Krabs tells Squidward that unless he lifts the restraining order against SpongeBob, he will have to put up with Patrick, which annoys Squidward. SpongeBob prepares the food, then Patrick gives the order to Squidward.

Unfortunately, Patrick asks Squidward if he can watch him work. Squidward says no, but Patrick continues to watch. Patrick does things that annoy Squidward, such as following him around the Krusty Krab, appearing inside the cash register, using the bathroom with him, and touching his hat. Squidward becomes very nervous that Patrick could appear any minute before he freaks when Mr. Krabs says his name and tells him it is time for his break. Squidward decides to play his clarinet. He opens his clarinet box to play, but it is not there. Patrick tells Squidward that he cleaned the bathroom, to which Squidward sarcastically tells him that he did well. But Patrick then tells Squidward that the "toilet plunger" is broken, as he used Squidward's clarinet to clean the toilets, angering Squidward. Mr. Krabs congratulates Patrick before telling Squidward his break is over. Squidward resumes work when a customer orders a lot of food, and asks if that is too much food, but Squidward tells him, "That depends." The customer then says, "On what?", before Squidward tells him, "How long do you wanna live," and laughs. Squidward then turns around to give Patrick the order, only to get his nose caught in Patrick's mouth. Squidward breaks free of Patrick but gets flung across the restaurant then Patrick laughs. Patrick then finds a button on Squidward's post. A random fish comes in and appears with a seaberry pie, screams when he sees Squidward flying towards him and leaves the pie in midair. Squidward's face gets smashed into the seaberry pie, which causes him to suffer an allergic reaction by swelling.

Restraining SpongeBob 184

SpongeBob trying to stop a fight.

Squidward knows what he must do next. When Squidward is about to enter the kitchen, Patrick mistakes him for a monster and hears Squidward saying SpongeBob's name. Patrick thinks Squidward is going to hurt SpongeBob, so he attacks him. Seeing both of them fighting, SpongeBob wants to help, but is afraid of violating the restraining order and serving jail time. His desire to help his friends wins out, and he interferes in their fight and stops it. Patrick at this point finds out that the monster is Squidward, according to SpongeBob. He blames his button for not telling him. Squidward angrily takes the restraining order from SpongeBob, who begs him for mercy, to which Squidward tells him to hand him a pen. SpongeBob hands Squidward a pen and continues to cry before Squidward tells SpongeBob he is not going to jail. Instead of sending SpongeBob to jail, Squidward uses the pen to take SpongeBob's name off the restraining order, releasing him from it (which is what he originally intended to do before being interrupted by Patrick). He then adds that he’s replacing "SpongeBob SquarePants" with "someone who's far more deserving." Patrick then says sorry to his button, before Squidward tells Patrick that he is on the restraining order, not his button and the episode ends with Patrick laughing hysterically for seemingly no reason.

Production[]

Before "Restraining SpongeBob" was conceived, a different episode named "Whispering Tentacles" was in its place. It had the production code of 268-814, and it was confirmed by a post on Vincent Waller's "Incoherent-Thought" blogspot on June 29, 2010. The blog post had an image of a doodle of a man named "RatBoy," while on the top left, the episode's title could be seen, being produced in Paul Tibbitt's office.[1]

RatBoy

"Whispering Tentacles" sheet

Sometime during 2010 or 2011, "Whispering" got scrapped and this episode took its place. The episode's codes (#814A/#814B) were likely lettered to notify the difference between the two. The former's title is still used on several international TV guides, such as iDNES Europe.[2]

A model sheet of the button fron this episode was shipped on June 15, 2011, and was revised on September 21.

The episode was confirmed and added to the US Copyright Office on March 12, 2012,[3] along with its sister episode "Fiasco!"

Model sheets[]

Music[]

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Bikini Bottom Bound - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [title card]
  You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [opening]
  Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [Squidward grumbles]
  Jolly Little Roger - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [at the Krusty Krab]
  Dramatic Bridge 4 - Phil Green [Squidward screams]
  Drama Link (G) - Hubert Clifford [Squidward is fried]
  Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob trips on the mop]
  Action Stations 1 - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["Squidward, can you hear me?"]
  Straight from Hell - Gregor F. Narholz [Squidward runs away from SpongeBob]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 8D - Jeremy Wakefield ["Well, you really set him over the edge this time."]
  Happy Sack Shanty - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [one shift later...]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 22A - Jeremy Wakefield [restraining order]
  People's Court - Alan Stanley Tew [Squidward's lawyers appear]
  Wah Wah Watson Lives - Nicolas Carr [Guitar overlays "People's Court"]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Huh?"]
  People's Court - Alan Stanley Tew [lawyers fly away]
  Wah Wah Watson Lives - Nicolas Carr [Guitar overlays "People's Court"]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Hmm..."]
  The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band [SpongeBob making Krabby Patties]
  Captain Lenoe's - Michael Arthur, Colin Cater, Mick Graves, The Folk Players, Sarah Graves, Simon Ritchie ["Oops."]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield [Krabs wipes mustard off his clothes with the restraining order]
  Dramatic Impact (2) - Ivor Slaney [Krabs removes a gold star from SpongeBob's employee performance chart]
  Hgliss & Bell - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob gets an idea]
  A Simple Conversation 1 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick hired]
  Add Lib Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Patrick annoying Squidward]
  The Chumbucket Rhumba - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward washing his hands]
  Add Lib Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Patrick still annoying Squidward]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Huh?"]
  Silly Bob Conversation 1 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Hi, Squidward."]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 19A - Jeremy Wakefield ["We're gonna need a new plunger."]
  Lopey Sailor's Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["Nice work, Patrick!"]
  Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick bites Squidward's nose]
  Cocksure Capers - Phil Green ["Squidward's funny!"]
  Horror Crash - Harry Lubin [pie in Squidward's face]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 4B - Jeremy Wakefield ["I'm allergic to sea berries!"]
  Drama Link (G) - Hubert Clifford ["Monster!"]
  Sword Fight - Sam Fonteyn [Patrick attacks Squidward]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 40A - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob cries because he broke the restraining order]
  Another Best Day Ever - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob's restraining order is removed; ending.]

Release[]

Trivia[]

General[]

SpongeBobCommonStockArt

Promotional art of SpongeBob that was used as silhouettes in the title card.

  • Multiple silhouettes of one of the most commonly used pieces of SpongeBob promotional art are plastered across the title card.
  • Patrick is seen wearing a hat in this episode, however, he didn't fall over, unlike the episode "No Hat for Pat."
  • It is revealed that Squidward is allergic to seaberries, which causes his whole body to swell up.
  • Patrick wears his Krusty Krab employee hat sideways throughout the episode.
  • When Bald draws the circle on the ground to indicate 15 feet, it encompasses the restroom, so there would be no way for SpongeBob to go to the bathroom while Squidward is at his post. However, in the episode "Breath of Fresh Squidward," it is revealed that SpongeBob has an employees-only bathroom in the kitchen.
  • This is the third episode to contain SpongeBob on a title card. The first was "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?," and the second was "Oral Report."
  • In Germany, this episode has two title cards.[citation needed]
  • Hairy, Combover, and Bald's (Squidward's lawyers) names match their hairstyles.
  • To date, this episode marks the last usage of the track "When Daylight Shines / Captain Lenoe's," although only its ending sting is heard.
  • This episode marks the only time the track "The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka" is played in season 8.
  • This is the second episode in which SpongeBob gets a star deducted from whatever record he has, following his Good Noodle Star in "New Student Starfish."
    • Unlike the former episode, SpongeBob does not throw a tantrum when he loses a star.
  • This is the second episode in which SpongeBob does calisthenics after "Procrastination."
  • This is the second time someone has been involved in a deep fryer accident. This time, it's Squidward who falls into the deep fryer. The first was "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" where Mr. Krabs was involved.
  • This episode marks the start of the "Two Whole Weeks of Never Before Seen SpongeBob" event.
  • This was the last episode to ever be written by Paul Tibbitt before he left the show after season 9.
  • The April 20, 2023 8:19pm encore of this segment was paired up with the commercial-free premiere of the Erin & Aaron episode, "Piano Man."[4]

Errors[]

  • At the beginning of the episode, when SpongeBob is talking to Squidward, one of his eyelashes are missing.
  • When Bald draws the circle, it starts on the right side of the kitchen door frame and ends on the right side of the bathroom door frame. However, in some scenes, the circle starts on the left side of the kitchen door frame and ends on the right side of the bathroom door frame (usually on the wide angles).
  • When Patrick has Squidward's nose in his mouth, his eyebrows disappear for a second.
  • Mr. Krabs uses the restraining order to get mustard off him, but the next time it is seen, there is no mustard on it.
  • When Squidward goes face first into the pie, his workstation is missing.
  • When Squidward hits SpongeBob's face, SpongeBob's arm is transparent for a split-second.

References[]

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