Fatbeard
| "Fatbeard" | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 13 Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Trey Parker |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Production code | 1307 |
| Original air date | April 22, 2009 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Fatbeard" is the seventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 188th overall episode of the series, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 22, 2009 and in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2009. It was the mid-season finale, marking the final South Park episode for six months. In the episode, Cartman misinterprets news reports about piracy in the Indian Ocean to mean the return of the classic era of swashbuckling pirates, and misleads a handful of South Park boys to voyage to Mogadishu to start a pirate crew.
The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States for strong to extreme language. "Fatbeard" was a reference to increasing international media attention to piracy in the Indian Ocean, and the script depicted the pirates in a sympathetic light. The crew of the USS Bainbridge, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer which participated in the rescue of the hijacked MV Maersk Alabama, contacted the South Park creators to praise them for the episode. "Fatbeard" received generally positive reviews and was seen by 2.59 million households in its original broadcast, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production the week it aired.
Having misunderstood the news about an upsurge of piracy in the Indian Ocean, Cartman excitedly tells his friends the classic era of piracy has returned, and asks the boys to join him in becoming a pirate in what he describes as a responsibility-free life in a warm tropical paradise. Sensing an opportunity to get rid of Cartman once and for all, Kyle encourages him to go, even offering to help pay for his ticket. Although Butters, Ike, Clyde and Kevin are the only students who agree to join his crew, an undaunted Cartman uses his mother's credit card to book a trip to Somalia. After a long flight and a 49-hour bus ride, the boys arrive in Mogadishu dressed as stereotypical pirates. Once there, however, they are shocked to find themselves in a desolate land, the complete opposite of their expectations.
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