Editing The Flintstones (section)

==Reception==
The night after ''The Flintstones'' premiered, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it "a pen-and-ink disaster",<ref>Leonard Maltin interviews Joseph Barbera-1997</ref> and the series was among many that debuted in a "[[Television and the Public Interest|vast wasteland]]" of a [[1960–61 United States network television schedule|1960–61 television season]] considered one of the worst in television history up to that point.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2012/06/vast-wasteland/ |title=The Vast Wasteland |work=The Saturday Evening Post |last=Nilsson |first=Jeff |date=June 3, 2012 |access-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702110606/https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2012/06/vast-wasteland/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As late as the 1980s, highbrow critics derided the show's limited animation and derivative plots.<ref>For example, an episode of the 1987 series ''[[Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures]]'' ("Don't Touch That Dial!") has [[Mighty Mouse|the title character]] mocking ''The Flintstones'', which appears in a satirical crossover with ''[[The Jetsons]]'', as stupid.</ref> Animation historian [[Michael Barrier]] disliked the series, calling it a "dumb sitcom" and stated that "I can readily understand why someone who as a small child enjoyed, say, ''The Flintstones'' might regard that show fondly today. I have a lot more trouble understanding why anyone would try to defend anything about it on artistic grounds."<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Michael Barrier|title=The Book as Toy|url=http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Commentary/Hanna-Barbera%20Treasury/HBTreasury.html|website=Michael Barrier|access-date=March 5, 2021|date=January 6, 2008|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112042127/http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Commentary/Hanna-Barbera%20Treasury/HBTreasury.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite the mixed critical reviews following its premiere, ''The Flintstones'' has generally been considered a television classic and was rerun continuously for five decades after its end. In 1961, ''The Flintstones'' became the first animated series to be nominated for the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series]], but lost out to ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]''. In January 2009, IGN named ''The Flintstones'' as the ninth-best in its "Top 100 Animated TV Shows".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/top/animated-tv-series/9.html|title=9. The Flintstones |website=IGN |access-date=August 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609235228/http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/9.html |archive-date=June 9, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The first season of the series received an approval rating of 100% on [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on nine reviews, with an average score of 6/10.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_flintstones_1960/s01|title=The Flintstones|website=rottentomatoes.com|access-date=March 25, 2020|archive-date=August 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809122351/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_flintstones_1960/s01|url-status=live}}</ref> Currently, several authors consider ''The Flintstones'' as a cartoon linked to the [[golden age of American animation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/quick-on-the-draw-in-the-golden-age-of-animation-20061101-gdoq7s.html|title=Quick on the draw in the golden age of animation|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=1 November 2006|access-date=September 25, 2023|archive-date=August 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824194420/https://www.smh.com.au/national/quick-on-the-draw-in-the-golden-age-of-animation-20061101-gdoq7s.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com.au/2014/07/12-rare-flintstones-production-shots-from-the-golden-age-of-animation/|title=12 Rare Flintstones Production Shots From The Golden Age Of Animation|website=[[Gizmodo]]|date=29 July 2014|access-date=September 25, 2023|archive-date=August 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824200222/https://gizmodo.com.au/2014/07/12-rare-flintstones-production-shots-from-the-golden-age-of-animation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Nielsen ratings===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Season
! scope="col" | Time slot (ET)
! scope="col" | Rank
! scope="col" | Rating<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brooks|first1=Tim|last2=Marsh|first2=Earle|date=2007|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present|publisher=Ballantine Books|pages=1682–1683|isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |edition=Ninth}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/11/top-40-programs-from-first-nielsens-of-the-1963-1964-season/ |title=Top 40 Programs from First Nielsens of the 1963-1964 Season |website=tvobscurities.com |date=November 8, 2009 |access-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630141348/https://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/11/top-40-programs-from-first-nielsens-of-the-1963-1964-season/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://jacksonupperco.com/2018/01/31/nerd-exclusive-nielsen-data-1964-1974/|title = Nerd Exclusive: Nielsen Data (1964–1974)|date = January 31, 2018|access-date = January 31, 2019|archive-date = January 31, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190131145645/https://jacksonupperco.com/2018/01/31/nerd-exclusive-nielsen-data-1964-1974/|url-status = live}}</ref>

|-
| scope="row" | [[1960–61 United States network television schedule|1960–61]]
| rowspan="3" | Friday at 8:30–9:00 pm
| style="text-align:center" | 18
| 24.3
|-
| scope="row" | [[1961–62 United States network television schedule|1961–62]]
| style="text-align:center" | 21
| 22.9 <small>(Tied with ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]'')</small>
|-
| scope="row" | [[1962–63 United States network television schedule|1962–63]]
| style="text-align:center" | 30
| 20.5
|-
| scope="row" | [[1963–64 United States network television schedule|1963–64]]
| Thursday at 7:30–8:00 pm
| style="text-align:center" | 33
| 19.7
|-
| scope="row" | [[1964–65 United States network television schedule|1964–65]]
| Thursday at 7:30–8:00 pm <small>(Episodes 1–14)</small><br />Friday at 7:30–8:00 pm <small>(Episodes 15–26)</small>
| style="text-align:center" | 60
| no rating given, 29 share<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2020/02/1964-65-ratings-history.html | title=The TV Ratings Guide: 1964–65 Ratings History | access-date=March 12, 2020 | archive-date=March 21, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321042738/http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2020/02/1964-65-ratings-history.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| scope="row" | [[1965–66 United States network television schedule|1965–66]]
| Friday at 7:30–8:00 pm
| style="text-align:center" | 70
| no rating given, 30.5 share<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2020/02/1965-66-ratings-history.html | title=The TV Ratings Guide: 1965–66 Ratings History | access-date=March 12, 2020 | archive-date=July 20, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720105605/http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2020/02/1965-66-ratings-history.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
|}