Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II

**Episode** · Transcript · Gallery · Credits

March 3, 2001

 September 28, 2001

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Tim Conway as Barnacle Boy

Charles Nelson Reilly as Dirty Bubble

Jay Lender

Doug Lawrence

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If you were looking for the article about the Italian DVD, then see The Adventures Of Waterman & Supervisor!.

"**Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II**" is a *SpongeBob SquarePants* episode from season 1. In this episode, SpongeBob wins a conch shell in a contest to summon his heroes, where they eventually take him on their daily patrol.

### Characters

* French Narrator
* SpongeBob SquarePants
* Realistic Fish Head
* Mermaid Man
* Barnacle Boy
* Jumbo Shrimp (debut as a cardboard cutout)
* Sinister Slug (debut as a cardboard cutout)
* Atomic Flounder (debut)
* Gary the Snail
* Sprat Morty
* Incidentals
	+ Incidental 93
	+ Incidental 92
	+ Incidental 85
	+ Incidental 5
	+ Incidental 27 (deleted scene)
	+ Incidental 42 (deleted scenes)
	+ Incidental 49 (deleted scene)
* Cafeteria lady 1
* Dirty Bubble (debut)
* King Neptune (mentioned)

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The episode begins on one Saturday morning, SpongeBob is watching his favorite show, *The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy*, while eating Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Bran Flakes. He has entered a competition and is listening to see if he has won the mystery prize. The announcer pronounces the winner as "SpringBoob SquirePin," for his life-sized Krabby Patty mannequins of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. SpongeBob calls out that "SpringBoob SquirePin" stole his idea before the announcer announces that he has made a "slight" error in pronunciation and that the real winner is indeed SpongeBob SquarePants.

Within seconds, SpongeBob's prize is delivered to him. SpongeBob has won the conch signal, a conch which has a noise that is a signal which Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy respond to. SpongeBob blows the shell and Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy hear it from Shady Shoals Rest Home, springing into action. When they arrive at SpongeBob's house, Mermaid Man at first thinks that SpongeBob has been disfigured before Barnacle Boy recognizes him and points it out to his crimefighting partner. SpongeBob explains to the duo that he won the Conch Signal in a contest and that there is no danger; he is simply seeing if works. They then explain to him the importance of the signal and tell him that he must only use it for major emergencies.

Later on, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy hear the conch once again while showering and rush to SpongeBob's house, where he appears to be dead on the floor. However, he then reveals that he simply is having trouble opening a jar of mayonnaise. Barnacle Boy is annoyed by this, but Mermaid Man reminds him that emergencies do not come around as often as they used to, and he tells SpongeBob that he can blow the conch "every once in a while." However, SpongeBob ends up constantly calling Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy to help him with normal everyday tasks. Eventually, the two heroes are exhausted and Barnacle Boy confiscates the item and yells at SpongeBob, who is now in tears and apologizing, explaining that he just wanted to spend time with them. Barnacle Boy ignores his pleas and attempts to destroy the conch signal using his iconic 'Sulfur Vision', but cannot bring himself to do so out of weariness.

Mermaid Man stops him from scolding SpongeBob and tells SpongeBob that the conch signal is too great of a responsibility for him. Instead, they let SpongeBob join them on their daily patrol, with SpongeBob dressed as a superhero.

They do various activities, such as keeping lookout from on top of a tall building. While patrolling the streets in the invisible boatmobile, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy see an old man, who was once the Atomic Flounder. The two joke about how he could possibly return to villainy before SpongeBob attacks the old man, taking the joke seriously. They stop him as he states his misconception, not understanding that the man is no longer a villain or threat. Angered by this revelation, the former Atomic Flounder pushes SpongeBob off of him as he yells at the heroes and blows atomic breath in Barnacle Boy's face, disintegrating it. The fumed old man then storms off from the heroes.

At a diner, SpongeBob asks Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy what they will do the next day before they ask SpongeBob to find their theme song on a jukebox. As he tries to find it, they both remark he is a good kid but a pain and decide to "ditch" SpongeBob. Outside, however, they are attacked and trapped by their nemesis, the Dirty Bubble. When SpongeBob finally finds the song, which is the special dance mix version, he comes outside to tell them and sees their predicament. He asks the Dirty Bubble for his autograph, saying that he is his favorite super villain, and accidentally pops the Dirty Bubble with the tip of the pencil, saving the day.

The trio then ride off in the invisible boatmobile, and closes the episode singing a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy-themed version of "Jingle Bells."

### Running gags

* Barnacle Boy getting burnt, mostly by the invisible boatmobile.
* SpongeBob blowing the conch signal for non-emergency purposes.

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### Music

**‣** Super Hero - Tony Hymas *[Title card]*

**‣** Hawaiian Link (B) - Richard Myhill *[opening]*

**‣** Arizona Fanfare - Jack Shaindlin *[TV show starts]*

**‣** Caped Crusader - David Farnon *[knocking down cardboard cutouts]*

**‣** Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence *[contest winner announced]*

**‣** Timpani Roll (e) - Gary Kettel *[Timpani as the winner is announced]*

**‣** Timpani Glissando (b) - Gary Kettel *["SpringBoob SquirePin."]*

**‣** Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence *["For these life-size Krabby Patty mannequins of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."]*

**‣** Timpani Roll (e) - Gary Kettel *[Timpani as the real winner is announced]*

**•** Snare Roll - Nicolas Carr

**‣** Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence *["SpongeBob SquarePants!"]*

**‣** Hymn of Achievement - Gregor F. Narholz *[SpongeBob's prize]*

**‣** Caped Crusader - David Farnon *[SpongeBob blowing the conch signal]*

**‣** Bat Stabs - David Farnon *[Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy stop in midair]*

**‣** Caped Crusader - David Farnon *[looking for invisible boatmobile]*

**‣** The Lineman - Sam Spence *[Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy drive the invisible boatmobile to SpongeBob's house/Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy arrive at SpongeBob's house]*

**‣** Mourners D - Zsofia Taller *["He's been horribly disfigured!"]*

**‣** Exciting Action B - Mladen Franko *["All right, where's the danger, son?"]*

**‣** Vibe Link (b) - Richard Myhill *["No danger?"]*

**‣** Facing the Challenge [#13] - Gregor F. Narholz *["The conch signal is an awesome responsibility."]*

**‣** The Lineman - Sam Spence *["The conch signal!"]*

**‣** Beautiful Moonlit Night - Carl Maria Von Weber, George Wilson *["Oh, youth... cut down in its prime!"]*

**•** SpongeBob Closing Theme - Steve Belfer, Nicolas Carr *[opening a jar of mayonnaise]*

**‣** Secret Service - Syd Dale *[conch signal montage]*

**‣** Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill *[SpongeBob cries]*

**‣** South Pacific Island II - Victor Cavini *["Don't squash his enthusiasm."]*

**‣** The Lineman - Sam Spence *["To the invisible boatmobile!"]*

**‣** World in Action - Laurie Johnson *[origami]*

**‣** Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence *[patrolling the city/"...just like that."]*

**•** Seaweed 2 - Steve Belfer *[Atomic Flounder]*

**‣** Hawaiian Link (A) - Richard Myhill *[exterior of diner]*

**‣** Hawaiian Hula - Terry Day *[Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy ditch SpongeBob]*

**‣** Dramatic Encounter - Gregor F. Narholz *["What's the matter?"]*

**‣** Triumphant Return 2 [#28.02] - Gregor F. Narholz *["But I can't let my heroes down!"]*

**‣** House of Horror - W. Merrick Farran *[Dirty Bubble introduced]*

**‣** Police Car - Sam Spence *[Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trapped inside Dirty Bubble]*

**‣** Dangerous B - Mladen Franko *["Oh no, you fool, stay back!"]*

**‣** Moloka'i Nui (a) - Kapono Beamer *["You saved us, son!"]*

**‣** Police Car - Sam Spence *[sting at end]*

### Release

* This episode is available on the Lost at Sea, Complete 1st Season, Hooky, Fools in April, The Adventures Of Waterman & Supervisor!, Beach Bob, Aaarg!, First 100 Episodes, Turned into Hero?!, Exposed!: The Ultimate Box Set, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 2, The Complete First Season, Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy: Defenders of the Deep, From the Beginning, Part 1, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, The Adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants, The First & Second Seasons, Movies & TV Collection, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, and SpongeBob SquarePants Triple Pack DVDs and *SpongeBob SquarePants* Volume 3 on GBA Video and on VideoNow.
* This episode is also available on the Lost at Seaand Anchors Away VHS tapes.

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### General

* This episode was originally titled "Twenty-five Words or Less" or "25 Words or Less."
* Upon meeting with SpongeBob again, Barnacle Boy says, "It's just that sponge kid again," referring to when he and Mermaid Man met SpongeBob in the first "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy" episode.
* In this episode, the Atomic Flounder appears as an actual flounder. However, in "The Bad Guy Club for Villains," he appears as a mutant.

* For the first time on the show, there is censorship. When Mermaid Man comes to SpongeBob's house to open a jar of mayonnaise, he is naked except for having his slippers on. When he is rushing into the room, one of his slippers is covering his crotch. Then once he stops in place, Gary just so happens to be in front of his crotch. Barnacle Boy quickly proceeds to grab a towel to put it over his crotch and then Gary moves out of the way.
* This is the first Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode to not have "The Lineman" as the title card music.
* This is the first Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode that does not feature Patrick.
* This is the first episode to be a sequel to another episode.
* This is the first appearance of the Mermalair.
* This is the only season 1 episode to premiere during SNICK.
* This is the only Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode where the title card has purple scales. The other four have blue-indigo scales on the title card. "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture" and all subsequent episodes centered around the duo have completely different title card designs.
* This is the only episode where the diner is shown to have a red flag.
* The Atomic Flounder is the only villain on *SpongeBob SquarePants* who is shown to have visibly aged.

* This marks the only time that the Dirty Bubble is voiced by Charles Nelson Reilly in an episode, before his death in 2007. However, Reilly did reprise his role as the Dirty Bubble in the video game *Lights, Camera, Pants!*.
* This was the last episode to use traditional cel animation in both airing and packaging order.
* There is an online game based on this episode called *Dirty Bubble Busters*.
* This episode reunites Ernest Borgnine and Charles Nelson Reilly as they were previously casting together in *All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series*, a TV series spin-off which ran from 1996to 1998, based on the 1989 film along with its 1996 sequel.
* This is the last episode of Season 1.

### Cultural references

* The conch signal is a reference to the conch trumpet used by Triton in Greek mythology.
	+ It is also a loose reference to Batman's Bat-Signal.
* The "Jingle Bells" song is a parody of a Batman and Robin-themed version of "Jingle Bells," of whom Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are respective parodies.
* The Atomic Flounder's radioactive breath is a reference to the Japanese film monster Godzilla.

### Errors

* When Mermaid Man tells SpongeBob that the conch signal is too much responsibility for him, the television in his house shows a solid red screen instead of a black screen or a moving picture.

* In one frame, SpongeBob's eyes are covered by his headband.
	+ A similar error happens in the dining scene, where the headband covers up the edges of SpongeBob's eyes. In the same frame, his eyelashes are missing.
* Towards the end of the episode, when SpongeBob, Mermaid Man, and Barnacle Boy are singing the "Jingle Bells" parody, the latter's mouth does not move when they turn past the rock, even though he is singing.

1. ^ Date confirmed by *SpongeBob Exposed!*, The First 100 Episodes, and the iTunes listing.
2. ^ http://youtv.vn/lich-chieu/3-10-2016.imc
3. ^https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/770764992442277889
4. ^https://web.archive.org/web/20000303002335/http://nick.com/docs/tv/shows/p264t4c1.tin