The Flintstones

When this show was on I watched it every time I could! I thought that the characters were really funny and all had great personalities. The animation in My opinion was crisp, clean, and really clear. Not to mention beautiful! Most of the characters in this show are hilarious like the Looney Tunes characters that we all love. in My opinion these characters are the funniest and talented ever seen. In fact, The things that goes on in this series' cartoons are in My opinion nuts which that is what makes them hilarious! There are so many to like and laugh at and the silly things they do! If you like the original Looney Tunes then I strongly recommend that you watch this show!

This is definitely the show that put Hanna-Barbera studios on the map. After years of producing primarily cartoons for children (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound et ala.), this really became the first cartoon show that was geared for adults, though there still is enough to keep children interested. Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty are all people everyone can relate to even though the show is set in the stone age. And even though I feel that in most cases the introduction of cute kids ruins a show, the introduction of Pebbles and Bamm Bamm helped to show that beneath his gruff exterior Fred was a big teddy bear. However, I do agree that when Gazoo was introduced was when the show's quality began to go down hill. Thankfully, he was never included in any of the subsequent incarnations of the "modern stone age family".

THE FLINTSTONES hold a special place in my memory, as I'm sure they do for many people the world over. The series started in Britain in 1960, the year I had my very first job - babysitting for a neighbor. I was just 15. The two kids were total brats, screaming, spoilt, mashed potato slam-dunked over the wallpaper...but I didn't care, I was watching Fred and Barney live out there lives of near-perfection in a world that was starting to move away from near perfection! "Yabba Dabba Doo" must surely be one of the most recognizable cries on earth - WHO would not know its origins from 4 to 90?

The success of this animated icon probably lies in the simplicity of the Flintstone and Rubble clans. Everyone on this planet is part Fred, Barney, Betty or Wilmer at some time in their lives. Events depicted in each and every episode were things that everyone can, did (and will continue) to identify with. They are Mr and Mrs Average and if we all lived our lives and never achieved anything more than the Flintstones we could justifiably be happy. The show supported family values, decency, togetherness, love, friendship, clean living, laughter and it was environmentally aware, socially responsible and able STILL to reach children.

The lives of everyone in the Western World would have been that much poorer had it not been for THE FLINTSTONES. I can't say as much for the two appalling movie spin-offs!

"The Flintstones" was so dead-on satirical in its view of a prehistoric suburban world that I don't really understand it when people tell me they liked "The Jetsons" better. There's nobody I can relate to on "The Jetsons", no character who exudes any warmth or wit. The characters here (Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, Dino, Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, Mr. Slate, Mrs. Slaghoople, etc.) have expressions and personalities which are instantly recognizable to an audience. They're a very funny bunch, and they often find each other greatly amusing as well (each character has a sense of humor--and their friendships really do seem like a bond). I don't know why the Hanna-Barbera team weren't able to duplicate the quality of this show in terms of its writing and voice-casting (perhaps it was all a fluke?), but "The Flintstones" has it all: great writing and voices which bring one-dimensional drawings to life, terrific plots, fantastic music by Hoyt Curtin. Not a kiddie show...not a sitcom...not a child-pacifier. "The Flintstones" is a minor miracle.

A lot of people don't remember that The Flintstones was the first prime time cartoon series, and what a success it was.

I think the fact that it was written for prime time, with writing meant to appeal to old and young alike, is why the series holds up so well into these times. Of course, it was also based on the solid foundation of copying The Honeymooners, and that didn't hurt either.

I learned a lot of lessons from the Flintstones. I don't have misunderstandings with my friends, and I don't sneak out to do things my wife doesn't know about. LOL I also buy dogs that are too small to knock me down when I get home.

Almost every story is a little morality play with a lesson, large or small learned. Fred is obviously not a character to pattern your life after, and this is another important lesson.

Lessons aside, the shows are uniformly amusing, and the clever turns of names into stone age words, and modern conveniences into useful animals, is always clever and will bring chuckles when first you see them.