"The Drive-In" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on December 23, 1960.
Synopsis[]
Fred & Barney start up their own drive-in restaurant, without telling their wives, who grow very suspicious with all the odd calls they're getting.
Plot[]
Fred and Barney again attempt to go into business for themselves, this time acquiring a drive-in restaurant, with no down payment required, from a business opportunities agent who willfully neglects to inform them that the eatery's earlier proprietor was unsuccessful because of a dubiously optimum location. Flintstone and Rubble quit their menial jobs without Wilma and Betty's knowledge and decline to inform the wives of their status as beginner restaurateurs, because they do not want Wilma and Betty to worry about their chosen career path until it reaps dividends.
A pair of bubbly though unemployed, singing waitresses, Gwendolyn and Daisy learn that Fred and Barney are seeking help in their area of expertise and telephone Fred, while Fred is not at home, to request an interview. Wilma receives the telephone call, in which the waitresses do not specify their interest in assisting Fred and Barney, and is highly suspicious of Fred's importance to the girls, who come to the Flintstone home to sing their song for Fred and Barney, who feign complete confusion.
Nevertheless, on the sly, Fred and Barney hire the waitresses and commence business, with them doing the cooking and the girls serving the drive-in restaurant's customers. Wilma and Betty telephone their husbands' former employers, learn of Fred and Barney's simultaneous act of quitting, and go in the Rubbles' car in search of their presumably errant cavemen. Stopping at Fred and Barney's drive-in for a meal, the wives recognize the waitresses and see Fred and Barney at work in the kitchen.
The waitresses are tired of attending to the patrons and they're resigning. Wilma and Betty substitute for them and shock Fred and Barney speechless, persuading the husbands to retire from food service with only a 50% loss on their investment and regain their prior jobs.
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Betty Rubble
- Barney Rubble
- Gwendolyn (only appearance)
- Daisy (only appearance)
- Eddie (only time mentioned)
- Doorman (only appearance; no lines)
- Emcee (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Rubble home
- Drive-in (only appearance)
- Rockadero (first appearance)
- Bedrock Bowl
- Business Opportunities agency (only appearance)
- Pool Hall
Objects[]
- Coat rack
- Bathroom spring
- Flintstones' His/Hers Towels
- Rock Bell Phone
- Guided Missiles (only mentioned)
Food
- Bronto Burger
- Dill Pickles (only mentioned)
- French Fries (only mentioned)
- Coke (only mentioned)
- 2 tons of dinosaur meat
- 3 tons of parsley (only mentioned)
- BBQ Bronto Ribs
- Coffee
- Ketchup (only mentioned)
- Fried Pterodactyl Egg
- Giant Hot Cakes
- Coconut Shake
- Pterodactyl Tea
- Onions (only mentioned)
- Tomato (only mentioned)
Animals[]
- Brontosaurus (as truck and food)
- Pterodactyl (as eggs)
- Parrotsaurus
- Monkeysaurus (only mentioned)
Vehicles[]
Songs[]
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble |
| Hal Smith | Butcher Patron Announcer |
| Nancy Wible | Gwen |
| Ginny Tyler | Daisy |
Notes/Trivia[]
- This is the second time Wilma wears shoes since the previous episode, "The Swimming Pool".
Errors[]
- When Betty is questioning Barney the back of the chair, he's sitting in is extremely wide then shortens in following shots.
- The colors of Wilma and Betty's dresses and waitress hats were switched throughout the final scene at the Rockadero.
- When Wilma and Betty arrived at The Drive-In, they called Gwendolyn "Charlie" and Daisy "Irving". During their phone call to Fred earlier in the episode, Fred deemed Daisy "Charlie" and Gwendolyn "Irving" while talking to them.
| 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" |