"TV or Not TV" is a The Patrick Star Show episode from season 4. In this episode, Bunny and Cecil want to celebrate "Spend Time with One of Your Kids Day" with Patrick and Squidina, but their kids would rather spend their time watching TV.
Characters[]
- Patrick Star
- Squidina Star
- Bunny Star
- Cecil Star
- Bubble Bass
- Flying Dutchman (on painting and in VR; likeness only)
- King Neptune (on painting)
- Scallops and clams (on painting)
- Sea urchin (on painting)
- Big Lenny (pictured)
- Sir Urchin (on TV)
- Snail Fail (on TV)
- SpongeBob SquarePants (in VR; likeness only)
- Jellyfish (in VR)
- Pat-Tron (in VR; likeness only)
- Sheldon J. Plankton
- Karen Plankton
- Sea bunny (plush cameo)
- Sea bear (plush cameo)
- Seahorse (plush cameo)
- Worm (plush cameo)
- Gary the Snail (plush cameo)
- Incidentals
- Gaptooth thug
- Bearded man (single appearance)
Synopsis[]
Bunny and Cecil are excited to celebrate "Spend Time with One of Your Kids Day." However, Patrick and Squidina are watching The Sir Urchin & Snail Fail Show! and do not want to move from the couch, being taken for a day out despite their protests.
Bunny takes Patrick to a now-dingy part of town that she went to a kid. Patrick sees Sir Urchin & Snail Fail in a TV store display, which Bunny pulls him away from. She brings him to visit Dusty's Tattoo Parlor to get tattoos. Bunny gets one to commemorate Patrick's first tattoo, and Patrick decides to get one of a TV. Once he sees the needle, however, he gets nervous and hides. He gets a stick-on tattoo instead, turning the TV on before Bunny shows her new tattoo, a TV remote, to turn it off.
Elsewhere, Cecil is fishing off the Krusty Krab's roof with Squidina, to get lunch. Cecil catches someone's Krabby Patty, and when Squidina reluctantly casts, she pulls up an entire plate of Bubble Bass's patties. She then fishes up the Krusty Krab TV and watches it, but Cecil cuts the fishing line and drops it back down.
At the Bikini Bottom Mall, Patrick and Bunny are going clothes shopping. Cecil and Squidina are looking for something to do, when the Make-A-Chum Workshop bursts through the wall. Cecil buys a stuffed sea bear, and has it filled with chum while he picks out accessories. Karen, realizing Plankton is only doing this to dispose of rotten chum, goes into screensaver mode. Squidina gets an idea, puts her glasses on a plush that looks like her, and walks over to Karen.
After trying on various outfits, Patrick ends up in a suit of knight armor. Bunny looks inside to see that he has smuggled in a TV. Back at the Chum Bucket, Squidina turns Sir Urchin & Snail Fail on Karen's screen and watches it. Cecil heads over, only for his sea bear to overflow with chum, exploding and sending them flying out of the restaurant.
Bunny and Cecil are upset that Patrick and Squidina do not want to do anything with them. Cecil begins crying, as Squidina suggests they can still make the day a success by finding the right activity. Cecil cries into the VR Hut, so the whole family goes inside.
After suiting up, they enter virtual reality and find themselves with customizable avatars. They start play fighting and having fun. Patrick and Squidina then get the idea to recreate their own house, where the family sits on the couch and watches TV. Cecil asks the kids if this is more fun than staying at home, which they agree to.
Production[]
This episode was confirmed by Dave Cunningham on Twitter on February 13, 2025.[1]
Music[]
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
‣ Pizzicato Rockalong - Johnny Hawksworth [Title card and opening.]
• Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Theme - Nicolas Carr [The Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Show!]
• Royal Celebration Fanfare - Barry Anthony, Nicolas Carr [Spend Time With One of Your Kids Day.]
‣ Watch Out! - Dick Walter ["Still plenty of room on the couch."]
‣ Bassoon Link (B) - Richard Myhill [Bunny closes the door.]
‣ Hercule Poirot - Gerhard Trede [Patrick and Bunny walk down a shady street.]
‣ Full Metal Project - David Benaroch, Philippe Falcao [At Dusty's Tattoo Parlor.]
‣ Tricks and Traps - James McConnel [Patrick hides in a beard.]
‣ Box of Delights (A) - Dick Walter ["My little sweetie afraid of needles?"]
‣ ? [TV tattoo.]
• Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Theme - Nicolas Carr [Sir Urchin and Snail Fail on Patrick's TV tattoo.]
‣ Dog Gone - George French [Cecil shows Squidina how to fish.]
‣ Danger Lurks - C Bartholdy [Cecil catches a Krabby Patty.]
• Salty Squid Jig 2 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, James King [Squidina casts her hook.]
‣ One Over the Eight - Len Stevens [Squidina fishing.]
• Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Theme - Nicolas Carr [Sir Urchin and Snail Fail on the Krusty Krab TV./Bubble Bass turns on the TV.]
‣ Bahia Baby - Wolfgang Kaltenbach [At the shopping mall.]
‣ Ta-ra A - Sammy Burdson, John Fiddy [Make-A-Chum Workshop Grand Opening.]
‣ Ta-ra B - Sammy Burdson, John Fiddy ["New and exciting!"]
‣ Whimsical Walker - Remastered - Ronald Hanmer [Cecil and Squidina enter the Make-A-Chum Workshop.]
‣ Medieval Dance 4 - Norbert Condar [Patrick wearing knight armor.]
• Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Theme - Nicolas Carr [Patrick watching Sir Urchin and Snail Fail in the knight armor.]
‣ Nippy Nipper - Remastered - Tommy Reilly [Knight armor falls apart.]
• Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Theme - Nicolas Carr [Sir Urchin and Snail Fail on Karen's screen.]
‣ Prologue Of A Drama #9 - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch [Stuffed sea bear overfills with chum.]
‣ Beer Festival - Dick Walter [Knickerbockers and pointy boots.]
‣ Shock (F) - Dave Hewson ["You're not Squidina!"]
• Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Theme - Nicolas Carr [Squidina watching Sir Urchin and Snail Fail on Karen's screen.]
‣ Murder in Mind [#47] - Ronald Hanmer [Stuffed sea bear explodes.]
‣ Melodrama - Eric Spear [Cecil laments.]
‣ Epilog - Gerhard Trede [Cecil cries hysterically.]
‣ Musique De L'Infini - Jean-Jacques Perrey [The Stars enter VR.]
‣ L'Horloge Hantée - Harry Breuer, Jean-Jacques Perrey [The Stars customize themselves in VR.]
‣ Russian Rump - Harry Breuer, Jean-Jacques Perrey [Bunny chases Cecil.]
‣ Kazoodle - Paul James [Patrick's imagination.]
‣ Rush Hour-Traffic Jam - Harry Breuer, Jean-Jacques Perrey [Patrick and Squidina building in VR.]
‣ Many Good Wishes - Alfred Jack, Peter Esching [Ending.]
Release[]
Broadcast[]
- This episode premiered as part of the 2025 event "Friday Night Hits."
- This episode along with its sister episode, "A Tinkle in Time," were originally scheduled to premiere on April 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM,[2] before being moved back to its initial April 11 slot.
- Amazon Prime Video, American iTunes, Google Play, and the Microsoft Store released this episode early along with its sister episode on Saturday, April 5, 2025, six days before the American airdate.
Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode shares its title with a 1996 episode of The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat.
Cultural references[]
- This episode's title is a reference to the quote "to be or not to be" from Hamlet.
- Make-A-Chum Workshop is a reference to Build-A-Bear Workshop.