June 23-29 Cat Week: Cats! They’re earth’s funniest creatures (sorry chimps, you’re psychos).

Based on the 1984 book, Jim Davis decided to show us all the past lives of Garfield — the one we know is life eight — and also depress us along the way. The book has Vikings, a dinosaur Odie and even a version where he goes primal and kills his elderly owner. On November 22, 1988, this CBS special adapted six of the stories from the book — “Babes and Bullets,” which is also from that book, was its own special — and added a few new stories.

Did you know Garfield was Handel’s cat and that he invented jazz? That he was a stunt cat for Krazy Kat and died when bricks crushed him? Or, if we’re to believe the last story, is Garfield Himself God?

This also has the saddest story ever, Diana’s Piano, all about a young girl who has a cat for her whole life, and it dies. Why is this in a child’s cartoon? Why did I put myself through it when I haven’t gotten past the loss of my best friend, Andy the cat?

However, we do learn how Odie once saved Garfield’s life and discover that someday, a very old Garfield will have children, so that’s kind of cool.

I know that Garfield is a very commercialized character, but I love him. Kennywood here in Pittsburgh used to have a dark ride — a water one, no less — that had Garfield in it, and everyone hated it. They hated it because it went on for years past, and no one cared about Garfield, and people wanted it to be the Old Mill again. Those people are losers. This was an entire ride where you were in Garfield’s head, and I would ride it again and again, yelling things out in Garfield’s voice. I loved it so much that the cover of my writer’s sample book was a picture of me waiting in line to ride it again. I love that Garfield hates human beings so much, that he despises Mondays, and that he loves human food. He is very much an honest cat, one that feels real. People love hi,m and he doesn’t need them.

You can watch this on Tubi.