The best bodyguard a fella could hope to have.
SpongeBob Meets the Strangler
Original air date: 10/11/2004 (produced in 2002; first aired in Canada on 11/19/02) note
A dangerous criminal known as the "Tattletale Strangler" has escaped police custody after SpongeBob rats him out for littering. To help heighten security for himself, SpongeBob hires a bodyguard. However, unknown to him, it's the Strangler in disguise!
"SpongeBob Meets the Strangler" contains examples of:
- An Aesop:
- Don't trust strangers; you never know what they're up to, and they might even want to severely harm you.
- Additional aesops are shown when the opposite of these happen, as SpongeBob tried to oblige but to no avail.
- If you think someone is after you, surround yourself with friends and family, because strength is in numbers. Your assailant (if they're smart) will only attack you when you're alone.
- Don't trust strangers; you never know what they're up to, and they might even want to severely harm you.
- Asshole Victim: If the Strangler wasn't established to be a violent criminal beforehand, all of the mental and physical torment SpongeBob puts him through would be a lot crueler.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Though not revealed until later, the episode takes place on SpongeBob's birthday, and he has to deal with an assailant who's out to murder him.
- Bad Cop/Incompetent Cop: Not only were the police too stupid to keep a close eye on the Strangler (resulting in his escape), but they proceed to callously abandon SpongeBob in his time of need.
- Brick Joke: Towards the end of the cartoon, Patrick becomes convinced that he's the Strangler and decides to turn himself in. At the end of the episode, the Strangler finds out Patrick's his cellmate.
- Bystander Syndrome: The police refuse to help SpongeBob when the latter is getting menaced by the Strangler, saying it's not their job (even though it actually is) and leaving him to his fate. They even go as far as teasing him over it:Officer Slugfish: Give us a call if you see him again, tattletale!
- The Cat Came Back: The Strangler finally gets fed up with SpongeBob and tries to flee from him, only to keep running into SpongeBob wherever he goes.
- Comically Missing the Point: The Strangler reveals his identity while screaming and ripping off his fake mustache. SpongeBob asks him how he got rid of his mustache without shaving cream.
- Continuity Nod: SpongeBob throws constant house parties multiple times a day, that even people like Squidward genuinely enjoy; after a previous episode established his reputation as a great host.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: As SpongeBob and the Strangler (disguised as the bodyguard) make it to SpongeBob's house:SpongeBob: Bodyguard, let me just be the first to say you're the best bodyguard a fella could hope to have.
Strangler: Alright, enough with the sappy talk! Open the door so I can strangle you... I mean, uh, choke you... I mean, uh, crush your windpipe... GAH! I mean...
SpongeBob: Protect me?
Strangler: Thanks.
SpongeBob: Don't mention it, Strangler. (gasp) I mean, Bodyguard. - Disproportionate Retribution: The Tattletale Strangler strangles his victims after they rat him out.
- The Dreaded: The Tattletale Strangler. When SpongeBob approaches several characters, such as Mr. Krabs and Larry, for protection, they refuse to help and flee in fear. Even the thugs at the Tough Tavern are terrified of him. Yet, none of SpongeBob's friends seem to mind him when they show up at SpongeBob's house.
- Everybody Do the Endless Loop: At both of SpongeBob's parties. And yet, someone forgot to animate Sandy, Larry, and some of the background fish.
- Evil Laugh: The Strangler. And SpongeBob joins him in the laughter.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin:Patrick: We just do what the invitations say. Let's-a boogie some more!
- Eye Scream: SpongeBob gets his cleats stuck in the Strangler's eye sockets. It lasts for six hours.SpongeBob: With these spiky cleats, anything is possible!
Strangler: Cleats?! [SpongeBob jumps onto his eye sockets, and he screams in pain] Get your feet out of my eye sockets!
SpongeBob: I'm trying, but my cleats are stuck in your corneas! - Felony Misdemeanor: Not only does the Strangler get arrested for littering, but he also gets chained with dozens of handcuffs. This is actually justified as the Strangler is also a serial killer and has been wanted for a while, and later on, even with dozens of handcuffs, he still escapes.
- From Bad to Worse: Even though the Strangler finally gets away from SpongeBob in jail, he finds himself stuck with Patrick for a cellmate.
- Gross-Up Close-Up: Of the Strangler's dirty hands.
- Here We Go Again!: After the Strangler ends up in a cell away from SpongeBob, he's initially relieved to be away from the "yellow idiot"... but then discovers that he's sharing a cell with Patrick. Just think of all the trouble Patrick will give him...
- High-Pressure Emotion: The Strangler steams with anger when SpongeBob can't find the key to his house. And when he finds out SpongeBob keeps a key under his mat after getting spiky cleats stuck in his eyes for SIX HOURS, his head opens on a hinge to release a mushroom cloud.
- Human Ladder: When the Strangler can't reach SpongeBob's window to get into his house, he asks him to climb on his shoulders. Unfortunately, it's at that moment that SpongeBob decides to wear spiky cleats.
- Impact Silhouette: Patrick leaves SpongeBob's house by going through the wall, leaving a star-shaped hole. When the Strangler reaches his breaking point, he does the same and leaves a hole beside Patrick's.
- Implausible Deniability: At the dry cleaners, the cashier gives SpongeBob his pants, but he's hesitant to take them because, even though they look like any of his other pairs, he's not sure if they're his pants.
- Jerkass: While nowhere near to the point of Police Brutality, the cops are complete jerks to SpongeBob when he asks them to protect him. They do congratulate him when he lands the Strangler behind bars later, though.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: The Strangler spends most of the episode being tormented by SpongeBob's naivety, but he totally deserves it.
- Key Under the Doormat: After failing to get into SpongeBob's house, SpongeBob tells the Strangler he keeps a key under his mat for emergencies... which enrages the Strangler as he just got cleats stuck in his eyes for nothing for the last six hours.
- The Killer in Me: Played for Laughs. Patrick becomes convinced he's the Strangler and runs to the police. He's still incarcerated at the end of the episode, sharing his cell with the real strangler who wanted to escape SpongeBob.
- Lampshade Wearing: Squidward, of all people, at SpongeBob's parties.
- Master of Disguise: Discussed. While the Strangler's actual disguise is only a fake mustache, he mentions unlikely suspects like an old man or a baby as being the Strangler in disguise. SpongeBob's suggestions get even more outlandish.SpongeBob: (Pointing at random objects) Or that pebble! Or that stick! (Pointing at paper near Strangler's foot) Or that receipt from the Phony Baloney Mustache Emporium!
Strangler: (Flinching before hurriedly snatching it up) Uh, that’s mine!- Later on, while still trying to get SpongeBob alone, the Strangler tries to throw Patrick out of the house after the second party. When SpongeBob protests that they can trust Patrick, the Strangler insists that they can't take any chances and halfheartedly claims that Patrick could be the Strangler.Patrick: I'M the Strangler?! Oh, I should've known! I'm gonna go turn myself in!
- Later on, while still trying to get SpongeBob alone, the Strangler tries to throw Patrick out of the house after the second party. When SpongeBob protests that they can trust Patrick, the Strangler insists that they can't take any chances and halfheartedly claims that Patrick could be the Strangler.
- "Metaphor" Is My Middle Name: When SpongeBob tells the Strangler that he needs to run a few errands, the Strangler tells him to make it quick, to which SpongeBob replies, "'Quick' is my middle name!"
- Most Definitely Not a Villain: The Strangler wears a Paper-Thin Disguise consisting only of a fake mustache, and when he hands SpongeBob his card, we see that he's drawn a mustache on his photo, crossed his name out and written "Bodyguard" underneath.SpongeBob: Hmm, looks good to me. You're hired!
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: SpongeBob is only in this mess because he reported the Strangler for littering. Then again, he spends most of the episode blissfully unaware of who his sudden bodyguard is and accidentally makes him suffer instead.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Implied. For much of the episode, SpongeBob seems to be convinced that his mustachioed "bodyguard" isn't the Strangler, but unintentionally puts him through a lot of comic suffering. But at one point, SpongeBob calls him "Strangler", but then corrects himself with a Verbal Backspace, implying that SpongeBob knew all along that that was the Strangler. Though, him being horrified when his "bodyguard" points out he's the Strangler (while he's behind bars, no less) otherwise says he genuinely didn't know. Then again, he just as likely could've been doing that to push the Strangler's buttons even further. So, who knows?
- Oh, Crap!:
- SpongeBob when he realizes his bodyguard was the Strangler, just after he gets behind bars.
- The Strangler just after hearing SpongeBob was wearing spiky cleats when getting up on him.
- Out-of-Character Moment: In order to emphasize how the Strangler keeps failing, not only do Squidward, Mrs. Puff and Plankton show up to both of SpongeBob's parties, but Squidward is shown clearly having the time of his life.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: The Strangler's disguise consists of a fake handlebar mustache and nothing else. SpongeBob even notices the price tag and the Strangler's receipt, but is none the wiser.
- Police Are Useless: Are they ever! Not only does the Strangler escape their custody only about a minute after apprehending him, but when SpongeBob asks if the police will provide protection for him, they tell him it's not their job (even though it actually is) and leave him to his fate. They even go so far as to tease him over it:Officer Slugfish: Give us a call if you see him again, tattletale!
- Prefer Jail to the Protagonist: By the end of the episode, the Strangler has been driven so crazy by SpongeBob's antics that he's actually relieved to be in jail and away from him. Unfortunately, he finds that Patrick is his cellmate.
- Rage Breaking Point: When the Strangler finally explodes and reveals his identity.
- Running Gag: The various parties at SpongeBob's house.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Squidward is there when the Strangler is being arrested and informs SpongeBob who it is. When SpongeBob comments on how angry the Strangler looks, Squidward immediately makes himself scarce.
- Serial Killer: The Strangler is basically one, but to keep the show's G-rating, he's never shown killing anyone.
- Spanner in the Works: The Stranger's plan is to kill SpongeBob. It's a simple plan that is repeatedly ruined by various acts of idiocy from SpongeBob and his friends.
- Take a Third Option: SpongeBob wonders whether the paper towels that say "Best Around" or "Best in Town" are ultimately the better option. The solution? He buys both.
- Tempting Fate: The Strangler when he ends up in jail.Strangler: At least I'm safe from that yellow idiot.
Patrick: (in the same cell as the Strangler) Hey, Mac. (the Strangler turns to face him) What're you in for? - This Is Gonna Suck: Trying to get in through the window, the Strangler tells SpongeBob to climb up his back. SpongeBob says that'll be easy since he's wearing spiky cleats. The Strangler nervously asks "Cleats?" mere seconds before Eye Scream.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Squidward, Plankton, and Mrs. Puff, easily the show’s three biggest Chew Toy characters who tend to go through lengthy Trauma Conga Line situations in almost every single appearance they have, get to simply attend SpongeBob’s parties and have fun throughout this episode. This is because the Strangler takes on the Cosmic Plaything role for the episode, meaning they get to just join the rest of SpongeBob’s friends in having fun to drive home the point that he is the only miserable person in this episode. In the scope of the series as a whole, this is a notable Breather Episode for all three of them.
- Villainous Breakdown: The Strangler is an infamous criminal that terrifies everyone. After almost 11 minutes (or in-universe, a couple of hours for errands, twenty minutes of waiting for a key that had a spare, 6 hours of spiky cleats in his eyes, another couple of hours worth of parties) of SpongeBob's various antics, he's reduced to a screaming wreck of a fish begging to go to prison.
- What Are You in For?: Patrick asks the Strangler this question at the end of the episode.
- Your Head A-Splode: After it's revealed that SpongeBob had a spare key all along, the top of the Strangler's head pops open as a mushroom cloud erupts from his cranium.
Pranks a Lot
Original air date: 10/11/2004 (produced in 2002; first aired in Canada on 11/19/02) note
SpongeBob and Patrick buy some invisible spray and use it to prank their friends.
"Pranks a Lot" contains examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- When Sandy recognizes the boys' voices, she laughs it off as she goes to unmask them until they apparently turn out to be real ghosts.
- Mr. Krabs claims this, insisting that since they had a good laugh and he was a prankster back in his youth, he'll let the boys get off easy — and then he inflicts Laser-Guided Karma on them and then some.
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Mrs. Puff was about to eat double dark deep sea light diet cake.
- An Aesop: While pranks can be fun, they can also be deeply hurtful when taken too far.
- Aesop Amnesia: Downplayed. The episode has the exact same aesop as "Fools in April" from Season 1, in which SpongeBob was the victim of the Prank Gone Too Far, while here, he's the perpetrator. Unlike Squidward in that episode, however, SpongeBob isn't acting out of malice and isn't trying to cause any physical or emotional harm; he's simply getting carried away.
- And a Diet Coke: Mrs. Puff tries to eat a "double dark deep sea light diet cake" by herself before the boys eat it out from under her.
- Artistic License – Biology:
- Patrick's head explodes from chewing explosive gum and a bone, not even a vertebrae, is exposed. Starfish are invertebrates. But this is a cartoon, so it's okay.
- Technically, SpongeBob sprayed Patrick's crotch when he said, "No guts, no glory!". He already sprayed the guts when he said, "Kinda gives you an empty feeling, huh?". Then again, as this is a children's show, he can't say "balls" or anything like that.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When Sandy becomes SpongeBob and Patrick's first victim, she says that she hears voices, her glass of peanut juice was moved, a lamp she threw away was put back in its place, and there are portraits of Patrick hung up in her hallway.
- Bedsheet Ghost: SpongeBob and Patrick disguise themselves this way to scare Sandy. Sandy knows it's them, but when she pulls the sheets away and sees no one there, she freaks out and launches herself back to Texas.
- Behind the Black:
- Within 10 seconds of entering the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob and Patrick had already glued the doors shut, replaced all the glass with rubber, and clogged all the toilets to keep Mr. Krabs from escaping.
- Five seconds after SpongeBob and Patrick leave Mr. Krabs behind a closed door, he reappears behind them in a crow's nest... along with everyone the duo had pranked.
- Berserk Button: While Krabs doesn't get outright angry like this trope usually entails, when SpongeBob tries to burn a dollar, that's when he musters enough courage to try to fight back against the "ghosts".
- Big "NO!": Unsurprisingly, Mr. Krabs lets out one of these when SpongeBob and Patrick nearly burn a dollar, before unwittingly exposing the two pranksters with a bucket of water.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Among the things Frank offers SpongeBob and Patrick are: a whoopee cushion, fake vomit, and even real vomit!
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: We should've bought the whoopee cushion!
- Deadly Prank: Exploding chewing gum literally explodes the victim's head, leaving behind only a bone.
- Don't Explain the Joke: Discussed after Frank shocks Patrick with his Joybuzzer.Patrick: I don't get it.
Frank: You don't have to get it! The prank is for the enjoyment of the prankster. - Easily Forgiven: Subverted. Mr. Krabs exposes the boys as the Bikini Bottom ghosts, but says they had good laugh and claims he's going to let them off the hook. Then once the boys let their guard down, they're publicly humiliated as revenge.
- Electric Joybuzzer: Frank uses one on Patrick when he shakes his hand:Frank: That's your first lesson, son, the granddaddy of all pranks. The Joybuzzer!
- Eye Pop: When Nat hears an invisible Patrick talking, he freaks out and vamooses the scene as his eyeballs fall out. They then panic and drive off in a boatmobile.Patrick: Oh, the nerve of that guy and his driving eyeballs!
- This is also portrayed on the newspaper about their antics.
- Gaslighting: SpongeBob and Patrick's prank on Sandy initially seems to take this form, with them moving things in her house around without her knowledge and causing her to hear voices with no apparent source. This ends up being subverted, as their real prank was to make her think they were ghosts.
- Hand-or-Object Underwear: At the end, when SpongeBob and Patrick are seen nude by everyone, they desperately try to cover their shame.
- Hurricane of Puns: While fighting over the invisible spray, SpongeBob and Patrick exchange a long string of puns.Patrick: (sprays SpongeBob's hand and it disappears) I gotta hand it to you, SpongeBob! You look kinda funny!
SpongeBob: (sprays Patrick, making a hole in the middle of his body) Kind of gives you an empty feeling, huh?
Patrick: Yeah. (sprays one of SpongeBob's eyes) I see what you mean!
SpongeBob: (takes the spray can and sprays Patrick's lower half) No guts, no glory!
French Narrator: Several bad puns later... - Invisibility Ink: The invisible spray.
- Invisible Jerkass: SpongeBob and Patrick spend most of the episode tormenting everyone and pretending to be ghosts in Bikini Bottom while invisible, all for the sake of their own amusement.
- Invisible Main Character: SpongeBob and Patrick spend most of the episode being invisible.
- Invisible Streaker: SpongeBob and Patrick take off their clothes before using the spray to avoid staining them. (Naturally, they end up staining them anyway) When it's washed off, they are caught out in the open for everyone to see.
- Ironic Echo: SpongeBob asking Patrick, "Any particular reason you took your pants off?", gets parroted back at him by Mr. Krabs asking, "Any particular reason you boys are naked?"
- Karma Houdini: Mr. Krabs gets away with showing nude SpongeBob and Patrick on Live Television.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After the spray wears off, Mr. Krabs tricks SpongeBob and Patrick into stepping out naked on stage so that all their victims can laugh at the "Live Nude Pranksters".
- Laugh with Me!: A non-villainous example. When SpongeBob and Patrick are caught visible by being splashed in water, Mr. Krabs points out that he pulled his share of pranks when he was their age. He then says this trope before he starts laughing, and SpongeBob and Patrick follow along.Mr. Krabs: Uh, any particular reason you boys are naked?
- Naked People Are Funny: After they accidentally spray their clothes invisible, SpongeBob and Patrick and seen by a tour bus, to SpongeBob's embarrassment. After the invisible paint comes off, the pair are caught by the entire population of Bikini Bottom.Mr. Krabs: The Krusty Krab presents: "Live Nude Pranksters!" Starring the Bikini Bottom Ghosts!
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: If SpongeBob had not gone too far and made the critical error of trying to burn a dollar that belonged to Mr. Krabs, the old crab probably wouldn't have retaliated and exposed him and Patrick as the ghosts.
- Passing Judgment: SpongeBob and Patrick's joke competition deranges into the two of them roughhousing over a can of paint while being naked. A tour bus drives right beside them and the guide describes what the passengers are seeing. When they recover from their brief shock, the passengers start taking pictures.Fish Tour Guide: And on your right, if you look, you'll see two naked guys fighting over a can of paint!
- Plot Hole:
- The whole show takes place underwater! How did the invisible paint stick in the first place?
- And how did the paint not come off when SpongeBob and Patrick were going surfing?
- How did the citizens of Bikini Bottom get inside the Krusty Krab to laugh at SpongeBob and Patrick if the entrance doors were glued shut and all of the glass was replaced with rubber? How did Krabs summon all the townspeople for the spectacle when he was just with the boys a moment before?
- Patrick took his clothes off because the invisible paint stains clothes, but SpongeBob didn't take his socks and shoes off and yet, it remained unstained.
- SpongeBob and Patrick are somehow able to survive inside Sandy's tree dome without water helmets.
- How on Earth did Sandy get back from Texas on short enough notice to attend Mr. Krabs' "Live Nude Pranksters" show?
- Pranking Montage: The invisible SpongeBob and Patrick tricking everyone into believing they're being haunted by ghosts.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After becoming convinced she's being haunted by ghosts, Sandy uses an Escape Pod to flee back to Texas. She somehow ends up back for the ending.
- See the Invisible: SpongeBob and Patrick's fun comes to an end when Mr. Krabs throws a bucket of water at them to stop them from burning his dollar, causing the invisible paint to wash off in the process.
- Sham Supernatural: SpongeBob and Patrick take advantage of a can of invisible spray and scare the entire town. Then they get the idea to "haunt" Mr. Krabs. They end up regretting it after trying to burn a dollar right in front of the greedy crustacean.
- Shout-Out:
- Still Got It: Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob and Patrick he pulled a few pranks when he was young. By the looks of the one he pulls on them at the end of the episode, he's not a bit rusty.
- Super Window Jump: To get away from the 'ghosts', Mr. Krabs attempted to smash through the window, but SpongeBob and Patrick somehow had replaced it with rubber.
- Tempting Fate: Mr. Krabs brags that he has no fear of ghosts, even showing off various devices used to protect himself from them. Naturally, he's the next one targeted by the "ghosts". Then again, that may have been his plan all along.
- Toilet Teleportation: While running from the 'ghosts', Mr. Krabs attempts to jump down the toilet as a last resort, only to find that they had clogged it.
- Torso with a View: "Kinda gives you an empty feeling, huh?"/"No guts, no glory!"
- Tour Guide Gag: While SpongeBob and Patrick are naked, a tour bus passes them with the guide saying "And on your right if you look, you'll see two naked guys fighting over a can of paint!"
- Your Head A-Splode: This happens to Patrick after chewing a piece of exploding chewing gum. A large, femur-like bone is exposed afterwards. And he's still able to say that he doesn't get it, despite his lack of a mouth.
