Awesome Music: "The Lineman", originally used for NFL highlight reels in the '60s and a perfect theme song for Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy which really captures the Adam West Batman homage they're going for.
Hilarious in Hindsight: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy have a hotline phone that makes dolphin sounds when it rings. A later episode "Sailor Mouth" established the dolphin sound as an in-universe curse word. So is their phone ring just shouting obscenities?
"EEEEEEEEE-VIIIIIIILLLLLL!!!!!" Ernest Borgnine had something of a Career Resurrection amongst children in the last decade of his life thanks to that.
SpongeBob in a dress while holding out his purse inspired the "Traveling SpongeBob" meme.
Pickles:
Alternative Character Interpretation: Is Bubble Bass a cheapskate who doesn't want to pay for his meals or is he a bully who wants to psychologically torture SpongeBob? Or is he some mixture of both?
Alternative Joke Interpretation: Squidward abruptly stops writing down Bubble Bass' order and tells him "we serve food here, sir". Was Squidward unable to continue following the Hash House Lingo Bubble Bass used, or was he being judgemental about his order (which if followed right would result in a massive and unhealthy Dagwood Sandwich)?
Aluminum Christmas Trees: As it turns out, Bubble Bass' apparently ridiculous order is actual terminology.Translation"Double triple" = six layers, "Bossy" = all-beef patties, "deluxe" = all condiments, "on a raft" = on toast, "4x4" = four patties with cheese on each layer, "animal style" = cooked in mustard, "extra shingles" = double layers of bread, "shimmy and a squeeze" = extra sauce, "light axle grease" = butter, "make it cry" = extra onions, "burn it" = well done, and "let it swim" = a nautical version of "let it walk", or "to go".
Awesome Moments: The climactic showdown between SpongeBob and Bubble Bass.
Bubble Bass, of course! He appeared two more times in season one, but despite being beloved by the fanbase it took him until season eight to make more roles and become a supporting character by season nine.
Fridge Brilliance: Spongebob only being able to make a Krabby Patty immediately after he says he can't isn't just an Instantly Proven Wrong gag, it was a sign that his confidence had already come back: he was confident enough to say that he couldn't do it!
Genius Bonus: As demonstrated by this episode of Binging with Babish, Bubble Bass' Hash House Lingo isn't complete nonsense, almost everything in what he says is an actual slang term, even if the burger SpongeBob produces for Bubble Bass looks nothing like what the order should suggest.
Bubble Bass' order, much like Big Smoke's, has caught on in various forms.
“I’ll have a (blank).”/“How original(!)”/“With (blank).”/“Daring today, aren’t we(?)” is used as a format for things that are typically repeated one way or another with the blanked part used to talk about the subject in question.
Bubble Bass’s weight has become something of a meme himself, with countless fat jokes at his expense similar to how Jabba the Hutt’s name has become synonymous with Fat Bastard and is invoked as an insult.
Bubble Bass violently knocking Squidward out of frame, and later just as violently tossing him into the fourth wall have become reaction GIF's and points of discussion. The latter has been compared to famous Curbstomp Battles in history for the sheer lunacy of the scene.
Bubble Bass showing his chewed up food from his mouth. It also counts as an In-Universe example as many customers are grossed out by it.
Bubble Bass' order doesn't sound good AT ALL unless you understand Hash House Lingo. And if you know of the unofficial translation of it, it's still a devastatingly unhealthy meal that only the most extreme eater could possibly eat (and woe to their blood pressure, etc).
SpongeBob putting his hand in Bubble Bass' mouth.
Suspiciously Similar Song: The episode's title card, The Gunfighter is a version of the theme to the 1969 Spaghetti Western "The Forgotten Pistolero"/"IL Pistolero dell'Ave Maria'". The song is called "The Gunfighter" because "Pistolero" means roughly the same in Spanish.
Wangst: Mr. Krabs crying about losing two dollars due to the money back guarantee. He even deducts it from SpongeBob’s paycheck, thus exemplifying this trope even further.
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