Rule of Dumb

U.S. premiere time (ET):

7:15 pm

Copyright year:

2006

U.S. viewers (millions):

4.99

Running time:

10 minutes, 50 seconds

Synopsis

A starfish from the Royal Ministry comes to visit Patrick for a special delivery, but Patrick initially mistakes him for a mad librarian and hides. When the starfish announces he has a gift for Patrick, which is a crown, Patrick dashes out of SpongeBob's house and grabs his gift with a naive perception of its concept. The starfish explains it is an item to wear, not to eat. Patrick is pleased when he gets the shiny crown. The starfish explains that he had uncovered a family tree showing Patrick to be descended from a king, thus making him the official king.

SpongeBob becomes Patrick's servant and shows a treaty to the other Bikini Bottomites whenever Patrick takes something from them. SpongeBob assists Patrick firstly by going to the Krusty Krab and ordering for Patrick when Mr. Krabs looks at him in shock and comes to him in a happy way. However, he kicks both Patrick and SpongeBob out of his restaurant due to Patrick's refusal to pay a bill, disregarding his advantages of royalty. Patrick then resorts to stealing a fish's Krabby Patty and shake, then a nerdy fish's comic book collection that had been ever-expanding.

Patrick then gets other citizens to line up leading to his rock, which is turned into a magnificent castle, with one of their possessions. Next morning, Squidward wakes up in a good mood, but that is quickly spoiled when he is blown away by the wind inside his house because Patrick is making a crane move it back a little bit to build a Ferris wheel without permission from Squidward. Squidward finally explodes after coming out of his house and announces to everyone that Patrick could not be a king because he is much too stupid, and tells them that he cannot be a king of anything except being a moron. The townspeople realize that Squidward is right and they abandon Patrick, deciding not to listen to him anymore.

Patrick's insane and awful attitude inside his castle makes SpongeBob afraid of him, and he slowly walks away, saying he needs to go to the Krusty Krab for work as an excuse. Realizing that his servant just left him, Patrick goes for a drink. On his way, Patrick looks at himself in the mirror and sees that being a king has turned him into a monster as his horrible future.

He gets frightened at this sight and goes back to the starfish who made him king. He gives the crown back to the Royal Ministry starfish, who then rechecks the paper of ancestors who were made to be king. After wiping a stain on the other side of Patrick's family, he realizes that Gary is the rightful one who really has struck royalty. SpongeBob and Patrick become servants and Gary gets the crown.

Production

This episode was confirmed on October 15, 2006.^[1]

Music

( ‣ ) Production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

‣ Royal Tableau - Stuart Stirling [Title card]
‣ Dramatic Cue (A) - Ronald Hanmer ["I know exactly who you are!"]
‣ Classic Soap 1 A - Dieter Reith [SpongeBob watching TV]
‣ The Sword of Damocles - Jack Beaver [Patrick burning overdue library books]
‣ The King's Codpiece - Paddy Kingsland ["Salutations, young one."]
• Seaweed 1 - Steve Belfer [Patrick trying to eat the crown]
‣ The Sovereign's March - Barrie Hingley [family tree]
• Whats This Sting - Nicolas Carr ["What is?"]
• Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Anything I want?"]
‣ Salute to the King (a) - Paddy Kingsland ["Your wish is my command, your majesty."]
• Royal Celebration Fanfare - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Let us rejoice in welcoming our new king!"]
• Parting of the Clouds Sting - Nicolas Carr [Mr. Krabs sees Patrick's crown.]
‣ The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band ["Well, well, well, what can I do for you, Patrick?"]
• Dunces & Dragons Cue 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Buffet.]
• Dunces & Dragons Cue 5 - Nicolas Carr [Patrick refuses to pay.]
‣ Drama Link (D) - Hubert Clifford ["All free?!"]
• Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Nobody eats in me restaurant for free, king or no king!"]
‣ Dance Macabre - Keith Mansfield [Patrick takes someone else's food.]
• Dunces & Dragons Fanfare - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [fanfare]
‣ Chief Taravana - Kapono Beamer ["I finally did it!"]
‣ Dance Macabre - Keith Mansfield [Patrick takes comic books.]
‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [collector cries]
‣ Brass Flourish (f) - Barrie Hingley ["I love being king!"]
‣ Stiff Upper Lip - Paddy Kingsland [Patrick taking things from everyone.]
• King Patrick's Palace - Nicolas Carr ["I need your opinion on something."]
• Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
‣ Aloha Oé - Hans Haider, Queen Lili'uokalani [Squidward wakes up.]
‣ Dramatic Cue (B) - Ronald Hanmer [Squidward's house moving around.]
‣ Dance Macabre - Keith Mansfield ["Back... back... back..."]
• Steel Licks 78 - Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward crawls out.]
• Goofy Conversation 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Squidward yells at SpongeBob and Patrick.]
• Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Everyone goes away.]
‣ Entry of the Heroes A - Gregor F. Narholz ["Get him! Attack! Attack!"]
‣ Entry of the Heroes E - Gregor F. Narholz ["So I decree! Attack!"]
• Dramatic Tymp Roll - Nicolas Carr [Overlays "Entry of the Heroes E"]
• Dunces & Dragons Fanfare - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob holds up treaty.]
• Transformer Malfuction - Nicolas Carr ["Here's what I think of your treaty!"]
‣ The Pursuit of Power (a) - Keith Mansfield ["My royal subjects have deserted me."]
‣ Dance Macabre - Keith Mansfield [SpongeBob leaves.]
• I'm Ready Fanfare - Nicolas Carr ["SpongeBob, I request a drink."]
‣ Graveyard - Johnny Pearson ["Huh... everybody's gone."]
• Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Knock-knock."]
‣ Mists Of Illusion - Gilbert Vinter [monster in the mirror]
‣ Rescue - Cecil Milner ["What have I become?!"]
‣ The King's Codpiece - Paddy Kingsland [Patrick gives back the crown.]
‣ The King's Fanfare - Laurie Johnson [Gary is the true heir.]
‣ Reinstating the King - Laurie Johnson [Ending]

Release

This episode is available on the Season 4 Volume 2, Simply Patrick, First 100 Episodes, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 6, Complete Fourth Season, Nickelodeon Collection, From the Beginning, Part 2, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The Best 300 Episodes Ever, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, 2-Season TV Pack, The Third & Fourth Seasons, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, and Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies (Turkish) DVDs.

Trivia

General

This episode was released on the Season 4 Volume 2 DVD box set before it aired on American television.
This is one of the episodes that aired during the "Patrick For President" marathon.
In this episode, it is revealed that Patrick has overdue library books.
When Patrick is burning his books, he shows SpongeBob a book that says How to Read, an ironically titled book.
Music from "Dunces and Dragons" can be heard during the buffet scene in this episode.
The people in the family line are:
- King Amoeba (Patrick's great-great-grandfather)
- Queen Mildew (Patrick's great-great-grandmother)
- Princess Tulsa (Patrick's great-grandmother)
- Yorick (Patrick's great-grandfather)
- Prince Callous (Patrick's great-granduncle)
- Prince Dingus (Patrick's great-granduncle)
- Carl (Patrick's first cousin twice removed)
- Billy Bob (Patrick's grandfather)
- Maw Tucket (Patrick's grandmother)
- Sluggo (Patrick's uncle)
- Herb (Patrick's father)
- Margie (Patrick's mother)
- Gary (Patrick's first cousin)
- Patrick
Plankton's quote "What the barnacles is going on here?" from "The Algae's Always Greener" is reused by Squidward.
In this episode, it is revealed that Patrick and Gary are first cousins.
In other episodes, Gary's food bowl is green, but in this episode, it is orange.
Although Gary and Patrick are first cousins, Patrick is an echinoderm and Gary is a mollusk like Squidward.

Frankendoodle 139 — Gary with a doodle crown on.

This is the second episode for a few things:
- The second appearance of Patrick's parents. They first appear in "I'm with Stupid."
- The second episode in which Gary is shown wearing a crown. The first is "Frankendoodle" with a doodle crown.
- The second episode where Squidward's house is hoisted off the ground. The first is "Bubblestand."
This is the fifth episode in which SpongeBob shrinks. The first was "Nature Pants," the second was "Big Pink Loser," the third was "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV," and the fourth was "Squidtastic Voyage."
This is one of four episodes transcribed as a comic in the SpongeBob SquarePants/Tokyopop book Mistaken Identity. The other three were "Once Bitten," "That's No Lady," and "The Thing."
Both this and its sister episode consist of SpongeBob and Patrick fighting.

Cultural references

The title is a pun of the idiom "rule of thumb."
When Patrick hides in SpongeBob's house, he makes a mess. If one were to look carefully, they can see a book called Richie Salmon's Guide to Fitness by Richie Salmons. This is a parody of the late fitness instructor Richard Simmons.
Yorick is a reference to the character of the same name from the play Hamlet.
When Patrick gives back the crown, the man from the Royal Ministry says "With great power comes great responsibility," as Voltaire, a French philosopher, once said. The phrase is famously used in many Spider-Man comic books, movies, and any other related media.

Errors

The Krusty Krab sign is not seen in this episode.
When the kids are licking lollipops, the flowers in the sky background are overlapping with part of the sand.
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 says that Patrick is a bad king, the gray tower is back on the rock.

Rule of Dumb 112 — There is a tower on Patrick's house.

Rule of Dumb 122 — Then the tower is missing and the old antenna is shown again.

Rule of Dumb 129 — In next scene, the gray tower is back on the rock.

Bubble Transition error — Bubble transition error.

During the bubble transition, a blue screen with the date May 26, 2006 from Rough Draft Korea can be seen.
When Squidward's house is dropped into the ground, its "nose" is above the ground, however, during a close-up of the house, the house is buried up to its windows.
Tower cranes have bases to keep them still in place, not tracks to move them around as seen in the one seen in this episode.
While Patrick orders an attack on Squidward, his house is black instead of brown.
When Patrick yells at SpongeBob, he shrinks in size into his pants. However, his sleeves shrink in size with him, when in reality they should stay the same. This error would later be present in "Stanley S. SquarePants."
After SpongeBob runs away from Patrick, he rips his coat off, but when it zooms out, the coat pieces are not there.

Squidward's window in his bedroom is bigger than usual.
The Chum Bucket does not appear across the street when SpongeBob and Patrick leave the Krusty Krab.
In the Welsh dub, Luke Brookshier, Tom King, and Steven Banks are all listed as writers of this episode, even though none of them wrote this episode. Brookshier and King are also erroneously listed as storyboard directors.
When Mr. Krabs comes out of his office before he says "Well, well, well, what can I do for you, Patrick?", the flags in his office are missing.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Russian Власть глупцовVlast' gluptsov Power of Fools Spanish (American) Reglas de tontos Rules of Dumb Spanish (European) Regla de tontos Rule of Dumb

This page uses content from Wikipedia (original • authors). Both Encyclopedia SpongeBobia and Wikipedia are licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license.

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Rule of Dumb

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