"The X-Ray Story" is the fifteenth episode of the second season and the forty-third overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It first aired on December 29, 1961.
Synopsis[]
Fred takes a sick Dino to the vet, but Fred's name is mistakenly placed on Dino's X-rays diagnosing him with a disease deadly to humans, but harmless to dinosaurs.
Plot[]
Dino has not eaten his Shlump food for two days and has been sleeping almost incessantly during this time. Wilma is worried about Dino's condition and telephones Fred, who is at work at the rock quarry, to ask that Fred bring Dino to a veterinarian for examination. A German-accented, slightly dotty doctor of animals X-rays Dino and discovers a dinopeptic germ in the dinosaur's stomach. He prescribes a few days of rest so that Dino's body can defeat the germ.
After Fred and Dino exit the Teutonic veterinary practitioner's office, the veterinarian's secretary writes Fred's name and address on the X-ray picture, which is blown by a gust of wind out of a "window" and into the hand of a policeman, who shows it to a doctor at the Bedrock P.D.'s forensics laboratory. The doctor, Sandstone, assumes the X-ray photograph to be a representation of Fred's stomach- and dinopeptitus to be an affliction of Fred. Dinopeptic germs are fatal to humans unless the host thereof is kept awake and active for 72 hours, and Sandstone visits Wilma and informs her of Fred's "condition". Fred must not be told about it because, "The shock could kill him."
Together with the Rubbles, who are also privy to the details of Fred's "illness", Wilma strives to prevent a weary Flintstone from falling asleep. Wilma, Barney, and Betty relentlessly prod Fred into dancing at the Rockadero, The Rocking 20's, and Rock and Bop night clubs, drinking gallons of black coffee, ice skating until the early hours of the next morning, and walking with Wilma and the Rubbles back to his abode, where he is subjected to a cold shower, toothpicks in his eyes, and a New Year's eve horn in his ear.
When not even these methods are sufficient to arrest the onset of sleep, Wilma decides to share her knowledge of Fred's "malady" with Fred in the hope that he will force himself to stay awake. After some panicky moments, Fred suspects a misunderstanding and demands to see the X-ray photograph evidence of dinopeptitus and identifies the stomach in the picture to be that of Dino. Wilma and the Rubbles have to hold their apologies for the morning, for Fred falls to the floor and goes to sleep beside his slumbering pet dinosaur.
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Dino
- Baby Puss
- Mr. Slate (mentioned)
- Dinopeptic Germ (only appearance, no lines)
- Ms. Schultz (only appearance)
- Dr. Sandstone (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Rubble home
- Pet Hospital
- Bedrock Police Station
- Rockadero (last appearance)
- The Rocking 20's Club (only appearance)
- Rock and Bop Club (only appearance)
- Palace Ice Skating Rink (only appearance)
Objects[]
- Shlump (first appearance)
- Polarock X-Ray Camera machine (only appearance)
- News-slab
- Rock Bell Phone
Food[]
- New Rock Cut Bronto-Steaks
- Bronto-Ribs
- Black Coffee
Ingredients in Shlump[]
- Chopped Pterodactyl Livers
- Tenderized Crocodile Ribs
- Saber-Toothed Tiger Giblets
- Dried Turtle Egg Yolks
- Sea Serpent Fillets
Animals[]
- Snorkasaurus
- Pterodactyl (Chopped Pterodactyl Livers in Shlump)
- Crocosaurus (Tenderized Crocodile Ribs in Shlump)
- Saber-Toothed Tigersaurus (with Saber-Toothed Tiger Giblets in Shlump)
- Turtlesaurus (Dried Turtle Egg Yolks in Shlump, a pet and a violin)
- Sea Serpent (Sea Serpent Fillets in Shlump)
- Brontosaurus (as New Rock Cut Bronto-Steaks, Bronto-Ribs and a Bronto-Crane)
- Mammoth (as a pet, a shower and part of a drum-set)
- Saber-Toothed Cat (as Baby Puss)
- Saber-Toothed Lionsaurus (as a pet)
Vehicles[]
- Mr. Slate's brand new car (only appearance)
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Dino Cop Man Baby Puss Bird |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble Ms. Schultz |
| John Stephenson | Doctor Dr. Sandstone |
Notes/Trivia[]
- This time, the Flintstones live at 35 Cobblestone Road.
- One of the doctors is named Sandstone. The nurse's last name is Schultz.
Allusions[]
- The Honeymooners, on which The Flintstones is based, had a nearly identical plot line from two episodes "Six Months to Live" and "A Matter of Life and Death" in which Ralph thinks he has 6 months to live due to a mix-up with a veterinarian's report.
Errors[]
- When Fred and Barney are rollerskating in the rink, and Fred falls asleep whilst still skating, during the brief moment where Wilma and Betty yell in unison "FRED WATCH OUT" (just before he crashes into a wall) Wilma has normal eyes (white eyes with pupils).
| 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" |