"Ugh" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 3. In this episode, SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog discover fire.

Characters

• French Narrator
• Patchy the Pirate
• Potty the Parrot
• Jellyfish ^{(in drawings)}
  • Primitive Jellyfish ^(cameo)
• Bronty the Patchysaurus ^{(single appearance)}
• Choir ^(debut)
  • Tom Kenny
  • Bill Fagerbakke
  • Rodger Bumpass
  • Doug Lawrence
  • Dee Bradley Baker
  • Sirena Irwin
• Cavemen ^(debut)
  • Cavey ^(debut)
• SpongeBob SquarePants ^{(2 cameos)}
  • SpongeGar ^(debut)
  • SpongeBob (primitive) ^(cameo)
  • SpongeTron ^(cameo)
• Eugene H. Krabs ^(cameo)
  • Prehistoric Krabs ^(debut)
• Trilobites
• Ammonite ^(cameo)
• Dorudon ^(debut)
• Prehistoric bug
• Prehistoric Gary ^(debut)
• Squog ^(debut)
  • Squidward Tentacles ^(cameo)
• Patar ^(debut)
  • Patrick Star ^{(cameo as a cave drawing)}
  • Patrick (primitive) ^(cameo)
• Amoeba
• Barbershop Quartet ^(debut)
• Albert Einstein ^(debut)
• Patchy's mother ^(mentioned)
• X-29488 ^(debut)
• Patchy's present ^(debut)

Synopsis

Act 1

The French Narrator begins the episode by introducing another SpongeBob SquarePants special, hosted from Encino, California as it was 100 million years ago. From his cave house, Patchy the Pirate, in a caveman costume, is introducing prehistoric times and talking about how great they were. However, Potty, in a futuristic robot costume, appears and says that prehistoric times were "lame" and the future is "where it's at."

They begin arguing over whether SpongeBob himself likes prehistory or the future better. Meanwhile, working at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob feels a disturbance and tells Mr. Krabs that "I've got the strangest feeling that somewhere a pirate and parrot are arguing about me. And, the parrot is winning." As Patchy and Potty continue to argue, Patchy begins the prehistoric episode.

The cartoon features prehistoric ancestors of SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick named SpongeGar, Squog, and Patar, respectively. SpongeGar, who is sleeping in his pineapple-shaped cave, is awakened by a distant herd of monstrous purple whale creatures, who produce a sound identical to that of SpongeBob's alarm clock that knocks the rock on SpongeGar. SpongeGar wakes up and takes his version of Gary, who is bigger than the prehistoric pineapple itself, out for a walk, and the large sea snail leaves a slime trail all over Squog's front yard. Squog comes out with one of his two clubs to complain to SpongeGar, but slips on the slime trail, sliding into Patar's rock, awakening its occupant, and eventually crashing back into his own house. SpongeGar and Patar begin to play, and SpongeGar uses a hollow log to blow a bubble. It then starts raining, and eventually lightning strikes the log, setting it on fire.

As the act ends, the three cavemen experiment with it, burning themselves in the process. Very soon, SpongeGar realizes that it can be used to cook food. The three begin cooking various items with it. These include flowers, the top of a mushroom, a kelp reed, a wood stick, a prehistoric ancestor of Mr. Krabs, seaweed flowers that look similar to corn on the cob, Patar eating his own clothes, a green plant that looks like spaghetti, rocks that take the form of popcorn, and a Krabby Patty made of sand.

Act 2

Patchy and Potty continue to fight, now keeping score between the future and the past. Patchy then brings in a real live caveman, but Potty brings in a futuristic robot who begins repeatedly shooting the caveman with lasers.

At the end of the day, SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog are full from eating and say goodnight to each other as they head over to their homes. Suddenly, SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog stop walking and they turn around, realizing that the fire is still out there. The three of them start fighting over who will keep the fire. They continue fighting until it starts raining again and puts the fire out. SpongeGar and Patar apologize to each other for fighting, but Squog blames them for putting it out and attempts to hit them over the head. Before he can do so, however, lightning strikes him and SpongeGar and Patar cook marshmallows over his charred body.

Patchy is shown sitting outside his cave, apparently having lost to Potty. However, Potty comes outside and invites him back in, where Cavey the Caveman and the Robot Android Cyborg X-29488 do a rap called "When Worlds Collide."

Patchy starts to have a change of heart about "loving" the future. The song montage features scenes from SpongeBob B.C. and "SB-129." The episode ends with Potty giving Patchy a "present from the prehistoric times," that being a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which begins chasing him. Patchy says goodbye to the viewers, finishing the episode while being tickled by his present as Potty is eating popcorn.

Production

A design for the robot seen in the Patchy segments for this episode is dated April 28, 2002.^[1]

Art

Model sheets

Promotional art

Promotional art was done by Caleb Meurer, which would be used on the front cover for Nickelodeon Magazine's Issue #99 in March 2004.^[4]

Caveman language

SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog speak in a primitive language similar to English. Many words and sounds are taken from or based on English words/sounds.

Known meanings

Caveman	Modern Day
Banooga ready!	I'm ready!
Tabonga	Come on
Polinka	Brain
Dumbo	Dumb
Taila Foo	Genius
Tay	make
Na	not
Mowanga	excellent
fwee fwee	fire
Pooga	slime
Pooca	bother
Unga	love
Monga	stupid
Chonga!	Go away!
Babwana	Give me!
Wa	Watch
Bolapa!	Burp!
Gonaga	good night
Gagonda	forgot
Fagonda	forget it
Tabanga do?	it belongs to you, not me!
Wait a minute?	Wait a minute?
Money	Money
Manaka	Look
Molonka	any
Yumma	yummy
Fongar	flowers
Tooka	give
Bonga	down
Go	go
And	and
Bawannagog	crazy
Tabonga	left
As	behind
A	A
Go o	Messy
Saila	trail
Got	got
No	no
Wima soe	Ouch
Sutaka jakasa!	Why you little!
Gary	Gary
Squog	Squidward
SpongeGar	SpongeBob
Patar	Patrick

DVD edits

The scenes of the French Narrator saying, "Will Patchy ever get control of the special? What will SpongeBob do with fire? Stay tuned to SpongeBob SquarePants B.C. and find out!," Patchy getting hit with a big rock, and the French Narrator saying, "When we last saw our hungry troglodytes, they just discovered fire. How long will it take for them to mess it up? Let's see.," are all cut from The Complete 3rd Season, The First 100 Episodes, The Complete Third Season, 2-Season TV Pack, The Third & Fourth Seasons, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, and The Best 300 Episodes Ever DVDs due to there being no commercials on the DVD. These scenes are still intact on the SpongeBob Goes Prehistoric DVD and VHS tape, Triple Pack 4, and Big Hits: Volume 2. It can also be found on the Nick Picks Volume 1, Nick Picks Box-Set (Vol, 1-3), and Nickelodeon Double Feature DVDs as well as all digital and streaming releases on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, and iTunes.

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ A Pirate's Life For Me (A) - Ron Goodwin [Opening music]
 ‣ Monster Bug [#33] - Gregor F. Narholz ["...100 million years ago!"]
 ‣ 'Er Indoors - Johnny Hawksworth [Patchy riding a fake dinosaur/Patchy talks about prehistoric times]
 ‣ Lonely Stranger - Laurie Johnson [Meanwhile at the Krusty Krab]
 ‣ 'Er Indoors - Johnny Hawksworth [Patchy and Potty arguing]
 ‣ Pulse of Africa - Robin Hogarth ["Ugh" title card]
 ‣ Moon Walk - John Fox [Primordial sea]
 ‣ Hawaii Jive Ho - David Jones [SpongeGar wakes up]
 ‣ Cucu Chama - David Bradnum [Squog complaining about slime trail]
 ‣ African Xylophone [#97] - Mark Nolan ["Wait a minute..."]
 ‣ Upward Glide - Eric Allen ["Wait a minute..."]
 ‣ Cucu Chama - David Bradnum [Squog complaining about slime trail]
 ‣ Natives Bulletin - Jonny Teupen [Patar eats slime off Squog]
 ‣ African Xylophone [#97] - Mark Nolan [Squog yells at Patar.]
 • Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Huh?"]
 ‣ Sangoma D - Richard Siluma [SpongeGar and Patar hitting themselves]
 ‣ Nyala - David Bradnum [Rain]
 ‣ Cucu Chama - David Bradnum [Thunder/lightning]
 • Drama Gong - Nicolas Carr [Gong]
 ‣ Pulse of the Earth - Mauricio Venegas-Astorga [Fire]
 ‣ Vibra Slap - David Arnold [Squog screams in pain]
 ‣ Pulse of the Earth - Mauricio Venegas-Astorga [SpongeGar and Patar stick their hands into the fire]
 ‣ Bongo Crazy [#43] - Martyn David, Alan Bell, Roger Stephen Dexter [SpongeGar and Patar scream in pain]
 ‣ Pulse of the Earth - Mauricio Venegas-Astorga [Patar eats his hand]
 ‣ Upward Glide - Eric Allen [SpongeGar notices some plants]
 ‣ Pulse of the Earth - Mauricio Venegas-Astorga [SpongeGar gets the plants]
 ‣ Glissando Up [#1.16] - Eric Allen [Squog hits Patar]
 ‣ Alpha to Omega (B) - Dave Hewson [SpongeGar stares at the stick.]
 ‣ The Undead (B) - Dave Hewson [Barbershop quartet.]
 ‣ Proclamation A - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeGar gets an idea/Squog eats the plant.]
 • Tymp Fanfare - Nicolas Carr [Timpani overlays Proclamation A]
 ‣ African Flute - Friedel Berlipp [Roasting things over the fire]
 ‣ Long Deep Roll [#12.3] - Eric Allen ["Stay tuned."]
 ‣ Bell Hop (A) - John Shakespeare ["I told you prehistoric times were fun!"/Robot attacks Cavey/"Welcome back to SpongeBob SquarePants B.C. Sounds like things have gone from bad to worse for Patchy. Let's watch."]
 ‣ African Flute - Friedel Berlipp [Roasting more food]
 ‣ Upward Glide - Eric Allen [SpongeGar, Patar and Squog stop walking]
 • Vibe & Harp Hits - Nicolas Carr [SpongeGar, Patar and Squog stop walking]
 ‣ African Percussion (G) - Robin Hogarth [SpongeGar and Squog hitting each other]
 ‣ Pulse of Africa - Robin Hogarth [They fight over the log]
 ‣ Vibra Slap - David Arnold [Squog's picture of a monster]
 ‣ Pulse of Africa - Robin Hogarth [Fight for the fire continues]
 ‣ Bare Foot - Robin Hogarth [Squog struck by lightning]
 • End Gong - Nicolas Carr [Gong]
 ‣ The Dreadnought Tea Clipper (B) - Tim Laycock, Robert Alexander White ["Now I know how Squidward feels."]
 ◦ When Worlds Collide - Theo Mondle, Paul Tibbitt, Kent Osborne
 ‣ Monster Bug [#33] - Gregor F. Narholz [A dinosaur is shown.]
 ‣ The Girl I Left Behind Me - Brian Peters [The ending.]
 • B.C. Strut - Steve Belfer, Nicolas Carr [Closing credits]

Release

Distribution

• This episode is available on the SpongeBob Goes Prehistoric DVD and VHS, Nick Picks Volume 1, Complete 3rd Season, Nick Picks Box-Set (Vol, 1-3), The Ultimate Box Set, SpongeBob on DVD, Nickelodeon Double Feature, First 100 Episodes, Exposed!: The Ultimate Box Set, SpongeBob's Legendary Adventures, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 5, Complete Third Season, From the Beginning, Part 2, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, Favorite Episodes, Triple Pack 4, 2-Season TV Pack, The Third & Fourth Seasons, Big Hits: Volume 2, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, and The Best 300 Episodes Ever DVDs.

Reception

• This episode was nominated for an Emmy at the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).^[5]
• "Ugh" was ranked #16 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.
• This episode was ranked #48 in the "100 Greatest Nicktoon Episodes" as part of "Super Stuffed Nicktoons Weekend 2007."

Trivia

General

• This special episode is also listed as "SpongeBob B.C. (Before Comedy)."
• This episode and "F.U.N." tie for the shortest episode title in the series, with only three letters. However, in terms of characters, this is the shortest title, with three characters in total.
• The fourth wall is broken when the camera crew comes in the shot when Patchy lost balance on the fake dinosaur.
• This is the first episode for a few things:
  • The first episode where SpongeBob appears in a cameo instead of a major or supporting role.
  • The first episode where one of Squidward's ancestors is seen.
  • The first episode in which none of the ten main characters have a major appearance.
  • The first double-length episode where Sandy and Plankton do not appear, not counting the extended version of "Shanghaied."
  • The first double-length episode where SpongeBob SquarePants' house does not appear.
• This is the second episode for two things:
  • In packaging order, the second double-length episode of season 3. The first is "Party Pooper Pants."
  • The second episode to use footage from previous episodes; in this case, the scene with the nautilus swimming from the episode "SB-129." The first episode to do this was "Can You Spare a Dime?."
  • The second episode where Patrick and SpongeBob's ancestors are shown, after "SB-129."
• This is the third episode for a few things:
  • The third episode from the series to have two non-consecutive production codes following "Christmas Who?" and "Shanghaied," with the Patchy segments (as well as SpongeBob's short cameo) of the episode having the production code of 5572-220, and the SpongeBob segments having the production code of 5572-208.
  • The third episode to have a unique opening credits sequence, the first two being "SB-129" and "Krusty Krab Training Video."
  • The third (and to date, the last) episode where the closing credits use a different font and background, after "Krusty Krab Training Video" and "Party Pooper Pants."
• Squog says "Wait a minute" at one point. This is the only full English sentence that was spoken by any of the cavemen.
• This episode used a prehistoric version of the closing theme called "B.C. Strut," making this the sixth time the closing theme is not used in the credits. The first was in "Scaredy Pants"/"I Was a Teenage Gary," the second was in "Texas"/"Walking Small," the third was in "Christmas Who?," the fourth was in "Wet Painters"/"Krusty Krab Training Video," and the fifth was in "Party Pooper Pants."
• This episode would be only 16 minutes long without the Patchy segments, including SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs' brief cameo. This would make it one of the few episodes to be longer than 11 minutes but shorter than 22 minutes.
• The activities of SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog paint an (inconsistent) parallel with those of late archaic human species and early modern humans. It is thought that homo ergaster might have had a language, homo erectus discovered fire, and early modern humans domesticated animals, in that order. However, SpongeGar has a pet, and speaks a language with the other two, by the time all three discover fire onscreen. However, this discovery was made underwater, so the "late" discovery of fire (still around 150 million years earlier than homo erectus, according to the above timeline) can be excused.
• There is an online game based on this episode called B.C. Bowling.
• The atonal singing choir, according to the episode's credits, is made up of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Doug Lawrence, Dee Bradley Baker, and Sirena Irwin.

• In the original airing and on the DVDs, the closed-captions misspell Patar's name as "Pathar."

• Frames from this episode were later used in "Friendiversary" when SpongeBob remembers Squidward.
• The "UGH!" quote from this episode was used in SpongeBob Simulator as a chat line.
• This was later adapted as a comic of 2013's Issue #17 in SpongeBob and his Friends in Russia.
• Three scenes from SB-129 are shown in this episode during the song "When Worlds Collide":
  • SpongeTron saying, "I am SpongeTron" in a robotic way.
  • Squidward laying down and saying "Future!"
  • Primitive SpongeBob and Patrick being confused and drooling after holding a jellyfish.

Dub facts

• In the French dub, according to the French narrator, the episode takes place 100 millennia ago.
• in the German dub, Cavey, portrayed by Bill Fagerbakke, is voiced by Marco Kröger, the now-former voice actor of Patrick who was fired in 2011.
  • Also, this episode is titled "SpongeBob in der Steinzeit" (SpongeBob in the Stone Age), but its title card is left unlocalized.

• In the Korean dub from EBS, the title card is localized to its language.
• This is the first episode where Marco Antônio Abreu voices Patrick in the Brazilian Portuguese dub. However, he voices his prehistoric counterpart, Patar, in this episode. The first episode he would actually voice Patrick is "The Great Snail Race," the following episode.

Cultural references

• The atonal singing of the barbershop quartet references the piece "Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs & Orchestra" by György Ligeti, which was used in the 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, whenever the monolith appeared.
  • The scene in which SpongeGar realizes that he can use a stick as a tool to take a piece of coral out of the fire pays direct homage to the Dawn of Man sequence from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, a famous scene in which a group of apes learn to use a bone as both a tool and weapon. In both cases, the narrative has portrayed these stories without the use of conventional dialogue (using nonsensical cave speech in Ugh and using ape noises in 2001).
  • The music is also a direct homage, with a modernistic wailing piece and music similar to the classical piece "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss played after SpongeGar's discovery, mirroring the use of said pieces of music in 2001.
• B.C. standing for "Before Comedy" is a parody of the Christian term "Before Christ."
• The black and white stock footage of cavemen was taken from the 1914 silent film Brute Force, the first American live-action dinosaur film.
• When Squog says "Not Dumbo," a photo of Albert Einstein is shown in his thought bubble.

Errors

• When Patar punctures his lip, the stick is thick. But when SpongeGar stomps on a little crab, takes the stick out of Patar's lip, impales a small crab, and gives it to him, the stick is thin.
• When Prehistoric Gary makes a snail trail on Squog's rocks, it is on the one closest to his house, but when Squog looks out the window, it is on the third one from his house.
• Squog does not have a door in his house until he takes the fire to it.
• When Squog snatches the fire from Patar, there is a flash of yellow as if SpongeGar took it.
• Patchy's hook is shown on his left hand when he tells the audience that it was easier to hit a baseball in the Prehistoric times and tries to create fire, while in other scenes, it is on his right hand.
  • In the next frame, after he introduces himself, he does not have his hook.
• While SpongeGar sniffs his first charred flower on a stick, the roots are seen over his beard where the root parts over his beard are red.
• When Squog chooses which club to use, he puts the one that he did not want on the right. When it shows a close-up view, it is moved to the left.
• When SpongeGar falls from the rope, it is implied that he falls into a pile of leaves. However, in both the shot where SpongeGar gets trapped and the one where he sees Patar and Squog running after the log, there are no leaves around.
• During the visual of an ancient drawing of SpongeBob and Patrick squeezing up and down while "When Worlds Collide" plays, at one point during the animation loop, SpongeBob is missing the line that is supposed to resemble his pants.
• Patchy has brown eyes throughout the episode. But when his eyes bulge out of his head, they are blue.
• In the TV versions, the French narrator asks, "What will SpongeBob do with fire?," as opposed to "What will SpongeGar do with fire?"^{[citation needed]}

Videos

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
French	Ugh - Bob l'éponge DC	Ugh - SpongeBob B.C.
German	Ugh - SpongeBob in der Steinzeit	Ugh - SpongeBob in the Stone Age
Hungarian	Ugh	-
Italian	Spongebob preistorico Chi troppo vuole...	Prehistoric SpongeBob The Italian proverb of "chi troppo vuole nulla stringe" which means "He Who Wants Too Much Clasps Nothing"
Japanese	原始のスポンジ・ボブ Genshi no suponji Bobu	Primitive SpongeBob
Kazakh	Уһ Uh	Sigh (an interjection denoting exhaustion, fatigue, sorrow, or relief)
Russian	До нашей эры Do nashey ery	Before the Common Era
Spanish	Ugh - Bob Esponja A.C. (antes de la comedia)	Ugh - SpongeBob B.C. (Before Comedy)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS TV SPECIALS - Happy Product
2. ^ BARB - Nickelodeon - Millions Viewing (Including Timeshift) - w/e 23/05/2004
3. ^ Bob l'éponge - Ina
4. ^ Caleb Meurer's Squarespace
5. ^ Awards Nominees and Winners > 2004 - 56th Emmy Awards > Outstanding Animated Program (for programming less than one hour) - 2004

Notes