THE NEW FRED AND BARNEY SHOW

THE NEW FRED AND BARNEY SHOW

(NBC, February 3-October 20, 1979)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Henry Corden – Fred Flintstone

Mel Blanc – Barney Rubble, Dino

Jean Vander Pyl – Wilma Flintstone, Pebbles Flintstone

Gay Autterson – Betty Rubble

Don Messick – Bamm-Bamm Rubble, various

John Stephenson – Mr. Slate, various


For the history of The Flintstones, check out the post here.

            As part of Fred Silverman’s efforts to revitalize the last-place NBC, he decided to bring back some old favorites. One of them was the return to the classic Stone Age sitcom, The Flintstones.

Fred and Barney out for a round of golf.

            The New Fred and Barney Show was a direct continuation of the 1960s series. Pebbles (Jean Vander Pyl) and Bamm-Bamm (Don Messick) were reverted to their toddler forms, after having been depicted as teenagers in The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, although newer characters like the Rubbles’ pet hopparoo, Hoppy (outside of the intro), and the powerful alien visitor The Great Gazoo were nowhere to be found. Instead of dealing purely with the slice of life stuff that was the foundation of sitcoms, Fred and Barney often started off in seemingly mundane situations while ending up in increasingly fantastical ones. For instance, Fred (Henry Corden) and Barney (Mel Blanc) head out for an evening of bowling only to end up in the house of an evil witch. Frank Frankenstone and Count Rockula (both John Stephenson) were based on Frankenstein’s monster and Count Dracula, respectively, replacing The Gruesomes as the Flintstones’ spooky neighbors.  Original comparisons to The Honeymooners were also further reinforced with episodes of Fred and Barney that shared similar plots; such as Fred gaining an inheritance from a rich person he was nice to and it ending up being a bird (“Ralph Kramden, Inc.”), or finding a suitcase full of money and having to deal with the crooks who want it back (“Funny Money”).

Betty and Wilma ready for a night on the town.

            The New Fred and Barney Show debuted mid-season on NBC on February 3, 1979. The series’ theme was a reworking of the original written by producer Joe Barbera and composed by Hoyt Curtin, emphasizing the newness of the series and the return to classic Flintstones. Notably, it was the first time Corden would voice Fred for a regular series as original actor Alan Reed had died in 1977 (Corden previously provided Fred’s singing voice in place of Reed). The series was written by Doug Booth, Andy Heyward, Len Janson, Glenn Leopold, Chuck Menville, Bob Ogle, Ray Parker, Dave Stone and Chip Yaras, with Larz Bourne serving as story editor.

            Fred and Barney ran for two short seasons for a total of 17 episodes. For the second season, Fred and Barney was combined with one of Hanna-Barbera’s latest offerings, The Thing (loosely based on the Marvel Comics character), in the package program Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. Despite the misleading title, the two sets of characters never interacted outside of the package’s intro and commercial bumpers. Beginning on December 8^th, the package was expanded to 90 minutes to include The New Shmoo and was retitled Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo. The package show continued on in reruns through 1980, when it was replaced by The Flintstone Comedy Show. Different versions of Frankenstone, his family and Count Rockula would appear in two prime-time Flintstones specials: The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone and The Flintstones’ New Neighbors. The series has been made available to stream on Amazon Prime, and returned to television in 2024 as part of The Flintstones Family Sunday programming block on retro animation network MeTV Toons.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Sand-Witch” (2/3/79) – Car trouble leads Fred and Barney to seek a telephone in a house that belongs to a man-eating witch.

“Haunted Inheritance” (2/10/79) – Because he was kind to an aristocrat disguised as a quarry worker, Fred gets entered into a competition for an inheritance.

“Roughin’ It” (2/17/79) – Feeling modern living is making life easy and boring, Fred tries to go back to old-fashioned caveman living.

“C.B. Buddies” (2/24/79) – Fred and Barney cause trouble when they overpower their new CB radios.

“Bedrock Rocks” (3/3/79) – Fred tries to hook the Slates up with members of a rock band Mrs. Slate wants to see on her birthday, but failing that he and Barney impersonate them.

“Blood Brothers” (3/10/79) – Fred and Barney worry when their new neighbor Count Rockula seeks to repay their kindness by making them his “blood brothers”.

“Barney’s Chickens” (3/17/79) – Barney ends up accidentally hypnotizing a bunch of people into believing they’re chickens.

“The Butler Did It…and Did It Better” (3/24/79) – Fred is happy with his new robot butler, until the robot proves to be better than him at everything.

“It’s Not Their Bag” (3/31/79) – Fred and Barney find a bag of stolen money while playing golf and must evade the crooks looking for it.

“Barney’s Luck” (4/7/79) – Fred tries to prove that a coin Barney found isn’t responsible for his string of extraordinary good luck.

Season 2:

“Stone Age Werewolf” (9/8/79) – Fred and Barney head out in search of a werewolf, but a storm forces them to take shelter in the cabin of a friendly old man.

“Fred & Barney Meet the Frankenstones” (9/15/79) – Needing a break, Fred and Barney head to a spa they discover is run by Frank Frankenstone.

“Physical Fitness Fred” (9/22/79) – Jealous of his wife’s fawning over a celebrity, Fred decides to get fit to turn her head.

“Moonlighters” (9/29/79) – Fred and Barney try to compensate for rising prices by taking various part-time jobs.

“Fred Goes to the Houndasaurs” (10/6/79) – Wilma adopts a new Houndasaur that causes trouble for both Fred and Dino.

“The Bad Luck Genie” (10/13/79) – Fred finds a genie while fishing whose wish-granting ends up causing more trouble than they’re worth.

“Dinosaur Country Safari” (10/20/79) – Fred and Barney take their wives on a safari which ends up with their landing in a pterodactyl’s nest.

Originally posted in 2020. Updated in 2025.

BUFORD AND THE GALLOPING GHOST

BUFORD AND THE GALLOPING GHOST

(NBC, February 3-September 1, 1979)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Frank Welker – Buford, Nugget Nose

Pat Parris – Cindy Mae Boggs, Rita

Dave Landsburg – Woody Boggs

Henry Corden – Sheriff Muletrain

Roger Peltz – Goofer McGee

Marilyn Schreffler – Wendy

Hal Peary – Fenwick Fuddy

            Yogi’s Space Race was a 90-minute program featuring the titular Yogi Bear (Daws Butler) and a cast of returning and all-new Hanna-Barbera characters. The program was comprised of four unrelated segments that shared some of those characters. It failed to perform on the struggling NBC and was cancelled halfway through its sole season. In order to make it more maneuverable on their schedule, all of the segments were broken up into three separate programs. Buford and the Galloping Ghost was a combination of the two 11-minute segments of Space Race: The Buford Files and The Galloping Ghost. 

            The Buford Files was the latest clone of Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo franchise. It followed the adventures of lazy bloodhound Buford (Frank Welker) who lived in Fenokee Swamp with twins Cindy Mae (Pat Parris) and Woody Boggs (Dave Landsburg). Together, the three of them solved mysteries that baffled local law enforcement: Sheriff Muletrain (Henry Corden) and Deputy Goofer McGee (Roger Peltz). Buford, when actually active, could move his ears around like radar dishes and had a nose that worked like a Geiger counter when looking for clues. However, two things often stood in his way: his penchant for howling at the moon (usually at the worst times), and an antagonistic raccoon that knew karate.

            The Galloping Ghost was about the ghost of a gold prospector named Nugget Nose (Welker) who had taken a shine to two young girls who worked at the Fuddy Dude Ranch: Wendy (Marilyn Schreffler) and Rita (Parris). They met Nugget when they accidentally crashed into his resting place (think bed rather than grave) in a cavern in an abandoned mine. Nugget took great delight in tormenting their grumpy old boss, Fenwick Fuddy (Hal Peary), whenever he did something mean towards the girls. Wendy could summon Nugget whenever they needed help by rubbing the special gold nugget necklace she wore. Along with having traits typical of a ghost, including levitation, Nugget got around by riding his invisible horse. 

The Buford Files character models.

            Buford and the Galloping Ghost debuted on NBC with the rest of Space Race on September 9, 1978. When NBC began breaking up the show, it remained paired with Space Race in an hour-long block until February 3, when it was finally broken off into its own program. Of the three resulting programs, Buford and the Galloping Ghost lasted the longest; remaining on NBC’s schedule until that September when it was removed for the new season. The series was written by Herb Armstrong, George Atkins, Jack Bonestell, Doug Booth, Chuck Couch, Gary Greenfield, Len Janson, Mark Jones, Glenn Leopold, Ray Parker, Sam Roeca, Jim Ryan and Susan “Misty” Stewart, with music by Hoyt Curtin and Paul Dekorte. The series was animated at Filman in Madrid, Spain and the characters were designed by Bob Singer.

Layout drawing of the Fuddy Dude Ranch.

            Following the conclusion of Buford and the Galloping Ghost and Yogi’s Space Race where the characters also appeared, Buford, Nugget Nose and their friends all largely disappeared. The series was seen again in reruns as part of USA Cartoon Express and on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Swamp Hermit / Phantom of the Horse Opera” (9/9/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae discover their friend has been kidnapped by escaped convicts. / Wendy and Rita dream of stardom when a Hollywood producer visits the ranch.

“The Vanishing Stallion / Too Many Crooks” (9/16/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae witness a horse disappear during a race. / An escaped convict takes refuge at the ranch.

“The Swamp Saucer / Sagebrush Sergeant” (9/23/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae investigate a UFO that landed in the swamp. / Fuddy’s army sergeant sister visits the ranch and puts everyone on a strict exercise and work regiment.

“The Man with Orange Hair / Bad News Bear” (9/30/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae investigate the theft of silver skates stolen by someone with orange hair. / Nugget and the girls try to hide a bear from Fuddy and a safety inspector.

“The Demon of Ur / Robot Round-Up” (10/7/78) – A statue disappears from a train under Goofer’s watch. / Fuddy hires a robot to work at the ranch, threatening the girls’ jobs.

“The Missing Bank / Pests in the West” (10/14/78) – Goofer sends off $10 million in an armored car, but the bank claims it never arrived. /  NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Scare in the Air / Rock Star Nuggie” (10/21/78) – An amphibious plane goes missing. / Nugget becomes jealous when the girls fawn over a visiting rock star.

“Buford and the Beauty / Frontier Fortune Teller” (10/28/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae must investigate the kidnapping of a movie star dog. / The girls turn to Nugget to help expose phony fortune tellers looking to steal Fuddy’s furniture.

“Peril in the Park / I Want My Mummy” (11/4/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae try to get a job at the amusement park, but the park is shutting down due to sabotage. /  NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“The Magic Whammy / Mr. Sunshine’s Eclipse” (11/11/78) – Banks are being mysteriously robbed. / Nugget is called to scare away an annoying TV prankster visiting the ranch.

“The Haunting of Swamp Manor / Klondike Kate” (11/18/78) – Burford, Woody and Cindy Mae investigate a haunted mansion. / Nugget is reunited with the ghost of an old girlfriend he promised to marry when he struck gold.

“The Case of the Missing Gator / A Ghost of a Chance” (11/25/78) – Smugglers go through the swamp looking for stolen diamonds. / Fuddy tries to capture Nugget in order to get $1 million from a guest looking for proof ghosts exist.

“Don’t Monkey with Buford / Elmo the Great” (12/2/78) – Duchess’ diamond collar is stolen during a parade by a chimp. / The girls buy Fuddy a horse for his birthday, but he ends up being too much trouble.

GALAXY GOOF-UPS

GALAXY GOOF-UPS

(NBC, November 4-December 2, 1978)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Daws Butler – Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, various

Joe Besser – Scare Bear

Mel Blanc – Quack-Up

John Stephenson – Captain Snerdley, General Blowhard, various

For the history of Yogi Bear, check out the post here.

            Yogi’s Space Race was a 90-minute program featuring the titular Yogi Bear (Daws Butler) and a cast of returning and all-new Hanna-Barbera characters. The program was comprised of four unrelated segments that shared some of those characters. It failed to perform on the struggling NBC and was cancelled halfway through its sole season. In order to make it more maneuverable on their schedule, all of the segments were broken up into three separate programs.

The Goof-Ups: Yogi, Huckleberry, Quack-Up and Scare Bear.

            Galaxy Goof-Ups featured Yogi reunited with his old pal Huckleberry Hound (Butler) in the future as intergalactic patrolmen known as the Galaxy Guardians (although this particular group was just called the Galaxy Goof-Ups). Joining them were the new characters carried over from the Space Race segment, the eternally-frightened Scare Bear (Joe Besser) and the crazy Quack-Up (Mel Blanc), as their partners. Exclusive to the series was Captain Snerdley (John Stephenson, impersonating Joe Flynn) as their commanding officer, and his superior, General Blowhard (also Stephenson). Yogi and his friends were the ineptest officers on the force and often slacked off on the job (particularly by engaging in disco-infused dance numbers); much to the chagrin of Snerdley who often bore the brunt of their foul-ups from Blowhard. However, things always managed to go their way in the end and the criminals ended up in the clink.

The Goof-Ups crash to the rescue.

            Galaxy Goof-Ups debuted with the rest of Space Race on NBC September 9, 1978. As it was the most popular segment out of the four, it was the first to be broken off into its own program when NBC cancelled Space Race, debuting on November 4^th. It was written by Haskell Barkin, Chuck Couch, Mark Fink, Ray Parker and Jim Ryan, with Parker serving as story editor. Music was composed by Hoyt Curtin and Paul DeKorte, with character designs by Willie Ito.

General Blowhard and Captain Snerdley.

            Despite its popularity, Goof-Ups was the second portion of the Space Race bunch to leave the air; with fellow spin-off Buford and the Galloping Ghost lasting until the new season schedule that September. In the following years, it has been seen in reruns on USA Cartoon Express, Nickelodeon, TNT, Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Clips from the show were also available on Boomerang’s YouTube channel, and it returned to television in 2024 on retro animation network MeTV Toons in rotation with other Yogi programs. Beyond that, Scare Bear and Quack-Up have largely disappeared from the Hanna-Barbera stable except for brief cameos in the series Jellystone!

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Purloined Princess” (9/9/78) – A princess is kidnapped and used as bait to trap the Goof-Ups, but it ends up backfiring on the villains instead.

 

“Defective Protectives” (9/16/78) – The Goof-Ups set out to capture the Space Spider so that the General can get a good night’s sleep to present the plans for foiling the Spider’s plots.

 

“Whose Zoo?” (9/23/78) – Sagar the hunter wants the Goof-Ups for display in his interplanetary zoo.

 

“The Space Pirates” (9/30/78) – The Goof-Ups are tricked into handing over the gold they’re transporting to space pirates.

 

“The Clone Ranger” (10/7/78) – Tacky Cat wants revenge against Snerdley, so he steals a cloning machine and kidnaps Snerdley to operate it.

 

“The Dopey Defenders” (10/14/78) – Zangra tricks the Goof-Ups into loading top-secret equipment onto her ship, but then they accidentally take off with her ship.

 

“Tacky Cat Strikes Again” (10/21/78) – Constantly being nagged by his wife because of how they live, Tacky ends up abandoning their evil plan and surrendering to the Goof-Ups.

 

“Space Station USA” (10/28/78) – The Goof-Ups are assigned to bring an ancient ship to the museum, but the richest man in the galaxy will stop at nothing to make it part of his collection.

 

“Hai, King Yogi!” (11/4/78) – Investigating a new jungle planet leads to Yogi being worshipped—and courted by their queen.

 

“Dyno-Mite!” (11/11/78) – Tiny space villain Dyno-Mite steals a new weapon, the Stretch-Shrink Ray.

 

“Vampire of Space” (11/18/78) – Count Vampula plans to take over the galaxy and decides to turn Snerdley into his slave to trap the Goof-Ups.

 

“The Treasure of Congo-Bongo” (11/25/78) – The Goof-Ups race a pair of villains to retrieve a crashed computer that can produce precious metals and gems.

 

“Captain Snerdley Goes Bananas” (12/2/78) – Lozar disguises himself as a doctor to poke around Snerdley’s mind when the General sends him to a sanitarium.

Originally posed in 2020. Updated in 2025.

YOGI'S SPACE RACE

YOGI’S SPACE RACE

(NBC, September 9-December 2, 1978)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Daws Butler – Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quickdraw McGraw

Joe Besser – Scare Bear

Mel Blanc – Quack-Up, Barney Rubble

Frank Welker – Jabberjaw, Buford, Nugget Nose, Captain Good/Phantom Phink, Clean Kat/Sinister Sludge

Marilyn Schreffler – Wendy

Pat Parris – Rita, Cindy Mae Boggs

Dave Landsburg – Woody Boggs

Henry Corden – Sheriff Muletrain, Fred Flintstone

Roger Peltz – Deputy Goofer McGee

Hal Peary – Fenwick Fuddy

Gary Owens – Narrator

For the history of Yogi the Bear, check out the post here.

            Yogi’s Space Race was Yogi Bear’s (Daws Butler) second ensemble series with him as the title character after Yogi’s Gang, and the first to be comprised of several different segments. The titular Space Race was a reworking of Hanna-Barbera’s earlier Wacky Races concept that tried to latch onto the popularity of Star Wars (as evidenced by the font used for the series’ title). However, instead of being comprised entirely of all-new characters like Wacky Races, Space Race mixed in some returning classics to go with the rookies.

Promotional pamphlet about the show.

            Yogi traded in his hunt for picnic baskets in Jellystone Park for racing through space. However, his partner wasn’t frequent sidekick Boo Boo. Rather, he was given the new partner of Scare Bear (Joe Besser); a small bear scared of practically everything, as his name implied. Huckleberry Hound (Butler) was partnered with Quack-Up (Mel Blanc), who was crazy and clumsy and served as their team’s pilot. Musical shark Jabberjaw (Frank Welker) was partnered with Buford (also Welker), a lazy bloodhound belonging to the mystery-solving Cindy Mae (Pat Parris) and Woody (Dave Landsburg). Their ship included a speed-boosting track powered by Burford running on it (which, naturally, was seldom-used).

The Space Racers in their ships.

            Newly-created for the series was the trio of Nugget Nose (Welker), the gold-obsessed ghost of a prospector who was very protective of his partners, Wendy (Marilyn Schreffler) and Rita (Parris). There was also the racing quartet of Captain Good and his pet cat sidekick, Clean Kat (both Welker). No, that’s not a typo or a case of seeing double. See, Captain Good and Clean Kat seemed to be the ultimate personifications of good sportsmanship and defenders of everything right, but with the push of a button the pair became Phantom Phink and his pet dog sidekick, Sinister Sludge. In their dastardly dual identities, the pair would stop at nothing to achieve victory in the race. And, unlike with Dick Dastardly and Muttley in Wacky Races—whom they were clearly modeled after—they actually won some races. Although they never went out of their way to make everyone believe their dual identities were separate people, none of the racers or the narrator (Gary Owens) knew they were the same. Other Hanna-Barbera characters made appearances, such as the gigantic Grape Ape (Bob Holt), Jana of the Jungle, Frankenstein Jr. with Buzz Conroy, Fred Flintstone (Henry Corden) and Barney Rubble (Blanc). Bob Singer and Willie Ito served as the show’s character designers.

Jabberjaw activating Buford power.

            Yogi’s Space Race debuted on NBC on September 9, 1978 as a 90-minute program block. Along with the Space Race segment, the show included Galaxy Goof-Ups, which saw Yogi, Scare, Huckleberry and Quack-Up as inept intergalactic police officers; The Buford Files, starring Buford and his owners solving mysteries ala Scooby-Doo; and The Galloping Ghost, highlighting the adventures of Nugget and his friends. The running gag of Space Race was that the prize the race’s winner won was usually terrible in some way; such as a self-massaging bed that beat the stuffing out of whoever used it, winning a trip somewhere where they actually had to work, or a trip with less-than-ideal travel accommodations (makes you wonder why they kept racing). Despite being the title character, Yogi only won two races. In fact, the winningest racing team was Captain Good and Clean Kat with three victories (five if you count the two from their alter egos). Although, considering the prizes, maybe it was no mistake the series’ villain was the ultimate “winner”.

A tale of split personalities: Captain Good and Clean Kat vs. Phantom Phink and Sinister Sludge.

            Space Race was written by Herb Armstrong, George Atkins, Haskell Barkin, Jack Bonestell, Doug Booth, Chuck Couch, Mark Fink, Gary Greenfield, George Greer, Andy Hewyard, Len Janson, Mark Jones, Glenn Leopold, Ray Parker, Sam Roeca, Jim Ryan and Susan “Misty” Stewart, with Heyward, Parker and Ryan serving as the story editors. Hoyt Curtin provided the music. One feature of the program was that some of the racers were given a biography on screen that often would go into talking about their ancestors. That’s how the audience came to learn that Good/Phink was the descendant of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Nugget Nose re-evaluating why he hangs out with a couple of teenagers.

            NBC cancelled the series before it concluded airing its only season. To make it more maneuverable on the schedule, Galaxy Goof-Ups was broken off into its own series on November 4, reducing Space Race to a 60-minute program for the remainder of its initial run. When the series entered the rerun cycle, it was further broken up into the half-hour Yogi’s Space Race and Buford and the Galloping Ghost that February. Space Race left the NBC schedule that March, with Goof-Ups following shortly after. Buford and the Galloping Ghost lasted until the debut of the 1979 season. Beginning in the late 1980s, Space Race was seen in on USA Cartoon Express, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Although it hasn’t been released to DVD, the entire Space Race segment is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. In 2024, Space Race returned to television on retro animation network MeTV Toons in rotation with other Yogi shows.

And the results:
            Captain Good & Clean Kat – 4
            Phantom Phink & Sinister Sludge – 3
            Yogi Bear & Scare Bear – 2
            Huckleberry Hound & Quack-Up – 2
            Jabberjaw & Buford – 1
            Nugget Nose, Wendy & Rita – 1

EPISODE GUIDE (Space Race segment only):
“The Saturn 500” (9/9/78) – The frozen rings of Saturn yield a series of abominable threats for the racers.
 
“The Neptune 9000” (9/16/78) – The racers blast through the oceans of planet Neptune.
 
“The Pongo Planet” (9/23/78) – Phink plans to win the race by forming an alliance with Medusa, Queen of the Space People.
 
“The Prehistoric Planet” (9/30/78) – The racers head to a prehistoric planet with special guest Fred Flintstone.
 
“The Spartikan Spectacular” (10/7/78) – On an ancient Roman-like planet, Phink offers Scarebear as a sacrifices to a five-headed dragon.
 
“The Mizar Marathon” (10/14/78) – Phink intends to sick an evil space sorcerer on the other racers.
 
“The Lost Planet of Atlantis” (10/21/78) – Winning the treacherous race through Atlantis’ oceans requires finding safe passage through the Archevil Archipelago.
 
“Race Through Oz” (10/28/78) – Phink makes a bargain with the wicked Space Witch of the West as the racers traverse through the magical land of Oz.
 
“Race Through Wet Galoshes” (11/4/78) – Quick Draw McGraw proves a boon on the lawless western-themed planet.
 
“The Borealis Triangle” (11/11/78) – Phink’s Diabolical Doomsday Device ends up sucking up all the other racers into a giant whirlpool.
 
“Race to the Center of the Universe” (11/18/78) – The racers head to the literal center of the universe to win a trip to the greatest amusement park in the cosmos.
 
“Race Through the Planet of the Monsters” (11/25/78) – Phantom Phink recruits Count Cracula and the Space Mummy to help sabotage the other racers.
 
“Franzia” (12/2/78) – Phink uses the music of The Phantom of the Space Opera to distract the other racers.

Originally posted in 2020. Updated in 2025.