Turner Home Entertainment: "The Flintstones - A Modern Stone Age Phenomenon" by T.R. Adams (1994)

I was out in The Cave last week when I came across this book I had totally forgotten about: "The Flintstones - A Modern Stone Age Phenomenon" by T.R. Adams. The book was published in 1994 - the same year "The Flintstones" movie was released and no doubt a way to generate interest in the movie. It was published by Turner Home Entertainment (T.H.E.), and as I don't really know much about the company, I'll let avid.wiki do the talking:

"Turner Home Entertainment was founded on July 29, 1986 by Turner Broadcasting System to distribute the RKO Radio Pictures library on videocassette and, from 1987 to 1999, license the pre-1986 MGM and pre-1950 Warner Bros. libraries to MGM/UA Home Video. In 1994, when Turner bought out the New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment studios, Columbia TriStar Home Video sold the distribution rights of New Line Home Video releases to Turner Home Entertainment, though it would distribute Turner's Castle Rock tapes for the first couple of years or so afterwards. Turner Home Entertainment also handled the rights to shows by Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network, as well as PBS Home Video releases from 1994-1997. In 1997, a year after Turner merged with Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery), Turner Home Entertainment was dissolved into Warner Home Video, although it remained in a limited fashion until 1999."

Courtesy avid.wiki

The book itself is both a trip down memory lane as well as a fascinating look into the history of animation (or at least how it affected the lives of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and ultimately, the landscape of American television). The two icons of cartoon entertainment have their own biographical chapters and there are chapters dealing with the beginning of The Flintstones, character studies, a bit about the gadgets, and an episode guide at the end. During it's heyday the show was aired in 80 countries and 22 languages. It's amazing how, after 66 years, numerous spin-offs, multiple TV specials and films, educational films, live-action films, and thousands of products, the show maintains a lasting legacy. Overall, the book is an intriguing look at the behind-the-scenes makings of not just a cartoon show, but an enduring (and endearing) pop culture icon!

Ed