Back to the Past is a low semi-infamous episode[1] of SpongeBob SquarePants. In this episode, Patrick and SpongeBob steal Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's time machine.
Why We Should Had Gone Back To The Past To Stop This Episode From Existing[]
Firstly, it's just another time travel story which is bland and generic, especially the fact that on this show, we've already had "SB-129" before this one was premiered. Technically, it's a rip-off of "SB-129." Other than that, people call it ScumBob because it's considered as a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy torture episode, and Patrick just keeps sabotaging the heroes with his ignorance. Unlike "Nasty Patty," it seems this episode doesn't know when to be serious or not. The origin Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy we know REALLY DIE in this episode! Making it even more frustrating,
it's Patrick who's responsible for this because he eats the tartar sauce in the past, messing up the timeline and forcing SpongeBob to get away from there, leaving Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy there and literally DIE in that timeline. Also, the setup is very weak and stupid. Patrick thinks that the time machine is a vending machine, but that's not even a vending machine... So what makes Patrick think that is a vending machine? Just because Patrick is stupid? And then, Barnacle Boy asks him if he realizes what he has done, but Patrick just responds he lost a quarter, which portrays how clueless he is...
When Spongebob asks Patrick if he notices anything odd about Bikini Bottom after it got taken over by Man Ray, he just responds no, and then literally, the only difference Patrick could spot was a bullet missing on the bottom right corner of a Man Ray billboard.
This episode is also trying way too hard to be funny, the running gag with Patrick eating the tartar sauce is really annoying and obnoxious. Not to mention, it's Patrick who helps Man Ray become a ruler by eating that stupid tartar sauce. When Mermaid Man is mad at Patrick and blaming him, Patrick's expression implies that he doesn't care about what he has done. The ending is honestly going crazy and out of nowhere, and how Man Ray eventually gets defeated is really lame. He just gets confused by a lot of time machines that come out from other timelines, and... that's it. It doesn't have the action-packed elements that much, which is kind of a pity, especially since it's a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode.
Redeeming Qualities[]
- It has a good idea with the action-packed thing, and it's also trying to be funny, but the execution is not very good.
- Adam West and Burt Ward (AKA Batman and Robin) did good jobs at voicing the younger versions of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.
- SpongeBob wasn't flanderized here.
Clips[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Adam West and Burt Ward play young Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy in this episode.
- In the Reddit AMA with former crew member Jay Lender, he mentions that he actually laughed at this episode.
- PIEGUYRULZ considered it to be his second least favorite Season 7 episode, and he thought it's even worse than "One Coarse Meal".