Squeak Previews

Obviously a spoof on "Sneak Previews," the PBS series that started up Siskel & Ebert. Two mice, who are the rodent versions of Siskel and Ebert, preview "The Cat," of course starring Garfield. At the opening, a mouse tries to steal some food but runs into Garfield, who tries to make the food deal clear to the him. Later on, the mouse disguises himself as Odie, and Garfield almost removes Odie, but then realizes what he is doing and then removes the mouse disguised as Odie, commenting that it was a nice impersonation, "especially in the brains department." The mouse tries to rally to defeat Garfield by hiring an army. Jon gets Garfield to get rid of the mice; the cynical feline uses the stench of dirty laundry to defeat the mice. The two mouse critics argue whether it was good or bad, and then Garfield comes in and scares them away, saying that the dirty laundry heap stinks worse than the movie. He's a critic, too!

Garfield, Odie, Mice

Following in the footsteps of Peanuts, Jim Davis' Garfield began as a syndicated newspaper comic strip (1978) before moving on to primetime TV specials and then to a Saturday morning series.

Garfield was an overweight, exceedingly lazy tabby cat who usually became enthusiastic only over the promise of lasagna. He also took great pleasure in irking his dopey owner Jon, vacant-minded dog Odie, and Nermal, the impossibly cute kitten.

Garfield's sarcastic commentary, expressed through thought bubbles in the paper, were here done via voiceover. Lorenzo Music, previously Carlton the Doorman on the sitcom Rhoda, supplied the cat's superbly deadpan voice.

The "And Friends" portion of the show centered on the characters from another Davis comic strip, the underrated U.S. Acres. Taking place on a farm, the segments featured a menagerie of highly colorful personalities: the leader, Orson, a kindly pig who was often the brunt of the jokes; Sheldon, a baby chicken who refused to hatch all the way, and so remained with all but his legs in the shell; Booker, his brother, who did make it out; Wade, a nervous duck who persistently wore an inflatable tube around his waist; and Roy, the wisecracking rooster.

The show enjoyed a successful seven-year run on CBS, and Garfield continues to be one of the most popular strips in the funny pages.