"The Card" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 6. In this episode, SpongeBob tries to protect Patrick's rare trading card.
Characters
- Incidentals
- Robber (debut)
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Quincy (debut)
- Rabbits (cameo on bank book)
- Kittens (mentioned)
- Masculine man (cameo on poster)
- Near Mint Comic Books cashier
- Patrick Star
- Barnacle Boy (cameo on cards and sign)
- Mermaid Man (cameo on cards and sign)
- Kelp Thing (cameo on card)
- Man Ray (cameo on card)
- Dirty Bubble (cameo on card)
- King Neptune (mentioned)
Synopsis
In the beginning of the episode, SpongeBob withdraws some money from the bank to buy the new Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trading cards that are on sale, but he keeps on asking for an unscathed bill, so he is kicked out for holding up the line. SpongeBob goes to the store and finds Patrick, who is checking out a counting book. SpongeBob buys a pack of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy cards and thinks they are valuable, but the clerk tells him that the cards are worthless compared to the super-rare platinum holographic animated talking #54 cards of which there are only five in existence. SpongeBob asks the clerk if he could buy the one on display, but the clerk reveals that it is not genuine, and he can only find the cards by buying card packs.
SpongeBob starts buying all the packs, but soon runs out of money when there is one pack left. Patrick gives up on the counting book and buys the last pack, which was revealed to have the rare card inside, and shows a shocked SpongeBob the card. He then starts picking his teeth with the card, much to SpongeBob's horror. SpongeBob goes into a rant about how valuable the card is, but Patrick is not paying attention and soon leaves.
SpongeBob looking for card 54.
SpongeBob follows Patrick home, determined to protect the card from Patrick's carelessness. When they get home, Patrick offers SpongeBob the opportunity to keep the card because he seems very fond of it. SpongeBob happily agrees but Patrick asks to keep the card for the rest of the evening, which SpongeBob obliges. He uses the card to get his rock open and cleans the top of his grill with it, causing it to catch on fire, causes to burn the card.
After Patrick finishes making dinner, he uses the card as a plate and it gets completely covered in melted cheese (he also uses it as a napkin). When sundown arrives, Patrick gives the card to SpongeBob, only for it to explode and turn into dust. SpongeBob begins crying and explains that the card was a very rare one and now it is extinct. Patrick says he might be able to get another card some day, but SpongeBob says that he spent all his money and bought the last pack which means that there are no more left in all of Bikini Bottom until the new shipment comes.
Patrick then reveals that he has the remaining four copies of the #54 card that were also in the pack he bought and gives the four other cards to SpongeBob, who is surprised in delight, knowing that he got what he wanted and was glad that his day was saved by a miracle. The episode ends with Patrick asking to use one of them because he locked himself out of his house again.
Production
Art
Music
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
• Hawaiian Misadventures B - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
• Goofy Conversation Continued - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Opening]
• Gator - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob sees Patrick and his counting book]
• Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Not so fast."]
• Bell Tree Gliss w/ Hgliss Bell - Nicolas Carr ["Here you are, my good sir."]
‣ Adventurers - Larry Hochman [SpongeBob opens the training cards]
• Steel Licks 43 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Those cards aren't worth nothing."]
‣ Arizona Fanfare - Jack Shaindlin [Shot of rarest card]
‣ Monocle And Pocket-Watch - Brian Gulland [SpongeBob buys another pack of cards]
‣ Adventurers - Larry Hochman ["Oh, I have a good feeling about this one!"]
‣ Monocle And Pocket-Watch - Brian Gulland [SpongeBob is buying more cards.]
• Goofy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick buys the last pack of cards]
‣ Arizona Fanfare - Jack Shaindlin [Patrick gets card number 54]
‣ Drama Link (D) - Hubert Clifford [Patrick picks his teeth with the card]
• Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [shot of Patrick's teeth]
‣ Mists Of Illusion - Gilbert Vinter [Patrick not understanding SpongeBob]
• Steel Licks 46 - Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick still picks his teeth with the card]
‣ From The Dead - Ronald Hanmer ["I can't let anything happen to that card. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy would never forgive me!"]
• Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [shot of cracked road]
• Goofy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob fastens the card to Patrick's hand]
‣ The Jitters - Raymond Jones [SpongeBob blocks Patrick to save the card]
‣ Drama Link (G) - Hubert Clifford [SpongeBob jumps in front of the card to avoid the mud]
• Steel Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield ["That was close."]
• Whats This Sting - Nicolas Carr [Patrick walks through Goo Lagoon]
‣ Dramatic Cue (A) - Ronald Hanmer ["The card!"]
• Steel Licks 40 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob drags out Patrick at Goo Lagoon]
‣ Dramatic Cue (B) - Ronald Hanmer [Patrick walks across a planted grider and falls]
‣ Dramatic Cue (G) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob rescues Patrick with a crane]
• Steel Licks 33 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob drags Patrick home]
‣ Epic Struggle - Fredric Bayco [Bent out of shape]
• Skipping to School - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick tells SpongeBob that he doesn't believe in pockets]
• Solo Steel 3 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob cries]
• Solo Steel 2 - Jeremy Wakefield ["You're the best pal ever!"]
• Slide Whistle Stooges 2 Rhythm Trk. - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick uses SpongeBob's card to unlock his rock]
• The Pollywog Strut - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Why don't we eat some dinner?"]
• Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick cleans his grill with the card]
‣ The Jitters - Raymond Jones [Patrick burns the card]
‣ Tomfoolery - David Snell [SpongeBob and Patrick eat dinner]
‣ On The Beach - Kapono Beamer [The sun comes down.]
‣ Arizona Fanfare - Jack Shaindlin [The card turns to dust]
• Drowsey Reef - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob feels bad because his card is ruined]
‣ Arizona Fanfare - Jack Shaindlin [SpongeBob sees four packs of rare cards]
• Wahini Wobble Faster - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ending]
Release
Broadcast
- This episode premiered as one of seven in the Super Stuffed Nicktoons Weekend 2008.
Distribution
- The episode is available on The Tom Kenny Collection, SpongeBob's Truth or Square, Season 6 Volume 2, Slumber Party, Holidays with SpongeBob 3-DVD Gift Set, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, Triple Pack 1, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 9, Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy: Defenders of the Deep, Complete Sixth Season, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, Big Hits: Volume 1, Next 100 Episodes, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, The Fifth & Sixth Seasons, and The Best 300 Episodes Ever DVDs.
Reception
- This episode is number 19 on The Tom Kenny Collection on iTunes and Amazon.com. His description says:
- "As a collector of weird old stuff - records, comic strips, anything Popeye - I like how this episode gets into the fanatical mindset of hardcore collectors. The desire to possess that 'certain item' and then to keep it in 'mint-plus' condition can take over the mind. And the sight of a non-collector handling 'the grail' improperly ..."
- "The Card" was ranked #32 during the SpongeBob's Top 100 event in the UK and Ireland from June 4-8, 2012.
Trivia
General
- The ways that Patrick destroys the #54 card:
- Picks his teeth with it
- Sticks it in the fat folds of his back
- Wrinkles it while trying to open his house
- Cleans his grill with it
- Spits on it when it catches fire
- Flips Krabby Patties like it was a spatula
- Uses it as a paper plate
- Wipes his face with it like a napkin
- Patrick tells SpongeBob in this episode, "You can't always expect my usual brand of stupidity," implying that Patrick is aware that he is stupid. He also shows awareness towards his stupidity in "Tentacle-Vision," saying that it varies, and in "I Had an Accident" when he says he is not supposed to be stupid until 4:00.
- Patrick cooks two Krabby Patties with extra cheese, though he doesn't mention its names.
- The cashier at Near Mint Comic Books is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also voices Bubble Bass.
- This is the second episode where Patrick's barbecue grill is shown. The first is "Naughty Nautical Neighbors."
- This is the second episode in which SpongeBob is a neat freak, while Patrick is very dirty and careless about filth. The first is "The Battle of Bikini Bottom."
- This is the third episode to feature Goo Lagoon without Larry the Lobster. The first is "No Weenies Allowed," and the second is "Sun Bleached."
- This is the only episode where Mermaid Man speaks, but Barnacle Boy does not. As a result, only Ernest Borgnine is credited.
- This was the last episode to premiere on the Japanese version of Nickelodeon before its closure on September 30, 2009, and the last episode to premiere in Japan as a whole until three years later on September 14, 2012.
Dub facts
- In the Dutch dub, the rare card is number 44 instead of number 54.
- This is the last episode to be dubbed by Cinearte Madrid in the European Spanish dub before its closure in 2010, after which SDI Media Spain (now Iyuno Media) took over the production starting with "Dear Vikings."
- This is also the last episode with the involvement of Miguel Campos, the temporary replacement of Alberto Closas Jr., as the latter was rehired by SDI.
- In the Indonesian dub, the scene where SpongeBob protects Patrick and the card from the mud splashed by a boat was cut in GTV airings to the scene where they exit from Goo Lagoon.
Errors
- In the opening shot of the inside of the bank, Incidental 49 appears after Incidental 107, but when the fish tell SpongeBob to hurry up, Charlie appears where she was. He is not in the opening shot.
SpongeBob's eyes mistake.
- While still searching for the #54 card, SpongeBob's eyes are off-positioned and duplicated for a few frames.
- After the scene in which a car runs over the mud puddle, the puddle is gone.
- Patrick says that he does not believe in pockets, but at the end of the episode, the other four talking cards are pulled out of his pocket.
- Before sundown approached, SpongeBob is holding a Krabby Patty, but then in the shot where he gives the card back to SpongeBob, the Krabby Patty is gone. Because of this, there are no frames of how either Patrick or SpongeBob ate it while the sun was going down and it was just seen in lapse of something else.
- All of the five rare cards were in the same pack but had no other cards, while the other packs had more than five cards.
Missing hand error on the second card.
- When Patrick shows SpongeBob the four #54 cards, the second one he is holding does not show a giant fist punching Barnacle Boy.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 French |
La carte super rare | The Super Rare Card |
 German |
Die Karte | The Card |
 Greek |
Η Κάρτα I Kárta |
The Card |
 Hungarian |
A kártya | The Card |
 Italian |
La carta della collezione | The Collection Card |
 Polish |
Karta | The Card |
 Russian |
Карточка Kartochka |
The Card |
 Spanish (Latin America) |
El cromo | Chrome |
 Spanish (Spain) |
La carta | The Card |