Fred and Barney Meet the Thing
Encyclopedia
Fred and Barney Meet The Thing was a 60-minute Saturday morning animated
package show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
from September 8, 1979 to December 1, 1979 on NBC
. It contained the following segments:
Despite the title, the two segments remained separate and did not crossover with one another. Fred, Barney and the Thing were only featured together during the show's opening title sequence and in brief bumpers between segments.
For the 1979-80
season, the series was expanded to ninety-minutes with the addition of The New Shmoo
episodes and retitled Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo
.
' character The Thing
, consisted of stories following the Thing as a teenager named Benjy Grimm (voiced by Wayne Morton). He transforms into the rock-skinned superhero Thing (voiced by Joe Baker) by touching together magic rings and reciting the words "Thing ring, do your thing!" When the Thing spoke, his voice is identical to Jimmy Durante
.
The stories centered mostly around Benjy at Centerville High School with his friends Betty (voiced by Marilyn Schreffler
), her rich boyfriend Ronald Radford (voiced by John Erwin
), Betty's kid sister Kelly (voiced by Noelle North) and teacher Miss Twilly (voiced by Marilyn Schreffler
). Kelly was the only person who knew about Benjy's secret.
Other members of the Fantastic Four
did not appear in the show, and the portrayal of the Thing and his origin story differed greatly from the original comics.
Twenty-six 11-minute episodes of The Thing were produced; 2 shorts aired per show.
The Thing segments are owned by Time Warner
, but the character is owned by Disney due to its purchase of Marvel Comics in 2009.
Saturday morning cartoon
A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
package show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
from September 8, 1979 to December 1, 1979 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. It contained the following segments:
- The New Fred and Barney ShowThe New Fred and Barney ShowThe New Fred and Barney Show was a 30-minute Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera as a 1979 series revival of The Flintstones from February 3 to October 20, 1979 on NBC...
- The ThingThing (comics)The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
Despite the title, the two segments remained separate and did not crossover with one another. Fred, Barney and the Thing were only featured together during the show's opening title sequence and in brief bumpers between segments.
For the 1979-80
1979-80 United States network television schedule (Saturday morning)
This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all three commercial television networks on Saturday mornings for the season beginning in the fall of 1979 and ending in the spring of 1980. All times are Eastern and Pacific.- Fall 1979 :...
season, the series was expanded to ninety-minutes with the addition of The New Shmoo
The New Shmoo
The New Shmoo was a 1979 cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for NBC.-Plot:This show about a group of teenagers — Mickey, Nita and Billy Joe — who solve mysteries and crimes with their friend, Shmoo, a character from Al Capp's newspaper comic strip, Li'l Abner...
episodes and retitled Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo
Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo
Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo was a 90-minute Saturday morning animated package show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from December 8, 1979 to November 15, 1980 on NBC...
.
The Thing
The first segment, a very loose adaptation of Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' character The Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
, consisted of stories following the Thing as a teenager named Benjy Grimm (voiced by Wayne Morton). He transforms into the rock-skinned superhero Thing (voiced by Joe Baker) by touching together magic rings and reciting the words "Thing ring, do your thing!" When the Thing spoke, his voice is identical to Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
.
The stories centered mostly around Benjy at Centerville High School with his friends Betty (voiced by Marilyn Schreffler
Marilyn Schreffler
Marilyn Schreffler was an American actress, who provided voice-overs for several animated TV programs, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions.-Life:Born in Concordia, Kansas, and had an affinity for cartoons since age 6...
), her rich boyfriend Ronald Radford (voiced by John Erwin
John Erwin
John Lee Erwin is a voice actor known for voicing Morris the Cat and He-Man.-Career:Erwin was the voice of He-Man in the Filmation production He-Man and the Masters of the Universe that ran from 1983 to 1985. Due to the extreme cost-cutting by Filmation, the cast of voice actors was small, and...
), Betty's kid sister Kelly (voiced by Noelle North) and teacher Miss Twilly (voiced by Marilyn Schreffler
Marilyn Schreffler
Marilyn Schreffler was an American actress, who provided voice-overs for several animated TV programs, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions.-Life:Born in Concordia, Kansas, and had an affinity for cartoons since age 6...
). Kelly was the only person who knew about Benjy's secret.
Other members of the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
did not appear in the show, and the portrayal of the Thing and his origin story differed greatly from the original comics.
Twenty-six 11-minute episodes of The Thing were produced; 2 shorts aired per show.
The Thing segments are owned by Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
, but the character is owned by Disney due to its purchase of Marvel Comics in 2009.
Episodes
| # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Picnic Panic / Bigfoot Meets The Thing" | September 8, 1979 |
| 2 | "Junkyard Hijinks / Gone Away Gulch" | September 15, 1979 |
| 3 | "Circus Stampede / The Thing and the Queen" | September 22, 1979 |
| 4 | "Carnival Caper / The Thing Blanks Out" | September 29, 1979 |
| 5 | "The Thing Meets the Clunk / Beach Party Crashers" | October 6, 1979 |
| 6 | "Decepto the Great / The Thing's the Play" | October 13, 1979 |
| 7 | "Double Trouble For The Thing / To Thing or Not To Thing" | October 20, 1979 |
| 8 | "The Big Bike Race / The Thing and the Treasure Hunt" | October 27, 1979 |
| 9 | "Out to Launch / The Day the Ring Didn't do a Thing" | November 3, 1979 |
| 10 | "A Hot Air Affair at the Fair / The Thing Goes to the Dogs" | November 10, 1979 |
| 11 | "The Thing Goes Camping / Dude Ranch Rodeo" | November 17, 1979 |
| 12 | "Photo Finish / Lights, Action, Thing!" | November 24, 1979 |
| 13 | "The Thing and the Captain's Ghost / The Thing and the Absent-Minded Inventor" | December 1, 1979 |
Voices
- Wayne Morton – Benjy Grimm
- Joe Baker – The Thing
- Noelle North – Kelly
- Marilyn SchrefflerMarilyn SchrefflerMarilyn Schreffler was an American actress, who provided voice-overs for several animated TV programs, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions.-Life:Born in Concordia, Kansas, and had an affinity for cartoons since age 6...
– Betty, Miss Twilly - John ErwinJohn ErwinJohn Lee Erwin is a voice actor known for voicing Morris the Cat and He-Man.-Career:Erwin was the voice of He-Man in the Filmation production He-Man and the Masters of the Universe that ran from 1983 to 1985. Due to the extreme cost-cutting by Filmation, the cast of voice actors was small, and...
– Ronald Radford - Art MetranoArt MetranoArthur "Art" Metrano is an American actor and comedian, born in Brooklyn, New York City. Metrano may be best known for his role as Lt./Capt./Cmdt. Mauser in Police Academy 2 and Police Academy 3....
– Spike - Michael Sheehan – Turkey
- John StephensonJohn Stephenson (actor)John Stephenson is an American actor and voice actor. He has also been credited as John Stevenson...
– Dr. Harkness
Fred and Barney
The "Fred and Barney" half of the show consisted of seven new 30-minute episodes combined with reruns of The New Fred and Barney Show, which was a 1970s revival of the original Flintstones series.Episodes
| # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Stone Age Werewolf" | September 8, 1979 |
| 2 | "Fred and Barney Meet the Frankenstones" | September 15, 1979 |
| 3 | "Physical Fitness Fred" | September 22, 1979 |
| 4 | "Moonlighters" | September 29, 1979 |
| 5 | "Fred Goes to the Houndasaurs" | October 6, 1979 |
| 6 | "The Bad Luck Genie" | October 13, 1979 |
| 7 | "Dinosaur Country Safari" | October 20, 1979 |
Voices
- Henry CordenHenry CordenHenry Corden was a Canadian-born American actor and voice artist best-known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed died in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was on the 1977 syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends for which he provided voice-overs on...
– Fred Flintstone - Jean Vander PylJean Vander PylJean Vander Pyl was an American actress on radio, television and movies. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best remembered as the voice of Wilma Flintstone from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Flintstones...
– Wilma Flintstone, Pebbles Flintstone - Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
– Barney Rubble, Dino - Gay AuttersonGay Hartwig (Autterson)Gay Hartwig is an American actress who has done voice-overs for the following programs by Hanna-Barbera:* The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show - Betty Rubble, Wiggy, Cindy* The Flintstone Comedy Hour - Betty Rubble, Wiggy, Cindy...
– Betty Rubble - Don MessickDon MessickDonald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
– Bamm-Bamm Rubble - John StephensonJohn Stephenson (actor)John Stephenson is an American actor and voice actor. He has also been credited as John Stevenson...
– Mr. Slate