Gary Takes a Bath

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Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Gary the Snail
• Eugene H. Krabs ^{(silent cameo)}

Synopsis

File:Gary takes a bath.jpg

It is Gary's bath time, but he doesn't want to take a bath. SpongeBob makes countless attempts such as faking a treasure map and sending him subliminal messages to get Gary in the bath, but they all fail. Eventually, SpongeBob then tries to shoot it at Gary, who flees outside. SpongeBob sees Gary on a tree with a ladder propped against it. So SpongeBob climbs up the tree, only to find a record player that looked like Gary that rapidly plays, "Meow." Then the real Gary takes away the ladder, trapping SpongeBob on the tree. Then SpongeBob falls off the tree into a pit of mud. Then the episode ends with SpongeBob taking a bath instead to get off the mud. Gary meows, and SpongeBob says, "Yeah, Gary, I'm getting behind my ears too." Then the episode ends. Template:Section-Expand

Production

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Hawaiian Pussycat - George de Fretes [title card]
 • Steel Sting - Jeremy Wakefield ["So that's how you wanna play it, huh?"]
 ‣ Hula Festival - George Elliott [boomerang pet ball]
 ‣ Unease - Dick Stephen Walter [subliminal messages]
 ‣ Cafe' De Paris - Trevor Jones [SpongeBob calls a French restaurant]
 ‣ ? [leapfrog]
 ‣ Dingle's Regatta - Brian Peters [pirate treasure map]
 ‣ Kerry Polka - Brian Peters [bathtub painted to look like treasure chest]
 ‣ Dancing the Hula - Kapono Beamer ["Get in the tub!"]
 ‣ Six Powerful Cues (d) - Wilfred William Burns [SpongeBob hanging from the ceiling]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer ["Bath delivery!"]
 ‣ Chase Cue 2 - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob spitting water at Gary]
 ‣ Hawaiian Sting 9 - George de Fretes ["Oh no! I bathed Gary too hard and removed his skin!"]
 ‣ Lonely Heart's Club (a) - David Bell, Otto Sieben [SpongeBob chewing out Gary]
 ‣ Hawaiian Pussycat - George de Fretes [SpongeBob taking a bath]

Reception

• "Gary Takes a Bath" was ranked #74 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.

Release

• This episode is available on the Sea Stories, Absorbing Favorites, Complete 2nd Season, and First 100 Episodes DVDs.

Trivia

Template:Trivia

• This episode runs for 6 minutes and 31 seconds. It was the fourth episode running less than eleven minutes. The reason that this episode is that short is due to the length of its paired episode, "Shanghaied".
• This is the first episode pair to be about a year or two apart, the next one being Le Big Switch (2007) and Goo Goo Gas (2009).
• This is the only episode to only use one voice actor (Tom Kenny).
• The Gary Clock also appeared in "Procrastination" and "Earworm".
• This is the second time a record player was used to replace a character. The first was in "Pressure."
• The text style in the title card is the same as in "Bubble Buddy".
• In the German version of this episode, the episode is called Die Wanne ist Voll, which means "The Tub is Full". This is a reference to a German song from the 70's.
• In the Japanese version of this episode, is called "ゲイリーのお風呂嫌い," which means "Gary Hates Baths."
• In the Spanish version this episode is called "Gary toma un baño", which is translated to Gary takes a bathroom. The Spanish name could've been "Gary se baña".
• In the Polish version this episode is called Kąpiel Gacusia which means Gary's Bath.
• When SpongeBob calls the French restaurant he tells them he has a snail who won't take a bath (because they should serve snails in a French restaurant) to scare Gary so he will take a bath but SpongeBob can't understand the language. (He does not speak French) For this joke to work SpongeBob must not know how to speak French. This was cut in the French version because he knows how to speak French so the joke can't work.
• In the middle of episode, Gary breaks his shell. This wouldn't happen for a couple seasons in "Have You Seen This Snail?", "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?", "Shell Shocked," and "Are You Happy Now?" in the future.
• This is the second time SpongeBob says "Gary the Snail" to Gary: The previous one was "Dumped" and the next one is "Fungus Among Us. He also said this in Truth Or Square.
• This episode was the last one produced in 2000, but didn't premiere on TV in US until 2003, but despite the fact that it premiered around the same time that many season 3 episodes had already premiered, two or more paired episodes have to share a common season, and this episode is from season 2 because its paired episode "Shanghaied" is from season 2, because that episode premiered during a season 2 premiere week during the week of March 5, 2001.
• List of ideas that SpongeBob tries to get Gary to take a bath:
  • Throwing a ball to the bathtub. However, it's a "boomerang pet ball", so it comes right back. So does the box it came in.
  • Strapping a bomb to his chest and telling Gary that it will explode if he doesn't take a bath; the bomb explodes.
  • Sending subliminal messages to Gary. A disturbing picture comes up, prompting him to apologize.
  • Calling a French restaurant. He can't understand a thing the person on the other end is saying.
  • Playing leapfrog with Gary. He tries to launch Gary into the tub, but misses and makes Gary's shell break.
  • SpongeBob tries to play leapfrog again, but Gary refuses and hits SpongeBob with a cane.
  • He bribes Gary with a dollar, telling him that the next "fellow" to take a bath in his house will receive it; Mr. Krabs arrives out of nowhere in a bathtub and takes it.
  • Different dances.
  • Fakes a treasure hunt and paints the bathtub to look like a treasure chest.
• This episode (along with its paired episode, "Shanghaied") was banned in the United Kingdom and Australia due to the "don't drop the soap" gag involved in the script, which was regarded to as inappropriate for a children's cartoon. Also, while SpongeBob is "assaulting Gary's mind with subliminal messages", a picture of a strange, crossed-eyed girl with freckles and pigtails appears suddenly with a giggle that was deemed too frightening for younger viewers. After seven years of not airing, both episodes finally returned to Nickelodeon in Europe and Australia in September 2008 for a single airing. After complaints from parents, the episodes were removed once again and have not aired since in both countries, despite being on the second region release of The Complete Second Season. However, the episode (along with "Shanghaied") re-aired in Australia in November 2010, and the episode returned to TV on February 27, 2011 in the UK.
• In the Absorbing Favorites DVD, this episode was put on the DVD without its paired episode.
• The fact the Gary hates taking baths is based on how domestic cats don't like to get wet and Gary is an underwater parody of a cat.
• One of the most controversial parts of the episode is where SpongeBob straps a bomb to himself to get Gary to bath, which is a parody of suicide bombers.
• This episode was almost banned in the US because of the creepy subliminal message girl. Today, it airs uncut with the girl uncut.
• This is one of the few episodes in the entire series to only have three or less characters. Another episode that's a great example is Rise and Shine.
• After being hit on the wall, Gary does not necessary need a cane because he doesn't need to walk. However, the cane could have been meant for self-defense.
• This episode may have taken place after Help Wanted because SpongeBob didn't wonder who Mr. Krabs was. However, he did have a shocked face which means it may have taken place before Help Wanted.

Cultural References

• The strange girl's laugh appeared again in Party Pooper Pants at the end of the episode, during Patchy's segment. Also, it's a spoof of a sound from The B-52's song, Rock Lobster.

Goofs

• When SpongeBob called the French restaurant, it had a purpose: One French dish was escargot, or cooked snail. However, escargot was land snail, not sea snail.
• After Gary takes away the ladder that SpongeBob used to climb the tree, a faraway view of the tree was shown, and the ladder is seen falling to the ground. However, in the next faraway view of the tree where SpongeBob falls out of the tree and into the mud puddle, the ladder was no longer there.
• The Sky description for the episode is "Gary takes a bath, well... what did you expect?". As stated, Gary doesn't actually take a bath in the episode.
• When SpongeBob hands Gary soap and a rubber duck, after he says "I don't know what a snail would want with a brooch!", in the next shot they were both gone.
• When SpongeBob takes a bath, his sleeves were on. This error also occurred in the next episode Welcome to the Chum Bucket.
• Unlike the title, Gary doesn't take a bath.
• Gary was right next to the puddle when SpongeBob warns Gary about going in the mud puddle. Then Gary was far away from the mud puddle when SpongeBob falls in.
• SpongeBob had painted the tub to make look like a treasure, in the next shot it was back to normal.
• Instead of SpongeBob's puns, the captions say the correct thing instead of the pun. Example: "'Water' you waiting for, Gary?" becomes "What are you waiting for, Gary?"
• The tree in this episode was never seen in any other episodes, even though the place it should be was shown in other episodes.