"Mother-in-Law's Visit" is the twentieth episode of the third season and the eightieth overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on February 1, 1963.
Synopsis
Wilma's mother, Pearl Slaghoople visits and father-to-be Fred wants to show he's a kind man by being nice to her, even tough she's very hostile to him.
Plot
Expectant mother Wilma needs womanly help in doing the household chores, and for this her loud, overbearing mother insists on coming to Bedrock to stay with the Flintstones. Fred dreads this, but Wilma implores him to "settle" his feud with his mother-in-law by telling himself that rather than hating his coming house-guest, he loves her. Fred strains to maintain this disposition, to the extent of kissing mother-in-law when meeting her at the Bedrock Airport (and she responds by whacking him with her purse and accusing him of sousing on cactus juice!), sitting on a box at a dinner table while she rests her posterior on Fred's usual chair, and not watching the fights on television in deference to her.
Taxicab driver Charlie Boulder agrees to loan his business to Fred by night so that Fred can earn extra wages to buy a $25 baby crib, and so that Fred will not be recognized in this capacity and safe from rumors that he is "moonlighting", he dons a false mustache and black jacket. Determined to keep the baby crib a secret to Wilma, Fred is vague to her and to mother-in-law when he leaves home on his first night of taxicab duty, saying that he will be "cruising around" Bedrock.
Mother-in-law suspects Fred of illicit conduct and decides to locate her good-for-nothing son-in-law, and Fred is astounded to discover that his first fare is none other than his in-law nemesis, who wants for him to chauffeur her to wherever Fred is "goofing off". Fred chooses a bumpy road to rattle the nerves of the battle-axe and as the mysterious taxicab driver challenges her to double-or-nothing games of pool and bowling against the taxicab meter tally that she has accumulated- and wins- after they fail to find Fred at the Bedrock Pool Hall and Bowling Alley.
He then states that a conscientious man like Fred Flintstone would be at the Bedrock Library, reading about how to be a good father, and when mother-in-law refuses to for one minute believe such a prospect, he bets double-or-nothing on the money which she now owes to him that Fred will be there, and after removing his disguise is in that precise location to his mother-in-law's complete befuddlement. She concludes that Fred is really a worthy and decent son-in-law and is glad to pay her I-told-you-so taxicab driver the total $25 from her evening tour of Bedrock and lost bets. Fred not only succeeds in hoodwinking his mother-in-law into becoming loving and respectful to him but also after just one fare in the form of a "fat pigeon", he can buy the baby crib.
Unfortunately, he brags about the latter success to Barney, who, after dressing himself in Fred's taxicab guise to himself earn some money with Charlie's taxicab, unwittingly divulges Fred's deception to mother-in-law, and furious mother-in-law "lowers the broom" repeatedly on Fred's head!
Characters
Locations
Bedrock
- Flintstone home
- Bedrock Hotel
- Jones Advertising Agency (only appearance)
- Bedrock Airport
- Bedrock Maternity Hospital (only appearance)
- Water Buffalo Lodge
- Bedrock Pool Parlor (only appearance)
- Bedrock Bowl
- Bedrock Public Library (only appearance)
Objects
- Baseball bat
- Your Child by Dr. Spock book (only appearance)
- Broom
Animals
- Snorkasaurus
- Sheepasauruses
- Lobsterasaurus
- Pterodactyl (as an airplane)
- Brontosaurus (as Bronto-Stairs and a Bronto-Steak)
Vehicles
- Flintmobile
- Taxi cab
Cast
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone Nurse |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Dino Cop Alligator Whitey |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble |
| Howard Morris | Guard Announcer Pilot Traffic Cop Blackie |
| Verna Felton | Pearl Slaghoople |
Notes/Trivia
- This is the first of the four episodes in the Birth of Pebbles story arc.
- Fred takes Pearl to the Bedrock Maternity Hospital (which was not the same place where Pebbles would be born).
- The cab driver is named Charlie Boulder and one of the airline pilots is named Bill.
- Bedrock now has its own airport. Some of the other cities are Rock Creek, Arrowhead and Stone Axe.
Errors
- None known.
| Season 3 of The Flintstones |
|---|
| "Dino Goes Hollyrock" • "Fred's New Boss" • "Barney the Invisible" • "Bowling Ballet" • "The Twitch" • "Here's Snow in Your Eyes" • "The Buffalo Convention" • "The Little Stranger" • "Baby Barney" • "Hawaiian Escapade" • "Ladies' Day" • "Nuthin' But the Tooth" • "High School Fred" • "Dial 'S' for Suspicion" • "Flash Gun Freddie" • "The Kissing Burglar" • "Wilma the Maid" • "The Hero" • "The Surprise" • "Mother-in-Law's Visit" • "Foxy Grandma" • "Fred's New Job" • "The Dress Rehearsal" • "Carry On, Nurse Fred" • "Ventriloquist Barney" • "The Big Move" • "Swedish Visitors" • "The Birthday Party" |