Garfield: Quickie
Odie is standing there, panting happily. Suddenly, the "Caped Avenger" jumps on his back and decides to see if Odie is worthy of being his high-performance mode of transportation. Odie doesn't seem to like the idea, but Garfield says "Go!" and pulls on his ears, so off he goes. Garfield urges him faster and faster until his legs are a circular blur, then has him stop. When the dust clears, we see that Garfield is on his back on the ground, having skidded forward a few feet ahead, and is still holding Odie's ears. He realizes that he needs a seatbelt.
("Friends Are There")
"Hey you, the kid who missed last week's show! Better have a good excuse."
Well, the introduction of Garfield as the Caped Avenger might not have been good to miss, and the intro-duck-tion of Fred Duck would have been good to see, so yeah.
Garfield: Forget Me Not
One day, Garfield is sleeping. Jon comes up and scolds him for being in bed on such a beautiful day. Garfield believes in letting the fates guide his life. He spins a game show style wheel labeled with four each of "SLEEP" and "EAT". Jon says what the arrow is pointing to at any one time. When the wheel stops, it says "SLEEP". Garfield goes back to bed. Jon, however, is having none of that, and pushes him outside, prompting him to observe that some people don't believe in fate.
Garfield wonders what else can go wrong today. He gets an answer in the form of Odie coming up to him with a ball in his mouth. Garfield confirms the concept with Odie. Instead taking the single ball and throwing it, Garfield picks up a basket of balls and throws all of them. He figures that should keep him busy.
The effort made him hungry. Jon sets a pie on the window sill to cool, so Garfield sneaks over, grabs it, and runs, leaving Jon to scratch his head when he returns. (Because he totally doesn't own the prime suspect.) Garfield points out to us that pie is food. However, as he goes to eat it, a brown dog swipes it. Garfield taps him on the back and politely asks it returned. The dog angrily asks what he said, and Garfield starts to repeat, but then tells him to enjoy. The dog locks his lips, throws it all into his mouth, chews it up, and spits out the tin. He gives a "Seeya 'round, cat!" and leaves. Garfield doesn't think it was fair, as he stole the pie first. The tin hits him on the head, and he's knocked out. Jon is bringing another pie to the windowsill when he spots Garfield lying on the ground. As he runs to see if Garfield is all right, his pie flips in midair, landing upside-down on the windowsill. When he reaches Garfield and says his name, Garfield thinks, "Auntie Em, Auntie Em... are we still in Kansas?" Jon fans him with his hand and says his name again. Odie whines in worry, but Jon directs him to get the special Garfield first-aid kit. Odie barks in affirmation. Garfield wonders who "Garfield" is. The first-aid kit contains, of course, lasagna. Garfield, however, pushes it away, as it has too many calories and cholesterol. He suggests a salad with low-calorie dressing. Jon and Odie look at each other. Garfield notices that he's overweight, and his fur is shabby. Jon says that something's wrong, terribly wrong.
At the vet, Liz notes that other than the bump on the head, he seems fine, and asks Jon why he thinks Garfield's lost his memory. Jon lists his lack of sleeping, eating, beating up on Odie, and clawing the furniture. Liz asks if Jon wants Garfield's memory restored. Jon has to think about it for a second, but Odie brings him to the conclusion that they do. Liz figures it might wear off, or something familiar will bring him back. Garfield reads the clipboard and goes offscreen, then returns with a syringe, asking if she's sure he's not due for his shots.
Jon reminds Odie that they have to remind Garfield of who he is. Jon comes up behind him and says his name. Garfield wonders why he keeps calling him that. Jon points out Odie standing at the edge of the table, and says, in a bad acting voice, that it would be so mean if someone were to shove Odie off. Garfield knows what to do. Jon thinks it's working... but is premature, as Garfield pulls him to a more stable position, pats him on the head, and gently warns him about standing too close.
Jon has Odie slurp Garfield, but Garfield seems to enjoy it.
Jon offers him a nap, but Garfield questions having one in the middle of the day. Jon isn't giving up, however.
He presents Garfield with a "little snack"... according to Garfield specs, that is. Garfield wonders what army is going to come by and eat all that fattening food. He takes some raisins, as he isn't really hungry. (Why did Jon even have those out? They're his Trademark Unfavorite Food. Maybe that's the point, to test the severity of the amnesia?) Jon tells him to at least take the lasagna. Garfield takes it, though out of politeness instead of desire. He figures he'll find someone to give it to.
Outside, the mailman is trepiditiously sneaking around. Garfield comes out, lasagna in hands. He greets the mailman, who is spooked at seeing him. Garfield calls him a dedicated hard worker. He wonders why everyone is acting so strangely and calling him a dumb name like Garfield.
After he passes a tree, the dog from earlier looks from behind and laughs. He runs up and nabs the lasagna with a "Thanks, cat!" Garfield says he's quite welcome, and tells him to enjoy. The dog is about to, when he gets suspicious of Garfield's welcome, and asks about it pointing out that he took it. Garfield says he's quite welcome to it, and tells him to eat hearty before walking off. The dog wonders what's wrong with it. He gives the lasagna back, thinking it must be a trick. Garfield wants him to have it. The suspicious dog keeps pushing it away, and the generous Garfield keeps pushing it back. Finally, the dig gets it into Garfield's hands and bolts Garfield chases him into an alley where the dog finds himself trapped because the end of it was Behind the Black or something, so he couldn't see it. Garfield asks if the dog will eat it himself, or if he has to feed him. The dog gets on his knees, begs, and apologizes for mistreating him. Garfield gives him the lasagna anyway. When the dog realizes he has it, he tosses it away... hitting Garfield on the head again.
At home, Jon thinks Garfield may be gone forever. Both are sad at the prospect. Just then, Garfield comes through the door. Jon tries the lasagna again... only to find him cured! He starts eating cheeseburgers, one after the other. When Jon asks if he's back, Garfield kicks Odie off the table. Jon picks Odie up and says it's good to have Garfield back. Garfield goes back to eating. He doesn't understand it, but figures that sometimes, you don't ask questions.
Orson's Farm: Quickie
Booker is chasing a worm. It jumps into a hole, so Booker gets a shovel and starts digging after him. The worm, however, pops up from another hole, grabs the shovel, and buries him up to his neck, over his protests. Booker makes the cartoon mistake of saying it couldn't get any worse.
The worm is acting as a carnival barker, inviting female worms (remember, folks, you can tell it's a female worm because it has "eye"lashes, lipstick, and hair in a culturally female cut!) of different builds to kiss him for a dollar.
Orson's Farm: I Like Having You Around!
Orson is writing in his diary that things haven't been peaceful around there lately. Of course, some things never change: for example, Wade. He goes to squish a bug after delivering a drawn-out speech about how unafraid he is. It, however, delivers a flat "boo," scaring Wade and sparing itself. Wade dashes away and wraps himself around Orson in fear, and says to save him from whatever he needs saving from. Orson wonders why everyone is acting so weird. Lanolin is in a bad mood. Wade asks how he can tell. Orson figures it was pretty obvious. We see Lanolin walking about in a constant state of mumbling and grumbling. She encounters a cow in her apparent path, and rather than take a tiny detour, baas loudly to make her jump high into the air. Lanolin then walks through the space where the cow was before the cow comes back down. She walks through the middle of some chickens, including Booker. All scatter.
She doesn't seem to like anyone very much, especially Bo. She and Wade are inside, and according to Wade, she locked Bo out. Wade figures a little rain wouldn't hurt him. She says he doesn't know Bo; his wool shrinks. The door comes open, and that is indeed what happened. Wade employs the use of a hair dryer. It dries him off, but leaves him extra-fluffy in the process. He, is, nevertheless, grateful, and says that his sister has been high on the pain index lately.
Orson agrees with that assessment. Another thing she did was to knit Booker a sweater from yarn that she "found"... on Bo. But mostly, she was just plain disagreeable. Over checkers, Bo tells her she disagrees a lot. She disagrees. He points out that she just did. She disagrees. Bo gives in and says she didn't disagree. She disagrees. When Bo tries to have her choose whether or not she disagrees, she throws the question back at him; he decides she disagrees with him a lot, but she claims that she never does, and flips the board.
That sort of thing went on all day and all night. Bo puts on his Garfield shirt and gets into bed. He isn't really sleepy, so he decides to count people. He turns off the lamp, only for the overhead light to come on a second later, and Lanolin to tell him he's absolutely wrong. He points out that he wasn't thinking about anything, but Lanolin says that that's what he's absolutely wrong about, and leaves, slamming the door behind her. Orson tells us that Bo eventually got the idea that his sister must not want him around, and being the easygoing guy he is, if his sister doesn't want him around, then he won't be around. He went up into the hills to an old abandoned cabin (which had the light on before he got, despite being abandoned). Orson remembers something, and edits in that Bo had written a note explaining his absence, which Lanolin found an hour or three later. Orson tells us she was pretty broken up about it, but her actions consisted of tossing the letter behind her and saying "So what?" She tried to pretend she wasn't, but when, say, Wade Duck greeted her cheerily, she yells at him to to blame her for moving, as it was his idea. That's the trouble with being a crab: the image is so hard to maintain.
Lanolin starts to play checkers by herself, only there's nobody on the other side. She doesn't even go through the conceit of playing both sides as Garfield did in episode 8, "Cabin Fever". Orson comes by and notes that she misses him. She denies it, but in a way that indicates that he's probably right.
A week after he left, the wind arrived. It was a fierce wind. Orson heads to the cellar. He gives Booker and Sheldon something to hold onto. Wade reports that the radio said it's the biggest storm of the year. They'll be safe in there. (I don't see Roy, come to think.) Lanolin points out that Bo is in the hills, and the shack he's in won't last the storm. Orson tells her she can't go out now, but Lanolin won't let him — or the wind — stop her. She arrives and finds him inside nailing boards to a window. (Which is the perfect to do that: when the storm is upon you.) She tells him to come back. He tells her she doesn't want him back. She tells him about the storm, but Bo won't let the wind bother him. He'll only come back if Lanolin really misses him. It takes a couple of tries for her to say so it a way that can be heard over the wind. She pulls him from the cabin and is just at the bottom of the hill when the storm picks up, and finally rips the roof off. The cabin, meanwhile, is still held back, probably by plumbing or something. They get into the cellar just before the full brunt of the storm hits.
Bo brings up what he told her. She starts to deny it, but kicks into a song about liking having him around.
So the storm passed, and everything is almost back to normal. Lanolin claims she didn't really say she missed him, but Bo heard her. They argue about it, leading Orson to amend his statement to remove the "almost".
Garfield: Quickie
It snowed last night. Garfield loves the first snow of the year. He runs out onto the walk... which is covered in slippery ice. He slides into a snowdrift. After popping out, he says he still loves it... just as he's pelted with snowballs by boys. He dives into a birdbath.
He comes back in, his upper half encased in ice the shape of the birdbath bowl. Jon asks if he enjoyed the snow. Garfield is ready for summer.
Garfield: Quickie
(Another one?)
Jon calls him to dinner. Garfield excitedly gets out of bed. Jon says he ran out of regular cat food, so got him the dry kind. (It looks like peas, actually.) Jon is sure he knows what to do with it. Garfield does: Throw the food onto the floor under Jon's feet so he falls, dropping the hamburger he has. Garfield picks it up and walks by Jon, whose fall broke a lamp and destabilizes a picture hanging on a wall. (It looks like Jon sitting in a chair, but the upper half of his face is missing.) As Garfield eats the burger. Jon sarcastically asks him if he's enjoying his cat food. Garfield says they must have it more often. The picture falls off the wall such that Jon's head is where it should be.
Garfield: Sales Resistance
Jon is walking home. Just before he gets to his walk, he meets a salesman who's happy about his sales, and gives Jon the tip that if he's selling stuff, he should try the house he just came from, as they'll buy anything. Given that it's Jon's house, he knows who's been making purchases: Garfield.
Jon slams the door as he comes in, and asks what overpriced, useless piece of junk he bought. Garfield motions toward a statue of da Vinci made of pasta. (Jon says elbow macaroni, but there are parts that are clearly too long to be macaroni of any kind.) Garfield wonders if Jon already has one, which is why he's objecting. Jon tells Garfield he has to stop buying everything he sees. He gives a recap of the week's purchases: an indoor plastic birdbath, a 27-year-supply of dental floss, a battery-operated battery changer that's only good for changing its own batteries. (It clearly says "charger" on the thing. There was an error somewhere, I think.) Garfield points out that it was on sale. Jon puts the kibosh on it by threatening no lasagna for the rest of Garfield's life if he buys one more thing while Jon is gone. He leaves with a slam, leaving Garfield to contemplate this time period. He figures that without lasagna, that could be tomorrow.
Garfield decides to do something positive and constructive: watch television. He turns on the All-"How To Prepare Potatoes" Channel. On it, a conveyor belt moves examples of potato preparations along, stopping each in front of a man who reads each one off. Garfield makes an aside remark that this is worth $79.95 a month. He switches to the All-"Snail Racing" Channel. But that proves uninteresting, so he switches to the All-"Buying Stuff" Channel. The man on it is selling an elephant repeller with a list of features I'm not even going to go into. Garfield is ready to call for it, but he remembers Jon's warning, so after some struggle, he puts the receiver down. But then, the man comes up with the kicker: The first 20 callers get it free. Of lesser interest is that he'll deliver each one in person, but to each his own. The possibility of getting it for free convinces him.
A purple convertible pulls up in front of the house. He makes a very quick call to report his location. He leaves the car through the right side; when he closes the door, it falls off. He rings the doorbell, then opens it before Garfield can do so. He introduces himself, and asks who ordered the elephant repeller. Garfield indicates himself. After being a little shocked that the customer is a cat, he's okay with it, and presents him with the product, absolutely, totally free... except for the $2 handling charge, the $5 delivery charge, the $9 restocking charge, and then says he owes $28. (Okay, that's $16; where did that other $12 come from?) Garfield, realizing that the claim of "free" was but a marquis de façade, and that to accept this item, he'll have to pay, he closes the door and goes back to the potato-preparation programming, followed by more snail racing.
But the salesman will not be deterred; he never takes "no" for an answer, especially not from a cat. He pops from behind the chair and asks Garfield if he's ever considered the clear and present danger of an elephant stampede. This time, Garfield kicks him out and goes into the kitchen, but finds him there, trying to convince him by saying that if he had been an elephant, he could have gotten rid of him with his elephant repeller. Garfield kicks him out again and stacks furniture against the front door. (He's clearly not thinking clearly; the last attempt at getting rid of him had him coming from the kitchen, and that wouldn't be blocked by his current attempt. Nether would him coming in through a window.) Garfield hides under Jon's bed... where the salesman already is, trying to tell him about its advantages. Garfield flees, wishing he had a salesman repeller. Garfield runs into the kitchen and past the refrigerator before coming back to it and grabbing a sandwich before taking off again. The salesman follows, telling him about the great guarantee. Garfield decides to hide in the basement, but the salesman is there, claiming that if the repeller doesn't work, they'll pay him $1000. Garfield gives in.
Jon comes back, asking what he bought this time (with 9 bills... let's see, assuming Garfield paid the exact amount quoted at the end, that's 8 ones and a twenty. Incidentally, paying the amount he should only have to pay with the three charges quoted would be 7 twos and 2 ones). The salesman tells him what it is. Jon points out that there isn't an elephant within 1000 miles. (No zoos? circuses?) The salesman points it out as proof of how well it works, and quotes him the guarantee, and leaves Jon to scold Garfield.
However, we're looking at the salesman, happy with his success. The guarantee always gets 'em, it seems, and he tempts fate by ridiculing the idea of elephants around there. An elephant trumpets in response, to his disbelief. There are two elephants on the lawn, and one on the roof. Jon wants to talk about the guarantee. The salesman throws a tantrum on the walk. Garfield doesn't believe it, either, but figures that with $1000, he can buy that microwave cheese straightener.
Next time: Episode 14!
