The Dabba Don

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The Dabba Don
The staff at Sebben & Sebben not so subtly eavesdrop a conversation between Harvey and the Don.
Network	Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)
Premiere date	July 28, 2002
Run time	12:02
Starring	Gary Cole Stephen Colbert Thomas Allen Maurice LaMarche Kevin Richardson Tress MacNeille Michael McKean John Michael Higgins Doug Preiss Frank Welker Steve Landesberg Adam Lawson
Music composed by	Michael Kohler
Writer(s)	Michael Ouweleen Erik Richter
Director(s)	Robert Alvarez
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Title card

"The Dabba Don" is the sixth episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law season one. It aired on July 28, 2002 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. It was written by series creators, Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter, and directed by Robert Alvarez. The Hanna-Barbera series ridiculed in this episode is The Flintstones.

The Don, aka Fred Flintstone, tries bribing and threatening Harvey to get him on his side.

Memorable quotes

Fred: You're dead to me, can opener!

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Fred Flintstone	Maurice LaMarche
Harvey Birdman	Gary Cole
Avenger	Adam Lawson
Peanut	Thomas Allen
Phil Ken Sebben	Stephen Colbert
The Bear	N/A
Quick Draw McGraw	N/A
Barney Rubble	Kevin Richardson
Betty Rubble
Wilma Flintstone	Tress MacNeille
Pebbles Flintstone	Tress MacNeille
Judge Hiriam Mightor	Gary Cole
Thundarr	Doug Preiss
Jabberjaw	Frank Welker
Bailiff	Steve Landesberg
Stenographer	N/A
Judge Mentok	John Michael Higgins
Evelyn Spyro Throckmorton	Michael McKean
Cary Granite	N/A
Mr. Slate	N/A
Clyde	N/A
Dum Dum	N/A
Pockets	N/A
Snoozy	N/A
Softy	N/A
Yak Yak	N/A
Zippy	N/A
Captain Caveman	N/A
Gleep	Adam Lawson
Dino	Unavailable

Organizations

• Slate Construction
• Bedrock Moving Company
• Pterodactyl Airlines
• Sebben & Sebben
• Water Buffaloes
• ATF
• Ant Hill Mob

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Bedrock
      • Boulder Dan's Billiards
      • Bedrock Airport
      • Dabba Doo!
      • Water Buffalo Hall
      • Bedrock Post Office
      • The Sandstone
      • Flintstone residence
      • Bedrock County Hospital
    • Washington, D.C.
      • Sebben & Sebben offices
      • Birdman residence
      • The Bird Cage

Objects

• Daily Slate
• Pebblegrine
• Pterodactyl lampshade (voiced by Maurice LaMarche)
• Can opener bird (voiced by Maurice LaMarche)
• Above the Waist

Vehicles

• Flintmobile
• Bulletproof Bomb

Production

Development

This episode came about because every episode of The Flintstones seemed mob-related, influenced by episodes such as (and in no particular order) "Fred's Second Car", "The Soft Touchables", and "At the Races". Fred comes off as Tony Soprano-esque, the protagonist of the HBO drama The Sopranos. The Powers That Be asked Ouweleer and Richter that Fred could not be implicated in anything, but were somehow fine with Barney being guilty.

Filming

When Fred is at the pole dancing, he was originally looking up, but it was changed to him looking forward, with a slight smile, as he would be there all the time.

Music

The score was composed by Michael Kohler.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: July 28, 2002 on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)

Behind the scenes

• The episode is full of mafia jokes:
  • The episode title is a combination of Fred's catchphrase, "Yabba dabba doo" and the nickname of mob boss John Gotti, the "Dapper Don."
  • The Godfather films, with the decapitated heads in Harvey's bed, the kissing scene, and operatic music during the murder scenes.
  • As mentioned above, the episode is heavily influenced by HBO's The Sopranos:
    • The mirror opening of Fred driving around Bedrock, like Tony Soprano driving around New Jersey, the "Got No Fancy Shoes" song riffing off "Woke Up in the Morning" by Alabama 3, and the ending title card of "The Dabba Don" mimicking the former's.
    • Peanut is a parody of Tony's nephew, Christopher. Peanut also wears a chain around his neck with the name "Angela", which is similar to Adriana, the girlfriend of Christopher.
    • Dabba Doo! is a parody of the strip joint Bada Bing!
• Spyro paraphrases the Flintstones theme song "(Meet) The Flintstones."
• Ouweleen and Richter provide audio commentary for this episode on DVD releases.
• In the audio commentary, it was claimed Mightor was killed off because he always made the creators feel uncomfortable. In spite of this, he continued to make further appearances.

Errors

• To be authentic of mistakes back when The Flintstones originally aired, the Water Buffalo member's body is still visible as a stripper runs past, and his eyes prominently still stick to the scene, as Fred walks past him.
• Captain Caveman's nose is gray.

Legacy

• Despite how the episode ended, Fred is released from prison in "Juror in Court," and his case is reopened in "The Death of Harvey."
• Fred repeated the "You're dead to me, can opener" line in "Bird Girl of Guantanamole."

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • April 12, 2005: Warner Home Video releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One on DVD.
• In Australia:
  • April 7, 2007: Madman Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One on DVD.
  • November 28, 2012: Madman Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: The Complete Cases on DVD.
• In the United Kingdom and Ireland:
  • November 3, 2008: Revolver Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One on DVD.
  • December 7, 2009: Revolver Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Seasons 1,2 & 3 on DVD.