Boating School (Episode)

Boating School
© Viacom
Episode No.:	4b
Season:	1
Airdate:	August 7, 1999
Previous Episode:	Naughty Nautical Neighbors
Next Episode:	Pizza Delivery
Characters	Voice actors
SpongeBob SquarePants	Tom Kenny
Patrick Star	Bill Fagerbakke
Mrs. Puff	Mary Jo Catlett
Gary the Snail	Tom Kenny

Boating School is an episode from Season 1.

Info

Characters

SpongeBob SquarePants
Patrick Star
Mrs. Puff (debut)
A student who just got his license
Joe (debut)
Gary
Fred (voice)
Gus
Squidward Tentacles

Places

Plot

SpongeBob is excited because his Mrs. Puff's Boating School's driving exam is today. He can't even remember how many times he took it, so Gary must remind him. If he passes it, he will get his license. First, he must pass the oral section of the exam. Having taken the exam thirty-seven times previously, SpongeBob is able to answer the questions before they are even asked. However, he panics in the boat and flunks the driving portion of the exam. Later that night, Patrick attempts to cheer SpongeBob up with a "surprise", but SpongeBob is too depressed to laugh. He explains his problem to Patrick and mentions that he needs someone to help him think straight during the exam. Patrick quickly devises a plan. He puts a walkie-talkie inside SpongeBob's head so that he can talk SpongeBob through the test, hiding the antenna with a large cowboy hat. The next day, SpongeBob goes back to take the test again. When asked to start the boat, he initially panics, but Patrick's instructions keep him calm. This is followed by a video montage of SpongeBob acting the exam, interspersed with shots of Patrick eating SpongeBob's food and reading his diary while helping him. Mrs. Puff is floored by his sudden improvement and jokingly suggests that SpongeBob’s success is due to an antenna under his hat through which "some guy miles away is giving him all the answers." SpongeBob (and Patrick) finds this hilarious, until Mrs. Puff concludes, "But that would be cheating!" Upon realizing that he has been cheating, SpongeBob goes into hysterics, driving wildly all over the course and sobbing while Mrs. Puff tries desperately to stop him. He crashes the boat and thus flunks the test yet another time. In the end as Mrs. Puff is about to go to the hospital, SpongeBob apologizes for letting him down, and says he'll try harder next semester.

Trivia/Goofs

This is the first time Fred yells, MY LEG!.
The creator's name, Stephen Hillenburg, is not mentioned in the opening credits.
When Mrs. Puff says she is not ready, her brown spots form a square, but when she comes out of the boating school, the bottom middle dot moves up, and when SpongeBob passes the oral exam, the dot moves back to its original position, and yet again, before she starts the boat, the dot moves back up again.
Fred says "MY LEG!", even though he is not seen anywhere near the boating school.
When Mrs. Puff gets in the boat, there are only two holes in her helmet, but when SpongeBob is driving the boat, there are three.
A LEGO set based on this episode was released in 2007.
This is the first episode to have a montage (SpongeBob driving successfully).
Although this was done for comedic purposes, in real life Mrs. Puff would have automatically failed SpongeBob if she knew he was cheating.