The Q&A participants are (in alphabetical order)…
Jerry Beck is the author of over fifteen books on animation including The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Classic Cartoon (Running Press, 2011). He teaches animation history at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and blogs at Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research.
Steve Cox is the author of over twenty books on pop culture including Mining Bedrock: The Voices Behind Television’s First Animated Sitcom, The Flintstones (forthcoming from BearManor Publishing). He has also written for TV Guide, The Hollywood Reporter, US, Los Angeles Times and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Herbie J Pilato is the author of a dozen books on classic television and is the host of Then Again with Herbie J Pilato, now streaming on Amazon Prime and Amazon Prime UK.
The interviews were conducted separately and have been edited into a “roundtable” conversation format.
Michael Coate (The Digital Bits): How do you think The Flintstones should be remembered on its 60th anniversary?
Jerry Beck: As a milestone in TV history — and animation history. The show was the first full-length animated narrative (previous TV cartoons were three separate 7-minute segments — think Yogi Bear — in a half hour program). It was the first animated sitcom on a major American TV network. It was the first TV cartoon aimed at adults. I could go on.
Steve Cox: As the first animated sitcom in television history. They were the first and cracked open that pterodactyl egg for the rest. Now look at the television landscape: The Simpsons has aired more than 600 episodes, Family Guy has aired more than half of that. The Flintstones paved that gravel road and it’s been smooth traveling ever since. What network executives at first feared is now welcomed on prime time everywhere. What once was shoved to Saturday morning is now watched in prime time, in fact any time.
Herbie J Pilato: The Flintstones stands out in the history of television as a terrific television show, in several categories. It’s not just a wonderful animated series that is written well, it’s also a very funny sitcom that has stood the test of time...clearly.
Coate: Can you remember when you first saw the show?
Beck: I was five years old when the show premiered. I remember waking up in the middle of the night — so I thought (it was 8:45pm) — and my parents were watching the show. I don’t recall the specific episode, but I never forgot what I was thinking: that cartoons weren’t only for kids. They were all ages. That has guided my entire career.
Cox: I grew up watching the show in reruns, afternoons in St. Louis on a popular independent station, so that was my version of binge-watching at the time. While I don’t recall discovering them, I actually probably watched later incarnations on Saturday morning (Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm) and worked backwards.
Pilato: I remember the show during its original run on ABC in the 1960s. My family used to go shopping on Friday nights, when The Flintstones first aired, and I remember wanting to make sure we got home before the show started. I also remember my Mom buying me The Flintstones vitamins one Friday night, but me not knowing they were vitamins. I thought they were candy. So, when I started to chew the vitamins as if they were candy, I remember how horrible they tasted. In fact, I can still taste how horrible they were. Thankfully, there are Flintstones gummy bears today.
Coate: In what way is The Flintstones significant?
Beck: It was a reminder, at the time, that animation could also be very entertaining fare for adults (as well as kids). Its six-season primetime run was a record for over 20 years (until The Simpsons came along). The show also proved that indelible characters could be created in limited animation — Disney didn’t have a lock on that.
Cox: The significance of the show changed over time, for me anyway. When I was a kid, the program was significant because it appealed to the child in me. The over-the-top gags and characterizations (and characters, like the Great Gazoo) are what made me laugh. But as I watched it later on, into my adulthood, the story-lines and how they mirrored real life situations and dilemmas were what appealed to me.
Pilato: The Flintstones is significant today because due to its Stone-Age premise, its comedy remains timeless, even if some of the pop-culture references are dated… like Ann Margrock, Cary Granite, Tuesday Wednesday, etc., in reference to the movie stars of the day, Ann-Margret, Cary Grant, and Tuesday Weld, when the show initially aired. But as the author of the original Bewitched books, and the Twitch Upon a Star and The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery biographies, my favorite guest stars on The Flintstones were and remain Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. And as opposed to the others I mentioned, Elizabeth and Dick actually lent their voices to their guest appearance, whereas the other celebrity guest stars were voiced by The Flintstones main cast members.
Coate: Which character is your favorite?
Beck: That’s a hard one. I’m partial to the Rubbles. Barney. Betty. I’m a purist and love the first two seasons above the rest… and yet I’m a fan of The Great Gazoo in later seasons. I guess it has to be Fred — because I can relate to him. He’s the everyman, with big dreams. That’s me.
Cox: I would have to say that Barney Rubble was my favorite, followed by Dino. Both were voiced by Mel Blanc and I simply marveled at his performances. Not that the rest of the cast weren’t astounding in their performances — they all came from radio (Alan Reed, Jean Vander Pyl, and Bea Benaderet as the original four) and knew their craft.
Later on, in grade school believe it or not, I began a correspondence with Mel Blanc whom I had simply sent a letter to in care of Hanna-Barbera Studios in Los Angeles. He responded enthusiastically and we ended up becoming friends. Early on, when I would make an (expensive) long distance call to the great man himself, I’d ask him to give me a sample of some voices and it was usually Barney and Dino. Never mind he supplied the vocals for Bugs Bunny and stable of fantastic Warner Brothers characters. I was blown away by the voice of Dino — which, by the way, was a very difficult voice to perform because it was done by Blanc on an inhale. For you or me, we would cough terribly trying to wheeze out that Dino voice, but with Mel Blanc and his powerful pipes, he could create a character out of that sound. How perfect was Dino’s voice?
Pilato: I love all of them, but if I have to choose, I’m going to say Barney, because he was always so amiable on the show… so carefree, and even-tempered. Nothing really riled him. He was a good guy. Certainly, Fred was a good person, too. But like Archie Bunker on All in the Family, it took Fred a while to come around to compromise, etc. But he did come around. Fred was nowhere near the bigot that Archie was, but he was uneducated and ultimately lovable, like Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, which influenced The Flintstones, and to some extent, I think, All in the Family, too.
Coate: Which are the series’ standout episodes?
Beck: Real standouts were The Blessed Event (the birth of Pebbles), along with Little Bamm-Bamm… but right alongside those is Ann Margrock Presents.
Cox: I love any of the musical episodes and in my upcoming book on the series Mining Bedrock: The Voices Behind Television’s First Animated Sitcom, The Flintstones, I reveal who actually sang all of those great tunes — from the theme song to little Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm’s surreal performance of Let the Sunshine In.
Pilato: There are so many wonderful episodes… and I remember scenes more than episodes. But I loved the one when Fred became a rock star… or at least thought he was. Or when he was a stunt man for the monster of the tar pit movie that was made in Bedrock. Then there was the episode in which Fred and Barney inadvertently got involved with counterfeit criminals. I also loved the one where Fred dreams that he, Wilma, and the Rubbles visit the future. It had a very cool Twilight Zone aspect to it, and it also reminded me of The Jetsons, which is like The Flintstones in space anyway… future space, that is.
Coate: Which episode is your favorite (if you could name only one)?
Beck: I can’t name only one. The Hot Piano with the unforgettable repetitive “Happy Anniversary” serenade… The Happy Household where Wilma gets a job as the star of The Happy Housewife Show and sings the sponsors song. I guess I might like the ones with special song sequences. The Swedish Visitors with Ole and Sven (and a song, and a Yogi Bear cameo) is up there too. I’m not forgetting the musical episode The Twitch either.
Pilato: Without a doubt, my favorite episode is called Little Bamm-Bamm. Here, Fred and Wilma and Barney and Betty Rubble, discover the truth of what it means to be a parent, as well as a friend. It’s significant not only due to the fact that it introduced the super-powered Bamm-Bamm to the series (thus presenting an additional element of fun-fantasy), but also because of how he is interposed on the show. The action takes place shortly after Wilma gives birth to Pebbles which, in and of itself, is a milestone in the annals of small screen animation. Because of the blessed boulder of an event, Barney and Betty become even more frequent than usual visitors to their neighbors.
Meanwhile, Fred becomes extremely frustrated with the situation. He doesn’t feel he’s spending enough quality time with his new daughter. In a vile moment, he (who more times than not is slightly cranky), is incredibly rude to Betty with a derogatory remark about the Rubbles not having children.
Betty runs away crying. Barney and Wilma are furious. Fred is morose.
In a very poignant and real moment, Betty is next seen, sobbing, in the arms of her husband on a bench in their side-yard. As Barney attempts to console his teary spouse, to near no-avail, the loving couple look skyward and notice a shooting star. A wish is made. The next day, Bamm-Bamm is abandoned at their door, and the Rubbles make every attempt to adopt the infant.
The episode would be significant enough, such that the Rubbles actually adopt Bamm-Bamm, which marks the first time in animated history that cartoon characters gave time to foster children. But it’s this episode’s legitimate moments of emotion recited so believably well by the characters (and their voice-overs) that christens this episode as vintage and definitive.
Like any good series, animated or not, The Flintstones played according to the logic it created. As with the live-action The Honeymooners sitcom that inspired the show, Fred and Wilma’s adventures invite us into its self-contained world, and makes us feel welcome, even though we are the outsiders and, in this case, live-action figures. And The Flintstones’ prehistoric ways remain ageless, mainly because of the intelligent, time-honored episodes like Little Bamm-Bamm.
Coate: If you were to introduce the show to someone, which would be the best gateway episode?
Beck: The first ones — The Flintstone Flyer or The Swimming Pool. That’s the show. Once you “get” the show, then you can move on to Ann Margrock, Perry Stonite and The Gruesomes.
Cox: Any from the second or third season where the characters and animation became locked-in (somewhat).
Pilato: That’s a tough one. But I would say to by-pass the early episodes which are a little awkward, if only because Mel Blanc had yet to find his best “Barney” voice, and the animation was not fully realized yet, in the way both Fred and Barney were drawn. For example, early on, Barney’s eyes are not fully-colored in. Instead, they’re empty circles. And that always bothered me. So, if I were to recommend any episode as the first to watch, I would cut to any segment in the later seasons. All of those worked and looked just fine, on every level.
Coate: Where do you think The Flintstones ranks among the numerous Hanna-Barbera shows?
Beck: Possibly at the top. The show was original, and a product of its time. It’s about the Stone Age — and, like cave paintings, it will live forever.
Cox: The Flintstones will always be the cornerstone of that company. I know it was not their first series, it did not contain their first successful characters, it did not win an Emmy. But the landmark series has never run out of gas. The ’Stones were the building blocks of the company and gave them clout, gave them cash, and provided further opportunities for the studio. Much like another H-B series, Scooby-Doo, it has been a viable franchise in a variety of ways and media.
Pilato: At the top, Number One (with The Jetsons in second place).
Coate: Where do you think the original 1960s The Flintstones ranks among the numerous Flintstones series, spin-offs, movies, etc?
Beck: Well the original series is what all the spin-offs are trying to emulate. The original prime time series is the template. The original series is The Flintstones.
Cox: As the best. The pinnacle.
Pilato: Number One. The sequels were okay, and I enjoyed them. But they were nothing like the original show. And it bothered me that Bamm-Bamm did not retain his super-strength in the Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, which aired on Saturday mornings in the 1970s. That was an inconsistency that messed with the original show’s mythology. And the artwork was a little different, too, in the new shows. Some of the characters, like Wilma, didn’t look right. The sequels, overall, simply didn’t do it for me. And the original show was for all ages, kids, and adults, whereas the sequels, and spin-offs, etc., were specifically-geared just toward kids.
Coate: Do you believe The Flintstones has been adequately represented on home video?
Beck: Yes.
Cox: It will be, finally, when the series is released next month on Blu-ray. [This interview was conducted prior to the release of the new Blu-ray set.] But the cover of the Blu-ray package... oh my god. No comment. I just hope the episode transfers are as beautiful as their Blu-ray release of The Jetsons.
Pilato: I think the show is perfectly represented in that realm.
Coate: What is the legacy of The Flintstones?
Beck: The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers… Shall I go on?
Coate: Thank you — Jerry, Steve, and Herbie — for sharing your thoughts about The Flintstones on the occasion of its 60th anniversary.
IMAGES
Selected images copyright/courtesy American Broadcasting Corporation, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Screen Gems, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
- Michael Coate
Michael Coate can be reached via e-mail through this link. (You can also follow Michael on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)
