"The Mailman Cometh" is the twenty-seventh episode of the second season and the fifty-fifth overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It first aired on March 23, 1962.
Synopsis[]
Due to a bookkeeping error, Fred is the only employee at the quarry not to receive a letter about the annual raise - so he writes a mean letter to his boss.
Plot[]
Fred writes a nasty letter to Mr. Slate when he thinks that he has not been given a deserved raise in salary. While Fred, letter in hand, and Barney are walking to a mailbox, Slate visits the Flintstone home and informs Wilma that a bookkeeping error was the cause of Fred's frustration, and that Fred indeed qualifies for and will receive the increase in pay.
After Slate departs the home of Flintstone, Fred and Barney return from the letter-sending excursion. Wilma relays Slate's message about the pay raise, and Fred realises that he must intercept the vitriolic letter before Slate reads it! A policeman prevents Fred and Barney from raiding the mailbox to find the letter, and Fred cannot persuade the postman collecting all of the mail from the box to allow him to reclaim his diatribe. Resigning himself to the situation, Fred feigns illness on the next day to avoid going to work and facing Slate's wrath after Slate has read what Fred wrote, and Wilma suspects that Fred has done something wrong and demands to know what it is. Fred discloses the full story of the letter to Wilma, who hurries on Fred's behalf to State's office and learns upon arriving there that Slate has received but not yet read Fred's letter.
So, Wilma's improvised solution is to "accidentally" drop Slate's only office pair of eyeglasses and to offer to read Fred's correspondence to Slate, changing all of Fred's invective to praise on the premise that the letter is really in thanks for the salary increase. Wilma then also "butter-fingers" the letter so that it crumbles to pieces on the floor to Slate's office. Fred is relieved to learn that Wilma has not only spared him from losing his job but has improved his relationship with a tenderly impressed Slate.
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Mr. Slate
- Mrs. Slate (mentioned)
- Alice (only appearance)
- Mr. Wilcox (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
Objects[]
- Giant letter-slab (only appearance)
Animals[]
- Mammoth (as a painter)
- Triceratops (as a mail cart)
- Pterodactyl (as hedge clippers and a mail carrier)
- Dodo Bird (as a dodo egg)
- Skunkasaurus (mentioned by Fred from a letter to Mr. Slate)
Vehicles[]
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Bird |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble Alice |
| John Stephenson | Mr. Slate Mr. Wilcox |
| Herb Vigran | Cop Man |
Notes/Trivia[]
- The title is based on the play The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill.
- At the end, you hear the melody to the Rockenschpeel Jingle from "The Happy Household".
- Mr. Slate's secretary is named Alice.
- Mr. Slate is wearing a gray outfit, not his usual blue. His initials this time are S.S.
- The mailman has an un-Flintstone name, Mr. Wilcox.
Allusions[]
- This episode is a remake of The Honeymooners episode, "Letter to the Boss".
Errors[]
- None known.
| 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" |