The Flintstone Comedy Hour

The Flintstone Comedy Hour
Genre Animation
Directed by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Voices of Alan Reed
Mel Blanc
Jean Vander Pyl
Gay Hartwig
Jay North
Mickey Stevens
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 18
Production
Producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Camera setup Dick Blundell
Tom Barnes
Ralph Migliori
Roy Wade
George Epperson
Running time 60 minutes (1972–73)
30 minutes (1973–74)
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network CBS
Original release September 9, 1972 (1972-09-09) – January 26, 1974 (1974-01-26)
Chronology
Preceded by The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
Followed by Fred Flintstone and Friends

The Flintstone Comedy Hour is a Saturday morning animated anthology series revival of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on CBS as an hour-long show from September 9, 1972 to September 1, 1973 and re-titled The Flintstone Comedy Show for a second season of reruns as a half-hour show from September 8, 1973 to January 26, 1974.

Summary

The show's first half-hour featured two shorts with Fred & Barney, one short with the cast of The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, comedy gags and two songs performed by the new Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm band called "The Bedrock Rockers"; the second half-hour featured four new episodes and reruns of The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show. The show also featured Moonrock, Penny, Wiggy, bad-luck Schleprock and the Bronto Bunch (Bronto, Noodles, Stub and Zonk) from The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.[1][2]

Mickey Stevens replaced Sally Struthers as the voice of Pebbles in four new episodes of The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and in brief in-between segments, Struthers at the time being fully committed to her role as Gloria Stivic on the sitcom All in the Family. This was the final spin-off to feature Alan Reed as the voice of Fred Flintstone before Reed's death in 1977.

For the 1973–74 television season, CBS dropped The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show episodes and repackaged the first half-hour segments of The Flintstone Comedy Hour for a second season of reruns under the new title The Flintstone Comedy Show from September 8, 1973 to January 26, 1974. The "Fred & Barney" shorts and "The Bedrock Rockers" segments were later featured on the syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends in 1977–78.[3] The program continued to air in rebroadcasts under The Flintstone Comedy Show title on USA Cartoon Express, Cartoon Network and Boomerang.[4]

Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained a laugh track created by the studio.

The Bedrock Rockers

The Bedrock Rockers were Pebbles Flintstone on keyboard, Bamm-Bamm Rubble on bass and their friends: Moonrock on drums, Penny and Wiggy on tambourines. They performed two songs per episode which included:

  1. "And I Love You"
  2. "Sunshine Man"
  3. "Summertime Girl"
  4. "Yabba Dabba Doozie"
  5. "Being With You"
  6. "Singing Song"
  7. "What's Your Sign?"
  8. "Hop, Skip and a Jump"
  9. "Oh, How I Love You"
  10. "Sunny Sun Day"
  11. "Keep in Time"
  12. "Flying So High"
  13. "It Should Always Be Saturday"
  14. "Shadow, Shadow"
  15. "Rock N Roll Circus"

The music was written by various Screen Gems staffers, which at the time included David Gates (later of "Bread") penning the popular "Summertime Girl" and Tony Dancy (of Tony's Tygers) writing with Craig Fairchild & Jackie Mills on "Being With You". Mills would also write "Sunshine Man" with Leonard Pettit, and "Yabba Dabba Doozie" with Tom Jenkins. The actual group on the recordings were known as the Ron Hicklin Singers featuring Tom Bahler on lead (he would later go on to pen the classic Michael Jackson song "She's Out of My Life"), John Bahler, Jackie Ward and Stan Farber. This lineup would record on hundreds of commercials, TV themes and The Partridge Family recordings. Bahler's lead vocals are also prominent with the group "The Love Generation" who had a few LPs in the late 1960s as well.

Voices

Episodes

With the exception of certain episodes, each episode featured two Fred & Barney segments with one Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm segment between them.

No. Original airdate Episode Titles
1 September 9, 1972
  • "Bird Brained": Fred has to bird-sit Mr. and Mrs. Slate's pet parrot, Claymore, who causes nothing but trouble for the Flintstones and the Rubbles.
  • "Squawkie Talkies": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and Fred & Barney have fun with Moonrock's "squawkie talkie" devices.
2 September 16, 1972
  • "The Flying Fools": Fred & Barney experience a turbulent afternoon while flying in Moonrock's new airplane.
  • "Bedlam in Bedrock": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and the gang attempt to help Rocky Rocket get his job back as DJ of the ROCK radio station.
  • "The Stone Ranger Rides Again": Pebbles and the gang shoot a western movie with Bamm-Bamm as the Stone Ranger.
3 September 23, 1972
  • "Cat Burglars": Fred & Barney are mistaken for burglars and innocently sent to jail, while the real thieves are robbing the Flintstones house.
  • "The Circus": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and the gang organize a circus show to raise money for the school prom.
  • "Pizza-Puss": Fred tries to become a pizza cook at Spumonistone's Pizza Parlor.
4 September 30, 1972
  • "Fred Skirts the Issue": Fred & Barney help out the neighbors as babysitters for their little daughter, Tina, with Fred disguised as a woman.
  • "Hair Scare": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and the gang accidentally use Moonrock's new miracle hair growing formula with disastrous hairy results.
  • "The Not So Desperate Hours": Fingers O'Rock, the second most wanted criminal, escapes from jail and hides at the Flintstones house.
5 October 7, 1972
  • "Don't Fence Me In": Fred & Barney argue about the boundary line between their properties after Barney suggests they fix their backyard fence.
  • "Monnrock's Spot Remover": Moonrock's "out-of-sight" spot remover accidentally causes bizarre scenes on the streets of Bedrock.
  • "Cake Walk": Fred & Barney help their wives involuntarily to victory in a cake baking contest.
6 October 14, 1972
  • "The Loving Cup": Fred is scheduled to present Mr. Slate with a loving cup at a business luncheon, but the cup accidentally gets stuck on Fred's head.
  • "Bedrock Surfers": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm, the gang and the Bronto Bunch participate in a couples only surfing competition.
  • "Handicapped": Fred tries to help Mr. Slate win a golf tournament at the Snobstone Country Club.
7 October 21, 1972
  • "Something Fishy": Wilma & Betty decide to accompany their husbands on a fishing trip, much to the chagrin of Fred & Barney.
  • "Amusement Park": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and the gang spend a day at Stoney Island Amusement Park.
  • "A Pound in Time": Fred & Barney are struggling with weight problems and go to the gym to try and fit back into their lodge uniforms.
8 October 28, 1972
  • "Dummy Up": Fred gets hit on the head with a baseball which causes his sudden compulsion to tell everyone what he really thinks about them.
  • "Bedrock Radio Rock Festival": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and the gang record their songs on cassette for entry in the ROK radio rock music contest.
  • "Barney the Swami": When Barney suddenly develops unsuspected psychic powers, Fred drags him on television.
9 November 4, 1972
  • "High Noon at Bedrock Pass": Fred falls asleep in front of the television and dreams of a western town where he & Barney confront an escaped convict.
  • "Cinderella": Bamm-Bamm plays a male Cinderella in a school theater performance of Cinderella.
  • "Training Pains": Fred wants to train Dino for an exhibition and makes Dino undergo the Super Flintstone training program.
10 November 11, 1972
  • "Fred's Big Brag": Fred brags that he can master the taming of a wild brontosaurus and ends up in the ring at the Bullosaurus Rodeo Show.
  • "Schleprock's Cousin": When bad-luck Schleprock leaves on vacation, his cousin comes to visit which supposedly brings good luck.
  • "Fred's Promise": Fred promises not to talk about work while on holidays with Wilma, Barney and Betty.
11 November 18, 1972
  • "The Big Breakup": Fred takes care of Barney when he suffers a bone fracture after an accident at the Flintstones house.
  • "Bedrock 300": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm participate in the special three-hundred-car races where none of the participants obey by the rules of fair play.
  • "Candid Camerarock": Fred & Barney are victims of a prankster TV show called Candid Camerarock.
12 November 25, 1972
  • "Feet First": Fred & Barney participate in a sports car rally, but shortly after the start, they are overtaken by the other participants.
  • "The Hobby Show": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and the gang organize a self-amateur handicraftsman exhibition which is a great success.
  • "The Reluctant Candidates": Fred & Barney run for the office of club president and mutually promise to support one another.
13 December 2, 1972
  • "Runaway Steaks": Fred & Barney chase after their steaks on a runaway barbecue which ends up at Mr. Slate's garden party.
  • "Moonrock's Super Jumping Shoes": Bamm-Bamm's school basketball team is a success thanks to Moonrock's super colossal jumping shoes.
  • "Citizen Flintstone": Fred makes a fool of himself when he guests as Bedrock's most typical citizen on The Johnny Sandstone Show.
14 December 9, 1972
  • "The Big Splash": Fred's dream of owning a swimming pool which comes to an abrupt end when a representative of the building authority emerges.
  • "Moonrock's Beauty Farm": Pebbles and her girlfriends Wiggy & Penny visit Moonrock's Beauty Farm which is one disappointment after another.
  • "Stage Flight": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm and the gang shoot a film version of Peter Panstone.
15 December 16, 1972
  • "Oil Fooled": The old billionaire Bloodstone wants to buy Fred's house for $50,000, but Fred wants to be part of his multinational oil corporation.
  • Pebbles and her girlfriends disassemble Bamm-Bamm's cave buggy in individual parts and enter a car race with a zapped up version.
  • "Sherlock Flintstone": Fred & Barney disgrace themselves as self-appointed detectives.
16 December 23, 1972
  • "Watch the Birdie": Fred tries unsuccessfully as a professional photographer to shoot a rare red-headed pterodactyl to win first prize in a magazine contest.
  • "Mod Clod": When Fred discovers his first gray hair, the midlife crisis hits him and he begins a ridiculous youth craze.
17 December 30, 1972
  • "The Suitor Computer": Moonrock's new couples-matchmaking computer malfunctions and couples Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm with unlikely matches.
  • "Army Dazed": Fred & Barney accidentally end up in the military where they are exposed to hard physical drill.
18 January 6, 1973
  • "Beauty and the Beast": Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm enter the Bedrock annual masquerade ball contest as "The Beauty and the Beast".
  • "The Galloping Gourmets": Fred & Barney only have frozen food to serve to Mr. Slate and an important client coming to dinner at the Flintstones house.

Home Media releases

The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm episodes ("Squawkie Talkies", "The Suitor Computer", "Beauty and the Beast", "Bedlam in Bedrock") were released as bonus episodes on the 2-disc DVD set The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show: The Complete Series by Warner Home Video on March 18, 2008. Note that these are simply the shows, they do not feature the musical selections of The Bedrock Rockers, which have not been released in any commercial form. It is unknown when Warner Archive will plan a release of the entire complete series in its original form.

References

  1. ↑ Copyright Encyclopedia - The Flintstone Comedy Hour #1, retrieved February 16, 2015
  2. ↑ Copyright Encyclopedia - The Flintstone Comedy Hour #2, retrieved February 16, 2015
  3. ↑ The Big Cartoon Database - Fred Flintstone and Friends, retrieved February 16, 2015
  4. ↑ The Big Cartoon Database - The Flintstone Comedy Hour, retrieved February 16, 2015
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