The Flintstones' Milestone
Hello, hello, hello!
Well, this week, there's not very much to report on. The BP oil well is dead, the San Bruno gas explosion is under investigation, and my life is boring since school began. (Oh, boy is it boring!) The only thing to report is that, the very week after summer was supposed to end, it comes right back. Boy, it's hot here in Southern California! I'm drinking an ice cold pack of Capri Sun as I'm typing this! Funny how summer comes to being its full force when you can't stay home to enjoy it, and it's very, very hard to concentrate on schoolwork and homework when the weather is triple digits outside. It's a good thing I've got a freezer full of ice cream and fruit sherbet, or my family and I would all burn up in all this heat.
Well, there is one thing we can talk about: The Flintstones, who turn fifty this week. Did you know that? Well, it's true! The first family of the Stone Age made their debut on ABC Prime Time this week (September 30, I think,) in 1960, which, to many of us who are kids and teenagers, do seem like the Stone Age. They were the creation of two distinct gentlemen whose names were Bill Hanna and Joe Barbara, who first got into the animation business with the now classic Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM, then, when television started becoming popular in the 1950's, they created their own animation production company (which was sold to Cartoon Network in the early 2000's and is now known as the Cartoon Network Studios) and created many popular cartoon characters from Yogi Bear to Huckleberry Hound. The Flintstones weren't the first prime time toon (Huckleberry Hound has that distinction), but they were the first to gain nationwide, and later international, notoriety. They would later inspire a family of a space age variety (The equally popular Jetsons), as well as a family that was a little more, contemporary (The Boyles, who were the subject of the 1970's toon, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home). They also would start their own cottage industry of tie-in merchandizing, such as Flintstone Vitamins, which debuted in 1970, and Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles cereal, which came out the following year in 1971. They also had two known spin off shows: Pebbles and Bam Bam (in which Fred and Barney's offspring were teenagers) from the 1970's, and The Flintstone Kids (which were Fred and Co. when they were kids) from the 1980's. So, on behalf of Flintstones fans from all over the world, I'd love to say, Happy Birthday, Flintstones, and may you have another fifty years of popularity!
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and don't forget the help the earthquake survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
Well, this week, there's not very much to report on. The BP oil well is dead, the San Bruno gas explosion is under investigation, and my life is boring since school began. (Oh, boy is it boring!) The only thing to report is that, the very week after summer was supposed to end, it comes right back. Boy, it's hot here in Southern California! I'm drinking an ice cold pack of Capri Sun as I'm typing this! Funny how summer comes to being its full force when you can't stay home to enjoy it, and it's very, very hard to concentrate on schoolwork and homework when the weather is triple digits outside. It's a good thing I've got a freezer full of ice cream and fruit sherbet, or my family and I would all burn up in all this heat.
Well, there is one thing we can talk about: The Flintstones, who turn fifty this week. Did you know that? Well, it's true! The first family of the Stone Age made their debut on ABC Prime Time this week (September 30, I think,) in 1960, which, to many of us who are kids and teenagers, do seem like the Stone Age. They were the creation of two distinct gentlemen whose names were Bill Hanna and Joe Barbara, who first got into the animation business with the now classic Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM, then, when television started becoming popular in the 1950's, they created their own animation production company (which was sold to Cartoon Network in the early 2000's and is now known as the Cartoon Network Studios) and created many popular cartoon characters from Yogi Bear to Huckleberry Hound. The Flintstones weren't the first prime time toon (Huckleberry Hound has that distinction), but they were the first to gain nationwide, and later international, notoriety. They would later inspire a family of a space age variety (The equally popular Jetsons), as well as a family that was a little more, contemporary (The Boyles, who were the subject of the 1970's toon, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home). They also would start their own cottage industry of tie-in merchandizing, such as Flintstone Vitamins, which debuted in 1970, and Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles cereal, which came out the following year in 1971. They also had two known spin off shows: Pebbles and Bam Bam (in which Fred and Barney's offspring were teenagers) from the 1970's, and The Flintstone Kids (which were Fred and Co. when they were kids) from the 1980's. So, on behalf of Flintstones fans from all over the world, I'd love to say, Happy Birthday, Flintstones, and may you have another fifty years of popularity!
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and don't forget the help the earthquake survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
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