Original air date: 7/30/2007 (produced in 2006; released on DVD on 4/17/07)
The Original Fry Cook
Jim, the fry cook before SpongeBob, pays a visit to the Krusty Krab, but a jealous SpongeBob thinks he's come to take his job back.
The Original Fry Cook contains examples of:
- The Ace: Jim is this in regards to being a fry cook, to where he's considered the best employee the place ever had.
- Actor Allusion: Jim is voiced by Patton Oswalt, who voiced Remy in Ratatouille, which premiered around this same time and was also about cooking.
- Always Someone Better: An interesting deconstruction of this trope. SpongeBob saw Jim as this and while initially suspicious of him, he pretty much acknowledged him to be superior as a fry cook and he's on better terms with Mr. Krabs and Squidward. Later though, Jim reveals to SpongeBob that he became the master fry cook he is by leaving the Krusty Krab and going out in the world to take chances, which he advises SpongeBob to do later in his life.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's implied (though obviously not confirmed) that SpongeBob will someday leave the Krusty Krab and be successful on his own.
- An Aesop:
- Even though someone might be better than you at something, no one can ever truly replace you.
- As Jim warned Squidward: don’t wait for your careers to take off and keep your options open.
- Sometimes, you have to decide your time is up somewhere and head out. Despite ribbing SpongeBob, Jim does openly acknowledge him as a good fry cook, but that he won't reach his full potential until he leaves the Krusty Krab and starts taking chances.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: First, there's this one:Mr. Krabs: Oh, you always knew how to make me laugh. You just don't find employees like that anymore.
SpongeBob: Yeah...not unless you look RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!!!
Mr. Krabs: You're right, boy. I appreciate you, Squidward!
Squidward: Now I feel complete.- Then there's this one:
Mr. Krabs: Three cheers for the world's greatest fry cook...SpongeBob!SpongeBob: (Gasps) Me?Mr. Krabs: Come here. Help us cheer for Jim. - Bathroom Stall of Angst: Afraid that Jim is going to replace him, SpongeBob hides in the bathroom and writes out his resignation on a piece of toilet paper.
- Bottle Episode: The entire episode is set at the Krusty Krab.
- Deconstruction: Of the Always Someone Better trope and SpongeBob’s devotion to the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob was jealous of Jim being the superior fry cook and thought he wanted to steal his job back. However, Jim reassures SpongeBob he hasn't and in his talk with Mr. Krabs, he gives off his true feelings:Jim: Kid's a good fry cook, but he'll only be a great frycook, when he finally gets the guts to quit his dump. Good luck, SpongeBob. You're gonna need it.
- Foil: Jim the original fry cook to SpongeBob the current fry cook. They both make delicious Krabby Patties and are loved by the customers and employees. But while SpongeBob never leaves because he loves his job, Jim left because he wanted a legacy of his own.
- Foreshadowing: Near the beginning, SpongeBob tells Squidward he's "not here for the money". The climax reveals this was why Jim left the Krusty Krab.
- Fun with Flushing: Every time SpongeBob messes up trying to make a Krabby Patty as perfect as Jim's, Jim flushes said patty down the toilet. He eventually ends up clogging the toilet as a result.
- Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: In the flashbacks, Squidward has long blonde hair.
- It's the Best Whatever, Ever!: Hidden underneath all of SpongeBob's Employee of the Month awards is Jim's "Best Employee Ever" award.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed on the jerk part, but Jim is certainly smug and self-confident on his skills, though he can walk the walk. He also likes ribbing on the sponge, but he is a good person. He does note that SpongeBob is indeed a good frycook and has a lot of potential like him, but he won't be great and live up to that potential until he leaves and forges a legacy of his own.
- Orgasmically Delicious: A G-rated one sure, but apparently Jim's signature burgers cause this as SpongeBob tries it and realizes Jim is indeed the superior fry cook.
- Skilled, but Naive: Jim admits SpongeBob is skilled, but he points out that Mr. Krabs is capitalizing on SpongeBob's naivete and that SpongeBob won't achieve greatness until he leaves the Krusty Krab.
- Smug Snake: Squidward didn’t join Jim because he only wants a job until his clarinet career takes off, which of course, it never does.
- Special Guest: Patton Oswalt as Jim.
- Supreme Chef: Jim is definitely this. SpongeBob is initially skeptical until he tries a Jim patty and proceeds to fall into euphoria.
- Tempting Fate: In the last flashback, Jim warns Squidward about keeping his options open, to which Squidward responds, "I could lose my beautiful flowing hair too, but I'm not buying a wig yet." Cue Squidward immediately losing all his hair.
- Title Drop: "It's Jim, the original fry cook!"
Night Light
SpongeBob buys a ton of night lights to eliminate the dark.
Night Light contains examples of:
- An Aesop: It’s okay to be afraid of the dark sometimes, but what’s important is you have someone to help you.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Moth manages to steal the lighthouse along with SpongeBob's house, and taunts Mermaid Man that he'll see him another 57 years.
- Bat Signal: SpongeBob unintentionally creates one that summons Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.
- Big "NO!": Mermaid Man's reaction as he watches The Moth fly off with the lighthouse and SpongeBob's house.
- Breaking Old Trends: This episode marks the first time Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy appeared in an episode that isn't focused on them, and overall stopped using numbers to reference the episodes, which is something even the actual Mermaid Man episode of season 5 did.
- Costume Evolution: This marks the first time SpongeBob wears actual sleepwear to bed instead of his usual underwear and shoes, which becomes a recurring element in newer seasons. Patrick also has new sleepwear as well.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Mermaid Man says, "Sweet mother of Neptune's mother!" when he and Barnacle Boy notice an M shaped symbol in the sky Spongebob and Patrick accidentally create using a stolen spotlight.
- Expy: The Moth is one of Batman villain Killer Moth.
- Eye Scream: The light coming from SpongeBob's house is so bright that when it shines through Squidward's window, it reflects off all of his mirrors and burns through his sleep mask!
- Face Your Fears: What SpongeBob had to learn.
- Fish Eyes: SpongeBob while he is reading the story in the beginning.
- Go-to-Sleep Ending: The episode ends with SpongeBob finally going to sleep without fear.
- Halfway Plot Switch: Exaggerated. The starting premise is simple: SpongeBob reads a scary book, and develops a fear of the dark, so he buys night lights to brighten up his house. The lights attract Patrick, who moves in with him for a sleepover, and then wake up Squidward. Patrick brings his rock through the wall, exposing more darkness, and he and SpongeBob get bigger lights to block it out, including a lighthouse, which winds up attracting Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. They're annoyed that there's no real danger, until a supervillain shows up and they stop him, and then daytime comes and Patrick runs into the sun. Quite a lot for an 11 minute episode.
- Insane Troll Logic: When SpongeBob humors Squidward's point that his sudden, exaggerated fear of the dark and "the creepy creatures" he thinks lurk in it are just him overreacting, Patrick surmises that this is even more reason to get more lights. SpongeBob agrees with him.
- Irony: SpongeBob and Patrick gathered lots of light to keep monsters away from them, but all the light ended up attracting a dangerous supervillain.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Squidward was correct to point out to SpongeBob that there are no "creepy creatures of the dark" and that it's just all in his imagination.
- Man on Fire: At the end, Patrick runs towards the sun and runs back a few seconds later on fire.
- Moth Menace: The arch nemesis of Mermaid Man, The Moth. Despite his size, he is powerful enough to lift SpongeBob's entire house plus the lighthouse all at once.
- Special Guest: Mark Hamill as The Moth.
- Stock Audio Clip: Several of SpongeBob's voice clips were recycled from back from Seasons 1-3:
- Two of SpongeBob's yells when he repeatedly switches the ceiling light on and off were used from "Suds" when Patrick removes a bandage from his back.
- SpongeBob's original high-pitched scream when he fell off the jellyfish in "Jellyfish Jam" is also used during the scene of him switching the ceiling light on and off, followed by a second use when he sees a scary face in the kitchen closet.
- Another of SpongeBob's original screams from when he fled from the "maniac" in the mailbox in "Hall Monitor" is used when he screams at the sight of more darkness.
- When SpongeBob gasps before seeing darkness "inside of him", it's the same as when he saw Gary tied his shoes in "Your Shoe's Untied", and when he saw the parade in "Something Smells".
- Undead Author: The passage from the scary novel SpongeBob reads:SpongeBob: And slowly... Ever so slowly... The ancient crypt door creaks open... And from the festering brine of the darkest darkness, crawled forth monsters of such vile nature, whose appearance was so hideous and threatening, that the author died trying to recount them in this novel!
- Unsound Effect: When Mermaid Man falls asleep in the middle of his battle with The Moth: "NAP!"
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Patrick moves his rock into the pineapple, Gary disappears for the rest of the episode.
