From The TV IV

This article about a program needs to be expanded with more information. Please help out by editing it.

The Flintstones (1960–66) is an animated comedy that aired on ABC. After the show's successful run, it produced a number of spin-offs. For a complete list, see The Flintstones franchise.

The original pilot presented to ABC for The Flintstones, running a mere two minutes, had Daws Butler voicing Fred and Barney and was immediately paralleled to Jackie Gleason's show The Honeymooners. In fact, upon seeing the finished product, Gleason threatened to sue Hanna-Barbera for plagiarism.

Taking place in the small community of Bedrock, Fred Flintstone is your average nine-to-five guy working at a rock quarry. His wife, Wilma, can be loving and understanding one moment and then nagging and cuckolding the next. The Rubbles, their next door neighbors, are comprised of happy-go-lucky Barney and his wife Betty. Early episodes had Fred and Barney coming up with schemes to either go out for a night on the town without their wives' suspecting or Fred's cockeyed schemes to make a fortune.

The show rose as high as 25th in the ratings, and during this peak time, it was decided to make Fred and Wilma a father and mother. In the 1963 season, Wilma announced to Fred she was pregnant (the word not actually being used) and several weeks later, Wilma gave birth to Pebbles, their daughter. This broke the usual mold in cartoons where a stork delivers babies. Later that season, the show broke more ground dealing with adoption--a bundle is left on the Rubbles' doorstep and within was a baby boy with the strength of a wooly mammoth. He was named Bamm-Bamm, and the Rubbles had to go to court to fight for him when social services found a party more fit to raise him. Bamm-Bamm was awarded to the Rubbles anyway as the other litigant announced his own wife was expecting.

In the final season, a new semi-regular cast member was introduced. The Great Gazoo was a futuristic alien exiled to Earth. In order to return to his home planet, he had to show he could use his powers to help others on other worlds, and he would be the subservient of Fred and Barney (whom are the only people who could see Gazoo).

The year The Flintstones left prime time, a theatrical animated feature was released by Columbia Pictures, The Man Called Flintstone. The original series would concurrently run in replays on NBC's Saturday morning line-up and in syndication.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Seasons 3 Theatrical Film 4 In-Depth 5 DVD Releases 6 External Sites

[edit] Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Main Cast
Alan Reed	Fred Flintstone	1	2	3	4	5	6
Jean Vander Pyl	Wilma Flintstone	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Pebbles Flintstone			3	4	5	6
Mel Blanc	Barney Rubble	1	2	3	4	5	6
Bea Benaderet	Betty Rubble	1	2	3	4
Gerry Johnson						5	6
Don Messick	Bamm Bamm				4	5	6
Harvey Korman	The Great Gazoo						6

[edit] Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
ABC
Season One	September 30, 1960	April 7, 1961	28
Season Two	September 15, 1961	April 27, 1962	32
Season Three	September 14, 1962	April 5, 1963	28
Season Four	September 19, 1963	March 12, 1964	26
Season Five	September 17, 1964	March 12, 1965	26
Season Six	September 17, 1965	April 1, 1966	26

[edit] Theatrical Film

Title	Release Date
The Man Called Flintstone	August 3, 1966

[edit] In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

[edit] DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Complete Series
The Complete Series	October 28, 2008	24
Season Sets
The Complete First Season	March 16, 2004	4
The Complete Second Season	December 7, 2004	4
The Complete Third Season	March 22, 2005	4
The Complete Fourth Season	November 15, 2005	4
The Complete Fifth Season	March 7, 2006	4
The Complete Sixth Season	September 5, 2006	4
Feature Film
The Man Called Flintstone	December 2, 2008	1
Episode Collections - Various Series
1960s Volume 1	May 26, 2009	2	purchase

[edit] External Sites

• The Flintstones at the Internet Movie Database