Rule of Dumb

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SpongeBob SquarePants episode

""Rule of Dumb""

Season №:

Episode №:

77b

Production №:

77b

Airdate:

February 19, 2007

Credits

Writer(s):

Zeus Cervas
Erik Wiese
Dani Michaeli

Supervising Producer:

Paul Tibbitt

Directors

Storyboard:

Zeus Cervas
Erik Wiese

Animation:

Tom Yasumi

Technical:

Vincent Waller

Episode List
Select show to expand.

Premiere Order

Production Order

"Rule of Dumb" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season four.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Brief Summary: Patrick becomes the legal king of Bikini Bottom, but during his reign, he becomes a mean tyrant.

Time/Date: Unknown

Characters Present:

SpongeBob SquarePants
Patrick Star
Mr. Krabs
Squidward Tentacles
Construction Worker
Gary the Snail
Starfish Minister
Mirror Monster
Old Man Jenkins
Soap Actress
Soap Actor
Nerdy Fish

1 Plot
2 Cultural References
3 Trivia/Goofs
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A handsomely dressed starfish comes up to Patrick's house and says that he is the heir to the royal throne of Bikini Bottom. Patrick is pleased when he gets a shiny crown. SpongeBob decides to help out by becoming Patrick's assistant. However, Patrick starts misusing his royal authority over all the people of Bikini Bottom to get whatever he wants. He gets, among other things, a plasma screen TV, a satellite dish, a set of comic books from a geek, and a swimming pool, and turns his rock into a castle. He even goes so far as to hire a construction team to move away Squidward's house! Then, Squidward tells everyone that Patrick isn't a king and they all believe him and don't do stuff for Patrick anymore. Eventually, Patrick looks at himself in the mirror and finds out that he's literally turning into a monster. He decides that friendship is more important than power. The the hamdsomely dressed starfish comes back and says that Patrick is not a real king. Then he gives his throne to... Gary!!!

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cultural References

Rule of Dumb is a pun of the idiom rule of thumb. Rule of thumb means a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation.
Shriek is a spoof of Shrek.
Music from Dunces and Dragons can be heard at the Banquet.^{[citation needed]}
When Patrick hides in SpongeBob's house, he makes a mess. If you look carefully, you can see a book called Guide to Fitness by Richard Salmons. This could be a reference to fitness instructor Richard Simmons.

[edit] Trivia/Goofs

This episode aired in England before it aired in the United States.
After Patrick abdicates, it is found that Gary is the next ruler of Bikini Bottom. In the family tree it is revealed that they are cousins. Gary's father, Sluggo is shown as an older brother of Herb Star. Thus, Gary being the correct heir.
There is a closed captioning error when Patrick starts to become a tyrant. After SpongeBob says, "what being king is all about.", the captions suddenly freeze during the scene where Patrick takes the comic books away from the comic book collector, then, the captions fast forward to the point where Patrick says, "I love being king!", at the point where the captions play correctly. Although, this goof may only apply for the 1st airing.
Clips of this appeared in an edition of Nick Extra.
Patrick keeps on being seen with ketchup on his mouth whenever he is eating.
The German title -- Königlicher Quatsch -- in English, means "Kingly Nonsense".
The other people in the family line are: King Amoeba, Queen Mildew, Shriek, Princess Tulsa, Prince Callows, Prince Dingus, Carl, Billy Bob, Maw Titter, Sluggo, Herb and Margie and Gary.
When Patrick is taking items from the citizens there is a small gray tower on his rock. When he is annexing Squidward's house the tower is missing and his old antenna is shown again. When Squidward is saying that Patrick is a bad king, the gray tower is back on the rock.
The snails "Shriek" and "Princess Tulsa" are parodies of "Shrek" and "Princess Fiona" from Shrek.
When Patrick began throwing his overdue library books, there is a book called "How to Read".