Blast from the Past: The Jetsons Vs.The Flinstones

If you could meet one of these families which would it be?  

I think I would definitely choose The Flintstones they were always my favorite, plus on long car rides in the winter we would listen to The Flinstones’ Christmas on cassette tape. I loved listening to that story.

I loved both of these shows when I was little and watched the reruns (and especially the mararthons were fun) If I remember correctly they came on at 11 and 12 in the morning. So these were great during the summer.  My grandma didn’t let us play outside very much so we watched shows on cartoon network, mainly Flintstones, Jetsons, and Scooby-doo.

Flintstones:

 Takes place in the past around 10,000 b.c. , where the machines are run by dinosaurs and even though there are some things that just don’t make sense to have in a Stone Age setting (say Christmas for example) it’s a comedy, it’s not supposed to make sense, it’s supposed to be for fun.

The Flintstones first aired from 1960 to 1966 on ABC by Hanna-Barbara Productions. There have also been full-length films and a couple of live action adaptations. But as far as I’m concerned the original was the best.

The cartoon centers around a working-class Stone Age man (Fred Flintstone) and his family(Wilma, his wife and later Pebbles, his daughters) and his next door neighbor and best friend (Barney and Betty) and later Bam-Bam.

Facts people may or may not know.

In 2009, IGN named The Flinstones as the ninth best in its “Top 100 Animated TV Shows”. That’s 50 years after the original series ended.  I wish I had cable so I could watch the re-runs. I do not think any animated series has been better. ( The Jetsons come close in rivalry but still make second in my book.)

The Flinstones were the first cartoon series made for adults, as reflected in the writing, of course. And it was

The Flintstones were orginally going to be called The Flagstones

At least two Flintstones-themed amusement parks exist in the United States: Bedrock City in Custer, South Dakota and another in Valle, Arizona. Both have been in operation for decades.

This park is open year round in Arizona

 The one in South Dakota. Both look pretty cool for fans. 

The Jetsons

Counterpart to The Flintstones also produced by Hanna-Barbara.

Setting: Future

The setting is supposed to be 100 years after the series ran so 2062? Probably not very realistic now, but at the time it was produced was the when our country was building the first space shuttle and so we can see how this is what sparked the imagination! Flying cars, robots for maids, and talking dogs, oh my! We could definitely dream big!

Characters:

This show features George Jetson and his family living in Orbit City. His wife Jane, his teenage daughter Judy and son Elroy and we can’t forget Astro the dog.

This show originally only aired for about a year 1962- 1963. Then again from 1985-1987.

Here's the promo for the original show

Love it!

Comparing the two

One from the  distant past, One from the future, but both ran at the same time. I wish I had lived in the sixties to have seen the show air then and see people’s reaction. Both shows have been very successful, hence they’re still around and play reruns! Both shows put use references to the modern world see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flinstones. I thought this was clever of the writers. Though if I could pick one, it would still be the Flinstones.

One movie that I did enjoy was The Jetsons meet The Flinstones. This was a neat idea that blended the two series together. I remember when I was little I would tell the TV that they should meet each other, it would be cool for the reactions of the characters in the other worlds.  In the movie, they switched places for a week and enjoyed the others’ lifestyles.

One thing I noticed was that the (main and secondary) female characters, i.e. Wilma, Betty, Jane, Judy, and even Rosie the robot were all strong characters who were portrayed as somewhat more intelligent than their counterparts. Watching clips from these shows with the knowledge of literature I didn’t have before makes me see things I didn’t see then.

Which one had better writing? 

Both The Jetsons and The Flintstones used characteristics of a  typical 1960s family the working dad, the homemaker wife and children, and we can't forget the pets.

However the differences lie in the plots. The Flintstones seemed to be much more sustainable and funnier to me. 

The Animation was also similar for both shows

So, which show family would you rather meet?






For some more detailed information about the shows: (this is where I got some of the facts that I didn't know)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jetsons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flinstones