Meet The Flagstones

I was reminded of a small bit of trivia today (and I am sure that it was buried somewhere under the heading “Still more useless trivia” which sometimes comes in quite handy). The first couple to be seen on prime time television in bed together were Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Before that, television tots came from the stork, right? On “I Love Lucy,” the word “pregnant” could not even be uttered due to censorship. Hence the title of the episode in which Mrs. Ricardo’s pregnancy is revealed became: “Lucy is Enceinte” (the French equivalent of pregnant… why they chose French is anyone’s guess).

Alrighty, back to my original topic. My favorite episode of “The Flintstones” is entitled “Hollyrock, Here I Come.” In it, the title couple and their neighbors, the Rubbles, travel to the movie capitol of the then known-world. Purely by accident, Wilma and then Fred are discovered by a big-time television producer. Fred is spotted in the television audience snoring loudly during a rehearsal. Mr Flintstone’s boisterous voice and winning personality make him the obvious last minute replacement for the title role in the aptly entitled series “The Frogmouth.” However, he becomes totally overbearing (ad libbing not only his lines but those of his castmates, composing his own music, etc) and the producer concludes that something must be done quickly or the show will be disastrous.

Something that has always bothered me about the series: Where is the cat that Fred is supposed to put out for the night during the end credits. And if we never see it how is Fred supposed to someday when the fight.

Jamy Shaffer