Captain Quasar: The Next Iteration
"Captain Quasar: The Next Iteration" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 15. In this episode, SpongeBob and Squidina try to start their very own Captain Quasar fan club after being kicked out of Bubble Bass's.
Characters
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Squidina Star
- Patrick Star
- Captain Doug Quasar (series debut)
- Pat-Tron
- Chicken Man (single appearance)
- New Quasar (single appearance)
- New Pat-Tron (single appearance)
- France (single appearance)
- Bubble Bass
- Kevin C. Cucumber
- Harvey
- Gary the Snail
- Larry the Snail
- Big lady
- Incidentals
- Bunny Star (mentioned)
- Cecil Star (mentioned)
- SpongeHenge alien (cameo on Harvey's shirt)
- Mermaid Man
- Barnacle Boy
- Flying Dutchman
- Dirty Bubble
- Man Ray
Synopsis
Captain Quasar and Pat-Tron spaceship has crash-landed on an alien planet, and Pat-Tron is tied up at the edge of a cliff, guarded by a Chicken Man. Captain Quasar promises to save Pat-Tron and begins to fight the Chicken Man. He gets the better of him by distracting him, then tying his shoes together so he falls off the cliff. Captain Quasar unties Pat-Tron and the two hug each other, as the episode ends. SpongeBob and Squidina celebrate the ending of the episode, while Patrick is scared that the Chicken Man might exist somewhere. SpongeBob calms him and insists that he is made up, like cartoons, or France, which causes a French viewer to cry. Suddenly a commercial plays on the TV, announcing a new Captain Quasar fan club located at the back of the comic book store. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidina are incredibly excited and quickly arrive at the comic store. They are greeted by Bubble Bass, the president of the fan club, who introduces his co-secretaries, Harvey and Kevin. He quickly surmises, based on their shoddy cosplays, that they are fans of the original Captain Quasar series. Bubble Bass tells them this is a fan club for the reboot, and plays a clip.
A muscular Captain Quasar fires rockets at a monstrously large Chicken Man, who easily blocks them. Quasar then deflects his feathers with ease. The two both jump into the air, and Quasar calls on Pat-Tron to activate Mecha Pattern Alpha. Pat-Tron, with their star-shaped spaceship as his body jumps into the air, and Quasar falls into the ship's cockpit. With the ship now functioning as a fighting robot, they launch a laser attack at the chicken, cooking him into chicken. Squidina questions why Captain Quasar is now a giant robot show, instead of it being about exploring the universe. Bubble Bass says it can be both, to which Squidina says it confuses the premise, and rejects the show. SpongeBob agrees with Squidina, while Patrick prefers the new show because of the new, more handsome robot. SpongeBob and Patrick vow to start their own club dedicated to the original series, and walk out of the store. Because SpongeBob's house is being used by Gary, the two decide to hold their meeting inside the vending machine. However, the two are quickly dragged to the bottom of the vending machine after Patrick tries to order food. Patrick dumps outs the contents of the machine, along with SpongeBob and Squidina, on to the ground, causing his fan club to cheer him for bringing them free food.
The two later realize they have no place left to meet, and may have to rejoin the new Captain Quasar fan club. They bump into a line of people and find out the new Quasar and Pat-Tron are signing autographs inside the comic book store. After Squidina comes up with an idea, the two enter the comic book store and bring in the old actors for Captain Quasar and Pat-Tron. After Bubble Bass asks her where they found them, she explains she still had the coordinates to their ship saved on her and Patrick's time closet, though Patrick has completely forgotten about it. Squidina decides to team up the two versions of Quasar and Pat-Tron to make a new series, with all-new adventures. Bubble Bass suggests they find out who the best version of Captain Quasar are by having them fight, the pulls a lever to have the four actors fall into the store's pit of doom. The old actors start to charge them, but they are both incredibly slow and easily held back by the new actors. The old actors decide to use their lasers, much to the new actors' surprise, and blast the new actors' clothes off. The two then fly out of the pit. Seeing the new actors lost the battle, Bubble Bass declares the fan club open to all iterations of Captain Quasar. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidina put on their Captain Quasar cosplays, and Captain Quasar and Pat-Tron start shooting at them, thinking they are clones.
Production
This episode was confirmed by Cartoonlounge.de on August 5, 2024.[1]
Music
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
‣ Age Of Discovery - Sam Spence [Title card.]
• Star Trekkers 1 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston [Opening.]
• Star Trekkers 3 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston ["Captain Quasar! Save me!"]
• DT 07 ROBOTS ruff#174 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston [Captain Quasar and Chicken Man fight.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr ["My hero! You saved me!"]
• The Donut Dilema - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidina watching TV.]
• It's l'Amour - Nicolas Carr [France cries.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr ["Calling all Captain Quasar fans!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 33 - Jeremy Wakefield ["We've gotta join that fan club!"]
• ? - Nicolas Carr ["Hardcore Quasar fans only!" sign.]
‣ Silly Season A - David Bell, Otto Sieben ["No, Patrick. It says 'hardcore Quasar fans only.'"]
‣ Witty Fellow - Gerhard Trede [Bubble Bass introduces the fan club.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield ["They made a new Captain Quasar show?"]
• Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [Bubble Bass takes off SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidina's costumes.]
‣ ? [Clip from the new Captain Quasar show.]
• A Fishy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["So wait, now Captain Quasar is a giant robot show?"/SpongeBob and Squidina leave.]
• But I Have an Idea - Nicolas Carr ["Hmm... I know a place we can go!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 22D - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob runs in place.]
• Humorous Conversation Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["This place is a little tight, SpongeBob."]
• Star Trekkers 1 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston [Captain Quasar Secret Club handshake.]
• Humorous Conversation Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick uses the vending machine.]
• Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
• M'Wanna - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Well, we tried the only place I could think of."]
• Star Trekkers 1 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston ["They got the new Captain Quasar to sign autographs?"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield ["I hate to admit it, but is is impressive."]
• Another New Idea - Nicolas Carr ["It gives me an idea!"]
‣ Broadway Bustle - Leslie Manson [At the autograph signing.]
‣ Forty Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 27-40 - Remastered - Fredric Bayco ["Ready to admit that Captain Quasar: The Next Iteration is the best iteration?"]
‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 3 - Fredric Bayco ["Huh, never."/"We wanted to introduce you to some old friends."]
• ? - Nicolas Carr [The original Captain Quasar and Pat-Tron appear.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 40D - Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick forgets his time closet.]
‣ Heroes Return [#49] - Larry Hochman ["Let's team 'em up for a new series!"]
‣ Happy As You Go [#66] - Harry Lubin [SpongeBob imagines the new series.]
• Star Trekkers 1 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston [Bubble Bass opens the pit of doom.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr ["By having them fight it out in the pit of doom!"]
• Star Trekkers 3 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston ["Don't be silly, Pat-Tron."]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 11E - Jeremy Wakefield [Captain Quasar and Pat-Tron running slowly.]
‣ Charlie's Bike E - Peter Balding, Otto Sieben [Bubble Bass gloats.]
• Star Trekkers 3 - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston ["These clones are too strong, Captain."]
• ? - Nicolas Carr [Captain Quasar and Pat-Tron defeat the new versions.]
‣ Charlie's Bike E - Peter Balding, Otto Sieben [Squidina gloats.]
• Cream Pie - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ending.]
Release
- This episode alongside "Delivery of Doom," "My Father the Boat," "Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers?," "A Fish Called Sandy," its sister episode, and "SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up" premiered as part of the 2025 event "SpongeBob's Summer of F.U.N."
Trivia
General
- This episode was originally called "Captain Quasar: The Next Generation."
- The episode's title card shares similarities with the title card of "All Bot Myself" from The Patrick Star Show.
- This episode originally had the packaging number of 319a, but was swapped with its sister episode for unknown reasons.[2]
- This episode marks the first appearance of Captain Doug Quasar in the main series, and any other SpongeBob-related media outside of The Patrick Star Show.
- This marks the first time Squidina Star is seen in her main outfit in the main series.
- This episode and its sister are the last episodes where Peter Bennett is posthumously credited as an art director, due to his passing on May 17, 2024.
- This was the last new episode to air on YTV in Canada before the channel dropped the series 10 weeks later on September 1, 2025.
Cultural references
- This episode's title is a reference to the 1987 sci-fi show, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Captain Quasar's line "I'm an actor, not a calligrapher!" is a reference to Dr. Leonard McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a..." catchphrase from Star Trek: The Original Series.