First Classic Animated Series to Run in Primetime

First Classic Animated Series to Run in Primetime

"The Flintstones" was already prehistoric by design when it premiered Sept. 30, 1960. Sixty years after its launch, primetime TV's starting time animated series seems even older in some ways, surprisingly contemporary in others and however gets callbacks in today'southward popular culture.

The classic TV precious stone (likely still in carbon form at the time), a takeoff of Jackie Gleason's "The Honeymooners" and the longest-running primetime cartoon until overtaken by "The Simpsons," follows Fred and Wilma Flintstone, a suburban Bedrock couple with mid-20th Century sensibilities living in 10,000 B.C.

For 6 seasons, Fred, who operated a Brontosaurus-powered steam shovel at Mr. Slate'southward quarry, and neighbor Barney Rubble got into and out of rock-headed scrapes, as Wilma and Barney'due south married woman, Betty, both smarter than their husbands, rolled their eyes. Babies Pebbles Flintstone and Bamm-Bamm Rubble showed up later to this chronologically incorrect world of dinosaurs, mastodons and a mother lode of geological puns.

More than a half-century since "The Flintstones" concluded its original run on ABC, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Better Things" and"Immature Sheldon" make references to Boulder'due south favorite family; Fred's Yabba Dabba Doo remains a universally recognized exclamation; and various products still carry the Stone Age seal of approving.

And so, Happy anniversary, Fred and friends! To celebrate lx years of punny rock references (Fred played for Prinstone in a Poison Ivy League football game game against Shale), here are six stone-common cold cool things about "The Flintstones" (MeTV, weekdays, 6 EDT/PDT; streaming on HBO Max) :

Enjoy a theme vocal for the ages

"Flintstones, Meet the Flintstones/They're a mod Rock Age family/From the town of Boulder/They're a page correct out of history." Come on. You know you're humming forth right now to the show's brassy, archetype theme.

The visual images are enduring, likewise: the quarry foreman pulling a bird air horn at the end of a shift, Fred sliding along a dinosaur'southward tail to his foot-powered Flintmobile and Wilma, Pebbles, dinosaur canis familiaris Dino and the Rubbles joining him for a trip to the drive-in. During the closing credits, the family'south saber-toothed true cat locks non-too-sharp Fred out of the firm, leaving him banging on the door and yelling, "Wilma!"

"The Simpsons," a superior serial that has paid tribute to its predecessor, parodied the theme and visuals in 1 episode and The B-52s, performing as The BC-52s, covered the tune in the 1994 film, "The Flintstones."

Perhaps surprisingly, the well-known theme didn't debut until Flavor three. During the first 2 years, the instrumental "Rise and Smoothen" opened the show, with the credits featuring sponsor Winston cigarettes, a truly obsolete epitome today.

Wilma masters a mammoth vacuum cleaner

And by mammoth, we mean woolly, not huge. If anthropomorphism is the application of man traits to animals or objects, "The Flintstones" variation might be called animal-thropomorphism, or critters every bit household appliances.

A short list includes Triceratops wheelbarrow; porcupine dish scraper; single-horned dinosaur tater peeler; tortoise ottoman; and octopus dishwasher. The put-upon laborers oftentimes tossed off distressing-sack wisecracks: "What well-nigh my dishwater tentacles?" the octopus lamented.

Birds never got a break. They were used like mops, electrical toothbrushes, can openers and tape player needles. One feathered friend appeared worn downwards from dawn exultation duty: "I'll be glad when real roosters develop. I'll slumber in every morning time."

From Barney to Bugs Bunny: That's non all, folks

Mel Blanc, who played Barney, is known as The Man of a Thousand Voices and is considered by some to exist the greatest voice histrion.

Blanc, who also voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, was joined by Alan Reed (Fred), Jean Vander Pyl (Wilma) and Bea Benaderet and Gerry Johnson (Betty). They were part of a gilt age of backside-the-scenes voice actors that preceded today's era of pic stars getting hired by studios that need recognizable names to promote animated films on network morning shows.

'Flintstones' guests are literal rock stars

"The Flintstones" offered a who's who of '60s Hollyrock royalty. Ann-Margret, fresh off "Good day Bye Birdie," sang every bit musical modify ego Ann-Margrock and Tony Curtis appeared every bit flick star Stoney Curtis. Other boulder-faced names portrayed past the show's vocalization cast include: Ed Sullystone (Ed Sullivan); Alvin Brickrock (Alfred Hitchcock); Gary Granite (Cary Grant); Rock Quarry (Rock Hudson); and Perry Masonry/Masonite (Boob tube lawyer Perry Bricklayer).

The show embraced crossovers, with Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) of "Bugged," another ABC family sitcom, moving into the neighborhood in ane episode and Hanna-Barbera's Yogi Bear making a cameo in some other.

Fred Inc. gets into movies, vitamins, cereal

"The Flintstones" inspired two live-action films, 1994's "The Flintstones" and prequel "The Flintstones in Viva Stone Vegas" (2000). It introduced John Cenastone (John Cena) in the 2015 animated motion-picture show, "The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Historic period Smackdown," and spawned numerous drawing shows, too.

The success of the original series led to the launch of"The Jetsons," some other Hanna-Barbera cartoon fix far in the future, in 1962. It lasted one season in primetime on ABC.

Children born decades after "The Flintstones" concluded know the Flintstones and Rubbles as chewable vitamins, while others become their day started with a bowl of Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles. The Flintstones were featured in theme parks and roadside attractions, too.

Everything ancient is new over again

The core "Flintstones" humor was anachronistic: suburban modernism in caveman wear. Today, the 1960s milieu itself seems carbon-dated, just, in a curious way, elements of "The Flintstones" resonate, oft by blow.

Fred'southward foot-powered, steamroller-propelled Flintmobile would be classified as a zero-emission vehicle, perhaps a response to climate alter, i.due east., an impending Ice Age.

The drive-in picture show, featured in the credits, is back in vogue in our socially distanced pandemic era.

With a vinyl revival, record players no longer seem obsolete, although today's hipsters won't find the model that features a bird's neb needle and tortoise turntable.

Rick Moranis, who played Barney in the 1994 flick, is back on screen these days later on a two-decade break.

Finally, blockheads like Fred and Barney never go out of way, which is not and so good in real life but merely fine in a drawing.

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First Classic Animated Series to Run in Primetime

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/09/30/the-flintstones-became-primetime-tvs-first-animated-series-1960/3568618001/