Single Cell Anniversary

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Characters

Synopsis

Plankton walks to the Chum Bucket stinking with the stench of "failure" as he calls it, and Karen is in a very happy mood. Karen then smells Plankton and gives him a bath, taking off his skin, which is revealed to be his clothes. After he's washed, Plankton learns that it was his and Karen's wedding anniversary, and that Karen got him a copy of the Krabby Patty secret formula for his present, but he can't have it until he gets her a present.

While Plankton is looking for a present, he runs into SpongeBob. He tells SpongeBob the news and SpongeBob yells to all of Bikini Bottom that there's a "Love Emergency". SpongeBob then tells Plankton that his present has to come from the heart, and he suggests a serenade. Plankton then remarks that he can't sing, and SpongeBob takes him to the pineapple and works on Plankton's vocal cords. Plankton sings so high that he breaks the glass Squidward was drinking out of his juice and Sandy's helmet breaks while she was walking then she runs back to her treedome for air. Then, Plankton goes off to serenade Karen.

Plankton walks into the Chum Bucket and starts singing a mariachi-style song, and SpongeBob and Patrick play guitars in the background, wearing Mexican-style clothing and mustaches. Plankton also shakes maracas. Karen cries when it is over, and then she starts uploading the Krabby Patty secret formula. SpongeBob is mad at this, and he unplugs what he thinks is Karen, but was just the coffee maker. Karen finally uploads the formula, but she starts crying again, and she breaks down and shorts out, leaving Plankton still without the secret formula. She then shuts down, and the EMILP (Emergency Mother-In-Law Program) uploads and starts nagging, saying that Karen could have married the ATM, someone with money.

Production

Music

( ‣ ) Production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

• ? - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [title card]
‣ Emotion Blues - Francois Fournet, Eric Gemsa [Plankton comes home]
‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill ["And now the smell of defeat so deeply penetrates my soul..."]
‣ Darting Around - Harry Bluestone [Karen cleaning Plankton]
• ? - Jeremy Wakefield ["It's not enough to mask the ugliness I feel inside."]
‣ Darting Around - Harry Bluestone ["Did I miss a spot?"]
• ? - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton gets angry]
‣ Fantasy Princess - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["It has something to do with you asking a certain someone..."]
• Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr ["What?"]
‣ Here Comes the Bride - Richard Wagner ["We each wear rings in memory of this moment."]
• Steel Sting - Jeremy Wakefield ["It's our wedding anniversary!"]
‣ ? [Karen got Plankton the secret formula]
• Botany Bay - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Karen explains how she got it]
‣ ? [Plankton kissing the formula bottle]
• ? - Jeremy Wakefield [Karen wants a gift from Plankton]
• ? - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["And that's how I got my head stuck in the fry vat."]
‣ Accusation - Gerhard Trede [Plankton groaning]
• Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Plankton?"]
‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [Plankton tells SpongeBob about his wedding anniversary]
‣ Chasey Racy - Norman Dane [love emergency]
‣ ? ["There's only one thing to do."]
‣ Sport Fanfare - Gerhard Trede ["That's it!"]
‣ ? [Plankton telling SpongeBob about Karen]
‣ ? [singing lessons]
‣ ? [Sandy's helmet breaks]
‣ Climb to Altitude - Trevor Duncan ["Oh, you are ready!"]
‣ Tiki Rapido - Lionel Wendling ["This is it, Plankton."]
‣ ? ["Ah, love."]
‣ Lonely Heart's Club (a) - David Bell, Otto Sieben [Plankton returns home]
◦ Oh My Karen - Luke Brookshier, Eban Schletter [Plankton sings]
‣ South Pacific Island II - Victor Cavini ["That was so beautiful!"]
‣ Crime & Danger Sign No. 3 - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch ["The Krabby Patty formula?!"]
‣ Dramatic Sea Battle - Gerhard Trede ["I am so fired."]
‣ Victory of Love - Gerhard Trede [Karen crying]
• ? - Jeremy Wakefield [computer shorts out]
• ? - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Emergency Mother-In-Law Program]

Reception

This episode is number 14 on Tom Kenny's Top 20 on iTunes. His description says:

"Kind of obscure, but one of the few episodes to focus on the 'honeymooners-like' marriage of Plankton and Karen (just a microorganism and his computer wife tryin' to get by). I love how Plankton swings between henpecked husband and world-conquering megalomaniac."

Trivia

Karen has a Boston accent while her "mother" has more of a New York/Jersey accent.
Plankton's failures are usually his own fault or another character's. In this episode, it seems to be Karen's fault for crying and short circuiting. It may also breifly be Plankton's fault for forgetting their anniversary.

Karen is upset with Plankton for not having an anniversary gift for her, but in the end, she's the one who fails to give the other an anniversary gift.
This is the last episode in the series to premiere with the Nick splat logo. The next episode, Truth or Square aired after the logo change that has orange text saying NICK, NICKELODEON or NICKTOONS.
On the Nickelodeon schedule, this episode is called "Green Anniversary".

Cultural References

Karen's "ERROR" screen is a parody of blue screens usually found when a computer is malfunctioning.

Errors

At the beginning of the episode Karen has the secret formula printed out and in a bottle, but at the end Karen has to print it out.
When SpongeBob attempts to Ctrl-Alt-Del Karen, the keyboard keys are white. When Karen begins to short circuit, they are red.