Shell Games

Template:Episode/251a

Characters

• Patrick Star
• Squidward Tentacles
• SpongeBob SquarePants ^(cameo)
• Larry the Lobster ^(cameo)
• Screwhead guy ^(debut)
• Manicure guy ^(debut)
• Mohawk guy ^(debut)
• Spikes guy ^(debut)
• Mel ^(debut)
• Tony ^(debut)
• Turtle ladies ^(debut)
• Bikini Bottomites
• Old Man Walker ^(cameo)
• Nat Peterson ^(cameo)
• Monroe Timmy Billy ^(cameo)
• Susie ^(cameo)
• Taylor ^(cameo)
• Tyler ^(cameo)

Synopsis

The episode begins with a sea turtle named Tony getting ready to see the turtle ladies at Goo Lagoon. He begins his daily routine by playing music from his record player, trying to lift his weights, eating a breakfast in a can, and brushes his teeth until his mirror cracks to think that the turtle ladies will see him like this. So he decides to make himself clean and gets himself out of shell and leaves. Squidward begins to celebrate because he thinks that Patrick is leaving.

While Tony is walking for getting himself clean Patrick wakes up and climbs on top of Tony's shell to break his morning almond with a wooden hammer. When Tony hears the whack he starts wobbling to make Patrick get off of his shell, and Patrick thinks that his rock is moving. So Patrick grabs Tony and put wear it belongs so uses a jackhammer and and a bomb to break his morning almond. So Tony explains to Patrick that his rock is his shell so vanmoose. But Patrick doesn't want to leave so he glues himself on top of Tony's shell. So they go to the barber shop to remove Patrick from on top of his shell, and a spa so that Patrick will get dehydrated from the steam, but both of these two don't make Patrick leave.

They make it to Goo Lagoon to meet the turtle ladies, but they are more interested in Patrick which makes Tony jealous. So he pops out of his shell, which leads Patrick to go inside of his shell. When Patrick makes it into his shell he uses his record collection as a frying pan, using a frying pan as record, and tearing his wall-art. So they cause havoc inside of his shell which causes chaos in Goo Lagoon, tipping over buildings, being tied by a swing set, and destroying the Krusty Krab from which Patrick made a to go order. Eventually, a giant rock destroys their home, causing them to start crying, and the turtle ladies to decide to vanmoose. Patrick gets an idea for a home that they can share. They decide to use Squidward's House as a rock and a shell. The episode ends with Squidward arriving home from shopping, and seeing his house being taken, he starts to chase after them.

Production

The episode was confirmed by Vincent Waller on June 9, 2019.

Art

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 • Pineapple Luau - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]

 ‣ Comedy Punctuations and Bridges 3 - Fredric Bayco ["I think I overslept."/"Ah! I was supposed to meet the girls at the beach!"]
 ‣ ? [Tony the turtle eats his breakfast and washes his teeth]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (o) - Jeremy Wakefield [Tony tries to open the door of his shell]
 ‣ Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Oh, boy! How long was I out?"]
 ‣ Hot Steel and Slide Licks - Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh, nasty!"]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (t) - Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward thinks Patrick moves somewhere else]
 ‣ Danse Comique - Kenny Graham [Patrick wakes up under Tony's stomach while he walks]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (s) - Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh, you gotta be kidding me! How'd I get back here?!"]
 ‣ Short Rising Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick trying to open his walnut on top of Tony's shell]
 • Light Conversation 1 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["I'm trying to enjoy a snack."]
 ‣ Flashback - Nicolas Carr [Patrick thinking what a "Van Moose" is]
 • Light Conversation 1 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Tony tells Patrick to leave his shell and he refuses]
 ‣ ? [Tony and Patrick go inside Mel's Man Salon]
 ‣ Bridge 3 - Wilfred Burns [Tony learns he was overslept inside his shell for 30 years]
 ‣ Buying Spree - William Loose [Mel shaving Tony's beard]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (v) - Jeremy Wakefield [Tony and Patrick leave Mel's Man Salon]
 ‣ Happy-Go-Lucky - Ernest Tomlinson [Tony enters with Patrick at Bikini Bottom Bath House]
 ‣ Surf 02 158 D - Dieguis Productions/Big Fish Audio [Tony arrives with Patrick at Goo Lagoon to meet the turtle girls]
 ‣ Clown in Town - Philippe Pares [Tony gets mad at Patrick for destroying the stuff inside his shell]
 • Sponge Monger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Tony and Patrick fighting inside the shell]
 • Earl's Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [The shell spinning around Bikini Bottom while it destroys stuff]
 ‣ Comedy Punctuations and Bridges 4 - Fredric Bayco [Kids swing in the shell/"Get away from me, you brats!"/Kids leave the shell sadly]
 • Earl's Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [The shell is hit by a piece of coral and is destroyed]
 • Salt Water Works - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Tony and Patrick apologize to each other while crying]
 ‣ Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [Patrick gets an idea]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks (X) - Jeremy Wakefield ["Hey, wait a minute. I know another rock we can share!"]
 ‣ Danse Comique - Kenny Graham [Ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 20 Digital Release.

Trivia

General

• Although this episode premiered in 2020, it was made in 2019 according to the credits.
• This and "Jolly Lodgers" are the least-viewed episodes in the series, with 0.80 million U.S. viewers.
• Tony is the very first sea turtle to appear in the SpongeBob SquarePants series. They were previously mentioned in "Chum Caverns."
• This is the fourth episode to use sand as the title card background, the first being "Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm," the second being "Rise and Shine," and the third being "Sand Castles in the Sand."
• It is revealed that Patrick's rock is actually the shell of a sea turtle who overslept.
• When this episode first aired, it was paired up with "Jolly Lodgers."
• This along with "Jolly Lodgers" was aired on what would have been Rik Mayall’s 62nd birthday, 12 years after "Penny Foolish" premiered, and six years after Hal Douglas died.
• SpongeBob only appears for about 10 seconds in front of the Krusty Krab in this episode. The story instead focuses on Patrick and the introduction of new characters. This episode marks SpongeBob's second smallest cameo, after "Mall Girl Pearl" but smaller than "Whale Watching." As in the former, he only has one line, while in the latter, he only laughs.
  • Both of SpongeBob's previous cameos were in episodes focusing on Pearl, making this the first non-Pearl episode where SpongeBob has a minor cameo.
  • SpongeBob's cameo in this episode is subtly acknowledged when Patrick refers to him as "the little yellow guy."
• Squidward says, "So long, you big pink loser!," which is a reference to the episode of the same name.

Cultural references

• The episode's title is a reference to the gambling game in which a confidence trick is used to perpetrate fraud.
• One of the posters in Tony's shell features a band named Fissh, a reference to the American rock band Kiss.
• Another poster features a band named Lynyrd Squidyrd, which references another American rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
• A record and a poster both feature a band named Mötley Cärp, which is a reference to the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.
• A Rubik's Cube can be seen on Tony's nightstand.
• A poster in Mel's Man Salon says "Shave and a Haircut, only 2 Bits," referencing the tune.