The Flintstones, a Hanna-Barbera animated series,
is one of the most successful animated television
series of all time, originally running in American
prime time for six seasons, from 1960 to 1966, on
the ABC network.

Overview
The show is set in a town called Bedrock in the
Stone Age era, but with a society identical to
that of the United States in the mid-to-late 20th
century.

The setting is in a fantasy world where dinosaurs,
saber-toothed tigers, wooly mammoths and other
extinct animals coexist with cavemen, who use
technology equivalent to that of the 20th century,
largely through the use of various animals. The
characters drive automobiles made out of stone or
wood and animal skins and powered by gasoline,
although foot power is required to start the
vehicles. Although the characters were set in the
Stone Age, that never stopped the show's
producers from making a Christmas episode during
the original series' run (and several more
Christmas specials in the decades that followed).

One source of the show's humor was the ways
animals were used for technology. For example,
when the characters took photographs with an
instant camera, the inside of the camera box would
be shown to contain a bird carving the picture on
a stone tablet with its bill. In a running gag,
the animals powering such technology would look at
the audience, shrug, and remark, "It's a
living," or some similar phrase.

Being set in the Stone Age allowed for endless
gags and puns that involved rocks in one way or
another, including the names of the various
characters being "rock" puns; some such names
included celebrities such as "Gary Granite",
"Stony Curtis", and "Ann-Margrock."

The series directly drew from The Honeymooners for
its main quartet of characters: the blustering
Fred Flintstone and his ever-patient wife Wilma
Flintstone (née Slaghoople, though Pebble was also
given on occasion) modeled after the Kramdens, and
their friendly neighbors Barney Rubble and wife
Betty Rubble (née Betty Jean McBricker) modeled
after the Nortons. Later additions to the cast
included the Flintstones' infant daughter Pebbles
Flintstone and the Rubbles' abnormally strong
adopted son Bamm Bamm Rubble. The Flintstones had
a pet dinosaur named Dino (pronounced DEE-no, and
which barked like a dog), and the Rubbles had a
kangaroo-like animal named Hoppy. Fred Flintstone
worked at a stone quarry and worked for several
different bosses, the best known of which was the
bald Mr. Slate.

In later seasons, the Flintstones cast expanded to
include The Gruesomes, their strange next-door
neighbors (inspired by the then-popular monster
sitcoms The Addams Family and The Munsters), and
The Great Gazoo, an alien exiled to Earth who
helps Fred and Barney, usually against their
will.

It has been noted that Fred Flintstone physically
resembled voice actor Alan Reed. The voice of
Barney was provided by legendary voice actor Mel
Blanc, though five episodes in the second season
used actor Daws Butler while Blanc was recovering
from a near-fatal car accident. The similarities
with The Honeymooners included the fact that Reed
based Fred's voice upon Jackie Gleason's
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.

In the show's closing credits, Fred tries to
"put the cat out for the night" but winds up
getting locked out and yelling for his wife to
come open the door: "Wilma! Come on, Wilma, open
this door! Willllll-ma!" By the time the theme
song "Meet the Flintstones" was used, Fred cut
the yelling to: "Willllll-ma!" Although the cat,
Baby Puss, was seen in the closing credits of
every episode, it was rarely actually seen in any
of the storylines. This running gag of having the
lead character of the series ending up being
helpless during the end credits in every episode
due to the hijinks of a family pet would later be
repeated by Hanna-Barbera in the series The
Jetsons in which George Jetson ends up being
caught on a treadmill that ends up spinning out of
control. He also (as does Fred in this series)
cries out for his wife, by asking her to stop the
mechanism with the line, "Jane! Stop this crazy
thing!"


History
Originally, the series was to have been titled The
Flagstones, and a brief demonstration film was
created to sell the idea of a "modern stone age
family" to sponsors and the network. When the
series itself was commissioned, the title was
changed, possibly to avoid confusion with the
Flagstons, characters in the popular comic strip,
Hi and Lois. After spending a brief period in
development as The Gladstones, Hanna-Barbera
settled upon The Flintstones.

Aside from the animation and fantasy setting, the
show's scripts and format are typical of a 1950s
American situation comedy, with the usual family
issues resolved with a laugh at the end of each
episode.

Although most Flintstones episodes are standalone
storylines, the series was significant in being
the first American animated series to feature
story arcs. The most notable example was a series
of episodes surrounding the birth of Pebbles.
Beginning with the episode "The Surprise", aired
midway through the third season, in which Wilma
reveals her pregnancy to Fred, the arc continued
through the trials and tribulations leading up to
Pebbles' birth, and then continued with several
episodes showing Fred and Wilma adjusting to the
world of parenthood.

A postscript to the arc occurred in the third
episode of 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. Another story arc, occurring in the
final season, centered around Fred and Barney's
dealings with The Great Gazoo.

The series was initially aimed at adult audiences
as the first season was sponsored by the cigarette
company Winston and the characters appeared in
several commercials for Winstons. The famous theme
song "Meet the Flintstones" was not actually
introduced until the third season (1962–1963),
although early versions of the melody can be heard
as background music in many episodes.

The theme used for the first and second seasons,
an instrumental called "Rise and Shine", was
removed from all first and second season episodes
in syndication from the 1960s through the early
1990s and replaced with the "Meet the
Flintstones" opening, while a closing credits
sequence taken from a later episode was
substituted at the end. As a result, the closing
credits for all first season episodes in
syndication were incorrect for many years. New
syndicated versions of the episodes in the 1990s
restored the original first season credits and
theme, albeit with cigarette and other advertising
matter omitted. According to information provided
on the DVD release of the second season, this
decision was made because at the time syndicated
programs were often aired out of their original
broadcast order, and it was felt having the show
jump between the different opening credits
sequences would confuse audiences. Nonetheless, a
number of later Flintstones episodes in
syndication used an alternate version of the
closing credits in which Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm are
shown singing "Open Up Your Heart and Let the
Sunshine In".

The first season of the original series, with the
original opening credits, as well as "Rise and
Shine" restored but not the cigarette ads, was
released on DVD in late 2003; season 2 was
released in December 2004, and season 3 was
released in March 2005. Further releases are
expected in 2005.

Following the show's cancellation in 1966, a
theatrical film based upon the series was
released. The Man Called Flintstone was a musical
spy caper that parodied James Bond and other
secret agents. The movie was released on DVD in
North America in March 2005.

The show was revived in the 1970s with Pebbles and
Bamm Bamm having grown into teenagers, and several
different series and made-for-TV movies—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
comic strip character The Shmoo have appeared over
the years. The original show also was adapted into
two feature non-animated films, in 1994 and 2000.

Only the advent of The Simpsons decades later
brought cartoons back to American prime time
network television with the kind of success The
Flintstones enjoyed. And it was The Simpsons in
1997 that ultimately broke The Flintstones'
record as the longest-running prime time animated
series.


Cultural References
The character Barney Gumble from The Simpsons is
based on Barney Rubble.

The series spawned three breakfast cereals: the
popular Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, and the
discontinued Dino Pebbles. Commercials for these
cereals featured a gimmick in the form of Barney
(who seems much smarter in the commercials than in
the show itself) tricking Fred out of his cereal,
usually by way of disguising himself as something
completely different. Eventually, Fred catches on
and gives chase after Barney as the ad ends. Early
ads used the closing tagline,
"Yabba-dabba-delicious!", but the phrase was
removed during the 1990s.

An enduring license has been a line of children's
multivitamins called "Flintstones Complete"
(more popularly known as Flintstones Vitamins);
the first seasons of the series were, in part,
sponsored by One-a-Day Vitamins. There has been a
"Did You Know?" quiz circulating on the Internet
for a number of years that asks which of the four
main characters is not in Flintstone Vitamins. The
answer, at one time, was Betty Rubble. However,
since 1996, Betty has been in the bottle also. The
Flintstones' car was removed to make room for
Betty.

The England cricketer Andrew Flintoff is nicknamed
"Freddie" after Fred Flintstone, on account of
both his similar surname and his
"larger-than-life" character.

The Australian television series Fast Forward once
did a parody of The Flintstones.


Trivia
While The Flintstones is generally considered the
first cartoon to air in prime time, it was
preceded by The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, a
cartoon based on an Academy Award-winning animated
short. This half-hour show ran for a few months on
Friday nights on CBS in 1958. However, it was a
repeat of cartoons that had aired on Sunday
afternoons in 1956. The Flintstones remains the
first cartoon to have original programming aired
in prime time.


Cast
Fred Flintstone - Alan Reed (after Reed's death
in 1977, the character was voiced by Henry Corden,
who had provided Fred's singing voice at various
times before then) 
Wilma Flintstone and (as of season 3) Pebbles
Flintstone - Jean Vanderpyl 
Barney Rubble, Dino, and all the working animals -
Mel Blanc, Daws Butler (five episodes of second
season). 
Betty Rubble - originally Bea Benaderet, voiced by
Gerry Johnson beginning in season 5 
Bamm Bamm Rubble (as of season 4) - Don Messick 
Mr. Slate - John Stephenson 
The Great Gazoo, and many other characters -
Harvey Korman 

Flintstones series and spin-offs

Television series
The Flintstones (1960–1966) 
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971–1972):
features Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as teens 
The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972–1973): new
episodes of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm combined with
new Fred and Barney segments, songs-of-the-week,
and wraparounds. Rerun during the 1973–1974 second
season as The Flintstones Show. 
The New Fred and Barney Show (1979): Saturday
morning revival of the original Flintstones
format. Reruns of its episodes are featured in the
package programs Fred and Barney Meet the Thing
and Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo. 
The Flintstones Comedy Show (1980–1982): 90-minute
Saturday morning series featuring the following
segments: 
"Flintstone Family Adventures": a segment
similar to the original series. 
"Bedrock Cops": Fred, Barney, and the Shmoo as
police officers. 
"Pebbles, Dino, and Bamm-Bamm": The two young
teenagers and Dino solving mysteries ala
Scooby-Doo 
"Captain Caveman": a Superman parody segment
featuring Captain Caveman, from Captain Caveman
and the Teen Angels, as the flying superhero and
Wilma and Betty as the helpless reporters in
distress (à la Lois Lane). 
"Dino and Cavemouse": A chase-formula segment
similar to Tom and Jerry. 
"The Frankenstones": featuring the situation
comedy of the Flintstones' Munsters-like
neighbors (similar to The Gruesomes from the
original series). 
The Flintstone Kids (1986–1988): one of numerous
Saturday morning series to feature child versions
of famous classic cartoon stars; this one features
the cast of the original series as ten-year-olds,
with "Captain Caveman...and Son!" as a backup
segment. 
Cave Kids (1996): a preschool series featuring
Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as toddlers 

Theatrical animated feature
The Man Called Flintstone (1966, released by
Columbia Pictures): designed as a send-off for the
original series; features Fred taking the place of
a lookalike who happens to be a James Bond-type
spy. 

Television specials and telefilms
A Flintstone Christmas (1977) 
The New Fred and Barney Show (1979) 
The Flintstones: Little Big League (1979):
features Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as pre-teens 
The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone
(1979) 
The Flintstones' New Neighbors (1980): Introduces
the Frankenstones 
Wind-Up Wilma (1981) 
Flintstones: Jogging Fever (1981) 
The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling (1981) 
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987) 
I Yabba-Dabba Do! (1993): Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm
marry 
Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1993): Pebbles gives birth
to twins, making Fred and Wilma grandparents 
A Flintstone Family Christmas (1993): Pebbles &
Bamm-Bamm with their children at Christmas 
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994): a retelling
of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol that
features Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as toddlers. 
The Flintstones On The Rocks (2001): Fred and
Wilma face separation, but a jewel thief spoils
things. 

Home video releases

VHS
Most of these titles are out of print. Original
broadcast or release dates and episode titles
(where applicable) are listed in parentheses.


Original series
The Flintstone Flyer (1960) 
The First Episodes (1960) (Flintstone Flyer, Hot
Lips Hannigan, The Swimming Pool, No Help Wanted)

The Best Of The Flintstones (Split Personality,
Dress Rehearsal, Anne Margrock Presents, Stony
Finger Caper) 
The Flintstones: How the Flintstones Saved
Christmas (1964) 
The Flintstones: A Haunted House Is Not a Home
(1964) 
The Flintstones: Stone-Age Adventures (Flintstone
Flyer, Split Personality, The Twitch, Anne
Margrock Presents, Ladies' Night At The Lodge) 
The Flintstones: Love Letters on the Rocks (1960)

The Flintstones Meet Samantha (1965) 
The Flintstones: Pebbles, Babe in Bedrock (Dress
Rehearsal, Most Beautiful Baby In Bedrock) 
The Flintstones: Bedrock 'n' Roll (The Girls'
Night Out, The Twitch) 
The Flintstones: Hooray for Hollyrock (Hollyrock
Here I Come, Anne Margrock Presents) 
Jealousy (1966) 
Dripper (1966) 
Rocky's Raiders (1966) 
The Flintstones: Page Right Out of History (Dress
Rehearsal (1963), "Wacky Inventions"
compilation) 
My Fair Freddie (1966) 
No Biz Like Show Biz (1965) 
The Flintstones: Fearless Fred Strikes Again
(Buffalo Convention, Mother-In-Law's Visit) 
The Flintstones: Hop Happy (1964) 
The Flintstones: Ten Little Flintstones (1964) 
The Flintstones: Dino's Two Tales (Dino
Disappears, Dino Goes Hollyrock) 
The Flintstones: Dino & Juliet (1964) 
The Flintstones: Wacky Inventions 
The Flintstones Meet The Great Gazoo (1965) 
The Flintstones: Gravelberry Pie King (1966) 
The Flintstones: Fred's Island (1966) 
The Flintstones: Surfin Fred (1965) 
Flintstones Adventures (The Girls' Night Out,
Rock Vegas Story, Dino Disappears, Rip van
Flintstone) 

Spin-offs
The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 1 (1978) 
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994) 
The Flintstones: I Yabba Dabba Do (1993) 
The Flintstones: Flintstone Files (1979) 
The Flintstones Meet Rockula & Frankenstone (1979)

Flintstones' Little Big League (1979) 
The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 2 (1979) 
The Flintstones: Fred & Barney Get In Shape/Fred,
the Junk Collector 
The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 3 (1980) 
The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 4 (1980) 
Best of the Flintstone Kids 
Christmas In Bedrock (1996) 

Animated films
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987) 
The Man Called Flintstone (1966) 

Live action films
The Flintstones (1994) 
Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) 

DVD
All titles and information listed below are based
on Region 1 DVD releases. Original release or
broadcast dates are listed in parentheses.

The Flintstones (1994 live-action movie): Released
March 1999 
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) 
The Flintstones: The Premiere: The Flintstone
Flyer (1960): Released September 2003 
The Flintstones: The Complete First Season (1960):
Released March 2004 
The Flintstones: The Complete Second Season
(1961): Released December 2004 
The Flintstones: The Complete Third Season (1962):
Released March 2005 
Note: All episodes are in their original length
except for "The Big Move," which is the
syndicated version. 
The Flintstones: The Complete Fourth Season
(1963): Released November 2005 
The Man Called Flintstone (1966): Released April
2005 




See also
Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles 
The Flintstones live-action movies 
The Jetsons 
List of The Flintstones episodes 
Bedrock (The Flintstones) 

The Flintstones in other languages
Chinese: ????
(Literally: The intelligent fool) or
?????
(Literally: The modern prehistoric man) 
Japanese: ???? Genshi
Kazoku (Primitive family) or
???? Kyousai Tengoku
(Wife-fearing Heaven) 
Croatian: Obitelj Kremenko 
Finnish: Kiviset ja Soraset (the names of the
Flintstones and the Rubbles) 
French: Les Pierreafeu (from pierre à feu,
literally "stone for fire", i.e. flint) 
German: Familie Feuerstein 
Hungarian: Frédi és Béni, a két kokorszaki
szaki (lit. "Fred and Ben, the Two Stone-Age
Chums") 
Latvian: Flinstoni 
Polish: Miedzy nami, Jaskiniowcami 
Portuguese: Os Flinstones 
Russian:
???????&
#1091;?? (Fl'instouny) 
Spanish: Los Picapiedra ("The Stone Chippers") 
Swedish: Familjen Flinta 
Turkish: Çakmaktaslar 

External links
Museum of Broadcast Communications' entry on the
Flintstones 
Webrock: The Flintstones and Hanna-Barbera Page 
Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstones"