THE FLINTSTONES
(ABC, September 30,
1960-April 1, 1966)
Originally
beginning life as The Flagstones, The Flintstones was meant to be
Hanna-Barbera’s answer to shrugging off its reputation as a producer of
strictly kiddie fare by airing as a primetime sitcom. Heavily influenced by The Honeymooners (to
the point that series creator and star Jackie Gleason considered suing
the company) and set in a modernized version of the Stone Age, the show focused
on overweight and overbearing caveman Fred Flintstone (Alan Reed) who would often drag his dim-witted best friend and
neighbor Barney Rubble (Mel Blanc, Daws Butler for several episodes and the pilot) into various
get-rich-quick schemes. Along for the ride were their long-suffering wives,
Wilma (Jean Vander Pyl) and Betty (Bea Benaderet through season 4, Gerry Johnson for the
remainder). Running gags in the series included names of people and places that
featured some kind of rock or mineral word, modern conveniences made out of
stone such as newspapers, chairs and furniture, animals acting as appliances
(and complaining about it to the audience), and cars driven via foot-power.
The
Flintstones debuted on ABC on September
30, 1960, and proved a hit; easily securing its desired adult demographic. As
the series went on, however, changes were made. In the third season, the Flintstones
and the Rubbles both gained children in the form of Pebbles (Pyl) and the
super-strong Bamm-Bamm (Don
Messick). The Rubbles also
got their own pet, a Hoppasaurus named Hoppy (Mesccik), to compliment the
Flintstones’ snorkasaurus, Dino (Blanc). The series also gained its memorable
theme, “Meet the
Flintstones”, performed by the
Skip-Jacks and a 22-piece
jazz band. For the final season, an alien named The Great Gazoo (Harvey Korman) came to the town
of Bedrock and used his magic to help Fred and Barney learn valuable moral
lessons. With these changes, the tone of the series softened and the writing
skewed more juvenile; becoming the antithesis of the reason Hanna-Barbera
created it. The show was quietly cancelled after 6 seasons and a theatrical film,
becoming the longest-running primetime animated series until The Simpsons surpassed it in 1995.
The series would go on to be more popular and profitable in syndicated reruns, leading
to numerous spin-offs and revivals.
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