Band Geeks

"Band Geeks"
Title card
General
Show:	SpongeBob SquarePants
Season number:	2
Episode number:	35
Production code:	15b
First airing:	September 7, 2001
Sister episode(s):	"The Secret Box"
Credits
Writer(s):	C. H. Greenblatt Aaron Springer Merriwether Williams

"Band Geeks" is the second segment of the fifteenth episode of season 2 in the SpongeBob SquarePants television series, and it is paired with "The Secret Box." It features the song "Sweet Victory" by David Glen Eisley, and is widely considered to be one of the best episodes of the series. The episode is focused on Squidward, who tries to form a marching band to play at the Bubble Bowl to impress his rival, Squilliam Fancyson.

Characters

• Squidward Tentacles
• Veterinarian
• Squilliam Fancyson (debut)
• Sandy Cheeks
• Sheldon J. Plankton
• Mrs. Puff
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Larry the Lobster
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Patrick Star
• Pearl Krabs
• French Narrator

Plot

Squidward's band performs at the Bubble Bowl.

Early one morning, Squidward's clarinet playing gets interrupted by a visit from Bikini Bottom's veterinarian, mistakenly interpreting the sounds of Squidward's clarinet as being that of a dying animal. Afterwards, Squidward receives a call from his old band class rival Squilliam Fancyson-now immensely wealthy and successful-who reveals to Squidward that his band is playing at the high-profile Bubble Bowl venue the following week, but derisively asks Squidward to play in his stead due to his marching band not being able to attend. Squidward agrees in order to impress Squilliam, despite the fact that he has no band of his own. He quickly assembles one through advertisement flyers placed throughout Bikini Bottom.

Despite the audience not having any formal experience with an instrument, Squidward attempts to teach them how to play as a marching band. After four days of middling success, the night before the Bubble Bowl culminates in a fight between the band's members, who blame the other for the group's lack of improvement. After it dissipates, a disappointed Squidward berates the crowd for ruining his chances of success with their ineptitude and tells them not to bother showing up at the Bubble Bowl before departing the band's auditorium. SpongeBob, cognizant of the band's failure to help Squidward, rouses the crowd to perform at the Bubble Bowl for Squidward's sake and begins to teach them himself.

At the Bubble Bowl, Squidward ponders the absence of his band before Squilliam arrives, intent on seeing him fail. Squidward's band then arrives, worsening Squidward's mood. They then enter the Bubble Bowl, which is revealed to be a glass bowl protruding from the center of an on-land football field, with a large human crowd. Fearing the worse, Squidward nervously begins to conduct his band. To the astonishment of he and Squilliam, the band successfully performs a stunning rendition of "Sweet Victory". After Squilliam suffers a heart attack, the episode ends on a freeze-frame shot of a triumphant Squidward, having finally received the fame and attention he has been seeking for all of his life.

See the episode's transcript here.

Music

• Here Comes The Band! (A) - Dick Stephen Walter [Title card]
• Squids Clarinet - Brad Carow [Squidward playing his clarinet/Squidward plays his clarinet through the phone]
• Vibe & Harp Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Squilliam Fancyson from band class?"]
• Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["I hear you're playing the cash register now."]
• On The Beach - Kapono Beamer ["I gotta drum up a marching band fast!"]
• Marching Band Scales - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [Squidward, the brass, the woodwind, and the drums play scales]
• Stars & Stripes Forever - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [The band playing]
• Taps - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [Played after blimp explosion]
• Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield [Plays faintly during Day Four card]
• Marching Band Blast - Brad Carow, Nicolas Carr, Robert Lee Faust, Ira Nepus [Everyone plays loudly]
• Like Strange - Kenny Graham ["What did you say, punk?"]
• Spongemonger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [The band brawl starts]
• Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill ["You took my one chance at happiness...and crushed it."]
• Fates (#61.03) - Gregor F. Narholz ["What kind of monsters are we?"]
• Whisper from the Past (#63) - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob's rousing pep talk]
• Hawaiian Link (A) - Richard Myhill [Bubble Bowl]
• Dramatic Cue (A) - Ronald Hanmer [Squidward sees Squilliam]
• Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["I just wanted to watch you blow it."]
• Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer ["That would be my band!"]
• Steel Licks 40 - Jeremy Wakefield [Squilliam laughs]
• Gala A - Dieter Reith [Live-action football field]
• Send them Victorious (b) - Graham De Wilde [Fanfare]
• Sweet Victory 1 - David Eisley, Bob Kulick [Ending]

Production

Development

The footage for the live-action crowd is derived from a football game between the Tampa Bay Bandits and the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League from June 16, 1984, along with footage specially made for the episode's production.

Trivia

• The flyer for Squidward's band reads as follows: "Looking to add fulfillment to your dull, dull life? Then become a part of the greatest musical sensation ever to hit Bikini Bottom and be forever adored by thousands of people you don't know. Not to mention, free refreshments! Practice begins tonight, 8:30 sharp."
• A clip from this episode was used during SpongeBob on Nick@Nite bumpers in 2020.
• According to production art, this episode was originally called "Squid in Charge."

External Links

• Wikipedia's article on the episode
• Encyclopedia SpongeBobia's article on the episode
• SpongePedia's article on the episode