"Impractical Joker" is the twenty-first episode of the second season and the forty-ninth overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on February 9, 1962.
Synopsis[]
Fed up with Fred's practical jokes, Barney decides to give him a taste of his own medicine. Barney sets up the gag with a stack of five, crisp $100 bills, his prize from the Sudsy-Wudsy jingle contest.
Plot[]
Practical joker Fred targets his favorite victim, Barney, by stepping on and blocking Barney's water hose, creating a build-up of H2O that, when finally released, torrentially ruins Barney's day. Barney has had enough of his friend's unfunny foolery and plans the ultimate retaliation.
After winning 500 newly minted dollar bills, "fresh from the government printing press", in the Sudsy-Wudsy Soap slogan contest ("If you scrub with Sudsy-Wudsy, you wash away the mudsy-wudsy."), Barney seizes upon the perfect practical joke to confound Fred. He requests Betty's cooperation, and Betty obliges. She tells Wilma while Fred is within earshot that Barney is being secretive in his cellar with a new hobby.
Fred's curiosity is piqued, and he investigates to find Barney's money- of which Fred does not know the real source- wet and hanging on clothes lines, and more of it is beside a bizarre contraption that Barney ever-so-coyly confesses is a printer for counterfeit money. Barney proclaims his intent to spend and to spread his "counterfeit currency" in Bedrock, and Fred pleads with Barney, to no avail, to cease the illegality before he is caught. Fred follows and stops Barney from paying for items with the "phony money" by insisting that he himself pay for Barney's purchases.
Despite Betty and Wilma's urging for Barney to stop the practical joke, Barney persists, and they decide to teach a lesson to both men by arranging for Joe Rockhead to mask himself as a thug and to pretend to escort at gunpoint Fred and Barney, with Barney's machine, to a criminal mastermind, Max the Knife. Fred and Barney are forced by Rockhead to enter a room, lights are switched off, and Fred and Barney beg on bended knees for mercy from Max. Then, lights come on, and Wilma, Betty, and several of Barney and Fred's friends wish Barney a happy birthday in a surprise party. Barney and Fred both faint. They are cured of practical joking.
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Joe Rockhead
- Harry (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Rubble home
- Harry's Diner (only appearance)
Objects[]
- Wooden club
- Dollar bills
- Extra Money Making Machine (only appearance)
- Golf clubs
- Golf ball
- Tennis racquet
- Croquet mallets
- Croquet balls
- Guitar
- Shovel
Food[]
- Fried Dodo Eggs (mentioned)
- Prune Danish (only mentioned)
- Java Coffee (mentioned)
Animals[]
Vehicles[]
Events[]
- Sudsy-Wudsy Soap Slogan Contest
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble |
| Don Messick | Harry Man |
| John Stephenson | Joe Rockhead |
Notes/Trivia[]
- The man at the diner is named Harry.
Errors[]
- When Fred knocks on Barney's basement door, Barney tells him to "lock up after you're in," yet when Fred enters, Barney is the one that locks the door.
| Season 2 of The Flintstones |
|---|
| "The Hit Songwriters" • "Droop-Along Flintstone" • "The Missing Bus" • "Alvin Brickrock Presents" • "Fred Flintstone Woos Again" • "The Rock Quarry Story" • "The Soft Touchables" • "Flintstone of Prinstone" • "The Little White Lie" • "Social Climbers" • "The Beauty Contest" • "The Masquerade Ball" • "The Picnic" • "The House Guest" • "The X-Ray Story" • "The Gambler" • "A Star is Almost Born" • "The Entertainer" • "Wilma's Vanishing Money" • "Feudin' and Fussin'" • "Impractical Joker" • "Operation Barney" • "The Happy Household" • "Fred Strikes Out" • "This is Your Lifesaver" • "Trouble-in-Law" • "The Mailman Cometh" • "The Rock Vegas Story" • "Divided We Sail" • "Kleptomaniac Caper" • "Latin Lover" • "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" |