Flashback Friday - The Flintstones

Todays post has virtually written itself without me having to think of a flashback.  I was surfing the on demand kids programmes and came across "The Flintstones" ... not just that but Series 1 Episode 1 .... pure nostalgia.

The Flintstones has definitely withstood the test of time.  The animated television sitcom, produced by Hanna-Barbera, was initially broadcast from 1960 to 1966 and I cannot think of a year it hasn't been re-shown on one channel or another.

The Flintstones is about a working-class Stone Age man's (Fred Flintstone) life with his wife (Wilma) and his next-door neighbour and best friend (Barney Rubble and his wife Betty).  As the series went on both families were extended with the introduction of Pebbles (the Flintstone's baby) and Bam Bam (the Rubbles adopted child).



The show is set in the Stone Age town of Bedrock where dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, woolly
mammoths, and other long-extinct animals co-exist with cavemen.

Like their mid-20th century counterparts, 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 animals.

For example, the cars are made out of stone, wood, and animal skins, and powered by the passengers' feet.  The garbage disposal unit is an dinosaur sat under the sink and the washing machine resembles a pelican.

  

Characters

Over 100 characters appear throughout the run of the Flintstones, here are just a few of the main ones.

Fred Flintstone is the main character of the series. He is an accident-prone bronto-crane operator at the Slate Rock and Gravel Company. He has a very short temper.

Wilma Flintstone is Fred's wife. She is more intelligent and level-headed than her husband, though she often has a habit of spending money.

Pebbles Flintstone is The Flintstones' daughter, who is born near the end of the third season.

Dino is the Flintstone's pet dinosaur who barks and generally acts like a dog.




Barney Rubble is the secondary main character and Fred's best friend and next door neighbour. Fred and
Barney frequently get into feuds with one another however they always reconcile their differences.

Betty Rubble is Barney's wife and Wilma's best friend. Like Wilma, she too has a habit of spending money.

Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the Rubbles' abnormally strong adopted son, whom they adopt during the fourth season; his name comes from the only phrase he ever speaks as a baby: "Bamm, Bamm!"

Hoppy is the Rubbles' pet Hopparoo (a kangaroo/dinosaur combination creature), whom they adopt in the beginning of the fifth season. He babysits the kids as he takes them around in his pouch.

Mr. Slate is Fred's hot tempered boss at the stone quarry. Though he is friends with Fred and Barney, he is often not impressed with Fred's antics at the quarry, and has fired him on many occasions, only to give him his job back at the end.

The Great Gazoo is an alien exiled to Earth who helps Fred and Barney, often against their will. He is actually from the future, and is quite dismayed when he realises he has been sent back to "the Stone Age". He can only be seen by Fred, Barney, Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, other small children, Dino and Hoppy.
 

Film

I remember as a child being taken to watch the Flintstones Film. Not at the cinema but almost in a theatre setting (I cannot remember where it was tho).

The Flintstones film was released in 1994.  whilst it followed the same storyline and antics as the animated show it lost a bit of the magic for me as they turned it into a live-action adaptation.

It is in this film Fred's relationship with Barney is really shown as he loans him the money to adopt Bam Bam.

There was a later film in 2000 called"The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vagas" but I don't remember this as well.  If the rumour mill is to be believed there is a new film in the pipeline *yay*.