Garfield: Travel Adventures

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Program: A-

 

 

When the DVD market started to boom TV series started to slowly hit the market, but over the past few years the studios have realized what a precious investment it is to make.  People simple love to snatch up old shows, new shows, cult shows, whatever.  There are a few ways to slice up the pie: episodes, favorite shows, seasons, by a particular actor/actress, or by category such as the case with Fox’s Travel Adventures from Garfield.  This DVD includes three episodes starting with Garfield in the Rough, Garfield in Paradise and concluding with Garfield Goes to Hollywood. 

 

I have already covered the first two box sets released of Garfield as well as a few other single disc only titles and this continues that trend.  It would seem that to some extent Garfield is back by popular demand and I would like to think it had nothing to do with that lame excuse for a movie made in the summer of 04.  Whatever the case, fans of Garfield can now indulge in more material and I would speculate that this particular disc would only hit a minor part of that audience.  However, these are probably some of the best of the series anyway, including the Emmy winner Garfield in the Rough, although one of my favorites is still Garfield Goes to Hollywood, which after taking a recent look at this episode I found myself laughing for reasons that apply to a more recent variation of Hollywood. 

 

As with the Garfield and Friends Box Sets or the single disc editions of Garfield material this one seems to step up the quality a bit.  The full frame picture seems a bit sharper, more defined, and colors are much brighter and more solid all around.  Even the audio has been stepped up for Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, which is an upgrade from the usual 2.0 Mono on previous discs.  Fox, as I have mentioned in quite a few of their recent reviews, are really becoming a leader in the industry when it comes to doing things right.  Lately they seem to be hitting higher marks and realizing that the consumer wants quality product. 

 

The overall programs run a total of 66 minutes, enough for a solid hour of entertainment and this is a good starting place if you have any inclination to start watching Garfield, or make a purchase.  These are certainly three of the better shows and give a good snapshot of where the show was in 1984 compared to 1986, and 1987.  You can see how the animation increased and more ideas were explored, but with all long-running comics, you can also see where the material becomes worn out and tiresome.

 

 

-   Nate Goss