"I've been working for the Chum Bucket for almost five minutes."
The top contenders for the gold medal have traditionally been Mr. Krabs and Plankton. This year, however, SpongeBob has been chosen to represent the Krusty Krab and is diligently warming up to compete. Patrick wanders by and also wants to play in the games, but is shut down by SpongeBob as only fry cooks may enter. Patrick scoffs at this, considering fry cooking to be no great feat. After a heated argument, Patrick storms off while SpongeBob intensifies his workout.
Plankton soon enters the stadium and engages in verbal fisticuffs with Mr. Krabs. Plankton reveals he has also recruited a contender to represent the Chum Bucket and calls forth a colossal giant. Strapped to his back is Patrick, who turns out to be the new fry cook Plankton hired five minutes prior. Now standing on equal ground, SpongeBob and Patrick each vow to defeat the other, despite feeling more hurt than angry. Mr. Krabs and Plankton fan the flames of their charges' rivalry, inciting them to show no mercy in the games.
In their first event, the "Deep Fry Pole Vault," SpongeBob pulls off a nearly perfect jump, while Patrick only manages to scald the audience into fish sticks. Next, during the "Chocolate High-Dive," SpongeBob also does well, but Patrick is able to out-perform him with his concentration and impeccable form. The events continue, the two combatants maintaining an even score all the way to the final challenge: "Bun Wrestling."
As the bell sounds for the fight to begin, SpongeBob and Patrick rip off their robes to reveal muscularly toned bodies before leaping up and colliding with each other midair. They go at each other in fury, their grudges driving them more than their loyalty to their restaurants. They pull off increasingly dirty moves, practically torturing one another. They eventually end up in a grapple, each straining to bring the other one down, until the strain finally proves too much for their pants to take. They tear away to reveal that all along, SpongeBob and Patrick each wore underwear in the color of his best friend.
Moved to tears, the two friends reconcile and agree never to fight each other again, walking side by side out of the arena. This does not sit well with the spectators, Mr. Krabs and Plankton's blood-lust remaining unsatisfied as the managers try to get them to come back and fight again. As SpongeBob and Patrick leave, Patrick notes that his underwear were originally white.
‣Up She Rises - Sam Spence [title card] ‣ ? [faint drums at the opening] ‣Age of Discovery - Sam Spence [lighting the torch/lighting the torch again] ‣Bonnie Blue Gal - Sam Spence [announcer talks about the rivalry between Krabs and Plankton] ‣ ? [drum roll] ‣Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr [after drum roll] ‣Heavenly Voices (b) - David Farnon [choir] ‣Andy Anorak - Chris Marshall [SpongeBob and Patrick arguing] ‣ ? - Nicolas Carr ["What's that smell in the air?"] ‣Six Powerful Cues (d) - Wilfred William Burns ["I smell Plankton!"] ‣Superquick (b) - Daniel Jean Jeannin [Krabs and Plankton approach each other] ‣Iron and Steel Fanfare - John Epping, Cristoph Narholz ["Are you ready to do or die, Krabs?"] ‣Monster Bug (a) - Gregor F. Narholz [Plankton introducing his competitor] ‣Royal Gala - Dick Stephen Walter ["...Patrick Star!"] •Steel Licks 4 - Jeremy Wakefield ["I can't believe it, Mr. Krabs."] ‣Big Ed's March - Sam Spence [Plankton and Krabs' pep talks] ‣Caesar's Entry - Gregor F. Narholz [deep fry pole vault] ‣The Equalizer - Sam Spence ["For the Krusty Krab!"] ‣Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob forms a number one sign] ‣The Equalizer - Sam Spence ["Win this one because I told you to."] ‣A Chilling Championship - Sam Spence [chocolate high dive] ‣Who's This (d) - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy [drum roll] ‣Tightrope (e) - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy [drum roll] ‣And Now (a) - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy ["And just look at that even coating!"] ‣Zelle 501 - Gerhard Trede ["Almonds?! Curse him, that's good."] ‣Zelle 505 - Gerhard Trede [Patrick on the high dive] ‣ ? [drum roll] ‣Ta-Ra C - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy [live-action ice cream cone] ‣Jungle Baby - Hans Ehrlinger [montage of events] ‣Skills 2 Make Mills - David Robidoux [bun wrestling] ‣Puka B - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [ending]
"The Fry Cook Games" was ranked #59 during the Best Day Ever event on November 9–10, 2006.
Trivia
General
This episode premiered in Canada on November 27, 2002, over a year after it premiered in the United States.
The "Please stand by" screen after the failed attempt of the torch is also seen at the ending of "Shanghaied," after Patchy attempts to make the viewers walk the plank. A similar one is seen in "Ugh," when Patchy loses his balance while riding a fake dinosaur.
The scene where Patrick yells, "My name's not Rick!" and where SpongeBob and Patrick scream at each other and the big fish yells have become famous internet memes.
SpongeBob telling Patrick he has no fingernails is similar to "Hooky," where he tells Patrick he has no fingers, which is then followed by Patrick becoming angry after SpongeBob says it.
At the end of this episode, Patrick says his underwear was originally white. This means that he urinated in them.
In this episode, SpongeBob is able to do push-ups. However, in "MuscleBob BuffPants" during Sandy's workout, he hurts his arms after attempting to do just one.
In this episode, SpongeBob is also stronger than usual and having a muscular body, but he is shown to be very weak physically in "MuscleBob BuffPants" to the point that he wears a pair of inflatable fake arms to look strong, only for the arms to burst while he is struggling to throw a heavy anchor.
Plankton says that the square is "the shape of evil."
It is never revealed who won the Fry Cook Games at the end of the episode.
This is the second time in the series where Squidward makes no appearance in both episodes in the segment.
This is the second episode where SpongeBob is shown muscular. The first is "MuscleBob BuffPants."
In Argentina, Telefe censured the timecard "PLEASE STAND BY."
SpongeBob's muscular design would later be used on the title screen for Reef Rumble.
Cultural references
The Fry Cook Games is a spoof of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Throwing a big straw in cola is a reference to the javelin throw.
SpongeBob name-calls Patrick "Conehead!," referencing the 1993 movie Coneheads.
In the montage, there is a scene where Patrick and SpongeBob wear dresses and a fruit hat. This is a reference to Carmen Miranda.
The scene where SpongeBob bites the chain for his teeth is a reference to the Pokémon move, Iron Defense.
Errors
After Patrick rips off part of the ground underneath SpongeBob, the next shot shows the ground fully intact and a stone appears.
When the fish holding Patrick arrives, he breaks the wall, but when he screams after Patrick and SpongeBob scream, the wall is put back together.
When Patrick is holding SpongeBob's foot, his sock is the same length as the other, but when Patrick is licking it, it is longer than the other.
When Plankton announces the giant fish holding Patrick and Frank tries to run away frighteningly, there are two Nat Petersons and Freds in the audience
Two Nat Petersons and two Freds
.
When Patrick takes off SpongeBob's right shoe, the toes on his right foot are switched around, making it look like he has two left feet.
SpongeBob's foot normally has four toes, but when Patrick is licking it, his foot has five toes.
When Patrick says "Because I told you to" there are duplicate fish in the audience.
Duplicate fish.
When Plankton says "Almonds?," his mouth does not move.
After SpongeBob does the "Deep Fry Pole Vault," one of the audience members has a deformed face.
In one of the challenges in the montage scene, Patrick does not have his white shirt on.
On most recent airings on Nickelodeon, the title card is missing. However, it was restored on the September 30, 2019 airing.
However, Nicktoons U.S. keeps the title card intact.
On the March 24, 2019 airing of this episode on Nicktoons U.S., the sound effect with the EBS color bars was different; it did not feature the tone but another unknown sound effect.
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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