The cartoon along with all its side products (vitamins, cereal) have become so ubiquitous it’s hard to believe the original source is older than I am.
Like many kids growing up in the Seventies, The Flintstones was in syndication and practically on TV every week day. Looking back, it didn’t have any great appeal to children other than being an animated show that killed 30 minutes. As an adult, it’s really a cartoon remake of The Honeymooners set in a fictional caveman period with exaggerated physical comedy. Sure it made my brother and me laugh but only when Fred or Barney got clobbered. Now it amuses me and I see it more academically because a major part of its DNA was transfused mostly into The Simpsons (it has almost nothing in common with King of the Hill), which passed The Flintstones‘ milestone on episodes in 1996. I recall Entertainment Weekly rejoiced with a short blurb titled Yabba Dabba D’oh!
I’m still glad the show was created. It was a major leap for Hanna Barbera and this proved that a prime-time cartoon could succeed in America.