16. The Flintstones: The Complete Series
Now that I am a grown up (I mean at least in age) I can’t help but think back to how much Nick at Night shaped my pop culture life.
Growing up in a divorced family I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. What was awesome about grandparents is they would let you drink soda and they had cable! Sweet, sweet cable. My brothers did not seem interested in the same programs I was (Besides sneaking around watching soft-core porn that was in Cinemax at night). I can’t really remember what they watched, I do remember the “teen” Nick shows like Clarissa Explains It All, but to me I fell in love with The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Jetsons and The Flintstones.
Last year I was given The Jetsons on blu-ray and this year, Warner Bros. released The Flintstones: Complete Series.
The Flintstones is 60 years young and it is still funny. Watching the series again I was laughing at the shenanigans of Fred and Barney. While The Simpsons redefined the cartoon sitcom, The Flintstones were a sitcom first. Most of the easy gags are replacing everything we know and love and making it fit into the prehistoric world (much like The Jetsons did for “the future”). But what makes The Flintstones really work is the family dynamic and the marriage between Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty. I loved seeing how the boys would try and get out of hanging out with their wives, only to be caught and taught a lesson.
Some questionable depictions show its ugly head, but nothing in The Flintstones would I call malicious, but you might want to screen some episodes for the young ones.
The Flintstones: The Complete Series is a yabba-dabba-do good time.
The Flintstones arrived on blu-ray looking really sharp. There are some issues with the cartoons, but my guess that has a lot to do with the available elements more so than a mistake on Warner’s part. The cartoons do look great and the colors are sharp. You can really see the difference after you watch the special features which are not HD.
The Flintstones doesn’t break any new ground in the audio department, but it gets the job done. It’s not overbearing but it sounds good.
The Flintstones: The Complete Series does come with a healthy assortment of extras:
Disc 1:
The Lost Pilot: Not a full episode but a rather short, what might have been.
How to Draw The Flintstones: Hanna and Barbera walk you through the process.
Disc 2:
Carved in Stone: The Flintstones Phenomenon: a look back on the series with the people involved.
Disc 3:
Songs of The Flintstones Album: Listen to music with stills from the series.
Disc 4:
All About The Flintstones: A brief look at the show
Wacky Inventions: Stone Age technology gets the spotlight.
Disc 5:
Bedrock Collectibles: Flintstones memorabilia gets a look.
The Flintstones: One Million Years Ahead of its Time: More interviews with folks who worked on the show.
Disc 6:
First Families of the Stone Age: A look at the two families from the show.
Hanna-Barbera’s Legendary Music Director Hoyt Curtain: A really neat look at the career of Hoyt Curtain.
Disc 10:
The Flintstones Meet Pop Culture: Hey it’s Stephen Baldwin from the live action movie talking about The Flintstones!
The Great Gazoo: A quick look at the character.
The Flintstones and WWE: Stone Age Smackdown!: Huh? This full length movie is in this set…and it exists. It’s ok, nothing special.
The Man Called Flintstone: A spy “thriller” starring Fred Flintstone has its charm, mostly due to the 1960’s spy craze given a Flintstone make over.
The Flintstones: The Complete Series is a worthy addition to any fans collection. Besides all the episodes you get some nice features to go along with it.
Film: A
Video: A
Audio: B-
Extras: B+
Overall: A-