Until The Simpsons came along and ruined it for them, The Flintstones held the honor of being the longest running animated prime time series in television history. This cartoon inspired by the success of The Honeymooners soon became a cultural icon and a popular favorite among viewers of all ages. Numerous spin offs, a couple of bad live action movies, plenty of comic books, toys, and games of all kinds have kept The Flintstones alive and well in the American subconscious and popular all over the world and Hanna Barbara has finally teamed up with Warner Brothers to release the seasons in their complete form on DVD.

The show hit a nice blend of jokes for adults but at the same time had enough physical comedy and goofy situations that kids could get into it too. In short, The Flintstones was fun for the whole family. With its constant running gag of prehistoric beasts being used as appliances and vehicles, combined with some characters who had a lot more personality than any cartoon at the time, the series kept the laughs coming and hooked viewers by using a nice mix of running plots and single episode stories.

The second season of The Flintstones ran from 1961 – 1962. During part of this period, Mel Blanc (who voiced Barney) was in a body cast due to a nasty car accident and much of the recording was done by his bedside where at times he would have more than a dozen people in his room. On a couple of the episodes in this set, it's obviously not Blanc doing Barney – in The Hit Songwriter, Droop-Along Flintstone, The Rock Quarry Story and The Little White Lie it was either Daws Butler or Hal Smith doing the voice.

Although all the episodes in the first and second seasons of the series were originally broadcast in black and white, they were composed and produced in full color (even the commercials) and that's how they're presented on this DVD set.

Here's a little peek at which episodes live amongst the fancy animated menus in all their digital splendor, spread across four mighty discs…

The Hit Songwriter - Fred and Barney try their luck at song writing in hopes of scoring a hit. They need a bit of help though, and it's up to Hoagy Carmichael to set them straight on the ins and outs of the business.

Droop-Along Flintstone - Cousin Tumbleweed needs someone to help him look after his ranch while he's away. The Flintstones and the Rubbles head off out to the desert and find themselves on the set of a Cowboy film!

The Missing Bus - Fred decides to take up a new job as the local bus driver, taking the citizens of Bedrock to Redrock and back again. Things don't go as planned though – hijinks ensue.

Alvin Brickrock Presents - Fred sticks his nose into his neighbor's private business and soon comes to the conclusion that he has murdered his wife!

Fred Flintstone Woos Again - Fred and Wilma decide to get away from it all and renew their wedding vows at Rock Mountain but are soon shocked to find out that their original wedding was not legally sanctioned.

The Rock Quarry Story - Rock Quarry is the hot new hunk of the month on the Bedrock scene, but he just wants to escape it all and lead a quiet life as his alter ego, Gus Schultz. Wilma and Betty are too smart to be fooled though, and they recognize him for who he really is.

The Soft Touchables - Fred and Barney decide to start up a private investigators firm, but they're soon involved with a no goodnick named Boss Rockhead.

Flintstone of Prinstone - Fred heads off to Prinestone University in a rash decision to go back to school where he must learn to juggle his classes, his homework, and his job.

The Little White Lie - Fred wins a pot full of money at a poker game and tells everyone that he just happened to find it, rather than admit he won it gambling. Wilma wants him to do the right thing and put out a lost and found advertisement in the paper to return it to its rightful owner.

Social Climbers - The Flintstones and the Rubbles find themselves out of their social element when they're invited to a fancy ball at the local ambassador's party.

The Beauty Contest - The Water Buffalo Lodge names Fred and Barney as the judges at this year's beauty contest and they don't want their wives to find out or they'll end up in the doghouse.

The Masquerade Ball - Fred tries to kiss up to his boss at the company costume party but finds out too late that his boss has switched costumes.

The Picnic - At the Water Buffalo Lodge Field Day Picnic, Fred opts to team up with last year's champion, Joe Rockhead, instead of his old pal Barney.

The House Guest - The Rubbles are having some work done on their home and need to crash at Fred and Wilma's place for a spell. Though Fred and Barney are the best of friends, they soon find that they don't make for good roommates.

The X-Ray Story - Dino's x-ray shows that he has a case of Dinopetititus, and it gets swapped for Fred's x-ray, causing Wilma to ask the Rubbles' help in keeping him awake for three days straight.

The Gambler - Fred gets a series bite from the gambling bug again, and loses the family's furniture in the process. Who did he lose it to? Arnold of all people.

A Star Is Almost Born - Wilma is spotted by a television producer who thinks she has what it takes to be the next big thing – unfortunately for Wilma, Fred decides that he's the right one to manage her career.

The Entertainer - Wilma is out of town and Fred is tasked with taking care of a female client named Greta Gravel for Mr. Slate. When Wilma comes back from her trip early she runs into Fred and Greta at a nightclub and Fred winds up with some explaining to do.

Wilma's Vanishing Money - Wilma's secret stash of cash disappears and Fred soon shows up with a brand new bowling ball. Fred learns that Wilma was saving the money to buy him just that and soon feels bad, putting into place a plan to return the money without her finding out.

Feudin' and Fussin' - Barney and Fred get into an argument and Fred insults Barney, who takes it quite personally. Fred refuses to apologize to his former best friend and the pair have to work out their differences.

Impractical Joker - When Fred plays a practical joke on Barney, he swears revenge by setting up an elaborate hoax to convince Fred that he's running a counterfeit operation in his basement.

Operation Barney - Barney calls in sick so that he and Fred can go catch the local baseball game. Sadly though, Barney's lie soon turns into the truth and he finds himself in the hospital.

The Happy Household - When Wilma earns herself a spot on a television show called 'The Happy Housewife' Fred starts to feel sad and neglected as he doesn't get all the attention that he's used to getting.

Fred Strikes Out - Fred takes a quiz and finds out that he doesn't qualify as a considerate husband and then forgets his wedding anniversary. This lands him in hot water, and he tries to make it up to Wilma and attend the bowling championships at the same time.

This Is Your Lifesaver - J. Montague Gypsum attempts to take his own life but Fred steps in and saves him. Little does Fred know that Gypsum will latch onto him and soon move in with him.

Trouble-In-Law - When Fred introduces Wilma's mother to a gentleman named Melville Muchrocks, romance blossoms. Soon though, Fred finds out that Muchrocks might be a criminal and he has to undo what he worked to create.

The Mailman Cometh - Fred thinks he didn't the raise that he'd hoped for this year and sends a mean letter to his boss, Mr. Slate. When he finds out that he did get the raise and that there was simply an oversight, Fred does everything he can to stop Slate from getting and reading that letter.

The Rock Vegas Story - Fred is invited, along with Wilma, Betty and Barney, to spend a weekend at a Rock Vegas resort run by Sherman Cobblehead. Fred loses all their money gambling and becomes offended when Sherman offers to let him stay and eat for free and decides that he will earn their keep by working for him.

Divided We Sail - Fred and Barney win a sail boat on a game show and decide to share the prize. They name their ship the Nau-Sea, and head out to the open water to try and figure out how to use their new toy.

Kleptomaniac Caper - When some of Fred's old clothes mysteriously disappear, Fred begins to suspect that Barney had something to do with it. Further investigation on Fred's part leads him to come to the conclusion that his neighbor is a kleptomaniac.

Latin Lover - Wilma has a crush on superstar Roberto Rockelini and encourages Fred to start acting and looking like him. When Fred's adopted new look starts winning him affection from other women though, Wilma rethinks her decision to try to have her husband act and look like someone he is not.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game - Fred helps Barney out by volunteering to be the umpire at a little league game he's coaching a team at. When Fred makes the calls as best he can, some of the fathers on Barney's team get upset and accuse Fred of favoring the other team.

Video:

Each and every one of these episodes was meant to be seen fullframe and that's exactly how they appear in this set. Thankfully, the elements look to have been in pretty good shape for this release as the video quality is great. Colors are nice and strong, print damage is surprisingly minimal, and there aren't any mpeg compression issues noticeable at all. There is a fine coat of grain overtop the picture pretty consistently but that's to be expected considering the age of the episodes.