The Flintstones is one of the most beloved cartoon series ever made. Running for six seasons during the 1960s, the series remains very much in the cultural zeitgeist to this day, even beyond its sixtieth anniversary.
As all 166 episodes of the classic series become streamable on HBO Max and Tubi, fans can revisit all of their favorite caveman adventures. In so doing, they simply cannot miss the top ten highest-rated episodes, as determined by users on the Internet Movie Database.
Barney The Invisible (7.7)
3×03
With a 7.7 overall score on IMDB, the third episode of the third season of The Flintstones, “Barney the Invisible,” is one of the show’s highest-rated entries of all time. The episode follows Fred and Barney’s antics after the latter suddenly becomes invisible.
This beloved cartoon is known as a source for good laughs and childish fun–though a mature spinoff of The Flintstones does inexplicably exist. Nevertheless, “The Invisible Barney” remains full of innocent tricks that remind audiences why they love this modern, stone-age family so much.
The Drive-In (7.7)
1×13
The Drive-In is one of the most memorable episodes of The Flintstones. Arriving during the early days of the show’s run, the episode depicts Barney and Fred buying a drive-in restaurant together in an effort to add variety to their droll, everyday lives.
In addition to poking fun at its setting in the Stone Age, through its clever writing and meta-humor, this episode also features the iconic “Cap Hop Song,” sung by Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble, which served as an early example of the pair’s antics.
The Hot Piano (7.7)
1.19
“The Hot Piano” is the nineteenth episode of The Flintstones‘ first season. In this entry, Fred makes a deal with an unsavory character in order to get his wife, Wilma, the best anniversary present he can think of: a baby grand piano.
While The Flintstones often featured squabbles between its eponymous couple, “The Hot Piano” acts as the occasional example of Fred going above and beyond to please his wife, or, at least, attempting to. In the end, things don’t play out exactly as Fred had planned, as is often the case with the show’s best episodes.
The Prowler (7.7)
1×14
The fourteenth episode to ever air of The Flintstones is entitled “The Prowler.” In this episode, a burglary spree in Bedrock leads Fred to play a very tasteless trick on his wife by dressing up like a burglar and pretending to rob their home.
This episode gives Wilma the chance to shine, as it is eventually revealed that she has become a judo master, a skill which she uses to take out the real Prowler, thinking that it was her husband again. Fans of the series will no doubt look back fondly at this prolific episode, which has been deemed the very best of the show’s first season.
Ann-Margrock Presents (7.8)
4×01
The season four premiere of The Flintstones included a very special guest star in Ann-Margret, a popular singer-actress from the 1960s. Playing a fictional version of herself, Ann-Margrock, Margret meets the cast of The Flintstones in a truly memorable fashion.
The Flintstones often found a way to introduce guest stars despite its setting in a prehistoric age. As with Ann-Margret’s appearance, the show usually waves away any logical reasoning as to why each star appears in the show, instead choosing to have some fun with the talent that has stopped by for a visit.
The X-Ray Story (7.8)
2×15
Late in the second season of The Flintstones came “The X-Ray Story,” one of the most well-loved episodes of the series’ entire run. When Wilma and Betty are led to believe that Fred has contracted a dinosaur disease deadly to humans, they fight to keep him awake for 72 hours straight, the only known cure for such an illness.
As zany and bizarre a premise as it is, “The X-Ray Story” made an impression on fans while also demonstrating just how much the characters in the series care about Fred, despite their constant bickering with the Flintstones’ patriarch. In the end, the episode is every bit as heartfelt and hilarious as fans of the series should expect.
A Haunted House Is Not A Home (7.9)
5×07
The seventh episode of The Flintstones‘ fifth season, “A Haunted House is Not A Home,” depicts Fred on the verge of inheriting a massive mansion. The only catch is that he must spend the night within its walls while certain other unsavory forces attempt to kill him.
The Flintstones is known for its fun gags, classic lines, and casual use of dinosaurs, but it also had the uncanny ability to be genuinely scary at times, as this episode proves. “A Haunted House is Not a Home” proves to be a remarkably unique episode of the series, even five years into its run, thereby becoming one of the best-received episodes ever.
Christmas Flintstone (7.9)
5×15
Cartoons have often been known for producing great episodes based around major holidays. The Flintstones was no exception, with its season 5 celebration of the winter holidays becoming one of the highest-rated episodes of the season yet, as the Flintstones and Rubbles came together in the North Pole itself.
Full of the show’s regular gaffs and guffaws, “Christmas Flintstones” proves fun enough for most viewers not to ask how exactly Christmas exists in the prehistoric ages, millenia before the holiday ever came to be.
Samantha (8.0)
6×06
In the sixth episode of The Flintstones’ final season, Wilma, Betty, and their new friend, Samantha Stephens, attempt to upstage the boys on a camping trip after being told that women can’t “rough it” quite like men can.
In this crossover with Bewitched, Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York guest star as their characters from the iconic series. Much like the show’s other guest stars, the Stephens show up without much thought regarding how or why they would arrive in the Stone Ages. Nevertheless, the casual appearance of big stars devoid of logical reasoning is part of what makes The Flintstones one of the best “Saturday morning cartoons” ever.
Dr. Sinister (8.1)
5×08
The eighth episode of The Flintstones‘ fifth season, entitled “Dr. Sinister,” also happens to be the highest-rated episode in the entire series. While on a burger run, Fred and Barney find themselves caught up in a mission of espionage, wherein they are confronted with all sorts of peculiar and dangerous characters.
In this episode, The Flintstones does what it does best: putting its lovable characters in extreme and absurd circumstances. Audiences find it endlessly hilarious to see the bumbling Fred and Barney go through trial and tribulation just to bring burgers back to their wives, all the while having no idea what is going on. It is truly an iconic entry to the classic series and a worthy episode to top all others.
