The Flintstones

This article is about the television show. For the film adaptation, see The Flintstones (film). For the remake, see Seth MacFarlane#The Flintstones.

The Flintstones
Title screen from Seasons 1–2 in color.
Genre	Situation comedy
Format	Animated series
Created by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voices of	Alan Reed Jean Vander Pyl Mel Blanc Bea Benaderet Gerry Johnson Don Messick John Stephenson
Theme music composer	Hoyt Curtin[1]
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	166 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna–Barbera
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television (1996-present)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC[2]
Original run	September 30, 1960 (1960-09-30)[3] – April 1, 1966 (1966-04-01)
Chronology
Followed by	The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show

The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It has since been re-released on both DVD and VHS. The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 30, 2010.

The show's popularity rested heavily on its juxtaposition of modern everyday concerns in the Stone Age setting.^[4][5] It has been announced that Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show) will produce a revival of The Flintstones for the Fox network. Development is set to begin in fall 2011 and the first episode is scheduled to air in 2013.^[6][7]

Characters

The Flintstones

Character	Role
Fred Flintstone	The main character. Fred is an accident-prone quarry worker and head of the Flintstone clan. He is quick to anger (usually over inconsequential matters), but is a very loving husband and father.
Wilma Flintstone	Fred's wife. She is more intelligent and level-headed than her husband, though she often has a habit of spending money.
Pebbles Flintstone	The Flintstones' infant daughter, who is born near the end of the third season.
Dino	The Flintstones' pet dinosaur, who barks and generally acts like a dog. A running gag in the series involves Dino knocking down Fred out of excitement and licking him repeatedly.
Baby Puss	The Flintstones' pet saber-toothed cat, who 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!"
Doozy	The Flintstones' pet dodo bird.

The Rubbles

Character	Role
Barney Rubble	The secondary main character. Fred's best friend and next door neighbor. He and Fred are both members 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.
Betty Rubble	Barney's wife and best friend of Wilma.
Bamm-Bamm Rubble	The Rubbles' abnormally strong adopted son; his name comes from the only phrase he ever spoke as a baby: "Bamm, Bamm!"
Hoppy	The Rubbles' pet Hopparoo (a kangaroo/dinosaur combination creature).

Other characters

Character	Role
Arnold	The Flintstones' paper boy. A running gag is Fred being outsmarted by Arnold.
Joe Rockhead	A friend of Fred's and Barney's.
Mr. Slate	Fred's hot tempered boss at the stone quarry.
Pearl (Pebble) Slaghoople	Wilma's mother, who is constantly disapproving of Fred and his behavior.
The Great Gazoo	An alien exiled to Earth who helps Fred and Barney, often against their will.
Over 100 other characters.[8]	These include Cary Granite, Ann–Margrock, Perry Masonry, etc.

The Flintstone Family

Ed Flintstone

Edna Flintstone

Ricky Slaghoople

Pearl Slaghoople

Zeke Flintstone

Fred Flintstone

Wilma Flintstone

Barney Rubble

Betty Rubble

Pebbles Flintstone

Bamm-Bamm Rubble

Roxy Rubble

Chip Rubble

Overview

The show is set in the Stone Age town of Bedrock. (In some of the earlier episodes, it was also referred to as "Rockville"). In this fantasy version of the past, dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, and other long-extinct animals co-exist with cavemen. Like their 20th-century peers, these cavemen listen to records, live in split-level homes, and eat out at restaurants, yet their technology is made entirely from pre-industrial materials and largely powered through the use of various animals. For example, the cars are made out of stone, wood, and animal skins, and powered by the passengers' feet (as in the theme song, "Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet").

Technology

Often the "prehistoric" analogue to a modern machine uses an animal.^[9] For example, when a character takes photographs with an instant camera, inside of the camera box, a bird carves the picture on a stone tablet with its bill. In a running gag, the animal powering such technology would frequently break the fourth wall, look directly into the camera at the audience and offer a mild complaint about their job. Other commonly seen gadgets in the series include a baby woolly mammoth used as a vacuum cleaner; an adult woolly mammoth acting as a shower by spraying water with its trunk; elevators raised and lowered by ropes around brontosauruses' necks; "automatic" windows powered by monkeys on the outside; birds acting as "car horns," sounded by the driver pulling on their tails or squeezing their bodies; an "electric" razor made from a clam shell, vibrating from a honey-bee inside; a washing machine shown by a pelican with a beakful of soapy water; and a woodpecker whose beak is used to play a gramophone record. In most cases, "The Man of a Thousand Voices," Mel Blanc, contributed the animals' gag lines, often lowering his voice one to two full octaves, far below the range he used to voice the character of Barney Rubble. In the case of the Flintstones' cuckoo clocks, which varied from mechanical toys to live birds announcing the time, when the hour approached 12:00, the bird inside the clock "cuckooing" usually just ran out of steam and gave up vocally, physically, or both.

"Stone-age" names

The Stone Age setting allowed for gags and word plays involving rocks and minerals. For example, San Antonio becomes "Sand-and-Stony-o"; the country to the south of Bedrock's land is called "Mexirock." Travel to "Hollyrock," a parody of Hollywood, usually involves an "airplane" flight — the "plane," in this case, is often shown as a giant pterosaur. The last names "Flintstone" and "Rubble", as well as other common Bedrock surnames such as "Shale" and "Quartz", are in line with these puns. So are the names of Bedrock's celebrities: "Cary Granite" (Cary Grant), "Stony Curtis" (Tony Curtis), "Ed Sulleyrock/Sulleystone" (Ed Sullivan), "Rock Pile/Quarry/ Hudstone" (Rock Hudson), "Ann-Margrock" (Ann-Margret), "Jimmy Darrock" (James Darren), "Alvin Brickrock" (Alfred Hitchcock), "Perry Masonary/Masonite" (Perry Mason as played by Raymond Burr), "Mick Jadestone and The Rolling Boulders" (Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones), "Eppy Brianstone" (Brian Epstein) and "The Beau Brummelstones" (The Beau Brummels). Once, while visiting one of Bedrock's houses of "Haute Couture" with Wilma, Betty even commented on the new "Jackie Kennerock (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) look". In some cases, the celebrity featured also provided the voice: "Samantha" and "Darrin" from "Bewitched" were voiced by Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. Examples from the above list include Ann-Margret, Curtis, Darren, and the Beau Brummels. Other celebrities, such as "Ed Sulleystone" and "Alvin Brickrock," were rendered by impersonators. Some of Bedrock's sports heroes include: football player "Red Granite" (Red Grange), wrestler "Bronto Crushrock" (Bronko Nagurski), golfer "Arnold Palmrock" (Arnold Palmer), boxers "Floyd Patterstone" (Floyd Patterson) and "Sonny Listone" (Sonny Liston), and baseball players "Sandy Stoneaxe" (Sandy Koufax), "Lindy McShale" (Lindy McDaniel), "Roger Marble" (Roger Maris) and "Mickey Marble" or "Mickey Mantlepiece" (Mickey Mantle). Ace reporter "Daisy Kilgranite" (Dorothy Kilgallen) was a friend of Wilma's. Monster names include "Count Rockula" (Count Dracula) and "The Frankenstone Monster" (The Frankenstein Monster).

Voice actors

It has been noted that Fred Flintstone physically resembled voice actor Alan Reed, and also Jackie Gleason, whose series The Honeymooners was said to be very similar to The Flintstones. The voice of Barney Rubble was provided by legendary voice actor Mel Blanc, though five episodes during the second season (the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 9th) 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. It should be noted, however, that Blanc's portrayal of Barney had changed considerably after the accident. In the earliest episodes, Blanc had used a much higher pitch. After his recovery from the accident, Blanc used a deeper voice.

Additional 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. The first time that the Art Carney-like voice was used was for a few seconds in "The Prowler" (the third episode produced).

In a 1986 Playboy interview, Jackie Gleason said that Alan Reed had done voice-overs for Gleason in his early movies, and that he (Gleason) considered suing Hanna-Barbera for copying The Honeymooners but decided to let it pass.^[10] According to Henry Corden, who took over as the voice of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed died, and was a friend of Gleason’s, “Jackie’s lawyers told him that 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 that so many kids love, and so many parents love, too?”^{[citation needed]}

Henry Corden handled the voice responsibilities of Fred after Reed's death in 1977. Corden had previously provided Fred's singing voice in The Man Called Flintstone and later on Flintstones children's records. Since 2000, Jeff Bergman and James Arnold Taylor have performed the voice of Fred. Since Mel Blanc's death in 1989, Barney has been voiced by both 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; Henry Corden (singing voice in The Man Called Flintstone 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

Episodes

Main article: List of The Flintstones episodes

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.^[11]

Starting in Season 3, Episode 3 ("Barney the Invisible"), the opening and closing credits theme was the familiar vocal, "Meet the Flintstones". The melody is derived from part of the 'B' section of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 Movement 2, composed in 1801/02.^[12] 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.^[11]

During the show's final season, "Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In)", performed by Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, in a clip from that season's first episode, was used as alternate close music.

A PRS for Music survey revealed that the Flintstones' theme tune was the most recognised kids' TV theme tune amongst UK adults.^[13]

Production history

Model of the Flintstones' car at the 2008 New York International Auto Show.

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. Tom and Jerry entertained both children and the adults that accompanied them. However since children didn't need their parents supervision to watch television Hanna-Barbera's output became labeled "kids only". Barbera and Hanna wanted to recapture the adult audience by creating the most popular form television genre that appealed to both adults and children, the situation comedy.^[14]

The show imitated and spoofed The Honeymooners.^[15] 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."^{[citation needed]} 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."^[16]

Before settleing on the stone-age Barbera and Hanna experiented with hillbillies, Ancient Rome, Pilgrims, and American Indians as the settings for the two families.^[17] 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.^[18]:3 When the series itself was commissioned, the title 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),^[19] Hanna-Barbera settled upon The Flintstones. Aside from the animation and fantasy setting, the show's scripts and format are typical of 1950s and 1960s American situation comedies, with the usual family issues resolved with a laugh at the end of each episode, as well as the inclusion of a laugh track.

Although most Flintstones episodes are stand-alone storylines, the series did have a few 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 (1/25/63), in which Wilma reveals her pregnancy to Fred, the arc continued through the trials and tribulations leading up to Pebbles' birth in the episode "Dress Rehearsal" (2/22/63), and then continued with several episodes showing Fred and Wilma adjusting to the world of parenthood. In Australia, the Nine Network ran a "Name the Flintstones' baby" competition during the 'pregnancy' episodes – few Australian viewers were considered sophisticated enough to have a USA connection giving them information about past 'Flintstone' shows.

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. The 100th episode made (but the 90th to air), Little Bamm-Bamm (10/3/63), established how Bamm-Bamm was adopted. About nine episodes were made before it, but shown after, which explains why Bamm-Bamm would not be 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).

Fred and Wilma advertising Winston Cigarettes during the closing credits.

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. 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 (like Warren Foster and Tony Benedict). The first two seasons were co-sponsored by Winston cigarettes and the characters appeared in several black and white television commercials for Winston (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).^[20] During the third season (the season in which Pebbles was born), Welch's (grape juice and grape jellies) became the primary sponsor, and the overall tone and writing of the series became more family friendly. 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. Best Foods, makers of Skippy peanut butter, was the alternate sponsor.

The Flintstones 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.^[21]

The show contained a laugh track, common to most other sitcoms of the period. In the mid-1990s, when Turner Networks remastered the episodes, the original laugh track was removed. Currently, the shows airing on Boomerang and the DVD releases have the original laugh track restored to most episodes (a number of episodes from Seasons 1 and 2 still lack them). Some episodes, however, have a newer laugh track dubbed in, apparently replacing the old one. Because of this practice, the only episode to originally air without a laugh track ("Sheriff For a Day" in 1965) now has one.

The Flintstones also became the first primetime animated series to last more than two seasons;^[22] this record wasn't surpassed by another primetime animated TV series until the third season of The Simpsons in 1992.^[22]

Reception

The night after The Flintstones premièred Variety called it "A Pen and Ink Disaster".^[23] However the negative reviews were short lived and The Flintstones soon became one of the most popular and well loved shows of all time. In 1961, The Flintstones was the first animated series to be nominated for an Outstanding Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award. They lost to The Jack Benny Show. In January 2009, IGN named The Flintstones as the ninth best in its "Top 100 Animated TV Shows". ^[24]

Nielsen ratings

The show was a top 30 hit for its first three seasons according to ClassicTVHits.com

• 1960–1961: #18 (24.3 rating)
• 1961–1962: #21 (22.9 rating)
• 1962–1963: #30 (20.5 rating)

Original broadcast history

• ABC (1960–1966)
  • September 1960 – September 1963 Friday 8:30–9:00
  • September 1963 – December 1964 Thursday 7:30–8:00
  • December 1964 – September 1966 Friday 7:30–8:00

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.^[25] 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.

It has been announced that Family Guy creator (and Hanna-Barbera alumnus) Seth MacFarlane will be reviving The Flintstones for the Fox network, with the first episode airing in 2013.^[26]

Television series

• The Flintstones (1960–66) (166 episodes) (6 seasons)
• The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971–72) (20 episodes) (1 seasons)
• The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972–73) (16 episodes) (1 seasons)
• Fred Flintstone and Friends (1977–78) (95 episodes) (1 seasons)
• The New Fred and Barney Show (1979) (17 episodes) (1 seasons)
• Fred and Barney Meet the Thing (1979) (13 episodes) (1 seasons)
• Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo (1979–80) (13 episodes) (1 seasons)
• The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980–82) (18 episodes) (2 seasons)
• The Flintstone Funnies (1982–84) (13 episodes) (1 seasons)
• The Flintstone Kids (1986–88) (76 episodes) (2 seasons)
• Dino: World Premiere Toons – featuring "Stay Out!" (1995) and "The Great Egg-Scape" (1997)
• Cave Kids: Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm (1996) (8 episodes) (1 seasons)
• The Flintstones (2013)

Theatrical animated feature

• The Man Called Flintstone (1966, released by Columbia Pictures)
• The Flintstones (CGI Computer Animated film, TBA, released by Warner Bros. Pictures)

Television specials

• 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 movies

• 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)

Live-action films

• The Flintstones (1994)
• The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)

Other media

For a list of DVDs, video games, comic books, and VHS releases, see List of The Flintstones media.

Theme parks

At least two Flintstones-themed amusement parks exist in the United States, one in Custer, South Dakota and another in Valle, Arizona. Both have been in operation for decades. One previously existed in Australia and in Canada at Australia's Wonderland & Canada's Wonderland as a Hanna Barbera theme, dominated by small children's rides, from 1985 up until the late '90s. Another existed until the 1990s at Carowinds in Charlotte, NC. In Canada, Flintstone Park in Kelowna, British Columbia opened in 1968 and closed in 1998; notable for the "Forty Foot Fred" statue of Fred Flintstone which was a well known Kelowna landmark. Another Flintstones park was located in Bridal Falls, British Columbia which closed in 1990.^[27] Calaway Park outside Calgary, Canada, also opened with a Flintstones theme and many of the buildings today have a caveman-like design, though the park does not currently license the characters.

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.^{[citation needed]} It opened at the Panasonic Theater replacing the Star Trek Show. The story consists of Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty heading for "Hollyrock".^{[citation needed]} The show ran until January 2, 1997.^{[citation needed]}

Popular culture

Theme cafeteria The Flintstones in Agia Napa, Cyprus

As noted above, for the first two seasons, the series had strong ties to a sponsor, Winston cigarettes, with the characters shown smoking the product during commercial breaks. This approach was not unusual for television at that time, either with tobacco or any other product. In one memorable advertisement, Fred and Barney relaxed while their wives did housework, smoking Winstons and reciting Winston's jingle, "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should!"^[28] In 1962, Winston pulled their sponsorship from the show when Wilma became pregnant;^{[citation needed]} beginning in the fall of 1963, the main sponsor was Welch's Grape Juice. By no small coincidence, Pebbles' favorite drink was Grape Juice.

Welch's advertised their product with animated commercials featuring the cartoon cast and they were often pictured in print ads and on grape juice containers. In the actual scenes of a few episodes, Pebbles is given grape juice as a treat, although, in those scenes, Welch's is not mentioned by name.

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 sold to this day.^[29]

The characters from the series were used in a 1966 industrial film designed to promote the 1967 beer advertising campaign for Anheuser-Busch's Busch Beer. This film was released to the Anheuser-Busch distributors, and it was not seen by the general public until years later when bootleg copies began to circulate.^[30]

In 1982 satirist Tom Chalkley, using the alias "Bruce Springstone", did a parody of the intro theme titled 'Bedrock Rap/Meet The Flintstones'. The cover of the album listed "Live at Bedrock". Sounding like Bruce Springsteen, Tom did a talking intro describing himself as a kid 'flipping dino burgers' and watching a worker (Fred) 'coming home to his stone hut' at night shouting 'Wilma, I'm home honey. Wilma!', then launching into a Springsteen-esque version of the intro theme from the show, complete with saxophone solo at the end.^[31]

The series spawned the Post Foods brands of Pebbles cereals: Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, and the discontinued Dino Pebbles (later revived as "Marshmallow Mania Pebbles", and then to "Marshmallow Pebbles").

In the 1985 documentary feature Bring on the Night, Sting and his band sing "Meet the Flintstones" during a recording session.^[32]

"Weird Al" Yankovic paid homage to the Flintstones in his song "Bedrock Anthem", a combined parody of "Under the Bridge" and "Give it Away", both by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, that even featured Flintstones voices and sound effects. It also was rereleased on the soundtrack album of the 1994 live action film.

The Screaming Blue Messiahs had a song called "I Wanna Be a Flintstone" on their album Bikini Red. It was later rereleased on the soundtrack album of the 1994 live action film The Flintstones.

At the start of The Simpsons episode Marge vs. the Monorail (Season 4, Episode 12), Homer is seen driving whilst singing "Simpson, Homer Simpson, he's the greatest guy in history/ From the town of Springfield, he's about to hit a chestnut tree" to the tune of "Meet the Flinstones".

An episode of BBC sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf sees Lister and the Cat discussing, and agreeing that they find both Wilma and Betty attractive, before realising that the discussion is pointless... 'she'll never leave Fred and we know it!'

In 2008, Warner Brothers Theater Ventures announced that Jeff Marx, Jake Anthony and Marco Pennette would collaborate on a stage musical version of The Flintstones, with the plot putting a contemporary spin on the characters.^[33] The proposed production stalled during negotiations.

Fred Flintstone's exclamation 'Yabba Dabba Dooo!', shouted in the opening credits as well as any time Fred became happy or excited, is widely known and repeated.

In the Young Money song BedRock, although the song is mainly about sex, the name is referenced with the line: "Call me Mr Flintstone, I can make your bedrock".

More recently, the Flintstones have been seen in commercials for GEICO automotive insurance and Midas auto repair shops.

On September 30, 2010, Google temporarily replaced the logo on their search page with a custom graphic celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first TV broadcast.^[34]

In the animated feature, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs when Ellie jumps on a brontosaurus she exclaims, "Yabba-Dabba-Do". Manny later says, "Don't Yabba-Dabba-Do that again".

Fred and Barney appeared in the MAD segment "2012 Dalmatians", as cavemen bones at the "Museum of Natural Mystery".

See also

	Animation portal
	Television portal
	United States portal

• 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.

References

1. ^ "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. 1994-06-02. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-02/news/vl-64779_1_hoyt-curtin. Retrieved 2010-11-10. 
2. ^ "Top 100 animated series". IGN. http://uk.tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/9.html. Retrieved 2010-10-19. 
3. ^ "Boomerang Throws Wilma-Thon". Animation Magazine. http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/boomerang-throws-wilma-thon. Retrieved 2010-11-23. 
4. ^ CD liner notes: Saturday Mornings: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
5. ^ "Flintstones, The - Season 1 Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Site-News-BCI-Shut-Down/11064. Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
6. ^ http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/yabba-dabba-doo-seth-macfarlane-finally-gets-go-ahead-to-reboot-the-flintstones/
7. ^ http://tv.ign.com/articles/116/1168551p1.html
8. ^ Romanek, Broc. "List of Flintstones Characters". Thecorporatecounsel.net, accessed 31 March 2011
9. ^ "The Flintstones' 50th anniversary: 10 wackiest Bedrock inventions". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8034759/The-Flintstones-50th-anniversary-10-wackiest-Bedrock-inventions.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
10. ^ Zehme, Bill (interviewer) (August 1986). "Jackie Gleason – Playboy Interview – Life History". http://www.playboy.com/articles/jackie-gleason-1986-interview/index.html?page=2. Retrieved 2009-07-25. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "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. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-02/news/vl-64779_1_hoyt-curtin. Retrieved 2010-11-10. 
12. ^ "Rechmann in Recital". http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rechtman-in-recital-beethoven/id339484252. Retrieved October 2010. 
13. ^ WENN (August 11, 2010). "The Flintstones boasts top tune". Yahoo News. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/1/20100811/ten-the-flintstones-boasts-top-tune-c60bd6d.html. Retrieved 2010-08-11. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ The Flintstones, season 2 DVD documentary
15. ^ Stinnett, Chuck. "Rango is latest reminder that animated films are thriving". Evansville Courier & Press, March 8, 2011
16. ^ "The Flintstones Frequently Asked Questions List". http://www.topthat.net/webrock/faq/faq13.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
17. ^ Leonard Moltan interviews Joseph Barbera, 1997
18. ^ Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing. ISBN 1-57036-042-1. 
19. ^ "The cartoon dream team". BBC News. 2001-03-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1237649.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
20. ^ "The Flintstones turns 50: The five dumbest moments". Christian Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2010/0930/The-Flintstones-turns-50-The-five-dumbest-moments/The-Flintstones-smoked. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
21. ^ "First TV Couple in Same Bed". http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/marykay.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-30. 
22. ^ ^{a b} "Cartoons". Museum.tv. 1989-04-12. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/cartoons/cartoons.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-30. 
23. ^ Leonard Maltin interviews Joseph Barbera-1997
24. ^ "IGN - 9. The Flintstones". Tv.ign.com. http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/9.html. Retrieved 2010-08-30. 
25. ^ The Man Called Flintstone (film review). Variety, August 10, 1966
26. ^ Willllllllllmmmmaaa! Animated 'Flinstones' To Be Resurrected by Seth MacFarlane and Air on Fox
27. ^ "Remember Flintstones Park in Kelowna? Where there was Fred, there was food, beer and bowling - the same is true at Freddy's Brew Pub!". Mccurdybowl.com. 2009-02-16. http://www.mccurdybowl.com/freddys_brewpub_history.html. Retrieved 2010-08-30. 
28. ^ One of numerous YouTube videos of this commercial Retrieved 2010-11-23
29. ^ The Flintstones Season 1 DVD
30. ^ Phil Hall (August 27, 2004). "The Bootleg Files: Busch Advertising 1967". Film Threat. http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1187. Retrieved 2009-02-15. 
31. ^ "Lebanese tribute to Bruce Springsteen". Springsteen Lyrics. http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics/b/bedrockrap.php. Retrieved October 3, 2010. 
32. ^ "Bring on the Night (1985) - Movie Connections". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088855/movieconnections. Retrieved December 15, 2010. 
33. ^ Fick, David (December 3, 2008). "The Flintstones: a Yabba Dabba Musical". Musical Cyberspace. http://musicalcyberspace.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/the-flintstones-a-yabba-dabba-musical/. Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
34. ^ "The Flintstones 50th anniversary is celebrated by Google Doodle". The Daily Telegraph, UK. September 30, 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/8033894/The-Flintstones-50th-anniversary-is-celebrated-by-Google-Doodle.html. Retrieved September 30, 2010. 

External links

• Museum of Broadcast Communications: The Flintstones
• The Flintstones - Cartoon Network Department of Cartoons (Archive)
• Webrock: The Flintstones and Hanna-Barbera Site
• The Flintstones page at Toonopedia
• The Flintstones at the Internet Movie Database
• The Flintstones at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Flintstones at TV.com
• 50 Years of Journey of The 'Flintstones'
• A film clip of television commercials for Winston cigarettes featuring The Flintstones is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]