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OfficerOdie "Halt! Officer Odie orders you to stop and help!"

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Overview

The Genuine Article is an episode from the sixth season of Garfield and Friends.

Synopsis[]

Garfield encounters a cat named Gabriel, who is very similar to Garfield.

Plot[]

Garfield has a dilemma with what he should do during the day. He makes the choice for his activity by throwing a dart while having his eyes blind-folded. The dart lands on Kicking Odie option in the board, therefore Garfield elects to kick Odie off the table. When Odie hits the ground, Jon appears as a witness of the entire incident. He asks Garfield, what did he say about catching Garfield red-handed on kicking Odie off the table. Garfield replies about being forced to eat pizza. Jon is not satisfied with the answer, so he decides to throw Garfield out of the house as punishment.

Being outdoors, Garfield overhears Herman Post talking with one of the neighbors about a gluttonous cat, who sleeps all day and all night save for eating breaks, who makes his owner cook him meals, and who annoys a dog living under one roof. Garfield initially believes the people are talking about him, until it turns out that there is another feline who behaves in a similar way to Garfield. The cat in question is said to be living at Elm and Third. Having experienced a shock, Garfield heads to the address he heard. It turns out, that a cat named Gabriel emulates Garfield indeed - both by living with an owner similar to Jon and an Odie-like dog called Ollie and by conduct from eating lasagna and kicking the dog off the table to disturbing the mailman and even using Garfield's catchphrases.

Gabriel's owner treats Gabriel in the same way Jon threw Garfield out of the house for the same misconduct. The two felines meet together in front of Gabriel's home. Their first talk about Gabriel emulating Garfield goes roughly and it ends up with Garfield threatening to sue Gabriel for copyright infringement, then Garfield walks home. Gabriel remains relentless, he even talks to Garfield's audience.

During the following night, Garfield has nightmares about Gabriel taking over his life- from Penelope, the cartoon itself (renamed Gabriel and Friends) and even merchandise ("Stuck On You" toys inside a car). The unpleasant experiences wake Garfield and Gabriel (who simultaneously has the same bad dream) from their sleep. Both cats run frantically to each other. Upon second meeting, one elects to make something the another one would not think of. They tell one another to wait and return home. Their second meeting ends up with both tomcats dressing in the exact same way, then Gabriel gives up and explains, that he admires Garfield so much, that he wanted to be like him and as a result, Gabriel lost his own identity.

Garfield agrees to help Gabriel in retrieving his own personality with a workout of doing non-Garfield things: eating healthy, exercising, replacing TV with books, and sleeping only 8 hours a day. Weeks pass and the effort pays off - Gabriel gets fit and does not resemble Garfield anymore. When asking how to be thanked, Garfield tells Gabriel just to remain himself or become an Elvis impersonator. Garfield leaves Gabriel to his own affairs. After helping Gabriel, Garfield returns home where Jon says that he is one of a kind, something Garfield hopes to remain.

Characters[]

Main characters[]

Minor characters[]

Trivia[]

  • While being presented with lasagna, Gabriel looks at his wrist as if he were wearing a watch, similar to Garfield in "The Perils of Penelope".
  • "Gabriel's Scary Tales" is a spoof of Garfield's Tales of Scary Stuff.
  • Although a sixth season episode, Penelope is shown as she appeared in the fifth season - with beige fur, eyelashes and lipstick without outlines.
  • Penelope is visibly taller than Gabriel (and Garfield, who is the same height as Gabriel).
  • During the "merchandising" part of Garfield's nightmare, a Gabriel "Stuck On You" toy is shown in a car.
  • Despite Penelope appearing in this episode, Victoria Jackson is not listed in the ending credits.
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Cultural references[]

  • As he bids farewell, Garfield suggests that Gabriel become an Elvis impersonator if he is not satisfied with being himself.

Goofs[]

  • Penelope does not have her usual temple whiskers or flesh inside ears during her appearance in this episode.
Garfield and Friends
Episodes

"Pest of a Guest / The Impractical Joker / Fat & Furry" • "Rip Van Kitty / Grabbity / The Big Catnap" • "The Great Getaway / Scrambled Eggs / Hansel and Garfield" • "The Sludge Monster / Fortune Kooky / Heatwave Holiday" • "One Good Fern Deserves Another / Goody-Go-Round / The Black Book" • "The Legend of the Lake / Double Oh Orson / Health Feud" • "Binky Gets Cancelled! / Show Stoppers / Cutie and the Beast" • "The Lasagna Zone / Sleepytime Pig / Yojumbo" • "Pros and Cons / Rooster Revenge / Lights! Camera! Garfield!" • "Polecat Flats / Hogcules / Brain Boy" • "Maine Course / No Laughing Matter / Attack of the Mutant Guppies" • "Robodie / First Aid Wade / Video Victim" • "The Curse of Klopman / Mud Sweet Mud / Rainy Day Dreams" • "Basket Brawl / Origin of Power Pig / Cactus Jake Rides Again" • "Binky Goes Bad! / Barn of Fear / Mini-Mall Matters" • "Attention-Getting Garfield / Swine Trek / It Must Be True!" • "Arrivaderci, Odie! / Gort Goes Good / Feeling Feline" • "The Bear Facts / Nothing To Be Afraid Of / The Big Talker" • "Cactus Makes Perfect / Hogcules II / Crime and Nourishment" • "T.V. of Tomorrow / Little Red Riding Egg / Well Fed Feline" • "Invasion of the Big Robots / Shelf Esteem / Housebreak Hotel" • "First Class Feline / Hamelot / How to Be Funny!" • "Mystic Manor / Flop Goes the Weasel / The Legend of Long Jon" • "China Cat / Cock-a-Doodle Dandy / Beach Blanket Bonzo" • "Lemon Aid / Hog Noon / Video Airlines" • "The Mail Animal / Peanut-Brained Rooster / Mummy Dearest"

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