"Operation Switchover" is the twenty-sixth episode of the fourth season of The Flintstones. It aired on March 12, 1964.
Synopsis
Fred makes fun of Wilma's housekeeping, leading them to switch jobs for one day.
Plot
Fred remarks that Wilma's household duties are nowhere near as exerting as his travails at the rock quarry and do not constitute a job. So, he is challenged by Wilma to exchange places with her for a day. She goes to the quarry in Fred's stead, while Fred stays at home and attends to Wilma's chores, which Fred maintains will be so easy that he will practically have a labor-free day. Calamity results on both fronts. Wilma is a klutz at operating a dinosaur-lift, with boulders falling on top of Mr. Slate, who orders Wilma to go home.
Meanwhile, between feeding Pebbles and Dino, doing laundry, and preparing dinner (with boiled rice overflowing and flooding the Flintstone house), Fred cannot adhere to Wilma's assigned schedule. Wilma telephones Fred, lies about doing such an efficient job for Slate that he granted to her an early quitting time, and says that she will be going to a movie with Betty, while Fred is too proud to admit that he is unable to handle Wilma's housework.
Some time after Wilma's telephone call, Fred is contacted by Hedda Rocker, a representative of Good Cavekeeping Magazine, which has declared Wilma as Housewife of the Year and will be visiting cave Flintstone with a photographer to survey Wilma's spit-and-polished residence and snap-shoot her picture. The prize is an all-expenses-paid week-long stay for two in Rock Vegas and $500. With insufficient time to find movie-viewing Wilma, Fred pleads with Barney and a group of friends- who have come as previously arranged to play poker in the Flintstone living room- to help to render the Flintstone home presentable and to prepare hors d'oeuvres.
For the hors d'oeuvres, Barney uses crackers and Dino's food, and Fred hides dirty dishes underneath coach and chair cushions, before dressing in Wilma's stretch-fabric clothes, donning a wig, and applying lipstick to become Mrs. Fred Flintstone and greet Rocker, who is entirely impressed with "Wilma" and "her" work. Fred rejoices when informed of winning the Rock Vegas vacation but shudders when he realizes that Wilma will be anything but pleased to see her name under the "dressed-in-drag" Fred's picture in the magazine.
Though embarrassed by the unflattering photograph, Wilma is happy to have won the Good Cavekeeping contest, and she and Fred both concede that neither is really capable of doing the other's job.
Characters
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Pebbles Flintstone
- Bamm-Bamm Rubble
- Dino
- Mr. Slate
- Pearl Slaghoople (mentioned)
- Hedda Rocker (only appearance)
- Hugo (only appearance)
- Joe Rockhead
- Flash (only appearance)
Locations
- Bedrock
- Flintstone home
- Slate Rock and Gravel Company
- Rock Vegas (mentioned)
Objects
- Morning Blast (only appearance)
Animals
- Snorkasaurus
- Mammoth (as a masto-vacuum)
- Brontosaurus (as a bronto-crane, sausages and eggs)
- Stegosaurus (as a dino-mower)
- Mountain Goatasaurus (as an oatmeal/mountain goatmeal)
- Alligator (as an ironing board)
- Fish (as a sandwich)
- Birds (as a hat and a feather duster)
Vehicles
Cast
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone Pebbles Flintstone |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Dino |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble Lady in Office |
| Don Messick | Bamm-Bamm Rubble Charlie Duster Bird Alligator Man #2 Joe Rockhead Flash |
| John Stephenson | Mr. Slate Hat Bird Man #3 |
| Janet Waldo | Hedda Rocker Woman #1 Girl |
| Doug Young | Joe Clock Bird Man #1 |
Notes/Trivia
- This was the last episode for Bea Benaderet to voice Betty Rubble until Gerry Johnson took over her role in the fifth and sixth seasons of the original series.
- Good Cavekeeping is a spoof of Good Housekeeping.
Errors
- None known.
Template:Season 4 (The Flintstones (1960))