Bad Luck Bob

If you were looking for the article about the book with a similar name, then see Bad Luck Day.

Characters

Synopsis

SpongeBob's lucky tie-clip.

SpongeBob wakes up and has a run of bad luck, such as slipping out of bed, getting crushed by his alarm, and tripping down the stairs. Before he leaves, he fastens his lucky tie clip, causing him to narrowly avoid many accidents on his way to work. At work, he greets Squidward, saying he is lucky because he wears his tie clip every day. Squidward says the luck is just in his head, worrying SpongeBob. SpongeBob's good luck continues when he makes a patty that Bubble Bass likes, and he returns home, with his bad luck returning as soon as he gets home and puts the clip back.

The next morning, he is unable to find the tie clip. On the way to work, he gets shocked by jellyfish, falls in the sewer, gets mugged, and hit by a car. Squidward tells SpongeBob that his tie clip has nothing to do with luck, and SpongeBob continues to have accidents as he tries to work. Squidward begins having good luck, such as a good tip from Lady Upturn. SpongeBob gets criticized by Bubble Bass for a bad Krabby Patty, and Krabs lets SpongeBob and Squidward take the day off. Squidward grows a hair and thinks he is getting SpongeBob's good luck.

File:Bad Luck Bob 157.png

Patrick refuses to hang out with SpongeBob.

SpongeBob goes to Patrick, who refuses to hang out with him because he is unlucky, but suggests he find a new lucky charm. SpongeBob looks for a four leaf kelp and a sea bunny's foot, but neither of them work. He sees Squidward now playing the clarinet well and with a full head of hair. Crying about his bad luck, SpongeBob absorbs his tears and wrings them out, making his tie clip pop out from one of his holes. He realizes the tie clip was inside him all along, and puts it back on. The good luck goes back to SpongeBob, meaning Squidward has bad luck again, as he loses his hair, cannot play his clarinet well, gets rained on, and smashed by heavy objects.

Production

This episode was confirmed by Cartoonlounge.de on July 26, 2024.^[1]

Music

Trivia

General

In the United States, this episode was originally going to premiere at 7:00pm, but it was moved up to 5:00pm.
This episode's title is very similar to that of "Big League Bob" from the same season.
- The two episodes are only apart by a two episode difference as well.
This episode was paired with a rerun of "Unidentified Flailing Octopus" during the original American airing^[2] but has since been reairing with "The Sandman Cometh."
"The Next Morning..." time card in this episode is reused from "Sanctuary!"
SpongeBob's lucky tie clip has never been seen before, or since, this episode.
SpongeBob's tie is shown to be a normal tie in this episode and "Squid on Strike," but in "SquidBob TentaclePants" and "Sheldon SquarePants," he wears a clip-on tie.
The plot of this episode is similar to those of the following media:
- It is similar to that of season 3's "Missing Identity," as both episodes involve SpongeBob losing an accessory.
- This episode is similar to the similarly named book Bad Luck Day, only this time the bad luck is happening to SpongeBob instead of Template:Data:Links and the source of the bad luck is different.
This is the second episode to play both "Happy Sack Shanty" and "Sad Sack Shanty" in the same episode. The first is "Safe Deposit Krabs."
In the UK and Ireland, the scene where SpongeBob crashes into Lou's hot dog stand is darkened and the explosion is slowed down.^[3]
The title card shows a broken mirror, a reference to the superstition that breaking a mirror is seven years' worth of bad luck.

Episode references

When SpongeBob snores, he blows out a duck bubble and a butterfly bubble, like in "Bubblestand."
The reef blower, as previously seen in "Reef Blower" and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water returns and is used again by SpongeBob.

File:The Chaperone 065.png

SpongeBob as a piece of toast in "The Chaperone."

File:Bad Luck Bob 096.png

SpongeBob as a piece of toast in this episode.

SpongeBob emerges from his kitchen toaster as a piece of toast, similar to in "The Chaperone."
Squidward regrows his blonde hair he had lost in "The Original Fry Cook" (on the day Jim quit the Krusty Krab).
The tie clip being revealed to be inside SpongeBob's holes is similar to "Spatula of the Heavens" where it was revealed SpongeBob had a spare spatula literally inside him.
Patrick's ten-foot pole resembles the pole from "The Krabby Kronicle."
Patrick makes the same thinking face from "The Nitwitting."

Cultural references

When SpongeBob's feet get run over by a truck bringing in a new seaway, they are flattened. This is a reference to the 1961 Merrie Melodies cartoon Beep Prepared, when Wile E. Coyote's feet are flattened when trying to trip the Road Runner, and his right foot is also run over by a truck.

Errors

File:Bad Luck Bob 028.png

SpongeBob's lucky tie clip is missing.

When SpongeBob carries Incidental 82 while crossing the road, his lucky tie clip is missing.

File:Bad Luck Bob 062.png

The tables are missing and Incidental 73's inconsistent design.

During the Bubble Bass wide shots, the tables are missing in the background, and Incidental 73's design is inconsistent.

Videos

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Dutch	OngeluksBob	Bad Luck Bob
German	Der Pech-Bob	The Bad Luck Bob
Italian	Abbandonato dalla fortuna	Abandoned by Luck
Polish	Pechoporty	Bad Luck Pants
Russian	Невезучий Боб Nevezuchiy Bob	Unlucky Bob
Slovenian	Spuži ima smolo	SpongeBob Has Bad Luck
Spanish (American)	Bob da mala suerte	Bob is Bad Luck
Spanish (European)	La mala suerte de Bob	Bob's Bad Luck

References

[1] Bad Luck Bob - Episode 309a (SpongeBob SquarePants) - Cartoonlounge

[2] December 9, 2024 - Nickstory

[3] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMt11HyAhWE

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