Overview: This popular animated television cartoon featured two Stone Age families, the Flintstones and their neighbors, the Rubbles. Much of the humor was based on its comic portrayals of modern conveniences, reinterpreted using Stone Age 'technology.' Most notably were their cars, complete with absence of floorboards to allow them to be 'foot-powered.'

DVD Verdict: This was the last season of 'The Flintstones.' Up until The Simpsons, no other animated primetime TV show surpassed it in seasons. Here for the last time, Fred (Alan Reed) comes home from work, gathers Wilma, Pebbles (both by Jean Vanderpyl) and Dino (Mel Blanc) into the Flintmobile, later picking up Barney (Blanc), Betty (Gerry Johnson) and Bamm Bamm (Don Messick) from 1965 to 1966. Other characters include the Hopparoo (Messick), the crotchety Mr. Slate (John Stephenson) and a new character called the Great Gazoo (Harvey Korman). Well-meaning but inept and a little nuts, he was rescued by Fred and Barney and had to serve the "prehistoric dum-dums" as Gazoo often called them. This season has more guest voices than others including Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York (as Samantha and Darren in a crossover Bewitched episode), Jimmy O'Neill ("Howdy hi, there, shinrockers and wingading-dingers!"), Tony Curtis (as Stoney Curtis) and the Beau Brummels (as the Beau Brummel-stones). If you notice Barney's eyes look different, it's because the pupils are black. In previous seasons, Barney had flesh-colored pupils. Also, the swimming pool that Barney made in his backyard in the 1st season is back in the episode featuring Dripper the seal, as is the piano Fred purchased for his wife on their anniversary in the 1st season in the episode where Wilma has a date with an old flame, much to Fred's jealousy. Episodes include Fred having a dream that Pebbles and Bamm Bamm have the gift of singing (even though they still can't talk) and have a big hit with "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine In" (this was the closing theme for some of the episodes)and Fred and Barney are thrilled with their children's success until they miss them being around, Wilma wins a contest and the prize is to meet handsome Stoney Curtis (Stoney even wins over the slightly jealous Fred when he generously offers Fred a role in his latest movie), Fred takes his family and the Rubbles to the local carnival and gets conned into buying it, Fred and Barney meet Gazoo and try explaining their little discovery to Wilma and Betty (their wives don't buy a word of it, but Pebbles and Bamm Bamm can see the space-aged genie), Fred has to serve on a jury and must decide the fate of a tough defendant (Henry Corden) which could come back to haunt him (subplot includes Barney buying Bamm Bamm a toy train which gets frequently tripped over), Gazoo grants the Flintstones and the Rubbles a chance to see the 21st century, Mr. Slate "generously" loans Fred and the family his yacht on the condition that Fred paint it, and Gazoo grants Fred the chance to switch jobs with Mr. Slate for a day and Fred soon learns the price his boss must pay for his stature, Wilma organizes a Bedrock production of Romeorock and Julietstone and Fred refuses to play the part of Romeorock. Other episodes include Fred buying a run-down house for his mother-in-law (Wilma thinks he's having an affair), Wilma meets up with an pompous old flame after Fred ditches her for a bowling game, Fred has a minor accident and unwittingly invents a new dance called the Frantic ("Yabba-dabba-dy-yi-yi!" is his cry of anguish and he wins a gig on Shinrock), at the Water Buffalo Costume Party, Fred gets mistaken for one of the Way-Outs, an English singing group rumored to be space aliens (those psuedo-cockney accents are a scream as is their song "We're gonna go way out- WAY OUT!"), Fred reads a relative's diary of war stories, at a company picnic, Fred acts obnoxious and has a dream he's still at the picnic 20 years later as an old man, Barney is mistaken for royalty and is kidnapped by Arabs to be their prince ("Ola-salima!") and in another episode, he's mistaken as a scientist and Stonefinger demands his latest "secret formula." Though there'd be movies (A Man Called Flintstone, I Yabba Dabba Do and the dubious live-action movie), Christmas specials (albiet with the late Alan Reed's replacement Henry Corden), spinoffs (Pebbles and Bamm Bamm and Fred and Barney) and a breakfast cereal which sells to this day, nothing beat the original 6 seasons of the Flintstones. So get this when it finally comes out on DVD, as to phrase Mr. Flintstone from a classic episode "This is the last you'll see of the last of the [original] Flintstones!" This is a Standard Version Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

26 episodes on four discs
The Flintstones Meet Pop Culture: Stephen Baldwin hosts a look at the effect of pop culture on the show, and vice versa
The Great Gazoo: From A to Zetox