The Blessed Event
| The Blessed Event | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Production number | P-84[1] |
| Network | ABC |
| Premiere date | February 22, 1963 |
| Starring | Alan Reed Mel Blanc Jean Vander Pyl Bea Benaderet Howard Morris Don Messick June Foray |
| Music composed by | Hoyt Curtin |
| Writer(s) | Harvey Bullock R. Saffian |
| Director(s) | William Hanna |
| Voice director(s) | Joseph Barbera |
| Episode navigation | |
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"The Blessed Event", also known as "Dress Rehearsal",[1] is the twenty-third episode of The Flintstones season three, and the eighty-third overall. It aired on February 22, 1963 on ABC. It was written by Harvey Bullock and R. Saffian, and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the creators of the series and the founders of Hanna-Barbera Productions.
When Fred is told that Wilma could be having a blessed event an anytime, Betty suggests on rushing to the hospital, only to find that it had happened for real.
Detailed summary
Memorable quotes
Characters
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Locations
Objects
Vehicles
Production
Development
Filming
The cast was recorded on September 20, 1962.[1] According to Jean Vander Pyl, the voice of Wilma and newborn Pebbles, there was a "great deal of personal interplay" among the cast, so much so that in the last scene with Wilma in the hospital bed with Pebbles, Vander Pyl, who had kids herself around that time, so it was "very real" to her, and Alan Reed, voice of Fred, also got a "little teary" more than once with Vander Pyl.[2]
Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin.
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: February 22, 1963 on ABC
- United Kingdom and Ireland:
Behind the scenes
- This is the first episode in which Fred and Wilma share the same bed, instead of two single beds as in previous episodes.
- The scene where Fred, Barney, and Betty rehearse getting Wilma to the hospital before calling the doctor is similar to a moment in the I Love Lucy episode "Lucy Goes to the Hospital," in which Ricky, Fred and Ethel do the same thing to Lucy while at the hospital. Similarly, both episodes also do not have any mention of pregnancy, due to strict television policies at the time of their respective air dates.
Errors
Connections
- This is the last of four episodes that chronicle Pebbles' birth. The other episodes were "Mother-in-Law's Visit," "Foxy Grandma," and "Fred's New Job."
- The scene in which Barney disguises himself as a woman would be reused in the 1993 television film Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby.
In popular culture
- In the Full House episode "Take My Sister, Please," Joey tells Lisa that he cried for a week after watching the birth of Pebbles.
Critical reception
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This episode is one of Jean Vander Pyl's own most "treasured moments" of the series.[3]
In other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
Home availability
- In the United States:
- October 20, 1988: Worldvision Home Video releases The Flintstones on VHS.
- 1988: Junior Home Video releases The Flintstones on VHS.
- October 20, 1988: Worldvision Home Video releases The Flintstones on VHS.
- 1989: Image Entertainment releases The Flintstones on VHS.
- March 22, 2005: Warner Home Video releases The Flintstones: The Complete Third Season on DVD.
- October 28, 2008: Warner Home Video releases The Flintstones: The Complete Series (limited edition) on DVD.
- November 13, 2012: Warner Home Video releases The Flintstones: The Complete Series (standard edition) on DVD.
- October 3, 2017: Warner Home Video releases The Flintstones: The Complete Third Season (Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection edition) on DVD.
- February 13, 2018: Warner Home Video releases The Flintstones: The Complete Series (Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection edition) on DVD.
- October 27, 2020: Warner Home Video releases The Flintstones: The Complete Series on Blu-ray Disc.
- In the United Kingdom and Ireland:
- 1989: Braveworld releases The Flintstones on VHS.
- June 4, 2007: Warner Home Video releases The Flintstones: The Complete Third Season on DVD.
- In Germany:
- 1989: Goodview Home Video releases The Flintstones on VHS.
References
- ^ a b c Adams, T.R. (November 1994). The Flintstones: A Modern Stone Age Phenomenon, page 166. Turner Publishing. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ Dooley, J. (1991). "Speaking of Wilma...," page 62. Comics Scene #19. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ Dooley, J. (1991). "Speaking of Wilma...," page 63. Comics Scene #19. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
