"The Krusty Krab pizza, is the pizza, for you and me!"
Pizza Delivery
Original air date: 8/14/1999 (produced in 1998)
A special task has been assigned to SpongeBob and Squidward: Deliver the very first Krusty Krab Pizza. However, there's a slight problem. Squidward made SpongeBob drive, causing the two to end up in the middle of nowhere and run out of gas. Now it's up to SpongeBob and his knowledge on how the pioneers survived to figure out how to get back to shelter and find something to eat before Squidward eats the pizza.
"Pizza Delivery" contains examples of:
- All Balloons Have Helium: SpongeBob inflates himself with the air from a boatmobile's tire (to check the pressure), it causes him to briefly float in the air and talk in Helium Speech.
- All for Nothing: After all those disasters, SpongeBob and Squidward finally reach the customer's house... only for him to reject the pizza because they didn't bring his drink. Fortunately, Squidward forces the customer to get his order whether he wants it or not.
- And a Diet Coke: The customer wanted a Diet Dr. Kelp with his pizza, even though SpongeBob tried pointing out he failed to mention any drink (even pulling out a notepad describing his order!). But judging that the customer continued talking before Mr. Krabs hung up, it's possible the customer actually did order a drink.
- Anti-Advice: SpongeBob claims to know which way town is from which side moss grows on rocks. Squidward then says, "You want us to go that way? Well, then I'm going this way." Naturally, town was in the direction SpongeBob wanted to go.
- Armor-Piercing Question: "Didn't you ever once think of the customer?!"
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: This exchange after Squidward implores SpongeBob to make the delivery drive, telling him to first back up the boatmobile (despite SpongeBob's protests that he's still in boating school and shouldn't be driving). It goes hilariously wrong:SpongeBob: Backing up! Backing up! (backs up for miles until the boat dies) ...Backing up.
Squidward: Well... ya' backed up. And you know what? I think we're out of gas! And, you know what else? We're in the middle of nowhere!
SpongeBob: And you know what else else? I think the pizza's getting cold.
Squidward: ...AND the pizza's cold?! Oh, the pizza's cold! Not the pizza! Oh, how could it get any WORSE?! (kicks boatmobile, which somehow takes the tank from "Empty" to "Full"; the boatmobile drives off into the distance without them) - Asshole Victim: The episode has an Unsatisfiable Customer who belittles the incredibly hard-working SpongeBob who went through hell simply to give the guy his pizza simply because the pizza didn't come with a drink that the guy didn't even order. It's enough to drive poor SpongeBob to tears. Safe to say, when Squidward forcefully shoves the pizza down the man's throat, it's quite satisfying.
- Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: This line from Squidward when he and SpongeBob get sucked into a tornado:Squidward: Let go of the pizza! (Squidward looks down and sees a long fall below him) Hang onto the pizza!
- Badass Adorable: Silly, idealistic little SpongeBob survives a tornado just to protect the customer's pizza.
- Big Brother Instinct: Witnessing the customer outright chew SpongeBob out for forgetting his drink pisses Squidward off, big time. He then retaliates by giving him a Pizza in the Face for scolding the very neighbor he dislikes.
- Big "NO!": SpongeBob screams a few of these at Squidward, usually to stop him from eating the customer's pizza.
- Bilingual Bonus: When SpongeBob is looking at the gears on his boat mobile, they change into Korean symbols, which are actually the correct ones, but SpongeBob doesn't know Korean.
- Bittersweet Ending: The delivery doesn't go as planned due to the whole drink situation. However, Squidward manages to get revenge on the Unsatisfiable Customer on both his and SpongeBob's behalfs (for making the latter cry and wasting the duo's time). Plus, they have enough time to go back to work (well, for SpongeBob anyway).
- Bond One-Liner: Squidward busts out a surprisingly badass one when SpongeBob asks him if the customer changed his mind.SpongeBob: (still crying) Did he change his mind?
Squidward: He sure did. Ate the whole thing in one bite. - Bratty Food Demand: In this case beverage instead of food. The customer refused to accept the pizza because the Diet Dr. Kelp he wanted wasn't included in the order. That got resolved when Squidward forced the customer to eat the pizza, which was now "on the house".
- Break the Cutie: Happens to SpongeBob after the customer harshly berates him for excluding his drink and refuses to take the pizza, leaving SpongeBob sobbing hysterically on the ground.
- Broken Smile: SpongeBob gets one when the customer says they forgot his drink.
- Bully Hunter: Squidward shows this side to him when he confronts the Jerkass for cruelly insulting SpongeBob.
- Bullying a Dragon: The Unsatisfiable Customer attempts to double down on the insults to Squidward as he did to SpongeBob. It doesn't end well for him.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: It isn't until the end that Squidward realizes that the customer's home, that they spent a day trying to get to was actually just a few short feet from the Krusty Krab, much to his chagrin. Although, as mentioned below, the plot is kind of Squidward's fault in the first place because he insisted SpongeBob drive after SpongeBob blatantly said he couldn't, and throws SpongeBob's anxiety through the roof when he can't figure out how to back the boat up.
- Crossing the Desert: SpongeBob and Squidward do this for a while until they find a huge rock that SpongeBob drives to return to Bikini Bottom.
- Determinator: SpongeBob when he insists that the pizza be delivered to the customer, no matter what. This is what makes the customer's line "Didn't you ever once think of the customer?!" especially harsh.
- Deus ex Machina: At their darkest hour, SpongeBob comes across a rock, something he's overjoyed to tears to find because rocks can be ridden. Squidward finds it incredulous but, like most of the other stuff SpongeBob suggested, he turns out to be wrong and they manage to use the rock to complete their delivery.
- Disproportionate Retribution: There is room to interpret Mr. Krabs as having hung up the phone before the customer could finish his order, meaning it's possible he really did order a drink. But it's a small mistake that does not warrant the attitude he gives in response.
- Diving Save: Squidward does this to save SpongeBob from a boat that was about to run him over. Both survive but are covered in sand.
- Door Slam of Rage: Right when the nasty customer is done tearing SpongeBob a new one over a supposedly missing drink, he violently slams the door in his face to show how pissed off he is, with the impact even making Squidward flinch.
- Double Meaning: When the ungrateful customer shouts that "he ain't buying," this not only means that he refuses to pay for the pizza, but also implies that he isn't convinced that SpongeBob is a good delivery boy, despite his determination.
- Dramatic Irony:Customer: Didn't you ever once think of the customer?!
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Tom's appearance is significantly different from his later appearance, being red instead of green and being more visibly overweight. He's also not half as nasty in his later characterization. Though to be fair, this could be just a different character who happens to have the same model (though he is still recurrently associated with Hair-Trigger Temper roles).
- Mr. Krabs is shown to be a good enough cook to quickly turn some Krabby Patties into a pizza. In later episodes, he's (usually) depicted as a Lethal Chef, Krabby Patty Formula notwithstanding.note
- When SpongeBob is enticed into eating the pizza by Squidward, he immediately sees right through the charade and protects it. In later episodes (and even previous ones, such as the pilot), SpongeBob is depicted as The Ditz and Super Gullible.
- When SpongeBob starts crying because of the unsatisfied customer, Squidward repeatedly calls SpongeBob "Sponge" rather than SpongeBob, which is something he does very rarely, if at all, past this episode. SpongeBob also calls Squidward "Squid" a few times in this episode, which doesn't happen much afterwards.
- SpongeBob claims the pioneers would only eat coral in times of hardship. Later episodes would have coral as a staple food, even selling coral bits at the Krusty Krab (granted, the coral in later episodes may have been cooked rather than raw).
- Squidward states that the Krusty Krab doesn’t deliver in this episode, but later on in the series (specifically after the second movie), we’ve seen SpongeBob and/or Squidward deliver food from the Krusty Krab on a few occasions.
- Entitled Bastard: The customer phone orders a pizza delivered from the Krusty Krab, which neither makes pizzas nor delivers, and was closed by the time he ordered it. When Krab's greed ensures he still gets one anyway, he berates SpongeBob mercilessly for forgetting a drink he didn't order. For extra insult, the Krusty Krab turns out to be right next door to his house.
- Everyone Has Standards: Squidward cannot stand SpongeBob, and is rightly frustrated with him over the unnecessary hell they've had to endure just to deliver a pizza (although the latter was Squidward’s fault to begin with). However, watching the customer insult SpongeBob and refuse to pay for the pizza over a stupid drink which he didn’t even order (although it could be possible that Mr. Krabs simply just hung up the phone as the customer was asking for a drink) and in doing so leaving SpongeBob a sobbing mess proves to be too much for even Squidward. Showing some sympathy for SpongeBob and being furious with the ungrateful customer, he quickly sets the record straight with the latter for wasting their time.Squidward: (feeling sad to see SpongeBob crying after the customer rudely insults him) Sponge? (becomes determined by grabbing the pizza and knocking the customer's door)
Customer: Another one?! Look, I already told your friend I'm not paying for that!
Squidward: Well, this one's on the HOUSE! (smashes the pizza right in the jerk's face) - Every Pizza Is Pepperoni: The Krusty Krab Pizza contains pepperonis and mushrooms.
- Fat Bastard: The customer is overweight and not a particularly easygoing one.
- Force Feeding: How Squidward makes the Unsatisfiable Customer pay for his horrible treatment towards SpongeBob. Squidward takes the pizza and forcefully shoves it down the man's throat.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Mr. Krabs talks to the customer over the phone, you can hear the phone's gibberish start to continue before he hangs up, possibly implying that the customer did order a drink, but Mr. Krabs cut the phone call off before he could finish his order and thus he thought they had heard him ask for a drink.
- The fact the guy orders a pizza delivered to his house from a restaurant that doesn't deliver, doesn't even make pizzas, and is already closed is more than a subtle sign he is not a reasonable customer.
- Squidward explicitly tells SpongeBob that the customer's house is "just around the corner". He wasn't kidding; the house is extremely close to the Krusty Krab.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: The whole pizza delivery becomes this, as Squidward forces SpongeBob to control the boat, which leaves them stranded in the desert. To top it off, when they finally reach the customer’s house, the customer rejects the pizza all because it didn’t come with the Diet Dr. Kelp he wanted, but luckily, Squidward gives it to him “on the house.”
- Good Is Not Dumb: At one point, Squidward just asks SpongeBob to take a look at the pizza while simultaneously trying to manipulate him into letting them eat it; SpongeBob soon sees through this deception and protects the pizza no matter what.
- Hate Sink: The individual that SpongeBob and Squidward had to deliver the pizza to, who seems to exist solely to instigate their hell and represent every most unpleasant trait of an Unsatisfiable Customer. SpongeBob (and Squidward) went through a lot of trouble to reach the customer, and he not only refuses to pay for the pizza or even take it because of a drink which he may not have even ordered but he outright screams abuse at SpongeBob and slams the door in his face, reducing the poor guy to tears. This is enough to piss off Squidward, who normally can't stand SpongeBob, and he violently force feeds the guy his order whether he wants it or not.
- Heel Realization: After the customer is mean to SpongeBob and crushes his spirits, Squidward sees that he actually has been kind of acting like that and decides to put that customer in his place.
- Here We Go Again!: With their delivery done, Squidward is ready to go home, but SpongeBob claims there's just enough time to get back to the restaurant.
- Honor Before Reason: SpongeBob puts delivering the pizza above absolutely everything, even his own safety.
- Improvised Parachute: SpongeBob uses the pizza as one after being spit out by the tornado.
- In the Style of: SpongeBob makes up several renditions of his Krusty Krab Pizza song, including beatboxing and a killer Joe Cocker impersonation.
- Inflating Body Gag: SpongeBob tests the air pressure on Squidward's tires by putting his mouth on the plug, causing him to inflate like a balloon and talk with a helium voice.
- Insane Troll Logic:
- Of all the tactics from the "Pioneers" that SpongeBob points out, driving rocks is what Squidward points out to be the most ludicrous, and suspects they all died because of such logic. Turns out he was mistaken.
- The customer orders for a pizza delivery from the Krusty Krab (which neither makes pizzas nor takes deliveries) and when they serve him his order anyway, he cruelly tears SpongeBob to shreds for forgetting his drink which he never even ordered in the first place.
- It Runs on Nonsensoleum: SpongeBob can't drive a boat, but he can drive a rock, which is driven exactly like a boat only all the controls are pantomimed.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: This is the first episode in the series to concretely portray Squidward in a positive light, and not just Spongebob's two-dimensional jerk neighbor. Squidward is a total curmudgeon for most of the episode (albeit for somewhat understandable reasons, since Krabs sent him along on the trip despite his protests) and even tries to entice Spongebob into eating the pizza before it can be delivered. That said, when they do finally reach their destination and their customer is an unsatisfiable prick who makes Squidward looks downright decent, Spongebob is driven to tears. This activates a Big Brother Instinct in Squidward, who walks up to the customer and rams the pizza right into his face—"on the house!"
- Jerkass: The customer, who slams the door in SpongeBob's face and yelling at him for forgetting his drink (which he did not even order, as SpongeBob points out complete with a notepad).
- Jerkass Ball: Squidward holds a tight grip on this by forcing SpongeBob to drive the boat even though the latter pointed out he still isn't licensed to drive. Squidward, too apathetic and lazy to care, still insists on making SpongeBob drive and when the boy is still nervous, Squidward just angrily screams and pressures him to get going. Thus, they get lost far from civilization. But as the episode progresses, Squidward does atone for his mistake.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Squidward isn't wrong for wanting to eat the pizza meant for the customer as they are far from civilization and their own survival is more important than a customer getting their order.
- Karma Houdini: Mr. Krabs for forcing Squidward and SpongeBob to deliver a pizza when it's not on their menu, and for making them do it when the Krusty Krab is closed for the day. However, he did not get paid for the dish.
- Kick the Dog: SpongeBob gets chewed out by the customer for forgetting the customer's drink (which he did not even order), then he asks, "Didn't you ever once think of the customer?!" He then yells, "You call yourself a delivery boy?! WELL, I AIN'T BUYING!" before rudely slamming the door in his face for good measure.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Squidward gets some karma towards the beginning of the episode when he's too lazy to even bother driving a short distance just to deliver a pizza, and just forces SpongeBob to drive for him. However, SpongeBob specifically states that he's still in boating school, but Squidward insists that he drive anyway. As a result of SpongeBob panicking, not at all helped by the octopus's pressuring, the two end up lost in the middle of the desert, with Squidward having to face the consequences of his actions.
- Squidward sees how broken up SpongeBob is because of the customer harshly yelling at him. Appalled at how the customer treated SpongeBob and won't pay for the pizza (making the long journey the duo went through a total waste of time), he furiously confronts the customer and throws the pizza in the bully's face.
- Lazy Bum:
- Squidward refuses to drive to the customer’s house, even though SpongeBob can't drive, as he is clearly told. Said customer would also count given The Reveal that his house is just next door to the Krusty Krab that he booked a delivery from.
- Mr. Krabs also counts as one. It would make sense if Mr. Krabs would be the one to deliver the pizza since in his eyes, it was mandatory to deliver the pizza to the customer, but he instead forces Squidward and SpongeBob to deliver it instead, despite Squidward's objections.
- Madness Mantra: "Backing up! ...Backing up! ...Backing up!"
- Mean Boss: Even though it's after closing, Mr. Krabs forces SpongeBob and Squidward to deliver a pizza. And he doesn't even pay them overtime.
- Mickey Mousing: When Squidward stomps up to the customer's door to teach him a lesson, his knocks sync up with the background music.
- Mock Meal: The Krusty Krab pizza is just some Krabby Patties crushed to look like a pizza. At the same time, subverted when Squidward describes the contents of the pizza.Squidward: What's that? Is that the cheese?
SpongeBob: Yeah...
Squidward: And the pepperoni?
SpongeBob: Yeah! - Negative Continuity: Played for Laughs. The customer's house is across the street from the Krusty Krab, when in all other episodes, the Chum Bucket is there.
- Never My Fault: The customer blames SpongeBob for his lack of drink, even though as SpongeBob pointed out on his delivery notepad he didn't order one.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Squidward pulls an Idiot Ball throughout this episode that makes the pizza delivery a bigger ordeal than it should have been.
- For starters, when Mr. Krabs tells him to deliver the pizza, Squidward asks Krabs to have SpongeBob do it which gives Krabs the idea to take SpongeBob with him.
- He then tells SpongeBob to drive the boat despite his protests that he cannot because he's still in boating school. Squidward's frustration with him gets him nervous resulting in him driving way off course.
- He then kicks the boat out of frustration, making it suddenly and spontaneously drive away on its own at full speed. Leaving the duo to make it back home on foot.
- Finally he rejects SpongeBob's directions to follow the algae saying he knows where he's going, it turns out SpongeBob was right and they were walking away from the town.
- Not So Remote: Had Squidward heeded SpongeBob's advice and gone where the moss was facing, he would have found Bikini Bottom right over the ridge.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: SpongeBob may be a goofy Manchild, but when it comes to delivering that pizza to the customer and making sure no one else eats it, then he means business.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Squidward, after him and SpongeBob land in a barren desert.
- SpongeBob, when the customer angrily demands his drink that wasn't included.
- Ow, My Body Part!: Squidward twice.
- The first time is when SpongeBob is singing while they're walking in the desert and Squidward adds the line "and my feet are killing me!"
- The second is at the very end of the episode after The Reveal that the customer was right next door to the Krusty Krab. After the blackout, Squidward whines "Oh, my aching tentacles!" This is cut in later airings, though, either because Nickelodeon wanted to air more commercials, or because it sounded like Squidward was saying "testicles" instead of "tentacles".
- Percussive Maintenance: Squidward kicking the boat in frustration causes it to fill up with gas. Unfortunately, because the boat was still in drive, it drives away in full speed, leaving SpongeBob and Squidward stuck to travel on foot.
- Pet the Dog: Squidward not only throws a pizza in the customer's face after he made SpongeBob cry, he saves SpongeBob from getting run over.
- Pie in the Face: Or in this case, pizza.
- Plot Hole: SpongeBob is able to drive a giant rock, even though earlier in the episode, it's shown that he can't operate a boat.
- Poor Communication Kills: The customer seems to assume the worst after not getting his drink and apparently doesn't hear (or more likely, ignores) SpongeBob trying to tell him he didn't order one as far as they know. It's hinted Mr. Krabs likely hung up on him before he could finish his order, and he might have saved himself some trouble with Squidward if he had just heard out the previous delivery boy.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "Well, this one's ON THE HOUSE!!" (Slams pizza in the guy's face)
- Product Delivery Ordeal: The story of this episode sees SpongeBob and Squidward attempting to deliver a pizza to a customer, only to get stranded out in the middle of nowhere and thus having to figure out how to get back on track. While they do succeed in the delivery, the customer ends up rejecting the pizza for not including a drink (and it's ambiguous on whether or not the customer made sure to request it in the first place). The customer does get comeuppance for this, though.
- Punctuated Pounding: Squidward slams the pizza in the customer's face while saying "Well, this one's on the HOUSE!", doing so on the final word.
- Rage Breaking Point: Squidward goes through a lot of crap having to deliver a pizza that he shouldn't even have to deliver at all, since the Krusty Krab is not a pizza restaurant. Throughout his journey, Squidward barely survives a lot of hardships, but the moment the jerkass customer has a tantrum over a simple drink and makes SpongeBob cry, Squidward snaps and kicks the customer's ass for SpongeBob's sake.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Well, it's more of a "The Reason THEY Suck" Speech, but anyway, Squidward calls the pioneers idiots for their hitchhiking methods, their diet of coral, following moss to civilization, and driving rocks. Of course, the moss did lead toward Bikini Bottom and SpongeBob was able to drive the rock, which skews closer to The Complainer Is Always Wrong.
- Road Trip Across the Street: After delivering the pizza, Squidward asks SpongeBob to drive him home, but SpongeBob tells him they have enough time to go back to work because the customer was just down the street from the Krusty Krab all along.
- Rule of Funny: How Mr. Krabs was able to pound Krabby Patties into a pizza.
- Saw It in a Movie Once: After being stranded in the middle of nowhere, SpongeBob tries to get himself and Squidward back home by using tactics from old pioneers which he says he "saw in a movie once." Most of them worked, albeit their progress was constantly hindered by Squidward.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: SpongeBob and Squidward didn't have to get lost because the customer lived right next door to the Krusty Krab.
- Shout-Out:
- Diet Dr. Kelp is apparently Bikini Bottom's counterpart to Diet Dr. Pepper.
- Squidward calls SpongeBob "Jethro" twice, a reference to a character from The Beverly Hillbillies.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Squidward lets the customer have it for hurting SpongeBob's feelings and wasting their time, all because of a stupid drink he may not have even ordered.
- Skewed Priorities: The customer is much more upset with the fact that he didn't get his drink rather than the fact that it took an entire day to deliver the pizza to him. If he was angry because of how long it took for the pizza to arrive, his behavior would’ve been at least somewhat justified.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Mr. Krabs makes Squidward and SpongeBob deliver the pizza to the customer, but he doesn't appear again after the opening, as he doesn't join the two employees on their journey.
- Talk to the Fist: Squidward decks the customer with the pizza box for insulting SpongeBob.
- Tempting Fate:
- "Oh, how could this get any WORSE?!", spoken by Squidward seconds before a swift kick to their delivery boat, previously out of gas, causes it to spontaneously fill up and drive off without them, leaving the duo stuck walking through the desert.
- When SpongeBob and Squidward finally arrive at the customer's house, SpongeBob says he can't wait to see the look on the customer's face, unaware about what kind of situation he was about to get into.note
- Too Dumb to Live: Squidward forces SpongeBob to drive the boat, even though SpongeBob said that he’s still in boating school. As Squidward keeps pressuring SpongeBob, the boat goes backwards at light speed to the point of the duo being stranded in the desert, with the boat running out of gas to make matters worse.
- Took a Level in Badass: Squidward survives a ridiculously long journey (in which he suffers the majority of the punishment), saves SpongeBob from being run over by a truck, survives a tornado (with the pizza intact), and when the obnoxious customer refuses to pay, Squidward snaps.
- Truth in Television: SpongeBob learns the hard way that entitled customers are, unfortunately, a regular part of service jobs, especially food service, and will ask for or get mad about anything no matter how trivial or even illogical.
- Trying Not to Cry: SpongeBob tries to hold back his tears after the customer rejects the pizza, but fails to do so. He stops crying when Squidward comes back and says the customer, "ate the whole pizza in one bite."
- Ungrateful Bastard: The Krusty Krab, which doesn’t serve pizza, delivers a pizza just for this customer. But he refuses to take it all because he didn’t receive the Diet Dr. Kelp that he wanted. But Squidward forces him to take it “on the house.”
- Unsatisfiable Customer: The customer who orders the pizza rejects it because it did not come with his Diet Dr. Kelp, which he did not even ask for in the order (though it is somewhat implied that Mr. Krabs didn't let him finish the order), from a place that doesn't even serve pizza, doesn't deliver, and was already closed when he called.
- Unstoppable Mailman: Neither fast sea currents nor searing heat nor a very hungry Squidward will stop SpongeBob from getting the pizza to the customer.
- Unstoppable Rage: The unsatisfied customer rages at SpongeBob since the Diet Dr. Kelp wasn't included in the order, even though the latter pointed out the customer didn't order a drink. When Squidward confronts the customer with the pizza, he still won't accept the pizza, but Squidward teaches him a lesson by shoving the whole pizza down his throat.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: If it is true that Mr. Krabs hung up on the customer before he could finish his order and thus didn't hear him ask for a drink, then he would be partially responsible for SpongeBob getting yelled at by an ungrateful customer who, to he or Squidward's knowledge, had never asked for a drink.
- Vehicular Assault:
- The truck driver SpongeBob tries to flag down with a pioneer hitchhiking dance instead tries to run him over because he thought he was a "crashin', frashin' breakdancer!"
- Done to Squidward by SpongeBob when he accidentally drives over him with the rock.
- Wham Line: The customer is at first elated to receive his pizza... but one single observation he makes kills his mood, and SpongeBob's soon follows suit.Customer: Wow, thanks! I've been dying for one of these, eh-... Where's my drink?
SpongeBob: ... What drink?
Customer: My drink? My diet Dr. Kelp? Don't tell me you forgot my drink!
[SpongeBob checks through the order notes to confirm if he had.]
SpongeBob: ... But, you didn't order any—
Customer: How am I supposed to eat this pizza without my drink?!
SpongeBob: [starting to cry] But... But...
Customer: Didn't you ever once think of the customer?! [He tosses the pizza box back at SpongeBob.] You call yourself a delivery boy? Well, I ain't buyin'!
[The customer slams the door. SpongeBob returns to Squidward, holding back his tears...] - Wrong Restaurant: The customer calls the Krusty Krab for a pizza either by mistake, or he wrongly assumed the Krusty Krab served pizza. Not one to miss out on a quick buck, Mr. Krabs smashes some Krabby Patties into a pizza and has SpongeBob and Squidward deliver it.
Tim Taylor would be proud.
Home Sweet Pineapple
Original air date: 8/14/1999 (produced in 1998)
After a swarm of nematodes devours SpongeBob's house, he and Gary are left with nothing but a pebble. Without a place to stay, SpongeBob tries building a house and living with Patrick and Squidward (none of those attempts work out) before giving up hope to live in the neighborhood, and sees no other option than to leave and move back in with his parents.
"Home Sweet Pineapple" contains examples of:
- Basement-Dweller: SpongeBob fears he'll have to go back to moving back with Mom and Dad since the nematodes ate his pineapple home. His parents are quite eager to take him back.
- Blanket Tug O' War: Between SpongeBob and Patrick. Only instead of a blanket, it's Patrick's rock.
- Bottle Episode: The episode takes place on Conch Street.
- Chekhov's Gun: The tiny pebble that SpongeBob found after his home was destroyed. He later buries it when it's time for him to leave. It turns out that the pebble is actually a pineapple seed, and it grows into a new house.
- Continuity Snarl: In other episodes, Patrick's house has living space under the rock complete with a comfy arm chair and TV. In this episode, it's made out so that Patrick has nothing under the rock but the flat ground. The rock itself acts more like a blanket. Even in the beginning of the episode itself, his house appears to have a living room.
- Creepy Changing Painting: A comical version. When SpongeBob says he'll have to move back in with his parents, we cut to a painting of them smiling. When Patrick says that he doesn't, we cut back to the same painting, now with SpongeBob's parents frowning.
- Cue the Falling Object: Patrick brags that he built his home himself. Cut to Patrick's house, which is just a rock with a crudely made TV antenna mounted on top, which snaps in half and falls over.
- Delayed Reaction:
- Doubles as an Overly Long Gag; a half-asleep Squidward not realizing that SpongeBob just came into his house. See also Late to the Realization below.
- Right after SpongeBob's house is destroyed, Patrick and Squidward arrive at the scene. After a few minutes of SpongeBob grieving, Patrick gives a shocked expression and says, "Hey SpongeBob, your house is gone!"
- Depth Deception: The house SpongeBob and Patrick build looks normal-sized, until they step forward and loom over it.
- Double Take: Squidward does an epic one. He half-groggily lets SpongeBob sleep with him, even giving him a glass of water. It's only moments after the two are asleep that Squidward's eyes pop open and he throws SpongeBob back out.
- Drool Deluge: As SpongeBob sleeps at Patrick's house, the drool coming from Patrick's mouth spills across the house and ends up being absorbed by SpongeBob's body.
- Extreme Omnivore: The Nematodes eat and drink almost anything. From coral, to a car, to SpongeBob's house.
- Failure Montage: SpongeBob and Patrick while trying to build a new house. Neither of them have any training or experience in building a house whatsoever.
- Fantastic Vermin: A herd of nematode worms eats SpongeBob out of house and home. They do, however, leave behind a seed, which SpongeBob mistakes for a pebble, buries, and cries over, and from which a brand-new, fully-furnished pineapple house grows. Nematodes are later mentioned by a realtor who is helping Squidward sell his house in "Opposite Day", and it's implied that they are the undersea version of termites.
- Fingore: During the montage where he and SpongeBob try to build a new pineapple house, Patrick's thumb ends up getting constantly injured, either by him hitting it with a hammer while trying to nail, or by SpongeBob's mid-air suspended boards falling on it. By the time they were "done", Patrick's thumb was covered in layers of bandages that made it look five times its size.
- Gag Echo: Squidward gets a call from SpongeBob and answers "Is it time already for you to ruin my day?" Moments later, Patrick wakes up and asks "Is it time already to ruin Squid's day?"
- Gross-Up Close-Up: Of the enormous pool of saliva in Patrick's mouth as he sleeps.
- Happy Dance: Done by Squidward when he sees SpongeBob finally leaving. Unfortunately, he does it on the spot where SpongeBob's house was, and ended up getting flattened when it grew back.
- Hive Mind: The nematodes are like this. Whenever the leader makes a decision, the group goes along with it.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction:Patrick: I wish I lived there.SpongeBob: Really?Patrick: No.
- Impact Silhouette: Squidward's impression is left on the floor of SpongeBob's house after it reforms on top of him.
- Informed Species: The nematodes look more like worms than real nematodes.
- Karma Houdini: The nematodes that eat SpongeBob's house and leave him homeless. This is the only episode they appear in during the Hillenburg-produced era (seasons 1 to 3). Granted, they were just thirsty and it's implied they are more of a pest than anything.
- Laser-Guided Karma: When SpongeBob is about to leave with his parents, Squidward happily dances on SpongeBob's property where his house is supposed to be, leading to Squidward getting crushed by the regrown pineapple house and leaving Squidward trapped under the house floor.
- Late to the Realization:
- Patrick only realizes that SpongeBob's house is gone a while after he arrived and SpongeBob himself had said it was gone.
- Likewise, Squidward only realizes that SpongeBob is in his house after they're both sleeping. Naturally, he kicks him out when he wakes up.
- Loud Sleeper Gag: SpongeBob struggles to sleep under Patrick's rock after his own home gets destroyed. One issue is that Patrick snores so loud that SpongeBob shoves corks in his ears (or, well, holes).
- Noodle Implements: "Ruining Squid's day" apparently required Patrick to dress up in a tux and top hat.
- Oblivious to Hatred: SpongeBob apparently doesn't notice how overjoyed Squidward is due to SpongeBob having to move out of the neighborhood.
- Oh, Crap!:
- SpongeBob when he realized that his house was shrinking.
- Then Squidward when SpongeBob happily tells him that he's back forever after getting his pineapple back.
- Post–Wake-Up Realization: SpongeBob loses his house to a nematode infestation and goes to stay with his neighbors. He enters Squidward's house late at night, and is able to get a half-asleep Squidward to bring him a glass of water and wish him goodnight before he fully wakes up and realizes SpongeBob's in his house.Squidward: (as he boots SpongeBob out of the house) Goodnight, SpongeBob.
- Rewatch Bonus: Viewers upon watching this episode again will know the little pebble that was left of SpongeBob's pineapple is really a seed that will make it grow back.
- Shout-Out: Squidward's visible impression on the floor of SpongeBob's new pineapple could be a nod to Han Solo's carbonite freeze from The Empire Strikes Back.
- Small Role, Big Impact: The nematodes destroy SpongeBob's house, rendering him homeless and nearly making him having to leave Bikini Bottom, but they are not seen ever again after the first part of the episode.
- Spiders Are Scary: When SpongeBob sleeps over at Patrick's rock, Patrick has a nightmare about getting attacked by spiders and talks in his sleep while repeatedly bashing SpongeBob with his rock.
- Status Quo Is God: Just as it seems like SpongeBob will have to leave Bikini Bottom and move back with his parents, a brand new pineapple home grows from the seed watered by his tears. Not only that, it's an exact replica of his old house and even has all of his exact furniture reinstalled.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: One of the few episodes to focus directly on the unexpected perils of living in a house made from an edible object.
- The Swarm: The nematodes who devour SpongeBob's house.
- Swiss-Army Tears: SpongeBob's tears restore his house back to normal.
- Toon Physics: SpongeBob manages to stay in the air by hammering boards one by one to the chagrin of Patrick.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Gary disappears from the episode shortly after SpongeBob's parents arrive.
- With a Foot on the Bus: SpongeBob is about to leave Bikini Bottom, but the seed he inadvertently watered grows a new pineapple, allowing him to stay.
