Compilation DVDs are nothing new to the world and we've seen it countless times for many TV shows. When it comes to these discs the audience is usually split between those who already own the complete seasons, those who want them, or those who just don't care. As you can imagine that makes it difficult for one of these releases to find success in the marketplace. It's basically up to the consumer who isn't serious about getting the whole set to pick it up. Such is the fate of Garfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes.

When I first heard about Behind the Scenes I thought that it was another release of some of the older TV specials. It's not clearly marked on the case but the fact that it has "Garfield and Friends" and "hand-picked by creator Jim Davis" in the summary on the back is a dead give away. Garfield fans with the complete show need to read carefully before buying because this disc has nothing that hasn't come out already.

There is no real method to the manner with which these episodes are slapped onto the disc. Sadly I actually use the word "episode" rather lightly to describe the content on this release. If you've ever seen Garfield and Friends then you already know that those episodes were broken up into smaller segments that lasted about seven to eight minutes. Behind the Scenes is merely a collection of fifteen clips involving everyone's favorite fat cat. That means for better or worse the content here is short and sweet.

While the disc itself promises over two hours of fun the fact that the opening and closing animations are included with each segment really kills the experience. It's almost like the DVD is teasing you for not owning the complete collection of Garfield and Friends because roughly 20% of the run time for each of these clips is theme songs. This makes Behind the Scenes feel shallow despite the fact that many of these bits are quite entertaining.

"How to Drive Humans Crazy" has always been a favorite of mine because it features Garfield teaching kittens how to do things that drive us mad. You know, stuff like tearing up the furniture and refusing to eat cat food that was purchased for a discounted price. "Canned Laughter" was another good mini-episode that told a story about John's weak sense of humor. It's so weak in fact that he decides to build a comedy robot out of a refrigerator. Naturally since John is a buffoon the robot goes crazy and tries to kill everybody; luckily Garfield is smart enough to stop it.

Other favorites of mine from this disc include "The Multiple Choice Cartoon", "Annoying Things", and "How to be Funny". To be honest there really isn't a bad episode on this DVD. This is great content from a good television show but it's presented in such a manner that makes buying the release almost pointless.

If you're a fan of Garfield and Friends you want to buy the complete seasons, not a sample of what the show had to offer. The fact that the opening and closing theme songs are included also doesn't help matters because you have to watch them with each segment. It kills the flow and overall point of having a collection like this. In the end Behind the Scenes in no way lives up to its namesake and despite the quality of the episodes here there are not a lot of reasons to buy this release.

The image quality here is no better or worse than the transfer for Garfield and Friends. It features essentially the same work that was done for the show since these episodes were merely taken and pasted here. The image is very sharp, clean and vibrant, but there are a couple of flaws that pop up on the set. The video includes lots of grain, color degradation, and even some speckle here and there. Aliasing is also present though despite each of these faults the image still looks better than old VHS tapes.

Again just like the Garfield and Friends sets Behind the Scenes gets a Dolby Digital Mono track for both English and Spanish. It sounds just like you'd expect a mono track to with limited range and somewhat muffled features. While the video seems to have gotten some treatment the audio appears to have been sadly left to fend for itself. English and Spanish subtitles are also included.

No extra features make the cut here. For a disc entitled "Behind the Scenes" you'd think that Fox could have put out a little effort and actually added some behind the scenes stuff. This is yet another reason why this release is frivolous to the extent of being pointless.

When looking at Behind the Scenes you have to take a lot of things into consideration. The fifteen episodes here are very good; if not in fact some of the best that Garfield and Friends had to offer. Problems arise when you take into account that the complete series has already been released, opening and closing animations are included with each skit, and there is no bonus content. Each of these facts is like an anchor weighing the fat cat down.

Without structure and a personal touch by Jim Davis this disc gets lost in the shuffle. There is no reason to buy the set though some avid viewers could get by with a rental if they are curious about Garfield and Friends.

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