Clams

"Clams"
A giant clam jumps out of the water, about to eat Mr. Krabs' millionth dollar
General
Season number:	3
First airing:	September 20, 2002
Sister episode(s):	New Student Starfish
Credits
Writer(s):	Jay Lender Sam Henderson Mark O'Hare
Creative director:	Derek Drymon
Storyboard:	Caleb Meurer
Storyboard director:	Jay Lender Sam Henderson
Animation director:	Sean Dempsey

"Clams" is the second segment of the thirteenth episode of season 3, and it is paired with "New Student Starfish". In this episode, a giant clam eats Mr. Krabs' millionth dollar.

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Squidward Tentacles
• Mr. Krabs
• Krusty Krab customers
• Old Bluelip (giant clam)
• Gary the Snail

Synopsis

At the Krusty Krab, a customer orders coral bits for one dollar. As soon as Squidward puts it in the cash register, an alarm blares out. Mr. Krabs happily bursts out of his office, with celebratory orchestra music playing, and starts to dance with the dollar. Mr. Krabs informs everyone that he has obtained his millionth dollar, which is every crab's life goal. To celebrate the moment, Mr. Krabs closes the Krusty Krab and pushes out all of the customers. He then tells SpongeBob and Squidward that the three of them will be going on vacation. Squidward hopes that the trip will be at either a beach, a lagoon, or a folk village, but Mr. Krabs insists that it will be even better than those.

To Squidward's disappointment, Mr. Krabs sends the three of them to go clam fishing at a stinky lagoon on a cheap boat, the S.S. Cheapskate. As SpongeBob practices fishing, he casts out most things from the boat, including Mr. Krabs' millionth dollar, which was attached to his back pocket. Mr. Krabs panics and urges SpongeBob to reel the dollar back. Just when Mr. Krabs retrieves his dollar, a giant clam jumps out of the water and eats it. Mr. Krabs cries hysterically and soon turns insane, insisting that none of them will be allowed to leave until they get his dollar back. Squidward and SpongeBob try to trick Mr. Krabs by giving an ordinary dollar to him. Once he is worried to realize the dollar is different, he throws all the food overboard, leaving only one sandwich behind as a reward.

After trying to escape on a smaller boat, SpongeBob and Squidward are used by Mr. Krabs as bait. He plays orchestra music to lure over the giant clam, then he jumps into its mouth, and the clam goes back into the water. Just as SpongeBob and Squidward start feeling hopeless, Mr. Krabs happily emerges from the water with his millionth dollar. It is shown that he traded his entire body, leaving only his head and one arm, in exchange for the dollar.

Production

Music

Legend
	Production music
	Original music

Track	Composer(s)	Scene
Dangerous E	Mladen Franko	Title card.
Hello Sailor (B)	Richard Myhill	Opening.
Superquick A	Daniel Jean Jeannin	Mr. Krabs appears to show his millionth dollar.
record scratches SFX	Nicolas Carr	"Nothing!"
What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?	Okko Bekker	Krabs takes SpongeBob and Squidward on a trip.
The Girl I Left Behind Me	Brian Peters	SpongeBob goes clam fishing.
The Rake Hornpipe	Robert Alexander White	"Okay, I've had enough."
Dangerous B	Mladen Franko	Dramatic music plays.
Dangerous D	Mladen Franko	The orchestra is revealed to play the dramatic music.
Dangerous E	Mladen Franko	"Hurry, SpongeBob!"
Dangerous B	Mladen Franko	SpongeBob reels in the dollar.
Dangerous C	Mladen Franko	A giant clam appears to eat Krabs' dollar.
Hawaiian Cocktail	Richard Myhill	Krabs weeps hysterically.
Up She Rises	Sam Spence	"Here's where clam fishing gets serious."
Steel Licks 33	Jeremy Wakefield	Three days later.
Tomfoolery	David Snell	SpongeBob and Squidward give Krabs an ordinary dollar.
Superquick A	Daniel Jean Jeannin	SpongeBob, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs celebrate.
Fates [#62]	Gregor F. Narholz	"I trusted you, and you gave me this!"
Vibe & Harp Hits	Nicolas Carr	Mr. Krabs nails a sandwich.
Unease	Dick Stephen Walter	Krabs throws all the food from the boat overboard.
In Loving Memory (b)	Len Rawle	Krabs is dressed like he is at a funeral and weeps at a tombstone.
Danger Zone	Mike Sunderland	Krabs plays jump rope with his eyes.
Killer Birds [#36]	Gregor F. Narholz	"I know what you're thinking..."
Dramatic Encounter	Gregor F. Narholz	"Live bait!"
Dangerous D	Mladen Franko	The orchestra begins to play again.
Dangerous E	Mladen Franko	Krabs laughs maniacally.
Dangerous A	Mladen Franko	The giant clam reappears.
Drunken Sailor (B)	Robin Jeffrey Tim Laycock	Krabs gets his dollar back.
Dangerous B	Mladen Franko	The clam gobbles Krabs up.
Steel Licks 78	Jeremy Wakefield	SpongeBob and Squidward weep over the loss of Krabs.
Thats It !	Nicolas Carr	"Have you boys met me millionth dollar?"
The Girl I Left Behind Me	Brian Peters	Ending.

Behind the scenes

Cultural references

• This episode is a spoof of the film Jaws. The references to the film include the title card, the musical score, and three main characters on a boat chasing a giant sea creature.
  • The episode also features numerous references to Moby Dick, such as Mr. Krabs' obsessive pursuit of the clam and nailing the sandwich to the mast of the ship.

Trivia

• Mr. Krabs breaks the fourth wall twice by acknowledging the orchestra and their dramatic music, which is shown behind a double-door on the S.S. Cheapskate. In the scene where SpongeBob is reeling back Mr. Krabs' millionth dollar, the orchestra plays dramatic Jaws-like music. Mr. Krabs begs them to stop playing, but they ignore him. The other time the orchestra is acknowledged is near the end of the episode, when Mr. Krabs dresses and acts as the orchestra's conductor, which attracts Old Bluelip back.
• When SpongeBob says, "I've never seen Mr. Krabs so broken," seemingly as an idiom, Mr. Krabs is shown to be literally broken apart. In the next scene, Mr. Krabs is back together.