If you've ever wondered how Henry Corden eventually landed the role of Fred Flintstone, aside from being one of the singing voice doubles for Alan Reed, well, look no further than 1972's The Barkleys.
Arnie Barkley (Corden) sounds exactly the same as Fred, right down to the laugh. And while The Barkleys was created in answer to CBS' hit sitcom, All in the Family, there conceivably could be some Flintstones in the show's pedigree, one of three family-based toon-coms to premiere that year (Hanna-Barbera's Roman Holidays, itself a derivative of Flintstones, and the syndicated Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home, H-B's answer to Family AND Barkleys, were the others). There's also a little bit of The Honeymooners, too, considering Arnie, like Ralph Kramden, is a bus driver.
In "Match Breaker", Arnie has some objections when daughter Terry (Julie McWhirter) brings her boyfriend (guest star Michael Bell, The Houndcats) home.
We could do without the cheesy theme song. Doug Goodwin has done better.
Rating: B.
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