iBust a Thief is the 12th episode in the 5th season of iCarly.
When Sam's laptop goes missing, Carly and Freddie help her find it.
Meanwhile, Spencer goes to his childhood restaurant with Guppy in an attempt to win a prize he's been saving up for, only to find out the tickets he saved are useless now.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: When it turns out they traced the wrong serial number, Carly is especially upset that they spent hours watching an elderly lady sleep and broke into her house for nothing.
- Art Shift: The "Bitty Big Heads" cartoon is animated.
- Continuity Nod: A Pak-Rat machine is at Funk E. Festers.
- Extreme Omnivore: In "Bitty Big Heads", Sam is so hungry she eats Freddie's hand.
- Foul Ball Pit: Spencer goes to Funk E. Fester's to try to win Murray the Magic Dolphin, which he's wanted since he was a kid. However, since Funk E.'s doesn't allow single adults without children, Spencer takes Gibby's little brother Guppy with him. When they arrive, Guppy tells Spencer that he has to pee. Spencer tells him "You can pee in the ball pit!", which Guppy proceeds to do.
- Heroic BSoD: Spencer has a minor one when he finds out his tickets are useless and he cannot enter the game room without a kid. He later gains hope when he gets to go with Guppy.
- The Scapegoat: Despite Freddie misreading the serial number, Sam gets the blame for the iCarlys wasting their time.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: When Sam realizes that her laptop was in a pizza box in the Shay residence all along, she high-tails it out of there, not wanting Carly to see it and be outraged over this pointless mission to get it back.
- Serious Business: Spencer is really desperate to win that plush dolphin prize at Funk E. Festers.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Turns out Sam's laptop was never stolen; Freddie had typed the wrong serial number. The laptop they found is blue, when Sam's is red. She eventually finds her real laptop in a pizza box in the Shay's freezer.
- Shout-Out:
- The "Bitty Big Heads" cartoon is in the style of South Park.
- While Spencer plays the games at Funk E. Festers, Guppy is reading a book called Nifty Shades of Beige.
- Suck E. Cheese's: Funk E. Festers, the restaurant Spencer visits.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Carly and Freddie are pretty mad at Sam for giving them the wrong serial number with her sloppy handwriting. Even though Freddie was the one who misread it...
