Mark McDermott
4937 Stanley Ave., Downers Grove, IL 60515
Markm    @    MarkMcDermott    .    com

"The Flintstones" (1960-1966), about a "modern Stone-Age family," was the first
successful prime-time animated series on American television. Its continuing
popularity can be seen not only in years of reruns and revivals, and the 1994
live-action feature, but in over 4,000 merchandise tie-ins from clothing to
vitamins.

     After their success with children's shows like "Huckleberry Hound" and
"Yogi Bear," William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were urged by Screen Gems (the
television arm of Columbia Pictures) to develop a prime-time animated series.
They worked out the concept of parodying current situation comedies, especially
"The Honeymooners" and "Father Knows Best," with the twist of setting them in a
different historical era. Cartoonists Dan Gordon and Bill Benedict had the idea
to use a Stone Age setting (although the Fleischer Studios produced a similar
series of "Stone Age Cartoons" back in 1940). The concept was bought by ABC, and
premiered Sept. 30, 1960. Voiced by Alan Reed, Jr. (Fred Flintstone), Mel Blanc
(Barney Rubble), Jean VanderPyl (Wilma Flintstone) and veteran actress Bea
Benaderet (Betty Rubble), "The Flintstones" finished the season in the Nielsen
ratings' top 20, and won a number of industry awards, including the Golden
Globe, and an Emmy nomination for best comedy series of 1960-61.

     A clear appeal of the series lays in its parody of sitcom formula plots,
and there are elements of satire in the way modern consumer conveniences are
turned into sight gags. One of the show's favorite gags was to have cameos by
Stone Age versions of modern celebrities (Ann Margrock, Stony Curtis, etc.). The
most popular gimmick was Wilma's pregnancy, ending with the February 1963
"birth" of their little girl, Pebbles. The next season the Rubbles adopted
Bamm-Bamm, a little boy of incredible strength and a one-word vocabulary.

     By the fifth and sixth seasons, the show began to use more storylines aimed
at kids, with new neighbors the Gruesomes (a spin on "The Munsters" and "The
Addams Family"), and magical space alien The Great Gazoo (Harvey Korman). The
show was cancelled after 166 episodes in 1966, but went immediately into
syndication to find continued success. That same year, Columbia released "The
Man Called Flintstone," a theatrical feature spoofing James Bond.

     The Flintstones were revived several times as Saturday morning series,
starting in 1971 with "Pebbles and Bamm- Bamm," pitting the adolescent pair in
Archie-type hijinks, then in 1980 with "The Flintstones Comedy Show." "The
Flintstone Kids" (1986) followed the trend of presenting well-known cartoon
stars as children.

     The idea of a live-action movie languished for several years until Steven
Spielberg brought the project through dozens of writers and lassoed John Goodman
as the natural choice to play Fred. "The Flintstones" opened in May 1994, to
good box office from audiences who wanted to see the original cartoon gags and
catchphrases, although most critics were not impressed.

Bibliography:

Brooks, Tim and Earl Marsh. "The Flintstones." The Complete Directory to Prime
     time TV Shows, 1946 - Present. 4th ed. New York: Ballantine. 1988.
Halpin, Joan. "Animation Legend Visits in Cambria." Central Coast Times (Paso
     Robles, CA), 27 Aug. 1992: 1.
Lenburg, Jeff. The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Rev. ed. New York: Facts
     on File. 1991.
O'Neil, Thomas. The Emmys. New York: Penguin, 1992. 73-77.
Shaw, Scott. "The Bedrock Chronicles: The Evolution of the Flintstones." Cartoon
     Quarterly, Winter 1988: 27-31.

Mark McDermott
from: The Guide to United States Popular Culture, Ray B. Brown & Pat Browne, 
editors
Copyright 2001 © Bowling Green State University Popular Press, p. 284-285