The Honeymooners and The Flintstones are TV shows that take place in different millennia, however, they have a lot of similarities. This raises an interesting question: Did The Honeymooners inspire The Flintstones? In addition, what did Honeymooners star Jackie Gleason think of Fred Flintstone and company?
The similarities between ‘The Flintstones’ and ‘The Honeymooners’
Anyone with a passing knowledge of The Honeymooners and The Flintstones will be able to spot a few similarities. For example, Fred Flintstone looks fairly similar to Ralph, as played by Gleason. Both are blue-collar workers. In addition, Ralph has a wife named Alice who is more down-to-earth than he is. Her personality is not so different from Wilma Flinstone’s.
Many of the plots in The Honeymooners revolve around the interplay between Ralph and Alice and another couple, Ed and Trixie Norton. This mirrors the interplay between Fred and Wilma and another couple, Barney and Betty Rubble. With all this in mind, it’s easy to see The Flintstones as a prehistoric take on The Honeymooners.
How Jackie Gleason of ‘The Honeymooners’ reacted to the similarities
According to MeTV, Gleason, the star and creator of The Honeymooners. considered suing over the simialrities. However, he didn’t want to be known for getting such a beloved sitcom off of the air. Joseph Barbera of Hanna-Barbera, the studio behind The Flintstones, liked the comparison. “Well, if you compare Flintstones to Honeymooners, that’s the biggest compliment you can give me,” he said.
What Joseph Barbera said about the comparisons
In a separate interview with the Sun-Sentinel, Barbera said he didn’t try to emulate The Honeymooners. “I can honestly say it wasn’t done to be that,” he revealed. “As far as I’m concerned, The Honeymooners is one of the best shows ever made. If they want to say that they can.”
