Original air date: 11/15/23
SpongeBob and Patrick want to see the new Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Pets movie, but since all the theater staff took the day off, they have to work the entire theater and follow their Mean Boss's orders to get to watch it.
Movie Stars contains examples of:
- Amusing Injuries: While tearing tickets, SpongeBob accidentally tears two of the ushers in half.
- Asshole Victim: SpongeBob and Patrick's boss gets beaten up because, as Mermaid Worm points out, he exploited their stupidity by making them do a stressful job for no pay.Manager: What? Why is the boss always the bad guy?
- Gainax Ending: The episode ends with Bubble Bass being eaten by rats and reduced to a skeleton.Bubble Bass: The ending felt random.
- Jerkass Ball: The Goofy Manager in previous episodes was more often than not a
Designated Villain who had a right to be upset with how people were messing things up. Here, he's a Mean Boss who hires SpongeBob and Patrick just so he doesn't have to pay them, and constantly yells at them to do things without giving them any proper training or instructions. - Malaproper: Patrick pronounces "preferential treatment" as "perforation treatment."
- Mondegreen Gag: When SpongeBob says, "Sir, look no farther!", Patrick follows it up with "And no mother!", having misheard "farther" as "father".
- Movie-Theater Episode: SpongeBob and Patrick get a job at the local movie theater. While they just want to see the movie, their boss keeps ordering them around to do things like throw things at the audience to make a 3D short feel realistic or figure out which movie reels to use.
- Not So Above It All: Even Squidina tries to sneak snacks into the movie theater. When Patrick catches her having taped a pizza slice to the back of her head, she points out, "I learned that one from you!"
- Sanity Ball: When he's made to throw stuff at the theater patrons to sell the illusion of 3D, Patrick actually hesitates and points out to the manager that some of the objects look dangerous.
- Snacksploitation: SpongeBob and Patrick are tasked to prevent people from sneaking in food to the theater. Patrick catches Cecil trying to sneak in an entire Thanksgiving feast. Later on, SpongeBob is supposed to charge Bubble Bass for a napkin.
- Sequel Snark: SpongeBob and Patrick go to see a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Spin-Off movie about their pets: in particular, episode 6, part 2. The title is so long that SpongeBob can barely say it in one breath.
- Tempting Fate: Squidina responds to Product Placement for soda in the movie with "This is the most blatant product placement I have ever seen. Good thing that stuff doesn't work, right, Dad?" Pan over to Cecil promptly drinking the soda from a hat.
- The End: The manager gets hit teeth knocked out by a punch from Mermaid Worm. His loose teeth spell out "The End" to signal the end of the movie.
- Ticket-Line Campout: SpongeBob and Patrick had been camping out in a tent overnight outside the movie theater, so they can be some of the first people in.
Original air date: 11/16/23
When Patrick is giving a lecture on the Western Zodiac as a means to shill healing crystals, Sandy immediately detects pseudoscience. She decides to give him lessons on how real science works.
Dr. Smart Science contains examples of:
- Aside Comment: When Patrick goes into his belly button and eats a piece of pizza already in his stomach, Sandy is left baffled. She turns to the camera and says:Sandy: Kids, I don't know how he's doing this, but that is absolutely not how the digestive system works!
- "Eureka!" Moment: GrandPat saying that his day is going just as his horoscope predicted it what reminds Patrick of pseudoscience, giving him the strength to call him out.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- The words flying past Patrick in the intro are "E = MC^2", "Space-Time Continuum", "Flatulence", and "Gravity".
- You can pause the "How Does That Work!?" slide to read the text, which includes some references to previous SpongeBob episodes.
- Fun with Homophones: When Sandy points out their volcano is a model, Patrick says "Nuh-uh, this is a model!" and points to a fashion model right next to them.
- Idea Bulb: A sputtering lightbulb appears above Patrick's head on the "How Does That Work?!" slide.
- Ironic Episode Title: Patrick is not smart, nor does he know anything about real science.
- Malaproper:
- Patrick mispronounces the Sagittarius sign as "Saggy Terry".
- When Patrick finally calls out pseudoscience, he pronounces it as "Strudel science!" Sandy shrugs and says it's close enough.
- Mandatory Line: Squidina only gets one line in this episode, at the very beginning: "Alright, that's a wrap on the intro!"
- Mythology Gag: Patrick's astrology lecture contains some of the same signs as Astrology with Squidward, a series of shorts that aired on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2001.
- Officially Shortened Title: The episode's title card and opening narration read "Dr. Smart Science, with Professor Patrick!" However, the credits and TV listings shorten it to "Dr. Smart Science".
- Puff of Logic: Sandy tries to spray Patrick with water, but since he's in space, there is no water. Once Patrick hears this, he promptly shrivels up and dries out.
- Running Gag: Whenever Patrick says something that isn't real science, Sandy spritzes him with water.
- The End: The episode ends with "The End" chiseled on a giant crystal that drops on Old Man Walker.
- Satire: The episode has some choice words about pop psychology and pseudoscience. Patrick preaches astrology on his show, describing, "if you've ever thought, 'coming up with my own personality is too hard,' you're gonna love this!" He then launches into a prediction for Sagittarius: they will be very unlucky unless they purchase his products and healing crystals. Old Man Walker excitedly dials in, planning to cancel his doctor appointment.
- Shout-Out: The opening to Patrick's show is a reference to Bill Nye the Science Guy.
- Similar Item Confusion: Throughout the episode, Patrick confuses astronomy with astrology.
