Nickandmore!

[via press release]

Boomerang Goes Green with St. Patrick’s Day Salute to The Flinstones’ The Great Gazoo

All-Green Floating Alien to be Showcased in an 8-Hour Marathon Monday, March 17

Boomerang, Cartoon Network’s 24-hour commercial-free sister network, is spreading the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day by featuring the gloriously all-green character from outer-space, The Great Gazoo of The Flintstones.  Beginning at 12 p.m. and running uninterrupted until 8 p.m. (ET), THE GREAT GAZOO MARATHON pays homage to the little helmeted man from outer space voiced by legendary television comedian Harvey Korman.

The Great Gazoo is one of The Flintstones’ most memorable supporting characters.  He joined the series in the 1965-66 season, immediately charming Fred, Barney and viewers.  Gazoo is a two-foot, green space alien from the planet Zatox.  Gazaam, his leader, banished him for inventing a button capable of destroying the universe.  Despite being arrogant and mischievous, Gazoo must prove his capability of compassion and wisdom by serving the humans that find and release him from his grounded spaceship—namely, Fred and Barney.  He tries hard but often ends up leading the boys into more trouble than good.  His great powers and lure of easy solutions draw Fred and Barney into hilarious calamities.  A further complication is that Gazoo is invisible to everyone except animals, children, and his two rescuers.

Highlighted below are some of the episodes that are included in THE GREAT GAZOO MARATHON:

• The Great Gazoo — (12 p.m. and 5 p.m.) – A strange object falls to Earth and Fred and Barney meet Gazoo, an all-green space alien.  Gazoo explains that he has been exiled from his planet Zatox because he invented a button that could disintegrate the entire universe.  As part of his punishment, he must serve those who found him.  Fred and Barney quickly decide this opportunity cannot be wasted, so they take Wilma and Betty to the most expensive restaurant in Bedrock, expecting Gazoo to pay the bill.  But when the bill arrives, they cannot find Gazoo!
• The Stonefinger Caper — (12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.) – Fred and Barney scoff at a spy movie in which Stonefinger orders his men to kidnap Dr. Rockinheimer, the man who turned stone into uraniumrock.  Meanwhile, the movie characters come to life and mistake Barney for the scientist.  Although Barney protests he’s not the doctor, Stonefinger threatens to feed him to a hungry horrorasaurus if he doesn’t give him the uraniumrock formula.  Gazoo comes to the rescue and they eventually settle down to a quiet evening of television.
• Seeing Doubles — (1 p.m. and 6 p.m.) – Fred and Barney seek Gazoo’s help to get them out of a dinner date with their wives so they can attend a bowling tournament.  Gazoo creates doubles of the boys, but a series of mix-ups ensues in which no one knows who’s who.  Fred and Barney learn that they can avoid double trouble by telling the truth. 
• Two Men on a Dinosaur — (2:30 p.m.) – Following a space age tip from Gazoo, Fred and Barney start winning big at the race track.  Their success is noted by two bookies who force them to go to their boss, Big Ed.  Although Gazoo feels like the boys deserve a lesson, he goes with them to make sure they aren’t hurt.  When Big Ed demands the winning dinosaur names, Gazoo gives them the names of three losers.  But before Big Ed can extract vengeance, Gazoo once again comes to the rescue. 
• Boss for a Day — (3:30 p.m.) – With some help from Gazoo, Fred becomes boss of the quarry for a day.  He enjoys his new-found power, inviting Barney for an executive lunch, until the Chairman of the Board puts him in his place and lets him know who the real boss is.  From then on, Fred has more woes than he ever imagined.  Working late into the night, he realizes that he never wants to fill Mr. Slate’s shoes again.
• Curtain Call at Bedrock — (3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) – When Wilma asks Fred to play the lead in the PTA show, “Romeorock and Julietstone,” he refuses and Wilma is forced to cast Barney in the role.  Barney is terrible and knows it.  He and Betty help Wilma devise a scheme to make Fred get over his stage fright and play the part that he knows so well.  Barney pretends to have mumps and Fred takes over, but a sudden attack of laryngitis causes Wilma to drop out, and Barney takes her place as Julietstone with hilarious results.

On Sept. 30, 1960, The Flintstones premiered nationwide at 8:30 p.m. (ET) on ABC.  The show immediately assumed historic status as the first animated situation comedy on television, the first animated series to go beyond the seven-minute cartoon format, and the first to feature human characters to be shown on prime time.  The series centered around the modern stone-age family, Fred and Wilma Flintstone, their daughter Pebbles and their dinosaur-dog, Dino.  The family’s best friends, Barney and Betty Rubble and their son Bamm-Bamm, lived next door.  The Flintstones ran for six years (1960-66), totaling 166 original episodes, and spawned multiple series spin-offs throughout the years.

Boomerang is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s (TBS, Inc.) 24-hour cable/satellite network offering the best in classic animated entertainment.  In partnership with Cartoon Network, the service boasts 75 percent unduplicated programming and is available to cable/satellite operators and their customers in Spanish.  Boomerang’s official Web site is http://Boomerang.CartoonNetwork.com.

Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com), currently seen in more than 91 million U.S. homes and 160 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported cable service offering the best in original, acquired and classic animated entertainment for kids and families.  Overnight from 10:30 p.m.-6 a.m. (ET, PT), Cartoon Network shares its channel space with Adult Swim, a late-night destination showcasing original and acquired animation for young adults 18-34.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.