"Waiting" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 5. In this episode, SpongeBob waits for a toy to arrive in the mail.

Characters

• Incidentals
  • Incidental 42
  • Incidental 48
  • Mr. Mailman
• Gary the Snail
• Jellyfish ^{(cameo in Barg'N Mart)}
• SpongeBob SquarePants
  • SpongeBob's stomach ^{(single appearance)}
• Patrick Star
  • Patrick's stomach ^(debut)
• Sandy Cheeks
• Squidward Tentacles

Synopsis

In the beginning of the episode, SpongeBob and Gary are shopping at Barg'N-Mart, and SpongeBob sees a Kelpo cereal box that says there is a "free prize inside." SpongeBob then rushes home and eats the cereal, but sees that there is no toy inside the box. SpongeBob looks at the cereal box more closely and sees that it actually says, "free prize offer inside" (the word "offer" is printed in the very small text between "prize" and "inside") and that he must send in 99 box tops in order to get the prize. SpongeBob goes and buys even more boxes of cereal, and he begins going through it very quickly without even taking off the box tops first. When SpongeBob puts more cereal in Gary's food bowl, Gary suggests he send in the box tops before eating all the cereal. SpongeBob then puts all the box tops into an envelope and sends it.

Now, SpongeBob must wait patiently for the toy to arrive. Patrick also comes nearby and waits with him. Patrick asks what they are waiting for, and SpongeBob explains that he is getting a free toy. The mailfish comes by and gives SpongeBob three envelopes, but no toy. SpongeBob and Patrick must wait even longer now, much to their disappointment, and soon become hungry. Patrick suggests that he and SpongeBob go to the Krusty Krab for a Krabby Patty, but SpongeBob doesn't want to leave the mailbox because he is afraid of the mailman coming with the toy while he is gone. So Patrick instead goes to the Krusty Krab by himself.

Sometime later, Sandy walks by and starts to ask SpongeBob if he wants to do karate with her, but SpongeBob grabs Sandy by the arm and easily slams her into the ground before telling her in a very rude tone that he is busy, and she leaves upset. After that, Gary shows SpongeBob his bowl because he is hungry, causing his owner to angrily shout his frustration that no one understands that he is busy waiting for the mailman, causing a scared Gary to go away.

After calming down, Patrick comes back and SpongeBob lashes out at him for no reason. Patrick tells SpongeBob he missed his surprise birthday party at the Krusty Krab, so he had to bring back a present and some cake for him, making SpongeBob upset again. While trying to find the fork, Patrick accidentally eats SpongeBob's piece of cake, and the present, which SpongeBob is visibly excited about, turns out to be the fork that Patrick was trying to find earlier, which is now useless.

SpongeBob loses it and starts bawling about how he is wasting his whole life waiting for his toy, and how Patrick apparently hates him now because he is a "big jerk." Patrick says he does not hate him, but SpongeBob does not listen. The mailman finally arrives and asks for SpongeBob's signature. It takes a while after SpongeBob signs before he realizes that his toy has finally arrived. He and Patrick become so happy that they do a jig before falling over and dancing on the ground. Upon opening it, they call the toy beautiful before Patrick pushes the button on the toy and springs come out.

SpongeBob thinks Patrick "ruined" the toy and is furious with him. Patrick tries to fix it but ends up making it worse. Squidward comes home to see them rolling around crying. He tries to play his clarinet but cannot because of all the noise. Enraged by this, he asks what is wrong with them.

SpongeBob explains to Squidward how he sent in box tops, waited for the mailman, and then how Patrick broke the toy. Squidward snatches the toy, "fixes" it, then shows him that the toy's head, arms, and legs are supposed to spring off, and reattaches them. SpongeBob and Patrick then hug Squidward, asking if there is anything they could do for him, and an annoyed Squidward replies that they should move to another neighborhood, as the episode ends.

Production

This episode was confirmed in a TVShowsOnDVD.com article on December 24, 2006.^[7]

It was added to the United States Copyright Catalog alongside its sister episodes on February 2, 2007.^[8]

Art

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 • Puka B - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [title card]
 ‣ Gay Time - Alan Perry [SpongeBob shopping]
 • Earls Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob eating cereal]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact (5) - Ivor Slaney ["Free prize... offer inside?"]
 ‣ Dancing The Hula - Kapono Beamer [eating more cereal]
 • Hgliss & Bell - Nicolas Carr ["Gary, you are a genius!"]
 ‣ Hilo Rag - Guy Fletcher [SpongeBob and Patrick waiting for the mailman]
 • Bluesy Harpy - Nicolas Carr [Patrick getting hungry]
 ‣ On The Beach - Kapono Beamer [Patrick decides to go the Krusty Krab]
 ‣ Drama Link (H) - Hubert Clifford [SpongeBob thinks the mailman will come when he goes away]
 • Steel Licks 40 - Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick's stomach bites his arm]
 • Steel Licks 41 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob opens the mailbox]
 • FlexTone Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Hi-ya!"]
 • Steel Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield [Sandy walks away]
 • The Pollywog Strut - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Gary wants to be fed]
 • Whats This Sting - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob missed his birthday party]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill ["My birthday party?"]
 • Goofy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick accidentally eats SpongeBob's cake]
 • Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr ["The fork!"]
 • Steel Licks 33 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob crying]
 ‣ Of Love and Destiny - Leighton Lucas ["I've been mean to Gary, and I flipped Sandy!"]
 ‣ Pua Paoakalani B - Kapono Beamer, Queen Lili'uokalani [SpongeBob says he doesn't deserve moments]
 • Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["My toy!"]
 ‣ Tell Her I Am - Brian Douglas Gulland, Robert Alexander White [SpongeBob and Patrick dancing a jig]
 • Parting of the Clouds Sting - Nicolas Carr [toy revealed]
 ‣ Romeo & Juliet Overture - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Fiachra Trench ["It's beautiful!"]
 ‣ Island Romance - Jan Rap ["I waited, so long..."]
 ‣ Cellar Search - Philippe Pares ["You!"]
 ‣ Against The Law (C) - Wilfred William Burns [SpongeBob screams]
 • Steel Licks 78 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob and Patrick crying]
 ‣ Esta Noche A - Hans Ehrlinger ["Now to soothe my frayed nerves."]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["All right, what's going on?"]
 • Puka A - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [ending]

Release

Broadcast

• This episode alongside "Driven to Tears," "Rule of Dumb," "The Pink Purloiner," "The Gift of Gum," "Rise and Shine," and "Sing a Song of Patrick" premiered during the "Patrick For President" marathon.

Distribution

• This episode is available on the Friend or Foe?, Season 5 Volume 1, SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis (Korean only), SpongeBob StarPants, First 100 Episodes, Bob Esponja Cumple 10 Años, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, Set Sail for Silly, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 7, The SpongeBob Super Square Collection, Complete Fifth Season, From the Beginning, Part 2, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, The Fifth & Sixth Seasons, and The Best 300 Episodes Ever DVDs.

Trivia

General

• This episode was on TurboNick three days before it premiered on TV.^{[citation needed]}
• A rerun of this episode was featured right after the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, due to it ending 13 minutes earlier than planned.^[9]
• The title card shows 11 still pictures of the Kelpo toy.
• This episode's title is said 20 times.
• This episode's plot is loosely based on the SpongeBob SquarePants book Special Delivery!
• This episode has a rare instance in which SpongeBob overpowers Sandy.
• This episode takes place on July 14, SpongeBob's birthday, which he forgot about and missed out on while he was waiting for a toy to arrive in the mail.
• The clip of SpongeBob and Patrick dancing after the toy was mailed was used during the "Up next" Nickelodeon USA bumpers from 2009 to 2011.^[10]
• This is the second episode for three things:
  • The second short of season 5, the first being "Rise and Shine."
  • The second episode where SpongeBob expects to find a toy in his cereal box and is disappointed, the first being "Shanghaied." However, this episode explains the lack of a toy in the box: the label reads "Free prize offer inside," meaning that it would be needed to send in box tops to actually get the toy.
  • The second short of the series to be bookended by a soundtrack after "Gary Takes a Bath," but the first by an original soundtrack.
• This is the third episode to have Vincent Waller credited as a creative director instead of a technical director. The first was "Best Day Ever," and the second was "The Gift of Gum."

Dub facts

• In the German dub, the title card background is white and pink instead of being yellow, pink, purple and red.

Errors

• The mark that said, "Free prize inside" before SpongeBob took it was orange. When he read it, it turned pinkish-red.

• When the camera zooms out from SpongeBob when he realizes from Gary that he has to send in the box tops before eating all the cereal, the milk coating on his lips disappears.

• During the scene where Sandy asks SpongeBob to do some karate and he refuses, Sandy is wearing red karate gloves, which are supposed to be SpongeBob's, instead of her usual green or pink karate gloves. Her outline is also colored black instead of brown when she first appears and when she gets pinned down by SpongeBob.
  • This error also occurs in "Shopping List," "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout," and "Sandy, Help Us!"

• Before SpongeBob says, "So tired, so hungry," his mouth disappears for a frame.

• When SpongeBob says, "But... must wait... for toy," his eyelashes are missing for two frames straight.
• Right after SpongeBob is given the toy, SpongeBob and Patrick dance. During this scene, the mailbox is gone. It then reappears at the end of their dance. This also happens when SpongeBob is given the toy by the mailman.
• When Squidward opens his window, the background is a window-like substance.
• When Patrick first "breaks" the Kelpo toy, he taps its head rather than pressing the button, which is what should have caused the "breakage," and when Squidward makes its limbs spring out, he only taps its head, then it comes together again.
• The Kelpo toy has a red button on its dress which is supposedly supposed to be pushed to make the springing action work, but whenever it does so, its head is budged instead.
  • Budging the toy's head would have broken it in the first place, as it could jam the mechanism.
• When Squidward takes the toy away from SpongeBob to show how it works, SpongeBob stops crying right when the toy is taken away, but his sobbing can still be heard until Squidward de-springs it.

• During most of the episode, the front door on SpongeBob's house is way bigger than it usually is.
  • This error also occurs in "Krabby Road."

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
French	On attend ! On attend !	We're Waiting! We're Waiting!
German	Warten	Waiting
Greek	Αναμονή Anamoní	Waiting
Hungarian	Várakozás	Waiting
Italian	Un regalo sofferto	A Gift Suffered
Russian	Ожидание Ozhidaniye	Waiting
Spanish (Latin America)	Esperando	Waiting
Spanish (Spain)	La espera	The Wait

References

1. ^ https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/95225-Waiting
2. ^ COMPLETE SEASON 5 EPISODE ON TURBONICK! - SpongeBuddy Mania Forums
3. ^ https://www.sbmania.net/forums/threads/new-episodes-of-spongebob-in-uk.19400/
4. ^ https://www.sbmania.net/forums/threads/spongebob-movie-and-best-day-ever-premiere-on-nick-uk-next-monday.21800/#post-331371
5. ^ NickSplat showtimes - June 2007
6. ^ Season 5 in Israel - SpongeBuddy Mania Forums
7. ^ SpongeBob SquarePants - 'Friend or Foe' announced - TV Shows on DVD Retrieved on December 3, 2013.
8. ^ From the United States Copyright Office catalog: Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Spongebob Squarepants : no. 83."]. United States Copyright Office.
9. ^ Nickstory - March 31, 2007
10. ^ Nick - SpongeBob Bumpers (Eng)