Once Bitten (SpongeBob SquarePants)

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This article is about the television episode. For other uses, see Once Bitten.

SpongeBob SquarePants episode

"Once Bitten"

Season №:

Episode №:

73b

Airdate:

September 29, 2006 (US)
July 26, 2006 (AU)

Best Day Ever Rank:

#39

Credits

Writer(s):

Casey Alexander
Chris Mitchell
Steven Banks

Directors

Episode List
Select show to expand.

Premiere Order

Production Order

"Once Bitten" is an episode from the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, season four.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Brief summary: It's Sunday and Gary starts biting more than ever, and Patrick thinks Gary has a disease that Squidward (because Gary bit him) will pass on to other people in Bikini Bottom.

Time/Date:

Sunday
- 8:00 AM: Squidward walks out of his house
- 8:10 AM: Gary walks into the city and bites people
- 8:12 AM: News reports air, talking about the disease
- 8:15 AM: SpongeBob runs to the Krusty Krab
- 8:21 AM: Dr. Gill Gilliam appears, saying that the MAD SNAIL DISEASE doesn't exist

Main character(s):

Major character(s):

Squidward Tentacles
Dr. Gill Gilliam (Snail Disease Expert and Snail Expert)
Eugene H. Krabs

Minor character(s):

Bikini Bottomites
- Fred
- Tom
- Nancy
- Old Man Jenkins
- Mary
- Mrs. Smith/Nurse Smith

1 Plot
2 Quotes
3 Cultural references
4 Trivia/Goofs

[edit] Plot

Bikini Bottomites evacuate the city.

On Sunday in Bikini Bottom, Squidward walks out and slips in Gary's snail-trail. He gets mad and erects a fence of cheap splintery wood, then Gary bites him. Later, Squidward asks SpongeBob if Gary has had all of his shots. SpongeBob says that he has forgot to give him his mad snail disease shot, thanks to Patrick mentioning it. Just then, Gary runs off and starts to bite everybody in sight. Patrick drops by and tells SpongeBob and Squidward about the symptoms of the bite (including, but not limited to, turning into a zombie). Bikini Bottom gets burned and wrecked. Soon, almost everybody gets bitten and turns into zombies. The rest of Bikini Bottom is trapped in the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob tries to get in, but they think he is a zombie. He slips through the doors. The citizens think that Patrick and SpongeBob are zombies. Just then Gary comes in and everybody gets scared. Gary bites SpongeBob.

Dr. Gill Gilliam

The doctor comes in and says that the disease is just an urban legend and Gary was just suffering from a tree-sized splinter in his foot. The episode ends with Gary biting Mr. Krabs.

[edit] Quotes

Patrick: You mean your pet hasn't been vaccinated for MAD SNAIL DISEASE!?
Patrick: (speaking to SpongeBob, thinking that he's a zombie) I've got my eye on you.

Old Man Jenkins: If you could take your eye out and put it on him, wouldn't that make you a zombie too?

Patrick: (hesitates) YOU'RE RIGHT! I'M A ZOMBIE!

Orange Fish: Who's to say that we aren't all zombies?!?!? (Everyone runs around in panic)

[edit] Cultural references

The episode may be a spoof of Cujo, due to the fact that Gary bites everyone and gives them the disease.
The ending is similar to an Ed, Edd n Eddy episode Little Ed Blue where Johnny 2x4 pulls a rock out of Ed's shoe, curing Ed of his bad and destructive mood during the episode.
The plot of this episode appears to be a parody of classic zombie movies such as 28 Days Later, Night of the Living Dead, and most notably, Shaun of the Dead, and Dawn of the Dead.
Around the end, most people who weren't "infected" fled and locked themselves in the Krusty Krab. This is what happened in Dawn of the Dead.
This episode is similar to the viral outbreak in the Resident Evil series, when Raccoon City is infected with a virus and all of the citizens became zombies. Also, when SpongeBob is first attacked by the zombies, some of the zombies are in police uniform, which is similar to the zombies in Resident Evil 2.
Mad Snail Disease is a parody of Mad Cow Disease. The disease for snails is like rabies.
The people evacuating Bikini Bottom could be references to numerous films notably Armageddon, Deep Impact, Independence Day, and War of the Worlds.
The evacuation itself may be reference to the Houston, Texas evacuation of Hurricane Rita in 2005.
SpongeBob's quote "Yep yep yep" is similar to what Ducky says in The Land Before Time.
When the remaining "survivors" of the Mad Snail Disease lock themselves in the Krusty Krab, it resembles the gathering of survivors in the game Dead Rising

[edit] Trivia/Goofs

Perch Perkin's original color was purple. He is orange in this episode.
It is revealed that Bikini Bottom citizens are called "Bikini Bottomites."
The Fry Cook Games re-aired with this episode when it originally aired.
Music from Bubblestand and Jellyfishing is heard.
Even though Squidward has tentacles, it is seen that he has both fingers and toes. (Fingers when he counts the snail diseases, Toes when Patrick says Squidward has "Severely untrimmed toenails.")
When Perch Perkins was told that a ticklish ribcage was a symptom of Mad Snail Disease, another fish yelled that it spreads through the air. In this case, however, it does not spread through the air as they are all underwater.
Symptoms of Mad Snail Disease:
A rash
Dry throat
Bloodshot eyes
Loss of balance
Ticklish ribcage
Messy pants
Severely untrimmed toenails
Become a zombie
Dr. Gill Gilliam's name wasn't revealed until now, although he's orange instead of the usual purple. Same with Perch Perkins.
Gill Gilliam, for some reason, has orange human arms instead of fins till he has fins in the next episode.
There is an Ed, Edd and Eddy episode similar to this one and has a similar title (Once Bitten, Twice Ed) and a Big Fat Awesome House Party game(once bitten, twice shy)
In the crowd of "zombies" you can see an elderly fish, but you can see the same fish in the Krusty Krab.
Mary, from Chocolate With Nuts appears in this episode as one of the "zombies".
Squidward has four pet rocks.
The beginning of this episode is similar to the beginning of SpongeBob B.C. (excluding the Patchy the Pirate segment).