Product Description
For steadfast and forthright Hank R. Hill ("Not that Hank P. Hill who doesn't pay his Discover Card bill," he clarifies), these are the times that try men's souls: His presidential candidate of choice, George W. Bush, has a limp handshake. His wife, Peggy, and son, Bobby, prefer charcoal grilling to his precious propane. And a new co-worker from Oklahoma is hustling on the side, casting the clueless Hank (voiced by series creator Mike Judge) as her pimp. But the pleasure of
King of the Hill is that we can always count on Hank to do the right thing by his town, his friends, his family, and his country. If he heads for the border to keep niece Luanne (Brittany Murphy) from voting Communist (she likes the candidate's red tie), we know he will turn the car around and make it to the polls with a minute to spare. If he gives Arlen High School's star football player an A so he will be eligible to play in the state tournament, we know he will be moved to stand up for his wife, Peggy (Kathy Najimy), who originally flunked him. And if Alabaster Jones (from Oklahoma City) comes to reclaim his "ho," we can be reassured that Hank will "mack daddy" him down.
King of the Hill's fifth season chronicles another momentous year for Bobby (Pamela Segall), who turns 13, is disgraced, but finds redemption, as the school mascot, and saves the life of a drowning pig at the county fair ("Not this pig, not today!"). Pitiable Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root) continues to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune, as his faithless ex-wife Lenore returns to louse up his budding romance with, yes, former governor Ann Richards (as herself), and he takes in a delinquent who takes advantage of him ("All the books about parenting are by comedians," he laments, "and I never know when they're kidding or when they're serious."). King of the Hill continues to fly under the radar. This three-disc set's only extra is a brief sneak preview of the series' tenth, and final, season. That's seemingly more effort than Fox's cracked marketing team expends on this underappreciated treasure. But check out season 5. When it comes to brilliantly funny character-based comedy, keen social satire, and virtuoso voice work, nobody messes with Texas. --Donald Liebenson
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Another solid season of an excellent show... let's hope the DVDs get better
King of the Hill - The Complete Fifth Season (2000-2001.)
REVIEW:
I was disappointed when Mike Judge stopped doing Beavis and Butt-Head, as were plenty of other people. But, my disappointment was somewhat lifted when I discovered King of the Hill, the new series that he had begun work on. This series combined crew members from The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-Head, truly creating a series that was the best of both worlds. Like many TV shows, this one is now getting season box set reviews. Read on for my comments on the Fifth Season.
OVERVIEW:
King of the Hill's fifth season consists of the following episodes:
85: The Perils of Polling 10/1/2000
Election time is approaching, and Hank finds himself in a crisis over which candidate to choose.
86: The Buck Stops Here 11/5/2000
Bobby gets work as a golf course caddy and gets fired, but is immediately rehired as Buck Strickland's personal caddy.
87: I Don't Want to Wait 11/12/2000
Bobby's thirteenth birthday fast approaches, and with Joseph hitting puberty, the two of them encounter their own identity crises.
88: Spin the Choice 11/19/2000
Hank's plans for the perfect Thanksgiving are shattered when John Redcorn reveals the true nature of the holiday to Bobby.
89: Peggy Makes the Big Leagues 11/26/2000
Peggy becomes an excellent player for the Strickland Propane softball team, but Hank fails to give her the proper recognition.
90: When Cotton Comes Marching Home 12/3/2000
Cotton moves to Arlen, and gets a job in a restaurant - only to find they won't give him Veteran's Day off.
91: What Makes Bobby Run? 12/10/2000
Bobby wins a position as school mascot, but disgraces everyone he knows by running away instead of taking the ceremonial beating mascots are supposed to.
92: 'Twas the Nut Before Christmas 12/17/2000
Bill converts his house into a playground for children around the holidays, and dresses up as Santa Claus.
93: Chasing Bobby 1/21/2001
Hank's beloved truck is predicted by a mechanic not to last very much longer.
94: Yankee Hankie 2/4/2001
Hank is in a state of shock when he discovers his actual birthplace is NOT in Texas.
95: Hank and the Great Glass Elevator 2/11/2001
Hank's friends take him to a fancy hotel for his birthday, but he gets them thrown out of the hotel by mooning former Texas governor Ann Richards.
96: Now Who's the Dummy? 2/18/2001
Bobby is given a ventriloquist dummy during a visit to a senior citizen living center.
97: Ho Yeah! 2/25/2001
Hank and Peggy take in a girl who works with Hank at Strickland Propane, not knowing the secrets of her past.
98: The Exterminator 3/4/2001
Dale is forced to give up exterminating when the chemicals of the job make him ill.
99: Luanne Virgin 2.0 3/4/2001
Luanne becomes a born-again virgin, and quickly meets a new boyfriend, much to Peggy's dismay.
100: Hank's Choice 4/1/2001
Bobby is discovered to be allergic to Ladybird, so Hank gives her to Bill.
101: It's Not Easy Being Green 4/8/2001
Hank and the guys protest the draining of a local quarry, because it hides a dark secret from their high school days.
102: The Trouble with Gribbles 4/22/2001
Dale comes up with a rather awkward plan to sue a cigarette company to get Nancy the facelift she desires.
103: Hank's Back Story 5/6/2001
Hank's back condition forces him to wear padding on his rear to compensate for his lack of bone there.
104: Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story 5/13/2001
Bobby sneaks into Arlen High School, and becomes friends with many of the students due to a story he made up about himself.
EPISODES REVIEW:
There's really not much to say. Any fan of King of the Hill knows these are great episodes, and any fan of the series would be making a smart move adding them to their collection. Although I probably wouldn't call this my favorite season overall, the fact of the matter is that they are still great episodes, and any viewer should own them.
DVD REVIEW:
After Season Two, the King of the Hill DVDs took a massive downward turn. Seasons Three and Four featured NO EXTRAS AT ALL. One thing I like about the King of the Hill DVDs is that they give a brief summary of the episode and the original air date in the episode selection screen, but the fact of the matter is that this doesn't compensate for the lack of extras. Let's hope FOX gets their act together for this release, and releases a package that is as good as the First or Second Season boxes.
OVERALL:
Overall, King of the Hill is a damn fine animated sitcom, and the fifth season is really no exception to this rule. If you're a fan of the series, I would strongly recommend buying this set when it comes out.
Season 5 Shows
"THE BUCK STOPS HERE"
Episode KH501
Original Airdate: 11/05/00
Bobby is working for Hank's boss!
"WHEN COTTON COMES MARCHING HOME AGAIN"
Episode KH503
Original Airdate: 11/12/00
It's Veterans' Day in Arlen!
"PEGGY MAKES THE BIG LEAGUES"
Episode KH504
Original Airdate: 11/26/00
Peggy "graduates" to subbing at the high school.
"SPIN THE CHOICE"
Episode KH505
Original Airdate: 11/19/00
Bobby hopes one Thanksgiving will make up for all the white man's sins
"YANKEE HANKIE"
Episode KH506
Original Airdate: 02/04/01
If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere...
"WHAT MAKES BOBBY RUN"
Episode KH507
Original Airdate: 12/10/00
Bobby turns yellow when a middle school tradition turns on him!
"Twas the Nut Before Christmas"
Episode KH508
Original Airdate: 12/17/00
Bill's Christmas cheer doesn't stop with the New Year!
"The Exterminator"
Episode KH509
Original Airdate: 03/04/01
Killing bugs is killing Dale!
"Chasing Bobby"
Episode KH510
Original Airdate: 01/21/01
Hank's gone soft!
"Hank's Choice"
Episode KH511
Original Airdate: 04/01/01
When Bobby discovers he's allergic to Ladybird, Hank must choose between the dog or his son - and it's a tough one
"Hank and the Great Glass Elevator"
Episode KH512
Original Airdate: 02/11/01
"It's a marvelous night for a moon dance..."
"Lupe's Revenge"
Episode KH513
Original Airdate: 05/13/01
During a class field trip to Mexico, Peggy unwittingly smuggles an illegal back into Texas. Guest voice: Kathy Bates
"Now who's the Dummy?"
Episode KH514
Original Airdate: 02/18/01
The show must go on!
"Ho Yeah!"
Episode KH515
Original Airdate: 02/25/01
"The only woman I'm pimping is sweet lady propane!" - Hank
"Luanne Virgin 2.0"
Episode KH516
Original Airdate: 03/11/01
Luanne becomes a born-again virgin, which inspires Peggy to confess a sexual secret
"Hank's Back Story"
Episode KH517
Original Airdate: 05/06/01
Hank's unique health condition threatens his ability to compete in the Durndle County Mower Races
"It's Not Easy Being Green"
Episode KH518
Original Airdate: 04/08/01
Bobby becomes an environmental activist and
unearths Hank's long buried secret
"The Trouble with Gribbles"
Episode KH519
Original Airdate: 04/22/01
Dale fights a big tobacco company and becomes a victim of their hardball tactics
"Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl"
Episode KH522
Original Airdate: 05/13/01
Bobby gets caught up in Arlen High School's quest
to get No Doubt to play their prom
Product Description
Marvel Comics' first family of superherodom, the Fantastic Four, hits the big screen in a light-hearted and funny adventure. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd,
Horatio Hornblower) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help from former schoolmate and rival Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon,
Nip/Tuck) in order to pursue outer-space research into human DNA. Also on the trip are Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis,
The Shield); his former lover, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba,
Dark Angel,
Sin City), who's now Doom's employee and love interest; and her hotshot-pilot brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans,
Cellular). Things don't go as planned, of course, and the quartet becomes blessed--or is it cursed?--with superhuman powers: flexibility, brute strength, invisibility and projecting force fields, and bursting into flame. Meanwhile, Doom himself is undergoing a transformation.
Among the many entries in the comic-book-movie frenzy, Fantastic Four is refreshing because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Characterization isn't too deep, and the action is a bit sparse until the final reel (like most "first" superhero movies, it has to go through the "how did we get these powers and what we will do with them" churn). But it's a good-looking cast, and original comic-book cocreator Stan Lee makes his most significant Marvel-movie cameo yet, in a speaking role as the FF's steadfast postal carrier, Willie Lumpkin. Newcomers to superhero movies might find the idea of a family with flexibility, strength, invisibility, and force fields a retread of The Incredibles, but Pixar's animated film was very much a tribute to the FF and other heroes of the last 40 years. The irony is that while Fantastic Four is an enjoyable B-grade movie, it's the tribute, The Incredibles, that turned out to be a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi
DVD features
The principal extra on the DVD is a spirited commentary track by Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Ioan Gruffudd. Self-avowed FF fan Chiklis explains why the Thing doesn't have a craggy brow, Alba recalls which things were "cool," and they all talk about looking forward to the sequel. There are three short deleted scenes (including a goofy Wolverine reference), 20 minutes of barely watchable hand-held video footage from the press tour, music videos, and some short featurettes including an appearance by FF creator Stan Lee. --David Horiuchi
The Fantastic Four at Amazon.com
Comics and Graphic Novels | 
Disney animated series | 
The classic comic book |
Movie tie-in graphic novel | 
The Xbox game | 
Fantastic Four Soundtrack |
The Fantastic Cast
Stills from Fantastic Four (click for larger images)
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Product Description
Repeated viewings can't dispel the shock of the final scene in this classic 1941 romantic mystery--a brief but disorienting confrontation that suddenly inverts the heroine's mounting conviction that she's married a murderer, forcing us to reconsider virtually every scene and line of dialogue that's preceded it. It's a masterful coup de grace for director Alfred Hitchcock, who has built a puzzle around the corrosive power of suspicion, threaded with deft ambiguities that toy with dramatic conventions and character archetypes in nearly every frame.
As embodied by Joan Fontaine, who nabbed an Oscar in this second outing with the director, Lina McLaidlaw is a buttoned-up, bookish heiress whose prim exterior conceals longings for a more engaged emotional life. Her solution materializes in the darkly handsome Johnnie Aysgarth, a gambler, womanizer, and spendthrift who flirts, then pursues, and soon marries her. As Aysgarth, Cary Grant is both irresistible and sinister, capable of deceit and petty theft, as well as grander designs on his bride's impending fortune. Lina's passion for Johnnie is clouded by each new revelation about his apparent dishonesty, from clandestine gambling to real estate development schemes; more troubling are clues implicating him in the death of his best friend, and the prospect that Johnnie may be slowly poisoning Lina herself. By the time we see him ascending a darkened staircase with a suspicious glass of milk, an image made all the more indelible through the spectral glow the director captures in the glass, the evidence seems damning indeed.
In fact, even as Hitchcock stacks the deck against Johnnie, and takes full advantage of Grant's skill at conveying such menace, the director also dots his landscape with visual clues to Lina's own neurotic (and erotic) obsessions. The final scene forces us to reevaluate her behavior while leaving enough of a cloud over Johnnie to rob him, and us, of a complete exoneration. It's a wicked, unsettling payoff to a brilliantly executed thriller. --Sam Sutherland
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Mel Brooks's directorial debut remains both a career high point and a classic show business farce. Hinging on a crafty plot premise, which in turn unleashes a joyously insane onstage spoof,
The Producers is powered by a clutch of over-the-top performances, capped by the odd couple pairing of the late Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, making his screen debut.
Mostel is Max Bialystock, a gone-to-seed Broadway producer who spends his days wheedling checks from his "investors," elderly women for whom Bialystock is only too willing to provide company. When wide-eyed auditor Leo Bloom (Wilder) comes to check the books, he unwittingly inspires the wild-eyed Max to hatch a sure-fire plan: sell 25,000 percent of his next show, produce a deliberate flop, then abscond with the proceeds. Unfortunately for the producers (but fortunately for us), their candidate for failure is Springtime for Hitler, a Brooksian conceit that envisions what Goebbels might have accomplished with a little help from Busby Berkeley.
Truly startling during its original 1968 release, The Producers does show signs of age in some peripheral scenes that make merry at the expense of gays and women. But the show's nifty cast (notably including the late Dick Shawn as LSD, the space cadet that snags the musical's title role, and Kenneth Mars as the helmeted playwright) clicks throughout, and the sight of Mostel fleecing his marks is irresistibly funny. Add Wilder's literally hysterical Bloom, and it's easy to understand the film's exalted status among late-'60s comedies. --Sam Sutherland
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A powerful study of courage in the face of irrational odds,
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (based on James Michener's novel) is no less patriotic than many other war films, but it dispenses with gung-ho bluster to focus instead on the very real and tragic consequences of war. This is also one of the first films to openly criticize the morality of the Korean War while praising the honor and integrity of the men who fought it. Lt. Harry Brubaker (William Holden) is one of those men, with one difference: A lawyer with a loving wife (Grace Kelly) and two young daughters, he's been recalled to duty from the Navy Reserve, and reluctantly accepts his mission to fly with a bomber-jet squadron over one of the Communists' most heavily protected targets--the strategically vital bridges in the Korean canyon of Toko-Ri.
Brubaker has his own noble protection, from his fellow pilots (including Charles McGraw in a fine supporting role), his admiring admiral (Frederic March), and from the helicopter scouts (Mickey Rooney and Earl Holliman) who've saved his life on previous missions. But his ambivalence--and his fear that the Toko-Ri mission will be his last--is what gives the film its potent emotional impact. Holden is perfect in his role, and director Mark Robson steadfastly avoids any false sentiment or macho theatrics that would diminish the film's devastating climax. The Bridges at Toko-Ri is also a superlative showcase for Naval operations; the aerial sequences earned an Oscar for special effects, and complete Navy cooperation assures total authenticity in the "flat-top" aircraft carrier scenes. For these and other reasons, this will remain a timeless classic for anyone seeking to comprehend the emotional maelstrom of warfare. --Jeff Shannon
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Peter Yates's flag-waving film stands with
To Kill a Mockingbird and
American Graffiti as one of the best films about small-town Americana. Steve Tesich won an Oscar for his semi-biographical screenplay about four 19-year-olds who don't know what to do after high school. Dave Stohler (Dennis Christopher) and his three friends--ex-football star Mike (Dennis Quaid), wily comedian Cyril (Daniel Stern), and tough kid Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley)--are doomed to live in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana, where the local kids (nicknamed "Cutters"--a derogatory reference to quarry workers and their blue-collar families) are looked down on by the uppity students of nearby Indiana University.
Stohler escapes into a world of Italian bicycling, picking up the lingo, the accent, and a good share of the talent of his heroes. He is also the scourge of his father's life. The used-car salesman (Paul Dooley) doesn't understand his son's affection for bicycling or, for that matter, his pride in being a "Cutter."
Breaking Away rehabilitates the word heartwarming as Tesich's uncommonly intelligent script gives us well-rounded characters and a potent sense of place. The grandstanding finale--the real life "Little 500" bike race--gives the film a perfect, crowd-pleasing end. However, the film never sacrifices the development of characters for the action. Dooley is especially effective in one of those once-in-a-lifetime roles. The lifelong character actor's place in film history is established with this indispensable performance. --Doug Thomas
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Charles Spencer Chaplin, the London ragamuffin who became the most popular man of his era, gets his proper due with this deluxe package of four classics. Each two-disc set begins with an excellent new digital transfer of the picture and remastered sound.
The Gold Rush, Chaplin's 1925 masterpiece, puts the Little Tramp into the snowy Yukon; it includes such celebrated sequences as the "Dance of the Rolls" and Chaplin's uncanny metamorphosis into a large chicken. Both the original silent version and Chaplin's re-edited 1942 release (for which he added his own musical score and narration) are included. A documentary on "Chaplin Today" looks at the film through the eyes of Burkina Faso director Idrissa Ouedraogo.
Modern Times (1936) is Chaplin's peerless take on the machine age; his ballet on the assembly line remains one of the great images of modern man driven mad by mechanization. The DVD extras include a couple of (somewhat extraneous) vintage promotional films about the wonderful world of mass production, the famous Chaplin composition "Smile" performed by Liberace (huh?), and penetrating comments on the film by the Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.
The Great Dictator is Chaplin's comic undressing of Hitler, boldly released in 1940. An absorbing documentary, "The Tramp and the Dictator," details production of the film, and color footage shot on the set provides fascinating behind-the-scenes material. Limelight (1952), in which he plays a fading vaudevillian, is Chaplin's magnificent elegy on his own career. Extras include a deleted scene, the entire Oscar-winning score, and Bernardo Bertolucci on the film's emotional impact: "I don't cry often, but here my tears flow." Each film has a loving introduction by Chaplin biographer David Robinson--but newcomers to Chaplin should watch the movies first, as the extras give away endings and the best jokes. --Robert Horton
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My grandfather would be proud...
My grandfather, as big a Chaplin fan as they came, never got over the narrated version of The Gold Rush. It wasn't the narration that bothered him as much as the way that "they had to change the ending." A romantic at heart, he missed the original's softer closing. Every time the film aired on television or was re-released at the theater, he looked for the silent version with the original ending. He never found it. The re-release seemed to be a constant thorn in his side. Sort of like the 1940's version of Greedo shooting first. I hope my grandpa is looking down from above, because the original version of the film is included in this standout DVD collection. If you liked Charlie's light-hearted narration, that version's here too (I think both versions are great). And so are four beautifully restored Charlie Chaplin films. The hilarious Modern Times. The controversial The Great Dictator (Chaplin's first "talkie"). The oftentimes overlooked -- and underrated -- Limelight. And quite possibly the most well-liked film of Chaplin's career, The Gold Rush. There aren't as many outtakes as a Chaplin fan would want, but that's because most were lost or destroyed. The outtakes that are included are as fun as the "little fellow" himself. I'm guessing the films look nearly as good as they did when they were first projected onto the gigantic movie house screens of the 1920s, 30s and 40s. This collection takes you back to the early days of film and reminds you that when most were taking baby steps, Mr. Chaplin was moving cinematic storytelling ahead by leaps and bounds. My grandfather would be proud.
Product Description
This savvy Disney hit from 1969 made a star of a Volkswagen precisely when the car was becoming more popular than ever. Dean Jones and Michele Lee head the cast in a story about a VW bug with a mind of its own. Disney point man Robert Stevenson, director of
The Absent-Minded Professor,
Mary Poppins, and lots of other Disney live-action hits, makes the slapstick work perfectly and keeps the laughs coming. Buddy Hackett is very funny in a supporting role.
The first sequel, Herbie Rides Again (1974), is similar enough to the first film's charm and raucous comedy that it works on its own. Neither Dean Jones nor Michelle Lee are back, but a nice cast of familiar pros (including Disney vet Ken Berry) keeps things moving along slickly. The story finds Herbie helping Helen Hayes--yes, the First Lady of the American Theater--keep out of the clutches of Keenan Wynn's villain.
Dean Jones came back to the fold for this third lap around the block, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), which finds him racing in the famed city while thieves plant a stolen diamond in Herbie's gas tank. The plot is forced and conventional, but the cast is the thing: the excitable Don Knotts (The Apple Dumpling Gang) and the tormentable Roy Kinnear (Mr. Salt from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) are good men to have in a potboiler such as this.
The fourth movie, Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), is a wooden story about Herbie's funny adventures heading toward a race in Brazil. Charles Martin Smith and Steven W. Burns try hard to bring some life into this project, but it just doesn't happen. There is one good laugh in the whole thing, in a scene where Herbie becomes a matador. Otherwise, even the picturesque, south-of-the-border stuff doesn't help. Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman star. --Tom Keogh
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"Learning French has never been so much fun. This wonderful program introduces children to the language using a setting that they can easily relate to and non-intimidating vocabulary. Each lesson includes brief skits with dialogue using the target words. Several of the lessons include upbeat songs that contain the targeted vocabulary and will have children singing along in no time. A comprehensive phrase review and song booklet is included that contains all of the dialogue, translations, and answers to the quizzes. A must-have for every collection." – Veronica Schwartz, School Library Journal
FRENCH FOR KIDS is a DVD and booklet set that makes learning French a fun adventure for your child. Starring native French speakers and 3-D animated characters, FRENCH FOR KIDS teaches basic conversational French within the context of a fantastic children’s birthday party, filled with lively songs, delicious food, and playful games. Pénélope and her adorable French-speaking puppy, "Pezi", introduce practical everyday phrases for meeting and greeting, counting, eating, playing, and much more. • Incorporates Language Tree’s breakthrough Multi-Cognition Approach TM, developed by a Stanford University Cognitive Scientist
• Contains 7 complete lessons on everyday French conversation
• Features DVD interactive games that tests your child’s comprehension of the lessons
• Introduces over 100 practical phrases and vocabulary words
• Lively sing-a-long songs reinforce new words and phrases
• Chapter menu allows quick access to a specific lesson
• Accompanied with a learning booklet so parents can review the lessons together with their children
French not only a beautiful language, but also one of the mostly widely-spoken second languages in the world. Give your child the "Language Advantage" with Language Tree.
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Garfield, the newspaper cartoon strip by Jim Davis, was such a hit when adapted to occasional animated specials on CBS in the 1980s that the network built a Saturday morning series,
Garfield and Friends, around the portly, sardonic cat. The new show, wrapped within its winning programming formula, also proved successful. Episodes of
Garfield and Friends featured two eight-minute stories starring Garfield, the airhead pooch Odie, and their owner, bachelor Jon Arbuckle, that were joined by one short, delightful new cartoon called
U.S. Acres, concerning the misadventures of a group of barnyard animals led by a clever pig called Orson.
Garfield and Friends expanded to an hour by season 2 and lasted seven years; several members of the vocal cast also had leading roles on
U.S. Acres, and both shows attracted such celebrity guests as Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Debra Messing.
As with the CBS specials, Garfield and Friends fortunately found Jim Davis in a hands-on, production capacity. But if the new shorts prove not quite as soulful as those longer, prior productions, they are nonetheless witty, well-written, and spirited. The 24 episodes (48 individual Garfield 'toons in all) included in Garfield and Friends, Volume 1 are full of fresh ideas and good laughs. Among the highlights are "Box o' Fun," in which Garfield proves to have a Snoopy streak when an ordinary cardboard box becomes (courtesy of Garfield's imagination) a vessel for numerous, wild-eyed adventures. In "Nothing to Sneeze At," Liz the veterinarian consents to a mercy date with Jon, only to find Garfield jealously tagging along. The slapstick "Magic Mutt" finds Garfield and a dog dueling in a magic shop, turning one another (and poor Jon) into a variety of animal and human forms. About U.S. Acres: It may take an episode or two to catch on, but once it does, the show proves to have a sweet sophistication similar to Garfield. --Tom Keogh
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