PEBBLES AND BAMM-BAMM SHOW – THE COMPLETE SERIES

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STUDIO: Turner Home Entertainment
MSRP: $24.29
RATED: Not rated
RUNNING TIME: 319 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Four bonus episodes from the Flintstones Comedy Hour
  

THE PITCH

Clan of the Cave Bear goes kid-friendly.

THE CAVEPEOPLE

Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, Moonrock, Penny, Wiggy, Cindy, Fabian, Bad Luck Schleprock, Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Barney and Betty Rubble.

“Jesus, I can’t believe we all got drafted.”
“I know, that goddamned Irock War.”
“Irock?  Wow. Pebbles and I are going to Afghanistone.”

THE NUTSHELL

The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show was one of the many spin-offs of The Flintstones that ran for one season from 1971 to 1972.  It centered on the now-teen versions of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, the children of the Flintstones and Rubbles respectively, and the frequent misadventures they’d find themselves in, usually due to Pebbles’ Fred-like quality for thinking up various schemes and plots that invariably get her and her friends into trouble.

THE LOWDOWN

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm wasn’t altogether a bad little cartoon, but when held up next to its predecessor, the titanic Flintstones, it unfortunately pales in comparison.  PBB was a product of the times in that it followed the same formula of a lot of Hanna-Barbera teen adventure shows of the period like Scooby Doo, Speed Buggy, Jabberjaws, Josie and the Pussycats and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, which didn’t distinguish it much or allow it to stand out. 

“Pebbles, honey, I just found out that your mom cheated on me before you were born and I’m not really your father.”
“Who is, Daddy?”
“Captain Caveman…”

Most of the adventures the episodes centered around followed the Flintstones model of Pebbles, ever her father’s daughter, getting the group involved, either directly or indirectly, with some hackneyed scheme.  A lot of the Flintstones production value remained, as the show also took place in Bedrock.  Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm were teenagers at Bedrock High, along with their friends Moonrock, Penny and Wiggy.  Pebbles had a rival at school, Cindy, along with her boyfriend, Fabian.  There was also a motorcycle gang called the Bronto Bunch (Bronto, Noodles, Zonk and and Stub) who could frequently be counted on for various side mayhem.  Bad Luck Schleprock would often make appearances and of course, Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty would frequently drop in for supporting roles.

“Hey Pebbles, wanna go see a new flick?”
“Depends.  What’s it called?
“10,000 B.C.“
“Nah, I’m not really into futuristic movies…”

Production design on the show took its cue directly from Flintstones and had a lot of the same gags that the previous show did in terms of dinosaurs, Stone Age modern appliances and vehicles.  As far as Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm themselves, Pebbles has grown up to be a cute young lady with a penchant for getting into trouble, and Bamm-Bamm, who has seemingly lost all of his super strength, which means his birth parents probably fed him anabolic steroids or something, has to play catch up.  He looks a hell of a lot like Freddy Jones and I’m wondering if there was some ancestor action occurring there.  His dog, Snoots, takes over the dino action from the Flintstones’ mutt, Dino, but just doesn’t have the same appeal.  The supporting cast of Moonrock, Penny and Wiggy are pretty much cookie-cutter support staff from any of the Hanna-Barbera teen adventure toons of the time.

Bamm-Bamm: “OK gang, let’s split up and look for clues. *giggles* “
Pebbles: “Stop it…”

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm in retrospect was fairly serviceable, but the shoes it had to fill were T-Rex-sized and there wasn’t enough to distinguish it from other Hanna-Barbera properties of the time.  Still, I think it has some alright nostalgia factor if you’re old enough to remember it and would probably appeal to your kids now more so than you.

THE PACKAGE

The animation was quite a bit better than many 35-year-old cartoons and the transfer is pretty sharp.  Sound is also serviceable.  There are four shorter bonus episodes that ran in conjunction with the Flintstones Comedy Hour in 1972 after the main show was canceled.