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''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' is an American
animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that originally aired for one season on CBS Saturday morning from September 11, 1971, to January 1, 1972. With an ensemble voice cast of Sally Struthers, Jay North,
Mitzi McCall Mitzi McCall is an American comedian and actress. Life and career Television In the early 1950s, then known as Mitzi Steiner, McCall had the ''Kiddie Castle'' program on KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received national attention in 1 ...
, Gay Hartwig, Carl Esser and Lennie Weinrib, the show follows teenage Pebbles Flintstone and
Bamm-Bamm Rubble Bamm-Bamm Rubble (sometimes spelled Bam-Bam Rubble) is a fictional character in the ''Flintstones'' franchise, the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series, but has also appeared at vari ...
as they encounter problems growing up in the fictional town of
Bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
. ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' is the first
spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
series of '' The Flintstones''. For the 1972-73 season, the show was revamped as ''
The Flintstone Comedy Hour ''The Flintstone Comedy Hour'' is an American animated television series and a spin-off of ''The Flintstones'' and ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'', produced by Hanna-Barbera, which aired on CBS from September 9, 1972, to September 1, 1973. It w ...
'', with more time given to the original ''Flintstones'' cast alongside both reruns and newly produced segments of ''Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm''. Similar to Hanna-Barbera's '' Josie and the Pussycats'', it used contemporary rock music to attract more viewers. The 16 episodes have since had reruns broadcast on Boomerang often surrounded by interstitial cartoons and shorts. Critical responses were mixed. It has since been released on DVD as part of Warner Home Video's "Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection" on a two disc set.


Overview

Set in the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
, the series follows Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm as they face problems with growing up in the town of
Bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
. No longer toddlers, the two were now teenagers and began dating each other. The show focuses on them attending Bedrock High School and also getting their first jobs. Together, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm formed a musical band called the Bedrock Rockers, which was considered an attempt to be the "Stone Age" version of the Archies by one critic. Unlike '' The Flintstones'', it centered on the children of the family, rather than parents Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and
Barney Barney may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Barney (surname), a list of people Film and television * the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...
and Betty Rubble. These characters would continue to appear in the series, albeit in reduced roles.


Cast and characters

The series features the following seven main characters throughout its run: * Sally Struthers as Pebbles Flintstone, Fred and Wilma's daughter, Bamm-Bamm's best friend/girlfriend and a beautiful, social teenager. Enthusiastic, well-meaning and kind-hearted, she often tries to help someone in trouble, but usually ends up getting herself and her friends into even bigger trouble. Like her father, her catchphrase was "Yabba-dabba-doozy!", which was appropriate as most of her schemes were indeed doozies. Much like ''The Flintstones'', Pebbles' "trademark" ponytail was held in place with a bone in the show. When Struthers left the series in order to fulfill a role on the American sitcom '' All in the Family'', actress Mikki Stevens took her place for "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" segments on ''
The Flintstone Comedy Hour ''The Flintstone Comedy Hour'' is an American animated television series and a spin-off of ''The Flintstones'' and ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'', produced by Hanna-Barbera, which aired on CBS from September 9, 1972, to September 1, 1973. It w ...
''. * Jay North as Bamm-Bamm Rubble, Barney and Betty's muscular, adopted son and Pebbles' best friend/boyfriend.He often tries to talk Pebbles out of her crazy ideas, but ends going along with them. This marked North's second role as a voice actor for Hanna-Barbera (outside of ''
Arabian Knights ''Arabian Knights'' is an animated segment of ''The Banana Splits Adventure Hour'', created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series is based on the '' Arabian Nights'', a classic work of Middle Eastern literature. The cast includes Henry Corden, ...
''; he also voice acted in DePatie-Freleng's ''Here Comes the Grump''), having previously acted on series like '' Dennis the Menace'', ''
Wanted Dead or Alive Wanted Dead or Alive may refer to: Film and television * ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'' (1951 film), an American film of 1951 * ''Wanted Dead or Alive'' (TV series), a 1958–1961 TV series starring Steve McQueen * ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'' (1987 fil ...
'' and '' My Three Sons''. *
Mitzi McCall Mitzi McCall is an American comedian and actress. Life and career Television In the early 1950s, then known as Mitzi Steiner, McCall had the ''Kiddie Castle'' program on KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received national attention in 1 ...
as Penny, the small intelligent friend of Pebbles who often worried about her weight. * Gay Hartwig as both Wiggy and Cindy. Wiggy was an astrology enthusiast who spoke in an operatic voice and Cindy was a spoiled primary antagonist with an interest in Bamm-Bamm and nemesis of Pebbles. * Carl Esser as Fabian, the other spoiled antagonist of the series and a nemesis of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm. * Lennie Weinrib as Moonrock, one of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm's friends who was intelligent and enjoyed inventing things, though they don't always work as intended. Weinrib was a frequent voice actor for Hanna-Barbera, previously fulfilling roles on '' The Jetsons'', '' Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', and '' Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!''.


Production and continuation

''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' was the first spin-off TV series derived from ''The Flintstones'', following the theatrical film ''
The Man Called Flintstone ''The Man Called Flintstone'' is a 1966 American animated musical comedy film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The second film by Hanna-Barbera following '' Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!'' (1964), it was ...
'' in 1966. Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, creators of ''Scooby-Doo, Where are You!'', served as story editors on ''Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm'', and several individuals wrote episodes for the series, including Joel Kane,
Woody Kling Woody Kling (April 14, 1925 – April 10, 1988) was an American television writer, producer, playwright, and composer. Biography Early life Born Heywood Fisher Kling in New York City, Kling was the son of Mayme and Ken Kling. Ken was a ...
, and Howard Morganstern. Executive produced by William Hanna and
Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian im ...
, Charles A. Nichols served as the director and Iwao Takamoto was the creative producer and key character designer. The main title theme and musical directors for ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' were made by Hoyt Curtin and Ted Nichols.
Elliot Lawrence Elliott Lawrence Broza (February 14, 1925 – July 2, 2021), known professionally as Elliott Lawrence, was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. Son of the broadcaster Stan Lee Broza, Lawrence led his first dance band at age 20, but he pl ...
wrote songs for the series, with music arrangements by Lanny Meyers. The songs were recorded by Regent Sound Studios. Author Christopher P. Lehman wrote that the success of ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' inspired Hanna-Barbera to create ''
The Flintstone Comedy Hour ''The Flintstone Comedy Hour'' is an American animated television series and a spin-off of ''The Flintstones'' and ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'', produced by Hanna-Barbera, which aired on CBS from September 9, 1972, to September 1, 1973. It w ...
'' in 1972. It combined previously broadcast episodes alongside new cartoons and shorts. Serving as a continuation, the new series featured newly-produced eleven-minute vignette versions of ''The Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Show,'' as well as reruns from the 1971-72 season, during each of its eighteen episodes. ''The Flintstone Comedy Hour'' also included musical interludes performed by The Bedrock Rockers, similar to the original series. '' Fred Flintstone and Friends'' (1977), a later anthology series compiled for syndication, included reruns of segments from both ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' and ''The Flintstone Comedy Hour''. ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' was one of the first shows to use Hanna-Barbera's limited laugh track, as they stopped using a full laugh track provided by
Charley Douglass Charles Rolland Douglass (January 2, 1910 – April 8, 2003) was a Mexican-born American sound engineer, credited as the inventor of the laugh track. Early years Douglass was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1910 to an American family. His fath ...
by the fall of 1971.Iverson, Paul R. (1994), The Advent of the Laugh Track (2nd ed.), Hempstead, New York: Hofstra University Archives


Episodes


Reception


Broadcast history

''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' was broadcast on CBS as part of their Saturday morning children's lineup between September 11, 1971 and January 1, 1972. Reruns of the series would later air again during 1975 and 1976. The reruns of ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' were incorporated into the 1972 hour-long show ''
The Flintstone Comedy Hour ''The Flintstone Comedy Hour'' is an American animated television series and a spin-off of ''The Flintstones'' and ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'', produced by Hanna-Barbera, which aired on CBS from September 9, 1972, to September 1, 1973. It w ...
'' as the second half-hour of the show. When the ''Comedy Hour'' first started airing, a few new Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm half-hour cartoons were produced for this position. After a few weeks, the new episodes stopped and the reruns of the original series began. Those new episodes were included in ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' DVD as bonus episodes. The noticeable difference is Mickey Stevens as Pebbles' voice in the new episodes, concurrent with Stevens' voice appearing as Pebbles anytime Pebbles is seen in the shorter cartoons that comprised the first half of ''The Flintstone Comedy Hour''. Boomerang has broadcast ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' on several occasions since its initial launch in 2000. Reruns on the network would occasionally air alongside interstitial cartoons, such as Barney Bear's ''The Unwelcome Guest'' or Tex Avery's ''Hound Hunters'' for example. As part of the
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter Me ...
and Warner Bros. Television Distribution's "Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection", the complete series was made available on DVD as a two-disc set.


Critical reception

Author Derek Tait wrote in his book ''1970s Childhood: From Bell-Bottoms to Disco Dancing'' that the cartoon was one of the popular Hanna-Barbera productions of the 1970s. In a retrospective view of older cartoons, the staff at MeTV included the show on their list of "15 Forgotten Cartoons from the Early 1970s You Used to Love". Regarding the musical aspects, Tom and Sara Pendergast felt that both ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' and '' Josie and the Pussycats'' incorporated contemporary rock music to attract a larger audience. On '' The Christian Science Monitor''s list of "the five dumbest moments" of ''The Flintstones'', writer Chris Gaylord listed the series at number two. He called it "the most curious" of the various spin-offs and wrote, "Mercifully, these misadventures at Bedrock High School only lasted one season".


References


Citations


Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pebbles And Bamm-Bamm Show, The The Flintstones spin-offs 1970s American animated television series 1970s American high school television series 1971 American television series debuts 1972 American television series endings American children's animated comedy television series American animated television spin-offs Animated musical groups Animated television series about siblings Animated television series about teenagers CBS original programming Crossover animated television series English-language television shows Older versions of cartoon characters Television series by Hanna-Barbera Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series set in prehistory Teen animated television series