barking up wrong tree

Up a Tree

[tree]

"Up a Tree" is an episode of Garfield and Friends. It originally aired on October 22, 1988.

Episode recap

Nermal comes by for a visit, and Garfield tries to get rid of her by passing him off as a Mike McAuliffe item to a saleswoman. After Jon stops this, he asks Garfield why he would try to give Nermal away. A fly then buzzes by, and Nermal demonstrates her cuteness to Garfield by trying to bat the fly around. Garfield decides that he can be cute as well, so he takes a fly swatter and violently chases after the fly while knocking things over. Jon finally puts him outside.

Garfield tells himself that being cute is no big deal as he walks past a tree. He is determined not to climb the tree, but he soon finds himself high up on a branch. He initially plans to climb out of the tree, but after realizes how difficult that would be, he decides to wait for someone to come along and rescue him.

Hours go by, and no one comes to his aid. Nermal finally comes out and asks why he’s up in the tree. Garfield tells Nermal that sitting in a tree is cute; Nermal is sitting next to him within seconds. Garfield is pleased because he figures that two cats stuck in a tree will get rescue there twice as fast, and sure enough, worried spectators soon show up. A firefighter then puts a ladder up and climbs up to the branch that Garfield and Nermal are on, but he only rescues Nermal and leaves. All the spectators leave as well.

Jon finally comes out and puts up a ladder, and he climbs up to rescue Garfield. Garfield is initially relieved, but he becomes infuriated when Jon tells him that he had been watching him sitting in the tree all day. Then Jon sits on the branch and details all the cute things Nermal had done all day. Garfield walks past him and down the ladder; then he takes the ladder away and goes into the house. He finds Nermal and tells him that Jon thinks it’s cute when a kitten sits on top of the television and behaves like an antenna. Nermal quickly jumps on top of the TV and places the antenna on her head; it isn’t until she is standing in an uncomfortable position that Garfield tells her that he’s helping broadcast a good television picture. Meanwhile, Jon continues sitting on the branch well into the night, pleading that he thinks Garfield is cute in the hopes that he’ll bring the ladder back.

Notes

This episode marks the second time that a subtle reference is made to Beatrice Arthur.
Odie does not appear in this episode.

Goofs

In the picture of Odie on the mantel, his ears are yellow.
When Garfield takes the eggs out of the nest, they appear gray.

Quotes

Jon: Oh, Garfield, we have a visitor.
Garfield: Don’t tell me it’s Nermal.
Jon: It’s Nermal. [Holds Nermal out]
Garfield: I asked you not to tell me that.

Jon: I can’t believe you’d try to give Nermal away!
Garfield: Well, who’s gonna pay for something like that?

Garfield: [The Binky Show] is a 16-hour telethon to raise money to stamp out 16-hour telethons.