Yeah, I'm pretty sure the main reason for this collection of TV specials is to capitalize on the upcoming full-length Garfield movie (which I hope is better than the trailer suggests), but I always enjoyed the Garfield TV specials, as well as the irreverent Saturday morning series (which will be getting the boxed set treatment this summer). This disc is a nice little gem from Fox Home Entertainment.

The disc consists of three early TV specials. The first, Here Comes Garfield, is a loosely plotted story of Garfield coming to Odie's rescue after the pooch is tossed into the pound. In Garfield on the Town, the cat escapes a trip to the vet and meets his mother, who lives in an old, run down Italian restaurant (thus explaining his love for Lasagna). The last one, Garfield Gets a Life, focuses more on Jon, Garfield's owner, trying to overcome his drab life and meet women, accompanied by plenty of sarcastic witticisms from his cat. Considering the nature of the original comic strip, giving Garfield an actual voice has always seemed a bit of a lost cause, but Lorenzo Music (who was previously heard as 'Carlton, the Doorman' on the TV series, Rhoda) is the right guy for the job. His lazy and droll delivery serves the cat's personality well. Also going against the nature of the strip are the touchy-feely moments present in each episode (which would be largely absent from the Saturday morning series). The strip was always more about attitude than sentiment. Still, much of that attitude is still present in these shows, and Here Comes Garfield features a lot of segments drawn directly from the comic strips. The animation itself (done mostly by the same folks who brought Peanuts to the small screen) suits creator Jim Davis' style pretty well, and the writing is often quite clever for a TV cartoon. Somewhere, at some time, some genius assumed it was necessary to incorporate song interludes in damn near every animated film or special ever made. Garfield specials are no different, but at least they are a cut above the usual tunes for shows of this type, with some pretty big-name performers (such as Lou Rawls, B.B. King and The Temptations) belting them out.

For a series of 80s-era TV specials, the overall video transfer is a good as can be expected. The programs are presented in their original 1.33:1 fullframe aspect ratio, and the color tones look accurate. There are a few scratches here and there, but that's to be expected from masters this old. The audio track is presented in its original mono version, which sounds okay for what it is...at least your kids are not likely to care.

Unfortunately, the only extra included is a very short promo for the Garfield movie, which contains brief comments by creator Jim Davis, and some behind-the-scenes footage. Useless trivia: Lorenzo Music, who voiced Garfield and co-wrote some of the subsequent episodes, died in 2001 from lung cancer. Too bad he didn't hang around along enough to do the movie.

Garfield as Himself is a nice collection of the early attempts to bring the cantankerous cat to the screen. Kids are sure to enjoy it, while their parents may find some nostalgic pleasure in seeing them again.