"Goodness Lesson #1: You see someone drop their wallet. What do you do?"
Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III
Original air date: 9/14/2001 (produced in 2000)
While house sitting Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's Mermalair, SpongeBob and Patrick stupidly release their arch-nemesis Man Ray from his frozen tartar sauce prison. Man Ray attempts to attack the two, but is unable to due to a tickle belt placed on him. In an attempt to get rid of the belt, he tries to claim to SpongeBob and Patrick he's turned a new leaf, so they try to test that claim.
"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III" contains examples of:
- Agony of the Feet: Patrick keeps dropping a heavy box on Man Ray's foot.
- Asshole Victim: Man Ray is susceptible to both Patrick's stupidity and the tickle belt. Considering he was planning on betraying their trust and terrorizeing the town, he more than deserves it.
- Becoming the Mask: Man Ray is only pretending to reform at first, but finds himself reforming in spite of himself.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Dumb and goofy as he may be, Patrick does know how to get revenge after Man Ray beats him up.SpongeBob: All right, Goodness Lesson Number Three... (thinking) Umm, let's see...
Patrick: (snatches the tickle belt remote) I got one: I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100, what is it?
Man Ray: Umm... 62?
Patrick: (presses button) Wrong! - Brick Joke: During the "returning the wallet" lesson, Patrick insists his wallet is not his, much to Man Ray's annoyance. The next lesson involves helping Patrick with a heavy package, which he frequently drops on Man Ray's foot. When Man Ray asks what's in the heavy box, Patrick says it's his wallets.
- Butt-Monkey: Man Ray finds himself a victim of both Patrick's insane stupidity and the Tickle Belt.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Man Ray calls himself "the Evil Man Ray", demands that SpongeBob and Patrick let him out by the "supreme authority of wickedness", and has this one-liner upon bailing.Man Ray: The only thing I'm good at is being evil!
- Chekhov's Gun: The two friends are shown playing with the Orb of Confusion and the Invisible Boatmobile when they enter the cave. Both devices would be used by them when they try to take on Man Ray.
- Continuity Nod: Man Ray was first mentioned in the first Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode in one of SpongeBob's stories of the duo's past adventures.
- The Dog Bites Back: Patrick gets fed up enough with Man Ray beating him up that he offers an entirely useless "lesson" just to use the tickle belt on him.
- Enraged by Idiocy: Man Ray eventually has it with Patrick's stupidity during his lessons, so he repeatedly slams him to the ground.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Orb of Confusion.Mermaid Man: Prolonged exposure to the Orb of Confusion will give you, uh... confusion.
- Facepalm: Man Ray's reaction when Patrick keeps saying that his wallet is not his.
- Goodness Exam: SpongeBob and Patrick's "classes" are meant to rehabilitate Man Ray. While Man Ray would have passed their various tests of basic samaritan acts (returning a dropped wallet, helping Patrick carry something heavy, etc), Patrick's general ineptitude goads him into fits of frustration. It takes him saying "please" when the tickle belt renders him Helpless with Laughter for them to free him of it.
- Gesundheit:Man Ray: It's tickling my DNA. Make it stop! (tears come out as he laughs) Please!
SpongeBob: Did you hear that, Patrick? He said the P word.
Patrick: Peanuts?
SpongeBob: No! "Please".
Patrick: Well, that's good enough for me! I guess he's reconstituted.
SpongeBob: Rehabilitated.
Patrick: Gesundheit. - Heel–Face Turn: Man Ray is first pretending to do one, but then turns for real.Man Ray: The belt is gone but I still feel its tickle. The urge to do bad is gone!
- Helpless with Laughter: Mermaid Man's "Tickle Belt" is designed to tickle the wearer so incessantly that it paralyzes them with laughter. Man Ray has it stuck on him before the events of the episode, and SpongeBob repeatedly uses it to discipline him in an attempt to get him to reform. The belt eventually goes haywire and breaks, but ends up permanently conditioning Man Ray into overwhelming laughter whenever he attempts acts of villainy, motivating a Heel–Face Turn.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: SpongeBob and Patrick attempt to use the Orb of Confusion to thwart Man Ray's escape, but since the Orb generates a wave of confusion that emanates from the Orb itself, they only end up stupefying themselves, allowing Man Ray to escape.Man Ray: Well, that was easy. (leaves)
- Human Popsicle: Man Ray was frozen in Tartar Sauce.
- Impact Silhouette: SpongeBob and Patrick crash the Invisible Boatmobile into a lamppost, which bends in the shape of the Boatmobile's prow.
- Implausible Deniability: During his first roleplay lesson with Man Ray, Patrick repeatedly denies that he owns the wallet that Man Ray is trying to return. This is despite the fact that A: Patrick got out and dropped the wallet at SpongeBob's request, B: SpongeBob explicitly called it "your [Patrick's] wallet" while this was happening, C: Man Ray saw and heard these events occur right in front of him, and D: Patrick left his photo ID in the wallet. Eventually Man Ray gets fed up with Patrick's logic and nearly attacks him.
- Incoming Ham: Man Ray's first response upon being (partially) thawed?
- It's the Best Whatever, Ever!:Patrick: (as Barnacle Boy) Well, this is an invisible boat, right? So you need an invisible license!
SpongeBob: (as Mermaid Man) You're the best sidekick ever, Barnacle Boy! - I Will Tear Your Arms Off: Man Ray threatens to do this to Patrick when the latter insists that his wallet is not his.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Man Ray pretends to desire a Heel–Face Turn so he can trick SpongeBob and Patrick into removing the tickle belt. He then zaps the two and runs away to commit some crimes. However, he ultimately can't bring himself to pull it off without acting like the tickle belt is still on, causing him to give up.
- Loophole Abuse: SpongeBob is at first concerned about him driving the Invisible Boatmobile because he doesn't have a drivers license. Patrick suggests that because the boat is invisible, you need an invisible license to drive it, so he digs out "his" for SpongeBob to use. Then they drive away and SpongeBob immediately crashes the boatmobile into a street light.
- Metronomic Man Mashing: Man Ray does this to Patrick after the latter tells him that his package is filled with his wallets.
- No Face Under the Mask: When Man Ray reforms, he takes off his mask, revealing he has no head underneath.
- Non-Indicative Name: Despite Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy being in the title, they leave after the first minute of the episode, with the rest of it being focused around their second-greatest (next to the Dirty Bubble) Arch-Enemy, Man Ray.
- Rage Breaking Point:Man Ray: I found this ID in this wallet. And if that's the case, this must be... your wallet.
Patrick: That makes sense to me.
Man Ray: Then, take it.
Patrick: It's not my wallet!
Man Ray: YOU DIM BULB! TAKE BACK YOUR WALLET OR I'LL RIP YOUR ARMS OFF!- Then again:Man Ray: Excuse me, sir, I noticed you were struggling with that package. Do you need some help? (Patrick drops the package on his foot) OW!
Patrick: Oops, sorry. Can I start over?
Man Ray: I noticed that... (Patrick drops package again) OWW!!
Patrick: Oops. Gotta start again.
Man Ray: Could— (Patrick drops package again) OWWW!!!
Patrick: Oops!
Man Ray: GRR! YOU BUTTERFINGERED PINK THING!! WHAT'S IN THAT BOX, ANYHOW?!
Patrick: My wallets.
Man Ray: GAAAAHHH!!! (grabs Patrick)
Patrick: NO! SpongeBob! TICKLE HIM!
(Man Ray starts slamming Patrick on the floor repeatedly; SpongeBob turns on the Tickle Belt and Man Ray continues slamming Patrick while laughing)
Man Ray: Ah, it tickles, but it's worth it!
- Then again:
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Man Ray, of course.
- Restraining Bolt: The Tickle Belt which keeps Man Ray in line.
- Rule of Three: SpongeBob and Patrick administer three "Goodness Lessons" to Man Ray before eventually freeing him from the tickle belt. The third time has Patrick deliberately make the lesson impossible to spite Man Ray for beating the snot out of him, but Man Ray ends up accidentally earning his freedom by saying "please."
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Infamous supervillain Man Ray is initially encountered frozen in a pillar of tartar sauce; it doesn't take long before SpongeBob and Patrick accidentally hit the switch that melts the sauce and frees him.
- So Long, Suckers!: After he zaps SpongeBob and Patrick, Man Ray says this as he runs out of the Mermalair.
- Special Guest: John Rhys-Davies as Man Ray.
- Tickle Torture: Man Ray is the victim of this, even after the tickle belt is gone.
- To the Batpole!: Parodied. SpongeBob and Patrick (who have been zapped to piles of dust by Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's nemesis Man Ray) slide down the pole to the Invisible Boatmobile. On the way (after being obscured by a bar for a brief moment) they get their bodies back and are also wearing superhero outfits.
- Unsound Effect: When Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy pack for their vacation: "FOLD!" "PACK!"
- Villain Decay: Man Ray, after realizing that the tickle belt has lasting after-effects, gives up trying to rob a bank and just decides to open a checking account as long as he's there.
- Worth It: Said by Man Ray when SpongeBob uses the tickle belt on him while he is beating up Patrick.
HOWDY, Y'ALL!
Squirrel Jokes
Original air date: 9/14/2001 (produced in 2000)
It's Open Mic Night at the Krusty Krab, and SpongeBob tries to do some stand-up comedy. His act initially bombs until he starts telling rather insulting jokes about squirrels, and Sandy is not pleased when people begin to take his jokes seriously.
"Squirrel Jokes" contains examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- At the end, when SpongeBob is doing insult humor for others besides squirrels, he jokes about crabs being cheap, and Mr. Krabs happily laughs with it before telling a nearby customer, "It's true! I am cheap!" Then, when SpongeBob moves on to fish, which most of the audience members are, joking about their bad smell, all of the audience erupts into even louder laughter.
- Subverted earlier on. After one squirrel joke too many, Sandy pretends to have suddenly found them funny in order to lure SpongeBob to the Treedome. Once there, she deliberately starts Playing Up the Stereotype of a "dumb squirrel", and accidentally-on-purpose tortures him into dropping the jokes from his act.
- An Aesop:
- Don't single out a single person or demographic as a target for mockery. If you're going to make jokes about someone, at least be even-handed about it and be willing to make fun of yourself too.
- Don't let stereotypes taint how you view people. They're often wildly inaccurate and if allowed to spread, can lead to the target of the stereotypes facing unfair prejudice and discrimination.
- Artistic License – Biology: When Sandy acts like a stupid hillbilly, she clearly has an Adam's Apple, which female (and male) squirrels do not have.
- Bookends: The episode starts and ends at the Krusty Krab.
- Bottom of the Barrel Joke: In-Universe. SpongeBob falls back on insult humor when his regular act flops, as is usually the case with failed stand ups.
- Chirping Crickets: A live-action cricket chirps after SpongeBob tells his first joke. The second joke bombs so badly even the cricket won't dignify it with a response.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The "squirrel jokes" that SpongeBob tells are similar to "Polish jokes
" in their setup (e.g. the punchline being that the race that's the subject of the joke is stupid). - Dude, Not Funny!: Sandy's reaction to SpongeBob's squirrel jokes.
- Epic Fail: SpongeBob's first attempt at comedy nearly gets him booed clean off the stage until he starts making fun of Sandy. Before that he attempted to make jokes about salt shakers, tomatoes, and forks.
- Equal-Opportunity Offender: How SpongeBob is eventually able to make up with Sandy and continue telling his squirrel jokes: by expanding his act to insulting himself and then everyone!
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: The episode ends with everyone laughing and cheering for SpongeBob's comedy routine.
- Fantastic Racism: After SpongeBob's act becomes a hit, everyone begins thinking squirrels ARE dumb.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: As SpongeBob cannot tell a joke outside of his squirrel jokes, he's forced to choose between his friendship with Sandy and his newfound comedy career. He ends up choosing the squirrel jokes, but after Sandy makes him realize his mistake, he finds a way to keep both: Become an Equal-Opportunity Offender.
- Here We Go Again!: Averted; it seems like SpongeBob will start telling jokes about squirrels again, but starts in on sponges, fish, crabs and starfish. Now that everyone's a part of it they have much greater humor.
- I'm Standing Right Here: Patrick immediately joins the crowd in booing SpongeBob and laughs at his mean jokes about Sandy while Sandy is sitting next to him, no less, and joins the crowd in making fun of Sandy, even harassing her backstage on the second day, and telling SpongeBob to "tell the one about the squirrel and the light bulb", even though they're supposed to be friends and while, again, Sandy is sitting right next to him.
- Insult Comic: What SpongeBob's act eventually becomes. First he starts with squirrel jokes but later learns to insult everybody equally after insulting himself to warm up the crowd.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After everything SpongeBob does, Sandy rewards him by acting stupid just as his jokes describe her, making him realize his mistake.
- Lightbulb Joke: One of SpongeBob's squirrel jokes.How come it takes more than one squirrel to screw in a light bulb? Because they're SO. DARN. STUPID!
- Literal-Minded: Because of SpongeBob's squirrel jokes, everyone thinks squirrels are stupid. This doesn't sit well with Sandy.
- No, You: When SpongeBob's act begins to fall apart:Customer: Hey! Hey, funny guy! I've got a joke for you! What smells rotten and puts people to sleep?
SpongeBob: Um, noxious gas?
Customer: NO! Your ACT! (crowd laughs at him) - Obfuscating Stupidity: When she can't take any more of SpongeBob's squirrel jokes, Sandy invites SpongeBob over to the treedome and spends the afternoon acting like a brain-dead inbred hillbilly until her put-on stupidity starts causing him pain. He soon gets the message and tones down the jokes going forward, if not ceases it all together.
- Obliviously Evil: SpongeBob genuinely does not understand how harmful the squirrel jokes are and thinks Sandy's overreacting when she tells him how people have been treating her.
- Oh, Crap!: When it looks like SpongeBob's act begins dying again, because he’s trying to uphold his promise not to tell squirrel jokes, he abruptly drops the mic and stalks away. The audience gasps, and Sandy looks aghast. It doesn’t last long.
- Pie in the Face: Dougie Williams, the comic who opens for SpongeBob throws pies at the audience as part of his act.
- Playing Up the Stereotype: Sandy begins doing this in order to finally force SpongeBob to stop telling his squirrel jokes.
- Pulling Your Child Away: Sandy finds that people in Bikini Bottom are treating her like she's stupid after SpongeBob made such jokes about squirrels. One kid approaches her, and she is greeting him when the mother pulls him back, warning him, "Don't get too close to a squirrel, Billy. You'll catch its stupid."
- Self-Deprecation: When SpongeBob begins insulting everyone at the end, he first claims sponges are even dumber than squirrels.SpongeBob: I mean, we're so dumb, we don't even have a vertebrae! He-e-e-ey! Look at me! I got no bones!
- Title Drop: Lots of it in this episode, and not just by the audience.
- Tough Room: Not that SpongeBob was bringing an A-game when stuttering to begin with, but the audience is absolutely ruthless when he fumbles through his act.Audience member: Oh, BROTHER, this guy STINKS!
- With Friends Like These...: Not only does Patrick join the crowd in booing SpongeBob when his act initially bombs, but he then laughs at all of his squirrel jokes right in front of Sandy and continues to make fun of her afterwards.
