The Flintstones @ The Cartoon Scrapbook

The Flintstones

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Prod. and Airdates:

September 1960 - September 1966, ABC

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Theme Song: The Flintstones

odeled after the popular sitcom The Honeymooners but set in prehistoric times, The Flintstones was prime-time's first successful animated series. Married couple Fred and Wilma Flintstone shared their home on Cobblestone Lane in the Stone Age town of Bedrock with their pet dinosaur Dino and were best friends with next-door neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble, who played almost as prominent a role in the series as Fred and Wilma. Stories rarely involved less than all four of the main characters.

Early man may have sheltered in caves and used stone tools for hunting, but The Flintstones took the meaning of the Stone Age to a whole new level. Houses, furniture, wheels, bowls, newspapers and the like were all made of stone. The names of people and places reflected this theme, most incorporating a reference to "stone" or "rock." Dinosaurs took the place of most modern-day machinery or appliances that require power to operate, being employed as vacuum cleaners, moving cranes, food disposal units, dusters, intercom go-betweens and phonograph needles among other things. A running gag used throughout the series had a dinosaur thus employed make a comment directly to the audience after performing a service, usually about the difficulty or underappreciated quality of its job.

Fred worked for the Bedrock Quarry & Gravel Company, under the watchful and uncompromising eye of his boss Mr. Slate. He and Barney spent much of their recreational time at the bowling alley, pool hall or watching the fights on TV. They were also proud members of the "Loyal Order of Water Buffalos," a men-only club whose dress code required members to wear a large blue hat with buffalo horns attached. The Lodge's main purpose seems to have been to allow its members an excuse to shirk their domestic responsibilities and get together with the guys.

Fred was good natured at heart, but that didn't prevent his stubborn, short tempered and selfish side from revealing itself on a regular basis. But it was these very qualities that made Fred interesting, identifiable and ultimately endeared him to fans. The outlandish circumstances he landed in were in most episodes a direct result of the irresponsible actions or surreptitious schemes Fred conjured up to do something he knew full well his wife would disapprove of… if she found out. Being a good friend, Barney, who was much more responsible than Fred, could be coaxed into going along with his friend's ideas, only to be dragged down with Fred when things inevitably backfired. Despite consistently landing in hot water with their wives, episodes usually ended on a feel-good note, with the two showing regret for their actions or listening to their conscience and ultimately doing what was right, reminding the girls why they loved their husbands. Only occasionally were the roles reversed, with Wilma and Betty landing themselves in trouble with their husbands.

The show reached a milestone in its third season when the Flintstones had a baby girl named Pebbles. This change marked a subtle shift in the storylines, when Fred's misadventures began to stem more from unlucky happenstance or misunderstandings than from his irresponsible behavior. Early in season four the Rubbles were also blessed with a child: a toddler named Bamm-Bamm who was left on their doorstep with a note. The couple adopted the child and raised him as their own. The reasoning behind their son's name became evident quite early; Bamm-Bamm was incredibly strong and liked to repeatedly slam his favorite club (or people, when they presented a finger) into the ground while yelling, "Bam, bam… bam, bam!" Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm became close companions from their very first meeting, and later dated as teenagers in the 1971 spin-off series The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.

Another character who arrived late to the series (first appearing in season 6) but had a significant impact on the show's direction was a small, green space man with futuristic powers called The Great Gazoo. Gazoo was exiled from his own time and forced to serve a prehistoric master until he proved he was reformed. He could only be seen by Fred and Barney (whom he ended up serving) as well as children and animals, and even when his intentions were good caused all sorts of trouble for his Stone Age masters, whom he referred to as "dum-dums."

The Flintstones was originally broadcast Friday nights (switched to Thursday nights for the 4th and part of the 5th season) on ABC from September 1960 - September 1966. NBC then rebroadcast the series on Saturday mornings from January 1967 - September 1970. A large number of spin-off series made use of the popular characters in subsequent years. The first of the spin-off series was The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971); followed by The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972); The New Fred and Barney Show (1979); The Flintstones Comedy Show (1980); The Flintstone Kids (1986); and Cave Kids (1996). Not included in the list are a large number of shows that featured reruns of previous series presented under a different title and format.

Fred Flintstone	•	Alan Reed
Wilma Flintstone	•	Jean Vander Pyl
Pebbles Flintstone	•	Jean Vander Pyl
Barney Rubble	•	Mel Blanc
Barney Rubble	•	Daws Butler (five episodes)
Betty Rubble	•	Bea Benaderet (seasons 1-4)
Betty Rubble	•	Gerry Johnson (seasons 5-6)
Bamm-Bamm	•	Don Messick
Mr. Slate	•	John Stephenson
The Great Gazoo	•	Harvey Korman
Wilma's Mother	•	Verna Felton
Arnold the Newsboy	•	Don Messick
Voices	•	Howard Morris
Voices	•	Doug Young

Opening Themes:

Three different opening themes were used for the series over the course of its original six seasons. The first opening was used from the beginning of season 1 through the second episode of season 3. A second opening was used beginning with the third episode of season 3, and lasted for most of that season before it was modified. The only difference between the second and third opening was the substitution of a whistle sound for the screeching yell of the bird whose tail is pulled to signify the end of the workday at Fred's job. The third opening was subsequently used for the majority of episodes when they were rebroadcast in syndication, making the original opening far less familiar to audiences than it would otherwise be.

Similar Shows:

Season 1

The Flintstone Flyer

Hot Lips Hannigan

The Swimming Pool

No Help Wanted

The Split Personality

The Monster From the Tar Pits

The Babysitters

At the Races

The Engagement Ring

Hollyrock, Here I Come

The Golf Champion

The Sweepstake Ticket

The Drive-In

The Prowler

The Girls' Night Out

Arthur Quarry's Dance Class

The Big Bank Robbery

The Snorkasaurus Hunter

The Hot Piano

The Hypnotist

Love Letters on the Rocks

The Tycoon

The Astra' Nuts

The Long, Long Weekend

In the Dough

The Good Scout

Rooms for Rent

Fred Flintstone: Before and After

Season 2

The Hit Songwriter

Droop Along Flintstone

The Missing Bus

Alvin Brickrock Presents

Fred Flintstone Woos Again

The Rock Quarry Story

The Soft Touchables

Flintstone of Prinstone

The Little White Lie

Social Climbers

The Beauty Contest

The Masquerade Ball

The Picnic

The House Guest

The X-Ray Story

The Gambler

A Star is Almost Born

The Entertainer

Wilma's Vanishing Money

Feudin' and Fussin'

Impractical Joker

Operation Barney

The Happy Household

Fred Strikes Out

This is Your Lifesaver

Trouble-in-Law

The Mailman Cometh

The Rock Vegas Caper

Divided We Sail

Kleptomania Caper

Latin Lover

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Season 3

Dino Goes Hollyrock

Fred's New Boss

Invisible Barney

Bowling Ballet

The Twitch

Here's Snow in Your Eyes

The Buffalo Convention

The Little Stranger

Baby Barney

Hawaiian Escapade

Ladies Day

Nuthin' but the Tooth

High School Fred

Dial S for Suspicion

Flashgun Freddie

The Kissing Burglar

Wilma, The Maid

The Hero

The Surprise

Mother-in-Law's Visit

Foxy Grandma

Fred's New Job

The Blessed Event

Carry On, Nurse Fred

Ventriloquist Barney

The Big Move

Swedish Visitors

The Birthday Party

Season 4

Ann-Margrock Presents

Groom Gloom

Little Bamm-Bamm

Dino Disappears

Fred's Monkeyshines

The Flintstone Canaries

Glue For Two

Big League Freddie

Old Lady Betty

Sleep On, Sweet Fred

Kleptomaniac Pebbles

Daddy's Little Beauty

Daddies Anonymous

Peek-a-Boo Camera

Once Upon a Coward

Ten Little Flintstones

Fred El Terrifico

Bedrock Hillbillies

Flintstone and the Lion

Cave Scout Jamboree

Room For Two

Ladies Night at the Lodge

Reel Trouble

Son of Rockzilla

Bachelor Daze

Operation Switchover

Season 5

Hop Happy

Monster Fred

Itty Bitty Freddy

Pebbles' Birthday Party

Bedrock Rodeo Round-Up

Cinderella Stone

A Haunted House is Not a Home

Dr. Sinister

The Gruesomes

The Most Beautiful Baby in Bedrock

Dino and Juliet

King for a Night

Indianrockolis 500

Adobe Dick

Christmas Flintstone

Fred's Flying Lesson

Fred's Second Car

Time Machine

The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes

Moonlight And Maintenance

Sheriff for a Day

Deep in the Heart of Texarock

The Rolls Rock Caper

Superstone

Fred Meets Hercurock

Surfin' Fred

Season 6

No Biz Like Show Biz

The House that Fred Built

The Return of Stony Curtis

Disorder in the Court

Circus Business

Samantha

The Great Gazoo

Rip Van Flintstone

The Gravelberry Pie King

The Stonefinger Caper

The Masquerade Party

Shinrock A-Go-Go

Royal Rubble

Seeing Doubles

How to Pick a Fight With Your Wife Without Really Trying

Fred Goes Ape

The Long, Long, Long Weekend

Two Men on a Dinosaur

The Treasure of Sierra Madrock

Curtain Call at Bedrock

Boss for a Day

Fred's Island

Jealousy

Dripper

My Fair Freddy

The Story of Rocky's Raiders

Movies and Specials

The Man Called Flintstone (1966)

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 Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987)

The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special (1988)

A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration: 50 years of Hanna-Barbera (1989)

A Flintstone Family Christmas (1993)

I Yabba-Dabba Do! (1993)

Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1993)

A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)

The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001)

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