"The Entertainer" is the eighteenth episode of the second season and the forty-sixth overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on January 19, 1962.
Synopsis[]
Fred wants to buy Wilma a special gift, but needs to raise extra money by working overtime as an executive entertainer for his boss, Mr. Slate.
Plot[]
Wilma is visiting her mother, Pearl Slaghoople, and during her absence from him, Fred has been working on evenings to try to impress Mr. Slate into raising his salary so that he can buy more household appliances for Wilma. Slate is expecting the arrival in Bedrock of the buyer for Cave Construction Inc.'s largest account but is unavailable to entertain his very important client because of a prior commitment to attend his wife's charity theatre party.
So, Slate delegates the duty to chaperon his client for a night at Bedrock's most impressive night club, the Copa Cave, to Fred, with the promise of a pay increase if Fred is a pleasing enough companion for the buyer. Fred is aghast when he learns that the buyer is a woman, Greta Gravel, but is persuaded by Slate to proceed in his accompaniment of the unmarried Greta, in that it is only for one evening, and he is doing it for Wilma's benefit. Fred dresses in his new tie, pretends to be a free-spirited bachelor as per Slate's instructions, and brings Ms. Gravel to the Copa Cave as planned, but he does not know that Wilma has chosen to return home early because she misses her dear husband and has been invited by Barney and Betty to the Copa Cave on the same evening to celebrate Barney's two-dollar pay raise.
Wilma and Greta, friends from their school days, inevitably meet at the Copa Cave, and Fred scurries under his and Greta's dinner table as he listens to Wilma and Greta describing their romantic conquest- him in both cases! He crawls out of the Copa Cave and retains the same style of movement until he is "safely" in his own bed. However, fate remains unkind to Fred, for Wilma invites Greta to her home to meet her spouse!
Despite Fred's attempt to conceal himself under his bed sheet with the pretense of a sudden affliction of mumps, Ms. Gravel sees his face and instantly scolds him for deceiving her and for abandoning her at the Copa Cave, and Wilma accuses Fred of infidelity. Greta then defends Fred's dedication to his boss, understands that Fred escorted her to the Copa Cave as a favor to Slate, and shames Wilma into being a less suspecting and accusatory wife, because Wilma should consider herself fortunate to have a husband who is willing to sacrifice his evenings to earn more money for Wilma.
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Mr. Slate
- Mrs. Slate
- Pearl Slaghoople (mentioned)
- Rickshaw Boys (only mentioned)
- Greta Gravel (only appearance)
- Fifi (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Bedrock Golf Course
- Cavern Apartments (only appearance)
- Cave Construction Company
- Copa Cave (only appearance)
Objects[]
- Lighter
- Cuckoo Clock
- Sundial Clock
- Brush
- Rock Bell Phone
Food[]
- Chopped Pterodactyl Livers (mentioned)
- Mastodon Chow Mein (mentioned)
- Champagne (mentioned)
- Mackerel (only mentioned)
Animals[]
- Stegosaurus (as a Stego-sposal)
- Brontosaurus (as a Bronto-Crane)
- Hedgehogasaurus (as a brush)
- Pterodactyl (as a cuckoo clock and Chopped Pterodactyl Livers)
- Mammoth (as a Mastodon chow mein)
- Hipposaurus (as a trophy)
- Snorkasaurus
- Mackerel (only mentioned)
Vehicles[]
- Flintmobile
- Taxi cab
Media[]
- Romeo and Juliet (play)
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone Mrs. Slate |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Waiter Doorman Cuckoo |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble |
| John Stephenson | Mr. Slate |
| Paula Winslowe | Greta Gravel |
Notes/Trivia[]
- Wilma's maiden name is said to be "Pebble".
- Fred says he's never taken dance lessons, which contradicts the episode, "Arthur Quarry's Dance Class" from the first season.
- This is the first episode featuring what everyone thinks of as Mr. Slate. In this episode, his first name is Howard and his wife's name is Bertha.
Errors[]
- When the camera pans over to Betty after Barney walks away from her, not giving her a kiss, she has four eyebrows.
| 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" |