Herb Kane
Screenwriter
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The Flintstones: The Complete First Season
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 1960-1961
Rated: Not Rated
Film Length: 737 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Standard TV
Audio: DD Mono
Color/B&W: Color with a couple B&W special features.
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
MSRP: $64.92
Package: **Limited Edition Packaging** 5 panel gatefold Digipak with a replica animated cel slipcover.
“Whose baby is that…? What’s your angle…? I’ll buy that…!”
The Feature:
After having been involved with this wonderful format from day one, I can tell you unequivocally, that there hasn’t yet been a release announcement more anticipated by me than The Flintstones. As much as I love the Looney Tunes (and make no mistake about it, I LOVE the WB Looney Tunes), there’s just a special place in my heart for The Flintstones. Although I’m not quite old enough to have remembered their original prime time releases, I grew up watching The Flintstones in syndication and certainly treasure many fond memories racing home from school to watch them during the lunch break from 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. and then racing back to school so as not to be late.
The show was created by the legendary William Hanna and Joseph Barbera who are responsible for molding Saturday mornings as we now know them. They were also responsible for the creation of Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, Tom & Jerry and Jonny Quest among many other favorites. Warner Brothers has also announced upcoming releases for The Jetsons and Jonny Quest – The Complete First Seasons, both to be released on May 11th. Scooby Doo – The Complete First and Second Seasons (as a complete package), will be released on the same day as The Flintstones, March 16th.
For those of you actually living in a cave… The Flintstones takes place in a small prehistoric town known as Bedrock located in Cobblestone County where the currency is known as “clams”. Fred Flintstone (voiced by Alan Reed) and his wife Wilma (Jean Vander Pyl) are best friends and neighbors to Barney Rubble (Mel Blanc) and his wife Betty (Bea Benaderet – who was replaced in 1964 by Gerry Johnson). Poor Fred is a hard working guy (well, caveman really) just trying to get by with ideas of grandeur but with an execution similar to a modern day Al Bundy. Other notable voice regulars who appeared throughout the years were June Foray, Harvey Korman, Frank Nelson (perhaps most famous for his utterance of a single word; “welllllllll”) and Verna Felton who rendered the husky voice for Wilma’s mother and also appeared in Dumbo and Marilyn Monroe’s, Don’t Bother To Knock as the busybody neighbor.
The Flintstones was the first animated series ever broadcast on PT network television with an obvious focus for adults in mind. In 1960-1961, the show aired on Friday nights on ABC at 8:30 p.m. and during the entire six year run of the series, there were a total of 166 original episodes produced. The original name of the series was to be "The Flagstones". It’s believed that due to similarities to the "Hi and Lois" characters' surname being “Flagston”, the name was changed to The Flintstones. Apparently, the name "Gladstones" was also considered but soon dismissed. The show was nominated for an Emmy in 1961 for "Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor", but lost to "The Jack Benny Show", however the show did win a Golden Globe Award in the category of “Outstanding Achievement In International Programming”.
During the third season, the opening and closing sequences, the "Meet the Flintstones" theme song debuted. This opening shows Fred sliding down the tail of his dino crane at the quarry, then Wilma, Dino and the cat pile in the car where they head to the drive-in. The closing sequence shows them driving from the movies to a drive-in restaurant where Fred orders ribs which tips the car over, then Fred attempts to put the cat out. This was the opening sequence I was familiar with. This set contains the original opening sequence which features Fred driving home from work, racing through the streets of Bedrock, crashing his car into the garage, then goes in the house to sit down and watch TV, accompanied by music eerily reminiscent to the I Love Lucy theme song. In the original closing sequence, Fred turns off the TV, covers the bird cage, and attempts to put the cat out. These sequences were only used for the first two seasons. The more familiar opening and closing themes were usually used for all episodes during syndication, which certainly was the case when they were broadcast here.
Over the years certain characters changed in physical appearance, as did Fred’s place of employment, Fred’s car changes in virtually every episode as does his house and surroundings. Who’s Fred’s real boss…? Is it Mr. Boulder, J. J. Granite, Joe Rockhead or Mr. Slate? It’s all of them. And Barney? Who really knows what he does…? It’s hard to say if the show was just never concerned or conscious of the continuity aspect or if it was the Hanna - Barbera attempt at simply creating an impulsive, yet satirical theme for each episode. And in the end it never really matters, it always works.
The set is comprised of four discs which consist of the first 21 episodes on three single sided discs and the remaining seven episodes on the fourth disc which also houses the special features located on the other side. The set is housed in a 5 panel gatefold Digipak but has a very unique cover. It is a plastic see-through animated like cel (similar to the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Usual Suspects SE packaging). According to the WB press release, the package is touted as being a “Special Limited Edition”, so I would assume that eventually the case will revert back to the typical cardboard slipcover which is now the norm for these box sets. These covers are very cool.
The very first episode aired on September 30th, 1960. Titled "The Flintstone Flyer", it was actually the second Flintstones episode produced, but the first to air. The following episodes are included:
Disc One:
1. THE FLINTSTONE FLYER
Written by Mike Maltese, Airdate: 9-30-1960
2. HOT LIPS HANNIGAN
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 10-7-1960
3. THE SWIMMING POOL
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 10-14-1960
4. NO HELP WANTED
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 10-21-1960
5. THE SPLIT PERSONALITY
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 10-28-1960
6. THE MONSTER FROM THE TAR PITS
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 11-4-1960
7. THE BABYSITTERS
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 11-11-1960
Disc Two:
8. AT THE RACES
Written by Sydney Zelinka, Airdate: 11-18-1960
9. THE ENGAGEMENT RING
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 11-25-1960
10. HOLLYROCK, HERE I COME
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 12-2-1960
11. THE GOLF CHAMPION
Written by Sydney Zelinka, Airdate: 12-9-1960
12. THE SWEEPSTAKES TICKET
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 12-16-1960
13. THE DRIVE-IN
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 12-23-1960
14. THE PROWLER
Written by Joseph Barbera, Airdate: 12-30-1960
Disc Three:
15. THE GIRLS' NIGHT OUT
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 1-6-1961
16. ARTHUR QUARRY'S DANCE CLASS
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 1-13-1961
17. THE BIG BANK ROBBERY
Written by Arthur Phillips, Airdate: 1-20-1961
18. THE SNORKASAURUS HUNTER
Written by Warren Foster and Mike Maltese, Airdate: 1-27-1961
19. THE HOT PIANO
Written by Mike Maltese, Airdate: 2-3-1961
20. THE HYPNOTIST
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 2-10-1961
21. LOVE LETTERS ON THE ROCKS
Written by Arthur Phillips, Airdate: 2-17-1961
Disc Four:
Side One:
22. THE TYCOON
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 2-24-1961
23. THE ASTRA' NUTS
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 3-3-1961
24. THE LONG, LONG WEEKEND
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 3-10-1961
25. IN THE DOUGH
Written by Arthur Phillips, Airdate: 3-17-1961
26. THE GOOD SCOUT
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 3-24-1961
27. ROOMS FOR RENT
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 3-31-1961
28. FRED FLINTSTONE: BEFORE AND AFTER
Written by Warren Foster, Airdate: 4-7-1961
Side Two:
Special Features.
Back in the early 90’s, during a trip my wife and I took to Los Angeles, we were introduced to a gentleman by the name of John Ambro who was the son of the late animator, Hal Ambro. We were very fortunate enough to have spent several hours talking to him and listening to many great stories he was eager to share with us. We were also treated to seeing many of the hand drawings his dad had completed including some Flintstones drawings as well as many Disney sketches. It was one of the highlights of my trip and a moment I will cherish forever. On an animated art hunt during the same trip, we found four pencil drawings from my favorite episode, The Hot Piano which were drawn by Hal Ambro. They are framed and hang above our fireplace.
Video:
Much to talk about in terms of the video presentation. First the good news. Colors, as you can imagine almost jumped off the screen. They were eye popingly beautiful and vibrant. Blacks couldn’t have been any darker and whites were nicely contrasted although the show always seemed to have a bluish tint to it. The amount of grain was minimal and on a comparative scale, I would say less than the Looney Tunes set that was released last year. I thought I saw some compression artifacting occasionally but never found it to be overly bothersome.
Unfortunately, the good news is followed by a little bit of bad news. What’s most noticeable in terms of anything problematic is the amount of dirt and dust visible, particularly during scenes on solid light colors or during close-ups of flesh tone scenes. Thankfully, most of the animated backgrounds in the series are patterned or textured which helps so as not to make it so prevalent. I don’t know what, if any, sort or work was done to the original elements, but it looks as though they could have been cleaned up. Keeping in mind, I’m watching on a 96” screen, I suspect the problem won’t be quite as noticeable on a smaller RPTV. Again, keep in mind these elements are 40+ years old. Other than some dust and dirt, they look quite good and overall I am pleased with them.
Audio:
Not so much to talk about here but it is all positive. Thankfully, there is virtually no hiss to speak of and the overall tonal fidelity of the mono track sounds natural and untampered with. Dialogue was always crystal clear and intelligible. Besides the English track are French and Spanish tracks. Though the series had a laugh track, it appears as though some of the episodes include the laugh track and some do not. Same with the French & Spanish tracks - some of the episodes include the track while others don't. When the track is present, it is rather subtle and subdued doing what it’s supposed to do and never becoming annoying.
As we might expect in terms of dynamics from a mono track from the 60’s, (aside from the limitations of mono itself), it serves the needs of the material, but offers little beyond the essentials.
All in all a very solid job.
Special Features:
Though the set isn’t inundated with special features, the ones that are included are of interest. They are:
[*] All About The Flintstones is an interesting but brief history of the series which features Hanna and Barbera, discussing the show and it’s placement during primetime as well as the mark the pair have made with shaping much of the animation of the time, thought to be some of the very best to ever be created. Duration: 5:20 minutes.
[*] Next, a listing of Wacky Inventions. Over the years we observed many modern caveman inventions including The Flintstone Flyer, the family sedan (and its many incarnations), the TV set, record players, lawnmowers, electric razors, sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. This is basically a list showing many of the great gadgets and gizmos that made life a little bit easier. Duration: 5:43 minutes.
[*] The Flagstones – The Pilot. This is a snippet of the original episode which is basically The Swimming Pool episode but features slightly different looking characters and different voice actors (albeit, all of the voices are familiar with many other characters over the years). I’m not sure if this episode exists in its full length version but I am disappointed not to find it in its entirety. Unfortunately what is included is in pretty rough shape. One can only assume it has been destroyed, otherwise its inclusion should have been obvious. Needless to say, I am curious…? Duration: 1:34 minutes.
[*] Up next are a number of animated Flintstone Advertisements which include:
[*] Alka Seltzer & One-A-Day Vitamins. Color - 55 seconds.[*] Alka Seltzer. B&W – 57 seconds. Interesting as Fred describes the box as blue and white presumably due to the ad being in B&W.[*] One-A-Day Vitamins #1. B&W – 31 seconds.[*] One-A-Day Vitamins #2. B&W – 31 seconds.[*] Post Fruit & Cocoa Pebbles #1 – Mission Ridiculous. Color – 32 seconds.[*] Post Fruit & Cocoa Pebbles #2 – Breakfast. Color – 32 seconds.[*] Post Fruit & Cocoa Pebbles #3 – Run Around. Color – 32 seconds. Note: there was no audio for any of the three Post Cereal commercials, at least not on my copies. (???)
[*] Moving to Thursday Promo #1. This is a 22 second animated ad informing the public that the show will be changed to Thursday nights and moved to the earlier time slot of 7:30 pm.
[*] Moving to Thursday Promo #2. This is a 25 second animated ad prefaced by “starting in two weeks” the show will be changed to Thursday nights and moved to the earlier time slot of 7:30 pm.
Sadly though, the set does not feature the old Winston cigarette commercial featuring Fred & Barney which aired in the 60's. This would have been a nice inclusion.
[*] The last special feature included are three trailers for:
- Scooby Doo: Where Are You? This is a trailer for the upcoming Seasons 1 & 2 Complete Seasons. Duration: 1:15 minutes.
- Tom & Jerry. This is a trailer advertising 6 recent DVD’s that have been released. Duration: 1:27 minutes.
- Looney Tunes: The Golden Collection. This is a trailer featuring the set of the same name which promotes the fabulous collection that debuted last year. Duration: 1:15 minutes.
Final Thoughts:
I suspect many here are fond of The Flintstones. The sheer demographic age group of many of us DVD aficionados alone would be smack dab in the middle of the target for those of us who grew up watching this brilliant TV series. A series which would still hold its own with anything contemporary TV could throw at it.
Aside from some dust and dirt, WB has presented an impressive package that’s sure to bring back a lot of fond memories. Even if you weren’t a fan of the show, the nostalgia value alone makes this set an almost must purchase. I, for one, couldn’t be happier that this piece of TV history is finally available and can’t wait for the day that all six season sets are released. Yabba Dabba Do…!!
Highly Recommended…!!!
Release Date: March 16th, 2004
