Welcome to the Chum Bucket

Template:Episode/34a

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Sheldon J. Plankton
  • Daydream Plankton
• Squidward Tentacles ^(cameo)
• Karen Plankton
• Guy on the calendar ^(debut)
• Robot SpongeBob ^(debut)
• Burger Creature ^(debut)
• Sea Elf ^(debut)
• Seahorse ^{(cameo on comic book cover)}
• Patrick Star ^{(cameo in comic book)}

Synopsis

It is closing time at the Krusty Krab, and Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob that he is off to play cards against Plankton. SpongeBob is shocked that Mr. Krabs would risk losing anything to an unscrupulous guy like Plankton. Mr. Krabs confidently explains that Plankton is the worst card player in Bikini Bottom losing the game every week for the last 15 years.

The next morning, Mr. Krabs, unaware that Plankton cheated in the card game, sadly informs SpongeBob that for the first time, he lost the game, and the wager of it has been not only SpongeBob's employment, but also, later on, Squidward's employment as well. Plankton arrives to spirit SpongeBob away to the Chum Bucket and immediately commands him to make a Krabby Patty, threatening to remove SpongeBob's brain and put it in a robot if he refuses to so. However, SpongeBob is unable to work in the Chum Bucket's cold, laboratory-like kitchen, and Karen suggests that with compassion and understanding, SpongeBob will come to obey.

"So now do you have everything you need to make some Krabby Patties?"

Plankton goes to great lengths to improve SpongeBob's working conditions, eventually converting the Chum Bucket kitchen into an exact replica of the Krusty Krab kitchen. As time goes on, however, SpongeBob's humble requests turn into selfish demands, culminating into a refusal to listen to Plankton altogether.

After being fed up, Plankton takes out SpongeBob's brain and implants it in the robot. He, still belligerent, refuses to make a Krabby Patty. Plankton then begs Mr. Krabs to take SpongeBob back, saying that he cannot stand him and admitting that he cheated. Mr. Krabs welcomes back the restored SpongeBob and encourages him to get back to cooking. SpongeBob still does not feel like working, but when is given one glare from Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob quickly changes his tune.

Production

Deleted scene

There was a deleted scene where Plankton was taking out SpongeBob's brain before he puts SpongeBob's brain into the robot. 

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Oyster Girls - Robert Alexander White [title card]
 ‣ Danger Zone - Mike Sunderland ["Plankton?!"]
 ‣ Spanish Ladies (b) - Robin Jeffrey, Tim Laycock ["Plankton is the worst card player in Bikini Bottom."]
 ‣ Botany Bay (b) - Robert Alexander White [Krabs crying the next morning]
 ‣ Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob laughs]
 ‣ Botany Bay (b) - Robert Alexander White ["I'm afraid you don't work here anymore."]
 ‣ Like Strange - Kenny Graham ["I'm afraid he's not joking."]
 ‣ Finger of Fear - Fredric Bayco [SpongeBob put in a cage]
 ‣ Hercule Poirot - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob at the Chum Bucket]
 ◦ This Grill is Not a Home - Eban Schletter, Paul Tibbitt
 ‣ Zelle 501 - Gerhard Trede ["All these tears? And the show tunes?"]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact 6 - Ivor Slaney [patty with arm]
 ‣ Wooden Bear - Gil Flat, Tony Tape, Florian Voelxen [Plankton moving the grill]
 ‣ The Rake Hornpipe - Robert Alexander White [replica of Krusty Krab kitchen]
 ‣ Lonely Violin - Dick Stephen Walter [SpongeBob cries]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill [vibrating shoes]
 ‣ Ulk-Fox Nr. 2 - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob getting spoiled]
 ‣ Frankenstein's Niece (d) - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob's brain put in robot]
 ‣ Steel Licks (a) - Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton screams]
 ‣ Paradise Isle - Jan Rap [Plankton begs Krabs to take SpongeBob back]
 ‣ Captain Lenoe's - Michael Arthur, Colin Cater, Mick Graves, The Folk Players, Sarah Graves, Simon Ritchie [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Halloween, Complete 2nd Season, First 100 Episodes, and SpongeBob, You're Fired! DVDs.

Reception

• As of August 24, 2016, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 9.3/10 based on 306 ratings by users. TV.com users give this episode a rating of 9.2/10 based on 172 votes.
• "Welcome to the Chum Bucket" was ranked #94 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.

Trivia

Template:Trivia

• The magazine that Robot-SpongeBob is reading has a SpongeBob comic strip in it, featuring SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward.
• This is the first of four episodes to premiere on January 21, making it the first episode of 2002.
• The book Plankton reads to SpongeBob is also seen in "Grandma's Kisses." Even though the plots seem to be different. In this episode, it was about Sea Elves. In "Grandma's Kisses," it was about a Sea Leprechaun.
  • It is possible that this book contains multiple stories.
• The robot chef reappeared in the The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie PC game.
• Chum Bucket Lego set features Robot SpongeBob from this episode.
• Mr. Krabs' singing voice in this episode is similar to Louis Armstrong.
• Plankton breaks the fourth wall when he says to the audience "I put the brain in the robot, you know..."
• This episode was the subject of a clue on the episode of Jeopardy! that aired on October 10, 2005, during Back to School Week.
• Things Plankton did to try to get SpongeBob to make a Krabby Patty:
  • New shoes
  • Grill
  • Krusty Krab kitchen replica
  • Bathing him
  • Ice cream
  • Pushing him on a rolling seahorse
  • Reading him a book
  • Not hitting him
  • Rubbing his feet
• Plankton put SpongeBob's brain into Robot SpongeBob's positronic head. If Plankton took out SpongeBob's brain and then put it back in after (he put it back into SpongeBob's head when Robot SpongeBob would not take commands), SpongeBob would have died when the brain was taken out, because once a brain is taken out, it cannot be put back into a head without the person resulting in death.
  • However, SpongeBob is shown in later episodes to still be alive without his brain in his head, so it's most likely that he still was alive after Plankton took his brain out.
• Robot SpongeBob's refusal of Plankton's order of making a Krabby Patty is possibly from the fact that the real SpongeBob's memories/thoughts are still kept in his brain, despite removal from its veins.
• This is the second episode to have computerized picture-shaking effects. They occur whenever Plankton moves the grill. The first time to use these effects was "Neptune's Spatula."
• The premise of Robot SpongeBob is similar to the plot of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror II segment named "If Only I Had a Brain," featuring Homer's nightmare. Homer, a lazy worker, is kidnapped by Mr. Burns and Smithers, who put his brain into a robot. The robot ends up being lazy and refusing to work, just like Homer.
• The PlayStation version of SuperSponge shows clips of this episode in the "introducing Mr. Krabs and Plankton" scene. It is unknown how the clips could have gotten in the game because SuperSponge was released about two months before this episode aired.
• The scene where SpongeBob and Krabs singing as they missed each other was rarely shown in Indonesia. This was done due to time constraints as its airings were paired with ads.
• The title card music for this episode is the same as "Employee of the Month."
• This is the first time SpongeBob cries with a different character, other than Patrick. In this episode, he cries with Mr. Krabs.
• Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob that he and Plankton play cards every Thursday night, implying that this is his first week at the Krusty Krab.
• In the Croatian dub, the episode name is "Uđite u Kantu!," which translates to "Enter The Chum Bucket!"

Cultural references

• The episode's title might be a reference to the Guns 'N Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle."
• At the beginning of the episode, right when Plankton appears, there's a bottle cap laying on the ground. The logo on this bottle cap is a variation of the Pepsi logo emblem.
• Mr. Krabs' and SpongeBob's duet is almost certainly a parody of the popular show tune "A House Is Not A Home."
• When Plankton gives Mr. Krabs $50 to take away SpongeBob, it parodies the O. Henry short story, "The Ransom of Red Chief."
• The story that Plankton reads to SpongeBob about sea elves might be a parody of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Errors

File:HelpWantedError.png

The "Help Wanted" sign on the Krusty Krab window.

• When SpongeBob was bathing, his sleeves were shown. This could be an error. This error also occurs in the previous episode "Gary Takes a Bath."
• At the end of the episode, when it shows the Krusty Krab, a "Help Wanted" sign can be seen on the right window. This error happens again in "Krab Borg."
  • In this episode, it is possible that Mr. Krabs had just not taken the sign down from when SpongeBob was gone.
• Throughout the entire scene where Plankton moves SpongeBob's grill, there is a light blue border. This error also occurs in "The Secret Box" and "Band Geeks."
• In the opening credits, the k in Carson Kugler's name is lowercased instead of capitalized. This also happens again in "The Secret Box" and "Procrastination."

File:DSCF4638.jpg

"Chumbucket" instead of "Welcome to the Chum Bucket."

• Sometimes, YTV shortens the title of this episode and lists it as "Chumbucket." This change gets rid of the first three words and combines "Chum Bucket" into one word instead of two words. Also for some reason, YTV sometimes says this episode originally aired on 2015/12/05 (December 5, 2015). This air date is technically incorrect.
• When Mr. Krabs throws SpongeBob down near the opening when he is down his right arm (viewer's left), his arm flashes about eight to ten seconds until Squidward appears.
• On October 6, 2016, Comcast accidentally spelled Erik Wiese's name as Erik Weise.