An animated series based on a popular newspaper staple would go on to become a huge hit.
On this day in history on September 17, 1988, the animated series Garfield & Friends premiered on CBS. Courtesy: Paws Inc. / 20th Century Fox
On this day in history on September 17, 1988, the animated series Garfield & Friends premiered on CBS.
The series, based on the iconic comic strip by Jim Davis, would last for seven seasons and go on to be one of the longest-running Saturday morning cartoons in history.
The Garfield shorts focused on the lazy, lasagna-loving and Monday-hating cat Garfield. Voiced by Lorenzo Music, Garfield is the pet of Jon Arbuckle, who also owns a dog named Odie. Other voice talents in the show included Thom Huge, Desiree Goyette, Julie Payne and Frank Welker.
Each episode would feature two Garfield shorts and one US Acres short. US Acres was another comic strip penned by Davis. US Acres (or Orson’s Farm as its known overseas) focused on a quirky group of farm animals including Orson the Pig, Roy Rooster and others. Many early US Acres shorts included a song.
The show had 121 episodes air before its cancellation in 1994. Many of the episodes of the show were written by Mark Evanier. Staples of the show included many puns, non sequiturs and breaking of the fourth wall. Most episodes were composed of three shorts and a couple of “quickies,” small animated micro-shorts based on either Garfield or US Acres.
The show has been completely released on DVD spread over five box sets.
Pony Producer's Positively Pony 