The eleventh episode of the first season of Garfield and Friends.
Post-opening Sequence Line: "Beware of imitations, accept no substitutes, batteries not included."
Best of Breed
Garfield competes against Nermal in a cat show.
National Tapioca Pudding Day
Roy invents a new holiday called National Tapioca Pudding Day as part of his latest elaborate practical joke.
All About Odie
Garfield tries to give a lecture about himself to the audience, only to discover that they prefer to hear about Odie.
"Best of Breed" provides examples of:
- Acrofatic: Despite his weight and overall lazy personality, Garfield is capable of amazing feats, as shown in the eponymous song and the obedience test of the contest. Of course, he exhausts himself after doing the latter.Garfield: Well, there's my exercise for the decade.
- Alliterative Title: Best of Breed.
- Cartoon Juggling: During the eponymous song, Garfield does the shower variant with various sports balls.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: During the final event, skill, Garfield builds a remote control hot air balloon. When it's Nermal's turn to demonstrate his skill, he doesn't show up, getting himself disqualified and Garfield winning the contest by default. It is soon revealed that Garfield hid Nermal in the balloon, having tricked him into thinking it's a dressing room.
- Hypocritical Humor: When the other cats get eliminated from the contest, Garfield tells them not to get to dejected and to be a good dignified loser. When Garfield finds out that he's been eliminated, he does not take it well. Fortunately, the judge changes his mind and decides that Garfield will be one of the two finalists.
- Mathematician's Answer: This exchange between a Snooty Cat and Garfield when the latter enters the cat show;Snooty Cat: Hmm, how did, *ahem*... you get in here?
Garfield: I made a left turn at the Taco-Rama and here I was.
Snooty Cat: No no, I mean, do you have papers?
Garfield: Jon gets some. I usually read the comics and throw the rest away. - Pet Contest Episode: Garfield becomes envious over the many awards that his nemesis Nermal has won and enters a cat talent show himself, only to (coincidentally) be pitted against Nermal.
- Script Swap: Garfield swaps out the judge's cue card with one of his own in an attempt to exhaust Nermal in the obedience test. It only results in the crowd loving Nermal even more.
- Tempting Fate: When Garfield finds out that he's one of two finalists, he wonders who the other one is. To his dismay, it's Nermal. Garfield then tells the viewers "I think we all saw this coming."
"National Tapioca Pudding Day" provides examples of:
- Beyond the Impossible: Wade decides to stand up to his shadow, citing how he's not afraid of him anymore. Said shadow then grabs him, tosses him around, and chucks Wade into the ground.
- Fictional Holiday: Roy makes up the titular holiday as part of his plan to pull a prank on Orson.
- Gone Horribly Right: Everyone thinks that National Tapioca Pudding Day is a real holiday, which results in Orson giving the box of tapioca pudding that Roy gave him to Wade, who gives it back to Orson, who gives it back to Roy.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Roy ends up getting hit by his own tapioca pudding due to Orson and Wade taking the holiday very seriously.
- Pie in the Face: Roy's practical joke in this episode is hitting Orson in the face with tapioca pudding when he (Orson) opens the box he (Roy) gives him (Orson). This plan backfires when Orson takes National Tapioca Pudding Day very seriously and gives the box back to Roy.
- Water-Geyser Volley: Booker fills the Worm's hole with water in an attempt to flood it and flush the worm out. Booker ends up getting blown upwards by the geyser while the Worm, clad in scuba gear, escapes.
"All About Odie" provides examples of:
- Cassandra Truth: At the end of the episode, Garfield tells Odie that he (Garfield) told everyone that he (Odie) buries cars in the backyard, and they made fun of him (Garfield). He (Garfield) says this as he and Odie walk through their backyard, where drivers in their half-buried cars are honking at each other.
- Cut a Slice, Take the Rest: Subverted; Garfield uses a pie chart made with real pie to represent Odie. Two tiny pieces of the pie, both of which Garfield eats one at a time, represent Odie's brain and common sense, respectively, and the rest of the whole pie, which Garfield then consumes, represents Odie's tongue.
- Exploding Closet: Garfield shows the viewers the closet where he keeps Odie's fan mail. When he opens the door, an avalanche of letters falls on him.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: This episode takes the form of an academic lecture.
- Stupid Question Bait: Garfield lets the audience ask questions before beginning the lecture, only to be asked; "Is wrestling fixed?"Garfield: Excuse me. I should've asked, "Are there any intelligent questions?"
- Take That!: Garfield opens his closet only to find one letter in it, which says "Dear occupant, you may already have won 37 Million Dollars", which he throws away in disgust.
