Clams

This is the page about the episode. For other uses, see Clams (disambiguation).

Characters

• Squidward Tentacles
• Template:Data:Links
• Live-action orchestra Template:Debut
• Eugene H. Krabs
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  • Fred
  • Steven
  • Incidental 12
  • Incidental 13 ^(blue)
  • Incidental 16
  • Incidental 18
  • Incidental 20
  • Carol (Inc 22)
  • Harold (Inc 36)
  • Tuck Tucker (Inc 37A)
  • Incidental 41
  • Incidental 42
  • Incidental 48
  • Incidental 60
  • Incidental 64
  • Incidental 69
  • Incidental 103
  • Stretch
  • Incidental 150
  • Sandals
• Small Clams
• Old Bluelip Template:Debut
• Hans
• Gary the Snail Template:Cameo
• Krabs Senior ^{(debut; deleted scene)}
• Betsy Krabs ^{(deleted scene)}

Synopsis

File:Clams 007.png

Squidward severely scolds Sandals.

The episode starts at the Krusty Krab where a customer is struggling to decide what he wants to order and asks Squidward what he likes best. Squidward states that he hates everything on the menu, but at SpongeBob's suggestion, he orders coral bits for one dollar. Just then, Mr. Krabs excitedly announces that this particular dollar is his one millionth earned. After congratulating and thanking SpongeBob and Squidward, he says they are going on a surprise trip to celebrate. Squidward guesses they will be going to special places, such as Fancy Springs, Pamper Island, or Bikini Bottom Folk Village. To Squidward's dismay, however, they go clam fishing in a boat called the S.S. Cheapskate on a smelly brine lagoon.

While fishing, SpongeBob accidentally hooks the back of Mr. Krabs' pants, which he has taped his millionth dollar to, and rips it off. Once the dollar is thrown into the lagoon, dramatic music played by a live-action orchestra starts up, giving SpongeBob, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs a dark warning that a giant clam is close by. As Mr. Krabs pleads for the orchestra to stop playing to no avail, SpongeBob frantically reels the dollar back into the boat, and for a few seconds, Mr. Krabs is happy at the dollar's safety. Next second, however, a giant blue-lipped clam suddenly jumps out of the lagoon, grabs the dollar from Mr. Krabs' claws, and swims away. Mr. Krabs starts sobbing and, after informing Squidward of what just happened, he falls into an uncontrollable crying fit, which an annoyed Squidward tries unsuccessfully to snap him out of. Finally, Squidward reluctantly promises to help Mr. Krabs get his dollar back. He is happy to hear this, and gives everyone supplies so that they can prepare themselves for catching the clam. Mr. Krabs then starts keeping a lookout for the clam.

After three days, the clam still has not returned. SpongeBob and Squidward have grown tired of waiting, so they try to fool Mr. Krabs by giving him an ordinary dollar out of Squidward's wallet, which was all crumpled up, torn slightly, soaked in the lagoon, and kissed up with Coral Blue #3 Semi-Gloss Lipstick that SpongeBob used. Mr. Krabs sees through their scheme and states that he will give a sandwich to whoever retrieves his dollar. He goes so far as to toss the other sandwiches and the entire fridge into the lagoon, making the sandwich the only piece of food on board. Squidward and SpongeBob realize that their boss has succumbed to madness and try to escape, only for Mr. Krabs to catch them and use them as live bait for the clam.

File:Clams 200.png

"Nothing important!"

Soon, the orchestra's dramatic music starts again, with Mr. Krabs being the conductor. The clam advances toward the boat with Mr. Krabs' dollar lying on his tongue. Mr. Krabs jumps onto the clam's tongue and grabs the dollar, only for the clam to shut its mouth and dive back into the lagoon. SpongeBob and Squidward are distraught until Mr. Krabs' head pops out of the lagoon. He reveals that he and the clam fought until Mr. Krabs agreed to trade his entire body (minus his head and left arm) for the dollar.

Production

Deleted scene

In the storyboard version featured on the SpongeGuard on Duty DVD, after Mr. Krabs gets his 1,000,000th dollar at the Krusty Krab, he uses the restaurant's phone to call his parents Krabs Senior and Betsy Krabs at the Bikini Bottom Graveyard to tell them about it, only to show that they're long dead. There were paintings made for the payphone and graves before the scene was cut. The reason this scene was cut from the final episode was either due to its punchline having an awkward and somewhat jarring contrast in tone with the scene before it, or to prevent a major continuity error, since Betsy Krabs and Krabs Senior are shown to be alive and well in other episodes.

Storyboards

• File:Clams storyboard-1.png
• File:Clams storyboard-2.png
• File:Dollar sb clams.png
• File:Messy sb clams.png
• File:Gu6aYkmXYAAJT70.png
• File:Gu6Z7afWoAA9Xrr.png

File:SpongeBob SquarePants - Clams (storyboard)

Art

• File:SB207-SC.014A.png
• File:SB207-SC.014B.png
• File:FB4C7DC2-F41C-4DA9-B387-12AFA787A69B.jpeg
• File:1619886794184.png
• File:13433066 1123401524368503 4172910284603661530 o.jpg
• File:13497547 1372253229456589 608817852253750461 o.jpg
• File:822021223334849 sb207 goofy crazy sponge Squid.jpg
• File:GNv4HEJWcAArIaQ.jpg
• File:Couch bg clams.jpeg
• File:Dollar bg clams.jpeg
• File:Krabs bg clams.jpeg
• File:Sandwich bg clams.jpeg

Model sheets

• File:GBRjG0xWoAMnA7A.png
• File:093 KRABS IN FISHING ATTIRE.png
• File:Blue 13 model sheet.png
• File:047 NOSELESS SQUID.png
• File:031 KRABS IN SWIMSUIT.png
• File:031 SB IN SWIMSUIT.png
• File:031 SQUID IN SWIMSUIT.png
• File:033 KRABS COLONIALIST.png
• File:Colonialist.webp
• File:033 SQUID AS COLONIALIST.png
• File:035 CLAM FISHIN SQUID.png
• File:035 SPONGE CLAM FISHERMAN.png
• File:035 KRABS CLAM FISHERMAN.png
• File:Clam model sheet.png
• File:081 KRABS IN PIECES.png
• File:087 KRABS EYES BULGING.png
• File:098 Squid with tan lines.png
• File:098 KRABS SHIPWRECKED LOOK.png
• File:098 SPONGE SHIPWRECKED LOOK.png
• File:098 SQUID SHIPWRECKED LOOK.png
• File:150 KRABS IN MOURNING DRESS.png
• File:190 KRABS HEAD ARM.png

Release

Distribution

• This episode is available on the SpongeGuard on Duty (with storyboard version on the special features), Complete 3rd Season, Beach Bob, First 100 Episodes, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, SpongeBob on DVD, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 5, Complete Third Season, From the Beginning, Part 2, Celebrate the Sea, Beware the Hooks, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, On the Road Again, Bob Esponja Cumple 10 Años, Combo DVD, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, Favorite Episodes, 2-Season TV Pack, The Third & Fourth Seasons, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, and The Best 300 Episodes Ever DVDs.
• This episode is also available on the UK version of the SpongeGuard on Duty VHS tape.
• This episode was originally going to be included on Out to Sea digital collection but was removed for unknown reasons.

Reception

• This episode and "New Student Starfish" were nominated for an Emmy at the 2003 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).
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Trivia

General

File:SB207-215.jpeg

• This episode was originally called "SpongeJaws" and "Moby Dollar."
• Mr. Krabs breaks the fourth wall by acknowledging the existence of the dramatic music while SpongeBob reels his dollar in and again by conducting the same music to lure in Old Bluelip.
  • He then opens a double-door on the boat which reveals an orchestra playing the same music.
  • Later, when he is using them as bait, SpongeBob and Squidward question why the clam would appear then when it would not before.
  • The camera pans to Mr. Krabs dressed as a conductor in front of the orchestra, revealing that it is the ominous background music that draws the clam's attention.
• Old Bluelip's roaring was performed by Dee Bradley Baker and pitched down.
• This is the first episode for two things:
  • The first episode to play "Hawaiian Cocktail" in its entirety and the only episode to play it without any kind of alteration.
  • The first episode where SpongeBob wears red swimming shorts until season 8 with the episode "Patrick's Staycation." The shorts ever since are now SpongeBob's normal swimming shorts.
• For unknown reasons, this episode and its sister episode were rated 13+ on Amazon Prime Video in August 2020.
  • This has since been corrected as of October 2020, and the episode is back to being rated its original TV-Y7 rating on Amazon Prime Video.
• During the Best Day Ever marathon, this episode was paired with "Tea at the Treedome."
• During the SpongeBob vs. The Goo marathon, this episode was paired with "A Life in a Day."
• In the animatic, there's a line from Mr. Krabs (after SpongeBob rips off Squidward's nose) that isn't present in the final version: "What's a nose or two?"
• In the animatic, SpongeBob reveals that the real coral blue lipstick is "coral blue number four," which he says after Squidward hits him on the head with a fishing pole.
  • Despite this, a Mandela effect regarding the cut-off suggests that the coral blue lipstick is "coral blue number five."
• The episode's plot is similar to the 1995 Rocko's Modern Life episode "Fish-N-Chumps." Both episodes were also directed by Stephen Hillenburg and written by Mark O'Hare.
• This episode was referenced on the Out to Sea digital collection, despite the episode not appearing on that collection.

Cultural references

• This episode is a parody of the 1975 movie, Jaws.
  • The references to the film include the title card, the title, the musical score and three main characters on a boat chasing a larger than normal animal.
  • The boat's name, S.S. Cheapstake which is used as a major role is a spoof on S.S. Orca.
  • Mr. Krabs fills the role of Quint, who was portrayed by Robert Shaw in the movie.
  • SpongeBob fills the role of Martin Brody, who was portrayed by Roy Scheider.
  • Squidward fills the role of Matt Hooper, who was portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss.
  • The theme music which plays throughout the episode is similar to the John Williams score to the film.
  • The original name of this episode was "SpongeJaws," a pun of the movie's title.
• The episode also features numerous references to Moby-Dick, including Mr. Krabs' obsessive pursuit of the clam and nailing a sandwich to a flagpole on the boat and the episode's German title, Moby Muschel.
  • An even earlier title for the episode is a riff on the novel, being called "Moby Dollar."
• Bikini Bottom Folk Village appears to be modeled after living museums such as Colonial Williamsburg and Plimoth Patuxet.

Errors

• In early airings, the episode had an incorrect copyright date of 2001 in the credits. Later airings (and the original print of this episode) have the correct date of 2002.
  • This mistake may be attributed to the fact that this episode was mostly in production in 2001, but wasn't actually finished until the early part of 2002.
• When the curtains open in the Krusty Krab, it covers up the part of the wall where SpongeBob and Squidward work.

File:Clams 031.png

The Chum Bucket is missing and the path to the Krusty Krab when facing forward is shaped like a "T."

• When Mr. Krabs pushes all customers out from his restaurant, the Chum Bucket is missing and the path to the Krusty Krab when facing forward is shaped like a "T."
• After SpongeBob hooks the flag, it is gone. However, while Mr. Krabs is telling SpongeBob he hooked his dollar, the flag reappears.
  • This may have been for the sake of a joke.
• S.S. Cheapskate is referred to numerous times as a boat, so it should not be called "S.S. Cheapskate," as "S.S." stands for "Steam Ship," and S.S. Cheapskate is not a ship.

File:Clams 138.png

The lipstick is gone.

• When Squidward clobbers SpongeBob before he can finish saying "Actually, it's coral blue number thre-," the lipstick he put on his lips disappears even after Squidward lifted the blunt object off of him.
• Despite ordering them, Sandals never got his Coral Bits.
• For most of the episode, the S.S. Cheapskate does not have a bowsprit. However, in the final scene of the episode, it does.
  • In the animatics, the boat consistently has a bowsprit throughout the episode. It is possible that the animators didn't notice the bowsprit in the animatic until the end scene, which explains why the boat suddenly has a bowsprit at the end.
• In this episode, the sky gradient is a darker shade of blue at the top and lighter at the bottom, rather than darker at the bottom and lighter at the top.
  • To date, this is the only time this has happened in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, as all other episodes, movies, and games have the sky gradient the other way around.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
French	Courage, rien n'est jamais perdu	Courage, Nothing is Ever Lost
German	Moby Muschel	Moby Mussel
Hebrew	דיג צדפות Dayig Zdafot	Clam Fishing
Hungarian	Kék óriáskagyló	Big Blue Clam
Italian	Il milionesimo dollaro	The Millionth Dollar
Japanese	楽しい釣り旅行 Tanoshī tsuri ryokō	Fun Fishing Man
Russian	Моллюски Mollyuski	Clams
Spanish	Almejas	Clams