The Flintstones (TV Series) Fred's Monkeyshines (1963) User Reviews

And they put us in cages?!

[williamlangan-22870 · 8/10 · 27 April 2020]

Yesterday, MeTV aired Fred's Monkeyshines, from Season 4 and written by Joanna Lee. This episode had the potential to be one of the silliest episodes and yet it works, because a lot of care is put into the gags! It features Don Messick as the hapless eye doctor and Doug Young playing Rocco the Circus Man, a cop, a father and a beaver. Fred promises to take Pebbles to the circus and on the same day, he has an appointment with the eye doctor. The circus has a parade right on the street of the Flintstones. One of the monkeys is wearing a bib identical to Pebbles' orange bib and escapes and hides in a tree on Fred's property. Fred thinks Pebbles had climbed the tree and climbs to save her. Barney yells that Pebbles is with he and Wilma. So Fred agrees to keep his appointment with the eye doctor before he takes Pebbles to the circus later. The eye doctor prescribes Fred eyeglssses and he's able to read the chart. The small print reads "Your bill is $25." So Fred walks out with the eye doctor's glasses and drives home through a tree! When he comes home, he gives Dino flowers and Wilma a bone! Somehow, the monkey dressed as Pebbles climbs into Fred's car and the 2 of them go to the circus. After they leave, Wilma gets a call from the eye doctor saying they got each other's glasses. Meanwhile, Rocco is bummed because his star monkey Gypsy is missing. Little does he know Gypsy is in the audience and jumps onto the stage. So Fred chases after her and winds up into the act! Wilma arrives at the show and yells out that Pebbles is with her. So Fred removes the glasses and realizes he's on the tightrope and almost faints. Rocco rescues Fred on a safety net. The next day, Fred gets offers from several circuses asking him to join. Overview: As I said before, I liked the gags used here. One includes Fred thinking he's in a ticket booth and he's really walking in an alligator exhibit! Another is when the eye doctor tries to call Fred and he's really pulling the elephant's trunk! Probably the funniest is the Beaver serving the ice cream and helping himself to a scoop! I also liked the Circus theme by Hoyt Curtin. Trivia: Alan Reed wore eyeglasses in real life. 8 circuses out of 10. Stories like this make me miss the good old days of Ringling Brothers and Barnum And Bailey!