Cartoon Network Friday Spotlight: The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show- “Putty in Her Hands”
I still think that The Flintstones is a good show and deserves its roses, but the lightning in a bottle that Hanna-Barbera struck over its six seasons (really the first four) never translated to their other works for the characters.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show was the first spin-off made of the characters, ending 5 years after the original series ended, and they had remained extremely marketable in the interim, with their still-in-print cereals released that year and similarly available vitamins the year earlier. But while Fred and Barney were still around in this series (as stated by the theme song), this is really about the teenage versions of their children, with Pebbles voiced by Sally Struthers of All in the Family fame, and Bamm-Bamm by Jay North, the once and forever Dennis the Menace. They’re both good in the roles, although they’re not very exciting. Pebbles has a little more personality, taking after her dad’s penchant for hair-brained schemes, but their friends have a little more shade in their characterizations, if a bit bland.
There isn’t much to the show as a comedy, which is an even more watered down sitcom than its predecessor. In this one, Pebbles is jealous of Cindy, her frienemy who vies for Bamm-Bamm’s attention, and her art skills, so when she’s offered free sculpting lessons, that’s a yabba-dabba-doozy of a coincidence. It turns out that the “art teacher” is a scammer who’s planning a heist and is using Pebbles as a distraction, but she doesn’t notice or really care until things get too late. Additionally, while she first asks Bamm-Bamm to model for her soon-to-be-prized sculpture, it breaks quickly and he agrees to briefly be stuck in clay for her, and you can guess how that goes.
Seeing HBO Max drop the back half of the original series has put me in a bit of a Flintstones mood, so I’ve been rediscovering various parts of the franchise. This doesn’t have much to offer, though, but I’m sure it still has its fans, and you can find it on the Boomerang app.
Original Air Date: September 11, 1971 - January 1, 1972
Synopsis:
Set in the Stone Age, the series follows Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm as they face problems with growing up in the town of Bedrock. No longer toddlers, the two are now teenagers and have begun dating each other. The show focuses on them attending Bedrock High School and also getting their first jobs. Together, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm form a musical band called the Bedrock Rockers. Unlike The Flintstones, it centers on the children of the family, rather than their parents.
My Rating: 10/10
My Reasoning:
Obviously, as much as I love the Flintstones I would love this spin-off just as much. I really like the concept of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm as teenagers and just trying to deal with growing up but also still being in this interesting fantasy world of the Flintstones.
I really like Pebbles' character and I feel like I relate to her. Bamm-Bamm not as much haha but he's still likable. The whole idea of forming a band thing isn't my absolute favorite idea that they could have gone with. However, I don't hate it either. Overall, I love it and I wish they had made more episodes of it.
In “The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show”, Penny has an unexplained dislike of the geeky and friendly Moonrock and only refers to him as “Creep”. In the episode “The Birthday Present”, while searching for Pebbles’s missing birthday present for Wilma, the kids investigate at the Gruesomes’ spooky house and are spooked by Gobby and his giant spider. Penny apparently jumps into Moonrock’s arms while Wiggy leaps onto his shoulders.