Fred and Betty vs Barney and Wilma

[Frump]

Is it just me or do you all notice similarities in Barney and Wilma and Fred and Betty??

It seems like Wilma and Barney are very even tempered and easygoing and they are submissive to their spouses.

Fred and Betty on the other hand are more hot tempered and opinionated and they seem to dominate their spouses or "Wear the Pants" in their family.

Fred is the boss of the Flintstone home and Betty is the boss of the Rubble home!

Barney gets pushed around by Fred and Betty... and it seems like Fred pushes around Barney and Wilma.

Does anyone else notice this??

I've often wondered what it would be like if Fred and Betty were married and Wilma and Barney were married??

I think Barney and Wilma would have made a perfect couple BUT Fred and Betty would fight all the time!

What do you think?

[Tammy]

I don't think Fred was really "the boss of the Flintstone home", Wilma seemed quite capable of holding her own

[W.J. Griffin]

Other similarities between Fred and Betty you may have noticed:

1. They're both brunettes, and
2. They both have eyes with whites and pupils, whereas Wilma and Barney have dots (and in the case of Barney, they were those blank "Little Orphan Annie" style orbs...)

I think the "passivness" of both Barney and Wilma is intentional, as it showcases Fred's bellowing rage in sharper detail (of course, since this show is a more-or-less verbatim adaption of "The Honeymooners", this is to be expected. If you notice, Fred is nowhere near as abusive to Wilma and Barney as Ralph Kramden is to Alice and Ed Norton...and Betty Rubble is a more fully realized character than Trixie Norton ever was...or ever will be {no offense to Joyce Randolph or Jane Kean...both actresses did the best they could with the material they were given.}...poor Trixie is just an afterthought; but on "The Flintstones", Betty Rubble is an extremely vital component of the show; she and Wilma are more than a match for any schemes dreamed up by Fred and Barney.)

(Man, I LOVE this site...where else can you go on a tangent about "The Flintstones" and NOT sound like a kook?)

[Frump]

Which begs the question, What if Fred and Betty were married and Wilma and Barney??

For some reason I think Wilma and Barney would make a good match..Even when I was little, like about 6, I thought Wilma and Barney were MORE suited for each other. And I kinda thought Fred and Betty would have gone better with eachother.

And I know Betty was important to the show BUT I've noticed it seems they leave her characher out a lot,,There are some episodes she's not in and in a lot of the remakes she does NOT appear and I don't think she's in the Flintstone's vitamines///

I even had a few Flintstones story books when I was little and Betty was NOT in ANY of those.

Why do they leave her out so much?

[W.J. Griffin]

Possibly the "Trixie" syndrome I mentioned above, possibly the writers couldn't think of anything to do with Betty (have you noticed here lately how some folks, mostly stand-up comics and hip-hop artist, have been commenting on Mrs. Rubble's...um...voluptuosness? This probably explains the ressurection of interest in the character.)

Wilma and Barney? You know, that WOULD be a more tranquil relationship...I think Wilma would be more tolerant of Barney's gentle nature(not that Betty isn't, but she does have her moments...) Fred and Betty, on the other hand, would be WAYYY too volitile, in my opinion, but I could be wrong. What do you think?

[W.J. Griffin]

Something else I just realized considering Betty Rubble: it seems to me that her character was adapted more from Vivian Vance's Ethel Mertz from "I Love Lucy'' than Trixie Norton, as Betty often displays a willingness to go along with, and even devise, those "let's-teach-the-boys-a-lesson" scenarios with Wilma, who herself not only possesses Alice Kramden's no-nonsense resolve but Lucy Ricardo's penchant for wild schemes.

Just thought I'd toss that out...

[Frump]

Another thing that makes me think that Fredy and Betty are the "dommis" When you say each couples name, listen who you say first..."Fred and Wilma"
"Betty and Barney" You always tend to say Fred and Betty first, before their spouses! It's just something people naturally do without thinking about it.

[W.J. Griffin]

Originally posted by Frump
Another thing that makes me think that Fredy and Betty are the "dommis" When you say each couples name, listen who you say first..."Fred and Wilma"
"Betty and Barney" You always tend to say Fred and Betty first, before their spouses! It's just something people naturally do without thinking about it.

You are right...I suppose that does prove who the dominant partners are in those relationships, because Fred and Betty DO leave a lasting impression!!

[Kathy343]

Large Blue Arail :lol:

[Pug Lover]

The Flintstones was supposebly a take off of the 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners.I,ve noticed in The Honeymooners,how Ed and Alice are usually remarkabley friendly to eachother,no matter what the circumstances are.The same is not the case between Ralph and Trixie however.From what I,ve been told,Trixie had formerly been a showgirl,and Ralph was quite critical about the idea of Ed marrying her,for that reason.I also find that the character of Trixie is treated the same way the character of Betty was treated on The Flintstones.She wasn,t as commonly seen as the other three cast members.One other thing The Honeymooners and The Flintstones have in common.The way Wilma and Betty get along with eacthother,compared to their husbands.You very rarely see Wilma and Betty fight or quarrel with one another.The same was the case with Alice and Trixie.They got along with eachother so much more maturely than their husbands did.I,ve only seen Alice and Trixie get mad at eachother once or twice.I said The Flinstones was"supposebly"taken off of The Honeymooners because,I read somewhere that Jackie Gleason had threatened to sue Hanna Barbera,on account that he felt that they had stolen his ideas for his own show,for The Flintstones.So there was a bit of controversy there.