The Fry Cook Games

"The Fry Cook Games" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season two. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick compete in the Fry Cook Games.

Character

• Johnny Elaine
• Harold "Bill" Reginald
• Fred
• Evelyn
• Anchovies
• Charlie
• Cara
• Female Fry Cook Games Competitor ^(debut)
• Medley Fishbowl ^{(normal; gray)}
• Male Fry Cook Games competitor ^(debut)
• Gus
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Sheldon J. Plankton
• Norma Rechid
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Henry-Bart
• Patrick Star
• Nat Peterson
• Nazz-Mimi
• Shubie
• Nancy Suzy Fish
• Frank (muscular goldfish)
• Dennis (citizen)
• Buddy
• Tom
• Martin
• Mable-Monica
• Huge guy ^(debut)
• Francis
• Taylor Fishbowl
• Archie
• Billy (lime fish)
• Lou

Synopsis

At Bikini Bottom's Fast Food Coliseum, the 21st annual Fry Cook Games are underway. 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 Mr. Krabs and Plankton, their pride and blood-lust remaining unsatisfied and try to get them to come back and fight again. As SpongeBob and Patrick leave, Patrick notes that his underwear were originally white.

Production

Music

 ‣ ? [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 (e) - 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]

Release

• This episode is available on the Seascape Capers, The Best of Nickelodeon: Summer Adventures, Absorbing Favorites, Complete 2nd Season, First 100 Episodes, and Deep-Sea Games DVDs.

Reception

• As of September 9, 2018, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 9.0/10 based on 452 ratings by users.^[1] TV.com users give this episode a rating of 9.0/10 based on 149 votes.^[2]
• "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, 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 has 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."
• This is the third episode in which, at no point, SpongeBob wears his normal clothes. The first is "Ripped Pants" and the second is "Walking Small."
• The music played when Patrick says, "Because you told me to!" is also the opening music to the Nick GAS sketch "Heroes of the Game."
• This episode reveals that SpongeBob polishes his fingernails.
• Technically, a fish eating a fish stick would be cannibalism.
  • In the episode "Ditchin'," eating fish-shaped candies, such as Quasi-Gummy Chewy Candy Fish, is considered illegal.
• In Argentina, Telefe censured the timecard "PLEASE STAND BY."
• SpongeBob's muscular design would later be used on the title screen for Reef Rumble.
• This episode may take place after "Sportz?" because in that episode SpongeBob and Patrick didn’t know what sports were.

Cultural references

• The Fry Cook Games is a spoof of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
  • This is due to the fact that the upcoming (at the time the episode was made) 2002 Winter Olympics was held in Salt Lake City on February 8, 2002.
• Throwing a big straw in cola is a reference to the javelin throw.
• The huge guy carrying Patrick on his back is a reference to a scene in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.
• SpongeBob name-calls Patrick "Conehead!," referencing the 1993 motion picture 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 bun-wrestling scene may be a homage to Dragon Ball Z and WWE.
• In the opening of the episode, it is mentioned that Plankton once won a gold medal while competing with a broken antenna. This may be a reference to Olympic Champion and WWE Hall Of Fame Member, Kurt Angle, who won gold in the 1996 Olympics with a broken neck.

Errors

• The closed-captions refer to the 21st Annual Fry Cook Games as the 12th Annual Fry Cook Games.
• After Patrick rips off part of the ground underneath SpongeBob, the next shot shows the ground fully intact and a stone appears (for Patrick's use, to show SpongeBob how easy flipping really is).
• When SpongeBob and Patrick are leaving, Patrick is on SpongeBob's right, but moments later, he is on the left.
  • They could have decided to change sides when walking out.
• 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 in the audience.
  • There are also two Freds in the audience.
• 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 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.

Videos

References