The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone (1979)

From 1979, 13 years after The Flintstones left the prime time airwaves but kept alive through reruns and numerous Saturday morning incarnations, comes this one-hour TV special, which aired on NBC on 10/30/79.  The Flintstones and Rubbles win big on a popular game show, “Make a Deal or Don’t,” and their prize is an al-expense paid trip to a haunted castle in Transylvania. Betty and Wilma love its touristy charm, but Fred and Barney are too pooped to party, so all turn in early. Unfortunately, the very real monster Rockula startles a sleeping Wilma, thinking that she s his bride. When this misidentification is cleared up, he still wants to marry her, something only possible if she were a widow. Both he, and unfinished creation Frankenstone, are all to happy to make it happen, so poor Fred has to rescue his dearly beloved and save his own skin – and salvage what clearly has turned into a real dud of a grand prize!

Loads of fun, with the usual voices (Henry Corden, Mel Blanc, Jean Vander Pyl) as the main characters. Fun to hear Casey Kasem’s unmistakable voice as the game show host, Monty Marble (can you guess the game show being parodied?). Without spoiling anything, I will say that Barney winds up saving the day with a very special skill, and no, it doesn’t involve propelling a rock-heavy automobile with his bare feet.

Also on this tape is The Flintstones New Neighbors, a 30-minute special that was part of a limited-run prime-time series on NBC, owing in no small part to the rating success of the above special. Broadcast on 9/26/80, it also features

Frankenstone, but this time as a different character: the patriarch of an Addams Family-esque clan who move in next door to Fred and Wilma. The Rubbles and Wilma are delighted, but Fred plays Archie Bunker and is upset that an oddball family has “decreased property values” in the neighborhood (yes, that’s actual dialogue). Upon hearing of Fred’s intolerance, Barney is furious (you can tell because his pupils get black and huge) and ends their friendship. Only after a picnic, in which Pebbles gets carried away by a pterodactyl and subsequently rescued by Frankenstone, does Fred see the error of his ways and ask for forgiveness from all he offended, which he gets. This classic show is out of print, but you can get it by clicking this share.

This special, I think, is even better than the Rockula one, if only for its message of acceptance and understanding. It was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animated Programming, and followed by “Fred’s Final Fling” in the Flintstone Special run. 

You can also read this review on Amazon by clicking here.

Waltons 6.11: “The Children’s Carol, Parts 1 and 2”

Airdate: 12/5/77

In this second of no less than four 2-hour episodes this season, the war rages ever closer to WM when two young Britons, Tess and Pip, come to say with the Baldwin sisters after their parents are apparently killed in the London Blitz. The Baldwins clearly have their hands full with two frightened children, so they enlist the therapeutic services of the Waltons to try to get the tykes to come out of their shell.

As this a double-length installment, each Walton’s member has his or her own story: Jim-Bob builds a long-wave radio to communicate with London; Erin, still distraught over the death of G.W., treads with caution in her courtship of another army man, the “expeditor” in charge of purchasing desks in a lucrative account with John; Ben works for Ike to enforce the Civil Defense drills, and bears witness to a midnight mugging of Verdie Wilson for her charity money; lonely Mary Ellen defiantly moves into a hole-in-the-wall near Curtis’s army base just to be closer to him; Jason volunteers for basic training and discovers he’s a musician, not a soldier; Elizabeth is frustrated over Tess and Pip’s social withdrawal; and Olivia is just going through a general spiritual malaise as she sees the war inching ever closer to the peace of the Walton homestead.

Earl Hamner in the intro tells us that this will be a different sort of Christmas story, and it is quite unlike previous holiday episodes (although it bears more than a slight resemblance to Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks). With no snow (until the end), no usual mirth and merriment (until the end), and a generally sedate mood throughout (even at the end), this episode feels more foreboding than celebratory – nicely encapsulated by Zeb’s answer to Elizabeth’s query, “What was your favorite Christmas?” His response? “Next year’s.”

Speaking of nice speeches, John delivers one to Jason on the nature of dehumanization in war. Now it’s no All Quiet on the Western Front, but I rather liked his viewpoint that one should retain his tenderness and decency, otherwise there’d be nothing to fight for. Looking back on the Waltons’ war years, it’s interesting to note how patriotism and nostalgia for the 40’s are subtly tinged with the antiwar sentiments of a post-Vietnam consciousness – this episode aired only two years after the end of that war.

Hamner’s conclusion informs us that this would be the last Christmas that the entire Walton clan would spend together. Hmmmm.

By and large, some well-observed dramatic moments, but much of this does seem a bit protracted, and often more than a bit soapy. Oh, and that signal, from 3,000 miles away, on Jim-Bob’s homemade radio does come in awfully clear!

This episode originally aired at a special time, on 12/5/77, which was a Monday. The next episode aired three days later on its regular timeslot of Thursday. It must have been a special holiday presentation.

Yankee Doodle Cricket (1975)

I wanted a special holiday video to feature on the Rocket for the glorious Fourth, so I raided my trove of DVDs and found a great special from my past, Chuck Jones’ utterly charming Yankee Doodle Cricket from 1975, one year before the huge bicentennial celebration. Officially a sequel to A Cricket In Times Square, this was based on the book by George Selden, and features Mel Blanc doing the voices for multiple characters. The premise seems more than loosely based on Disney’s Ben and Me, in which a mouse is integral to all the myriad accomplishments credited to Ben Franklin. This time, our beloved founding fathers owe it all to a collection of cute critters, among them Chester Cricket, Harry the Cat, and Tucker the Mouse.

It all starts when Tucker drafts a declaration of “interdependence” between cats and mice, and shows it to Harry, who sneaks it to his owner, Thomas Jefferson, and… you can guess the rest. Meanwhile, both animals realize a flag is needed, so they take a cue from a trod-upon snake, and… well, you get the rest. And as for the show’s title, it has to do with a new national anthem (not the Star Spangled Banner) crafted by the “Yankee Doodle Cricket” and played by the “instruments” of all the woodland creatures.

Clever references to other presidential one-liners during Jefferson’s lame attempts at writing, and a nice musical interlude beginning the second half of the special. As for Chuck Jones’ animation, it’s, of course, magnificent, although this probably shouldn’t be your introduction for a non-Warner Bros. Jones work (I’d go with the more celebrated Rikki Tikki Tavi, which you can find on the same DVD as this one). On balance, a nice feature to include if you, like me, have a roster of patriotic videos to show to commemorate Independence Day. Perhaps you can sneak it somewhere between 1776 and The Stars and Stripes Forever.

Cutest scene: a boy and girl firefly need to light up to replace Paul Revere’s “one if by land, two if by sea” lanterns because he’s drunk. (I’m not quite sure if parents would appreciate this depiction!)