Bedrock (The Flintstones)

Bedrock is the fictional prehistoric city, which is home to the characters of the animated television series, "The Flintstones" (1960).

Size

Though the first several seasons' opening credits of the original "Flintstones" series stated the town's population as only 2,500 people, Bedrock was generally presented as a medium-sized American city, with all the amenities of such, but with a "prehistoric" twist. For instance, dinosaurs were seen being used as cranes at the town's most well-known employer, "Slate Rock and Gravel" (also known as "Rockhead and Quarry Cave Construction Company" in the series' earlier episodes).

Features

The climate of Bedrock was somewhat undetermined, since different Flintstones episodes and media have portrayed it differently. Palm trees and cycads were common yard trees, suggesting a warm climate. However, episodes and movies set at Christmas time depicted plenty of snow. Sometimes the wilderness on Bedrock's outskirts appeared to be desert-like, whereas other times it resembled a tropical/subtropical jungle.

In terms of educational features, Bedrock apparently had just one high school, Bedrock High School, alma mater of Fred Flintstone, his wife Wilma, and later his daughter Pebbles. Near Bedrock could also be found "Prinstone University" (a parody of Princeton University).

For a town its size, Bedrock has a sizeable concentration of media. Bedrock had at least one radio station (which had the call letters "BDRX") several television stations, and several newspapers. One of the newspapers was "The Daily Granite", edited by Lou Granite, that for a time employed Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble as reporters. Another was "The Daily Slab". Television programs produced in Bedrock included the cooking program "The Happy Housewife Show" and the teen dance program "Shinrock" (a parody of 1960s television program "Shindig!"). Other favorite programs of Bedrock citizens, though not produced there, included such fare as "Peek-a-Boo Camera" (a parody of "Candid Camera") and variety program "The Ed Sulleystone Show" (a parody of "The Ed Sullivan Show").

In terms of entertainment, Bedrock featured a drive-in movie theater where films such as "The Monster" would play, the amphitheater "The Bedrock Bowl", and several nightclubs, ranging from middle-class to high-end, exclusive clubs for the city's wealthy residents.

There were plenty of dining options in Bedrock as well, including a drive-in restaurant serving "Brontosaurus" ribs and numerous fast-food outlets.

Regarding health care, Bedrock had the Rockapedic Hospital, where Pebbles was born. A police department helps protect the residents, as does a volunteer fire department, although the episode in which the volunteer fire department was introduced suggests the uselessness of such a service in a city of stone buildings; instead, its members use it as an excuse to create a social club. However several other episodes feature a more traditional full-time firefighting service.

Other businesses included bowling alleys, pool halls, health clubs, hotels, one catering service (as the owner proclaimed, "we're the only caterer in town!"), an amusement park, football arena, and the Pyrite Advertising Agency, where Pebbles worked as an adult. Bedrock Airport was served by Ptrans-Pterodactyl Airlines. In one of the earliest episodes (in which Fred switches places with his double, J. P. Gotrox), Bedrock is introduced by a narrator as having, "a butcher, a baker and a pizza pie maker".

Not much is known of the layout of Bedrock, but it does include Cobblestone Way, the street the Flintstones and the Rubbles live (though the original series also listed it as "Cobblestone Lane" and as "Stonecave Road"). The town is shown consistently to include areas of suburban development, as well as a well-developed downtown core, complete with multi-storey skyscrapers. The city is also served by a freeway system that is shown in numerous episodes to be subject to gridlock, despite Bedrock's modest stated population.

The people of Bedrock tended to be fairly friendly, if not without having various quirks. The denizens of Bedrock had a strong sense of civic spirit, and tended to participate in various charities, parades, and so forth. The city is home to a number of service organizations, the best known of which (in the context of the "Flintstones" television series) was the Loyal Order of Water Buffalos, which counted among its membership Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.

Location

Bedrock was located in fictional Cobblestone County, and stated in the first season episode "The Tycoon" to be 200 feet below sea level; presumably, the nearby town of Red Rock was located in Cobblestone County as well. However, no further information was ever given for any of these locations, besides being set in a prehistoric version of the United States.

Bedrock was in one episode shown as being a two day drive from "Rock Vegas" (a parody of Las Vegas, Nevada) and, in another episode, several hours' drive from "Indiarockolis" (a parody of Indianapolis, Indiana). In another episode, traveling to "New Rock City" (a parody of New York City) to make it to the 'big time'. Travel to "Hollyrock," a parody of Hollywood, California, usually involved an "airplane" flight --- the "plane" in this case often shown as either a giant pterodactyl or a wooden plane with smaller pterodactyls on each wing as the "engines". In one episode Fred and Barney went to a convention in "Frantic City" which was a parody of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Another episode had the Flintstones and Rubbles visiting the Grand Canyon – being several million years in prehistoric times, the canyon was little more than a small stream which "might be a big thing someday."

Tourist attractions

Several small tourist attractions and/or camper parks have been built in honor of Bedrock. The most famous and oldest is Bedrock City in Custer, South Dakota which opened in 1966 and is still around. There is also a Bedrock City in Valle, Arizona which opened in 1972. Two Canadian Bedrock Cities, both in British Columbia, were closed and/or demolished in the late 1990s. One in Kelowna, British Columbia was closed in 1998, demolished and changed into the Landmark Grand 10 multiplex theatre & a strip mall. The second one located in Chilliwack, British Columbia was closed in 1994 and was changed into a dinosaur theme park called "Dinotown" .

The reason for the closure of the two Canadian theme parks was due to licensing. "Throughout the 80s and 90s the licensing for any intellectual properties of Hanna-Barbera changed hands numerous times before they ended up in the possession of Time Warner" [http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/issues05/075205/features/075105fe1.html] .

Other places

In Kendall, Florida, there is a construction company named Fred and Barney's Gravel Pit with a picture of them outside.

External links

* [http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SDCUSbedrock.html Information on the Bedrock Theme Parks]
* [http://www.flintstonesbedrockcity.com/ - Bedrock City, Custer, South Dakota]
* [http://www.topthat.net/webrock/index.htm Webrock - The Flintstones and Hanna Barbera Page]
* [http://www.dinotown.com/ Dinoland Chilliwack Official Site]