Have You Seen This Snail?
| "Have You Seen This Snail?" | |
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| SpongeBob SquarePants episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 63 |
| Written by | Aaron Springer Paul Tibbitt |
| Original air date | November 11, 2005 |
| Guest stars | |
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Amy Poehler as Grandma |
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| List of Episodes | |
"Have You Seen This Snail?" (also known as Where's Gary?) is an two-part television special of season 4 of SpongeBob SquarePants, originally aired on Nickelodeon on November 11, 2005. In the episode, after SpongeBob neglects Gary for ten days, Gary runs away from home to look for a new life.
"Have You Seen This Snail" was written by Aaron Springer and Paul Tibbitt and directed by Springer, Alan Smart, and Tom Yasumi, and guest starred Amy Poehler as Grandma and Stew, who performed the musical number "Gary, Come Home". The episode garnered a viewership of eight million, achieving the highest number of cable TV viewers aged six to eleven years old for 2005, and received mixed reviews from critics. The musical number that plays in this episode ("Gary, Come Home") is now a downloadable song in Rock Band as of March 31, 2009.
This episode was also shown briefly in the 2007 film Alvin and the Chipmunks, when Dave cannot see SpongeBob episodes on TV, when you see the board with Simon and Theodore.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
SpongeBob receives a new Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Paddle Ball Set in the mail and decides to take the Dirty Bubble Challenge of hitting the ball 29,998,559,671,349 times in a row. He is totally consumed by the challenge and forgets Gary for ten days. Gary feels neglected and runs away from home. When Patrick arrives, SpongeBob snaps out of it and cannot find Gary. SpongeBob finds a note saying that Gary has left in search of a new owner.
Meanwhile, Gary has wandered into a new city. He gets scared by some stray snails who on the outside seem tough, but were only trying to be friendly. A kind old lady discovers Gary and mistakes him for one of her own pets, "Miss Tuftsy". Gary is showered with love and food while SpongeBob goes to work, depressed that Gary has not shown up. Mr. Krabs says, "Any problem you have can be solved with a little hard work", trying to encourage him to work. But SpongeBob misinterprets him, and he takes the day off to look for Gary. He puts up posters and signs everywhere in the hope of finding Gary.
Gary, at the old lady's house, has been fed a lot and needs to go to the bathroom. The old lady puts out fresh sheets of paper which were flyers given to her by Patrick, who was helping SpongeBob in his attempts to get Gary to return to him. Upon reading them, Gary realizes that SpongeBob truly loves him and wants him back. He tries to leave, but instead of doing that, he ends up going to the closet, filled with empty snail shells. When the old lady tries to feed him again, Gary finds that the old lady most likely has sinister motives — she is possibly trying to fatten him up and then eat him like a pig. He makes his escape, but the old lady chases him out onto the streets. Gary quickly finds the snail that he saw before, which the old lady now mistakes for "Miss Tuftsy", and takes home instead.
Elsewhere, SpongeBob gives up on his search for Gary, and is trying to forget about him by taking a walk, but his memories keep coming to mind and upsetting him. He's constantly reminded as the streets are filled with "missing pet"-type posters and signs for Gary. SpongeBob then hears a meow. At first he thinks he is imagining Gary's there, but then he turns around to find Gary is actually at his side, and he is overjoyed to see his beloved pet again. SpongeBob then decides to take Gary home, thinking that he is probably very hungry. But Gary, who has been a bit overfed by the old lady, moans.
[edit] Reception
"Have You Seen This Snail?" was viewed by eight million people.[1] It was the highest-rated program on all TV with children aged two-eleven for the year of 2005 behind the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl kick-off, and the highest-rated program on all of cable with children aged two to eleven and children aged six to eleven in 2005.[2]
Critics produced mixed reviews for Have You Seen This Snail?. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called the episode deeply hilarious and described the plot as a "bittersweet riot". He drew attention to how the story is similar to the plot of "Dumped", an earlier episode in which Gary deserted SpongeBob.[3]
The television critic for the St Petersburg Times was not so positive about the episode however, criticizing how SpongeBob's disappointed and sad character for "Have You Seen This Snail?" is quite different to the character's normal bright personality.[4] The episode was published on a compilation released 2005-11-15. The DVD used the alternative title "Where's Gary?"[5] Have You Seen This Snail? featured an original piece of music written for the episode by the musician Stew, entitled "Gary's Song."[3]
[edit] References
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (2005-11-16). "CBS Cruises, but SpongeBob Sops Up Viewers". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111501517.html. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ "SpongeBob SquarePants 'Where's Gary' Scores Colossal Ratings". PR Newswire. 2005-11-14. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-11571670_ITM. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ a b Shales, Tom (2005-11-11). "SpongeBob Squeezes Tears Of Laughter Out of Snail Tale". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/10/AR2005111002129.html. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ Michael, Nader (2005-11-07). "'SpongeBob' special moves at a snail's pace". St Petersburg Times. http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/07/Xpress/_SpongeBob__special_m.shtml. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ Johnson, David (2005-12-14). "DVD Verdict Review - Spongebob Squarepants: Where's Gary?". DVD Verdict. http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/sbspwheresgary.php. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
[edit] External links
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