by Claudine Zap Yabba dabba doo! "The Flintstones" are 50. Back in the Stone Age of television, there was " The Flintstones ," the cartoon family show set in the Stone Age . Sort of. The first episode aired back on September 30, 1960. That's right, 50 years ago , Fred, wife Wilma, and daughter Pebbles made their debut along with neighbors Barney, Betty, and Bamm-Bamm Rubble in their caveman subdivision in Bedrock.