The Garfield Shuffle

Let's recap what we know so far -- When Garfield and Friends was repackaged for international distribution and domestic syndication, segments and opening gags (those witty one-liners at the end of the theme song) got shuffled around or omitted entirely. While the 9Story restorations reinstate references to U.S. Acres as originally aired (mostly), they are otherwise formatted exactly like the international broadcasts and FOX DVD releases. 

 So what's the point of this post? 

 Well, a cache of recordings somebody recently shared with me (more on that soon!) revealed something to me that I was unaware of... the "Garfield Shuffle" as we'll call it dates back to the original CBS run! When earlier episodes were rerun during at least Season 4, the packaging was completely shuffled around. Quickie segments were either switched around or added to episodes they were never originally a part of. Garfield's opening lines were also altered for episodes in this rerun package. Gag lines I previously believed to have been recorded only for the international package were in fact used in these CBS reruns. Sometimes as many as three quickies in a row would be aired. 

 The whole thing's a mess that warrants a much longer, more in-depth post to show just how crazy things can get. But for simplicity's sake, I'll illustrate this with segment breakdown for a Season 2 episode. 

1989-10-14 - SHOW 22/SHOW 23 

Garfield Quickie: Country Club 

Opening Line: Eat and be lazy, kids, and someday you'll have your own show too. 

Garfield: Pros and Cons 

Garfield Quickie: Hungry 

U.S. Acres: Rooster Revenge 

Garfield: Lights! Camera! Garfield! 

U.S. Acres Quickie: Morning Blast 

Garfield: Polecat Flats 

U.S. Acres Quickie: The Race 

Garfield Quickie: Snacking 

U.S. Acres: Hogcules 

Garfield: Brain Boy 

1991/2-xx-xx - SHOW 22/SHOW 23 (RERUN)

Opening Line: Change channels and you'll never see your dog again. 

Garfield: Pros and Cons 

Garfield Quickie: Hungry 

U.S. Acres: Rooster Revenge 

Garfield: Lights! Camera! Garfield! 

Garfield: Polecat Flats 

U.S. Acres Quickie: The Race 

Garfield Quickie: Snacking 

U.S. Acres: Hogcules 

U.S. Acres Quickie: Morning Blast 

Garfield: Brain Boy 

Garfield Quickie: Country Club 

International - Show 22 

Garfield Quickie: Country Club 

Opening Line: Eat and be lazy, kids, and someday you'll have your own show too. 

Garfield: Pros and Cons 

U.S. Acres Quickie: The Race 

U.S. Acres: Rooster Revenge 

Garfield: Lights! Camera! Garfield! 

International - Show 23 

Garfield Quickie: Snacking 

Opening Line: Eat and be lazy, kids, and someday you'll have your own show too. 

Garfield: Polecat Flats 

U.S. Acres Quickie: Morning Blast 

U.S. Acres: Hogcules 

Garfield: Brain Boy 

 As you can see, this one example is all over the map. Segments originally in the Show 22 half have been redesignated to Show 23 and vice versa. The "Hungry" quickie is completely absent in all modern releases of these episodes. My long term goal is for this blog to serve as a reference point for Garfield fans with keen editing skills to faithfully reconstruct the series as originally broadcast. Garfield and Friends was a key player in the TV animation renaissance of the late 80s and early 90s, and I firmly believe the series should be seen in the most complete form possible. Of course, this means a lot more research, a lot more documentation of things that have been overlooked for decades... and maybe a snack or two while I'm at it. 

 Professor CDCB is on the case.