"Blood is Thicker Than Grease" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 14. In this episode, Plankton's family open their own restaurant... directly next to the Chum Bucket.
Characters[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Sheldon J. Plankton
- Karen Plankton
- Plankton family
- Clem
- Cletus Plankton (single appearance)
- Granny Plankton (cameo)
- Ma Plankton
- Pa Plankton
- Grand Dad Plankton (cameo)
- Incidentals
- Eugene H. Krabs
- Squidward Tentacles
- Patrick Star
- Bubble Bass
- Larry the Lobster
- Regigilled
- Health Inspector Andy Yellowtail
- Trucker
- Elmer
This list is incomplete, but you can help Encyclopedia SpongeBobia by expanding it.
Synopsis[]
The Spud Bucket.
Plankton shows Karen his new "tootsie-trampler" invention, which can be used like a pogo stick to crush civilians, but it backfires on him. Suddenly, Plankton hears a noise from outside. A pickup truck with a grand mansion-like trailer appears. Plankton's parents step out, having moved to the city after winning the lottery. After showing Plankton around their trailer, they reveal they have come to start their own restaurant similar to the Chum Bucket: the Spud Bucket. The customers from the Krusty Krab all leave to visit the new restaurant. Plankton goes to Krabs' restaurant to gloat, and the latter is about to give up the formula. Karen questions Plankton, mentioning that having the formula likely means nothing since nobody wants Krabby Patties. Upon realizing this, Plankton decides to sabotage the Spud Bucket.
His first plan is to call a health inspector, but this backfires when the Planktons are able to bribe him into giving the Spud Bucket a good grade. Next, he gets Patrick to eat customers' food, but his parents use him to help make mashed potatoes. Then, he throws a grenade at a potato delivery truck, but the potatoes explode into French fries. After his failures, Plankton's dad invites him to work at the restaurant, which Plankton agrees to, left with no other options.
Ma Plankton telling Plankton that he can work for them.
In the kitchen, Plankton prepares a baked potato, which he tops with chum. Bubble Bass tastes it and goes to complain. After Plankton reveals the "special ingredient" to him, Bubble Bass warns everyone, with the other customers also having eaten the chum-laced dishes. They are disgusted and run back to the Krusty Krab. Plankton's parents accept defeat and have their cousin, Cletus, blow up the restaurant, before heading off in their trailer. Mr. Krabs walks up, and brags that his formula is worth something again, but Cletus detonates another box of TNT around him and Plankton, ending the episode.
Production[]
This episode was confirmed on September 5, 2023.[1]
Despite being copyrighted in 2024, this episode was completed in late 2023.[2]
Art[]
Background design[]
- Art direction by Peter Bennett, layouts designed by George Nachev and Rebekie Bennington, traditionally painted by Amy Lewis in gouache, lines drawn digitally in Adobe Photoshop.[3][4]
Music[]
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
• Blue Acres 3 Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card.]
• Silly Bob Conversation 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Opening.]
• Traveling Along in D 1 - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Barry Anthony, Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton's family arrives at the Chum Bucket.]
• Meet the Plankton Clan with Jaw Harp - Nicolas Carr ["Howdy, son!"]
• Lottery Winner - Nicolas Carr [Plankton's family reveals they won the lottery]
• Meet the Plankton Clan with Jaw Harp - Nicolas Carr ["Just like our too-fancy-for-pants son!"]
• Hillbilly Home - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["So, how long are you visiting for?"]
• Rocket Launch - Nicolas Carr [A rocket launches next to the Chum Bucket.]
• The Spud Bucket with Jaw Harp - Nicolas Carr [The Spud Bucket appears.]
• Humorous Conversation Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["No one's gonna eat at a restaurant that only serves potatoes."]
• A Pinapple Luau - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh boy!"]
• Exhausted - Nicolas Carr ["Where's everybody going?"]
• Hillbilly Pranksters Full Mix - Nicolas Carr [Inside the Spud Bucket]
• Hawaiian Solo Steel - Jeremy Wakefield ["People are idiots."]
• Sad Sailor Waltz - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["Wouldn't you like a nice protein-packed Krabby Patty?"]
• Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr [Plankton gets an idea.]
• Sad Sailor Waltz - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Karen and Plankton walk into the Krusty Krab.]
• Silly Bob Conversation 1 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Aw, is business a little slow today, Krabs?"]
• Tragic Tale of Woe - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob gives Krabs the formula.]
• Magic Chimes with Choir - Nicolas Carr [Plankton is given the formula.]
• Who Said That- Jolly Good Fellow - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["With this worthless formula, I can take over the world!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 35 - Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton drops the formula and mopes.]
• The Fruitcake Vendor 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Karen takes Plankton home.]
• Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
• Light Conversation 1 Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["How am I gonna shutdown that stupid Spud Bucket?"]
• Who Said That- Jolly Good Fellow - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Plankton's family skates on the potato.]
• Question Mark - Nicolas Carr [Plankton's family bribes the health department.]
• Truck Driving Hillbilly - Nicolas Carr ["It deserves a triple A+!"]
‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 3 - Fredric Bayco ["So, you want customers, eh?"/"I'll give you a customer!"]
• Enter the Hillbillies - Nicolas Carr [Plankton brings a cage into the Spud Bucket.]
• Plankton's Evil Plans - Nicolas Carr [The Insatiable Bulk revealed.]
• Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick eating everyone's food.]
• Hillbilly Hoot - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick eats potatoes.]
• Hot Headed - Nicolas Carr [Plankton screams.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 19A - Jeremy Wakefield [Mr. Krabs laughs at Plankton.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 31F - Jeremy Wakefield [Mr. Krabs eats popcorn.]
• Waiting on the Porch. Solo Banjo - Nicolas Carr [Potato delivery.]
‣ Dramatic Event - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch ["Fire in the hole!"]
• Blue Acres 2 Alternate Mix 2 - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [French fries fall from the sky.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 4A - Jeremy Wakefield ["Your awful Spud Bucket has ruined my plans to conquer the world!"]
• Hillbilly Home - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton's family offers him a job.]
• Skipping to Hillbilly School - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton baking potatoes.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 35 - Jeremy Wakefield [Chum flows from Bubble Bass's mouth.]
‣ Charlie's Bike C - Peter Balding, Otto Sieben ["Excuse me. What is in this peculiar potato?"]
• Yet Even More Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Everyone runs back to the Krusty Krab.]
• Country Bumpkins - Nicolas Carr ["I don't get it. What happened?"]
• Lucky Loofah - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ending.]
Release[]
- This episode is available on the Another 100 Episodes, The Best 300 Episodes Ever, and The Complete Fourteenth Season DVDs.
Trivia[]
General[]
The full image.
- An image of this episode was accidentally released on the Nick.com website on February 13, 2024, being used as the thumbnail for the link to its sister episode, "Don't Make Me Laugh." This also happened on DirecTV.
- This episode accidentally premiered on Nicktoons on February 21, 2024 at 2:27 PM EST. This was 5 months prior to its proper airing on Nickelodeon.
- This makes it the third time an episode premiered on Nicktoons before airing on the main Nickelodeon channel, the other two being "Gary Takes a Bath" and "Buff for Puff."
- Because it wasn't meant to air, YouTube TV removed the scheduled 3 hour recording of "The Curse of Bikini Bottom"/"Squidward in Clarinetland" that the episode aired during.
- This episode is stylized as "Blood i$ Thicker Than Grease."
- The title card is very similar to that of "All That Glitters," only there is no shine and it is in widescreen.
- Patrick laughs and claps like a seal, which he also does in "The Whole Tooth," "Jolly Lodgers," and "Pet the Rock."
- Due to the heavy usage of Plankton, Karen and all of the Plankton family, SpongeBob has a very minor role and only has three lines in total.
- This episode, alongside "Squidiot Box," "PL-1413," "In the Mood to Feud," "Mooned!," "Hysterical History," "Kreepaway Kamp," "Snow Yellow and the Seven Jellies," and "Sandy's Country Christmas" serve as this season's 25th anniversary specials.
- However, this episode and "Squidiot Box" seem to also serve as standalone episodes.
- In its press listing, it is listed as a "sequel episode," likely to Plankton's cousins from "Plankton's Army" appearing.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Plankton's dad in the main series. Plankton's dad was previously seen in the book Hooray for Dads!, though he had a very different design.
- Similarly, Ma Plankton had previously been seen in "Something Narwhal This Way Comes," using Ma Angler as a base. She has a new design here, resembling Bunny Star.
- This and its sister episode "Don't Make Me Laugh" mark the first episode pairing in which both segments premiered unannounced and not labeled as such on the TV guides.
- This episode was paired up with "PL-1413" during the original American airing.
Episode references[]
- Several of Plankton's family members previously appeared in "Plankton's Army" when he was imagining what they looked like.
- Characters constantly doing a quick spit was a recurring gag in "Salty Sponge."
- Cletus' gag "Did somebody say surprise?" routine and blowing something up is reminiscent of Sandy's gag "Did somebody say boom?" routine in "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture."
Cultural references[]
- This episode's title is a pun on the phrase "blood is thicker than water," a proverb in English meaning that "familial bonds are strongest."
- Plankton refers to Patrick as "The Insatiable Bulk," referencing The Incredible Hulk.
Errors[]
Squidward is seen in the register boat.
But in the scene after, he and the bonsai are gone.
The Krusty Krab and the path leading up to it are missing
- Squidward is seen cutting a bonsai tree in the register boat. In the scenes after, both he and the bonsai are gone without explanation.
- The health inspector's rating is already visible outside the restaurant before he issues it.
- At the end of this episode, the Krusty Krab is missing from across the street.
Videos[]
Names in other languages[]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| French | Plankton en a gros sur la patate | Play on the French expression en avoir gros sur la patate (to feel unhappy) and patate, "potato" |
| German | Der Erdapfel-Eimer | The Potato Bucket |
| Russian | Картофельные узы Kartofel'nyye uzy |
Potato Ties |
| Spanish (American) | La grasa llama | The Grease Calls |
| Spanish (European) | La sangre es más espesa que la grasa | Blood is Thicker Than Grease |