Band Geeks (SpongeBob SquarePants)

"Band Geeks"
Sweet Victory!
Series: SpongeBob SquarePants Part of Season: 2 Episode Number: 35b 5571-173 Air Date: (United States) September 7, 2001 (Canada) January 17, 2002 Writer: C.H. Greenblatt Aaron Springer Merriwether Williams Director: Aaron Springer Previous episode: The Secret Box As Seen on TV (5571-172) Next episode: Graveyard Shift Artist Unknown (5571-174) Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy III (Airing order)

"Is mayonnaise an instrument?"

— Patrick

Band Geeks is the second half of the 15th episode of the second season of SpongeBob SquarePants and is the highest rated episode of the series.

Plot

Squidward starts a marching band to play at the Bubble Bowl and rubs it on Squilliam's face.

Why It's A Sweet Victory

1. This episode is the introduction of Squilliam Fancyson, Squidward's arch-rival.
2. Non-stop hilarious jokes and moments, such as:
   • Everyone talking with each other, but they're actually saying "blah blah blah blah blah"
   • "Is mayonnaise an instrument?"
   • Squidward's face distorted by a loud blast of music.
   • The scene where Patrick kicks Sandy, only to get stuffed into a trombone off-screen.
   • "BIG, MEATY CLAWS!"
   • The hilariously dark scene of the flag twirlers flying and crashing into a blimp because they spun their flags too fast.
3. This is the first episode here Squidward gets a happy ending. Although, episodes after this episode had Squidward getting a happy ending are "House Fancy", "Love That Squid", "Suction Cup Symphony", "Squid Plus One", and "Enchanted Tiki Dreams", but when it was first aired, it was truly a sight to behold.
4. The ending is truly magnificent, as it is one of the most memorable moments in the history of the show's run, as it shows great visuals, Squidward getting his happiness, Squilliam getting his desserts, and a great song that's catchy, victorious, and has inspiring lyrics.
5. A very positive message that no matter who you are, you can still make a good change in the world.
6. The scene when Squidward tearfully calls out the band is extremely heartbreaking, especially considering that barely anything goes right for the poor guy (with his episode being a blatant exception).
7. SpongeBob is at is his absolute best in this episode.
   • SpongeBob's friendly attitude was shown in a very positive light, as not only is he trying to help Squidward, he discourages everyone from fighting, he encourages everyone to give it their all for Squidward with a creative method not done by shows that much, and he encourages Squidward to show himself to the world and never give up. It's also nice to see him as the voice of reason in this episode, when he usually isn't.
     • Although he plays a minor role, this is one of those episodes where the minor characters have great character development, which is very good news.
8. Probably every character that existed in SpongeBob before this episode is shown in this episode, except Gary.

Bitter Defeat Qualities

1. The blue fish just blames Mr. Krabs for no reason at all simply for having big, meaty claws.
   • Funny, but unfortunately, has bad implications of racism.
2. Squidward's line "Too bad that didn't kill me" after being pinned to the wall by the band's drumsticks can be seen as dark comedy, but not as much as "Are You Happy Now?".
3. Although this was unintentional, the scene where the flag twirlers crash into a blimp felt dark for some viewers, considering the episode aired only four days before the September 11 attacks. Heck, this scene even had to be cut from syndication after these attacks as well.

Reception

"Band Geeks" received universal acclaim among fans and critics, and is almost unanimously considered the best episode of the show. Upon release, the episode was awarded and honored at the 2002 Golden Reel Awards for Best Sound Editing in Television – Animation category. Tom Kenny, SpongeBob's voice actor, considers "Band Geeks" one of his favorite episodes. In a 2009 review, Michael Cavna of The Washington Post ranked the episode at No. 5 in his "The Top Five SpongeBob Episodes: We Pick 'Em" list. He said "Squidward's mix of artistic aspiration in the face of goading, humiliation and unrelenting sub-mediocrity made this a kids' episode that adults can experience on a whole 'nother level." The Guardian ranked "Band Geeks" the second best episode of the show, next to "Krusty Krab Training Video".

Nancy Basile of About.com ranked "Band Geeks" at No. 1 in her "Best SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes" list, writing "[The episode] has so many of the best elements of SpongeBob, crafted into a story whose rhythm flows smoothly and quickly to reach a poignant end." She praised the entire premise, calling it "funny just to think about." Basile also lauded the ending "complete with a keytar and freeze-frame jump in the air." Emily Estep of WeGotThisCovered.com ranked the episode as the fourth-best SpongeBob SquarePants episode, explaining that "most of the gags in 'Band Geeks' center around Squidward's bleak existence, but it's also stuffed with one-liners from and about each of the characters on the show, such as the line 'These claws ain't just for attractin' mates!' from an about-to-brawl Mr. Krabs, and when Squidward says, 'No, Patrick, mayonnaise is not an instrument,' in response to an inevitable query from the stupid star."

"Band Geeks" was one of the top episodes as chosen by viewers at Nick.com in the event "The Best Day Ever Marathon" held in 2006. In November 2007, as part of the "Top 100 Greatest Moments in Nicktoons History" during "Superstuff Nicktoons Weekend", it was ranked as the No. 1 greatest moment of all time. In 2012, Nickelodeon in the United Kingdom launched an event called "SpongeBob's Top 100", where viewers can vote at Nick.co.uk for their favorite episode. With over 160,000 votes cast, "Band Geeks" emerged as the winner. It currently holds the highest rating and thus the No. 1 position for SpongeBob episodes on the series' IMDb page, receiving a 9.8 on the aforementioned website.

Trivia

• Ironically this was the last episode to premiere before 9/11.
• "Sweet Victory", a song from this episode, was meant to be played during the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2019, but was replaced with "Sicko Mode" instead. Luckly, NHL and NASCAR played it during that same year.
• Several moments from this episode became famous internet memes such as:
  • Patrick's line "Is mayonnaise an instrument?".
  • SpongeBob's Eager face.
  • Harold's line "BIG, MEATY, CLAWS".
  • The line "Yeah, uhh, we're with the pet hospital down the street and I understand that you have a dying animal on the premises."
  • Patrick kicking Sandy causing the latter to push him in a trombone.
  • Squidward's stretched face after the band played too loud.
• This episode was so popular that it has its own page on Wikipedia.
• This is one of the few episodes where Harold has an unexplained Cockney-British accent while in other episodes, he has his American accent.
• The ending was unfortunately cut off in the Italian version for unknown reasons.

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