The Frankenstone Family

The Frankenstones are a family of monsters who appeared as recurring characters in the Flintstones franchise during the 70s, 80s and 90s. They debuted in 1979 in The New Fred and Barney Show during the show's second season episode, "Fred & Barney Meet the Frankenstones". Inspired by other monster families of the 60s and 70s like the Munsters and the Addams Family, as well as the Flintstones own Gruesomes, the Frankenstones are a family consisting of patriarch Frank Frankenstone, his wife Hidea Frankenstone, his son Freaky Frankenstone and his daughter Atrocia Frankenstone.

Background

Originally the Flintstones already had its own spooky monster family in the form of The Gruesomes Family who the Frankenstones shared much in common with, but unlike the friendly and passive Gruesomes, the Frankenstones were later on made to serve the role of something akin to rivals or frenemies to the Flintstones family in later appearances after their debut, mostly due in part to Frank Frankenstone's hot temper which was more than a match for Fred Flintstone's own temperament. Because of their success, the Frankenstones would go on to replace the Gruesomes entirely and appear in much of the franchise during its height.

The Frankenstones made their official debut in 1979 in The New Fred and Barney Show episode "Fred and Barney Meet the Frankenstones" (first aired on September 15) where the Frankenstones had just moved to Bedrock and opened up their own condominium (or "condorstonium" in their case) which they dubbed the Dead Rock Arms and was home to a large gaggle of monsters. The family at the time was made up of Frank Frankenstone, his wife, son and daughter. Frank Frankenstone notably sounded like Boris Karloff and had a very calm and gloomy attitude. The Gruesomes also made their final appearance here (as well as their only appearance alongside the Frankenstones) where it was shown that they had now moved into the Frankenstone Condorstonium.

The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone

Frank Frankenstone would make his first solo appearance in the 1979 Halloween special The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone (first aired on October 30) where he is portrayed as the rogue and savage creation of Count Rockula.

In September 1980, the Frankenstones would star in the primetime special The Flintstones' New Neighbors which retells their first meeting with the Flintstones in a different manner and the names of all the family members except Frank are changed. Frank's wife is renamed Oblivia, his son Freaky was renamed Stubby, while his daughter is renamed Hidea and is given red hair.

In November 1980, the Frankenstones would finally receive their own animated segment in The Flintstone Comedy Show (first aired in November 22) focusing entirely around them. Unlike the primetime specials, the Frankenstones would have their correct names from The New Fred and Barney Show. However as the show took place during Pebbels' teenage years, Freaky was now a teenager but his sister Atrocia was made younger than him and given brown hair. Frank is also given a different personality and voice, no longer sounding like Boris Karloff and being prone to loud fits of rage much like Fred.

In 1984, the Frankenstones would make their final animated appearance in The Flintstone Funnies, however the show was mostly repackaged segments from The Flintstone Comedy Show.

In 1989, Frank Frankenstone would make another solo appearance in The Flintstone Kids comic series.

The Frankenstones made their video game debut in the 1991 video game The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy. With their home serving as one of the game's levels and Frank serving as the level's primary enemy.

The Frankenstones would make their final appearance in the franchise in the 1995 Archie comic run of The Flintstones where they are shown to still live in the same neighborhood as the Flintstones and the Rubbles, and surprisingly enough with the Gruesomes as well. A significantly different "Frankenstone's Monster" also appeared in Issue #15 of this series and was based on more traditional depictions of Frankenstein's monster.

Physical Appearance

Each of the Frankenstones has an obvious monster-motif or shares obvious parallels with other TV show monster families like the Munsters and the Addams Family.

Notes/Trivia

• Originally the name Frankenstone was mentioned several times throughout The Flintstones original run, but only as a stone age alteration of Frankenstein since the Frankenstones wouldn't be created until 1979.