Sailor Mouth
"Sailor Mouth" is the first segment of the 18th episode of the second season, and the 38th overall episode of the American animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants". The episode was directed by Andrew Overtoom for the animation, and was written by Walt Dohrn, Paul Tibbitt, and Merriwether Williams. Dohrn and Tibbitt also served as storyboard directors, and Carson Kugler, William Reiss, and Erik Wiese worked as storyboard artists. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 21, 2001. In this episode, SpongeBob reads a "bad word" off a dumpster behind the Krusty Krab, but does  not know what it means. The episode was well-received from critics and fans, while various members of the "SpongeBob SquarePants" crew consider the episode to be one of their favorites, mainly due to the satirical nature of the episode. However, the episode was not immune to negative reception, and was criticized by watchdog media group the Parents Television Council and critics, who interpreted the episode as an example of promoting and implicitly satirizing use of profanity towards children. Plot. When SpongeBob goes around to the back of the Krusty Krab to take out the trash, he reads some graffiti  written on a dumpster, one of which contains a word he does not understand. SpongeBob asks Patrick what it is and Patrick says that the word is a "sentence enhancer" which is used "when you want to talk fancy." The next day, SpongeBob walks into the Krusty Krab and says the word to Patrick and then over to the intercom. The Krusty Krab customers are appalled by SpongeBob's use of his "word" and leave. Squidward then informs Mr. Krabs, who tells them that they were using profanity and mentions that there are thirteen swear words that they should never  use (though Squidward thought that there were only seven). SpongeBob and Patrick vow that they will never use the swear word again. Later, they play their favorite game, Eels and Escalators, but when SpongeBob loses, he accidentally utters the swear word in frustration. Patrick then races to the Krusty Krab to tell Mr. Krabs and tattle on SpongeBob in the process with SpongeBob trying to stop him. When SpongeBob bursts through the front door and tells Mr. Krabs that Patrick said the swear word (which he also did during their chase), Patrick then joins along. Eventually, Mr. Krabs stops their  gibberish explanations and tells them to simply explain what the problem is. Mr. Krabs angrily orders them to paint the Krusty Krab as punishment once they do explain. SpongeBob and Patrick decide to stop using the swear word, realizing that Mr. Krabs is right, and vow to be good citizens like him. Mr. Krabs is about to give SpongeBob and Patrick the job, but he hits his foot on a rock, yelling out all of the thirteen swear words while complaining about his injury. When SpongeBob and Patrick hear all the swear words, they run to Mama Krabs' house to  tattle on him. When they all reach her house, they all explain what happened at once, saying the same swear words in the process. After she briefly faints, Mr. Krabs accuses them of causing her to faint, but Mama Krabs regains consciousness and states that they all should be ashamed for their actions. She then gives them the task of painting her house as punishment. Later, Mama Krabs goes to reward them for their hard work, but she hits her foot on a rock like Mr. Krabs did earlier, and when she complains about her injury, SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr.  Krabs are shocked at her apparent swearing, but it turns out to be Old Man Jenkins honking to her in his jalopy. Production. The animation of "Sailor Mouth" was directed by Andrew Overtoom, and the episode was written by Walt Dohrn, Paul Tibbitt, and Merriwether Williams. Dohrn and Tibbitt served as the episode's storyboard directors, and Carson Kugler, William Reiss and Erik Wiese worked as storyboard artists. Series creator Stephen Hillenburg has described the episode plot as "a classic thing all kids go through." Much of the storyline for the episode was inspired by the writers' own experiences from  childhood. The episode originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 21, 2001. The episode marks the introduction of Mr. Krabs' mother, Mama Krabs, who was voiced by former "SpongeBob SquarePants" creative producer and current executive producer Paul Tibbitt. The writing staff used their individual childhood experiences as inspirations to come up with much of the story lines for this episode. The idea for "Sailor Mouth" was inspired by creative director Derek Drymon's experience "[when] I got in trouble for saying the f-word in front of my mother." Drymon said, "The scene where Patrick is running  to Mr. Krabs to tattle, with SpongeBob chasing him, is pretty much how it happened in real life." The end of the episode, where Mr. Krabs uses more profanity than SpongeBob and Patrick, was also inspired "by the fact that my [Drymon's] mother has a sailor mouth herself." Voice actor Tom Kenny reveals in the description of this episode in the iTunes collection, "SpongeBob SquarePants: Tom Kenny's Top 20" that they actually improvised fake profanities that would be censored by the silly sound effects later. He adds jokingly, "I was laughing so hard [recording this episode], they recorded  me while I lay on the floor of the sound booth." The scene where SpongeBob and Patrick playing a game of Eels and Escalators, which is a parody of Snakes and Ladders, was difficult for the crew to animate, since many shots featured certain board pieces changing location. The initial decision to use dolphin noises in place of a traditional bleep was also influenced by concerns over the episode's suitability for its audience. Stephen Hillenburg recalled in 2016, "I pitched the idea that SpongeBob and Patrick learn a swearword. Everyone said no. I couldn't even use a bleep . So I used a dolphin sound instead." Storyboard artist, Erik Wiese admitted in the Season 2 Audio Commentary for "Sailor Mouth" that it was a challenge to storyboard Walt Dohrn's idea and vision of the Eels and Escalators scene. "Sailor Mouth" was released on the DVD compilation called "SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories" on November 5, 2002. It was also included in the "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 2nd Season" DVD released on October 19, 2004. On September 22, 2009, "Sailor Mouth" was released on the "SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes" DVD, alongside all the episodes of seasons one through  five. Reception. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics and fans but was heavily criticized for its nature and profanity. Erik Wiese, who helped to storyboard "Sailor Mouth", considers it to be his favorite episode, mainly due to its random and satirical nature, saying "Sometimes SpongeBob just catches me off-guard." In 2018 Nancy Basile of About.com ranked the episode at number two for her list of the Top 10 "SpongeBob SquarePants" Episodes (behind Band Geeks). She said "'Sailor Mouth' just barely missed being in the number one slot." Basile praised the episode's plot and called it "genius [...] because children can relate to the forbidden thrill of using curse words, and adults can laugh at the parody of TV censorship." In an interview with Paul Tibbitt, one of the episode's writers, he told that "Sailor Mouth" is his second favorite "SpongeBob" episode. Criticism and controversies. According to a report titled "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing", which documents the increase in potentially violent, profane, and sexual content in children's programming, the Parents Television Council, a watchdog media group, critics, and fans believed the "SpongeBob SquarePants" episode "Sailor Mouth" was an implicit attempt to promote and satirize use  of profanity among children. The episode originally aired during the 2001–02 television season, ironically the season in which the PTC named "SpongeBob SquarePants" among the best programs on cable television, but the report cited a repeat broadcast of this episode from 2005 to prove its point that it promoted use of profanity among children. In a later report, several members of the PTC listed "Sailor Mouth" as an example of how levels of profane, sexual, and violent activity has increased in children's television programming. Nickelodeon, in response to the incident, said "It's sad and a little desperate that  they stooped to literally putting profane language in the mouths of our characters to make a point. Has the FCC looked at this?" Richard Huff of the "New York Daily News" criticized the report for misinterpreting "Sailor Mouth" over its intent to satirize profanity implicitly.