He's Back, and He's Furrier Than Ever!

The Garfield Show is the most recent Garfield TV series, which premiered on Cartoon Network on November 22, 2009. Of Garfield's TV incarnations, this one, interestingly enough, stays closest to the spirit of the comic strip. The series chronicles the daily escapades of the famous fat cat, his bumbling owner Jon, his dopey dog pal Odie, his girlfriend Arlene, his mouse buddy Squeak, the troublemaking Nermal, and Jon's girlfriend Dr.Liz Wilson. A particular point of interest is that the series featured a vast number of characters exclusive to the show, such as Vito the pizza guy, whose restaurant Jon and his crew would often frequent, his girlfriend Angelica(no relation, fortunately), resident tough guy Harry the alley cat, crazy inventor Dr. Thaddeus Bonkers, eccentric TV food critic Eddie Gourmand, inept dogcatchers Al*and Pete, Nathan, the seemingly friendly neighbor boy who's secretly an evil scientist, feisty neighborhood chihuahua Hercules, Jon's hyper twin cousins Drusilla and Minerva, who are forever trying to play dress up with Garfield and Odie(much to their chagrin), and Jon's overbearing Aunt Ivy, among others.

Episodes would usually center around a problem or situation of some sort, which it would then be up to Garfield to solve, as only Garfield can!

Overall, The Garfield Show is a very funny, entertaining show. The CGI artwork is excellent(very comic-strip grade!), the episode plots are very enjoyable, and the show's vast entourage of characters are good, likeable, and very charismatic. Garfield aficionados, especially former fans of Garfield and Friends(such as myself) are sure to love this.(One episode I particularly would like to reccommend BTW, is "Long Lost Lyman", a four-parter in which the mystery of Lyman's disappearance is finally solved.)

The theme song's pretty sweet, too!

Several DVDs were made from the series, which are available at the links below:

 

Pizza Dreams

 

Summertime Adventures

 

All You Need is Love and Pasta

 

Spring Fun Collection

 

Dinosaur and Animal Adventures

 

Private Eye-Ventures

 

Holiday Collection

 

Spooky Tails

 

Odie Oh!

 

 

A series of graphic novels based off of various episodes of the show were also made:

 

Catzilla

 

Fish to Fry

 

Secret Agent X

 

Home for the Holidays

 

Curse of the Cat People

 

Caroling Capers

 

A Game of Cat and Mouse

 

Mother Garfield

 

 

"Simple, that's me."



 

 



*Or "Big Al", as I've affectionately nicknamed him.

Happy 35th Birthday, Garfield!

The famous fat cat turns the big 3-5 on this very special day. Happy birthday, Garfield! Hope you enjoy your triple layer lasagna cake.

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield's Halloween Adventure

In this classic Halloween special, the famous fat cat and his puppy pal go out(dressed as pirates) in search of all the candy they can eat...and come across a spooky old house!(GLEEP! :-O) Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in The Thing That Stayed Forever

In this episode, Jon is horrified to discover that his Uncle Ed is coming for a visit; he tries mightily to keep Uncle Ed out, but Uncle Ed somehow gets past him.(Almost like he has some kind of supernatural powers or something...BRRRR!!) Uncle Ed is an even bigger lazy, gluttonous freeloader than Garfield, with even worse manners(and that's a feat in and of itself!), but Jon can't bear to throw him out because, well...he's family! It may be up to Garfield to remedy this problem. Please enjoy! (Boy, could Spongebob ever relate to a situation like this!)

"It's a better-than-the-average birthday, 'cause he's a better-than-the-average cat!"

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Ode to Odie

In this episode, the famous orange cat gives us proof positive that he always keeps up with the times as he relates, in rap, the story of how, in an effort to keep Odie from disturbing him while he takes his nap, he offers the mild-mannered dog his favorite bone, then proceeds to toss it out the front door for Odie to go after. Odie wanders too far away from the house and has the bone stolen by a mean bulldog. How will Odie ever get out of this one? Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Renewed Terror

In this(HILARIOUS!) episode, Garfield tells, in the style of a horror story, the tale of how Jon bought a magazine subscription from a salesman in hopes of getting him to leave, shortly thereafter finding out that when it came time to renew said subscription, the guy wouldn't take no for an answer! Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in First Class Feline

In this episode, Jon, fed up with Garfield's constant attempts to mail Nermal to Abu Dhabi, tricks Garfield by sticking a little plushie cat in the box in Nermal's place. When Jon tells Garfield that they can't eat dinner until Nermal gets there, Garfield goes to retrieve him...but what lengths will Garfield go to in order to get dinner? And has Jon taken his prank a bit too far? Please enjoy! (BTW, the title of this episode kinda reminds me of this song.)

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Forget-Me-Not

In this episode, Garfield gets hit on the head with a pie pan, which causes him to lose his memory. Wishing to have their old friend back, Jon and Odie endeavor to restore Garfield's memory, but this proves futile. Will Garfield ever be back to his old self again? Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Heatwave Holiday

In this episode, Garfield, who's sick of the summer heat, takes the refrigerator outside and turns on the ice maker, transforming the backyard into a winter wonderland. Jon is pleased with this idea, and Garfield reccommends putting up the Christmas decorations as well. However, once this is done, the whole neighborhood assumes that it must be Christmas. Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Odielocks and the Three Cats

In this episode, it's Odie who wants a story this time, so Garfield tells him the tale of Odielocks and the Three Cats(All of whom look...very familiar!) Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Hansel and Garfield

In this episode, pesty Nermal is paying Garfield yet another(aggravating) visit. When Nermal gets bored, he asks Garfield for a story, so Garfield tells him the tale of Hansel and Gretel-with both of the title roles being played by him. (Has Garfield been hanging around with Goofy?) Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Identity Crisis

In this episode, The famous fat cat and his mouse buddy Floyd befriend a dog who's being chased by a somewhat inept dogcatcher. (This dude makes Nabbit look competent!) When Garfield learns how to bark, Floyd learns how to meow, and the dog learns how to squeak, they join forces and mess with the dogcatcher's head. Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Rip Van Kitty

In this episode, Jon takes his pets on a picnic with him. When Garfield repeatedly becomes annoyed at Odie and Nermal for interrupting his nap, Jon informs him that he shouldn't spend all his time sleeping anyway. Garfield, of course, doesn't see what harm this could do; he's soon proven wrong when wakes up 20 years later! But, is everything quite what it seems? Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in Up a Tree

In this episode, Garfield gets put outside during a visit with the annoying Nermal; he then wanders off and climbs up a tree(he just couldn't resist!) and ends up getting stuck up there(yet again). He waits for hours for someone to rescue him, but no one ever seems to notice him there. Honestly, one can't help but feel sorry for Garfield in this episode, but he fortunately, as always, gets the upper hand in this situation when all's said and done. Fans of classical music(as well as fans of the Twilight movie series) will appreciate the inclusion of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in this episode. Please enjoy!

Classic Cartoon Showcase:Garfield in The Great Getaway

Here, in honor of the famous fat cat's birthday, are a few particularly cool episodes of Garfield and Friends! In this episode, Jon meets a beautiful woman names Rosalyn on a plane to New York City(not knowing at the time that Garfield's stowed away with him), and asks her out on a date. When Jon discovers Garfield's presence, he asks Garfield not to make trouble for him and Rosalyn while they're on their date. Garfield obliges, but is Rosalyn really all she seems? Ultimately, it may be up to Garfield to save the day. Please enjoy!

U.S. Acres:Jim Davis' Lesser-Known Comic Strip

U.S. Acres was a newspaper comic written by Jim Davis, creator of Garfield, in 1986. The strip(which was known as Orson's Farm outside America) followed the wacky hijinks of several kooky farm animals. The cast consisted of the polite, intellectual pig Orson who was the strip's main character, the bossy, loudmouthed rooster Roy, the cowardly but lovable duck Wade, the feisty little chick Booker who would often try(and fail) to catch a worm, his easygoing little brother Sheldon(no relation) who lived inside an egg shell which had similar properties to Snoopy's doghouse, the friendly but not-too-bright sheep Bo(he was more of a surfer dude type in Garfield and Friends), and his grumpy sister Lanolin who would often spar with Roy.

In Garfield and Friends, the group was often antagonized by Orson's three big, nasty brothers Gort, Mort, and Wart(who had appeared in the strip previously, albeit for only the first few weeks). Orson's brothers lived on the farm next door and would often come over to Orson's farm to steal food or cause some sort of trouble.(Which they fortunately were never successful at!) Further antagonists were a weasel, a fox, and a wolf, all of whom had the same goal:to steal chickens. (Honestly, IMHO, it would've made more sense for the wolf to be stealing sheep, but there it is.)

A pair of temporary additions to the cast were Cody the dog and Blue the cat(The latter being of obvious coloration). This may be just IMHO, but it seems that part of the reason for these characters' short-lived career(although they did appear in the various kids' books) seemed to be the fact that they didn't have quite as much personality as the rest of the cast(Cody in particular didn't seem to have any personality at all other than chasing and attacking the other animals). On a related note, for unknown reasons, Cody and Blue also never appeared on Garfield and Friends. (One could possibly call them "The Lymans of U.S. Acres.")

The comic had a small fanbase, though it never became quite as popular as Davis' more famous strip, Garfield, and only ran for three years.(Although the franchise had a much longer lifespan on Garfield and Friends.)

Overall, U.S. Acres was a fun, humorous, and very nifty comic with a good, likeable cast. Despite it never having quite the popularity Garfield did, it's definetly worth a read! (Or, "worth a watch" in the case of Garfield and Friends.)

Here are a couple of my favorite strips below(although, honestly, it was hard to pick just two!):

The entire comic series has been released in book form; the books are available at the links below(some, regrettably, are a little pricey, but well worth it for any U.S. Acres fan):

U.S. Acres Goes Half Hog

U.S. Acres Counts its Chickens

U.S. Acres Rules the Roost

U.S. Acres Runs Amuck

U.S. Acres Hams it Up

Orson's Farm Cuts the Corn

For younger fans, there were also several kids' books made, which are available at the links below*:

Wade Dives In!

Happy Birthday, Sheldon!

The Big Camp-Out

Beware! Rooster at Work!

Wade's Haunted Halloween

Sir Orson to the Rescue!

Let's Play Ball!

Booker Meets the Easter Bunny

*There are also two other books in this series entitled "The Great Christmas Contest" and "A Most Special Easter Egg" which, regrettably aren't currently available on Amazon, but they do occasionally show up on Ebay.

There were also plushies made of the characters, which show up on Ebay from time to time.

Hmm...the animals in the last panel of this comic look...familiar, somehow.

Come on in, Come to the Place Where Fun Never Ends...

...Come on in, It's Time to Party With Garfield and Friends!

Garfield and Friends was the first TV show to star that famous fat cat we all know and love. It was very popular in its heyday(and still is!), and ran for a whopping seven years. 

The show consisted of two(or occasionally four) Garfield segments, starring the lasagna-loving cat himself, as well as his well-meaning but inept owner Jon and dopey but friendly doggie pal Odie, as well as occasional appearances by guest pest Nermal, the unbearably loud Binky the Clown(he even had his own mini-segments within the show entitled, "Screaming with Binky"), Garfield's on-again-off-again girlfriend Penelope(Not Arlene?), and his mouse buddy Floyd. Shown between Garfield segments were U.S. Acres segments, based off of Jim Davis' lesser-known strip.(Which I'll be covering in my next post!)

 

 

Overall, Garfield and Friends was a very cool, funny, well-made show. The storylines are humorous, with jokes borrowing heavily from the comic strips, and the characters are, as always, good, funny, and likeable. Personally, I've always loved this show.(And still do!) A high-quality masterpiece that any Garfield aficionado will surely enjoy.

 

 

The show's theme songs are mighty catchy as well!

Also, all seven seasons of the show are now on DVD, which are available at the links below:

Volume One

Volume Two

Volume Three

Volume Four

Volume Five

 

 

"Show me a good mouser, and I'll show you a cat with bad breath."

Happy Birthday, Garfield!

Everyone's favorite lasagna-lovin' orange cat turns the big 3-4 today. Happy Birthday, Garfield! It's a better-than-the-average birthday, 'cause he's a better-than-the-average cat!

For fellow Garfield fans, some nifty Garfield stuff is discussed in these previous posts of mine.

Book Review:Garfield's Furry Tales by Jim Davis

All right, now for my first non-Pound Puppies book review!

Fairy tales have never been wackier than these, all starring that famous fat cat himself. This book contains five stories:

Garfield and the Three Bears-Garfield, looking for respite from a boring camping trip, wanders across the Three Bears' cottage...and ends up wrecking the place.

Little Red Riding Odie-Jon sends Odie, clad in the appropriate red cape, to his sick Grandma's house with a box of Girl Scout cookies...but a certain someone else is evincing interest in those cookies, too.

Garfield and Penny Henny-Garfield, who's sojourning at Jon's parents' farm, accidentally knocks a corn cob onto a chicken named Penny Henny's head...and decides to have some fun with her. (This story, BTW, was adapted into an episode of The Garfield Show.)

Garfield and the Sleeping Beauty-Arlene(as one might expect) plays the eponymous princess and Garfield plays the prince in this tale of the princess cursed to sleep for a hundred years until awakened by a kiss (There's a movie in here somewhere). 

Garfield and the Beanstalk-Jon trades Odie for a handful of magic beans, which grow into a beanstalk overnight. Garfield climbs the beanstalk and encounters a giant. (Eat your heart out, Mickey Mouse!)

My Thoughts:Overall, a top-notch book. The illustrations(by Mike Fentz) are fantastic, and the writing is well done and very humorous. A must for any Garfield lover.

                                                                 Buy it on Amazon!

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Bookstore:Garfield's Guide to Everything by Jim Davis

The famous fat cat offers his not-so-humble opinion on a variety of subjects, from clowns to convenience stores, farms to figure skating, parties to plastic surgery...well, you get the idea.

Buy it on Amazon!