"The Missing Bus" is the third episode of the second season and the thirty-first overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on September 29, 1961.
Synopsis[]
Dissatisfied at work, Fred quits the gravel pit and is soon hired to be a school-bus driver. On the first day, he realizes he might have made a mistake.
Plot[]
Frustrated with his boss' steadfast refusal to increase his salary, Fred resigns from the rock quarry and searches for a new job. He reads in his newspaper about an employment opportunity whose benefits include long coffee breaks and applies for this supposedly excellent job prospect, and in an aptitude test which Fred is required to undergo, Fred demonstrates ingenuity by putting square pegs in round holes- and vice versa.
He is therefore hired by A. A. Carborundum, a gravel-voiced, white-bearded Southerner, who pep-talks Fred with a statement that the future of the country and the destiny of half-a-hundred souls depend upon Fred, and that it is Fred's patriotic duty to be the most efficient school bus driver possible! Fred perseveres in his effort to deliver children to the Red Rock School House and to return them in safety to their homes, despite demanding parents, fighting or insolent boys (including Carborundum's son, Alvin), and a stop for lunch at Rocky's Diner, wherein fellow bus-drivers as nervous wrecks, laugh hysterically, walk on the ceiling, or run like monkeys. Fred's grueling afternoon transfer of the children to each of their domiciles is a disaster in that he deposits several of them to the wrong houses, and angry parents inundate Carborundum with telephone calls.
Fred successfully assists a woman who flags him when she goes into labor and requires immediate transport on Fred's bus to hospital, where she gives birth to triplets, and Fred is a hero. Carborundum and Fred's rock quarry boss vie to employ Fred, who agrees to return to work for the latter, with a higher salary than that which he had previously earned as a bronto-crane operator.
Characters[]
Other Characters[]
- Mr. Pebbles (only appearance)
- A.A. Carborundum (only appearance)
- Agatha Carborundum (only appearance)
- Alvin Carborundum (only appearance)
- Mrs. Gypsum (only appearance)
- Rosalie Gypsum (only appearance)
- Mrs. Gabbystone (only appearance)
- Paul, Hope, Hilary, and James Gabbystone (only appearance, no lines)
- Bruce and Robert (only appearance)
- Charlie (only appearance)
- Coffee Shop Owner (only appearance)
- Mrs. Quartz (only mentioned)
- Mrs. Rosin (only appearance)
- Mrs. Shell (only mentioned)
- Shirley Shell (only mentioned)
- Nurse (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Granite Quarry & Cave Construction
- Bedrock Hospital
- Red Rock School House (only appearance)
- Rocky's Diner (only appearance)
- A.A. Carborundum and Company (only appearance)
- A.A. Carborundum Car Barns (only appearance)
- A.A. Carborundum's house (only appearance)
- Rock Ring Telephone Company phone booth (only appearance)
- Eskimo Rapid Transit Company (only mentioned)
Objects[]
- Want Ads news-slab
- Driver's manual (only appearance)
- Rock Bell Phones
Animals[]
- Dodo Bird (as a soft-boiled egg)
Vehicles[]
- Flintmobile
- School Bus #9 (only appearance)
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone Kid |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone Mrs. Gabbystone Kid |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Bird Coffee Shop Owner (Nick) Kid |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble Mrs. Rosin Agatha Carborundum Woman Kid |
| Pattie Chapman | Nurse Rosalie Gypsum Kid |
| Don Messick | Pebbles Robert Alvin Carborundum Photographer #1 Kid Driver #2 |
| Hal Smith | A.A. Carborundum Photographer #2 Kid |
| John Stephenson | Charlie Photographer #3 J.J. Granite Kid |
| Sandra Gould | Mrs. Gypsum Bruce Kid |
Notes/Trivia[]
- In this episode, Mr. Slate is known this time as J.J. Granite and Slate Rock and Gravel Company is also known this time as Granite Quarry & Cave Construction. Fred has worked at the company for 13 years.
- Wilma and Fred have been married for 13 years. That contradicts the episode of the first season, "The Hot Piano", in which they celebrated their 10th anniversary.
- The only Pebbles in this episode is not Fred and Wilma's daughter who was born in the episode of the third season, "The Dress Rehearsal".
Errors[]
- When the phone started ringing, black spots in A.A.'s uniform were missing.
| 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" |