"The Flintstones" (1960) TV series 1960-1966

Writers:

Joseph Barbera (writer)
Herbert Finn (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

30 September 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Comedy

Plot:

The misadventures of a modern stone-age family and friends.

Plot Keywords:

The Flintstones | Theremin | Suspend Disbelief | Cartoon Dinosaur | Dinosaur As Dog

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jean Vander Pyl	...	Wilma Flintstone / ... (167 episodes, 1959-1966)
Alan Reed	...	Fred Flintstone (166 episodes, 1960-1966)
Mel Blanc	...	Barney Rubble / ... (166 episodes, 1960-1966)
Bea Benaderet	...	Betty Rubble / ... (161 episodes, 1960-1966)
John Stephenson	...	Mr. Nate Slate / ... (74 episodes, 1960-1966)

Also Known As:

The Flagstones (USA) (working title)
The Gladstones (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (166 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Ontario/Quebec) (video rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (some episodes) | UK:U (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | USA:TV-G | Brazil:Livre

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Trivia:

To capitalize on the then-current craze of "ghoul comedies" such as "The Addams Family" (1964) and "The Munsters" (1964), the Gruesomes (Weirdly, his wife Creepella and their son Gobby) were introduced in the fifth season as the Flintstones' new neighbors. But they only appeared in two episodes.

Goofs:

Continuity: Fred and Barney's boss's name keeps changing from George Slate to George Granite and back throughout the first season.

Quotes:

Barney Rubble: [Fred has just fallen down after taking a swing at Barney] Whale on the beach! Whale on the beach!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Married with Children: High I.Q. (#6.20)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Freddy, Freddy, Freddy (Freddy's Love Theme)

A historic cartoon show that broke many boundaries including being the first to air over a hundred episodes.

Fred Flintstone, the gruff but also lovable working class stiff was introduced to audiences everywhere in the 60's. His wife Wilma and his neighbours Betty and Barney Rubble were the most loyal and helpful people in his life and Fred took advantage of that in every way he could.

Although what I have just written makes Fred look like the ultimate beast you couldn't write a character like this without him having redeemable qualities as well. So Fred is also trustworthy when Wilma tells him to and works hard to give her things she so desperately craves eg. glamorous clothes though the most times she has to return them.

As the series evolved so did the characters so Fred, Wilma, Betty and Barney all became parents. Pebbles, Fred and Wilma's daughter were the pride and joy of Fred and he became a babbling softy when he became her father. Barney stayed himself and Betty and Wilma didn't change all that much either. There was one major difference in Wilma's character. She didn't put up with so much anymore. She wasn't just a spectator anymore. She tried to become something other than a housewife and Fred didn't like it one bit at first, but those were the breaks and he had to.

I think the earliest episodes of the Flintstones were the best but not because the character of Fred was more mean spirited and chauvinistic (a caveman if you will) but when Betty got a new voice (Gerry Johnson) she lost all appeal. She sounded like a boob (no pun intended) and Barney got pushed into the background. The early episode saw Betty and Barney actually standing up to Fred on a number of occasions and that was the morale of the show that you couldn't let Fred get away with his selfishness all the time.

I will not compare this show to the other more successful show the Simpsons of today because I think they are in entirely different leagues. The Simpsons are at times so out there where as the Flintstones is for the most part totally believable except for the stone age setting. So both have merit and they should be judged entirely on their own terms.