Animation Congregation: The Flintstones- First Family of Animation!

 

Redartz:  Way back in 1960, a show debuted on ABC that would change the rules of tv animation forever. That show was "The Flintstones"; the first prime time animated series on US television. As such, it paved the way for such shows as the Simpsons, many years later. The Flintstones, from the fine folks at Hanna Barbera,  ran on ABC for six seasons; after which it became a familiar staple of Saturday mornings for the next several decades. Watching Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty is one of the earliest tv memories I have; as that show was one of the few evening shows that little Redartz was allowed to watch (having debuted the same year the Flintstones did; purely coincidentally). 

Of course, most of my Flintstone viewing was done on weekdays after school: the show was syndicated, and shown for years every afternoon. The Flintstones and Rubbles became as familiar as my own family, and it was always a treat to watch; even when viewing an episode rerun for the sixth time. And of course the show's iconic theme song is burned into the memory of every kid and former kid from the last five decades! Speaking of that theme, we saw it in all it's glory up above. But the closing theme was replaced for awhile by this charming bit with Pebbles and Bamm Bamm; you may remember it...

 

 By the way, Pebbles and Bamm Bamm had a show of their own, originating in our own Bronze age circa 1971.  It  was just the first  in a long line of Flintstones-based shows, movies and specials...

 One of the many appealing features of "The Flintstones" was the preponderance of guest stars who made appearances on the show. I have particularly fond memories of  "Ann Margrock"...

 

  

 

 Then there was Stoney Curtis...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And even Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York doing their magic from "Bewitched"...

 

 

 Those are but a few. No doubt you all can name some other favorite cameos. As with the Batman show a couple years later, the Flintstones'  popularity seemed to attract others who 'wanted to get in on the act'.

Indeed, the Flintstones truly became a pop culture monolith; tie-ins and promotions were popping up everywhere and continue to this day. How many of us had Flintstone lunchboxes, played with Flintstone colorforms, or took Flintstone vitamins? And then there was "Pebbles Cereal". It was a favorite at our house, and you can still pick up a box yet today on the shelf at your local supermarket. Interesting fun fact: some of you may remember Post (the manufacturer of "Pebbles" cereal) years ago had a cereal called "Rice Krinkles". Kind of like Rice Krispies, but sweetened; they vanished from the shelves in the mid to late 60's. Apparently they were re-branded into "Pebbles" at the request of the folks at Post. Oh, and Cocoa Pebbles are my choice, although the Fruity ones are good too.

 

 

 

And  how could we fail to mention the Flintstones' countless appearances in print? It's testimony to the show's ongoing popularity and influence that every major comic book publisher in the United States has published the characters at one time or another. Dell, Gold Key, Charlton, Marvel, Archie, Harvey and DC all have had a turn presenting the adventures of the Stone Age icons. I'd draw your attention to DC specifically, having had some fun with "The Flintstones and the Jetsons", and featuring Fred and friends in "Scooby Doo Team-Up". Here's a gallery of Flintstone comics, old and new, including examples from each of those afore-mentioned publishers. 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, lest you think that "The Flintstones" is just a part of television's past. there is word of a new series coming on Fox called "Bedrock". Apparently twenty years later than the events from the original series, it will give us Fred approaching retirement age and Pebbles as a young adult. Will it be worth watching? Only time will tell, but it just goes to show you that you can't keep a good caveman down..

Oh, one more bit of vintage- here's the Screen Gems tag that followed the ending credits for the Flintstones.  It all comes back to you...

Short Cuts: Earliest TV Memories...

Redartz:  Okay, friends; ready to do some exercise? No, no, mental exercise. Think back, waaaaaay back to your childhood. Today let's talk about our earliest memories of television. TV, even in our youth, had huge influence on kids (and everyone else). Some of our parents may have allowed us pretty unlimited television viewing, others among us probably had some strict limits. My brother, sister and I had tv access early, but it was definitely limited. Even so, some of my very first memories are of tv viewing. Back in the mid 60's, when I was little, several Hanna Barbera cartoons were broadcast in prime time, weeknights. I can recall watching the Flintstones before being put to bed. 

Also Magilla Gorilla. And I have vague memories of watching Red Skelton, whom my parents LOVED (and never missed). Anyway, these shows would have been on when I was only about four years old. I have a few other memories from that early age, but not many. So the television influence is telling,even then.



 


So, how far back can you remember? What is the earliest age you can recall watching a show, and do you remember what show it was? Don't worry about 'showing your age', go ahead and open up!

Animation Congregation: Quest is Best!

Redartz:  Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of "Animation Congregation". For today's discussion, we will look at what I consider the greatest animated tv show ever: "Jonny Quest". And I specified 'animated tv show' rather than 'Saturday morning cartoon' for a reason- JQ was first scheduled as a prime time program! It originally aired on Friday nights on ABC, in the 1964-65 season. Of course, we all know it best as a longtime staple of Saturday mornings, running on each of the three American tv networks at one time or other. 

The half-hour adventure show told the story of Jonny Quest, the precocious son of Dr. Benton Quest. Dr. Quest, a brilliant scientist (who apparently was well-versed in many areas of science) was frequently called upon by the U.S. government to investigate various trouble spots. Thus agent Roger "Race" Bannon was assigned to them as protection; of course Race soon became part of the family. As did Hadji, a young Indian boy who the Quest team met and adopted during a mission to that Asian nation. The final member of the group was "Bandit", Jonny's pet dog; often the source of humorous sidelights. Incidentally, little was mentioned about Jonny's mother on the show. In 1986 Comico produced a "Jonny Quest" comic series written by William Messner-Loebs; in the second issue it told the tale of Jonny's mother and her fate. I recommend it highly.

"Jonny Quest" truly had everything going for it. Brilliant music by composer Hoyt Curtin, and the coolest intro of any show around:

It also had beautiful visuals; excellent graphics, backgrounds and character design courtesy of creator Doug Wildey. It had drama, humor, loads of action, science fiction, the whole bit. But the big draw was the fantastic array of monsters, villains, and weirdness the team faced. Among them: A mummy, a Pteranodon, a giant spider robot, stone gargoyles, glowing invisible energy creatures, werewolves, Nazi war criminals, temple looters, renegade Chinese generals, and much more.  And of course, chief among them all, was Dr. Zin- Benton Quest's arch enemy and frequent interloper into the Quest affairs. Or more accurately, the Quest team frequently interloped into , and foiled, Dr. Zin's evil plans. 

 


Excellent voice acting was another plus for the show, courtesy of:
 Tim Matheson (Jonny Quest), John Stephenson (Dr. Benton Quest), Mike Road (Race Bannon), Danny Bravo (Hadji) and Don Messick (Bandit). The show put these actors through their paces, and put them into a world of exotic locales: Egypt, The Java Sea, the Arctic, India, the Andes Mts., and much more. The use of real-world settings, and Wildey's attention to background detail, gave the cartoon an unequaled air of authenticity.



 
Catching Jonny and the Quest team was always a highlight of my Saturday mornings. It just seemed several steps above all the other adventure cartoons in all areas, in my lowly opinion. All  26 episodes were great viewing, but of course I had a few favorites; among them:

"The Curse of Anubis"- Mummies; how could you not love this one?

"The Robot Spy"- a classic episode with Dr. Zin's giant spider robot, when you think of Jonny Quest, you may well picture this episode.

"Shadow of the Condor"- magnificent episode with Doug Wildey's brilliant WWI planes and Race Bannon's dogfight. And the scene with Bandit snatched by a condor was one of the most terrifying you'll ever see on a Saturday morning show.

"The House of Seven Gargoyles"- great, moody, dramatic episode. With dwarfs, gargoyles and evil henchmen.

Over the years, Hanna Barbera studios have done several Quest updates: a 1986 series, the 1990's "New Adventures", and several tv movies. I watched 'em all, but none could ever match the strength of the original. However, the comics spawned by the series fared pretty well. In 1964, Gold Key released a single issue of "Jonny Quest", which has since become a scarce collector's item. 














Comico's "Jonny Quest" series in the later 80's was very well done, and featured several covers done by JQ icon Doug Wildey. Wildey also did a three-issue miniseries adapting several of the most popular tv episodes, The covers:

Also in 1986, fanzine "Amazing Heroes" did a cover feature on the show in this issue, chock full of articles, reviews and a long interview with Doug Wildey himself...

 Of course, enjoyable as reading the comics alway is, watching the tv show is the best way to experience "Quest". Hanna Barbera was smart enough to release the entire series on DVD several years back. It even features Jonny and Race in a "PF Flyers" shoe commercial (for those of us old enough to recall when tv shows were sponsored and the stars hawked the products). It may be the single most-watched dvd collection on my shelf. You know, I think I'll go put in a couple episodes now. "Dragons of Ashida", maybe?