🎃 Put out the oars and surrender yourself to the mercy of the rivers of time as they take us back to Garfield’s terrifying 1985 Halloween special. Jeff Somogyi joins us to celebrate the special that turned a generation into scaredy cats. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

Jim Davis wanted Garfield’s Halloween Adventure to “at least scare 4-year-olds” (The A.V. Club, 2014) 

Samples of the comic book adaptation, “Garfield in Disguise,” from Rotten Ink and Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks, including even creepier drawings of the old man and pirate ghosts. 

The first appearance of Binky the Clown! 

The time a raccoon broke into Jeff’s attic and left a hornet’s nest inside a Nativity scene shepherd. 

Speaking of attics, the Pink Panther advertising Owens Corning fiberglass insulation. 

The Roy Ogle of “Roy Ogle’s roots” was a plant breeder at Clemson. They’re sweet potatoes. 

The black cat pajamas may be a callback to the killer panther from 1984’s “Garfield in the Rough,” another good special to put on if you want to give your kids nightmares. 

Was the ghost of Jon’s grandfather watching all the Christmas festivities in that special? 

C. Lindsay Workman (Old Man) as Garfield’s grandfather in “Garfield on the Town” and God in “Garfield: His 9 Lives.” 

The “double burn” glowing effect used on the ghosts reminds us of the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence of Fantasia. 

We had to ask: Did Garfield and Odie really survive the night, or is everything thereafter really Garfield Minus Garfield? 

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📼 Commercials: 

McDonald’s Halloween Pumpkin Pails (1986) 

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“Garfield’s Halloween Adventure” ©1985 United Feature Syndicate, Inc./Anderson Digital. 

Closing Music: “Witch’s Night Out,” performed by Razoreater, written by Peter Rochon. 
Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.