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http://www.ugo.com/tv/seth-macfarlane-the-flintstones-reboot

So, Seth MacFarlane, creator of dreadful shows Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show now gets to have LESS time to sleep, as Fox Network has finally gotten the rights to bring out The Flintstones for new tv shows and movies. 

I'm not overly opposed to a remake/reboot/relaunch/whatever it's called today, but I AM opposed to MacFarlane's involvement.  I think it'd have a better shot with someone else.

Granted, his shows, however poorly written, are incredibly popular.  But if the way he writes the other shows are any indication, expect the Flintstones to be spouting gay jokes, singing about AIDS, and having various cutaway scenes that have nothing to do with the plot or any jokes in them whatsoever.

Wow.  He just took a wonderful, innocent chunk of my childhood and used it for toilet paper. :hatred:

I feel the same way, pretty much.

Also, I should add this: Fox has also green lit the production of Napoleon Dynamite, the Animated Series.

I don't think ANYBODY should reboot that show. PERIOD.

But I'll still watch Family Guy.

it'll turn to s**t like everything MacFarlane does  :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

Subjective opinion, brother. I think Family Guy has had it's ups and downs, but it continues to entertain me. But hey, the world keeps on a spinnin'.

Remaking the flintstones? I did not see that coming. whats the point of bringing the flintstones back from the dead after 40 years

  The point is probably to make more money. Both the Flintstones and MacFarlane have a proven fan base. To a studio exec this is probably a no-brainer.

  MacFarlane is hit or miss with me. Hopefully he'll at least make something interesting.

 

This seems like a pet project of Seth's.  Kinda like how King Kong was Peter Jackson's pet project too.  This could be interesting, but it would be more interesting if they took it in a different direction to American Dad and Family Guy and made it more for kids rather than the non-pc nature of his other shows.  You know, something a little different to his normal schtick.  I like Family Guy etc but four shows of the same exact humour is probably too much...

Family Guy has become unwatchable, American Dad and The Cleveland Show were always unwatchable.

Maybe, if he goes in a different direction (i.e. not random "shocking" crap), The Flintstones might be watchable ... but probably not.

Indy, my old board friend, there are not enough stars (or karma) to give you for your take on this.  I have so many wonderful memories of the original show, including but not limited to:

Rock Roll and his song the Bedrock Twitch   :thumbup: :thumbup:

The Way-Outs (a nice take on the British Invasion music of the 60's)

The Beau Brummelstones (the Beau Brummels) doing Laugh, Laugh on the episode where Fred came up with the new dance craze, The Flintstone Frantic

Fred and Barney Nothing, where Gazoo createds clones of Fred and Barney

And there was the one where Fred played Superstone ( "Bee-he-he-HAW-hoooo!")

So many great memories of a truly classic TV show, and one I feel should truly be left alone, and enjoyed lke the fine bit of wine and cheese that it truly is.  :smile:
 

His last two shows were bad, I cant even imagine or maybe I just dont want to how bad this one is gonna be. :(

Since we seem to have started talking about our memories of the original show. Here are some of mine.

Ann-Margaret appearing as Ann-Margrock and Fred and Barney, not knowing who she was, but appearing with her on stage at the end of the episode.

Fred inheiriting a house, that turns out to be haunted, and the sinister servants that went with it, from one of his relatives.

Fred needing a high school diploma to work at the quarry, so him going back to high school as one of the students.

Fred and Barney and the gang trying to put on their version of "Romeo and Juliet," a disaster as a tragic drama, but turning out to be one of the biggest comedy hits of the year.

And I think the idea of a reboot is a bad idea.

The original is a classic that sadly seems to be a bastion long forgotten about by many of the kids today.  I was lucky enough (I'm 27), that Ted Turner used to broadcast The Flintstones on TBS back in the early-mid '90s.  And when they launched Cartoon Network, it was one of the first to be shown.

Now, not so much.  Kids think cartoons from the '80s are from a long time ago.  Forget about the '60s. :buggedout:

Unfortunately I see MacFarlane turning the Flintstones into a show with the same formula adapted by Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show which is a turn for the worst because not only is it becoming boring, repetitive and tiresome; its just not what the Flintstones are about. That would suck the sole right out of the show. I know the basic concept will remain the same like the setting, the time period and the characters but it doesn't change the state of the writing or the direction.   

Although having said that; just prior to his early production with Family Guy in the mid to late 90s; MacFarlane did do some extensive work for Cartoon Network with the likes of Cow & Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo. So his track record isn't all bad, but he has changed a lot since then.   

I guess what I miss about the old cartoon series from years ago is their innocence.  No sex jokes, no farts, no profanity  . . . it seems that with Hollywood, everything these days has to be about sex and potty humor.  I can remember when my kids were little, about half the shows on Cartoon Network we didn't let them watch.  Not that they were obscene, but just because they were rude and crude and taught kids how to be that way.

I don't want The Flintstones to be remade, by ANYBODY. I just like Family Guy. I don't have a problem with the humor. What I find surprising is that the members here tend to be into bad movies, which are loaded with inappropriate themes, sex, gore, and tons of other stuff, but yet there seems to be a large number who get offended by this kind of thing. I guess I find it strange.

I'm in the minority, I suppose.  I don't dislike Family Guy for it's inappropriate jokes or sexual things or the like.  I just think the writers are lazy and stick to the same-old same-old every week and use the sex jokes and such as things in place of actual story or real jokes.

I'm not trying to start an argument with this, but I prefer South Park.  Yes, they've been crude and offensive.  But, more often than not, most episodes seem to sway towards having a point about various topics like war, relationships, religion and hypocrisy a lot.  Like the Maury Povich episode.  It featured some crude humor, but pointed out the fact that Maury pretty much uses little girls who're sluts and such to garner ratings then "attempt to help them correct their ways" without really giving a damn about them to begin with.  Or the other Povich show where they had sick kids with disfiguring diseases on, then attempted to make good by giving them a concert by NSYNC and a trip to DisneyLand. :buggedout:

It may seem somewhat hypocritical to some, but not so much in the bigger picture.

The Flintstones (and other shows of the day) are great reminders of our childhood, when we were care-free and happy, and truly innocent in a way that was truly unique to the experience of being a kid. 

It's not that most people can't accept the toilet humor and inappropriate themes of today, it's just that they belong in today's world, with today's shows.

I can understand the occasional rip on some cartoon characters that occurs on shows like Robot Chicken, and some are kinda' funny. And I'm sure most of us have cracked an adult joke or two about them as well.  Hey, we're not kids anymore  :smile:

However, taking an entire classic show, and giving it's originality a redux just to please today's audiences, under your own pretenses that that is truly "what the people want" based on today's moral standards (as seems to be the case here) serves no purpose.

 :thumbup: :cheers:

Now that's a comment I can appreciate.

Actually, between those two examples, I will agree that the work of Trey Parker and Matt Stone comes up a couple of notches above Seth MacFarlane. Both are formulaic, but South Park pushes the envelope of the formula more, and does tend to make more poignant points. Family Guy humor is cheaper and more redundant, I also agree, but I still like it much like I love Beavis and Butthead although every episode was almost exactly the same.

Even ignoring MacFarlane, the prospect of updating the Flintstones makes me nervous. It was easy to make low-tech versions of 1960s technology that were powered by animals or the users themselves, and it was not too much of a stretch to accept an occasional TV set or telephone. I can't imagine the Flintstones with smart phones or the internet. It's not just demanding a greater suspension of disbelief, but also really changing the whole flavour of the show.

There have been a number of incarnations of the Flintstones over the years, but technology and society had not changed as much from the early 60s to the early 90s as they have since. In those years, we pretty much had all the same gadgets. They merely improved. And the way people lived and did things did not change that much. If this new Flintstones is going to be a reflection of the present day, it's going to be a very different Flintstones than even the live-action movie. And I think most of us agree that of all the other Flintstones cartoons and movies, the original series was always the best.

I'm not saying it won't work, but I do have strong doubts.

I appreciate Family Guy, sometimes. I did watch it's initial few seasons but haven't steadily since about '05. If I see a rerun, I wont change the channel, but I dont seek it out. Partly due to reasons previously stated.

Bingo. That sounds about right. I guess Fred will have lots of references "PRE stone age"? :twirl:

A very nice defense of a classic TV show, AndyC  :cheers:

There's a difference in attitude given the time we grew up in, and like many of us, The Flintstones (and other stuff like the Saturday afternoon and evening monster movie matinees) just puts us in that happier time and makes us feel good again.

And seeing these shows just the way they were preserves that happy feeling; these are our comfort zones. And in this day and age, I can't blame people for finding that place they call their own, no matter who they are. We all need it.

Naturally, we can't stop the powers that be from doing what they'll do to The Flintsones, so on that note, I'll just tune into Bommerang on those warm summer nights, crack open a cold one, sit back and let it all come back to me. 

Great old cartoon shows and the feelings they bring back: the 4th answer to the question  "Conan, what is best in life"?   :bouncegiggle:

Fully agreed, HG.  MacFarlane is the worst thing to come onto TV since Leave it to Beaver.  His shows are so disgusting, I can't even hold my dinner in.  Honestly, I wish my TV had the ability to block all of MacFarlane's material.  His shows should be yanked off the air, DVD and Blu Ray production of his shows should stop immediately and MacFarlane himself, banned from the industry.

Plus, they're so unrealistic.

 :bouncegiggle:

Not a big fan of MacFarlane either-but to ban him? That reeks of CENSORSHIP-which I vehnemtly oppose.
Yer not banned-and you aint gotta lotta fans either,pal.
If you dont like it-turn it off.
Oh-and LEAVE IT TO BEAVER is an excellent show. Sure-it's not a reflection of the REAL world-but it's nice.
Why am I arguing with this pinhead?  :question:

True. I'm kind of disappointed. I was expecting a long, tiresome rant about all of the Flintstones' historical inaccuracies, how a foot-powered car would be slower and harder than just walking, why a wooden TV antenna wouldn't work, how difficult it would be to care for all those animals inside the appliances, and how Fred's house appears much bigger inside than out, and must have several sets of identical furniture. I expected him to rail against Hanna-Barbera's obvious contempt for the audience in not giving us an accurate depiction of life in the stone age, and thinking we'd be fooled by such a flawed show. All we got was criticism of Seth MacFarlane. WyreWizard is slipping.

Like I said in my previous post, people tend to forget that pre Family Guy MacFarlane was working on shows that have shaped our childhoods. The likes of cow & chicken, Dextors Labtory and Johnny Bravo, so incorporating that formula in place wouldn't be so bad, but since his style in writing and directing has changed so much post 1999, I'm sure this rebooted version of the show will be much like his current shows. For a sample of whats most likely to come seek out every Flintstones cutaway gag in Family Guy or "Fred and Barney try to get into a club" in the Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. I admit the latter was quite funny, although I guess it was more of a parody then anything else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQaGN3TsWHw

Umaril really answered very well above, but I would like to address Flick's original comment above.  I have no problem with adult humor or content . . . . FOR ADULTS.  It's a free society, everyone can take it or leave it.  My entertainment standards are probably lower than they ought to be, but the thing is, as an adult, I have the unequivocal right to set those standards and consume the entertainment of my choice.

My issue is with programming that is clearly targeted towards children, but is brimming with sex jokes, non-stop potty humor, and profanities.  THAT'S what I miss about the older kid shows.  They could be funny and clean at the same time - something that most of Hollywood today has lost the capacity to do, in its relentless war on childhood innocence.

So what's your thoughts on Ren and Stimpy?
It was on Nickelodeon, technically geared at kids, but by all accounts was laden with bizarre humor that tended to sway towards adult jokes that frankly hinted at alleged homosexuality between the two. :question:

Seth seems to have a handle on things, I suppose, or Fox wouldn't give him 3-4 shows to be on.  I think at times he's written some somewhat clever stuff but at times seems to just take the low road for the hell of it.  I personally don't get offended by stuff, I just think they tend to rely too heavily on 'cutaway' gags that really don't add anything to the overall content.

I guess my problem, like others have been saying is that something will be lost in translation. Either due to different humour or technology. I remeber watching the Flintstones as a kid and I do remember liking it a bit. I haven't seen it since I was 10 so my opinion could change if I see it a gain. But still I can't see how Seth Macfarlene is really going to do a good job rebooting it. Another Family guy clone is not what we need. To me it seems like Seth Macfarlene would have better luck trying to make an animated reboot of Manos the Hands of Fate. Actually that might be a funny idea, anybody know how to animate?

I really like the films by Stone and Parker, all five of em.  But the two best they did were the South Park movie, which features a LOT of political satire, as well as jabs at the MPAA and parenting at the root of the story.  And, Team America: World Police makes a LOT of great ideas come to fruition.  That alone I give them respect for. 

Granted, this is a show which also features talking poop and a mentally challenged kid attempting to have a rock band, but none-the-less, quite endearing characters.

I only watched Ren and Stimpy a couple of times (it was a hit after I was an adult, but before I had children).  I really didn't care for what I saw - it was just vulgar and not that funny.  But I may have caught a bad episode or two.

Ren & Stimpy were funny in a few episodes. I never thought it was as great as some seem to think. They had a couple of episodes that hit very, very hard, but to me the majority of them just weren't that funny. "Space Madness" was hilarious, and the one with the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" song in it was just genius. Overall, though, I never thought it was all that great.

Right on, old buddy. Have one on me   :cheers:


There too, we should consider the source these shows are coming from: Hollywood is FAR from a role model for anyone, kids notwithstanding.  I don't think this one needs any further explanation.

Funny and clean indeed! That was the magic, as opposed to the one-track (and one-trick) mindset of today.  I guess I could expound upon this by saying that there was a true standard in being clean and funny, and that it was a mark of talent to maintain that standard, being anyone can be dirty and get away with it.

It really depends on context, doesn't it? I mean, potty humor has been the norm in UK television, and in most entertainment venues for that matter, for a long time, whereas this is a relatively new development in the States. This is not a "we're better than them" or vice-versa kind of thing. I don't really care about that. I'm just saying that different cultures have different versions of what is acceptable and what is inappropriate.

Hollywood is far from a role model for anybody, and never has been. They do what is marketable and what will make money. American societal norms did not accept potty humor in the 60's when the original ran, and so the show was more innocent. So, did Hollywood change societal norms or are they just reacting to those changes? It's the proverbial chicken or the egg as far as I'm concerned.

Oh and then there's film. You can't get away with quite a few things that you once WERE able to get away with. Mother's Day (1980) was a borderline torture porn that got an R-rating back then. No way that would happen today. What's considered acceptable or inappropriate shifts all the time. I find it almost impossible to keep up with.

I'm not really trying to make any particular point with this, I just find it interesting how societal norms shift with little to no logic behind it.

I love Family Guy. I was there when it jumped the shark and I think it's getting it's charm again. But I don't see how somebody who devotes his life to a crude/dark/intelligent/adult humor mix can remake Flintstones. Flintstones was only partially an adult show, it's supposed to be at least appropriate enough for kids to watch too. I love McFarlane but I don't think he can do this.

When are they bringing back "Bucky o' Hare" and "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs"?

Or even "The Snorks"?


 :question:

It's Manos!  Quality isn't an option!  Just get a sketch book and start drawing.  :smile:

Note:  I think this reboot was discontinued.

I'm not sure if it's discontinued.

Heard it was postponed a few months to early 2013.

Unfunny but beloved show gets rebooted by unfunny and beloved show runner. Who cares.
I find it wholly satisfying that Ren & Stimpy still makes mommies cry to this day, as if it isn't two decades old.

I don't think Seth is going to take a national icon and turn it into one big fart joke (then again he might). I just hope it's funny, but I don't have high hopes. I hate how Cartoon Network revamped Looney Tunes for a modern age. It just doesn't work. The violence is gone as is most of the fun.Those old shorts were not censored for content like cartoons are today, and don't think the network isn't ramming political correctness down the throats of the writers. If MacFarlane pushes the envelope as far as he does for his other shows it will offend the purist, but if it's too safe, it's likely to be like most of the cartoons aimed at children today: Mind numbingly boring! Old cartoons are a reflection of the time they were made in, and quite frankly, who'd want to reflect the times we live in today? We no longer live in a world of black and white. Parents and schools are teaching the kids about political correctness, but don't teach them a damn thing about respect. We live in a world where technology is moving faster than a child's ability to cope with it. Our children have greater technical minds, but nowhere near the emotional maturity of past generations. Sorry to get on the soapbox, but to quote Don Henley: This is the end of the innocence.