The Cactus Saga

Overview

Transcript

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The Cactus Saga
Airdate	October 20, 1990
Writer	Mark Evanier Sharman DiVono
Next	D.J. Jon
Previous	The Legal Eagle

The Cactus Saga is an episode from the third season of Garfield and Friends.    

Synopsis

Cactus Jake explains where he got his nickname in a story involving his grandfather Jack and a familiar looking feline known as The Lasagna Kid.

Plot

At the Polecat Flats saloon, Jon tries to woo a cowgirl eating a hamburger, claiming that "he would make a good catch", which results in her comparing him to a rainbow trout. Cactus Jake enters the saloon, followed by Garfield dressed in a 20-gallon cowboy hat, leather chaps and a green polka-dot bandanna. The moving door hits Garfield in the back, sending him flying directly at group of cacti planted inside the saloon. Cactus Jake breaks his fall just in time.

Jon asks Cactus Jake how he got his nickname - as a response, the foreman of Polecat Flats explains the family story about his ancestor, Cactus Jack, who was a sheriff in a town. The sheriff had a feline deputy resembling Garfield, known as "The Lasagna Kid" for riding a horse with an allergy to cat fur, dueling in saloons in eating, especially at the Short Branch Cafe.

Following Cactus Jake's story, there was a woman capable of reaching The Lasagna Kid's heart through meals - her name was Miss Kitty. The sheriff's deputy liked to show her tricks with shoveling food and Kitty found that impressive.

One day, bandits called the Leibkovitz brothers robbed a bank and took Miss Kitty with themselves, which caused Cactus Jack and The Lasagna Kid to make an intervention. After a short pursuit, the law bringers reached the outlaws on top of a mountain. Despite the bandits outnumbering the sheriff, they were defeated when The Lasagna Kid's horse sneezed due to his allergy to cat fur. Miss Kitty was saved just before the rocks pinned down the Leibkovitz brothers with their robbed money, causing them to surrender. Unfortunately, Cactus Jack fell from the mountain and landed on cacti planted on the ground, which injured him.

When Miss Kitty asked the Lasagna Kid, how she could show her gratitude for being saved, he asked her for lasagna, making her disappointed. Having brought her back to Short Branch Cafe, the sheriff had to visit a doctor, who removed the needles from his body and suggested the nickname "Cactus Jack".

Back in the present, barbecue ribs are served and Garfield shows that he is the fastest rib-eater in the Wild West.

Characters

Major Characters

• Garfield
• Jon Arbuckle
• The Lasagna Kid
• Cactus Jack (voiced by Pat Buttram)
• Horse (voiced by Frank Welker)

Minor Characters

• Cactus Jake
• Miss Kitty
• The Leibkovitz Brothers
• Cowgirl (voiced by Sharman DiVono)
• Stranger (voiced by Thom Huge)
• Cowboy (voiced by Jim Davis)
• Doctor (voiced by Gregg Berger)

Trivia

• This is the first episode featuring Garfield as The Lasagna Kid. He wears a black Plainsman hat with matching vest, sheriff star and two holsters for cutlery.
• This episode's plot is similar to The Life and Times of the Lasagna Kid.

Cultural References

• The Leibkovitz brothers may be based on the Dalton brothers, a family gang notorious in the Wild West during the late 19th Century.

Gallery

The episode gallery can be seen here.

Garfield and Friends

Episodes Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 "Peace & Quiet / Wanted: Wade / Garfield Goes Hawaiian" • "Box O' Fun / Unidentified Flying Orson / School Daze" • "Nighty Nightmare / Banana Nose / Ode to Odie" • "Fraidy Cat / Shell Shocked Sheldon / Nothing To Sneeze At" • "Garfield's Moving Experience / Wade: You're Afraid / Good Mousekeeping" • "Identity Crisis / The Bad Sport / Up a Tree" • "Weighty Problem / The Worm Turns / Good Cat Bad Cat" • "Cabin Fever / Return of Power Pig / Fair Exchange" • "The Binky Show / Keeping Cool / Don't Move!" • "Magic Mutt / Short Story / Monday Misery" • "Best of Breed / National Tapioca Pudding Day / All About Odie" • "Caped Avenger / Shy Fly Guy / Green Thumbs Down" • "Forget Me Not / I Like Having You Around! / Sales Resistance" "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" "Skyway Robbery / The Bunny Rabbits is Coming! / Close Encounters of the Garfield Kind" • "Astrocat / Cock-A-Doodle Duel / Cinderella Cat" • "Ship Shape / Barn of Fear II / Break a Leg" • "Twice Told Tale / Orson Goes On Vacation / Wedding Bell Blues" • "Clean Sweep / Secrets of the Animated Cartoon / How the West was Lost" • "Binky Gets Cancelled Again! / Orson's Diner / Flat Tired" • "Return of the Buddy Bears / Much Ado About Lanolin / Reigning Cats and Dogs" • "Fit for a King / Ben Hog / Dessert in the Desert" • "Hound of the Arbuckles / Read Alert / Urban Arbuckle" • "Odielocks and the Three Cats / Quack to the Future / Beddy Buy" • "Count Lasagna / Mystery Guest / Rodent Rampage" • "The Feline Felon / The Legal Eagle / The Cactus Saga" • "D.J. Jon / Cornfinger / Five Minute Warning" • "Wonderful World / The Orson Awards / The Garfield Workout" • "All Things Fat and Small / Robin Hog / Hare Replacement" • "Stick to It / Orson in Wonderland / For Cats Only" • "Mistakes Will Happen / The Well Dweller / The Wise Man" • "Star Struck / Election Daze / Dirty Business" "Moo Cow Mutt / Big Bad Buddy Bird / Angel Puss" • "Trial & Error / An Egg-Citing Story / Supermarket Mania" • "The Legend of Cactus Jupiter / Birthday Boy Roy / Jukebox Jon" • "Squeak Previews / Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Wade / A Tall Tale" • "Frankenstein Feline / Weatherman Wade / Fill-in Feline" • "Polar Pussycat / Over the Rainbow / Remote Possibilities" • "Night of the Living Laundromat / Fast Food / Cash and Carry" • "Speed Trap / Flights of Fantasy / Castaway Cat" • "Mind Over Matter / Orson at the Bat / The Multiple-Choice Cartoon" • "Galactic Gamesman Garfield / Sly Spy Guy / The Thing That Stayed Forever" • "Bouncing Baby Blues / The Ugly Duckling / Learning Lessons" • "Robodie II / For Butter or Worse / Annoying Things" • "Guaranteed Trouble / Fan Clubbing / A Jarring Experience" • "The Idol of Id / Bedtime Story Blues / Mama Manicotti" • "The Pizza Patrol / The Son Also Rises / Rolling Romance" • "The Automated, Animated Adventure / It's a Wonderful Wade / Truckin' Odie" "Home Away From Home / Rainy Day Robot / Odie the Amazing" • "Taste Makes Waist / The Wolf Who Cried Boy / Day Of Doom" • "Home Sweet Swindler / Forget-Me-Not Newton / The Great Inventor" • "Country Cousin / The Name Game / The Carnival Curse" • "The First Annual Garfield Watchers Test / Stark Raven Mad / The Record Breaker" • "Renewed Terror / Badtime Story / Tooth or Dare" • "The Kitty Council / The Bo Show / Bad Neighbor Policy" • "Canvas Back Cat / Make Believe Moon / The Creature That Lived In The Refrigerator, Behind the Mayonnaise, Next to the Ketchup and to the Left of the Cole Slaw" • "Dummy Of Danger / Sooner or Later / Jumping Jon" • "Cute for Loot / The Caverns of Cocoa / Dream Date" • "The Worst Pizza in the History of Mankind / Jack II - The Rest of the Story / The Garfield Opera" • "Airborne Odie / Once Upon a Time Warp / Bride and Broom" • "The Cartoon Cat Conspiracy / Who Done It? / The Picnic Panic" • "Sound Judgment / Gross Encounters / The Perils of Penelope" • "Ghost of a Chance / Roy Gets Sacked / Revenge of the Living Lunch!" • "Super Sonic Seymour / A Mildly Mental Mix-Up / The Garfield Rap" "A Vacation From His Senses / The Incredibly Stupid Swamp Monster / Dread Giveaway" • "The Wright Stuff / Orson Express / Safe at Home" • "Jon The Barbarian / Uncle Roy to the Rescue / Kitten and the Council" • "Next Door Nuisance / What's It All About, Wade? / Bigfeetz" • "Canine Conspiracy / Snow Wade and the 77 Dwarfs Part 1 / The Genuine Article" • "The Best Policy / Snow Wade and the 77 Dwarfs Part 2 / Fishy Feline" • "The Pie-Eyed Piper / Fine Feathered Funny Man / Sweet Tweet Treat" • "The Floyd Story / How Now, Stolen Cow? / The Second Penelope Episode" • "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse / Payday Mayday / How to Drive Humans Crazy" • "Date of Disaster / A Little Time Off / The Longest Doze" • "Stairway to Stardom / Return of The Incredibly Stupid Swamp Monster / The Life and Times of the Lasagna Kid" • "Magic, Monsters, and Manicotti / The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere's Duck / Unreal Estate" • "Lost and Foundling / Winter Wonderland / Films and Felines" • "The Garfield Musical / Mind Over Melvin / Madman Meets His Match" • "Knights and Daze / Holiday Happening / Jailbird Jon" • "The Third Penelope Episode / Hare Force / Garfield's Garbage Can and Tin Pan Alley Revue" "The Legend of Jonny Ragweedseed / Grape Expectations Part 1 / Catch As Cats Can't" • "A Matter of Conscience / Grape Expectations Part 2 / Top Ten" • "Change of Mind / Temp Trouble / The Perfect Match" • "My Fair Feline / Double Trouble Talk / Half-Baked Alaska" • "Puss In Hi-Tops / Egg Over Easy Part 1 / The Beast From Beyond" • "Model Behavior / Egg Over Easy Part 2 / Another Ant Episode" • "The Guy of Her Dreams / The Discount of Monte Cristo / The Fairy Dogmother" • "The Stand Up Mouse / Daydream Doctor / Happy Garfield Day" • "Sit on It / Kiddie Korner / Brainwave Broadcast" • "Suburban Jungle / The Thing in the Box / The Feline Philosopher" • "Thoroughly Mixed-Up Mouse / The Old Man of the Mountain / Food Fighter" • "The Jelly Roger / The Farmyard Feline Philosopher / Dogmother 2" • "Alley Katta and the 40 Thieves / If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Alpha Centauri / Clash of the Titans" • "Canned Laughter / Deja Vu / The Man Who Hated Cats" • "The Horror Hostess Part 1 / Newsworthy Wade / The Horror Hostess Part 2" • "Arbuckle the Invincible / The Monster Who Couldn't Scare Anybody / The Ocean Blue"