Clams

Template:Episode "Clams" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season three.

Brief summary: Mr. Krabs becomes a millionaire, but then a clam eats the dollar that brought him this status.

Time/Date: Unknown

Time cards shown: None

Characters Present:

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Squidward Tentacles
• Mr. Krabs
• Krusty Krab Customers
• Clam
• Gary the Snail

Songs: None

Plot

At the Krusty Krab, a customer is consulting Squidward as to what he likes. Squidward says he doesn't like anything on the menu, then tells the customer to buy anything. The customer just buys some coral bits. It costs a dollar, and an alarm suddenly blares out. Squidward assures the customer that it is something stupid, and shouldn't bother taking any notice. Mr. Krabs then bursts out of his office and starts to dance with the dollar, to intense celebratory music. Mr. Krabs informs everyone that he's received his millionth dollar, and keeps the dollar in his pocket.

He pushes all of the customers out and tells SpongeBob and Squidward that they're going on a trip to celebrate. They do not go to Fancy Springs, the Bikini Bottom beach, or the Bikini Bottom folk village. Instead, they go Clam fishing, and Mr. Krabs rents a cheap boat on a smelly lagoon. As they try their best, SpongeBob accidentally removes everything from the boat while he is casting his line, even Mr. Krabs' dollar. SpongeBob reels it in as quickly as he can. He gives the dollar to Mr. Krabs and an enormous clam jumps out of the water, over the boat and eats it. After Mr. Krabs goes crazy trying to get it back, SpongeBob and Squidward attempt to give Mr. Krabs an ordinary dollar and escape, and this results in becoming bait. When the clam leaps up, he jumps into its mouth. Mr. Krabs gets his dollar, although he traded half his body for it!

Trivia/Goofs

• This episode is a spoof of Steven Spielberg's Jaws. The references to the film include the title card, the musical score, and three main characters on a boat chasing a larger than normal animal. Mr. Krabs is a play on Quint who was portrayed by Robert Shaw in the movie. The theme music which plays throughout the episode is similar to the famous Jaws theme.
• Even though boats are used for driving in Bikini Bottom, they were using a boat to fish.
• Note: It would appear Mr. Krabs had $999,999 before the customer ordered the coral bits. However, it could be possible that he earned (and spent) this amount.
• The fish who paid Mr. Krabs his millionth dollar never received his "coral bits" he paid for. That's because Mr. Krabs kicked him out.
• In the boat Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob and Squidward have beards. Mr. Krabs has a white one, SpongeBob has yellow one and Squidward has a gray one.
• The episode also features numerous references to Moby Dick (Krabs' obsessive pursuit of the clam, nailing the sandwich to the mast of the ship, etc.).
• In most recent airings, the dramatic music that plays when the big clam appears is different.
• Mr. Krabs breaks the fourth wall by acknowledging the existence of the dramatic music while SpongeBob reels his dollar in. He then opens a double-door on the ship which reveals an orchestra playing the same music. Later, when he's using them as bait, SpongeBob and Squidward question why the Clam would appear then when it wouldn't before. The camera pans to Mr. Krabs dressed as a conductor in front of the orchestra, revealing that it's the ominous background music that draws the Clam's attention.
• The boat is called the S.S. Cheapskate.
• Squidward says he hates everything on the menu. But in Just One Bite, he says he loves Krabby Patties.
• It is revealed that clams in Bikini Bottom can live in both water and on land (In Tea at the Treedome Sandy was wrestling a clam on land, and in this episode, Mr. Krabs is trying to catch a clam that lives in water).
• When Mr. Krabs is crying, there are puddles of tears. But when he's done crying, the puddles disappear.
• When SpongeBob says "Yeah, and I have to go home and feed Gary.", he has a beard and hair. The next shot shows Gary eating the couch, but when it cuts back to the ship, SpongeBob's beard and hair disappear. It may be that they were wearing wigs because Squidward takes his off and throws it on the ground before it shows Gary.
• In Pre-Hibernation Week SpongeBob says, "I have to feed Gary before he eats the sofa again." In Clams Gary does, it was made after Pre-Hibernation Week.
• This is the first and as of now the only episode Mr. Krab's butt was seen.
• When SpongeBob says, "I've never seen Mr. Krabs so broken." and the screen shows Mr. Krabs broken up, he is (In the next scene) put together again.
• This episode has the same music as the episode "Frankendoodle."