Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

*Fred and Barney Meet the Thing*
Fred and Barney Meet the Thing
Genre	Comedy, Superhero
Based on	The Flintstones; by William Hanna; Joseph Barbera; Thing; by Stan Lee; Jack Kirby;
Directed by	Ray Patterson; George Gordon; Carl Urbano;
Voices of	Henry Corden; Mel Blanc; Jean Vander Pyl; Gay Autterson; Joe Baker; Wayne Morton; Noelle North; John Erwin; Marilyn Schreffler; John Stephenson;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (26 segments of The Thing)
Production
Executive producers	William Hanna; Joseph Barbera;
Producer	Alex Lovy
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Hanna-Barbera; Marvel Comics Group;
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 8 –; December 1, 1979
Related
	The New Fred and Barney Show; Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo;
	Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing is an American animated package show and a spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on NBC from September 8, 1979, to December 1, 1979.^[1]

Despite the show's title, the two segments remained separate and did not crossover with one another. The characters of Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble and Thing were only featured together during the opening title sequence and in brief bumpers between segments.^[2] The segments featuring Fred and Barney were episodes of The New Fred and Barney Show while The Thing was an unrelated new series co-produced with Marvel Comics.^[3] The actual idea for the series came from then NBC President Fred Silverman who originated the concept for a series involving a "boy with a magic ring", and told Hanna-Barbera it needed a recognizable "celebrated attraction".^[4] As Hanna-Barbera had a relationship with Marvel producing comics off their IPs the company was able to negotiate for the likeness of The Thing.^[3]

For the 1979–80 season, the series was expanded to a 90-minute timeslot with the addition of The New Shmoo episodes and broadcast under the new title Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo.^[5]

For the following 1980-81 season, both The Thing and Shmoo segments would be removed in favor of The Flintstone Comedy Show.^[5]

Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained a laugh track, one of their last productions to do so.

^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. p. 108. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 160. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b Browsh, Jared Bahir (December 28, 2021). Hanna-Barbera: A History. McFarland & Company. p. 98. ISBN 9781476644202.
^ Ro, Ronin (2005) [first published 2004]. Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1582345666.
^ ^a ^b Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 160. ISBN 978-1538103739.

[Woolery-1] Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. p. 108. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.

[Daytime-2] Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 160. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.

[HBThing-3] Browsh, Jared Bahir (December 28, 2021). Hanna-Barbera: A History. McFarland & Company. p. 98. ISBN 9781476644202.

[TheThingKirby-4] Ro, Ronin (2005) [first published 2004]. Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1582345666.

[DaytimeTVEncyclopedia-5] Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 160. ISBN 978-1538103739.

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