The Flintstones (TV series)


 * This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see The Flintstones (disambiguation).

The Flintstones is an animated TV sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera's (H-B) for the ABC network. It ran from 1960 to 1966, airing 166 episodes. It was the first prime-time animated series geared for adults, although its accessibility for the whole family allowed it to be frequently repeated on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in their heydays.

The Flintstones is about the life of a working class Stone Age man, Fred Flintstone, and his wife, Wilma, along with their next door neighbours and best friends, Barney & Betty Rubble. Later additions included children for both families, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, respectively, and an alien visitor named the Great Gazoo. It was considered a parody of The Honeymooners.

Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television, who also co-produced, syndicated repeats of the program until 1981, when The Program Exchange picked up syndication on Columbia's behalf. In the mid-1990s, syndication moved to Turner Program Services, shortly after Turner's acquisition of H-B, and its acquisition of The Flintstones from Columbia. In 1998, it transferred to Warner Bros. Television Distribution, when Time Warner bought out Turner and its HB library.

The popularity of The Flintstones even after it ended, spawned spin-off shows, television specials and movies. It also influenced H-B to make the Space-Age counterpart, The Jetsons, as well as the Roman period The Roman Holidays, and the then 1970s contemporary Where's Huddles, while Fox Television aired contemporary counterparts such as The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Cast

 * Alan Reed as Fred Flintstone
 * Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble and Dino; Daws Butler filled in for Blanc during episodes 1, 2, 5, 6, 9 of season 2
 * Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone and Pebbles Flintstone
 * Bea Benaderet (seasons 1-4) and Gerry Johnson (seasons 5-6) as Betty Rubble