"Boss for a Day" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season and the one hundred and sixty-first overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on February 25, 1966.
Synopsis[]
After complaining about having to work so hard on his job, Fred is magically made the boss for a day by Gazoo, and Fred quickly discovers being the boss is not all it's cracked up to be.
Plot[]
Fred endures a grueling day under the yoke of Mr. Slate. First, Fred is late leaving home to go to work, and Slate, en route in his limousine to the rock quarry, sees Fred hurriedly approaching from behind and orders his chauffeur to abruptly stop so that Fred's car collides with the back of the limousine. Slate then gives Fred a tongue-lashing for the collision and orders Fred to follow the limousine, which crosses the threshold to the quarry precisely when the start-work whistle is blown, and Fred, being seconds behind Slate, is by necessity late and told by Slate that his pay will be reduced because of the tardiness. Slate orders Fred to work at fastest possible pace and keeps Fred under constant surveillance.
When Fred tries to laze for a few minutes by a water cooler, Slate activates a camera and closed-circuit television and startles Fred with a furious edict against "goldbricking". By day's end, Fred's resentment of Slate is at a peak. He tells to Gazoo that Slate has an easy job of bullying loyal employees, and Gazoo grants to Fred the opportunity for a day to switch places with Slate.
The next morning, Fred finds himself in Slate's limousine and delights in doing to State (now a dinosaur-lift operator) what Slate did to him on the road the day before. Fred kicks Barney out of the car because he decided to not be seen with him. Then he subjects Slate to every other stress and strain endured by Fred on the previous day and decides to smoke Slate's cigars and to luxuriate in an executive dining room, only to be scolded by a foul-tempered, little man, Slate's superior, who informs Fred that the position held by Slate and now by Fred is that of a "paper"-pushing stooge unfit to dine with the higher echelons of the company. After that, he decides that he wants to make it up to his best friend and neighbor Barney, so he calls him in.
Then the lunch hour and five o'clock quitting time whistle only apply to valued employees like what Fred had been, and Fred, as Slate's replacement, is required to toil at a desk with a tall stack of "papers" requiring his attention and processing, with only a carrot to eat, long into the evening. Exhausted when he finally leaves the quarry, Fred is delighted when Gazoo reverses the switching-of-places. He has learned that Slate does not really have a pleasant and enviable position in the company- and actually feels sorry for Slate.
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Pebbles Flintstone
- Bamm-Bamm Rubble
- Dino
- The Great Gazoo
- Rockbottom (only appearance)
- Mac McQuarry (only appearance)
- Rockpile (only appearance)
- Miss Slag (only appearance)
- Slate's superior (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Main Street
- Slate Rock and Gravel Company
Objects[]
- Cigars (only appearance)
- Rock Bell Phone
Food[]
- Bronto-Steak
- Carrot (only appearance)
Animals[]
- Snorkasaurus
- Parrotsaurus
- Brontosaurus (as a Bronto-Crane and a Brontosaurus Steak)
- Mammoth (as a water cooler)
- Gatorsaurus (as a time puncher)
- Crabasaurus (as a lawn mower)
- Beeasauruses
- Minkasaurus (as a coat)
Vehicles[]
- Flintmobile
- Mr. Slate's limousine (only appearance)
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone Pebbles Flintstone |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Dino Slate's superior |
| Gerry Johnson | Betty Rubble Miss Slag |
| Don Messick | Bamm-Bamm RubblePhone Bird
Elephant Worker Glasses-Wearing Executive Monacle-Wearing Executive |
| Harvey Korman | The Great Gazoo |
| John Stephenson | Mr. SlateRockbottom
Worker |
Notes/Trivia[]
- The chauffeur's name is Rockbottom, the foreman's name is Rockpile, and the accountant is Mac McQuarry.
- The closing credits say the episode was written by Herbert Finn and Albert Dinehart, but the book The Flintstones: A Modern Stone Age Phenomenon, says the writer was Walter Black.
- This episode shows Mr. Slate as just the supervisor of the company, whereas previous and subsequent episodes show him as the owner.
Errors[]
- The company is given two names in one episode - Bedrock Rock Quarry and Slate Rock & Gravel.
| Season 6 of The Flintstones |
|---|
| "No Biz Like Show Biz" • "The House That Fred Built" • "The Return of Stony Curtis" • "Disorder in the Court" • "Circus Business" • "Samantha" • "The Great Gazoo" • "Rip Van Flintstone" • "The Gravelberry Pie King" • "The Stonefinger Caper" • "The Masquerade Party" • "Shinrock A Go-Go" • "Royal Rubble" • "Seeing Doubles" • "How to Pick a Fight with Your Wife Without Really Trying" • "Fred Goes Ape" • "The Long, Long, Long Weekend" • "Two Men on a Dinosaur" • "The Treasure of Sierra Madrock" • "Curtain Call at Bedrock" • "Boss for a Day" • "Fred's Island" • "Jealousy" • "Dripper" • "My Fair Freddy" • "The Story of Rocky's Raiders" |