The Flintstones

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The Flintstones is an American animated

sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera for
ABC. The series takes place in a
romanticized Stone Age setting, depicts
the lives of the titular characters and their
next-door neighbors and best friends. It
was originally broadcast from September
30, 1960, to April 1, 1966, in a prime time
schedule, the first such instance for an
animated series.
 The Flintstones

Genre Animated
Sitcom

Created by William Hanna

Joseph Barbera

Directed by William Hanna

Joseph Barbera

Voices of Alan Reed

Jean Vander Pyl
Mel Blanc
Bea Benaderet (1960–
64)
 Gerry Johnson (1964–
66)
Don Messick
John Stephenson
Verna Felton
Doug Young
June Foray
Howard Morris

Theme music Hoyt Curtin[1]

composer

Opening theme "Rise and Shine"

(instrumental) (first two
seasons and the first
two episodes of season
3)
"Meet the Flintstones"
(remainder of the
show's run)
 show s run)

Ending theme "Rise and Shine"

(instrumental) (first two
seasons and the first
two episodes of season
3)
"Meet the Flintstones"
(rest of the show's run)
"Open Up Your Heart
(and Let the Sunshine
In)" (some episodes on
season 6)

Composer(s) Hoyt Curtin

Country of origin United States

Original language(s) English

No. of seasons 6

No. of episodes 166 (list of episodes)

Production
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera

Producer(s) William Hanna

Joseph Barbera

Editor(s) Kenneth Spears

Donald A. Douglas
Joseph Ruby
Warner Leighton
Greg Watson

Running time 25 minutes

Production company(s) Screen Gems

Hanna-Barbera
Productions

Distributor Screen Gems (1966–

1967)
Columbia Pictures
Television (1974–87)[2]
 The Program Exchange
(1987–1994)[3][4]
Turner Program
Services (1995–98)[4]
Warner Bros. Television
Distribution (1998–
present)

Release

Original network ABC

Picture format 480i (4:3 SDTV)

Audio format Monaural

Original release September 30, 1960 –

April 1, 1966

Chronology

Followed by The Pebbles and Bamm-

Bamm Show
The continuing popularity of The
Flintstones rested heavily on its
juxtaposition of modern everyday
concerns in the Stone Age setting.[5][6] The
Flintstones was the most financially
successful network animated franchise for
three decades, until The Simpsons debuted
decades later.[7] In 2013, TV Guide ranked
The Flintstones the second Greatest TV
Cartoon of All Time (after The
Simpsons).[8]

Overview
The show's premise is that it is set in a
comical, satirical version of the "Stone
Age" which, in spite of using primitive
technology, resembles mid-20th century
suburban America. The plots deliberately
resemble the sitcoms of the era, with the
caveman Flintstone and Rubble families
getting into minor conflicts characteristic
of modern life. The show is set in the
Stone Age town of Bedrock (pop. 2500). In
this fantasy version of the past, dinosaurs
and other long-extinct animals co-exist
with cavemen, saber-toothed cats, and
woolly mammoths. Like their mid-20th
century counterparts, these cavemen
listen to records, live in split-level homes,
and eat at restaurants, yet their technology
is made entirely from preindustrial
materials and powered primarily through
the use of animals. For example, the cars
are made out of stone, wood, and animal
skins, and powered by the passengers'
feet.

Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman

considers that the series draws its humor
in part from creative uses of
anachronisms. The main one is the placing
of a "modern", 20th-century society in
prehistory. This society takes inspiration
from the suburban sprawl developed in the
first two decades of the postwar period.
This society has modern home appliances,
but they work by employing animals. They
have automobiles, but they hardly
resemble the cars of the 20th century.
These cars are large wooden structures
and burn no fuel. They are powered by
people who run while inside them. Finally,
the stone houses of this society are
cookie-cutter homes positioned into
typical neighborhoods.[9]

As a running gag, often the "prehistoric"

analog to a modern machine uses an
animal.[10]

Characters
The Flintstones
Fred Flintstone is the main character of
the series. Fred is an accident-prone
bronto-crane operator at the Slate Rock
and Gravel Company and the head of the
Flintstone household. He is quick to
anger (usually over trivial matters), but
is a very loving husband and father. He
is also good at bowling and is a member
of the fictional "Loyal Order of Water
Buffaloes" (Lodge No. 26), a men-only
club paralleling real-life fraternities such
as the Loyal Order of Moose. His
famous catchphrase is "Yabba Dabba
Doo!"
Wilma Flintstone is Fred's wife and
Pebbles' mother. She is more intelligent
and level-headed than her husband,
though she often has a habit of
spending money (with Betty and her
catchphrase being "Da-da-da duh da-da
CHARGE IT!!"). She often is a foil to
Fred's poor behavior.
Pebbles Flintstone is the Flintstones'
infant daughter, who is born near the
end of the third season.
Dino, is the Flintstones' pet dinosaur
that acts like a dog. A running gag in the
series involves Fred coming home from
work and Dino getting excited and
knocking him down and licking his face
repeatedly.
 Baby Puss is the Flintstones' pet saber-
toothed cat, which is rarely seen in the
actual series, but is always seen
throwing Fred out of the house during
the end credits, causing Fred to pound
repeatedly on the front door and yell
"Wilma!", waking the whole
neighborhood in the process.

The Rubbles

Barney Rubble is the secondary main

character and Fred's best friend and
next-door neighbor. His occupation is,
for the most part of the series, unknown,
though later episodes depict him
working in the same quarry as Fred. He
shares many of Fred's interests such as
bowling and golf, and is also a member
of the "Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes".
Though Fred and Barney frequently get
into feuds with one another (usually due
to Fred's short temper), their deep
fraternal bond remains evident.
Betty Rubble is Barney's wife and
Wilma's best friend. Like Wilma, she, too,
is slightly more intelligent than her
husband and has a habit of spending
money.
Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the Rubbles'
preternaturally strong adopted son,
whom they adopt during the fourth
season; his name comes from the only
phrase he ever speaks as a baby:
"Bamm, Bamm!"
Hoppy is the Rubbles' pet hopparoo (a
kangaroo/dinosaur combination
creature), which they purchase in the
beginning of the fifth season. When he
first arrives, Dino and Fred mistake him
for a giant mouse and are frightened of
him, but they eventually become best
friends after Hoppy gets help when their
owners are in an accident. He babysits
the kids as he takes them around in his
pouch, which also serves as a shopping
cart for Betty.
Other characters

Over 100 other characters appeared

throughout the program.[11]

Mr. Slate is Fred and Barney's hot-

tempered boss at the gravel pit. Mr.
Slate fires Fred on several occasions
throughout the series, only to give him
his job back by the end of the episode. A
running gag is Slate's ever-changing first
name, which was revealed to be
Sylvester, Nate, Oscar, and George as
the series progressed. In the episode
"The Long, Long Weekend" which
originally aired on January 21, 1966, he
is shown as being the founder of "Slate
Rock and Gravel Company"; still in
business two million years later, the
company is operated by his descendant,
"George Slate the Eighty-Thousandth".
Note, in the early Flintstones episodes,
the more recognized "Mr. Slate"
character was known as "Mr. Rockhead"
and was a supervisor of Fred's. Mr. Slate
was a short character. During the course
of the cartoon, the two men switched
identities and the shorter character
faded away from existence.
Arnold is the Flintstones' paper boy,
whom Fred absolutely despises, mainly
because Arnold is frequently able to
best and outsmart Fred at a number of
tasks and also because he often
("unintentionally") throws the newspaper
in Fred's face. Arnold's parents are
mentioned in the series, but his mother
Doris, a friend of Wilma and Betty's (as
evidenced in the episode "The Little
Stranger", which originally aired on
November 2, 1962), is referenced in
name only, never actually appearing on
screen. Arnold's father, however, did
appear in the episode "Take Me Out to
the Ball Game", which originally aired on
April 27, 1962, though his name is never
mentioned.
Joe Rockhead is a mutual friend of Fred
and Barney. Usually, when Fred and
Barney have some kind of falling out,
Fred mentions doing something (such
as going to a baseball game) with Joe.
Joe was, at some point, chief of the
Bedrock Volunteer Fire Department (as
shown on the episode "Arthur Quarry's
Dance Class", which originally aired on
January 13, 1961). His appearance
varied throughout the run of the series,
but his appearance in the episode "The
Picnic", which originally aired on
December 15, 1961, was the one most
commonly used.
Pearl Slaghoople is Wilma's hard-to-
please mother, Fred's mother-in-law and
Pebbles' grandmother, who is constantly
disapproving of Fred and his behavior.
Their disastrous first meeting was
recounted in the episode "Bachelor
Daze", which originally aired on March 5,
1964. They briefly reconciled in the
episode "Mother-in-Law's Visit", which
originally aired on February 1, 1963. That
is, until, she found out that she became
Fred's "nice fat pigeon" when he
suckered her out of money that he
needed to buy a baby crib for Pebbles.
They reconciled again at the end of the
TV movie I Yabba Dabba Do.
The Great Gazoo is an alien exiled to
Earth that helps Fred and Barney, often
against their will. He is actually from the
future, and is quite dismayed when he
realizes he has been sent back to "the
Stone Age". He can only be seen by Fred,
Barney, Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, other
small children, Dino, and Hoppy. Gazoo
appeared in the final season only.
Uncle Tex Hardrock is Fred's maternal
uncle and a member of the Texarock
Rangers. He constantly holds Fred's
future inheritance over his head.
Sam Slagheap is the Grand Poobah of
the Water Buffalo Lodge.
Voice actors
Fred Flintstone physically resembles both
the voice actor who played him, Alan Reed,
and Jackie Gleason, whose series, The
Honeymooners, inspired The
Flintstones.[12] The voice of Barney Rubble
was provided by voice actor Mel Blanc,
though five episodes during the second
season (the first, second, fifth, sixth, and
ninth) employed Hanna-Barbera regular
Daws Butler while Blanc was incapacitated
by a near-fatal car accident. Blanc was
able to return to the series much sooner
than expected, by virtue of a temporary
recording studio for the entire cast set up
at Blanc's bedside. Blanc's portrayal of
Barney had changed considerably after the
accident. In the earliest episodes, Blanc
had used a much higher pitch to the point
of portraying Barney as a smart-aleck.
After his recovery from the accident, Blanc
used a deeper voice, quite similar to the
voice of the Abominable Snowman he
performed in other cartoons, and was
shown as somewhat dopier than before.

Reed based Fred's voice upon Gleason's

Honeymooners interpretation of Ralph
Kramden, while Blanc, after a season of
using a nasal, high-pitched voice for
Barney, eventually adopted a style of voice
similar to that used by Art Carney in his
portrayal of Ed Norton. The first time the
Art Carney-like voice was used was for a
few seconds in "The Prowler" (the third
episode produced).

In a 1986 Playboy interview, Gleason said

Alan Reed had done voice-overs for
Gleason in his early movies and that he
had considered suing Hanna-Barbera for
copying The Honeymooners but decided to
let it pass.[13] According to Henry Corden, a
voice actor and a friend of Gleason's,
"Jackie's lawyers told him he could
probably have The Flintstones pulled right
off the air. But they also told him, 'Do you
want to be known as the guy who yanked
Fred Flintstone off the air? The guy who
took away a show so many kids love, and
so many parents love, too?'"[14]

Henry Corden's voice became Fred's after

Reed's death in 1977, starting with A
Flintstone Christmas.[15] Corden had
previously provided Fred's singing voice in
The Man Called Flintstone[16] and later on
The Flintstones children's records. Since
2000, Jeff Bergman, James Arnold Taylor,
and Scott Innes (performing both Fred and
Barney for Toshiba commercials) have
performed the voice of Fred. Since Mel
Blanc's death in 1989, Barney has been
voiced by Jeff Bergman, Frank Welker, and
Kevin Michael Richardson. Various
additional character voices were created
by Hal Smith, Allan Melvin, Janet Waldo,
Daws Butler, and Howard Morris, among
others.

Voice cast

Fred Flintstone – Alan Reed (speaking

voice only)
Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles Flintstone –
Jean Vander Pyl
Barney Rubble – Mel Blanc; Daws Butler
(season 2; episodes 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9
only)
 Betty Rubble – Bea Benaderet (seasons
1–4); Gerry Johnson (seasons 5–6)
Bamm-Bamm Rubble/Hoppy/Arnold –
Don Messick
Dino – Mel Blanc
Mr. Slate – John Stephenson
Mrs. Slaghoople – Verna Felton and
Janet Waldo
The Great Gazoo – Harvey Korman

Additional voice cast

Howard Morris
Doug Young
Henry Corden
 June Foray

Episodes
Originally aired
Season Episodes
First aired Last aired

Pilot May 1994

1 28 September 30, 1960 April 7, 1961

2 32 September 15, 1961 April 27, 1962

3 28 September 14, 1962 April 5, 1963

4 26 September 19, 1963 March 12, 1964

5 26 September 17, 1964 March 12, 1965

6 26 September 17, 1965 April 1, 1966

Music
The opening and closing credits theme
during the first two seasons was called
"Rise and Shine", a lively instrumental
underscore accompanying Fred on his
drive home from work. The tune
resembled "The Bugs Bunny Overture (This
Is It!)", the theme song of The Bugs Bunny
Show, also airing on ABC at the time, and
may have been the reason the theme was
changed in the third season.[17] Starting in
season 3, episode 3 ("Barney the
Invisible"), the opening and closing credits
theme was the familiar vocal "Meet the
Flintstones". This version was recorded
with a 22-piece jazz band, and a five-voice
singing group called the Skip Jacks. The
melody is derived from part of the 'B'
section of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.
17 Movement 2, composed in 1801/02.[18]
The "Meet the Flintstones" opening was
later added to the first two seasons for
syndication. The musical underscores
were credited to Hoyt Curtin for the show's
first five seasons; Ted Nichols took over in
1965 for the final season.[17]

History and production

The idea of The Flintstones started after
Hanna-Barbera produced The Huckleberry
Hound Show and The Quick Draw McGraw
Show. Although these programs were
successful, they did not have the same
wide audience appeal as their previous
theatrical cartoon series Tom and Jerry,
which entertained both children and the
adults who accompanied them. However,
since children did not need their parents'
supervision to watch television, Hanna-
Barbera's output became labeled "kids
only". Barbera and Hanna wanted to
recapture the adult audience with an
animated situation comedy.[19]

Barbera and Hanna experimented with

hillbillies (a hillbilly theme was later
incorporated into two Flintstones
episodes, "The Bedrock Hillbillies" and
"The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes"),
Romans (Hanna-Barbera eventually
created The Roman Holidays), pilgrims,
and Indians as the settings for the two
families before deciding on the Stone Age.
According to Barbera, they settled on that
because "you could take anything that was
current, and convert it to stone-age".[20]
Under the working title The Flagstones, the
family originally consisted of Fred, Wilma,
and their son, Fred, Jr. A brief
demonstration film was also created to
sell the idea of a "modern stone age
family" to sponsors and the network.[21]:3
Animator Kenneth Muse, who worked on
the Tom and Jerry cartoons, also worked
on the early seasons of The Flintstones.

The show imitated and spoofed The

Honeymooners, although the early voice
characterization for Barney was that of
Lou Costello.[22] William Hanna admitted
that "At that time, The Honeymooners was
the most popular show on the air, and for
my bill, it was the funniest show on the air.
The characters, I thought, were terrific.
Now, that influenced greatly what we did
with The Flintstones ... The Honeymooners
was there, and we used that as a kind of
basis for the concept." However, Joseph
Barbera disavowed these claims in a
separate interview, stating that, "I don't
remember mentioning The Honeymooners
when I sold the show. But if people want to
compare The Flintstones to The
Honeymooners, then great. It's a total
compliment. The Honeymooners was one
of the greatest shows ever written."[23]
Jackie Gleason, creator of The
Honeymooners, considered suing Hanna-
Barbera Productions, but decided that he
did not want to be known as "the guy who
yanked Fred Flintstone off the air".[24][25]
Another influence was noted during
Hanna-Barbera's tenure at MGM, where
they were in a friendly competition with
fellow cartoon director Tex Avery. In 1955,
Avery directed a cartoon entitled "The First
Bad Man" (narrated by cowboy legend Tex
Ritter). The cartoon concerned the rowdy
antics of a bank robber in stone-age
Dallas. Many of the visual jokes antedated
by many years similar ones used by
Hanna-Barbera in the Flintstones series.
Many students of American animation
point to this cartoon as a progenitive seed
of the Flintstones.

The concept was also predated by the

Stone Age Cartoons series of 12 animated
cartoons released from January 1940 to
September 1940 by Fleischer Studios.
These cartoons show stone age people
doing modern things with primitive means.
One example is Granite Hotel including
characters such as a newsboy, telephone
operator, hotel clerk, and a spoof of Edgar
Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.
Barbera explained that selling the show to
a network and sponsors was not an easy
task.

Here we were with a brand new

thing that had never been done
before, an animated prime-time
television show. So we developed
two storyboards; one was they
had a helicopter of some kind and
they went to the opera or
whatever, and the other was Fred
Flintstone and Barney Rubble
fighting over a swimming pool. So
I go back to New York with a
portfolio and two half-hour
boards. And no-one would even
believe that you'd dare to suggest
a thing like that, I mean they
looked at you and they'd think
you're crazy. But slowly the word
got out, and I used the
presentation which took almost
an hour and a half. I would go to
the other two boards and tell
them what they did, and do all the
voices and the sounds and so-on,
and I'd stagger back to the hotel
and I'd collapse. The phone would
ring like crazy, like one time I did
Bristol-Myers, the whole
company was there. When I got
through I'd go back to the hotel
the phone would ring and say
"the president wasn't at that
meeting, could you come back
and do it for him." So I had many
of those, one time I had two
agencies, they'd fill the room I
mean God about 40 people, and I
did this whole show. I got to know
where the laughs were, and
where to hit it, nothing; dead,
dead, dead. So one of the people
at Screen Gems said "This is the
worst, those guys...." he was so
angry at them. What it was, was
that there were two agencies
there, and neither one was going
to let the other one know they
were enjoying it. But I pitched it
for eight straight weeks and
nobody bought it. So after sitting
in New York just wearing out, you
know really wearing out. Pitch,
pitch, pitch, sometimes five a day.
So finally on the very last day I
pitched it to ABC, which was a
young daring network willing to
try new things, and bought the
show in 15 minutes. Thank
goodness, because this was the
very last day and if they hadn't
bought it, I would have taken
everything down, put it in the
archives and never pitched it
again. Sometimes I wake up in a
cold-sweat thinking this is how
close you get to disaster.[20]
When the series went into production, the
working title The Flagstones was changed,
possibly to avoid confusion with the
Flagstons, characters in the comic strip Hi
and Lois. After spending a brief period in
development as The Gladstones
(GLadstone being a Los Angeles telephone
exchange at the time),[26] Hanna-Barbera
settled upon The Flintstones, and the idea
of the Flintstones having a child from the
start was discarded, with Fred and Wilma
starting out as a childless couple.
However, some early Flintstones
merchandise, such as a 1961 Little Golden
Book, included Fred Jr., before it was
decided on his removal.[27]
Despite the animation and fantasy setting,
the series was initially aimed at adult
audiences, which was reflected in the
comedy writing, which, as noted,
resembled the average primetime sitcoms
of the era, with the usual family issues
resolved with a laugh at the end of each
episode, as well as the inclusion of a laugh
track. Hanna and Barbera hired many
writers from the world of live action,
including two of Jackie Gleason's writers,
Herbert Finn and Sydney Zelinka, as well
as relative newcomer Joanna Lee while
still using traditional animation story men
such as Warren Foster and Michael
Maltese.
The Flintstones premiered on September
30, 1960, at 8:30 pm, and quickly became
a hit. It was the first American animated
show to depict two people of the opposite
sex (Fred and Wilma; Barney and Betty)
sleeping together in one bed, although
Fred and Wilma are sometimes depicted
as sleeping in separate beds. For
comparison, the first live-action depiction
of this in American TV history was in
television's first-ever sitcom: 1947's Mary
Kay and Johnny.[28]

 
Fred and Wilma advertising Winston cigarettes during
the closing credits

The first two seasons were co-sponsored

by Winston cigarettes and the characters
appeared in several black-and-white
television commercials for Winston[29]
(dictated by the custom, at that time, that
the star(s) of a TV series often "pitched"
their sponsor's product in an "integrated
commercial" at the end of the episode).[30]

During the third season, Hanna and

Barbera decided that Fred and Wilma
should have a baby. Originally, Hanna and
Barbera intended for the Flintstone family
to have a boy, the head of the marketing
department convinced them to change it
to a girl since "girl dolls sell a lot better
than boy dolls".[19] Although most
Flintstones episodes were stand-alone
storylines, Hanna-Barbera created a story
arc surrounding the birth of Pebbles.
Beginning with the episode "The Surprise",
aired midway through the third season
(January 25, 1963), in which Wilma reveals
her pregnancy to Fred, the arc continued
through the time leading up to Pebbles'
birth in the episode "Dress Rehearsal"
(February 22, 1963), and then continued
with several episodes showing Fred and
Wilma adjusting to the world of
parenthood. Around this time, Winston
pulled out their sponsorship and Welch's
(grape juice and grape jellies) became the
primary sponsor. The integrated
commercials for Welch's products feature
Pebbles asking for grape juice in her
toddler dialect, and Fred explaining to
Pebbles Welch's unique process for
making the jelly, compared to the
competition. Welch's also produced a line
of grape jelly packaged in jars which were
reusable as drinking glasses, with painted
scenes featuring the Flintstones and
characters from the show. In Australia, the
Nine Network ran a "Name the Flintstones'
baby" competition during the 'pregnancy'
episodes – few Australian viewers were
expected to have a U.S. connection giving
them information about past Flintstone
episodes.

Another arc occurred in the fourth season,

in which the Rubbles, depressed over
being unable to have children of their own
(making The Flintstones the first animated
series in history to address the issue of
infertility, though subtly), adopt Bamm-
Bamm. The 100th episode made (but the
90th to air), "Little Bamm-Bamm Rubble"
(October 3, 1963), established how Bamm-
Bamm was adopted. Nine episodes were
produced before it but aired afterwards,
which explains why Bamm-Bamm was not
seen again until episode 101, "Daddies
Anonymous" (Bamm-Bamm was in a
teaser on episode 98, "Kleptomaniac
Pebbles"). Another story arc, occurring in
the final season, centered on Fred and
Barney's dealings with the Great Gazoo
(voiced by Harvey Korman).

After Pebbles' birth, the tone and writing

became more juvenile and ratings from the
adult demographic began to decline. The
last original episode was broadcast on
April 1, 1966.[31]
The first three seasons of The Flintstones
aired Friday nights at 8:30 on ABC. Season
four and part of season five aired
Thursdays at 7:30. The rest of the series
aired Fridays at 7:30.

In the U.S., syndicated reruns of the series

were offered to local stations until 1997,
when E/I regulations and changing tastes
in the industry led to the show's move to
cable television. From the time of Ted
Turner's purchase of Hanna-Barbera in
1992, TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network
aired the program. In 2000, the program
moved to Boomerang, where it aired until
no later than 2016 (in its last years on the
channel, it had been relegated to a
graveyard slot). Online, the series was
made available on the In2TV service
beginning in 2006, then the online version
of Kids' WB until that service was
discontinued in 2015. As of 2017, full
episodes are only available in the U.S. on
Boomerang's subscription video on
demand service, with select clips made
available on an official YouTube account
tied to the revamped Kids' WB Web site.

Reception
The night after The Flintstones premiered,
Variety called it "A pen and ink disaster",[32]
and the series was among many that
debuted in a "vast wasteland" of a 1960–
61 television season considered one of the
worst in television history up to that point.
As late as the 1980s, highbrow critics
derided the show's limited animation and
derivative plots.[33] Despite the mixed
critical reviews at first, The Flintstones has
generally been considered a television
classic and was rerun continuously for five
decades after its end. In 1961, The
Flintstones became the first animated
series to be nominated for the Primetime
Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy
Series, but lost out to The Jack Benny
Program. In January 2009, IGN named The
Flintstones as the ninth-best in its "Top
100 Animated TV Shows".[34]

Nielsen ratings
Season Time slot (ET) Rank Rating[35]

1960–
18 24.3
61

1961– 22.9 (Tied with The Many Loves of Dobie

Friday at 8:30-9:00 pm 21
62 Gillis)

1962–
30 20.5
63

1963–
Thursday at 7:30–8:00 pm
64

Thursday at 7:30–8:00 pm (Episodes

1964– 1–14)
Not in the Top 30
65 Friday at 7:30–8:00 pm (Episodes 15–
26)

1965–
Friday at 7:30–8:00 pm
66

Films and subsequent

television series
Following the show's cancellation in 1966,
a film based upon the series was created.
The Man Called Flintstone was a musical
spy caper that parodied James Bond and
other secret agents. The movie was
released to theaters on August 3, 1966, by
Columbia Pictures.[36] It was released on
DVD in Canada in March 2005 and in
United States in December 2008.

The show was revived in the early 1970s

with Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm having
grown into teenagers, and several different
series and made-for-TV movies (broadcast
mainly on Saturday mornings, with a few
shown in prime time); including a series
depicting Fred and Barney as police
officers, another depicting the characters
as children, and yet others featuring Fred
and Barney encountering Marvel Comics
superhero The Thing and Al Capp's comic
strip character The Shmoo – have
appeared over the years. The original show
also was adapted into a live-action film in
1994, and a prequel, The Flintstones in Viva
Rock Vegas, which followed in 2000.
Unlike its sister show The Jetsons (the two
shows appeared in a made-for-TV
crossover movie in 1987), the revival
programs were not widely syndicated or
rerun alongside the original series.
Television series

The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show

(1971–72) (one season)
The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972–73)
(one season)
The Flintstone Comedy Show (1973–74)
(compilation series)
Fred Flintstone and Friends (1977–78)
(compilation series)
The New Fred and Barney Show (1979)
(one season)
Fred and Barney Meet The Thing (1979)
(one season)
 Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo (1979–
80) (one season)
The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980–82)
(two seasons)
The Flintstone Funnies (1982–84)
(compilation series)
The Flintstone Kids (1986–88) (two
seasons)
What a Cartoon! – featuring Dino: Stay
Out! (1995) and Dino: The Great Egg-
Scape (1997)
Cave Kids (1996) (one season)
Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! (2019)[37]

Theatrical animated feature

 The Man Called Flintstone (1966,
released by Columbia Pictures)

Television specials

The Flintstones on Ice (1973)

Energy: A National Issue (1977)
A Flintstone Christmas (1977)
The Flintstones: Little Big League (1978)
The Flintstones Meet Rockula and
Frankenstone (1979)
The Flintstones' New Neighbors (1980)
The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling (1980)
The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma (1981)
The Flintstones: Jogging Fever (1981)
 The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary
Celebration (1986)
The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special
(1988)
Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba
Doo Celebration (1989)
A Flintstone Family Christmas (1993)

Television films

The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987)

I Yabba-Dabba Do! (1993)
Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1993)
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001)
Educational films

Hanna-Barbera Educational Filmstrips

Bamm-Bamm: Term Paper (1978)
Bamm-Bamm: Information Please
(1979)
Flintstones: A Weighty Problem
(1980)
Flintstones: Fire Alarm (1980)
Flintstones: Fire Escape (1980)
Flintstones: Driving Guide (1980)

Live-action films

The Flintstones (1994)

 The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
(2000)

Direct-to-video films

The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age

SmackDown! (2015)

Other media

For a list of DVDs, video games, comic

books, and VHS releases, see List of The
Flintstones media.

Cancelled Seth MacFarlane

reboot

In 2011, it was announced the Family Guy

creator Seth MacFarlane would be reviving
The Flintstones for the Fox network, with
the first episode airing in 2013.[38] After
Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly
read the pilot script and "liked it but didn't
love it", MacFarlane chose to abandon
work on the project rather than restarting
it.[39][40]

Theme parks
Two Flintstones-themed amusement parks
exist in the United States: Bedrock City in
Custer, South Dakota, and another in Valle,
Arizona. Both have been in operation for
decades. Bedrock City, also known as
Flintstone Park, closed in August 2015.[41]
Another existed until the 1990s at
Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. In
Canada, Flintstone Park in Kelowna, British
Columbia, opened in 1968 and closed in
1998; it was notable for the "Forty Foot
Fred" statue of Fred Flintstone which was
a well known Kelowna landmark.[42][43]
Another Flintstones park was located in
Bridal Falls, British Columbia, which closed
in 1990.[44] Calaway Park outside Calgary,
Alberta, Canada, also opened with a
Flintstones theme and many of the
buildings today have a caveman-like
design, though the park does not license
the characters. The Australia's Wonderland
and Canada's Wonderland theme parks,
both featured Flintstones characters in
their Hanna-Barbera-themed children's
sections from 1985 up until the mid-
1990s. Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio,
had a Hanna-Barbera land, in which many
Hanna-Barbera characters were featured,
including the Flintstones, in the 1980s and
early 1990s.

Live theater
A stage production opened at Universal
Studios Hollywood in 1994 (the year the
live-action film was released), developed
by Universal and Hanna-Barbera
Productions. It opened at the Panasonic
Theater, replacing the Star Trek show. The
story consists of Fred, Wilma, Barney, and
Betty heading for "Hollyrock". The show
ran until January 2, 1997.

In popular culture

Theme cafeteria The Flintstones in Ayia Napa, Cyprus

Miles Laboratories (now part of Bayer

Corporation) and their One-A-Day vitamin
brand was the alternate sponsor of the
original Flintstones series during its first
two seasons, and in the late 1960s, Miles
introduced Flintstones Chewable Vitamins,
fruit-flavored multivitamin tablets for
children in the shape of the Flintstones
characters, which are currently being
sold.[45]

The Simpsons referenced The Flintstones

in several episodes. In the episode
"Homer's Night Out", Homer's local
convenience store clerk, Apu, remarks
"You look familiar, sir. Are you on the
television or something?", to which Homer
replies "Sorry, buddy, you've got me
confused with Fred Flintstone."[46] During
the couch gag of the opening credits of
the episode "Kamp Krusty", the Simpson
family arrive home to find the Flintstone
family already sitting on their couch.[47]
The same couch gag was reused in
syndicated episodes of "The Itchy &
Scratchy & Poochie Show", when The
Simpsons overtook The Flintstones as the
longest-running animated series.[48] In
"Lady Bouvier's Lover", Homer's boss, Mr.
Burns, appears at the family's house and
says "Why, it's Fred Flintstone (referring to
Homer) and his lovely wife, Wilma! (Marge)
Oh, and this must be little Pebbles!
(Maggie) Mind if I come in? I brought
chocolates." Homer responds by saying
"Yabba-dabba-doo!"[49] The opening of
"Marge vs. the Monorail" depicts Homer
leaving work in a similar way to Fred
Flintstone in the opening of The
Flintstones, during which he sings his own
version of the latter's opening theme.

On September 30, 2010, Google

temporarily replaced the logo on its search
page with a custom graphic celebrating
the 50th anniversary of The Flintstones'
first TV broadcast.[50]

See also
Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice
Revue – Hanna-Barbera characters
 honor Fred in an all-star celebrity roast
for his birthday (1977)
"(Meet) The Flintstones", a version of the
show's theme song that became a hit
single for The B-52s.
Alley Oop, a comic strip about a
prehistoric family with commentary on
American suburban life
Stone Age Cartoons, a 1940 American
series of 12 animated short films from
Fleischer Studios

References
1. Doll, Pancho (June 2, 1994). "Reel
Life/Film & Video File: Music Helped
'Flintstones' on Way to Fame: In 1960, Hoyt
Curtin created the lively theme for the
Stone Age family. The show's producers
say it may be the most frequently
broadcast song on TV" . The Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
2. Prince, Stephen (2002). A New Pot of
Gold: Hollywood Under the Electronic
Rainbow, 1980–1989 . University of
California Press. p. 7.
3. Dougherty, Philip H. (1986-06-13).
"Advertising; 'Dennis' Is Added To Lineup" .
The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
4. Jensen, Jeff (1995-01-16). "Hanna-
Barbera toons in to reclaim heritage; studio
lays plans to nurture brands,
merchandise" . Advertising Age: 4.
5. CD liner notes: Saturday Mornings:
Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
6. "Flintstones, The – Season 1 Review" .
TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the
original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved
August 25, 2010.
7. "Excavating Bedrock: Reminiscences of
'The Flintstones,'" Hogan's Alley #9, 2000
8. Sands, Rich (September 24, 2013). "TV
Guide Magazine's 60 Greatest Cartoons of
All Time" . TVGuide.com.
9. Lehman (2007), p. 25
10. Blake, Heidi (September 30, 2010). "The
Flintstones' 50th anniversary: 10 wackiest
Bedrock inventions" . Daily Telegraph.
London. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
11. Romanek, Broc. "List of Flintstones
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accessed March 31, 2011
12. VanDerWerff, Todd (May 12, 2014). "In
The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera found a
shameless rip-off that worked" . The A.V.
Club. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
13. Zehme, Bill (interviewer) (August 1986).
"Jackie Gleason – Playboy Interview – Life
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family on television: A chronology of 121
shows, 1948–2004 . McFarland & Co.
p. 54. ISBN 978-0-7864-2074-2.
15. "A Flintstone Christmas ".
www.bcdb.com, April 12, 2012
16. "The Man Called Flintstone ".
www.bcdb.com, April 12, 2012
17. Doll, Pancho (June 2, 1994). "REEL LIFE
/ FILM & VIDEO FILE : Music Helped
'Flintstones' on Way to Fame : In 1960, Hoyt
Curtin created the lively theme for the
Stone Age family. The show's producers
say it may be the most frequently
broadcast song on TV" . The Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
18. "Rechmann in Recital" . Retrieved
October 2010. Check date values in:
|access-date= (help)
19. The Flintstones, season 2 DVD
documentary
20. Leonard Maltin interviews Joseph
Barbera, 1997
21. Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in
"Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under
a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing.
ISBN 1-57036-042-1.
22. Stinnett, Chuck. "Rango is latest
reminder that animated films are thriving" .
Evansville Courier & Press, March 8, 2011
23. "The Flintstones Frequently Asked
Questions List" . Archived from the original
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2010.
24. "The Flintstones Frequently Asked
Questions List (item 13)" . Archived from
the original on October 3, 2010. Retrieved
November 25, 2006.
25. "The Flintstones Frequently Asked
Questions List (item 14)" . Archived from
the original on December 30, 2006.
Retrieved November 25, 2006.
26. "The cartoon dream team" . BBC News.
March 21, 2001. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
27. "Homes and Offices" .
bookstevesbookstore.blogspot.com.
Retrieved September 27, 2017.
28. "First TV Couple in Same Bed" .
Retrieved August 30, 2010.
29. "Yabba Dabba Cough! Flashback to
When The Flintstones Shilled Cigarettes" .
Retrieved 2017-01-16.
30. Meyers, Cynthia B. (2013-10-25). A
Word from Our Sponsor: Admen,
Advertising, and the Golden Age of Radio .
Fordham University Press.
ISBN 9780823253760.
31. "Big Cartoon Database" . bcdb.com.
Retrieved July 20, 2017.
32. Leonard Maltin interviews Joseph
Barbera-1997
33. For example, an episode of the 1987
series Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
("Don't Touch That Dial!") has the title
character mocking The Flintstones, which
appears in a satirical crossover with The
Jetsons, as stupid.
34. "IGN – 9. The Flintstones" . Tv.ign.com.
Archived from the original on June 9,
2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
35. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The
Complete Directory to Prime Time Network
and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (Ninth
Edition). Ballantine Books. pp. 1682–1683.
ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
36. The Man Called Flintstone (film review).
Variety, August 10, 1966
37. Dave Trumbore (May 23, 2018).
"Boomerang Reveals New and Returning
Content for Year Two of the Subscription
App" . Collider. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
38. "Willllllllllmmmmaaa! Animated
'Flinstones' Resurrected by Seth
MacFarlane and Fox - Ratings -
TVbytheNumbers.Zap2it.com" .
TVbytheNumbers.
39. Rose, Lacey (April 25, 2012). "What
Killed Seth MacFarlane's 'Flintstones' TV
Remake" . The Hollywood Reporter.
40. "It seems Seth MacFarlane will not be
rebooting The Flintstones after all" .
avclub.com.
41. "Flintstones park in South Dakota
closing, gets new owner" .
https://www.washingtontimes.com .
Retrieved February 14, 2018. External link in
|website= (help)
42. "Kelowna, BC, Canada – Bedrock City
(Gone)" . www.roadsideamerica.com.
Retrieved September 27, 2017.
43. "Forty Foot Fred found on farm" .
infotel.ca. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
44. "Remember Flintstones Park in
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food, beer and bowling – the same is true
at Freddy's Brew Pub!" . Mccurdybowl.com.
February 16, 2009. Archived from the
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August 30, 2010.
45. The Flintstones Season 1 DVD
46. "Apu: You Look Familiar, Sir. Are You On
The Television Or Something?" . Anvari.org.
2011. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
47. "10 great 'Simpsons' couch gags" .
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48. Canning, Robert (2008-06-23). "The
Simpsons Flashback: "The Itchy & Scratchy
& Poochie Show" Review" . IGN. Retrieved
2008-06-23.
49. "The Simpsons "Lady Bouvier's Lover"
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December 27, 2011.
50. Blake, Heidi (September 30, 2010). "The
Flintstones 50th anniversary is celebrated
by Google Doodle" . London: The Daily
Telegraph, UK. Retrieved September 30,
2010.

Sources
Lehman, Christopher P. (2007), "The
Cartoons of 1961–1962", American
 Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era:
A Study of Social Commentary in Films
and Television Programs, 1961–1973 ,
McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-
0786451425

Further reading
"The Flintstones": The Official Guide to
the Cartoon Series, by Jerry Beck,
Running Press, 2011.

External links
Look up Appendix:Hanna-Barbera in
 
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: The
 
Flintstones

Wikimedia Commons has media related

 
to The Flintstones.

The Flintstones on IMDb

The Flintstones at the Big Cartoon
DataBase
Museum of Broadcast Communications:
The Flintstones
The Flintstones – Cartoon Network
Department of Cartoons (Archive)
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=The_Flintstones&oldid=843927603"

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