South Park (TV Series) Fatbeard (2009) User Reviews

"mommy and daddy: I'm running away I can no longer handle the monotony of middle-class life I'm going to Somalia to become a pirate"

[RainDogJr · 9/10 · 25 April 2009]

If you ask me Fishsticks, Margaritaville and The Ring are the top episodes (in that order) of the completed first run of Season 13, a run full of true gems and while Wednesday's episode Fatbeard isn't as brilliant as those mentioned three episodes it is a great one, another very memorable Cartman episode!

As sometimes Cartman can be well the mastermind behind a murder he can be also a pretty damn dumb kid. This episode is another one to resume Cartman and is great: first is Cartman after seeing the news and knowing the stories about cool pirates and stuff, he gets what for him is just the most amazing idea ever, he says all the kids must go to Somalia, piracy is back and they will find the lives they all have dream about! So is Cartman being dumb, thinking he will find a paradise, thinking he will be just as cool as Jack Sparrow. Here enters Kyle of course, and of course Kyle is being the smart one, just laughing of Cartman's idea and for once seeing the opportunity to become this time the very last time he sees Cartman.

Best episode they've had in years.

[msennel1 · 9/10 · 11 July 2009]

For the first time in forever we have an episode that features the kids being kids, which is what makes this episode so great. The kids aren't out to save the world, Cartman's idiotic plan fails in decisive fashion, and there really is no major point being driven down our throats. The jokes are quick and based mostly upon quick single lines, which is what made the humor in the first seven seasons so good. And to top it off, we get a song-and-dance routine that is really nothing more than a two to three minute d/ck-and-fart joke; the BEST kind of humor, and reminiscent of the South Park movie. Seriously, I don't see how anyone could find this episode not funny; from Cartman's uber-enthusiastic description of how he plans to become a pirate in somalia (which is a by-definition case of irony) and the ridiculous hope he has and his reaction to Kyle's agreement, to Ike's absurd letter that no four-year-old could possibly ever write, to commendeering a ship led by a crew who "were French, so they surrendered immediately", to Cartman's massively offensive song-and-dance routine LITTERED with profanity, and, finally, to the finale spoof of the actual pirate hostage rescue, whose reenactment was recently featured on CBS and The Discovery Channel, there was not a miss in this episode. Seriously, they even referenced the show itself with Kevin Stokely showing up with a lightsaber. Top 25 all-time South Park episodes, easily.

Cartman becomes a Somali pirate

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 27 November 2012]

Usually when Cartman has an idea Kyle is quick to point out the flaws; but not this time... clearly it would be a great idea if Cartman went to Somalia and became a pirate; Kyle is just sad that his Jewishness prevents him from going too; or so he says. Cartman makes an announcement at school invite others to join his pirate club then he and four others make there way to Mogadishu. It is not quite what they expected but Eric is not deterred he demands to be told where the pirates hang out and he soon believes he has joined them... although they just plan to ransom the western children to the first boat they come across. They are exchanged for €5000 and left on a luxurious French yacht. Once aboard they seize it and head to the pirates' port; their ship is much better that the little boats the pirates had before; soon Cartman is indeed a pirate captain! Kyle thinks everything has gone perfectly until he learns that Ike has gone off with Cartman; it looks as though he will have to go to Somalia after all.

This episode may have been fairly topical but I suspect it will still be funny long after everybody has forgotten about Somali pirates. Cartman's plan is of course stupid but that doesn't stop it being funny; I liked how he never realised that the pirates planned to ransom them. It was nice to see Ike get a decent role; the way he talks is always funny. The scene where the pirate asks two of the boys why they would want to leave their good lives in America to do something as terrible as becoming a pirate was a little heavy handed but not enough to feel too lecturing. Over all I'd say this wasn't a classic but it was pretty funny.

Fatbeard: The first half season finale of South Park

[gangstahippie · 8/10 · 24 April 2009]

Fatbeard is the season finale of the first half of South Park's thirteenth season.I personally think, this season was fairly good.An improvement over Season 12, but the first two episodes are the best in my opinion.The other ones were good, but "The Ring" and "THe Coon" are definitely the best ones.This episode features Cartman starting a pirate gang and going to Samalia to be a pirate.The pirates there keep them as hostages at first, however Cartman and his friends end up taking over a french ship, that's when they become better pirates, more like the old fashioned ones that Cartman is trying to be.Fatbeard is a fairly good episode and has some funny moments.The rest of Season 13 will start in October, hopefully it's as good as this one, if not better.

Strong must watch, Pirates of South Park!

[tomdegroot-57224 · 8/10 · 3 February 2022]

So many hilarious scenes early middle and end.. Cartman is at his best and the scenes with Kyle are peak South Park. The adventurous plot is fun and the comedy is in prime.

I really find this episode to stand out amongst the other strong ones... Extremely rememberable and doesn't get old. Top tier!

I'm going to have to disagree with the masses here.

[TOMNEL · 5/10 · 26 April 2009]

For some reason, this episode was widely well thought of. It has almost entirely good reviews. Why is this? The plot was simple and dumb, and the ending, though obviously fitting to real life activities, was abrupt and not very funny. In fact, throughout the episode, boredom struck me, and by the end, I was definitely ready to watch something else.

Cartman gets some boys together to go to Somolia to become pirates. They learn it isn't all it cracked up to be, and Cartman has no idea what he's doing. The episode's plot is way too short, so it's drawn out by Clyde going into random unfunny tantrums, and by the end, we have a predictable and overall not very good episode.

An idea that was often missing from episodes in the last few seasons was the innocence of childhood. Stan and Kyle usually are the most mature people in South Park nowadays. One positive of this episode, is it brings back an innocent side to the show, but at the same time it was just really dumb. Right when the episode starts, you could predict what will happen and probably be close to right. Cartman mistaking things for what they aren't cannot hold up an entire episode.

This mid-season finale was a disappointment, but it wasn't horrible. It was boring oftentimes, but occasionally had a laugh or two.

My rating: ** out of ****. 30 mins. TVMA

Trey is bored.

[dvdraw · 2/10 · 23 April 2009]

I've been a fan of South Park since day one, but if Trey Parker is going to keep writing episode like this then i may have to find something else to enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I love Trey Parker, he is a genius and has blown me away with some of his earlier episodes, but I can't help but feel that Trey has gotten bored with doing south park. This episode is probably up there with the worst. It's almost as bad at the FishDicks episode. There was a moment when I thought that trey had made a comeback with laugh out loud humour like the older series with the queef episode, but it seemed to be a one off. I think Trey needs to throw in the towel and come up with something new before he goes down the inevitable Simpsons road and becomes completely unfunny. This episode raised a few chuckles, that's about it. And the ending...well, lets just say it sucked. I am sure there are a lot of hardcore fans out there who must be feeling the same way as me with the recent series of South Park.