| "Graveyard Shift" | |
|---|---|
| SpongeBob SquarePants episode | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:SBSP_Graveyard_shift.jpg) Title card | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 16a |
| Directed by |
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| Written by |
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| Production code | 5571-176[2] |
| Original air date | September 6, 2002 |
"Graveyard Shift" is the first part of the 16th episode of the second season, and the 36th episode overall, of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The episode was written by Mr. Lawrence, Jay Lender and Dan Povenmire, and the animation was directed by Sean Dempsey. Lender and Povenmire also served as storyboard directors. The episode was copyrighted in 2001 and aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 6, 2002.
In the episode, Squidward and SpongeBob are forced to work 24 hours a day by their boss Mr. Krabs. Squidward soon becomes bored, and tells SpongeBob a ghost story to scare him off the night shift. When SpongeBob begins to panic, Squidward tells him that the story is fictional. However, later that night, the events of the story begin to occur.
The episode featured stock footage of Max Schreck as Count Orlok from the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. Episode writer Lender proposed the idea as a gag at the end of the episode, which series creator Stephen Hillenburg accepted. Before the idea of Count Orlok, Lender thought of "Floorboard Harry", an idea that was deleted. The episode received critical acclaim upon release.
- ^ Heintje, Tom (September 21, 2012). "The Oral History of SpongeBob SquarePants". Hogan's Alley. Bull Moose Publishing Corporation. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
...all the decisions came from Derek and Steve, who knew exactly what they wanted.
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants Production Codes[dead link]