The Flintstones
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"No Help Wanted" is the fourth episode of the first season of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on October 21, 1960.

Synopsis[]

Fred gets Barney a job repossessing furniture and to the dismay of both, his first assignment is to take Fred's TV.

Plot[]

Barney has lost his job and Fred, feeling sorry (and guilty too, in that it was Fred's demands as Barney's "agent" that Barney be given a substantial increase in pay which caused Barney's boss to fire Barney) for his friend, arranges to find employment for Barney with the help of an influential, golf-playing acquaintance named Boulder. Unbeknownst to Fred, Barney's new employer is Rocky Stone, a creditor who assigns Barney to re-possess furniture and other material- and Barney's first mission involves confiscating Fred's television! Barney spends hours on a hill agonizing over his task and decides to proposition Fred about sending the overdue payment on the television to relieve Barney of the unpleasant chore of divesting Fred of the television. Barney is unable to persuade Fred to make the payment because Fred lost the money for the payment by losing in a wagered golf game with Boulder (the game that resulted in Barney's hiring by Stone). Fred unwittingly preaches to Barney about the necessity of ruthlessly doing one's duty, thus emboldening Barney to re-possess the television, resulting in a fiery clash between the duo. Barney ultimately decides to resolve the problem by supplying money for Fred's television payment so that Fred can have his television back- and writes a tear-jerking letter to Fred, saying that he does not want to lose Fred's friendship. Fred and Barney reconcile, before Barney reveals that his next assignment is the re-possession of Fred's golfing equipment!

Characters[]

Locations[]

Bedrock[]

Objects[]

  • Flintstones' TV
  • Golf clubs
  • Saber-Toothed Tiger milk
  • Rock Bell Phone
  • Money
  • Throwing People to the Hungry Lions painting (only appearance)
  • Rocky Stone's Oath slab (only appearance)

Animals[]

Cast[]

Alan Reed Fred Flintstone
Jean Vander Pyl Wilma Flintstone
Mel Blanc Barney Rubble
Dino
Salesman
Dogasaurus
Bea Benaderet Betty Rubble
Little Boy
Frank Nelson Rocky Stone
Edgar Boulder

Notes/Trivia[]

  • Fred is revealed to be the shortened name of Frederick in this episode.
  • The Flintstones' address is 201 Cobblestone Lane in this episode, which will change throughout the franchise.
  • Dino makes his first appearance in this episode, debunking the theory that he was introduced (as a wisecracking, fully articulate Phil Silvers soundalike) in a later episode from this season, "The Snorkasaurus Hunter".

Allusions[]

  • The Gravel Beach Golf Course is a direct reference and spoof to the famous PGA golf course, Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Errors[]

  • When Fred and Barney are fighting over Fred's TV, Wilma starts to talk to Fred. Then when the camera goes back to Fred and Barney, there aren't any knobs on the TV set. Then when it goes back to Wilma, and then back to the TV, there are three knobs from before Wilma first started.


Season 1 of The Flintstones
"The Flagstones" • "The Flintstone Flyer" • "Hot Lips Hannigan" • "The Swimming Pool" • "No Help Wanted" • "The Split Personality" • "The Monster from the Tar Pits" • "The Babysitters" • "At the Races" • "The Engagement Ring" • "Hollyrock, Here I Come" • "The Golf Champion" • "The Sweepstakes Ticket" • "The Drive-In" • "The Prowler" • "The Girls' Night Out" • "Arthur Quarry's Dance Class" • "The Big Bank Robbery" • "The Snorkasaurus Hunter" • "The Hot Piano" • "The Hypnotist" • "Love Letters on the Rocks" • "The Tycoon" • "The Astra' Nuts" • "The Long, Long Weekend" • "In the Dough" • "The Good Scout" • "Rooms for Rent" • "Fred Flintstone: Before and After"
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