The moment everything changed for me was when I realized that The Flintstones and The Jetsons are actually the same time period in the same universe.
Jetsons live in the sky on those skinny towers; you never see the surface of the planet they are on.
Meanwhile, where are they getting their raw materials?
Down on the surface, in towns like Bedrock, guys like Fred and Barney work in rock quarries mining minerals to supply the sky people. These aren't cavemen from Earth's past; these are a servant race in the future. They have genetically engineered dinosaurs and other animals capable of speech and performing special functions around the work site or the homes.
That episode where the Jetsons travel through time to meet the Flintstones? No time travel required!
It all comes clear now. Flintstones is now so much darker, the Jetsons are exploiting them. It all makes sense now!