THE FLINTSTONE COMEDY HOUR

 

THE FLINTSTONE COMEDY HOUR / THE FLINTSTONE COMEDY SHOW

(CBS, September 9, 1972-January 26, 1974)

 

 

Hanna-Barbera Productions

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Alan Reed – Fred Flintstone
Mel Blanc – Barney Rubble, Dino, Zonk, Stub
Jean Vander Pyl – Wilma Flintstone
Gay Hartwig – Betty Rubble, Wiggy Rockstone, Cindy Curbstone
Mickey Stevens – Pebbles Flintstone (new material)
Sally Struthers – Pebbles Flintstone (old material)
Jay North – Bamm-Bamm Rubble
John Stephenson – Noodles, Mr. Slate
Lennie Weinrib – Moonrock Crater, Bronto
Mitzi McCall – Penny Pillar
Don Messick – Schleprock

For a history of The Flintstones franchise, check out the post here.
 

           

  With The Flintstones reruns and their first spin-off, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, doing well in the ratings, CBS decided to expand their Flintstones franchise with a second spin-off. The Flintstone Comedy Hour was a continuation of both the original series and The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show with a touch of the popular variety show format.

Promo artwork featuring the adults getting down with the Bedrock Rockers.

The first half hour was comprised of shorts starring Fred (Alan Reed) and Barney (Mel Blanc) in their usual misadventures around Bedrock and others focusing on Pebbles (Mickey Stevens), Bamm-Bamm (Jay North) and their friends: genius inventor Moonrock Crater (Lenny Weinrib), weight-obsessed Penny Pillar (Mitzi McCall), and horoscope-obsessed Wiggy Rockstone (Gay Hartwig). Three shorts aired every episode for most of the series’ run; alternating between two with the adults and two with the teens. The second half hour was comprised of reruns of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm. Stevens replaced original Pebbles voice Sally Struthers for all the new material made for the show due to Struthers’ commitment starring on the popular sitcom All in the Family.

Barney gets roped into another of Fred's schemes.

Between the story segments, the characters would rattle off jokes and horoscopes, and musical numbers would be performed by Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm’s new band, the Bedrock Rockers. With Pebbles on keyboard, Bamm-Bamm on bass, Moonrock on drums, Penny on tambourine and Wiggy on flute, the teens belted out two song numbers per episode. The songs were written by various Screen Gems (distributor of Hanna-Barbera’s shows) staff members including David Gates, Tony Dancy, Craig Fairchild, Jackie Mills, Leonard Petit and Tom Jenkins. The actual performers were The Ron Hicklin Singers; a Los Angeles-based group of studio singers organized by Ron Hicklin that performed music for television, film and commercials often uncredited or credited under specialized names. This line-up featured Tom Bahler, John Bahler, Jackie Ward and Stan Farber.

The Flintstone Comedy Hour debuted on CBS on September 9, 1972. The series was written by Tom Dagenais, Jack Hanrahan, Len Janson, Sheldon Mann, Jack Mendelsohn, Chuck Menville, Howard Morganstern, Bob Ogle and Dick Robbins. Hoyt Curtin served as the musical director and Paul DeKorte was the music supervisor, while the music was composed and conducted by Dean Elliott. After a full year on the air, the Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm reruns were dropped to shorten the series to a half-hour. Renamed The Flintstone Comedy Show, it continued airing in reruns until that January.

Bamm-Bamm, Wiggy, Pebbles, Penny and Moonrock making beautiful music.

It would be 5 years until the next all-new Flintstones series hit television, following Fred Silverman from CBS over to NBC (which included a second show to use the name The Flintstone Comedy Show). In the interim was the syndicated package show Fred Flintstone and Friends, which combined the segments from this show and episodes of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm alternating weekly with daily serialized versions of Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Jeannie, Partridge Family 2200 A.D. and Yogi’s Gang. It also introduced Henry Corden as the new speaking voice of Fred following Reed’s death (Corden previously provided Fred’s singing voice in a couple films), introducing the various segments over bumpers comprised of show clips.

EPISODE GUIDE:
“Birdbrained / Squawkie Talkies / Bedrock 500” (9/9/72) – Birdsitting Mr. Slate’s parrot causes nothing but trouble for Fred and family. / When a hipposaurus eats one of Moonrock’s squawkie talkies, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm believe it actually ate Barney instead. / The teens compete against the Bronto Bunch in a big car race.
 
“The Flying Fools / Bedlam in Bedrock / The Stone Ranger Rides Again” (9/16/72) – Flying in Moonrock’s new airplane is anything but a joy for Fred and Barney. / The teens concoct a crazy idea to get a DJ his job back. / Pebbles and her friends shoot a western movie with Bamm-Bamm as the star.
 
“Cat Burglars / The Circus Show / Pizza-Puss” (9/23/72) – Fred and Barney get busted as cat burglars while the real thieves rob Fred’s house. / The teens organize a circus to raise money for prom. / Fred becomes a pizza chef just when Pebbles orders 37 pizzas for her party.
 
“Fred Skirts the Issue / Hair Scare / The Not so Desperate Hours” (9/30/72) – Babysitting is a nightmare until Fred dresses up as a woman. / Moonrock’s new miracle hair formula causes his friends a lot of problems. / A dangerous escaped con decides to hide out at the Flintstone house.
 
“Don’t Fence Me In / The Spot Remover / Cake Walk” (10/7/72) – An argument about their property boundaries reveals Fred’s property actually runs through Barney’s living room. / Moonrock’s spot remover ends up removing a lot more around Bedrock. / Fred and Barney accidentally help their wives win a cake baking contest.
 
“The Loving Cup / Bedrock Surfers / Handicapped” (10/14/72) – Fred gets the trophy he’s supposed to give to Mr. Slate stuck on his head. / Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm compete in a couples-only surfing contest against the Bronto Bunch. / Fred tries to help Mr. Slate win a golf tournament to get out of working on a Saturday.
 
“Something Fishy / Amusement Park / A Pound in Time” (10/21/72) – Unfortunately, Wilma and Betty decide to accompany their husbands on a fishing trip. / The teens encounter a blowhard at the amusement park. / Fred and Barney join a health club to be able to fit their lodge uniforms again.
 
“Dummy Up / Bedrock Radio Rock Festival / Barney the Swami” (10/28/72) – A blow to the head causes Fred to become brutally honest. / The Bedrock Rockers record their songs for entry into a music contest. / Fred decides to take advantage of Barney’s sudden psychic powers.
 
“High Noon at Bedrock Pass / Cinderella / Training Pains” (11/4/72) – Fred dreams he and Barney are facing off against a western outlaw. / Bamm-Bamm plays the gender-reversed lead in the school’s production of Cinderella. / Fred trains Dino to compete in the pet show.
 
“Fred’s Big Brag / Schleprock’s Cousin / Fred’s Promise” (11/11/72) – Fred’s boast that he can tame a wild brontosaurus lands him in a ring at the rodeo show. / Schleprock’s cousin Shamrock comes to visit and brings good luck wherever he goes. / Fred promises not to talk about work while on the family vacation.
 
“The Big Breakup / Bedrock 300 / Candid Camerarock” (11/18/72) – When Barney breaks a bone painting Fred’s living room the doctor prescribes him bedrest at the Flintstones’. / Nobody seems to be respecting the rules of the race Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm enter. / Fred and Barney end up the victims of a prank TV show.
 
“Feet First / The Hobby Show / The Reluctant Candidates” (11/25/72) – Fred showing Barney how to win a sports car rally goes poorly when they’re quickly overtaken. / The teens organize an exhibit to show off their respective hobbies. / Fred and Barney end up running against each other for club president.
 
“Runaway Steaks / Moonrock’s Super Jumper Shoes / Citizen Flintstone” (12/2/72) – Fred and Barney chase their steaks on a runaway grill. / Moonrock’s jumping shoes turn things around for Bamm-Bamm’s school basketball team. / Fred makes a fool of himself on a talk show.
 
“The Big Splash / Moonrock’s Beauty Farm / Stage Flight” (12/9/72) – The planning authority kiboshes Fred’s plans for a pool. / Moonrock’s gal pals aren’t too thrilled with his beauty salon. / Pebbles and her friends shoot a film with Fred starring as the titular Peter Panstone.
 
“Oil Fooled / Cave Buggy Race / Sherlock Flintstone” (12/16/72) – An oil tycoon wants to buy Fred’s house, but Fred wants in on his company. / Pebbles and the girls soup up Bamm-Bamm’s cave buggy to enter into a race. / A misunderstanding leads Fred to believe his car was stolen and prompts him to investigate with Barney.
 
“Watch the Birdie / Schleprock / Mod Clod” (12/23/72) – Fred takes up photography and tries to win a magazine contest by snapping a rare pterodactyl. / Schleprock shows up the restaurant the gang works at and brings his usual chaos with him. / A gray hair leads Fred to a midlife crisis.
 
“The Suitor Computer / Army Dazed” (12/30/72) – Moonrock’s new matchmaking computer pairs Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm up with different people. / When Fred and Barney dress up in military clothing for a parade they end up in the real military.
 
“Beauty and the Beast / The Galloping Gourmets” (1/6/73) – Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm enter the annual masquerade ball contest. / Barney disguises himself as a cook to make dinner for Mr. Slate and an important client at the Flintstones’.