# I Saw You On TV Last Night

Taken from the 2002 SpongeBob SquarePants episode "As Seen On TV," the clip shows Old Man Jenkins telling SpongeBob he saw him on television the night before, then cutting to Jenkins mistaking a yellow Bran Flakes box for the character. YouTuber ieysca posted the earliest known edit in December 2010, and by July 2017 the I Saw You On TV Last Night template reached a larger YouTube audience through a Dolan Dark version featuring a person in a lumpy SpongeBob costume.

## Origin
The SpongeBob SquarePants episode titled "As Seen On TV" aired on Nickelodeon on March 22, 2002 [4]. During the scene, Old Man Jenkins approaches SpongeBob and claims he saw him on television the night before, after which the camera cuts to the previous evening and shows Jenkins watching a Bran Flakes commercial with a yellow rectangular box, which he confused for the character [1].

- **Platform:** SpongeBob SquarePants (source) / YouTube (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown (earliest known exploitable by YouTuber ieysca)
- **Date:** 2010

## Overview
I Saw You On TV Last Night edits typically keep Jenkins's deadpan line intact while replacing the Bran Flakes commercial with something that could never plausibly be mistaken for SpongeBob. The joke sits in the gap between Jenkins's confident claim and whatever viewers actually see on his television, with inserts ranging from unrelated cartoon characters to cursed photographs or costumed humans [2].

Many versions lean into the yellow-rectangle logic of the original cereal box, inserting anything roughly that shape to justify Jenkins's confusion. Other versions go the opposite direction and show something completely incongruous, making Jenkins look either delusional or oddly specific about who counts as SpongeBob [4].

## How to Use
Creators typically preserve Jenkins's original dialogue and replace the Bran Flakes commercial on his television with an unrelated image, costume, costumed performer, or object. Common conventions include matching the yellow rectangular shape of the cereal box to justify Jenkins's confusion, though absurd mismatches work just as well since the humor rests on Jenkins's confident but incorrect identification.

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is I Saw You On TV Last Night?
An exploitable video meme based on a scene from the 2002 SpongeBob SquarePants episode "As Seen On TV," where Old Man Jenkins mistakes a Bran Flakes box for SpongeBob [4].

### Where did I Saw You On TV Last Night come from?
The original scene aired on Nickelodeon on March 22, 2002, and YouTuber ieysca uploaded the earliest known exploitable edit on December 29, 2010 [2].

### What does I Saw You On TV Last Night mean?
It plays on Old Man Jenkins's confident but completely incorrect claim about who he saw on television, with edits replacing the cereal commercial to make him appear even more mistaken [1].

### How do you use I Saw You On TV Last Night?
Creators typically preserve Jenkins's dialogue and replace the Bran Flakes commercial on his television with an unrelated image, costume, or object [5].

### Is I Saw You On TV Last Night still popular?
The format saw heavy YouTube activity through 2017 with Dolan Dark's live-action version drawing more than 110,000 views in its first year [4].

## References
1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iOTCg_qOZI](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iOTCg_qOZI>)
2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yAOtfLTiIQ](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yAOtfLTiIQ>)
3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IMaeNE9clA](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IMaeNE9clA>)
4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-saw-you-on-tv-last-night](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-saw-you-on-tv-last-night>)
5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX31agQtNoY](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX31agQtNoY>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/i-saw-you-on-tv-last-night
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