Description
The Flintstones was pitched to the network as an animated version of Jackie Gleason’s The Honeymooners. Now the honeymoon never has to end with this 4-disc set of the 28 episodes of the entire (pre)historic first season, full of terrific extras and trivia that will make fans shout “Yabba dabba doo!”Amazon.com
Meet The Flintstones in this prehistoric Hanna-Barbera production. Primetime’s first animated series was also the longest running until The Simpsons came al… More >>
The Flintstones – The Complete First Season
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Before Matt Groening and pals introduced us to “The Simpsons,” Joseph Barbera and William Hannah produced a little show called “The Flintstones.” Season “1″ was first aired on ABC during 1960 and has been syndicated in perpetuity throughout the known universe ever since.
Episode Guide:
(Screen Test) The Flagstones: Admittedly, I’ve never seen the screen test (discovered in 1993) and cannot even vouch for it’s inclusion in the DVD set-one can only hope.
(1) The Flintstone Flyer: Barney invents a flying machine (the Barney Copter) which he later loses to his over-bearing best friend. The duo uses the machine to ditch their wives and go bowling, thus setting the stage for years of adventures.
(2) Hot Lips Hannigan: Fred relives his glory days as a singer in his high school band as he jams with an old pal.
(3) The Swimming Pool: Fred and Barney construct a pool spanning across their backyards…a hilarious power struggle ensues.
(4) No Help Wanted: Having cost his friend his job, Fred finds Barney a new job as a repo man. Enter Dino.
(5) The Split Personality: Following a blow to the noggin’ Fred becomes his more refined alter, Frederick.
(6) The Monster from the Tar Pits: Gary Granite is filming in Bedrock and lucky Fred finds a part in the film…, as his stunt double.
(7) The Babysitters: Fred and Barney shirk their responsibilities and bring a baby to a friends house to watch the big fight. BYOB?
(8) At the Races: Fred and Barney rely on gambling for a quick-fix solution. Do you think they win?
(9) The Engagement Ring: Barney purchases a ring for Betty but Wilma discovers the ring and assumes it was for her… Instead of spending five minutes explaining the situation, Barney decides to enter a boxing contest with The Champ.
(10) Hollyrock, Here I Come: The girls come up with a winning slogan and a trip to Hollyrock. Lost without their better halves, Fred and Barney aren’t far behind.
(11) The Golf Champion: Fred demonstrates his prowess at golf, earning a trophy. Barney, however, pesters his buddy as Fred neglected to pay his membership dues.
(12) The Sweepstakes Ticket: Both the guys and gals purchase lottery tickets unbeknown to their spouses. As they forever remain strapped for cash, I think you know how this one ends.
(13) The Drive-In: Fred and Barney secretly quit their jobs to fulfill a short-lived dream of business ownership. The gig is up when one of their attractive employees pays a visit to the Flintstone residence.
(14) The Prowler: Terrorized by a neighborhood prowler, Betty and Wilma decide to take Judo lessons, despite Fred’s objections.
Rating: 5 / 5
Well, maybe having just celebrated a milestone birthday, I was feeling like re-capturing my youth. Perhaps that explains why I put this set and the “Jetson’s” on my wish list and was given them on my birthday. Regardless, this is one of the best DVD sets around. The artwork and picture quality, especially the color, is amazing. Being too young to see this as a prime time show, I enjoyed it as part of after school cartoons. One possible explanation on why the color is so amazing is that I watched the show in black and white as an adolescent.
I have to disagree with some other reviewers here in regards to the extra material. I think it is outstanding. The bonus material includes the original pilot called “The Flagstones” and some wonderful time period commercials and promos for the show. That is my favorite part of the set.
The episodes are longer than I remember, as they have been restored to their original length. Like the “Jetson’s” one can really see the 60′s influence. From the music to the terminology it is easy to see why this was simply an animated sitcom for the time.
I have not had the chance to view more than just the first disc and bonus materials, but will be glad to pop this in when I need that nostalgia fix. The DVD packaging and presentation is simply superb. If you have fond memories of this show, then it is worth it to buy the set. Well done.
Rating: 5 / 5
At this writing, I couldn’t tell you about the extra’s included in this volume. However, as I recall, The Flintstones’ 3rd season (1962-63) is perhaps their most transitional, as Fred (Alan Reed) and Wilma (Jean Vanderpyl) give birth to a little cavegirl named Pebbles (also voiced by Vanderpyl, she would make her debut towards the end of season 3 in Dress Rehearsal (aka The Blessed Event), at the end of the show; her 1st words are “Abba dabba goo goo!”). Many of the cartoons featured Wilma expecting, with the announcement of Wilma’s pregnancy at the end of one particular episode appropriately entitled The Surprise (ironically, this episode had more to deal with Barney’s nephew Marblehead, whom Fred grows to love, though he won’t admit it! Listen for Marblehead’s imitation of Uncle Barney’s hiccupy laugh). Barney (Mel Blanc) and Betty (Bea Benederet) are the godparents. Also, the familiar theme “Meet the Flintstones” also makes it proper debut in this season (it was featured in background music in Seasons 1 and 2).
Highlights include a performance by Rock Roll, who looks and sings a little like Elvis (“There’s a town I know where the hipsters go called Bedrock, twitch, twitch!”), Wilma and Betty enter a Rock Toasties contest and win a trip to Hawaii (Wilma saves Fred’s life by punching out a ferocious dinosaur chasing him, “Beat it, buster!”), Barney plans a surprise birthday party for Fred and spends most of the episode trying to get a fast asleep Fred home to the party, Fred takes ballet lessons to improve his bowling, Barney saves a baby but Fred unintentionally takes the credit, Fred goes back to high school for his diploma in order to avoid termination from Mr. Slate and becomes a football hero (“Flintstone! Flintstone! Rah, rah, rah!”), Wilma rents the house to 3 Swedish musicians (“Duh, he is Olie, I am Schven!”), Barney becomes invisible thanks to one of Fred’s wacky inventions, Fred tries hard to get along with his disagreeable mother-in-law during a visit (“I love my mudderinlaw!” he reminds himself, but gets his revenge by taking her on a long taxiride in disguise), Fred hires an Italian maid named Lolabrickida (who is an excellent cook and a lot nicer than Grandma Dynamite and the bossy nurse hired after Pebbles’ birth, but has zero tolerance for bad singing!), Fred and Barney go skiing in the mountains and unwittingly prevent a jewelheist (“Psst! Slalom, Shorty, SLALOM!”), Barney reluctantly agrees to masquerade at Little Tex to impress Fred’s rich Uncle Tex (voiced by Hal Smith, “Wahoooooo!”), Arnold the Paperboy cons Fred into paying more and later Wilma insists Fred see a quacky doctor and for Wilma’s birthday, Fred buys her a dodo bird named Doosey, who snitches to Wilma and Betty about the boys’ plans to go to a Water Buffalo convention in Frantic City without them (“Squawk! Frantic City, Frantic City, squawk, whistle!”). Also, Barney tricks Fred into thinking Pebbles can talk (“Do thum backfwips for me, Daddy, or I’ll cwyyyy!”) and the Flintstones move out of their humble abode to be near a crowd of rich snobs (“Everybody into the pyool!”).
If you liked Seasons 1 and 2, save your money for this one! That’ll be 2 rocks, please!
Rating: 5 / 5
Basically an animated version of The Honeymooners set in the Stone Age, The Flintstones was the first prime-time cartoon series made especially for television. Created and produced by animation pioneers William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, The Flintstones remains one of the most globally recognized animated programs to date, with an opening theme song (“Meet The Flintstones”) that practically everyone knows the words to.
The original first season Flintstones theme was the instrumental 1960 main title “Rise and Shine” composed by musical director Hoyt Curtin, who provided the show’s distinctive musical cues. “Meet the Flintstones” emerged in 1961 with lyrics written by series co-creator William “Bill” Hanna.
The exceptional voices were provided by Alan Reed as Fred Flintstone, dino-operator/quarry worker; Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone, his wife; Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble, Fred’s bosom buddy and lifelong pal; and Bea Benaderet as Betty Rubble, Barney’s wife. June Foray provides Betty’s voice in the Flagstones pilot which is included in this collection.
Despite the notoriously simple art direction (thick black lines, etc.) presented in the first season, it remains my favorite because the simple art style compliments the Honeymooners-inspired dialogue and situations, in addition to Hoyt Curtin’s uncanny musical feel of the show. A classic show inspired by a classic show!
Features:
Featurettes
Early TV promo spots
The original pilot episode “The Flagstones”
Rating: 5 / 5
To the Viewer from Seattle: “If anything, The Flintstones embraces every deplorable aspect of what would eventually become known as abusive and dysfunctional marriages.”
Chill out man, it’s just a cartoon!
Rating: 5 / 5