Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II

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Characters

• French Narrator
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• TV Narrator
• Mermaid Man
• Barnacle Boy
• Chiropractor ^(mentioned)
• Jumbo Shrimp ^{(debut as a cardboard cutout)}
• Sinister Slug ^{(debut as a cardboard cutout)}
• Atomic Flounder ^(debut)
• Johnny Elaine
• Gary the Snail
• Newspaper Boy
• Miss Shell
• Dennis
• Cafeteria worker
• Lonnie
• Dirty Bubble ^(debut)
• John

Synopsis

One Saturday morning, SpongeBob is watching his favorite show, The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy while eating Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Bran Flakes. He has entered a competition and is listening eagerly to see if he has won the mystery prize. The announcer declares the winner as "SpringBoob SquirePin," for his life-sized Krabby Patty mannequins of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. SpongeBob calls out that "SpringBoob SquirePin" stole his idea before the announcer announces that he has made a "slight" error in pronunciation and that the real winner is indeed SpongeBob SquarePants.

File:Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II 19.jpg

Within seconds, SpongeBob's prize is delivered to him. SpongeBob has won the "Conch Signal," a conch whose noise is a signal which Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy respond to. SpongeBob blows it, and Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy hear it from Shady Shoals, and spring into action. When they arrive at SpongeBob's house, they at first think that he has been disfigured before recognizing him. He explains to them that he won the Conch Signal in a contest and that there is no danger. They then explain to him the importance of the signal and tell him that he must only use it for major emergencies.

Later on, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy hear the conch once again and rush to SpongeBob's house, where he appears to be dead on the floor. However, he then reveals that he simply is having trouble opening a jar of mayonnaise. Barnacle Boy is angered by this, but Mermaid Man reminds him that emergencies do not come around as often as they used to, and he tells SpongeBob that he can blow the conch "every once in a while.". However, SpongeBob abuses this privilege, constantly calling Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy to help with normal everyday tasks. Eventually, the two heroes are exhausted, and Barnacle Boy attempts to destroy the conch signal, but cannot bring himself to do so.

SpongeBob is in tears and apologizes, explaining that he just wanted to spend time with them. As a result, they let SpongeBob join them on their daily patrol, with SpongeBob dressed as a superhero. They do various activities, such as keeping lookout from on top of a tall building, and in the street, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy see an old man, who was once the Atomic Flounder. SpongeBob attacks the old man, not understanding that he is no longer a villain, and angered by this, the Atomic Flounder breathes fire in Barnacle Boy's face.

File:Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II 38.jpg

At a restaurant, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy ask SpongeBob to find their theme song on a jukebox. As he tries to find it, they decide to "ditch" SpongeBob. Outside, however, they are attacked and trapped by their nemesis, the Dirty Bubble. When SpongeBob finally finds the song, he comes outside to tell them and sees their predicament. He asks the Dirty Bubble for his autograph, saying that he is his favorite supervillain, and "accidentally" pops the Dirty Bubble with the tip of the pencil, saving the day. The trio rides off in the Invisible Boatmobile, singing a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy-themed version of "Jingle Bells" as the episode ends.

Production

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Super Hero - Tony Hymas [title card]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill [opening]
 ‣ Arizona Fanfare - Jack Shaindlin [TV show starts]
 ‣ Caped Crusader - David Farnon [knocking down cardboard cutouts]
 ‣ Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence [contest winner announced]
 ‣ Hymn of Achievement - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob's prize]
 ‣ Caped Crusader - David Farnon [SpongeBob blowing the conch signal]
 ‣ Bat Stabs - David Farnon [Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy stop in midair]
 ‣ Caped Crusader - David Farnon [looking for Invisible Boatmobile]
 ‣ The Lineman - Sam Spence [Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy arrive at SpongeBob's]
 ‣ Mourners (d) - Zsofia Taller ["He's been horribly disfigured!"]
 ‣ Exciting Action (b) - Mladen Franko ["All right, where's the danger, son?"]
 ‣ Vibe Link (b) - Richard Myhill ["No danger?"]
 ‣ Facing the Challenge - Gregor F. Narholz ["The conch signal is an awesome responsibility."]
 ‣ The Lineman - Sam Spence ["The conch signal!"]
 ‣ Beautiful Moonlit Night - Carl Maria Von Weber, George Wilson ["Oh, youth... cut down in its prime!"]
 ‣ SpongeBob Closing Theme - Steve Belfer, Nicolas Carr [opening a jar of mayonnaise]
 ‣ Secret Service - Syd Dale [conch signal montage]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [SpongeBob cries]
 ‣ South Pacific Island II - Victor Cavini ["Don't squash his enthusiasm."]
 ‣ The Lineman - Sam Spence ["To the Invisible Boatmobile!"]
 ‣ World in Action - Laurie Johnson [origami]
 ‣ Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence [patrolling the city]
 ‣ Gator - Steve Belfer [Atomic Flounder]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill [exterior of diner]
 ‣ Hawaiian Hula - Terry Day [Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy ditch SpongeBob]
 ‣ Dramatic Encounter - Gregor F. Narholz ["What's the matter?"]
 ‣ Triumphant Return 2 [#28.02] - Gregor F. Narholz ["But I can't let my heroes down!"]
 ‣ House of Horror - W. Merrick Farran [Dirty Bubble introduced]
 ‣ Police Car - Sam Spence [Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trapped inside Dirty Bubble]
 ‣ Dangerous (a) - Mladen Franko ["Oh no, you fool, stay back!"]
 ‣ Moloka'i Nui (a) - Kapono Beamer ["You saved us, son!"]
 ‣ Police Car - Sam Spence [sting at end]

Release

• This episode is available on the Lost at Sea, The Adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants, Complete 1st Season, and First 100 Episodes DVDs.

Reception

• As of August 14, 2016, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 8.9/10 based on 277 ratings by users. TV.com users give this episode a rating of 8.4/10 based on 195 votes.

Trivia

Template:Trivia

• This is the first episode to feature Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy and not feature Patrick. The second is "Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob" and third is "Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!"
• This episode was originally going to be called "25 Words or Less."
• This is the last episode of Season 1.
• This was the last episode to use traditional cel animation. All episodes from seasons 2, 3 and 9 use digital ink and paint, whilst episodes from season 4-8 use 3D computer coloring.
• This is the only Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode where the title card has purple scales. The other four have blue scales on the title card, and "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture" has a completely different title card than the others.
• This is the first appearance of the Mermalair.
• This is the only Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode not to have The Lineman as the title card music, until "Mermaid Man Begins."
• The Atomic Flounder is the only villain on SpongeBob SquarePants that is shown to have aged.
• This looks like Dirty Bubble died at the end of the episode, but he later returns in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V."
• Upon meeting with SpongeBob again, Barnacle Boy says "it's just that sponge kid again," referring to when they met SpongeBob in the first "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy" episode.
• For the first time, there was censorship, but Gary is the censor in this episode.
• Running Gag: Barnacle Boy getting burnt, mainly by the Invisible Boatmobile.
• During a tribute to Ernest Borgnine, this episode paired with "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."
• This episode premiered on Biz Markie's 36th birthday.
• This is the only episode not to use the classic Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy theme during the opening credits.

Cultural references

• The "Jingle Bells" song is a parody of a Batman and Robin-themed version of "Jingle Bells," of which Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are parodies of.
• The Atomic Flounder's radioactive breath is a possible reference to Godzilla.
• The conch signal is a reference to the conch trumpet used by Triton in Greek mythology. Also an obvious reference to Batman's bat signal.
• This episode has a similar plot to the Rugrats episode "Angelica Breaks a Leg."

Errors

• When Mermaid Man tells SpongeBob that the conch signal is too much responsibility, the television in his house shows only a red screen, instead of a black screen or a moving picture.
• When Mermaid Man says "Activate torpedo mode!," the regular closed-captioning just says "Torpedo mode!"
• Towards the end of the episode when SpongeBob, Mermaid Man, and Barnacle Boy are singing the "Jingle Bells" parody, Barnacle Boy's mouth does not move when they turn past the rock, even though he is singing.