DVD complete series of "The Flintstones" creates mixed feelings

October 31, 10:53 AMTV on DVD ExaminerJohn Stahl

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Packaging of Flintstones set

I have been looking forward to getting the 24-disc DVD set of the complete six seasons of "The Flintstones," which had 166 episodes, since I ordered it on discovering it in early September. I was also excited to have it arrive yesterday afternoon two days after its release and one day after it was sent. Additionally,  the fact that Warner Brothers did such an exceptional job with the complete set of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." that I reviewed last week added to my high hopes.

I thought the outer packaging, which looks like a television set made of stone, of the set of "The Flintstones" was unique when I ordered it and it looked like it was made of cardboard; I was thrilled to learn that this packaging was made of thick plastic. I also enjoyed seeing that the image of the main characters riding in Fred's car shifted as you tilted the outer packaging. I am convinced that this packaging will survive until we are traveling around in flying cars ala the other great Hanna-Barbera prime-time cartoon series "The Jetsons."

Seeing the list of the numerous features, which I am confident are terrific, printed on a cardboard sheet on the back of the outside packing was equally exciting. It stated things such as the lost pilot, a history of the series, and a look at the show's impact on pop culture. I have not looked at any of the new material yet but trust the strong history of Warner Brothers in this area.

I did watch the lost pilot, which unfortunately was very scratchy and ended abruptly after a few minutes. Seeing the variations in the voices and appearances of the characters did make viewing it worthwhile despite these flaws.

I truly am dreading the next portion of this review and have agonized over it because I wanted to love everything about the set and encourage folks to rush out and get it; however, I must conclude that the good features described above are not enough to convince me to not recommend that Flintstones fans buy the DVD sets, which I have not seen, of the individual seasons of this very clever and truly funny series.

A review of the online description of some of the individual seasons indicates that the discs that the complete-series set contains are the exact same ones as those that the sets of individual seasons include and that the new set simply does not have any additional material. On top of that, the complete-series set has flaws that are mentioned below.

The fact that the discs are bundled in two booklets makes carrying them around easy. It is nice as well that most of the discs are one-sided because this allows putting artwork on the other side and prevents having to touch a side that contains content.

I am over my initial disappointment that the information about episodes did not include a synopsis or original air date. I looked at many of my sets of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons and saw that Warner Brothers simply does not provide that information in this type of DVD.

I have a much harder time with the fact that the discs are packaged in very tight sleeves that require grabbing and tugging them. The almost certainty that I will get fingerprints on at least the edge of a disc and the risk that using the required force to get a disc out will break it are concerns.

Further, a friend who visited yesterday commented that the set should have contained a booklet with information about this series that still enjoys popularity more than 40 years after first airing. He commented as well that he would have expected that the set included other material that the sets of individual seasons did not. He and I did both loved the episodes that we watched.

It seems that the best that can be said is that the fact that the set did not meet my perhaps too high expectations for it has unduly affected my perspective this time. Fifteen dollars a season is a good price for the series, but fixing the obvious flaws of the set would have been very easy.

Please do share your comments and questions as additions to this entry or as e-mail to tvdvdguy@gmail.com.