The Gruesomes (The Flintstones) Manor which is next door to the Flintstones. Trying to be neighborly, Fred and Barney agree to babysit Gobby, whose strange pets (including Schneider the spider and Occy the octopus) make for a tortuously eventful evening. After spending the evening at The Gruesomes' haunted mansion, Fred angrily tells Wilma that they are moving away from Bedrock. He then changes his mind when he sees Pebbles watching the "At Home With the Gruesomes" TV show. The family reappears in the episode "The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes". The Hatrocks, who are hillbilly friends of Fred, come to visit but soon become an
The Flintstones (film) in trailer parks trying to keep their families together. They exhibit moments of heroism and poignancy". Markowitz's version was apparently too sentimental for director Donner, who disliked it. Eventually, the rights were bought by Amblin Entertainment and Steven Spielberg who, after working with Goodman on "Always", was determined to cast him in the lead as Fred. Brian Levant was hired as director, knowing he was the right person because of his love for the original series. They knew he was an avid fan of the series because of his Flintstones items collection and the knowledge he had from the series.