Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing is an American animated package show from Hanna-Barbera Productions, a spin-off of *The Flintstones* that aired on NBC between September 8 and December 1, 1979. Despite the title, the two segments—one featuring Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, the other starring the Thing—never crossed over; they only appeared together in the opening credits and brief bumpers. The Fred and Barney portions were episodes of *The New Fred and Barney Show*, while the Thing segment was a new, unrelated series co-produced with Marvel Comics. The concept originated with then-NBC President Fred Silverman, who wanted a series about a boy with a magic ring and told Hanna-Barbera it needed a recognizable "celebrated attraction." Because Hanna-Barbera already had a relationship with Marvel producing comics based on their properties, the company secured the rights to the Thing’s likeness.

For the 1979–80 season, the show expanded to 90 minutes by adding *The New Shmoo* episodes, airing under the title *Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo*. The following season (1980–81), both the Thing and Shmoo segments were removed and replaced by *The Flintstone Comedy Show*. Like many Hanna-Barbera animated series from the 1970s, only *The New Fred and Barney Show* segments contained a laugh track—one of the studio’s last productions to do so.

The Thing segment loosely adapted the Marvel Comics character. It followed a scrawny, red-headed teenager named Benjy Grimm (voiced by Wayne Morton), who transformed into the monstrous, stone-skinned Thing (voiced by Joe Baker, impersonating Jimmy Durante) by touching two magic rings and saying, "Thing Ring, do your thing!"—triggering an explosion of orange rocks that encased him. Stories centered on Benjy at Centerville High School with his friends: brunette Betty Harkness (voiced by Marilyn Schreffler), her snooty rich boyfriend Ronald Radford (voiced by John Erwin), and Betty’s blond tomboy younger sister Kelly (voiced by Noelle North). Minimal adult supervision came from Principal Twilly (voiced by Schreffler). Only Kelly and her scientist father, Professor Harkness (voiced by John Stephenson), knew Benjy’s secret identity.