After the "Garfield" comic strip had been appearing in newspapers for ten years and several TV specials based on the strip had been made, Jim Davis' popular cartoon character finally got his own TV series, a Saturday morning cartoon. Unlike some of those cartoons, this one ran for many years. It was one of the shows I used to watch in my childhood, as I was a big Garfield fan at the time. Early in 2005, after I hadn't seen any episodes of the show for a long time and had since gone through adolescenthood, I purchased the Volume 2 DVD set, and really liked what I saw, making it clear that the show isn't strictly for kids. Since then, I've watched all the episodes on all five volumes of the DVD release, which hasn't changed my mind about the show.Each episode is divided into three different segments (other than the quickies). The first and third segments always feature Garfield, the lazy, overweight, bitter, sarcastic, cynical feline from the strip. He lives in a suburban house with his owner, a dimwitted, clumsy cartoonist who is terrible with women, and a good-natured but not so bright dog named Odie. Garfield loves to eat, sleep, give Jon and Odie a hard time, watch TV, attack the mailman, etc. He has annoyances in his life, such as Odie licking him, Nermal, a kitten who is generally adored by people and gets on Garfield's nerves during his unexpected visits, and Binky the Clown, a goofy clown who appears on TV. Although Garfield is happy with his lazy lifestyle and doesn't like to leave the house much, he often finds himself on adventures, and it's often up to him to solve problems.The second full segment of each episode is based on Jim Davis' short-lived, lesser known comic strip, "U.S. Acres" (a.k.a. "Orson's Farm"). This cartoon involves a group of anthropomorphic animals living on a farm together. The leader is a pig named Orson, a bibliophile who can get carried away with his imagination, but can also do some good with it. Other characters include: Roy Rooster, an obnoxious rooster who loves to play tricks on the other animals; Wade Duck, a cowardly duck who is afraid of just about everything and often runs in terror; Bo Sheep, a surfer dude sheep; Lanolin Sheep, Bo's loud-mouthed sister who loves to disagree with him; Booker, an adventurous chick who likes to try and catch worms, but they always outsmart him; and Sheldon, Booker's brother, who is still in his egg shell, with only his feet sticking out so he can walk. The farm often gets intruders, most notably the Weasel, who tries to steal the chickens and eat them, and Mort, Gort, and Wart, Orson's mean brothers (all bigger than him), who like to come to the farm to try and steal the vegetable harvest! I don't recall seeing most of the episodes of this long-running show on TV during my childhood, but do remember some of the episodes I've recently revisited on DVD, and it seems they're mostly still entertaining. This includes the episode where Jon gets in trouble with the police for paying in cash instead of using a credit card, which I find funnier now than I used to! There are many episodes I didn't see as a kid which have cracked me up in recent years, with Garfield (often Jon and Odie as well) in some bizarre situations and meeting crazy characters, Jon pathetically trying to impress his date, among other things. Many fans clearly consider the "U.S. Acres/Orson's Farm" segments far inferior to the "Garfield" ones, but I disagree. I tend to find those very entertaining as well, with some of Orson's fantasies (sometimes a problem for the others on the farm), Roy's pranks, etc. My favourite character in these cartoons is the cowardly Wade Duck, who makes me laugh so hard, though the other characters can be really funny as well! Sadly, Lorenzo Music, who gave Garfield his famous distinctive voice, passed away in 2001 from bone and lung cancer at age 64. Howard Morris, who provided the voice of Wade Duck (a voice which definitely fit the character), lived to be much older than Music, but died in 2005. I think this is a good time for me to say R.I.P. to both of them. Even though this show ended fifteen years ago, it's still memorable with a lot to like. Not all the episodes are that great (which is probably the case with any long-running show), and I don't find most of the things Garfield says at the end of the intro very funny, but overall, it's a great family cartoon show! It can obviously appeal to a lot of kids, and there are also things for adults to appreciate, including some clever satire that kids might not pick up. Forget the recent CGI Garfield, if you want good family entertainment for all ages, "Garfield and Friends" could be it!

I used to watch this show when I was a growing up. When I think about it, I remember it pretty well. If you ask me, it was a good show. However, the opening sequence and theme song are two things I remember very well. In addition to that, everyone was ideally cast. Also, the writing was very strong. The performances were top-grade, too. I hope some network brings it back so I can see every episode. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I don't think I've seen every episode. Now, in conclusion, if some network ever brings it back, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.

i used to watch this show when it was on, there were lots of references of the comics. heck, the quickies were actually animated versions of the comics. it also featured a cartoon of Jim Davis's lesser known comic strip "US acres/Orson's farm" i can see why no one liked the Orson pig shorts due to having a musical number on nearly every single short. what was annoying about this show is that they broke the "4TH wall" all the time, & the jokes about the "klopman diamond" were annoying as well. some unknown reason, Arlene never appeared in the show & was replaced with a girl cat named Penelope. the show has come to DVD 2 years before, & so far only volume 1 is available in Australia, & it's taking forever for the rest of them to come out. after all, this was a fantastic kid's show, even for Garfield fans.

I was going through digital looking for something to watch when I found garfield and friends. I LOVED that show!!! It was the best one ever. I remember seeing re-runs when I first saw it. (born in '92) Then they cancelled it for good. Finally in 1999 when in 1st and seconed grade they showed it again. I remember walking past my sisters room and seeing what they were watching and ran in. It was an all day marathon so I sat there all day.I remember the episode where the witch wanted to marry Jon so she stole him and tried to marry him. I didn't like U.S. Acres that much though. I loved how sarcastic Garfield was, Odie was even cool too. Jon was awesome. Me and my brother and sisters all sat around the T.V. to watch hitting eachother for the middle. On the last episode we were really sad it SUCKED!!!!!!!! All in all For the Garfield segments I would give them 1000/10 and the us acres segments 8/10. Garfield and Friends was the greatest show evercreated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!