Sheriff for a Day

Sheriff for a Day
Details
Show	The Flintstones
Season	5
Episode number	135
Production number	P-135
Original airdate	February 5, 1965 (ABC)
Recording Date	August 10, 1964
Crew
Animated by	Bill Hutten Hicks Lokey Larry Silverman
Layout	Dick Bickenbach Jack Huber Don Sheppard
Background	Phil Lewis Richard Khim Don Watson
Written by	Joanna Lee
Chronology
Previous	"Moonlight and Maintenance"
Next	"Deep in the Heart of Texarock"

"Sheriff for a Day" is the twenty-first episode of the fifth season and the one hundred and thirty-fifth overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on February 5, 1965.

Synopsis

The Flintstones and the Rubbles travel to a small town out west. Fred runs into an old friend who hears that the Slatery Brothers are seeking revenge on the town. In order to defend themselves, he recruits Fred as sheriff.

Plot

Flintstone and Rubble couples are travelling in car and camper in search of valuable uraniumrock in a frontier region when they exhaust their supply of gasoline (why gasoline, when Fred's feet are supposed to be the source of his car's "engine" power?) and, looking for a settlement at which to replenish their "automotive fuel", encounter the town of Rocky Gulch, which is the target of the notorious Slatery Brothers, three outlaw gunslingers who have been paroled from Alcarock Prison and have vowed revenge upon whoever is the current sheriff of the frontier town. Joe Crag, yet another childhood chum of Fred's, now "wears the badge".

Afraid of the certain coming to Rocky Gulch of the Slaterys, Crag contrives to pass the sheriff's badge and white hat to Fred by offering to Flintstones and Rubbles a free tour of Rocky Gulch and appointing Fred as Sheriff-For-a-Day. Fred unwittingly accepts the appointment, Barney volunteers to be Fred's deputy, and both men are sneakily measured by Digger Stone, the town's undertaker. When Fred and Barney finally learn of the impending arrival in the town of the murderous brothers Slatery, they are honour-bound to defend Rocky Gulch in a gun duel with the killers.

At the crucial moment in their confrontation with the Slaterys, Fred and Barney are aided by the intrepid Cartrock family of television's Bonanza, who lasso the menacing trio, and Fred and Barney are Rocky Gulch heroes.

Characters

• Fred Flintstone
• Wilma Flintstone
• Barney Rubble
• Betty Rubble
• Pebbles Flintstone
• Bamm-Bamm Rubble
• Dino
• Hoppy

Other Characters

• Joe Crag (only appearance)
• The Slatery Brothers (only appearance)
• E.B. (only appearance)
• Rockeye (only appearance)
• Digger Stone (only appearance)
• Miss Kitty (only appearance)
• Fred Boulder (only appearance)
• Chief Rain-on-the-Rocks (only appearance)
• Tombstone McBluff (only appearance)
• Killer (only appearance)
• Bodee (only appearance)

The Cartrocks (only appearance)

• Ben Cartrock (only appearance)
• Hoss Cartrock (only appearance)
• Little Joe Cartrock (only appearance)
• Adam Cartrock (only appearance)

Locations

Bedrock

• Flintstone home

Rocky Gulch (only appearance)

• Last Chance Trading Post (only appearance)
• Kitty's Place (only appearance)
• Digger Stone's Old West Wax Museum (only appearance)
• Rocky Gulch Hotel (only appearance)

Other

• Alcarock Prison (mentioned)

Objects

• Find It Yourself Uranium Kit (only mentioned)
• Jukebox (only appearance)
• Do-It Yourself Deep Sea Treasure Hunting Kit (only mentioned)
• Treasure map (only appearance)
• Gold rocks (only appearance)
• Scuba equipment (only mentioned)
• Pistols (only appearance)
• Slingshot rifles

Animals

• Snorkasaurus
• Hopparoo
• Brontosaurus
• Broncosaurus
• Stegosaurus
• Mammoth (as fuel tanks)

Vehicles

• Flintmobile
• Trailer (only appearance)
• Train
• Tour cab (only appearance)

Cast

Alan Reed	Fred Flintstone
Jean Vander Pyl	Wilma Flintstone Pebbles Flintstone
Mel Blanc	Barney Rubble Dino Killer
Gerry Johnson	Betty Rubble Miss Kitty
Don Messick	Bamm-Bamm Rubble Hoppy Bodee Announcer Bird #2
Allan Melvin	Slate Hoss Cartrock Joe Crag
Henry Corden	Digger Stone Ben Cartrock E.B. Rockeye Pete Guide Driver
Doug Young	Gas Guy Bird #1 Little Joe Cartrock

Notes/Trivia

• The Cartwrights, from Bonanza, are caricatured here as the "Cartrocks".
• Although the Cartrocks suddenly riding in to save the day is nominally a deux ex machina trope, it is set up as a joke in the story. Namely, Betty, helplessly watching Fred and Barney about to be gunned down in a hopeless confrontation with the villains, wishes the situation was a bad western where the Cavalry would charge in to save the day. So, the Cartrocks' sudden appearance is treated as a gag as Betty's desperate wish for a western cliché came true.
• This episode loosely spoofs the classic film High Noon.
• Digger's last name is Stone, the barber's name is Bodee, and the brontosaurus is Killer.
• This is the only episode in the series to air originally without a laugh track. In 1991, syndicated reruns of this episode featured an 'older' laugh track from around 1961. This occurred on other Season 5 and 6 episodes around this time as well. In 1998, Cartoon Network dubbed a 'generic' laugh track onto this episode.
• In the book, The Flintstones: A Modern Stone Age Phenomenon, the Catrocks lived in the fictional Rockerosa Ranch, which was a spoof of Ponderosa Ranch.

Errors

• When the man gives Sheriff Craig back his badge, his mustache disappears while Craig is talking to him, but comes back when Craig runs away to pack up his bags.