For Here or to Go

Characters

Plot

Spongebob blows a trumpet, heralding an important announcement from Mr. Krabs: it's the first annual bun seed counting contest and anyone who correctly guesses how many seeds are in the jar will get a free Krabby Patty (though Mr. Krabs has a hard time spitting out the word, "free"). Several people make guesses, each more ridiculous than the last. The next contestant is Plankton, but before he can guess, Mr. Krabs grabs him by the antennae and takes him outside. Plankton threatens to call the Bogus Business Bureau on him, but an unfazed Mr. Krabs chews him up, blows him like a bubble, and blows him away, where he splats onto the door of the Chum Bucket. Plankton makes good on his threat.

At the Krusty Krab, agents burst through the roof along with their boss, Agent Twirp, who asks Mr. Krabs if he is the manager. Mr. Krabs lies, but Spongebob corrects him. Twirp tells Mr. Krabs that he must accept guesses from all customers no matter how "diminunative" or "annoying" they are. Plankton pops out of Twirp's breast pocket, proudly proclaiming he is both. Mr. Krabs is adamant about refusing to let Plankton guess, but when Twirp threatens to close down the Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs reluctantly agrees. Plankton uses technology to scan the jar and guesses: five hundred thousand, three hundred and one. Mr. Krabs laughs at him, saying it is actually five hundred thousand, three hundred "and none". Plankton demands that the all seeds be counted to prove it, and Mr. Krabs refuses, until Twirp once again threatens to close down the Krusty Krab if he does not comply. Mr. Krabs painstakingly counts every single seed from the jar: five hundred thousand and three hundred. However, Spongebob notices an uncounted seed in the jar's lid, proving Plankton won the free Krabby Patty.

Desperate to stall, Mr. Krabs makes excuses, which Spongebob corrects. He says the contest included a free show, which Twirp allows. Mr. Krabs constructs a puppet theatre and performs a puppet show, but it ends when Plankton demands his Krabby Patty immediately. Mr. Krabs realizes there's nothing else he can do, and sadly tells Spongebob to prepare the Krabby Patty. Mr. Krabs has Squidward distract Twirp, giving him time to sneak into the kitchen, take all the buns, and flush them down the toilet. Spongebob runs out, upset that there are no buns, but a delivery man comes in with boxes of buns, thwarting Mr. Krabs' last-ditch efforts. When the Krabby Patty is ready, Plankton wants it "to go", but Mr. Krabs says it must be eaten at the restaurant. Plankton protests, but Twirp allows it. Plankton stuffs the patty into his mouth, but Mr. Krabs tells him to swallow it. Plankton does, and Mr. Krabs throws him out of the Krusty Krab, onto an operating table at the Chum Bucket. He tells Karen to remove the patty from his stomach immediately, even declining anesthetic.

Later, the Chum Bucket advertises Krabby Patties and has a line of customers. Mr. Krabs and Spongebob sadly watch, until some people come out, very sick, saying the patties taste like stomach acid. The rest of the customers flee, and Plankton asks Karen what's going on. She tells him she followed his orders carefully: to remove his stomach contents and analyze them, misinterpreting that Plankton wanted her to analyze his stomach contents, rather than the Krabby Patty's ingredients. Mr. Krabs is relieved, then tells Spongebob to recover the buns he flushed down the toilet.

Trivia/Goofs

The bun seed counting contest is based on real-life jellybean counting contests. The winner is determined by whomever guesses closest to the actual number, rather than getting the exact number (which is practically impossible).
The Bogus Business Bureau is a reference to the Better Business Bureau. The purpose of both organizations is to make sure businesses are not being unfair to customers.
Mr. Krabs had a hard time saying "free" previously in The Krusty Sponge. He was unable to say "free" at all, so he says "complimentary" instead. This time, he succeeded in saying "free", with Spongebob's help.
Mr. Krabs calls Plankton a "twerp" after throwing him out.
Incorrect guesses include: 2, 46, blue, Mermaid Man (to which Mr. Krabs retorts, "That's not even a number!")
Spongebob does really stupid things which helps Plankton in his goal to ruin the Krusty Krab, including telling Agent Twirp that Mr. Krabs is the manager, reporting the uncounted seed, telling Mr. Krabs he already cleaned the grill, and ordering extra buns.
Why hasn't Plankton called the Bogus Business Bureau until now? He would have several cases against Mr. Krabs each time he was refused service.
This time, the failure to obtain the Krabby Patty recipe was Karen's fault. She should have figured out that Plankton wanted her to analyze the Krabby Patty and only the Krabby Patty, rather than everything else in his stomach.
Nat was voiced by Doug Lawrence.
Patrick did not appear.
When Plankton used his goggles to count the seeds, it would've counted as cheating, and he should've been disqualified.
When Karen opened up Plankton without anesthetic, the shock from pain might have killed him.
Mr. Krabs saved himself by forcing Plankton to eat the Krabby Patty at his restaurant. This may have been part of his plan, or the unintended benefit from his last-minute efforts to stall Plankton.
When Squidward distracts Agent Twirp, he mentions health-code violations, though it's never found out what they are or if they even exist.
It's unknown if Mr. Krabs will hold another seed counting contest in wake of Plankton's actione. It's very unlikely.
According to the buttons Plankton presses, the Bogus Business Bureau's phone number is 8918.

References

Clip for episode: http://spongebob.nick.com/videos/clip/spongebob-174b-for-here-or-to-go-guessing-game-clip.html