Original air date: 2/15/2010 (produced in 2009)
SpongeBob and Patrick are sent back in time with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy where they meet their younger selves and Patrick ends up changing the present.
"Back to the Past" provides examples of:
- Bad Future: Bikini Bottom becoming Man Ray-opolis, thanks to Patrick eating the tarter sauce that was supposed to freeze him and altering history.
- Big Eater: Patrick, which plays a point in changing the future.
- Black Comedy: After SpongeBob and Patrick find Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy enslaved by Man Ray and forced to work at the Krusty Krab:SpongeBob: But what about the Younger Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy? Surely they refused to go without a fight?Mermaid Man: Don't you get it! We ARE the younger ones! The older ones, bless their souls, have been immortalized in this very restaurant. [pan right to grave-site]
- Butterfly of Doom: Patrick eating the tartar sauce that Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy were gonna dump on Man Ray allows him to escape and conquer Bikini Bottom in the future.
- Call-Forward: The episode has SpongeBob and Patrick travel back in time to the point when Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trap Man Ray in tarter sauce, which SpongeBob and Patrick would later free him from in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III".
- Comically Missing the Point: SpongeBob and Patrick several times after arriving in Manrayoppolis.SpongeBob: I said is there something odd about Bikini Bottom since we got back.Patrick: No. But yes! Just look at the giant medicine billboard! (points at a giant billboard of Man Ray) It’s missing a bolt on the bottom right corner!SpongeBob: Even worse than that, Patrick. (points to a large police robot) The police got new uniforms!Patrick: Oh no! What did they do with those old ones?!SpongeBob: Ah ye! What happened to the Krusty Krab?! (Reads the sign) "The designed area where you are permitted by Man Ray, your ruler, to obtain sandwiches using Man Ray dollars"? Do you know what this means, Patrick?Patrick: I’m out of Man Ray dollars?
- Extra-Long Episode: The episode is 15 minutes long, four minutes longer than the regular episode length, resulting in its sister episode only running eight minutes. This is the second episode to do this after "Shanghaied" in S2.
- Gainax Ending: The episode ends with several SpongeBobs and Patricks arriving from different universes.
- Mind Screw: The ending to the point where Man Ray has to sit down to comprehend what's happening.
- Never My Fault: Patrick refuses to take responsibility for what he's done as he keeps eating the tartar sauce.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Thanks to Patrick eating the tartar sauce that would freeze Man Ray, he is free to rule Bikini Bottom.
- Running Gag: Wherever there was tartar sauce, Patrick would gobble it up.
- Shout-Out: The episode's title is a reference to Back to the Future.
- Special Guest: Adam West and Burt Ward as the young Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.
Original air date: 2/15/2010 (produced in 2009)
SpongeBob and Patrick watch a lost episode of The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.
"The Bad Guy Club for Villains" provides examples of:
- Body Horror: The Atomic Flounder's touch causes Barnacle Boy's shoulder to grow a mutant arm.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The Bad Guy Club for Villains.
- Framing Device: The episode is framed by SpongeBob and Patrick watching the lost episode.
- Inconsistent Episode Lengths: This episode is eight minutes long, running three minutes shorter than a standard length episode; this is due to its sister episode being 15 minutes. It's the second episode to be shorter than 11 minutes since "Gary Takes a Bath".
- Lost Episode: SpongeBob and Patrick watch this for the episode.
- Negative Continuity: Following from "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V", the International Justice League of Super Acquaintances is now the International Justice Lodge of Super Acquaintances. Additionally, its members such as Miss Appear, the Elastic Waistband, and Captain Magma (now called Professor Magma) all have different appearances. Along with the Quickster being noticeably absent and replaced by the Pyrite Ponderer.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: After finally apprehending all the villains, it turns out that their secret meeting was actually for a book club and not for plotting to commit crime.
- Shout-Out:
- Miss Appear, while still being a parody of the Invisible Woman, bears a strong resemblance to Wonder Woman.
- Pi-Right Ponderer is a mix of the Silver Surfer and Uatu The Watcher.
- Spoof Aesop: No one can arrest you for reading.
- Villains Out Shopping: The B.G.A.T.F.B.C. stands for Bad Guys All Together For Book Club.
