As
I’ve stated in my reviews of the previous seasons of THE FLINTSTONES,
I am something of a longtime fan, especially since this wonderful animated
show was a daily staple throughout my childhood. I took great delight from
a watching THE FLINTSTONES a regular basis and have seen each
episode countless times. Fortunately (or unfortunately) there has been an
extended period of years where I hadn’t seen THE FLINTSTONES,
which gives a certain level of freshness to the experience of viewing the
episodes again on DVD- which certainly goes a long way to make this fan
appreciate the series anew. While THE FLINTSTONES was adapted from
the same sitcom format that brought the world THE HONEYMOONERS, the
third season of the popular animated show ventured into uncharted waters
when a new addition arrived in Bedrock- namely a little baby named
Pebbles.
For
those of you who have never seen an episode of THE FLINTSTONES, the
show is set in a post-modern, prehistoric caveman world, that features
stone age equivalents of all the modern conveniences that we know, or at
least as they knew in the early 1960s. THE FLINTSTONES follows the
comic misadventures of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, not to mention
their long suffering wives Wilma and Betty. Both couples live next-door to
one another in the town of Bedrock (Population: 2500). Fred is a schemer,
who usually manages to get his pliable best friend Barney into just as
much trouble as himself. Wilma and Betty are far more level headed than
their husbands, and as such, they usually wind up way ahead of their
spouses at every turn of the game. The vocal talent behind THE
FLINTSTONES (and their best friends the Rubbles) includes Alan Reed,
Jean Vander Pyl, Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet.
THE
FLINTSTONES: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON ($45) comes to DVD in a four
disc boxed set that features the following twenty-eight episodes: Dino
Goes Hollyrock, Fred's New Boss, Barney The
Invisible, Bowling Ballet, The Twitch,
Here's Snow In Your Eyes, The Buffalo Convention,
The Little Stranger, Baby Barney, Hawaiian
Escapade, Ladies Day, Nuothing But The Tooth,
High School Fred, Dial S For Suspicion, Flash
Gun Freddie, The Kissing Burglar, Wilma,
The Maid, The Hero, The Surprise, Mother-In-Law's
Visit, Foxy Grandma, Fred's New Job, Dress
Rehersal, Carry On, Nurse Fred, Ventriloquist
Barney, The Big Move, Swedish Visitors
and The Birthday Party.
Warner
Home Video has made all the episodes that comprise THE FLINTSTONES: THE
COMPLETE THIRD SEASON available on DVD in the proper 4:3 full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. Right up front, let’s
acknowledge that this animated series is now four decades old; however,
for the most part, the episodes that comprise season three look pretty
darn good. Sure there is some graininess, and visual imperfections that
can be traced all the way back to the original animation, but there is
little one can really complain about. Sharpness and detail is about all
one can expect from this type of 2D cell animation. Colors vary somewhat;
sometimes appearing bright and appealing, while at other times they are a
bit subdued. Blacks are accurate; whites appear clean, while contrast is
generally good, although there are some exceptions. The Dolby Digital
monaural soundtracks are just fine, never demonstrating any significant
flaws. Most signs of background hiss and surface noise have been expunged
in the mastering process. Dialogue is always completely understandable,
while the music lacks any kind of harshness, despite the limited fidelity
of the vintage recordings. English, French, and Spanish language tracks
are provided on the DVD, along with English, French, and Spanish
subtitles.
Music
and a bit of animation serve to enhance the interactive menus, which
provide access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as
well as a few extras, which are spread across discs one, two and three.
Disc one offers Bedrock Collectables, a six-minute program
spotlighting Flintstone memorabilia. Disc two offers First Families
Of The Stone Age, which clocks in at seven minutes and provides a
discussion of the series female characters and the addition of Pebbles.
Disc three offers trailers for the previous Flintstones sets, as well as
other Warner animated DVD collections.
As
expected, Warner has done their usual fine job with THE FLINTSTONES:
THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON on DVD, offering solid presentations that
should keep fans happy. If you love THE FLINTSTONES, this is
another set you’ll want to add to your collection. Highly recommended.
As
I’ve stated in my reviews of the previous seasons of THE FLINTSTONES,
I am something of a longtime fan, especially since this wonderful animated
show was a daily staple throughout my childhood. I took great delight from
a watching THE FLINTSTONES a regular basis and have seen each
episode countless times. Fortunately (or unfortunately) there has been an
extended period of years where I hadn’t seen THE FLINTSTONES,
which gives a certain level of freshness to the experience of viewing the
episodes again on DVD- which certainly goes a long way to make this fan
appreciate the series anew. While THE FLINTSTONES was adapted from
the same sitcom format that brought the world THE HONEYMOONERS, the
third season of the popular animated show ventured into uncharted waters
when a new addition arrived in Bedrock- namely a little baby named
Pebbles.
For
those of you who have never seen an episode of THE FLINTSTONES, the
show is set in a post-modern, prehistoric caveman world, that features
stone age equivalents of all the modern conveniences that we know, or at
least as they knew in the early 1960s. THE FLINTSTONES follows the
comic misadventures of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, not to mention
their long suffering wives Wilma and Betty. Both couples live next-door to
one another in the town of Bedrock (Population: 2500). Fred is a schemer,
who usually manages to get his pliable best friend Barney into just as
much trouble as himself. Wilma and Betty are far more level headed than
their husbands, and as such, they usually wind up way ahead of their
spouses at every turn of the game. The vocal talent behind THE
FLINTSTONES (and their best friends the Rubbles) includes Alan Reed,
Jean Vander Pyl, Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet.
THE
FLINTSTONES: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON ($45) comes to DVD in a four
disc boxed set that features the following twenty-eight episodes: Dino
Goes Hollyrock, Fred's New Boss, Barney The
Invisible, Bowling Ballet, The Twitch,
Here's Snow In Your Eyes, The Buffalo Convention,
The Little Stranger, Baby Barney, Hawaiian
Escapade, Ladies Day, Nuothing But The Tooth,
High School Fred, Dial S For Suspicion, Flash
Gun Freddie, The Kissing Burglar, Wilma,
The Maid, The Hero, The Surprise, Mother-In-Law's
Visit, Foxy Grandma, Fred's New Job, Dress
Rehersal, Carry On, Nurse Fred, Ventriloquist
Barney, The Big Move, Swedish Visitors
and The Birthday Party.
Warner
Home Video has made all the episodes that comprise THE FLINTSTONES: THE
COMPLETE THIRD SEASON available on DVD in the proper 4:3 full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. Right up front, let’s
acknowledge that this animated series is now four decades old; however,
for the most part, the episodes that comprise season three look pretty
darn good. Sure there is some graininess, and visual imperfections that
can be traced all the way back to the original animation, but there is
little one can really complain about. Sharpness and detail is about all
one can expect from this type of 2D cell animation. Colors vary somewhat;
sometimes appearing bright and appealing, while at other times they are a
bit subdued. Blacks are accurate; whites appear clean, while contrast is
generally good, although there are some exceptions. The Dolby Digital
monaural soundtracks are just fine, never demonstrating any significant
flaws. Most signs of background hiss and surface noise have been expunged
in the mastering process. Dialogue is always completely understandable,
while the music lacks any kind of harshness, despite the limited fidelity
of the vintage recordings. English, French, and Spanish language tracks
are provided on the DVD, along with English, French, and Spanish
subtitles.
Music
and a bit of animation serve to enhance the interactive menus, which
provide access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as
well as a few extras, which are spread across discs one, two and three.
Disc one offers Bedrock Collectables, a six-minute program
spotlighting Flintstone memorabilia. Disc two offers First Families
Of The Stone Age, which clocks in at seven minutes and provides a
discussion of the series female characters and the addition of Pebbles.
Disc three offers trailers for the previous Flintstones sets, as well as
other Warner animated DVD collections.
As
expected, Warner has done their usual fine job with THE FLINTSTONES:
THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON on DVD, offering solid presentations that
should keep fans happy. If you love THE FLINTSTONES, this is
another set you’ll want to add to your collection. Highly recommended.