"The Main Drain" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 7. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick seek out a legendary drain that once destroyed Bikini Bottom.

Characters[]

• Patchy the Pirate ^{(original airing only)}
• Potty the Parrot ^{(original airing only)}
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Squidward Tentacles
• Patrick Star
• Eugene H. Krabs
• King Neptune ^(mentioned)
• Green kid ^(debut)
• Orange kid ^(debut)
• Sheldon J. Plankton
• Old Man Jenkins
• Scallops and clams
• Incidentals
  • Steve
  • Incidental 41 ^{(2 cameos)}
  • Incidental 23
  • Incidental 14
  • Judy
  • Incidental 151
  • Incidental 49
  • Incidental 106
  • Incidental 67
  • Incidental 63
  • Incidental 118
  • Incidental 42
  • Incidental 2
  • Incidental 60
  • Incidental 30
  • Harris
  • Incidental 27
  • Incidental 68
  • Incidental 47
  • Carol
  • Incidental 65
  • Troutenheimer
  • Tuck Tucker
  • Harold
  • Incidental 64
  • Incidental 8
  • Incidental 93
  • Incidental 48
  • Incidental 92

Synopsis[]

The episode begins on one day in Bikini Bottom, after SpongeBob comes out of the freezer with a patty, he wipes the grill with a sponge (made from part of his own tongue) at the Krusty Krab. He proclaims that it is freshly clean and tries to convince a customer to eat a Krabby Patty that was on the grill. When SpongeBob goes back inside to cook the patty, the customer asks Squidward why he does not want a Krabby Patty, and he replies that he has seen what SpongeBob cleans the grill with. It goes back to SpongeBob, who is on his way to the freezer for a patty when he slips on a puddle of water. Upon closer inspection, SpongeBob observes that the puddle is coming from the sink, which is clogged with water. As he is trying to figure out how to unclog the drain, Patrick comes in and slips as well. He helps SpongeBob try to pull the drain plug.

Eventually, Mr. Krabs overhears them trying to pull the drain plug and stops them before they have a chance. He tells them the story of the Main Drain. He tells them that there was a plug that two kids apparently pulled long ago that ended the world of Bikini Bottom. When they ask him where it is, he becomes nervous and tells them to go away. The two go outside and SpongeBob accidentally steps on Plankton. He peels him off his shoe and then they ask him about it. He becomes nervous as well and tells them to go away. SpongeBob says that he heard it from Mr. Krabs, and Plankton claims Mr. Krabs was lying. They ask him where it is they once again do not get the answer. They turn to Old Man Jenkins, but he yields no results.

They then go on an adventure to find the plug by dragging Patrick's house around. Just before they pull the plug, Mr. Krabs and Plankton stop them and tell the real story of how they were responsible of pulling the plug when they were best friends and kids. They explain that they lied because they did not want SpongeBob and Patrick to look for it and unplug it for their same fate. Unfortunately, Patrick had already pulled the plug when they were telling the story and everything (including themselves and the Bikini Bottomites) is sucked into the drain.

Suddenly in reality, Patrick then sits up in his bed while screaming of his nightmare, telling SpongeBob that everything was "the most realistic story he has ever heard," indicating everything that happened was only part of the story that SpongeBob was reading a scary story to him. However, the pulling sound is heard.

Production[]

This episode was added to the United States Copyright Catalog on August 23, 2010, alongside the other 5 episodes from the SpongeBob's Legends of Bikini Bottom event.^[3] It was confirmed on October 22, 2010.^[4]

Art[]

Storyboards[]

Press art[]

• Rough sketched by Vincent Waller, cleaned up by Kenny Pittenger, Peter Benett, and Brad Vandergrift.^[5]

Music[]

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 • A Pinapple Luau - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
 • Salty Krab Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob exits the freezer]
 • Jolly Little Roger - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob cleaning the grill]
 ‣ Dramatic Bridge 4 - Phil Green [SpongeBob slipping]
 • New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Hey, where'd all this water come from?"]
 ‣ Clumsy C - Bernd Gesell [sink clogged]
 ‣ Killer Birds [#36] - Gregor F. Narholz ["Pull the drain plug."]
 • Steel Licks 54 - Jeremy Wakefield ["What in Neptune's bathtub do you think you're doing, lad?"]
 • New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Hmm... One sec."]
 ‣ Agitation Bridge 3 - Phil Green ["...of the Main Drain."/"It happened a long time ago..."]
 • In the Cooler Tension Build Up - Nicolas Carr ["...putting them under its spell."]
 • SpongeBob Flashback Vibes - Nicolas Carr [start of story]
 ‣ Domestic Fun (A) - Ernest Tomlinson [kids wandering through the ocean]
 ‣ Domestic Fun (B) - Ernest Tomlinson [they pull the drain plug]
 ‣ Epic Adventure - Dick Walter [kids sucked down the drain]
 ‣ Dramatic Encounter - Gregor F. Narholz ["And nobody was ever heard from again."]
 • Steel Licks 47 - Jeremy Wakefield ["I don't know where it is!"]
 • Goofy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Mr. Krabs sure has a lot of baggage about drain dealies."]
 ‣ Drama Link (G) - Hubert Clifford ["The main drain?"]
 • Comedic Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston [Plankton says there is no main drain]
 • Down in Davie Jones Locker - Nicolas Carr ["Why on earth would Krabs tell those two blunderers about the main drain?"]
 ‣ Befuddled Gent - Phil Green ["Old Man Jenkins!"]
 • Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield ["I have no idea."]
 ‣ Bucaneers [#91] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["Patrick, we need to find that drain!"]
 ‣ Shock - Cornelus Joh Bolten [Patrick thinking]
 • Steel Licks 36 - Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick babbling]
 • Seaweed 2 - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob blowing bubbles]
 ‣ Variety Link (d) - Dick Walter [bus-shaped bubble]
 ‣ Editor's Falling Over (B) - Dick Stephen Walter [bubble pops]
 • Another New Idea Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr ["I know!"]
 • Steel Licks 40 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob blows a bubble]
 • Skipping to School - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick's house floating up]
 ‣ Drama Link (D) - Hubert Clifford [SpongeBob and Patrick scream]
 • Steel Licks 1 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Another miserable day..."]
 • Steel Licks 6 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh, how are we gonna find the center of the ocean now?"]
 • Steel Licks 7 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob and Patrick thinking]
 • Another New Idea Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [Patrick gets an idea]
 ‣ The Jovial Buccaneers [#32] - John Fox [Patrick pulling his house]
 ‣ Hide and Seek [#17] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [they find the drain]
 ‣ Finger of Fear - Fredric Bayco ["Why would we do that?"]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact (3) - Ivor Slaney ["No!"]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact (2) - Ivor Slaney [SpongeBob and Patrick gasp]
 • SpongeBob Flashback Vibes - Nicolas Carr [start of flashback]
 ‣ Domestic Fun (A) - Ernest Tomlinson [flashback to Krabs and Plankton as kids]
 ‣ Epic Adventure - Dick Walter [everything sucked down the drain]
 • SpongeBob Flashback Vibes - Nicolas Carr [end of flashback]
 • Steel Licks 78 - Jeremy Wakefield ["We had to lie to keep you from looking for it."]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact (6) - Ivor Slaney [Patrick pulls the drain plug]
 ‣ Epic Adventure - Dick Walter [everything sucked down the drain]
 • Steel Licks 54 - Jeremy Wakefield [ending]

Release[]

• This episode is available on the Legends of Bikini Bottom, Complete Seventh Season, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 12, Season 7 Volume 2, Terror on Nickelodeon, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, Triple Pack 3, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, The Best of Bikini Bottom, Sunđer Bob Kockalone DVD 6, Kids Double Pack, Kids Double Pack: Volume 3, Next 100 Episodes, Big Hits: Volume 2, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, The Seventh & Eighth Seasons, and The Best 300 Episodes Ever DVDs.

Trivia[]

General[]

• This episode originally had the packaging code of 141a and was paired up with "Trenchbillies," but it was switched around to be 141b and was repaired with "The Curse of the Hex."^[4]
• This episode, as well as the other episodes in the miniseries, was available on the Legends of Bikini Bottom DVD, released on November 16, 2010, two months before it aired on American television.
• This episode was paired up with "Sponge-Cano!" during the original American airing, but has since been re-airing with "The Curse of the Hex."^[6]
• Like his arms and legs, SpongeBob's tongue can also be detached and reattached. This was previously proven in "Fools in April."
• The Main Drain was featured in a Cheese Nips commercial in 2001, a decade before this episode premiered on television.
• The Paramount+ streaming release merges this episode, "The Monster Who Came to Bikini Bottom," "Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle," "The Curse of the Hex," "Trenchbillies," and "Sponge-Cano!" into a one-hour and seven minute long compilation.
• This episode reveals that SpongeBob is aware that Squidward is miserable, as he added a scene where Squidward says, "Another miserable day..." in his story.
• When Mr. Krabs and Plankton first tell SpongeBob and Patrick the story of the drain, the two kids who pulled the plug actually represent Mr. Krabs and Plankton themselves, in terms of their skin color. In this case, the orange one represents Mr. Krabs while the green one represents Plankton. This was to foreshadow Mr. Krabs and Plankton being those kids who pulled the drain.

• Though it was revealed that this episode was only a story being read to Patrick by SpongeBob, the entire population of Bikini Bottom was sucked away before: in the episode "A Flea in Her Dome," everyone was sucked into Sandy's treedome.
• The Main Drain, which sucks in all of Bikini Bottom, refers to the end-of-the-world scenario "killer strangelet."
• This is the second time Mr. Krabs and Plankton are shown as friends and kids. The first was "Friend or Foe."
• This is the fourth episode in which the majority of the runtime is a product of a character's imagination. The first was "Procrastination," the second was "Doing Time," and the third was "Dunces and Dragons."
• On the Legends of Bikini Bottom DVD cover, some of the stories are being sucked down into the main drain, such as "The Monster Who Came to Bikini Bottom," "Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle," "The Curse of the Hex," and "Trenchbillies."
• A storyboard image from this episode appears on the special, "Behind the Scenes: Legends of Bikini Bottom."

Errors[]

• When SpongeBob puts the danger sign on the floor, the lever beside the freezer disappears.
• When Mr. Krabs turns off the lights, it is the left side, but when he finishes the story, the switch suddenly changes positions. The next scene shows that the switch is above SpongeBob, hanging on the ceiling.
• When SpongeBob says, "Patrick, we need to find that drain," the road suddenly disappears.
• In the UK and Ireland, this episode is paired up with "Sponge-Cano!"

Videos[]

Names in other languages[]

Language	Name	Meaning
Russian	Большая затычка Bol'shaya zatychka	The Big Plug
Spanish (American)	El desagüe principal	The Main Drain
Spanish (European)	La gran succión	The Big Suction

References[]

1. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hGsbsFXhhk
2. ^ https://www.sbmania.net/forums/threads/spongebob-squarepants-specials-and-marthons-in-the-2010s-in-the-philippines.62975/
3. ^ SpongeBob SquarePants : 141 - Catalog.org Public Catalog
4. ^ ^{a b} Spongebob Squarepants - Eps. 140-142 - Catalog.org Public Catalog
5. ^ New SpongeBob on Tonight - Welcome to Incoherent-Thought
6. ^ Nickstory - January 28, 2011