"The Thing" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 4. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick think Squidward is an animal, and call him Smelly. Time/Date: Unknown
Characters Present:
- SquidwardTentacles
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Patrick Star
- SWAT team
- Gary the Snail
- Smellies
- Kelpy G (debut) (name wasn't revealed)
- Nat Peterson (cameo)
- Sadie (cameo)
- Isabelle (cameo)
Synopsis
The episode starts off when Squidward looks outside and it's silent. He thinks that for once he'll have some peace and quiet, that is until SpongeBob and Patrick turn up looking to spend time with him. He slams the door in their face when they decide to invite themselves in. Of course it'll take a little more than having a door painfully slammed in their faces to make them think that Squidward doesn't like them and just as he turns on a public television program, SpongeBob and Patrick appear and come inside to watch TV with him. Squidward leaves the two in his house and gets on his bike. While he's riding, Squidward collides into a cement truck and the truck spills cement on him. He goes through a dumpster, hill and on the ground. Covered in cement and unrecognizable, Squidward finds himself in Jellyfish Fields. Immediately after, SpongeBob and Patrick come across Squidward and, thinking he's an unknown species of animal, name him Smelly and take him to SpongeBob's house. Next, SpongeBob gives Smelly a tour of his house. Gary doesn't take too well to Smelly and so Patrick decides to keep the latter at his house (because he's "always wanted a pet"). Once there, Smelly acts up and a frantic Patrick calls Animal Control. The police soon arrive and surround the area, and so Smelly is taken to the zoo. The next night, SpongeBob and Patrick break into Smelly's cage and try to hide from the Zoo Guards. They hide in a sewer which leads to a place where a type of species that resemble the cement-covered Squidward live. The creatures carry Squidward away and to his surprise, the musician that was on the TV that SpongeBob, Squidward and Patrick were watching is there playing the clarinet. As he's watching the musician, the cement covering Squidward cracks open, and all the creatures start to stare at him. (this scene was similar to Jellyfishing when Squidward's cast breaks after the Giant Jellyfish stings him).
APM Music Identification
- Drama Link D - Smellie growls.
- Dramatic Cue B - Smellie tries to get back to his house.
- Dramatic Cue E - A clam eats Smellie.
- Comic Walk - SpongeBob, Patrick and Smellie walk in a sewer. Squidward bicycles away.
- West Side Rumble - SpongeBob and Patrick run from the SWAT team with Smellie.
- Unkown Tracks 3 - Title card.
- Wooden Bear - Patrick tries to play ball with Smellie.
- Toys for Boys - "Okay, I'll hold."
Trivia
- The title of the episode is possibly a reference to Fantastic 4's, The Thing,the John Carpenter film, The Thing or Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s 2011 remake of The Thing.
- It is revealed Gary only attacks Squidward, however in Once Bitten, Gary attacks Mr. Krabs.
- This is the fourth appearance of a land giant clam; the first three were Tea at the Treedome, The Smoking Peanut and I Had an Accident.
- This is the first new episode of Spongebob Squarepants to air in 2007.
- The squid on TV looks similar to Squidward from in dream in SquidBob TentaclePants.
- This is the second episode in which Squidward has an accident while riding a bicycle in attempt to get away from SpongeBob and Patrick, the first was Jellyfishing.
- The clarinetist's clarinet sounds more like a saxophone.
- SpongeBob's grape juice box background is yellow and Patrick's is purple, but later they are both purple.
- The clarinetist is a parody of Kenny G, and the credits list his character name as "Kelpy G".
- When Patrick is put on hold when he calls the police, it is the same music as the intro theme as Nickelodeon's Sniz and Fondue(From the show "Kablam!").
- This is the third of four episodes transcribed into a comic in the SpongeBob/Tokyopop book "Mistaken Identity". The other three were Once Bitten, That's No Lady, and Rule of Dumb.
- The episode description on TV says that Squidward gets in a bicycling accident and gets covered in mud and leaves. He actually gets covered in cement.
- Patrick says that Squidward hates pets, although in The Great Snail Race, Squidward shows great care for his snail.
- This is the first appearence of Kelpy G. The second will be Smoothe Jazz at Bikini Bottom.
- "Cool Jazz" will be heard once again in Enchanted Tiki Dreams.
- When Squidward is taken in by the other animals at the end, Spongebob says "Patrick, Smelly is where he belongs now." to which Patrick replies "Yes. Come, let us go back to where we belong." and this is a referance to the Walt Disney film, The Jungle Book. This is the second time The Jungle Book is referanced. The first is in Life of Crime
- Patrick never said where his house was but somehow the cops showed up right where they needed to.
- In this episode, Kelpy G'S name wasn't revealed. But in Smoothe Jazz at Bikini Bottom, his name will be revealed.
- Apparently, his name was revealed in the credits.
- The song the Patrick comments it funny was taken from Rock-a-Bye Bivalve.
- When SpongeBob Say to: Squidward (Good Night) is the morning
- "The Thing" and its sister episode, "Hocus Pocus", have something in common: Squidward turns into something else.
- Although in Hocus Pocus, Squidward didn't turn into anything, but Spongebob thought he turned him into Pistachio Ice Cream.