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Rock Bottom

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SpongeBob SquarePants Recap: Rock Bottom
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If you were looking for the article about the city, then see Rock Bottom (city).
If you were looking for the article about the ride, then see Rock Bottom Plunge.

"Rock Bottom" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season one. In this episode, SpongeBob gets stuck in Rock Bottom after taking the wrong bus home.

Characters

Synopsis

SpongeBob and Patrick board a bus in order to get home from Glove World!, a glove-themed amusement park that they enjoy. They accidentally board the wrong bus, which then takes them down a cliff. The cliff leads to a sort of aphotic zone called Rock Bottom, inhabited by multiple unusual and strange deep-sea animals. SpongeBob tells Patrick to wait while he goes to try and find a bus schedule. While SpongeBob is gone searching, Patrick gets on the bus to go home but accidentally leaves SpongeBob behind. SpongeBob tries to find a bus that will take him home but nothing happens.

Rock Bottom 056

Rock Bottom

After several unsuccessful attempts to get on a bus, SpongeBob heads to the bus station and waits in a very long line. By the time he gets to the front, he finds out that the last bus to Bikini Bottom will leave in a few seconds, but before he has time to react, it pulls away from the station.
Rock Bottom 202

"This is advanced darkness."

The ticketmaster tells SpongeBob that was the last bus until morning and leaves for the night, shutting off the lights in the process. SpongeBob, who is starting to show fear, takes out his glove flashlight, but the battery shorts out, leaving him in "advanced darkness". As he stands alone in the station giving himself a pep-talk, he hears the familiar raspberry sound echoing, and makes a mad dash back to the cliff. The raspberry sound is getting closer, and SpongeBob cowers in fear, yelling out a weak threat. As the creature closes in, a bright light engulfs SpongeBob, and he lets out a scream. He is relieved when he noticed the light is coming from a friendly-looking anglerfish creature who found SpongeBob's lost glove balloon. SpongeBob sarcastically thanks him for solving the balloon problem but begins rambling about his other problem: trying to get home. The anglerfish blows up the balloon and ties it to SpongeBob's wrist. SpongeBob makes another sarcastic comment about how the balloon already has enough air, while closing his eyes and blowing raspberries. He opens his eyes to see he is floating in the air and understands the anglerfish was helping him using the unorthodox method of balloon travel. He thanks the anglerfish for his help, who replies with a polite "you're welcome" and waves goodbye. SpongeBob is able to take the currents back to Bikini Bottom and directly to the front of his house. After he lands the balloon pops and the episode ends with Patrick, riding on a bus back to Rock Bottom thinking SpongeBob is still stuck there.

Production

Storyboard

Art

Music

( ‣ ) Associated production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Moon Walk - John Fox [Title card]
 ‣ Roll Up Waltz [#11.05] - Andrew J J Hall [opening at Glove World!]
 • SpongeBob Closing Theme - Steve Belfer, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob and Patrick on the bus]
 ‣ Missile Disaster - John Fox [Bikini Bottom City Limits]
 ‣ On Fire - Gregor F. Narholz [bus drives down a cliff]
 ‣ Moon Walk - John Fox [SpongeBob and Patrick in Rock Bottom]
 ‣ Mavericks - The Woodies [SpongeBob chasing the bus]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill [waiting for next bus]
 ‣ Vibe Link (b) - Richard Myhill ["Uh-oh, shoe's untied."]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill [SpongeBob still waiting]
 • Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [The wind blows SpongeBob's balloon away]
 • SpongeBob Theme - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [someone chases SpongeBob's balloon.]
 ‣ Kamakani (b) - Kapono Beamer ["Well, there goes another one."]
 ‣ Orchestral Effect (f) - Dick Stephen Walter [glove candy dispenser]
 • Gator - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob sees a candy machine]
 ‣ Pell-Mell - Sam Spence [pushing buttons on machine]
 • ? - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob reaches toward the candy bar]
 ‣ Deadline - Sam Spence [SpongeBob goes to the bus station]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [329th in line]
 ‣ On the Beach - Kapono Beamer [clock ticking]
 ‣ Menace from the Deep - Robert Cornford [lights turned off]
 ‣ Death Trap [#25] - Gregor F. Narholz [someone approaching]
 ‣ Royal Hawaiian Hula - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob's balloon travel home]
 ‣ Honolulu March - Hans Haider [ending]

*On The Complete 1st Season and The First 100 Episodes DVDs, "Mavericks" is replaced with "El Dementia" by The Surfdusters.

Release

Reception

  • "Rock Bottom" was ranked #79 during the Best Day Ever event on November 9–10, 2006.

Trivia

General

  • The title card is similar to the one used for "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost," except it is recolored and backwards.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of Glove World!
  • The Fiery Fist O' Pain is seen open in this episode, but in "Roller Cowards," it just opened.
  • Residents of Rock Bottom all speak by blowing a raspberry in between words. When SpongeBob tries to speak normal to the fish at the bus station, the fish could not understand his "accent" until SpongeBob starts to blow his tongue to speak.
  • Rock Bottom's other areas are never shown in this episode. SpongeBob only stays near the bus stop, bus station, and the entrance road, not going any further. However, in some video games, such as Battle for Bikini Bottom and SpongeBob's Boating Bash, Rock Bottom's other locations and sights are shown.
  • Mr. Lawrence stated that the idea for this episode came from getting on the wrong bus as a kid and the bus driver going the entire route before he would let him and his friend off in the right place, which frightened them both.[citation needed]
  • The opening credits for this episode are in light blue instead of the regular navy blue.
    • This is also the case for its sister episode, "Arrgh!"
  • 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," "Employee of the Month," and "Karate Choppers."
  • The fish who works at the Rock Bottom bus station who give schedules of when the buses are coming is the same fish who stole SpongeBob's Kelp Nougat Crunch candy bar from the vending machine.
  • As the bus carrying SpongeBob and Patrick descends down the cliff face, the dramatic incidental music is from the song "Whirlpool," performed by the Detroit, Michigan surf band The Volcano.
  • In the level "Rock Bottom" from Battle for Bikini Bottom and Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, when the player first starts this level and runs toward the Kandy Machine near the bus stop, a bus will drive up, stop at the bus stop for a second, and then continue driving. This is a reference to the incident in this episode.
  • The Dutch title of this episode is "Wachten op de Bus," which translates to "Waiting For The Bus."
  • The bus stop sign reads "BUZ" with a "Z" at the end instead of an "S" at the end. The vending machine sign has a "K" replacing the "C," and the "N" is backwards.
  • The buttons that SpongeBob presses for a Kelp Nougat Crunch are A-B-E-F-A-C-F-E-C.
  • This episode marks the first mentioning of Grandpa SquarePants, when SpongeBob imitates him. However, his first actual appearance is in "The Sponge Who Could Fly," albeit in a thought bubble.
  • The citizens of Rock Bottom are based on deep-sea animals, and Rock Bottom is apparently a deep-sea trench.
  • There is an online game based on this episode called Bikini Bottom or Bust.
  • In the Croatian dub, this episode is titled "Dno Dna" or "Bottom Floor."
  • SpongeBob saying "This isn't your average everyday darkness, this is...advanced darkness!" has become an internet meme.
  • This episode inspired the 2008 roller coaster SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge, at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.
  • This episode, along with "Arrgh!," as well as "Valentine's Day"/"The Paper," rarely airs on the British Nicktoons.[citation needed]
  • This is the only episode to end with a bubble transition.
  • On the old Nickelodeon website, this episode is alternatively known as "The Bus."
  • The audio of SpongeBob saying "Hey!" after the bus passes the first time he goes to the vending machine is taken from the bus driver's line in "Help Wanted."
  • This episode's working title is "The Wrong Bus."[citation needed]
  • This is the last episode written by Ennio Torresan before he left for Disney and later DreamWorks Animation.
  • In the Spanish (Latin American) dub, after Spongebob shouts 'Tartar sauce' (Salsa tartara), instead of speaking gibberish afterwards, he shouts "...las percebes, tentaculos, medusas" ([the] barnacles, tentacles, jellyfish) then speaks gibberish. [*]
  • During the January 21, 2013 airing, it was paired up with "Sandy's Rocket."[citation needed]

Cultural references

  • The episode's name could possibly be a reference to the phrase "hitting rock bottom," which is a phrase normally in relation to addiction.
  • Rock bottom is a figure of speech that means at the lowest possible level, fitting its location.

Errors

  • At the beginning of this episode, when SpongeBob says "Another funtastic day at Glove World!," his lips do not move when he says "Glove World."
    • This was fixed on The Complete 1st Season DVD.
  • If the scene when SpongeBob and Patrick are boarding the bus is played frame-by-frame, SpongeBob's right arm is missing, but appears for a brief moment.
16

SpongeBob's arm is missing.

  • The second time when SpongeBob checks for money in his pants, the pocket is fully brown.
  • When the bus is going down the road, SpongeBob and Patrick fly to the back, but since the bus was heading down, they should have flown forward to the front of the bus.
  • When SpongeBob looks at the vending machine, it is facing him, but when he is choosing the candy he wants, it is facing the opposite side of the road at a 90 degree angle.
  • When SpongeBob yells at the man at the bus station, a sign that reads "Information" can be seen above the window, but when the lights shut off, the sign disappears.
  • When SpongeBob and Patrick arrive at Rock Bottom, there is no candy machine.
  • When SpongeBob and Patrick get on the bus, there is a fish sleeping on one of the seats, but when they arrive at Rock Bottom, he is gone.
  • When SpongeBob looks for a bus schedule, he has his balloon, but when he chases after the bus, the balloon is not in his hands. Then, in the next scene, he has his balloon again.
  • When SpongeBob is first seen dialing the letters on the candy machine, the sign titled "BUZ" disappears. It reappears in the next scene.
  • When SpongeBob chases the bus, his running animation shows him running forward. However, he actually runs to the side.
  • When the cardboard SpongeBob is at the candy machine, it does not smile, but it smiles when it falls.
    Polish 20200125 131858038

    The cardboard cutout on the left isn't smiling, but the one on the right is smiling when the cardboard cut out begins to fall.

  • When the bus stops in Rock Bottom, the bubbles behind it freeze in mid-air.
  • The distance between the bus stop and when the road goes up varies between scenes.
  • The storyboard artists are not credited in this episode. Only the storyboard directors are credited.
  • When SpongeBob chases after the bus Patrick is in, the exit in Rock Bottom is a greater distance away than it was in the prior scenes.
  • In one scene when SpongeBob is sneaking up on the bus, his holes are missing.
    Polish 20200125 132424957

    His holes are missing.

  • In the bus station, when the lights turn off, the !ИFθRNNA|-'iθИَ sign disappears, but a few scenes later, it reappears.
Rock Bottom 226

His house is next to Bikini Bottom, Squidward's and Patrick's house are missing, and the pineapple is edited poorly.

  • There are few errors in this scene.
    • When SpongeBob flies above Bikini Bottom, his house is in the center of Bikini Bottom, but when he gets to his house, his house is no longer surrounded by lots of houses around it.
    • Patrick's and Squidward's house are missing, but in the next scene they reappear.
    • SpongeBob's pineapple is edited poorly.


Running gags

  • Whenever SpongeBob sees a bus and tries to run up to it, it quickly drives off.
  • Nat getting hit with SpongeBob's balloon while he searches for some money.

Video

Welcome to Rock Bottom! TBT SpongeBob

Welcome to Rock Bottom! TBT SpongeBob

References
Wikipedia logo This page uses content from Wikipedia (original • authors). Both Encyclopedia SpongeBobia and Wikipedia are licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license.

Awards and nominations for SpongeBob SquarePants (V • E)

Golden Reel Awards StatueStraight

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;" 2012)

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)

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