New Fred and Barney Show, The: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Ray Patterson, Oscar Dufau, George GordonRelease Date(s)
1979 (January 27, 2026)Studio(s)
Hanna-Barbera Productions (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: C+
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: B+
- Extras Grade: F
Review
Once The Flintstones went off the air in 1966 after a successful six-season run, Hanna-Barbera had moved on to primarily Saturday morning and syndicated cartoon shows with some of their most famous characters. As for the residents of Bedrock, they would be revived for The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, which was short-lived, as well as other packaged specials and anthology wheel series featuring other programs. It wasn’t until 1979 when The New Fred and Barney Show premiered that the more familiar version of the characters from the original show was brought back. It has since become an obscurity, mainly because of its lack of syndication and home video appearances, but it was recently unearthed and aired on MeTV Toons.
The New Fred and Barney Show is a mix of classic Fred and Barney-driven dilemmas, schemes, and adventures, including retreads of latter Flintstones’ season episodes in which they were exposed to odd or fantastic characters and situations. Some of it certainly feels familiar, such as Fred and Barney visiting the Deadrock Arms condominium and meeting “The Frankenstones,” themselves Addams Family/Munsters reproductions and not all that dissimilar to “The Gruesomes” from the original show. They also have run-ins with vampires, werewolves, witches, and genies, generally rounding out the classic movie monsters of old. In addition, their other escapades can be a bit more pedestrian, such as Barney finding a lucky coin and Fred becoming jealous when he receives everything from free refrigerators to golf clubs, or Fred trying to get in shape when Wilma becomes infatuated with Hollyrock star Clark Gravel, or even Fred and Barney finding stolen money and being chased by the crooks who want it back.
Although the show’s title certainly makes it clear that Fred and Barney are going to be the main focus, there aren’t any Wilma and Betty centered stories. They’re a little more participatory in certain episodes, but they’re mostly background decorations, reacting to Fred and Barney’s various plights. More of the same stone-age technology jokes also make their return, including the “garbage disposal,” which is basically a dinosaur-like creature living under the sink and eating whatever comes through. Dino is still around, as he should be, though the still toddler-aged Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm don’t have much to do with the show.
Sadly, The New and Fred and Barney Show didn’t make it past two seasons and seventeen episodes. The first season premiered as its own show while the second season was packaged with the programs Fred and Barney Meet the Thing and later with Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo, neither of which are included here for obvious distribution rights reasons. In truth, it’s very much impossible to top The Flintstones in any capacity, but it’s nice to see the old familiar and more accepted versions of these characters back for some new shows. They’re lighthearted and fun stories, and that’s about all you can ask for.
The New Fred and Barney Show was produced using traditional cel animation on 35mm film, finished photochemically, and presented theatrically in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The Warner Archive Collection debuts all 17 episodes of the show on Blu-ray for the first time, restored in 4K from the original camera negatives, and encoded to two dual-layered BD-50 discs. There are some moments throughout where it appears that latter generation elements might have been used, but for the most part, these shows look terrific. Detail is high throughout with crisp line art and all of the original animation intact. Everything appears clean and maintains the organic quality of the source elements. Bitrates sit between 30 and 40Mbps, and although there’s some minor artifacting if you’re paying super close attention, it’s mostly negligible. Colors are rich and blacks are deep with mostly perfect contrast (aside from those lesser, softer moments, as previously mentioned). It’s a stable and pleasant high definition picture with no major issues.
Audio is included in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. There’s plenty of support for dialogue, sound effects, and Hoyt Curtin’s score, with consistent volume from one episode to the next. There’s some mild hiss and occasional distortion, but the latter is infrequent while the former is inherent to the source and sounds natural.
The Warner Archive Collection’s 2-Disc Blu-ray release of The New Fred and Barney Show: The Complete Collection is housed in a blue Amaray case with new artwork. There are no extras, but the following episodes are included, presented in what appears to be their original production order rather than their release order:
DISC ONE (EPISODES 1-8)
- Sand-Witch (23:55)
- Barney’s Luck (23:52)
- The Bad Luck Genie (22:43)
- Fred & Barney Meet the Frankenstones (22:45)
- Physical Fitness Fred (22:45)
- Fred Goes to the Houndasaurs (22:44)
- Moonlighters (22:35)
- Dinosaur Country Safari (22:44)
DISC TWO (EPISODES 9-17)
- Stoneage Werewolf (22:43)
- Haunted Inheritance (23:54)
- Roughin’ It (23:51)
- C.B. Buddies (23:53)
- Bedrock Rocks (23:55)
- Blood Brothers (23:59)
- Barney’s Chickens (23:57)
- The Butler Did It... and Did It Better (23:57)
- It’s Not Their Bag (23:57)
Some additional context and information about the show would have been appreciated, but Warner Archive has nevertheless debuted The New Fred and Barney Show on home video with very positive results. For longtime Flintstones and Hanna-Barbera fans alike, Warner Archive’s Complete Series release is highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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