for the pilot, but all they had was "the crummy copy on Steve's old tape." The writers were able to use the music, as one of the women who worked at Nickelodeon at the time "knew somebody somewhere who had access to something," and she brought in a copy of the song on CD. Drymon said "We were fortunate that she had the contact; otherwise we wouldn't have been able to use it. The sad part was Tiny Tim died right around the time we were writing the pilot, so he never knew we used his song." Jeff Hutchins was with Hillenburg in Rocko's Modern Life working on animation sound. Hutchins was approached by Hillenburg to do music for the show. He was asked for "20 things, like an ocean liner horn," and Hutchins knew he had the music Hillenburg was looking for. Hutchins said "I offered him options and, in some cases, multiple choices. We agreed to meet at the Warner Bros. gate near the water tower in 20 minutes." He recorded the sound to a tape and met Hillenburg by the gate. Hutchins said, "He was about as happy as you could imagine, and off he went. Next thing you know, I am working on the show." Hutchins became the regular series sound designer. Release Broadcast SpongeBob SquarePants aired its first segment, "Help Wanted", along with sister segments "Reef Blower" and "Tea at the Treedome", on May 1, 1999, following the television airing of the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards. The series later made its official debut on July 17, 1999, with the second episode "Bubblestand" and "Ripped Pants". Home media Before the episode's TV debut, "Help Wanted" was included in the 1998 Best of Nicktoons VHS in its 1997 version. "Help Wanted" was excluded in the SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season DVD, featuring the rest of the first-season episodes, since its release on October 28, 2003. It was not included because Nickelodeon did not want to pay Tiny Tim's estate for the DVD rights, because his music in the episode was copyrighted. Drymon said "'Help Wanted' had to be left off[...]" However, on the German release of the season one DVD, the episode "Help Wanted" actually is included. "Help Wanted" was later released on the SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 3rd Season DVD as a bonus feature on September 27, 2005. On September 22, 2009, "Help Wanted" was