|
"Halt! Officer Odie orders you to stop and help!"
This page is in serious need of a checkup!
Once the criteria is met, remove the {{Checkup Required}} tag. |
(The episode begins with Nimbus flying in his UFO in space above Earth)
Nimbus: Well, flying over Earth, I decided to stock up on my favorite Earth food. They call them “marshmallows”. I got a whole cargo hold full of them! (He pushes a lever on his dashboard, mistakenly losing his marshmallows in the process)
Computer: Error! You opened the storage hold. There goes your supply of…marshmallows.
Nimbus: Oh no! I have to get them back! (He flies toward Earth)
(Down in front of Jon’s house, Odie digs a hole for a bone he has in his mouth when he hears something falling from the sky)
Odie: Mutter (He drops his bone and looks up. Several bags of marshmallows fall into the open trash can in front of the house) Oooh. (The curious canine trots over to the can sniffing as he goes. He grabs the rim of the can and peeks inside) Huh? Gasp! (By this time, Nimbus has parked his UFO on the lawn and the alien has reintroduced himself to the pup)
Nimbus: Hey, good to see ya again, Odie! You wouldn’t have seen something falling from the sky, would ya?
Odie: Mutters (He waves at his friend and gets off from the can) Bark! Bark! Bark! (He points at the garbage can. Nimbus looks inside)
Nimbus: Gasp! (Upon seeing the sugary snack, he becomes overjoyed. He hops off the can to thank the pooch) Oh, thank you, Odie. you deserve a reward. (He pulls out a cookie that has a neon green color) This is a forever doggy cookie. It’s yours. (He hands it to Odie, who steps closer and takes it)
Odie: Ooooh! Yeah! Yeah! (He bites it. The chunk he bit magically reappears, much to his surprise) Gasp!
Nimbus: Interesting cookie, is it NOT? It reconstructs itself after each bite, thus, you never run out of cookie. (Odie bites it a couple more times. Each time, the cookie refills itself) Right? You might want to hide the cookie in that hole there. (He points at the hole Odie was digging just before he arrived)
Odie: Oh… (He turns around) Huh? (With Odie’s back turned, Nimbus teleports himself and his can of marshmallows back onto his UFO)
Nimbus: Farewell! (He waves Odie good-bye)
Odie: Bye-bye! (He also waves) Mutters (Despite being given an infinite cookie, he slowly trudges back home, looking sad)
(Elsewhere in the galaxy, Nimbus has second thoughts while chewing on marshmallows)
Nimbus: Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have given him that cookie. Might it not have an unpredictable effect on an Earth dog? Nah! (He pulls a lever and zooms off into space)
(The next morning, as cars drive by the house, Garfield snoozes on his chair with Pooky as Odie trots up from the hallway. The pup wakes up the sleeping cat by licking his head)
Odie: Slurp! Slurp!
Garfield: (angrily) Ooh! (He tries to sleep through it, but Odie’s persistence and annoyance is too much. The pup starts panting) Oh! Oh! The most unpleasant invention in the history of mankind:
Odie: Mm-hmm! (he nods his head)
Garfield: (continuing) the doggy tongue alarm clock! Go annoy Jon! (He shoos Odie away and rolls over on his side)
Odie: Whimpers (Discouraged, he trots toward the kitchen, where Jon and Liz are talking. Jon reads a magazine)
Jon: It says here that the longer you have pets, the more you begin to take after them. (Liz sips her tea)
Liz: That’s a theory some doctors have. It’s not true. (Behind her, Odie enters the kitchen)
Jon: Hi Odie! (Odie tickles Jon’s face)
Odie: Slurp! Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
Jon: Laughs I’m happy to see you too, fella!
Liz: I have some literature out of my car about this idea of owners taking on the characteristics of their pets, I'll be right back with it. (She gets up and leaves for her car. Jon starts to wonder)
Jon: Gee, if I start acting like my pets, I hope I take after Odie and not Garfield. Chuckle I don’t think I could eat all that lasagn- (He interrupts himself and starts acting like Odie) Bark! Bark! (He gets off the chair and starts walking on his hands and knees) Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Pant (He crawls to Garfield’s chair and slurps him) Slurp! (Garfield cracks his eyes open, not seeing fully and understandably assuming it’s his pooch pal)
Garfield: Odie, get this through that thick doggy skull of yours, I told you to leave me alone! (He dozes off again. Jon leaves, but not for long. He reappears with a stick in his mouth)
Jon: Pants Whimpers
Garfield: (wagging his finger at Jon) No, Jon, I will not throw the stick so you can fetch it. (He returns to his nap)
Jon: Pants Whimpers (Garfield’s eyes peek open again, and he realizes what he just said. He looks up at Jon, who eventually crawls away. Garfield extends his arm toward him, befuddled)
Garfield: Huh?
(Later, Liz walks back into the kitchen with the article in hand)
Liz: I found the article, Jon. It says “pet owners rarely act like their animals”. (After saying this, she sees Jon eating out of a food bowl)
Jon: Pants (He turns around and crawls up to Liz) Bark! Bark! Pants Bark! Pants
Liz: Jon? (Jon stands on Liz and slurps her face, just like a dog would) Oh! Ew! (Garfield enters the kitchen)
Garfield: I think he wants you to rub his belly. (He says this as Jon lies on his back asking for a tummy rub like a dog)
Liz: Jon, this isn’t funny! This is… (Before Liz can chastise Jon, she too starts barking and growling) Bark! (She gets down on all fours and behaves like a dog) Bark! Grr Bark! Bark! Bark!
Garfield: Ahem. (The doorbell rings. Since the humans are acting like dogs, Garfield goes to answer it) Why do I have the feeling that whoever this is is gonna make things WORSE? (He opens the door and steps outside, looking sour. Herman Post has a letter for the fat cat’s owner)
Herman Post: I have a registered letter here for Mr. Ar… (Before he can finish, Odie leaps on his back and gives him his best doggy greeting) Ah!
Odie: Slurp! Slurp!
Herman Post: Stop it, Odie, you shouldn’t… (Just like the others, he starts crawling and acting dog-like) Bark! (He crawls away as the pets watch)
Garfield: For some reason, the mailman has gone out to bite mailmen. (He puts a paw to his mouth, calling for the pooch, who trots up soon after) Odie, somehow I have the idea you’re responsible for this! (He points at the canine)
Odie: Gasp! Mutter (He is confused by Garfield’s accusation. However, being the harmless hound he is, he gives the Tubby Tabby some affectionate slurps) Slurp! Slurp! (Garfield puts his paws up in protest)
Garfield: Grunt! Grunt! Grunt! I have to figure out what’s happening. I’d better go to the one place (He points down) where you can find out anything you want to know about anything: the internet. (He points up and runs upstairs)
(In Jon’s office, Garfield types on the computer’s keyboard)
Garfield: I’ll do a search for “silly cartoonists acting like sillier dog”.
(Downstairs, Jon and Liz are chasing a ball around the house as Odie watches from Garfield’s chair)
Jon: Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!
Odie: Huh? (He looks at the camera and blinks)
(Back upstairs, Garfield scans the screen)
Garfield: I found a chat room with people who watch this cartoon! (He reads a comment) “Garfield doesn’t know that Odie’s slurps transmit alien dog disease LOL”. So THAT’S it! (He leans forward and reads another comment) “Garfield reading our online chat to figure out what’s going on”. “Away from keyboard”. (Well, now I know why the abbreviation for someone not responding in a game is AFK and not AFC, away from controller. That fun fact out of the way, Garfield pushes the rolling chair away from Jon’s desk, happy to have found the cause) Laughs (He rolls back into the camera’s view) By the way, OdieFan99, you misspelled my name. “I” before “E”. (He winks. For the record, that is not me, though this made-up internet user has good taste) Laugh (He pushed the chair out of the office and runs downstairs) If their slurps pass on this doggy thing to others, I’d better keep them all in the house. (He runs through the hall into the living room) Wonder where I can get a flea collar that fits Jon. (He looks around, but neither humans nor dog can be found. He turns around, and the open door creaks behind him) They got away! Nervous chuckle (Panicked, he runs into the kitchen, grabs a sack, and sprints out the front door and into the city) I have to stop them before it’s too late! (He sees a man scratching his ear with his foot. He screeches to a halt) Huh? It’s too late.
Insurance Man: Grrr! (Garfield cautiously tries scooting around him)
Garfield: Down, boy! You’re not a dog, you’re Jon’s insurance man! (The man snaps at Garfield) Yah!
Insurance Man: Snarl! (The frightened feline bolts down the street, the man in hot pursuit)
Garfield: He was like this the time Jon filed a claim, too! EEEEEYOW! (He takes a hard right at a corner and eventually finds himself up a tree on the beach, with the insurance man below him. The Flabby Tabby reaches into his bag and pulls out a bone too distract him. It works to perfection. The man grabs the bone and shakes his head, chewing it. Garfield hops down and pets the man’s head) There there, good insurance man, good boy! But I’m really too late!
(In the street, many other people are behaving like dogs, intimidating Harry, who is innocently standing at a corner leaning against a light pole)
Harry: Whoa! BAAHHRRRAUUGH!! (Several people chase the stray)
Garfield: Looks like an emergency! (He takes off for town) Maybe the GOVERNOR can do something!
(On the steps of City Hall–presumably–the governor makes a speech about why he should be reelected)
Governor: If I’m reelected, I promise I will rid the city of all the stray animals that are roaming our streets! (Herman Post crawls up and licks him a couple of times. The governor wipes the spit off his face and resumes his speech) Why, you see how much the government employees love me? They even lick my face, which… (not surprisingly, he starts growling and barking a speech) Growl! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! (At the foot of the stairs, TV anchor people, a cameraman, and some bystanders watch in stunned surprise)
Anchorwoman: You know, that’s the most intelligent speech he’s given in eight years.
(Somehow, Garfield managed to catch up with Odie and the two discuss what’s happening in the park. Garfield sits on the edge of the fountain and his pooch pal stands in front of him)
Garfield: Look, I know you don’t do this very often, but THINK! (He points at Odie) Did anything unusual happen to you lately? (Odie racks his brain)
Odie: Hmm… (He recalls what happened the day prior as a fitness freak crawls behind him) mutters
Garfield: Our friend from outer space came and gave you a weird cookie?
Odie: Mm-hmm. Right. (He nods)
Garfield: (panicked) Earth is doomed! Nimbus is probably a bajillion miles from here now! I’ll never be able to find him and get him to undo this! (At that moment, Nimbus appears next to him)
Nimbus: Greetings, Garfield.
Garfield: Yowl! (Surprised, the fat feline falls into the fountain)
Odie: Huh? (Nimbus hops on the fountain’s edge to speak with Garfield, who shakes his soaked head)
Garfield: Nimbus?
Nimbus: I was worried what effect that doggy treat would have on Odie, (Garfield stands upright) so I came to check on him. But I see he’s fine, so I'll be on my way! (He presses a button on his spacesuit. He teleports into his ship before the pets’ eyes)
Garfield: Wha-?
Odie: Hmm. (Once inside, Nimbus pulls some levers and prepares to take off. Garfield runs out of the fountain’s pool and tries to stop him)
Garfield: No, wait, no! Don’t go. (A moment before Nimbus leaves, Garfield leaps onto the UFO and holds on for dear life) WHOAAAAAA! (Over the buildings the alien flies. Garfield rounds the cockpit and bangs on the glass to get Nimbus’s attention) Let me in! Let me in! (Nimbus looks at him and lets him in) Don’t you know what’s going on all over our city? Take a look! (The alien does so. He hops off his seat and presses a button, playing a clip of the Anchorwoman on the news interviewing the Anchorman)
Anchorwoman: What do you make of these reports that a strange epidemic is turning every human being on this planet into a dog?
Anchorman: Bark! Bark! Pant (Nimbus stares in shock) Bark Bark!
Anchorwoman: In other news, (The alien and cat look at each other) city firemen report long lines at most hydrants. (Eww…)
Garfield: (angrily) It all started with Odie and that COOKIE you gave him!
Nimbus: (regretfully) I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. There’s no antidote. (He “parks” his spacecraft over the park and beams himself and Garfield onto a bench) Every person and animal on Earth will soon be a dog once someone licks them!
Garfield: Gasp!
Nimbus: (continuing) Even you.
Garfield: (shaking his head) This is terrible. Wait, I've been licked today by Odie, many times, and-and I’m still me.
Nimbus: If YOU haven’t been infected, that might mean cats are immune. Quick, stick out your tongue! (Nimbus pulls out a Q-tip and narrow test tube. Garfield complies and sticks his tongue out) I need a sample of your saliva to create an antidote! (He takes the sample and beams the two of them back into his ship) I’ve sampled your cat spit and synthesized a breakdown of its molecular structure.
Garfield: (addressing the audience) You folks in the chat rooms probably understand this. (Nimbus presses some buttons on his dashboard and his alien technology collects the sample. Garfield steps close) Sigh (Buttons flash different colors nearby and the computer says…)
Computer: Antidote successfully created.
Nimbus: Great! Now, we have to spray this all over EVERYONE who’s been licked!
Garfield: Chuckle (He smiles and gives the viewers a thumbs-up. On the bottom of the ship, a large spray can pops out)
Computer: Begin spraying antidote. (Nimbus pilots his ship over the streets of the city, spraying everyone with a green mist as he goes. Instantly, everyone stops crawling on all fours and returns to normal)
Jon’s Insurance Man: Whoa! I-I don’t know what happened. I just… (Nimbus repeats this a few more times. Each time works to perfection)
Man: And then I went over to get an extra can of milk…
Angelica: Anything like that before. Did you…
Mrs. Shmidlap: I don’t know. It’s terrible! (Garfield watches from inside the ship, putting his paws on the glass bubble)
Garfield: Laughs (He points out Jon and Liz–who both have chains of sausage in their mouths–and Nimbus swerves over to help)
Jon and Liz: (after returning to normal) Huh? (They look at each other)
(Elsewhere, Herman Post sleeps in a doghouse before he gets sprayed)
Herman Post: Wait a moment, huh? What is absolutely…
Computer: Antidote successful. All humans have been decontaminated.
Nimbus: One more thing I must take care of. (Garfield turns to him and blinks twice)
(Later, in front of Jon’s house, Odie has dug up his treat and hands it back to Nimbus. Garfield stands next to them)
Garfield: Chuckle
Nimbus: Sorry, Odie, but you can’t keep the forever doggy cookie. It would create another contagion.
Odie: Huh? Moan.
Nimbus: But, you can have these instead! (He pulls out a bag of marshmallows)
Odie: Bark! (He grabs it and plops it into his now empty hole)
Garfield: How does a forever doggy cookie work? (He points at it)
Nimbus: Oh, like this: you take a bite, (he bites it) and then the cookie restores itself. (which is exactly what happens) Then you take another bite, and the cookie restores itself. (which happens again)
Garfield: (hopefully) They wouldn’t happen to make…
Nimbus: Nope. There is no forever kitty lasagna.
Garfield: Rats!
Nimbus: Farewell again, my friends! (He pushes a button on his suit, teleporting himself back into his ship and flies away. The cat and dog pair watch)
Garfield: Sigh
Odie: Moan (They both head inside)
Garfield: C’mon, Odie, let's go eat! (Nimbus soars back to space. As Garfield and Odie enter the living room, they are both caught off-guard by Jon, and the strange thing he’s doing) Wha-?
Odie: Huh? (Jon is sitting at the table eating out of Odie’s bowl with a fork)
Jon: I know it’s weird, guys, (he eats another fork-ful) but I have this craving for Odie’s dog food. (He scratches behind his ear like a dog)
Garfield: (with Odie panting next to him) Nimbus said it might take a while to wear off for some people.
Odie: (after retracting his tongue) Mutters
Garfield: (pointing at his canine companion) Well, until it does, I guess YOU have to walk HIM for a change. (He walks forward. Odie stands still, confused about the concept of walking his owner. Isn’t that how it usually works? The dog walks the owner, especially if the dog is energetic and/or sees a squirrel)
Odie: Huh? (He looks at the audience and tilts his head as the episode comes to a close)
THE END