THE FLINTSTONE KIDS
(ABC, Syndication, September 6, 1986-September 3, 1988)
Hanna-Barbera Productions
MAIN CAST:
Lennie Weinrib – Freddy
Flintstone (season 1)
Scott Menville – Freddy
Flintstone (season 2)
Hamilton Camp - Barney Rubble,
Flab Slab
Mel Blanc – Dino, Captain
Caveman, Bob Rubble, Piggy McGrabit
Julie McWhirter – Wilma
Slaghoople (season 1), Tarpit Tommy, Mica Slaghoople, Mickey Slaghoople
Elizabeth Lyn Fraser – Wilma
Slaghoople (season 2)
B.J. Ward – Betty Jean Bricker,
Miss Rockbottom
Frank Welker – Nate Slate,
Stalagbite, Fang
Bumper Robinson – Philo Quartz
Charlie Adler – Cavey, Jr.
Henry Corden – Ed Flintstone,
Edna Flintstone
Susan Blu – Dreamchip Gemstone,
Janet Granite, Victoria Lithonstone-Gemstone
Marilyn Schreffler – Rockford
“Rocky” Ratrock, Flo Rubble
Kenneth Mars - Narrator
For the history of the Flintstones, check out the post here.
With Muppet
Babies proving a rousing success, Hanna-Barbera decided to
get in on the action by taking their flagship property and de-aging them for a
new generation. The result was The
Flintstone Kids.
Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, Philo and Dreamchip leaving Bedrock Elementary. |
The series focused on the daily
adventures of best friends Freddy Flintstone (Lennie Weinrib & Scott
Menville) and Barney Rubble (Hamilton Camp) and their future wives, Wilma
Slaghoople (Julie McWhirter & Elizabeth Lyn Fraser) and Betty Jean Bricker
(B.J. Ward), as modern Stone Age attendees of Bedrock Elementary School. Other
familiar faces included Freddy’s dog, Dino (Mel Blanc), and future boss, Nate
Slate (Frank Welker).
Rocky Ratrock threatens Freddy. |
Joining them was a slew of new characters created for the show, giving it
the largest supporting cast of any entry in the franchise. There was resident
whiz kid, amateur detective and one of the first recurring Black characters in
the franchise, Philo Quartz (Bumper Robinson); his father, Officer Bob Quartz (Rene Levant); spoiled rich girl
Dreamchip Bluestone (Susan Blu); neighborhood bully Rocky Ratrock (Marilyn
Schreffler); his dog, Stalagbite (Welker); and his gang, Tarpit (McWirter),
Flab Slab (Camp) and Janet Granite (Blu). While Wilma’s mother had previously made
appearances on the parent show as a thorn in Fred’s side, this series
introduced Freddy’s parents Ed and Edna (both voiced by then-current adult Fred
actor Henry Corden) and Barney’s parents Bob (Blanc in his Barney Rubble voice)
and Flo (Schreffler).
Barney rocks out to his portable radio. |
While a prequel series, the show did
ignore the continuity established by its parent series. In The Flintstones, a flashback in the season four episode “Bachelor
Daze” revealed that Fred and Barney didn’t meet their future wives until early
adulthood. Dino was also introduced in the season one episode “The Snorkasaurus
Hunter” (although he was shown earlier) well after Fred and Wilma were married
adults. Much like the parent series did with 1960s technology, Kids adapted 1980s technology and gave
it a Stone Age twist. For instance, there was the presence of computers;
particularly Philo’s advanced one and the fact Wilma’s father owned a computer
business. And, even in the intro, Barney is seen rocking out to a prehistoric Walkman.
Princess Wilma and her magic mirror. |
Rather than focus on a single story,
each episode was broken up into several segments. Along with the standard story
starring the kids, there was a segment called “Flintstone Funnies” in which the
kids would use their imaginations to propel themselves into fantastic worlds
and adventures. That segment was dropped for the show’s second season. Another
segment called “Dino’s Dilemmas” was a shorter one focusing on a day in Dino’s
life.
Cavey, Jr. and Captain Caveman. |
The final segment was a show within a show: Captain Caveman and Son. Captain Caveman (Blanc) was the dim-witted
bumbling prehistoric superhero that had previously appeared on Scooby’s
All-Stars, Captain
Caveman and the Teen Angels and The
Flintstones Comedy Hour. This time he was joined by his much smarter son
and sidekick, Cavey, Jr. (Charlie Adler), as they haphazardly dealt with
threats to Bedrock. The segment straddled the line between being a television
program and an actual adventure, and the characters frequently broke the fourth
wall to interact with their narrator (Kenneth Mars) or a disruptive member of
the viewing audience. Each episode would see the Flintstone kids hurriedly
gather in front of a television with their Captain Caveman spotted capes and
clubs to watch the show, chanting his patented “Unga Bunga” when the narrator
would ask “Hey, kids, do you know what time it is?”
The Captain Caveman Fan Club gets ready to watch an episode. |
The Flintstone Kids ran on ABC
for two seasons beginning on September 6, 1986. The series was written by Bill Matheny, Barry E. Blitzer,
Mel Gilden, L. Lynn Hart, Jeff Holder, John Ludin, Lisa Maliani, Dennis Marks, David Schwartz, Sue Shakespeare, Terry Shakespeare, Laren Bright, Alan Swayze, John Bates, Coslough Johnson, Wayne Kaatz, Mary Jo Ludin, Lane Raichert, Troy Schmidt and Kent Zbornak, with music by Hoyt Curtin. The episode
“Rocky’s Rocky Road” won writers Ludin and Raichert a Humanitas Prize in 1988 for showing “a
touching probe of a child’s struggle to grow and affirm himself.” In between the two seasons, the principle voices
for both Freddy and Wilma were changed.
Ad for the drug prevention special. |
Several days after the end of the series, a primetime special aired on
September 15th called The
Flintstone Kids Just Say No. It was a 30-minute ant-drug special that
focused on Wilma being offered marijuana in order to join the “cool kids” while
the others focused on winning tickets to a Michael Jackstone concert. The
special featured an introduction by Nancy Reagan
and an appearance by the actual La Toya
Jackson as La Toya Jackstone, sister to Michael. Original Wilma Jean Vander Pyl portrayed
Wilma’s mother. The special was subsequently aired as an episode of ABC Weekend Special. Reruns of the
series proper aired as part of the weekday syndicated block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.
Coleco produced a line of action figures
based on the show, including all the principle characters, the playsets Bedrock
and Bedrock Elementary School, and three vehicles in a firetruck, a Bedrock
Airlines plane and Dreamchip’s chimp limo. A line of puzzles were
produced by Golden
Press, Illco and Rainbow Works, respectively. Selchow & Righter
published a board
game where the kids were in a race to get to a concert first. From 1987-89 Marvel Comics published 11 issues of a tie-in
comic and a special giveaway
mini-comic through their Star
Comics imprint. Also in 1987, Pizza Hut
offered four drinking glasses featuring the main characters for $.49 cents
each, as well as four buttons with their faces. In 1988, McDonald’s included five
toys in their Happy Meals featuring
the main characters in race cars and Dino, and Budget Books published two sticker
storybooks. In 1989, the kids adorned a Fun-N-Learn carry activity case
which featured Flintstone-themed
activities. View-Master
also produced a 3-reel
3-D set for their viewer. In 2014, Turner
Home Entertainment released
The Flintstone Kids: Rockin’ in Bedrock on DVD. The set only contained 10 of
the regular Kids segments rather than
complete episodes. Amazon
Prime Video made the first 17 episodes available for streaming, as well as
episode segments available through a partnership
with Boomerang.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The Great
Freddini” (9/6/86) – Freddy learns magic for the school talent show.
“Frankenstone /
Yard Wars / Frenzy Does It” (9/13/86) – Fixing broken toys leads Freddy to
imagine he’s Dr. Frankenstone. / Wilma’s cat causes trouble when left in Dino’s
care. / Cavey, Jr. becomes Captain Caveman’s sidekick in time to help him fight
Dr. Icemare.
“Heroes For
Hire” (9/21/86) – Jealous of Barney winning a prize to a Captain Caveman taping
at his house, Freddy tries to prove himself a hero and more deserving of the
prize.
“Indiana
Flintstone / Dreamchip’s Car Wash / Invasion of the Mommy Snatchers” (9/27/86) –
Freddy fantasizes that he’s Indiana Flintstone on an adventure. / Dreamchip
uses Dino to test her new automatic dog washer. / Captain Caveman has to rescue
Earth’s mothers from a two-headed alien.
“The Bad News
Brontos” (10/4/86) – After Edna saves Freddy’s failing baseball team, Rocky
challenges them to a game.
“Rubble Without
a Cause / Dressed Up Dino / The Ditto Master” (10/11/86) – Barney dreams he’s a
space-faring hero. / Micki and Mica dress Dino up as a baby. / Captain Caveman
faces the Ditto Master, whose machine allows him to duplicate himself.
“Dusty Disappears”
(10/18/86) – Doing a good job of babysitting Barney’s little brother gets his
parents to send him with Freddy and Barney to the carnival.
“Sugar and
Spies / The Vet / I Was a Teenage Grown-Up” (10/25/86) – Wilma and Betty dream
about being secret agents. / Dino overhears a conversation that makes him
believe he’s being taken to the vet. / Mr. Bad unleashes a gas that turns all
the kids in Bedrock into virtual grown-ups.
“Poor Little
Rich Girl” (11/8/86) – Dreamchip’s friends attempt to invade her mansion in
order to celebrate her birthday.
“Freddy in the
Big House / The Butcher Shoppe / Grime & Punishment” (11/15/86) – Fred
imagines he’s in prison when Rocky frames him for playing baseball in class. /
Dino tries everything to get some sausage. / Captain Caveman has to stop the
Trash Man from messing up Bedrock.
“The Rock
Concert That Rocked Freddy” (11/22/86) – Freddy and Barney need to find a way
to acquire the Brick Stonespring tickets Freddy promised the gang.
“Bedrock P.I.s
/ Fred’s Mechanical Dog / A Tale of Too Silly” (12/2/86) – Freddy and Barney
look into the disappearance of Wilma’s cat. / Dino gets jealous of Freddy’s new
robot dog. / Captain Caveman has to stop the Yuckster from making a pie big
enough to throw at the city.
“Curse of the
Gemstone Diamond” (12/9/86) – Freddy steals Dreamchip’s diamond at a Halloween
party…or did he?
“Princess Wilma
/ The Dino Diet / To Baby or Not to Baby” (12/16/86) – While home sick Wilma
dreams she’s a princess. / Freddy is forced to put Dino on a strict diet. /
Jealous of Captain Caveman’s success stealing his viewers, Mr. Sciencedome uses
a formula to turn him into a baby.
“I Think That I
shall Never See Barney Rubble As A Tree / Dino Come Home” (1/17/87) – Freddy
overhears a conversation that makes him believe Barney is sick. / Dino runs
away after stowing away on a class camping trip.
“Monster From
the Tar Pits / What Price Fleadom / Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow” (1/31/87) – The
kids imagine they’re making a movie on an island about a monster that dwells in
the tar pits. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / New hero Perfect Man outdoes Captain
Caveman in heroing.
“The Fugitives”
(2/8/87) – Freddy and Barney accidentally steal an old pillow from a museum on
a class trip.
“The Twilight
Stone / The Terror Within / Day of the Villains” (2/15/87) – The kids discuss
what they plan to do as adults. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Mr. Bad assembles a
team of villains to get revenge on Captain Caveman.
“Freddy’s Rocky
Road to Karate” (2/22/87) – Rocky challenges the gang to a karate match.
“Betty’s Big
Break / Revenge of the Bullied / Curse of the Reverse” (3/14/87) – Replacing a
sick Dreamchip leads Betty to instant stardom. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Mr.
Bad’s Backwards Beam turns Captain Caveman and Cavey into wanted criminals.
“Barney’s
Moving Experience” (3/21/87) – Barney moves away after Freddy breaks his bike.
“Dino Goes
Hollyrock / The Chocolate Chip Catastrophe / Captain Caveman’s First Adventure”
(4/22/87) – Dino becomes a big movie star. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Captain
Caveman remembers his first adventure when his mother gave him his club.
“The Little
Visitor / Grandpa For Loan” (4/29/87) – Freddy believes he’s getting a new
sibling. / Freddy loans his grandfather to Barney for the Father-son picnic.
“Philo’s
Invention / Watchdog Blues / Leave it to Mother” (5/12/87) - NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Captain Cavemom has to save her kids from
Mr. Bad’s hair blob.
“Freddy’s First
Crush” (5/19/87) – Freddy gets a crush on his substitute teacher.
“Bedrock ‘n
Roll / Captain Cavepuppy / Greed it and Weep” (5/27/87) – Piggy McGrabit uses a
money magnet to steal the city’s money.
Season 2:
“The
Flintstones Fake Ache / Killer Kitty / Captain Knaveman” (9/5/87) – Freddy
fakes being sick to get out of school. / / Captain Caveman loses his memory,
and since he was disguised as a villain believes he actually is one.
“Better Buddy
Blues / Who’s Faultin’ Who? / Attack of the Fifty Foot Teenage Lizard”
(10/19/87) – Star Shades Stone moves to bedrock and takes advantage of his
young fans in Bedrock. / / Billy the monster is being forced by his parents to
be destructive and destroy a city.
“A Tiny Egg /
Little Rubble, Big Trouble” (11/11/87) – The kids adopt a tiny egg that ends up
producing a giant dinosaur. / After accidentally drinking one of Philo’s
potions, Barney turns into a monster that attacks Rocky when certain foods are
mentioned.
“Anything You
Can Do, I Can Do Betty / Haircutastrophe” (12/5/87) – Dreamchip tries to outdo Betty
at her ice cream business. / Freddy has Barney cut his hair so that he can save
money for a toy car.
“Camper Scamper
/ Bone Voyage / The Cream-pier Strikes Back” (1/25/88) – The kids try to earn
their scouting badges while competing with Rocky’s gang. / NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE. / Yuckster’s cream pies turn everyone into copies of him—including
Captain Caveman.
“Rocky’s Rocky
Road / World War Flea / Captain Caveman’s Super Cold” (2/17/88) – Rocky turns
to the kids for help to keep from being shipped off to military school. / NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Mr. Bad takes advantage of Captain Caveman’s cold.
“Freddy the 13th
/ A Midnite Pet Peeve / The Big Bedrock Bully Bash” (4/10/88) - / NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE. / Cavey tries to find a way to turn Butch the Bully back to normal
size.
“Philo’s D-Feat
/ The Birthday Shuffle / Captain Cavedog” (9/3/88) – Philo gets his first D and
the gang helps him try to raise his grade. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Mr. Bad
is freed from prison and turns Captain Caveman into a dog.
Specials:
“Just Say No”
(9/15/88) – Wilma is offered marijuana while the gang tries to get tickets to
the Michael Jackstone concert.
Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2020.
No comments:
Post a Comment