Seth MacFarlane to reboot The Flintstones

I don't know if these are from the same place or just a fan creation but I love them.
They are very well done and capture the feel of the original completely.
http://vimeo.com/18546611

See I love Family Guy, but just don't get or like American dad or the cleveland show (maybe I have to watch a few eps) but I think Seth should do a good job with Fred and the gang.

Hopefully they'll try to target an older audience and take a different approach rather than target the child market, or even attempting to make it multi layered in the way that The Simpsons is could work. If they try and target children, it will just be seen as a poor copy of the original, as all remakes are seen in that way.

The original was not designed for kids, but for kids and adults alike. It was the Simpsons of the 50's-70's.

Perhaps that's just my perception of watching it as a kid in the late 80s/early 90s, the adult sections obviously going right over my head .

Why do people say "reboot" in this context now?

If you really need any proof the first clip a given.,,,,,

To distinguish it from a sequel or continuation. The same premise, handled anew.

They used to call it a "re-imagining", but everyone is a slave to fashion.

Sort of right, it was actually directed by Chris Battle and David Smith, who had both worked as storyboard artists on the original Dexter's Laboratory, who were then assigned as directors on the Dexter's Lab reboot in 2001 as the original team had since disbanded (Which is why Dexter's Lab 2001- and On the Rocks have a similar art style). It's worth noting that Seth had written for Dexter's Laboratory back in it's hay-day, and was approached for the reboot whilst doing Family Guy. Although he did do some storyboards, he obviously wasn't writing at this point.

American Dad is very good - far more political than Family Guy - but I completely failed to get into the Cleveland Show at all. I don't think Cleveland is a strong enough character to carry a series like that. In contrast, Stan Smith (American Dad) I'd say is a better, funnier character than Peter Griffin. Where family guy can potentially win over American Dad is Brian and Stewie, who are simply amazing creations (though that's not to say American Dad doesn't have other great characters, cos it does).


Getting back to The Flintstones - it'll be interesting to see what they do; how far Seth McFarlane, as a former cartoonist of the programme, takes it into the "21st Century" or whether he remains quite traditionalist.

For the record, I second Gavin's earlier comment. Seth McFarlane is amazing. Can't think of anyone better for such a reboot...

It is unlikely that The Flintstones is going to replace Family Guy. Network executives don't care about people's opinions about storylines. This spring it was the third most popular show on Fox in the relevant demos, and it brings in big money in syndication. It is essentially a self-running machine at this point, much like The Simpsons. The only thing that could cancel Family Guy would be a drastic ratings slump, or if McFarlane himself dies or demands the series' cancellation.

American Dad is (sadly) the McFarlane show which is closest to cancellation. Its ratings have slipped lately, mostly because Fox decided to put it in the 7 PM slot. But it has been renewed until 2013, so we don't have to worry at the moment.

There's probably a reason for that : American Dad satirised the kind of obsessive paranoid Republican types that flourished under Bush, and who are now undermined under Obama, so maybe there's no place for Stan Smith in this brave new Obamaworld.