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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
Toy Store of Doom 112
"I can't hear you! It's too dark in here!"

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Template:Episode/54

Characters

Synopsis

Act 1

The French narrator introduces another SpongeBob SquarePants special, hosted from Encino, California as it was 100 million years ago. From his cave-house, Patchy the Pirate, in a caveman costume, is introducing prehistoric times and talking about how great they were. However, Potty, in a futuristic robot costume, appears and says that prehistoric times were "lame" and the future is "where its at."

They begin arguing over whether SpongeBob himself likes prehistory or the future better. While working at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob feels a disturbance and tells Mr. Krabs that "I've got the strangest feeling that somewhere a pirate and parrot are arguing about me. And, the parrot is winning." As Patchy and Potty continue to argue, Patchy begins the episode.

The cartoon features prehistoric ancestors of SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick, named "SpongeGar," "Squog," and "Patar," respectively. SpongeGar, who is sleeping in his pineapple-shaped cave, is awakened by a distant herd of monstrous purple creatures, who produce a sound identical to that of SpongeBob's alarm clock that knocks the rock on SpongeGar. SpongeGar wakes up and takes his version of Gary, who is bigger than the prehistoric pineapple itself, out for a walk, and the large sea snail leaves a slime trail all over Squog's front yard. Squog comes out with one of his two clubs to complain to SpongeGar, but slips on the slime trail, sliding into Patar's rock, awakening its occupant, and eventually crashing back into his own house. SpongeGar and Patar begin to play, and SpongeGar uses a hollow log to blow a bubble. It then starts raining, and eventually lightning strikes the log, setting it on fire.

The three cavemen experiment with it, burning themselves in the process. Very soon, SpongeGar realizes that it can be used to cook food. The three begin cooking various items with it. These include flowers, the top of a mushroom, a kelp reed, a wood stick, a prehistoric ancestor of Eugene H. Krabs, seaweed flowers that look similar to corn on the cob, a green plant that looks like spaghetti, rocks that take the form of popcorn, and a Krabby Patty made of sand.

Act 2

File:Spongebob bc.jpg

Over the commercial break, Patchy and Potty continue to fight, now keeping score between the future and the past. Patchy then brings in a real live caveman, but Potty brings in a futuristic robot who begins repeatedly shooting the caveman with lasers.

At the end of the day, SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog are full from eating and say goodbye to each other as they head over to their homes. Suddenly, SpongeGar, Patar and Squog stop walking and they turn around, realizing that the fire is still out there. The three of them start fighting over who will keep the fire. They continue fighting until it starts raining again and puts the fire out. SpongeGar and Patar apologize to each other for fighting, but Squog blames them for putting it out and attempts to hit them over the head. Before he can do so, however, lightning strikes him and SpongeGar and Patar cook marshmallows over his charred body.

After the episode ends, Patchy is shown sitting outside his cave, apparently having lost to Potty. However, Potty comes outside and invites him back in, where Cavey the Caveman and the Robot Android Cyborg DX-294888 do a rap called "When Worlds Collide."

When Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide

Patchy began to have a change of heart about "loving" the future. The song montage features scenes from SpongeBob B.C. and "SB-129." The episode ends with Potty giving Patchy a "gift from the prehistoric times," that being a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which begins chasing him. Patchy says goodbye to the viewers, ending the episode while being eaten by the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Production

Art

Caveman language

SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog speak in a primitive language similar to English. Many words and sounds are taken from or based on English words/sounds.

Known meanings
Caveman Modern Day
Banooga Ready! I'm ready!
Tabonga Come on
Polinka Brain
Dumbo Dumb
Taila Foo Art
Tay make
Na not
Mowanga excellent
fwee fwee fire
Pooga slime
Pooca bother
Unga love
Monga stupid
Chonga go away!
Babwana give me
Wa watch
Bolapa burp
Gonaga good night
Gagonda forgot
Fagonda forget it
Tabanga do? it belongs to you, not me!
Wait a minute wait a minute
Money money
Manaka look
Molonka any
Yumma yummy
Fongar flowers
Tooka give
Bonga down
Go go
And and
Bawannagog crazy
Tabonga left
As behind
A a
Go o messy
Saila trail
Got got
No no
Wima soe ouch
Sutaka jakasa! why you little!

DVD edits

The French narrator saying "Stay tuned to SpongeBob B.C.," Patchy getting hit with a big rock, and the French Narrator saying, "They discovered fire. How long are they gonna take to mess it up? Let's see" are all cut from The Complete 3rd Season and The First 100 Episodes DVDs due to there being no commercials. These scenes are still intact on the SpongeBob Goes Prehistoric DVD and VHS. It can also be found on the Nick Picks Volume 1 DVD.

Music

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  A Pirate's Life for Me (a) - Ron Goodwin [Opening music]

  Monster Bug (a) - Gregor F. Narholz ["...100 million years ago!"]
  'Er Indoors - Johnny Hawksworth [Patchy riding a fake dinosaur/Patchy talks about prehistoric times]
  Lonely Stranger - Laurie Johnson [meanwhile at the Krusty Krab]
  'Er Indoors - Johnny Hawksworth [Patchy and Potty arguing]
  Pulse of Africa - Robin Hogarth ["Ugh" title card]
  Moon Walk - John Fox [primordial sea]
  Hawaii Jive Ho - David Jones [SpongeGar wakes up]
  African Xylophone [#97] - Mark Nolan ["Wait a minute..."]
  Cucu Chama - David Bradnum [Squog complaining about slime trail]
  Natives Bulletin - Jonny Teupen [Patar eats slime off Squog]
  African Xylophone [#97] - Mark Nolan [Squog yells at Patar.]
  Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Huh?"]
  Sangoma (d) - Richard Siluma [SpongeGar and Patar hitting themselves]
  Nyala - David Bradnum [rain]
  Cucu Chama - David Bradnum [thunder/lightning]
  Mystery Run [#98.03] - Geoff Bastow, Jim Harbourg [gong]
  Pulse of the Earth - Mauricio Venegas-Astorga [fire]
  Bongo Crazy [#43] - Martyn David, Alan Bell, Roger Stephen Dexter [SpongeGar and Patar scream in pain]
  Pulse of the Earth - Mauricio Venegas-Astorga [Patrick eats his hand]
  Glissando Up - Eric Allen [Squog hits Patar]
  Alpha to Omega (b) - Dave Hewson [SpongeGar stares at the stick.]
  Proclamation (a) - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeGar gets an idea/Squog eats the plant.]
  African Flute - Friedel Berlipp [roasting things over the fire]
  Bell Hop (a) - John Shakespeare ["I told you prehistoric times were fun!"/Robot attacks Cavey/"Welcome back to SpongeBob SquarePants B.C. Sounds like things have gone from bad to worse for Patchy. Let's watch."]
  African Flute - Friedel Berlipp [roasting more food]
  African Percussion (g) - Robin Hogarth [SpongeGar and Squog hitting each other]
  Pulse of Africa - Robin Hogarth [they fight over the log]
  Bare Foot - Robin Hogarth [Squog struck by lightning]
  The Dreadnought Tea Clipper (b) - Tim Laycock, Robert Alexander White ["Now I know how Squidward feels."]
  When Worlds Collide - Theo Mondle, Paul Tibbitt, Kent Osborne
  Monster Bug (a) - Gregor F. Narholz [dinosaur]
  The Girl I Left Behind Me - Brian Peters [ending]
  B.C. Strut - Steve Belfer [closing credits]

Release

Reception

Trivia

General

  • This episode and "F.U.N." tie for the shortest episode title in the series, with only three letters.
    • However, in terms of characters, this is the shortest title, with three characters in total.
  • This is the first episode where SpongeBob appears as a cameo. He also only has one line.
  • This is the first episode to use stock footage from previous episodes.
  • One part of the episode involves flashing lights, which is harmful to some viewers who have seizures.
  • In production order, this is the second double-length episode of season 3. The first is "Party Pooper Pants."
  • In the French dub, according to the French narrator, the episode takes place 100 millenia ago, but this is orders of magnitude inaccurate in light of the coexistence of various creatures seen in the episode (see approximate timeline below).[citation needed]
  • Squog says "Wait a minute" at one point, the only full English sentence spoken by any of the Cavemen.
  • Scenes from "SB-129" are seen during the "When Worlds Collide" sequence.
    • Primitive Sponge and Primitive Star drooling.
    • Squidward saying "Future!"
    • SpongeTron saying "I am SpongeTron."
  • The scene with the Primitive Jellyfish first appeared in the episode "SB-129."
  • The caveman whom Patchy found and thawed out is played by Bill Fagerbakke, who voices Patrick. Incidentally, Potty's robot is voiced by Tom Kenny, the portrayer of SpongeBob and Patchy.
  • On DirecTV and Amazon Prime, this episode is called "SpongeBob B.C. (Before Comedy)."[citation needed]
  • In the original airing and on the DVDs, the closed-captions where the characters are speaking caveman-like are listed as "speaking gibberish" or "gibberish" in the dialogue.[citation needed]
    • Example: SpongeGar's line "Banooga Ready!" (which means "I'm ready!") is written as "(speaking gibberish)."
  • The opening credits after the title card are unique. This episode marks the third time this has happened, the first two being "SB-129" and "Krusty Krab Training Video."
  • SpongeGar, Squog, and Patar discover fire and prove that it is able to exist underwater for the rest of the show's timeline.
  • The music used in the introduction of SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog is exactly the same music used for the title card of "Rock Bottom."
  • Excluding the narrator, Patchy, Potty, Cavey, Potty's Robot, the actual SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs during the "Meanwhile" time card, none of the dialogue in this episode episode was edited in the Korean version.
  • Patchy has brown eyes throughout the episode, but when his eyes bulge out of his head, they are blue.
  • Patchy's caveman cave house is in the Cretaceous period, while the past part of the cartoon part of the episode is in the Jurassic period.
  • The prehistoric part takes place sometime between 150,800 and 148,500 millennia ago because ammonites existed 400,000-66,000 millennia ago, sponges started to exist sometime between 635,000 and 541,000 millennia ago, starfish started to exist sometime between 541,000 and 485,400 millennia ago, pterodactyls existed 150,800–148,500 millennia ago, crabs started to exist sometime between 201,300 and 145,000 millennia ago, octopuses started to exist 323,200 millennia ago, snails started to exist sometime between 497,000 millennia ago and 485,400 millennia ago, and jellyfish started to exist 505,000 millennia ago.
  • The activities of SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog paint an (inconsistent) parallel with those of late archaic human species and early modern humans. It is thought that homo ergaster might have had a language, homo erectus discovered fire, and early modern humans domesticated animals, in that order. However, SpongeGar has a pet, and speaks a language with the other two, by the time all three discover fire onscreen. However, this discovery was made underwater, so the "late" discovery of fire (still around 150 million years earlier than homo erectus, according to the above timeline) can be excused. 
  • The episode marks first time one of Squidward's ancestors is seen, while the second time Patrick and SpongeBob's ancestors are shown.
  • This episode reveals that SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick's ancestors were neighbors just like their descendants.
  • This is the first SpongeBob media in which there is a rap song.
  • The atonal singing choir that is heard according to the episode's credits are Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Mr. Lawrence, Dee Bradley Baker, and Sirena Irwin.

Cultural references

  • The atonal singing of the barbershop quartet is a reference to the piece "Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs, and Orchestra" by György Ligeti, which was used in the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, whenever the monolith appeared.
    • The scene in which SpongeGar realizes that he can use a stick as a tool to take a piece of coral out of the fire pays direct homage to the Dawn of Man sequence from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, a famous scene in which a group of apes learn to use a bone as both a tool and weapon. In both cases, the narrative has portrayed these stories without the use of conventional dialogue (using nonsensical cave-ish speech in Ugh and using ape noises in 2001).
    • The music is also a direct homage, with a modernistic wailing piece used while SpongeGar makes his discovery, and music similar to the classical piece "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss played after SpongeGar's discovery, mirroring the use of those two pieces of music in 2001.
  • B.C. standing for "Before Comedy" is a parody of the Dionysiusian term "Before Christ."
  • In the scene where Squog tells SpongeGar that he is a genius and not an idiot, a speech bubble of Albert Einstein's face is shown. This is a reference to the fact that Einstein was genius.
  • The black and white stock footage of cavemen was taken from the 1914 silent film Brute Force, which is considered to be the first live-action dinosaur film.

Errors

  • When Patar punctures his lip, the stick is thick, but when SpongeGar stomps on a little crab, takes the stick out of Patar's lip, impales a small crab, and gives it to him, the stick is thin.
  • When Prehistoric Gary makes a snail trail on Squog's rocks, it is on the one closest to his house, but when Squog looks out the window, it is on the third one from his house.
  • Squog does not have a door in his house until he takes the fire to it.
  • When Squog snatches the fire from Patar, there is a flash of yellow as if SpongeGar took it.
  • Patchy's hook is shown on his left hand when he tells the audience that it was easier to hit a baseball in the Prehistoric times and tries to create fire, while in other scenes, it is on his right hand.
    • Also, in the next frame, after he introduces himself, he does not have his hook.
  • While SpongeGar sniffs his first charred flower on a stick, the roots are seen over his beard where the root parts over his beard are red.
  • When Squog chooses which club to use, he puts the one he did not want on the right. When it shows a close-up view, it is moved to the left.
  • When SpongeGar falls from the rope, it is implied that he falls into a pile of leaves. However, in both the shot where SpongeGar gets trapped and the one where he sees Patar and Squog running after the log, there are no leaves around.
  • During the visual of an ancient drawing of SpongeBob and Patrick squeezing up and down while "When Worlds Collide" plays, at one point during the animation loop, SpongeBob is missing the line that is supposed to resemble his pants.

Running gags

  • Patar putting salt on items and then eating them except Squog's tentacle, who hits Patar on the head to stop him from gnawing his tentacle.
  • Potty eating popcorn and saying "This is great" whenever bad things happen.
  • Squog slipping on Gary's slime trail and crashing at a house.

Video

References

Awards and nominations for SpongeBob SquarePants VE

Emmy Awards Cup Emmy

Primetime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)

Nominees: Sean Dempsey, Derek Drymon, Juli Murphy Hashiguchi, Sam Henderson, Stephen Hillenburg, Jay Lender, Mark O'Hare, Kent Osborne, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Tom Yasumi (for "New Student Starfish"/"Clams," 2003)Derek Drymon, Juli Murphy Hashiguchi, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt (for "Ugh," 2004)Mike Bell, C.H. Greenblatt, Stephen Hillenburg, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Fear of a Krabby Patty"/"Shell of a Man," 2005)Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Stephen Hillenburg, Tom King, Dani Michaeli, Chris Mitchell, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt and Tom Yasumi (for "Bummer Vacation"/"Wigstruck," 2007)Steven Banks, Charlie Bean, Stephen Hillenburg, Dani Michaeli, Chris Reccardi, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, Tom Yasumi (for "The Inmates of Summer"/"The Two Faces of Squidward," 2008)

Outstanding Short-format Animated Program

Nominees: Dina Buteyn, Stephen Hillenburg, Dani Michaeli, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt and Tom Yasumi (for "Dear Vikings," 2009)Luke Brookshier, Dina Buteyn, Nate Cash, Stephen Hillenburg, Doug Lawrence, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart and Paul Tibbitt (for "That Sinking Feeling," 2011)Marc Ceccarelli, Stephen Hillenburg, Kyle McCulloch, Jennie Monica, Jack Pendarvis, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Company Picnic," 2016)Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, Stephen Hillenburg, Jennie Monica, Adam Paloian, Alan Smart, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Plankton Paranoia," 2019)


Daytime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program

Directors: Andrew Overtoom, Andrea Romano, Alan Smart and Tom Yasumi (2010)Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash, Zeus Cervas, Sean Charmatz, Andrew Overtoom, Andrea Romano, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller and Tom Yasumi (2012)

Outstanding Special Class Animated Program

Animators: Dina Buteyn, Stephen Hillenburg and Paul Tibbitt (2010)

Outstanding Children's Animated Program

Nominees: Stephen Hillenburg, Jennie Monica Hammond and Paul Tibbitt (2012)Stephen Hillenburg, Marc Ceccarelli, Vincent Waller and Jennie Monica (2018)

Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program

Voice actors: Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles (2012)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2018)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2020)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2021)

Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation

Nominees: Todd Brodie, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Chris Gresham, Matt Hall, Jeffrey Hutchins, James Lifton, Paulette Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Aran Tanchum and Kimberlee Vanek (2012) • Mishelle Fordham, Vincent Guisetti, Jeffrey Hutchins, James Lifton, Paulette Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Wes Otis, Monique Reymond and Aran Tanchum (2013) • Devon Bowman, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Jeff Hutchins, Aran Tanchum and Vincent Guisetti (2014)

Outstanding Sound Mixing for an Animated Program

Nominees: D.J. Lynch, Justin Brinsfield, Ryan Greene, Manny Grijalva, Jeff Hutchins and Aran Tanchum (2020)

Outstanding Voice Directing for an Animated Series

Nominees: Tom Kenny (2021)


Children's and Family Emmy Awards

Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program

Voice actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2022)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2023)

Individual Achievement in Animation - Storyboard

Nominees: Benjamin Arcand (for "SpongeBob's Road to Christmas," 2022)

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