The Flintstones "The Simpsons" debuted decades later. In 2013, "TV Guide" ranked "The Flintstones" the second greatest TV cartoon of all time (after "The Simpsons"). The show is set in a comical, satirical version of the Stone Age which, although it uses primitive technology, resembles mid-20th-century suburban America. The plots deliberately resemble the sitcoms of the era, with the caveman Flintstone and Rubble families getting into minor conflicts characteristic of modern life. The show is set in the Stone Age town of Bedrock (pop. 2500). In this fantasy version of the past, dinosaurs and other long-extinct animals co-exist with cavemen, saber-toothed cats,
The Flintstones in the third season. Starting in season 3, episode 3 ("Barney the Invisible"), the opening and closing credits theme was the familiar vocal "Meet the Flintstones". This version was recorded with a 22-piece big band, and the Randy Van Horne Singers. The melody is derived from part of the 'B' section of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 Movement 2, composed in 1801/02. The "Meet the Flintstones" opening was later added to the first two seasons for syndication. The musical underscores were credited to Hoyt Curtin for the show's first five seasons; Ted Nichols took over in 1965 for the final