Plankton's Regular
"Plankton's Regular" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 6. In this episode, Plankton learns that he has a regular customer who visits the Chum Bucket daily.
Characters
- Sheldon J. Plankton
- Karen Plankton
- French Narrator
- Eugene H. Krabs
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Incidentals
- Doctor (mentioned)
Synopsis
In the beginning of the episode, inside the empty Chum Bucket, Plankton is frustrated about having no customers, when a fish named Nat comes asking for a chumstick. A disbelieving Plankton gives Nat the chumstick, who says it is so good that he will return the next day. Plankton is overjoyed by this and brags to Karen, who seems barely shaken about it. The next day, Plankton waits at the door with a chumstick for Nat. After eight hours of waiting and eventually Plankton falls asleep while waiting but is woken by the clock, Nat finally comes, eats the chumstick, and tells Plankton he has a regular customer on his hands.
At the Krusty Krab, Plankton appears on Mr. Krabs' desk. When the latter traps him underneath a spoon, Plankton gloats about having a regular customer, assuring Mr. Krabs that they will no longer be competing. Mr. Krabs laughs at him and shows off all his customers eating Krabby Patties. Then Nat appears at the restaurant and in front of Mr. Krabs (who's holding Plankton) requests a chumstick. The scene ends with Nat carrying Plankton back to the Chum Bucket, with Plankton mocking Mr. Krabs and insulting him.
Mr. Krabs explains the situation to SpongeBob and orders him to redirect Nat to being a Krusty Krab customer through multiple attempts (mostly shoving a Krabby Patty into his face and at one point forcing him to eat it) unsuccessful. Mr. Krabs bursts into tears at these failures, saying that he cannot afford for Plankton to have even just one customer. SpongeBob says that if he wants Nat to eat at the Krusty Krab, he will have to make chum as good as Plankton's. This gives Mr. Krabs the idea to steal the chum recipe.
That night, Mr. Krabs sneaks into the Chum Bucket trying to steal Plankton's recipe, but Plankton catches him with a security system that involves trapping him under a giant spoon (a likely reference to when he was trapped under one). SpongeBob then grabs Plankton and starts talking about the irony of the situation, but Plankton then uses the spoon security system on SpongeBob as well. After Plankton reveals the name of his system, Karen shows on screen that Nat is headed for the Chum Bucket with a fortune.
However, when Nat arrives he throws the money at Karen and calls off a deal, announcing that he can't eat anymore chum due to it causing him to get his stomach pumped twice before he collapses and is carried off by paramedics for his third stomach pump. Once they leave, Karen reveals to a confused Plankton that she was bribing Nat to eat his chum so that he would stop complaining about having no customers. This causes Plankton to feel depressed once again, calling himself "a waste of a lower life form" (to which Karen tells him unsympathetically to cut it out) before crying. Meanwhile, SpongeBob mentions to Mr. Krabs about making a hasty retreat (they are still trapped under the spoons) but he decides to stay, enjoying and laughing at Plankton's misery as SpongeBob just watches stunned as the episode ends.
Production
Art
Music
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
• Marlin March - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
‣ Emotion Blues - Francois Fournet, Eric Gemsa [Plankton upset about having no customers]
• Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [Nat asks for a chum stick]
‣ Background Blues - Otto Sieben ["You're kidding, right?"]
‣ On The Beach - Kapono Beamer [Plankton waiting for Nat to come back]
‣ Hawaiian Link (B) - Richard Myhill ["It's closing time."]
• Thats It ! - Nicolas Carr [Nat appears]
‣ Background Blues - Otto Sieben [Nat asks for another chumstick]
• Birth of the Krabby Patty - Nicolas Carr ["It's perfection!"]
‣ Background Blues - Otto Sieben ["How about I have another?"]
• Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Oh, my, this is amazing!"]
‣ Verve - Jack Shaindlin ["At last I've got my revenge!"]
‣ The Achterhoek Dances - Jan Rap [at the Krusty Krab]
‣ Drama Link (D) - Hubert Clifford ["No way, Plankton! You're not getting me formula this time, or any time!"]
• New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["What are you talking about?"]
‣ Keel Row - Brian Peters [Krabs laughs]
‣ Background Blues - Otto Sieben [Nat appears]
‣ Wargames Linking Section (D) - Keith Mansfield ["Oh, no! How can this be?"]
• Parade Drum March - Nicolas Carr ["Plankton's trying to overthrow me business."]
• Sponge Burgler - Nicolas Carr ["Oh, you can count on me, sir."]
‣ The Rake Hornpipe - Robert Alexander White [Nat refuses to eat a Krabby Patty]
• Mission Improbable - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["There he is... just in time for breakfast."]
• Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob tries to get Nat to eat a Krabby Patty]
• Steel Licks 78 - Jeremy Wakefield ["From now on, keep those shabby patties to yourself."]
‣ Background Blues - Otto Sieben [Nat goes back to the Chum Bucket]
• Goofy Conversation 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob pretending to be Karen]
• New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["A shortcut to the Chum Bucket?"]
‣ Tripping Upstairs - Brian Peters [Krusty Krab chum]
• Transformer Malfuction - Nicolas Carr ["It's... it's..."]
‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill ["It's the second foulest thing I've ever tasted!"]
• Bell Tree Gliss - Nicolas Carr [Krabs gets an idea]
• Hgliss & Bell - Nicolas Carr ["That's it, boyo!"]
• Sneaky Panther Pants - Nicolas Carr [Krabs tries to steal Plankton's recipe]
‣ Comic Capers B - Charlie Brissette, Norman Mamey [alarm goes off]
‣ Wargames Linking Section (G) - Keith Mansfield ["What do you think, Krabs baby?"]
‣ Guerilla Warfare [#21] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["Triple irony, Plankton!"]
• Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton groans]
‣ Wargames Linking Section (F) - Keith Mansfield ["Good thing I sprang for the dual spoon installation."]
‣ Verve - Jack Shaindlin [Karen senses Nat approaching]
• Boring Morning - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston [ending]
Release
Distribution
- This episode is available on the SpongeBob vs. The Big One, Limited Edition 2 DVD Box Set, Season 6 Volume 1, Double Feature Volume 3, Really Big Box Set, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, Treasure Chest: Double Pack, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 8, The SpongeBob Super Square Collection, The Best 300 Episodes Ever, Complete Sixth Season, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, Sheldon Plankton: Mean and Green, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, Next 100 Episodes, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs.
Reception
- "Plankton's Regular" was ranked #63 during the SpongeBob's Top 100 event in the UK and Ireland from June 4-8, 2012.
Trivia
General
- This is Incidental 41's largest role to date in the series.
- The title card background for this episode is similar to those of "Welcome to the Chum Bucket," "Enemy In-Law," "Skill Crane," and "The Inmates of Summer," except this one is light green.
- The scene where Nat says "This isn't the Chum Bucket!" has become a popular internet meme on YouTube with Nat ending up in different settings using the Green Screen effect.
- Plankton started waiting for Nat at 10:00 AM and ended at 5:57 PM. That is three minutes before closing time for both the Chum Bucket and the Krusty Krab.
- When Nat goes to the Chum Bucket the second time, he eats two chumsticks, but he only pays for one.
- This is the second episode where Mr. Krabs tries to steal a competitor's formula. The first is "Best Frenemies."
- There are several hints and clues toward the reveal that Nat really hates the chum and Karen paid him to stop Plankton from complaining:
- Nat does not show up at the Chum Bucket the second time until well before closing time.
- The second time Nat eats a chum stick, he looks like he hated it before he proclaims his love.
- When Mr. Krabs shows Plankton the amount of customers eating at the Krusty Krab, Nat can be seen amongst the customers eating a Krabby Patty with them.
- When SpongeBob asks Nat if chum is all he eats, Nat stammers, "Yeah, th-that's right!" when affirming.
- Nat initially refused to try the Krusty Krab's brand of chum, despite saying he loves the Chum Bucket's chum.
- After eating the Krusty Krab's chum, Nat says "It's the second foulest thing I ever tasted," likely referring to the Chum Bucket as the foulest.
- In the game SpongeBob Moves In!, one of the quest arcs involving Plankton is extremely similar to this episode's events.
- Nat is seen eating chum again in "Chum Bucket Supreme"; however, that time is only because he along with many other customers enjoyed saying the slogan "Chum is Fum" despite still being disgusted by the food.
- When Mr. Krabs shows his customers to Plankton, an incidental resembling Nat is seen in the background as one of Mr. Krabs' customers.
- This is the last time "The Rake Hornpipe" plays until "Salsa Imbecilicus."
Dub facts
- In the Bahasa Indonesia dub, the scene where Plankton waits for Nat for 8 hours is skipped to the time card itself due to time constraints.
- All of SpongeBob's attempts to convince Nat to eat a Krabby Patty outside of the Chum Bucket are also cut due to time constraints.
Cultural references
- Mr. Krabs' song while playing with his money in his office is a reference to the theme to the 1959 series, Rawhide.
Errors
- When Plankton looks out the door to see if Nat is coming, the Krusty Krab and its road are missing.
- The dollar that Nat gives to Plankton disappears after Nat leaves.
- When Plankton gets the chumstick, it seems to appear mysteriously.
- When Nat goes to smell the Krabby Patty, there is no animation that shows him bending over and after he wipes his face when SpongeBob got his face greasy.
- When SpongeBob tries feeding Nat the Krabby Patty, the cheese is missing in the next scene.
- When Mr. Krabs is crying, he is on the chum that Nat hated, but when his eyes turn into lightbulbs, the chum is gone.
- When Nat takes a fake shortcut to the Chum Bucket and ends up in the Krusty Krab, out the windows, the Chum Bucket can be seen down the road to the right, when it should be directly across from the Krusty Krab.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| French | Le fidèle client | The Loyal Customer |
| German | Planktons Stammkunde | Plankton's Regular Customer |
| Hungarian | Plankton adagja | Plankton's Portion |
| Italian | Un cliente per Plankton | A Customer for Plankton |
| Polish | Stały klient | Regular Customer |
| Russian | У Планктона посетитель U Planktona posetitel' |
Plankton Has a Customer |
| Spanish (Latin America) | El cliente de Plankton | Plankton's Customer |
| Spanish (Spain) | El cliente habitual de Plankton | Plankton's Regular Customer |
References
es:El Cliente de Plankton pl:Stały klient pt-br:O Cliente Assíduo do Plankton ru:У Планктона посетитель