Shanghaied (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Plot

In Encino, California, Patchy the Pirate, a fan of SpongeBob SquarePants played by Tom Kenny, introduces viewers to his favorite episode, "Shanghaied." The story begins when SpongeBob discovers an anchor crashing through his home. He calls his neighbor Squidward over to see the damage. Squidward, annoyed, starts climbing the anchor's rope to investigate its origin, with SpongeBob and Patrick tagging along. They find a ghostly ship and board it.

The Flying Dutchman appears and declares that anyone stepping onto his vessel must serve as his eternal ghost crew. Squidward's constant griping leads the Dutchman to open a zipper-like portal and toss him into the "Fly of Despair," a terrifying void filled with disturbing sights. This frightens SpongeBob and Patrick into agreeing to become crew members.

The Dutchman takes the pair on a haunting tour of Bikini Bottom, but they fail to scare any residents. Frustrated, he announces he will eat them instead. SpongeBob and Patrick manage to escape their cell by passing through a live-action perfume department, enduring the strong scents. There, they overhear the Dutchman writing in his diary that he cannot eat without his "dining sock."

They steal it. The Dutchman then offers a deal: return the sock in exchange for three wishes. They accept. Patrick uses the first wish to have known about the wishes one minute earlier.

SpongeBob uses the second wish to bring Squidward back to the ship. The three then argue over who gets the final wish. The Dutchman steps in and gives it to SpongeBob. SpongeBob wishes the Dutchman were a vegetarian, hoping to avoid being eaten.

The trio appears to return to SpongeBob's pineapple house, but they soon realize they have been turned into fruit and are trapped inside a blender. The Dutchman intends to make a fruit smoothie out of them. They flee, with the Dutchman chasing them around his ship, which has transformed into a hippie-style van with a sail, floating through a psychedelic background.

After the episode ends, Patchy attempts to read fan mail. His parrot Potty, voiced by Stephen Hillenburg, lights a fuse on himself, unaware that the explosion was no longer scheduled for the show. The blast destroys both Patchy and Potty.

Release

"Shanghaied" first aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on March 9, 2001, as part of a special called "You Wish." During that broadcast, viewers could vote by phone or online to decide which character would get a wish at the episode's end. SpongeBob won the most votes, so the original episode showed him receiving the wish, and Patchy the Pirate then presented alternate endings for Squidward and Patrick. In all later airings, SpongeBob is the permanent wish recipient, and the Patchy segments are cut to remove any mention of the voting.

The original broadcast version appeared on the 14-disc DVD set "The First 100 Episodes" on September 22, 2009, with the voting phone number blurred out. The revised version, which lacks the voting references, was released on the "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Second Season" DVD on October 19, 2004, and includes a commentary track by director Aaron Springer, animation director Frank Weiss, and writer C.H. Greenblatt. This same revised version was also included in the UK "SpongeBob Squarepants: Ghoul Fools" DVD on October 8, 2012, with dubbing in French, German, Italian, and Dutch.

A different version without any Patchy segments was released on the "Sea Stories" DVD on November 5, 2002, as a bonus feature that lets viewers choose the ending. Additionally, a five-minute edit of the episode was uploaded to YouTube by the official SpongeBob SquarePants account.

Critical reception

Critics have praised "Shanghaied" highly. Paste's Lizzie Manno placed it third on her top ten list, calling it possibly the most underrated episode due to its many jokes. Decider's Jaclyn Kessel ranked it first among essential episodes, citing its terrific writing and goofiness. TV Guide's Oliver Whitney ranked it sixth on his 100-best list, and WhatCulture's Aaron Kirby placed it tenth.

Did You Know?

• On June 26, 2024, the raw audio track from the line reads of the episode (dated June 30, 2000) were leaked on YouTube and the Internet Archive.
• These uploads would soon be removed by Paramount Skydance, although reuploads can be found.