The SpongeBob Z to A Countdown was a marathon event that led up to the premiere of the TV special "Atlantis SquarePantis." In the weeks before the premiere of the episode, the fans voted online for their favorite episodes. The world premiere of the marathon started on November 12, 2007 at 9:00am EST. Each episode corresponded to a letter of the alphabet going in reverse order. It started with Z, for Plan Z in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
It ended with A, for "Atlantis SquarePantis." Additionally, a countdown clock would appear on the bottom right corner of the screen, displaying the amount of time left until the premiere of "Atlantis SquarePantis."
During the marathon at 5:00pm EST, Patchy the Pirate started to host the remainder of the marathon from the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. One hour later, Patchy went underwater for his underwater talk show.
After the H episode aired, Patchy the Pirate went through the top 3 reasons to go to Atlantis:
This is the second marathon to occur during hours normally taken up by the Nick Jr. block. The first is the Best Day Ever marathon.
The Patchy subplot during "Atlantis SquarePantis" was excluded during its original airing.
The special "Behind the Pantis," a behind-the-scenes look at "Atlantis SquarePantis," premiered immediately after that episode.
During the filming of the countdown's "Patchy the Pirate Underwater Talk Show" segments, the original puppet used for Potty the Parrot was accidentally destroyed, likely a result of it having been directly exposed to water, rather than being placed within glass or another protective surface. Far worse, the Underwater Talk Show segments were also filmed shortly after Tom Kenny departed from an airplane, which could have easily given him the bends, a condition which can prove fatal if not treated quickly.[26]
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"It's Squidward, silly!"
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^S is for "SpongeBob B.C.," the alternative title of "Ugh."
^According to Turbo Nick, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is put under the "R" category because "This Movie is rated R." Even though the movie is rated PG, no other explanation is given for this. It might be a reference to Squidward's joke in "Krab Borg," "Why couldn't the 11-year-old see the pirate movie? It was rated ARRRRR (R)!
