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Garfield, the newspaper cartoon strip by Jim Davis, was such a hit when adapted to occasional animated specials on CBS in the 1980s that the network built a Saturday morning series, Garfield and Friends, around the portly, sardonic cat. The new show, wrapped within its winning programming formula, also proved successful. Episodes of Garfield and Friends featured two eight-minute stories starring Garfield, the airhead pooch Odie, and their owner, bachelor Jon Arbuckle, that were joined by one short, delightful new cartoon called U.S. Acres, concerning the misadventures of a group of barnyard animals led by a clever pig called Orson. Garfield and Friends expanded to an hour by season 2 and lasted seven years; several members of the vocal cast also had leading roles on U.S. Acres, and both shows attracted such celebrity guests as Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Debra Messing. |
