Out of This World: I've Got a Secret

Out of This World: I've Got a Secret
Syndicated
May 28, 1988
Sitcom
VHS
B-

This is another episode I thought came later in the run, not realizing till I watched the whole thing again that Evie revealing the truth is all a dream.  Her father does a nice rendition of "Dream a Little Dream" at the end.  As with IGSS, I don't have every episode by a long shot, but what I taped earned 3 C+s and 2 B-s.  It's a cute little show but not an undiscovered gem by any means.

Kirk Findley played an unknown character here and in the "Mosquito Man" movie episode.  Jay Ingram, who plays Lt. Col. South (think Oliver North) would be Sidney Caldwell on Who's the Boss? the next year.  Buzz Belmondo, Steve Burton, and Christina Nigra return as Buzz, Chris Fuller, and Lindsay Selkirk respectively.

Out of This World: Boy Crazy

Out of This World: Boy Crazy
Syndicated
May 14, 1988
Sitcom
VHS
B-

Evie (whose middle name is revealed, perhaps for the first time, to be Ethel) befriends a punker named Boy Leslie (David Coburn, who would be Greer on Who's the Boss?).  Donna disapproves.  A lot of the humor feels two to five years out of date, e.g. Tammy Faye Bakker's eyelashes, but, with the help of Boy's music, this is a better than average episode for this series.

Ken Smolka, who plays Leslie's father, Rev. Drake, would be Senator Stewart on Who's the Boss?  Steve Burton and Christina Nigra return as Chris and Lindsay.

Out of This World: Mosquito Man, the Motion Picture

Burt Reynolds

Out of This World: Mosquito Man, the Motion Picture
Syndicated
February 20, 1988
Sitcom
VHS
C+

Mayor Kyle was once the star of the TV show Mosquito Man, which looks like '50s Superman but has a theme that's more '60s Batman.  He's excited that his old series is going to be made into a movie, until he finds out that he's being replaced by "Mosquito Woman."  The cheap trappings of the movie studio make this look like it's a straight to video production anyway.  This episode is corny and hokey even by OoTW standards, yet it is somewhat likable.  Note that we actually hear Troy on the cubic communication device, although, if I remember correctly, he can only hear his daughter (because she's part alien), which makes for odd three-sided conversations when his wife Donna joins in.

This episode features a couple of Evie's friends who were semi-regulars and therefore not on the episode we watched before:  Chris Fuller (Steve Burton) and Lindsay Selkirk (Christina Nigra).  Also, the recurring character of Buzz (played by Buzz Belmondo) appears briefly.  Jonathan Schmock and James Vallely, who play Brad and Greg, were a comedy team, mostly as writers, although I recognize them from the sitcom Double Trouble.  Uncle Beano is absent but mentioned.  Bob Claver, who directed sixty-two episodes of this series, but not the one about Beano's diet clinic, also did a couple for The Bob Newhart Show, twenty for Welcome Back, Kotter, and fifteen for Mork & Mindy.

Mork & Mindy: Gotta Run, Part 3

Mork & Mindy: Gotta Run, Part 3
ABC
May 20, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C+

And so it ends, except it doesn't, because another episode aired the following week.  Eisenstock & Mintz wrote this final part which ends on a cliffhanger, as M & M are lost in time, after having been interviewed by a Tom Snyder knock-off, overwhelmed by hangers-on, menaced by Kal, and befriended by cavepeople.  (Mearth has been left behind with Fred.)  I'll reserve my observations on the season and the series for next time, but I will say that although this episode doesn't work too well, it's at least interesting.  Note, they do actually go back to their home at one point, but it's still in shambles.

Dan Barrows, who was Mr. Keeney on The Bob Newhart Show, Dr. Yalowich on Soap, and Dittman on this show, plays Maury here.

Mork & Mindy: Gotta Run, Part 2

Mork & Mindy: Gotta Run, Part 2
ABC
May 13, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C+

I didn't mention it earlier, but there was an episode where Mork wanted to practice for the written part of his driving test, and then there was an episode where he got his license offscreen.  Here we see him driving to and from Arizona, as the McConnells try to escape Kalnik.  They end up on a fat farm, but Kal impersonates Fred and then battles them.  They escape and Mork decides to go public as an alien.  I might've gone with another B-, but it feels out of character for Mindy to call Mork a dumbbell, and the thing about him disliking her perm goes on too long without being funny.

Mork & Mindy: Cheerleader in Chains

Mork & Mindy: Cheerleader in Chains
ABC
April 22, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Three of the show's female writers did this episode: Winifred Hervey, Cindy Begel, and Lisa Kite.  And, as the title suggests, the plot is about Mindy in jail, for refusing to reveal her source.  It's a funnier episode than most this season, even if some of the humor is a little simple, like Mork's line about the Ronald Reagan pen having no point.  (For one thing, it would make more sense if it were a pencil.)  Note that although one of Mindy's cellmates is a big black woman, this is not used in the same way that the big black men were on the "jail" episodes of Bosom Buddies and Three's Company; Mindy yells at the woman and then worries about being beat up, but nothing happens.  And the "butch" matron is presented relatively sympathetically.

Paul Willson's second Mork role is as their neighbor Bob Miller.  Instead of playing a psychologist as he did on The Bob Newhart Show and Bosom Buddies, Phillip R. Allen this time is a politician named George Logan (and he keeps breaking character to laugh at Williams).  Sixty-six-year-old Barbara Billingsley guest stars as mild-mannered murderess Mrs. Louise Bailey, with Mork remarking that she looks like Mrs. Cleaver.  (This was a couple years after her memorable appearance in the movie Airplane but before the Still the Beaver TV-movie.)

Mork & Mindy: Midas Mork

Mork & Mindy: Midas Mork
ABC
April 15, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This Kout & Zateslo story has both Mork and Fred acting so out of character, and a premise that's a bit much even for this series, that it's clear early on that it has to be someone's dream sequence, most logically Mindy's, and sure enough it is.  She dreams that Mork can turn polyester into gold, and he spends the money lavishly, including on NBC for her.  (Williams makes a jab at the then third-place network, again demonstrating that M & M was more conscious of ratings than most sitcoms of the time.)  Except for the appearance of tennis champ Tracy Austin, the episode manages to feel both off and predictable.  Note that I have a hunch that Mindy's red & gold dress (shown above) would be worn on the next Three's Company episode, "Up in the Air," and if it's not the same I think it has the same designer.  (I'll confirm this when we get there.)

George Pentecost's third and last Mork role is as Quentin the butler.

Mork & Mindy: Mork, Mindy, and Mearth Meet MILT

Mork & Mindy: Mork, Mindy, and Mearth Meet MILT
ABC
February 18, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This Kout & Zateslo story starts with a cameo by William Shatner and then has a computer voiced by John Houseman take over the household.  For some reason, the only thing I remembered from this episode was the Psycho reference.  (There's also a visual gag with Bedtime for Bonzo.)  Perhaps because he's been going to school for awhile, or perhaps because Mork has trained him, Mearth can now team up with Mork for finger-blasting.  The report to Orson is about technology of course, and somewhat poignant and/or dated almost 35 years later.  (MILT is much larger than any home computer of '82.)

Mork & Mindy: I Don't Remember Mama

Mork & Mindy: I Don't Remember Mama
ABC
February 11, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Collins & Raznick story, Orson resents that Mork hasn't been making regular reports lately because of family responsibilities, so he erases Mork's memories of his family, and indeed of most of his time on Earth.  (Orson is a very controlling boss.)  A session of This Was Your Life [sic] helps a little, with Exidor making his last appearance on the show, and we get to see Mindy in her wedding dress again.  But only Mindy's kisses can bring Mork's memory fully back.  It's a sweet scene between them, but the rest of the episode, including Fred and Cora bickering, doesn't live up to its potential.  Note that Mindy says Mork wouldn't want to meet their leader, a swipe against Ronald Reagan to follow last week's Nancy-bashing.

Martin Ferrero, who was a Waiter on Soap and a Wounded Man in Jeep on M*A*S*H, is the Salesman here.   This is the 1000th sitcom I've reviewed!

Mork & Mindy: Drive, She Said

Mork & Mindy: Drive, She Said
ABC
February 4, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This Kite & Begel episode is odd in the following ways:

• Mork, who seems to have functioned just fine for three and a half years, now that he has a young child is very dependent on Mindy to take him grocery-shopping and on other errands;
• Mindy therefore wants him to get a driver's license and he's reluctant;
• We actually see the garage for the first time (it's unclear if Mr. Bickley uses it, too, or even still lives in the house);
• You might expect Exidor to be the driving instructor, but, no, it's TNT, who does it to meet underage girls;
• There's a shark-jumping moment when Mork is taking his driver's test with a devilish man (who has eyes like Nancy Reagan according to Mork), with his instructor in the backseat, until TNT tries to flee from the car, which is on two wheels and almost perpendicular to the road, so then we see a stunt double who looks very little like Kirchenbauer standing on the side of the car;
• There is no happy ending, beyond that Mindy helps Mork accept that he's failed at something but he can try again;
• There's a Pac-Man reference, and I'm reminded again that this is a different era than where we started from;
• Mindy celebrated getting her driver's license by buying the new Herman's Hermits album, so I guess they're sticking with that born in '53 thing from the reunion episode, although Mindy should've turned 16 in '73.

Mork & Mindy: Metamorphosis, the TV Show

Mork & Mindy: Metamorphosis, the TV Show
ABC
January 21, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This is the only Mork story written by Gene Braunstein and Bob Perlow, who would go on to respectively seventeen and eight episodes of Who's the Boss?  I don't know if it's due to them or Williams that there are more media references than usual, although it may just be because so much of the episode is about Mindy's job at the television station.  Mr. Sternhagen has been fired and replaced by young (22ish) Daniel Pierson (Charles Bloom, who was the 2nd Student in The ABC After School Special, "Dear Lovey Hart, I'm Desperate").  Meanwhile, Mork and Mearth have a Freaky-Friday-like accident while playing with a train set.

Mork and/or Mearth in Mork's body makes no less than three remarks about television (the Nielsens, The Ropers, and Alan Hamel's impact on wife Suzanne Somers's career).  Also, he says, "I've seen Popeye fourteen times.  And if you run it backwards, it has an ending," a nice zing against Altman and/or Paramount for the troubled production.  I don't feel like the imitations of each other (including Fred at the end) are as sharp as they could be, but generally it's one of the better latter-day episodes, and it's nice to see Mindy's career getting some attention again.

Another writer's child appears, this time Cary Zateslo as the Rubik's Cube champion.  Pat Cranshaw makes his last appearance as Jake the Cameraman.  This is the 82nd episode and it aired in '82.

Mork & Mindy: Present Tense

We're definitely in the permed Dawber era.

Mork & Mindy: Present Tense
ABC
January 14, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This first of three Mork episodes by Winifred Hervey uneasily addresses uneasiness.  Mearth is on vacation with his grandfather, and his parents are alone for the first time since he was hatched a month ago.  They experience a weird cross of empty nest syndrome and newlywed awkwardness, even though they lived together three years before getting married.  They're still trying to find a balance as a married couple.  Although this series is to some extent a "kids' show," there are hints of sex here, as when Mork yells (in front of roofers) that one reason he loves her is because she "looks great naked."

Mork & Mindy: Pajama Game II

Mork & Mindy: Pajama Game II
ABC
January 7, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
C

In this Begel & Kite story, Harvey Lembeck and Maureen Arthur return as Mearth's classmates Ovits and Zelka.  I'm not sure if this is the episode where Lembeck collapsed during filming, or if he was making a return appearance in an unaired episode, but he did die two days before this aired.  In any case, his character isn't given much to do, but Zelka ends up staying longer and having a sleepover with Mearth.  Mindy is worried because her son and Zelka look like adults in late middle age even if they have the mentality of small children.  Also Mearth has possession of a Bronco girlie magazine (later revealed to belong to Mr. Bickley).  I suppose there was a way this episode could've worked, but it's a little creepy, and I don't find the extended "safari" scene with Williams and Winters as funny as Dawber or the studio audience seem to.  Note that Williams makes another Popeye reference, much less proud than the one the year before, the movie having bombed in the meantime.

This is the 1500th program I've reviewed.

Mork & Mindy: P.S. 2001

Mork & Mindy: P.S. 2001
ABC
December 17, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Cindy Begel and Lisa Kite's first of five Mork stories has Mearth demanding to go to school.  Mindy finds out, by Orson paging her while Mork is asleep, that he sent Mork an application for a prep school on Ork.  Mork turns out to not want his baby to go to school already, even though it's only one day a month.  But Mindy talks him into it.  Mearth has trouble adjusting to the other kids, and a strict teacher who looks like an 11-year-old Earth girl.  (Mork is surprised to hear she's still alive.)  Mork and Mindy accompany their son to Ork and things go better.  This would've been a C+, but I liked seeing the decor of the classroom, and I was pleasantly surprised by the guest stars, see below.

None other than Eric Von Zipper, 58-year-old Harvey Lembeck, who had taught Williams (and John Ritter among others) in an acting workshop, cameos as Mearth's classmate Ovits.  Forty-seven-year-old Maureen Arthur, who had "funny bimbo" roles in '60s sex comedies like The Love God? and How to Commit Marriage (more so in the former), here plays Zelka, who has a crush on Mearth.  Both would return in the following episode.

Mork & Mindy: Three the Hard Way

Mork & Mindy: Three the Hard Way
ABC
October 29, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Richard Rosenstock and Roy Teicher's first of two Mork stories is set one month after the wedding and Mork is diagnosed by Exidor (who was also his best man) as pregnant, although even Exidor has a hard time believing it.  Mork develops a navel and apparently gives birth to an egg through it.  The egg grows to a great size and eventually hatches a grown man played by Jonathan Winters.  Mindy is understandably surprised and upset.  She wanted to spend more time as a couple before having kids, and she expected herself to be the one who'd become pregnant.  Her feeling that things are being rushed is one that the viewer can't help sharing.  Although the individual episodes of this season aren't bad, it does feel like there could've been a few episodes spent on the engagement and that M & M becoming parents only four episodes in is unnecessary.  This all could've been stretched out to a full season.  I don't really remember much of my reaction at the time, beyond I was definitely curious to see what would happen next.  And again they tease us with "To Be Continued," although really, what could they do for an encore at this point?

This episode also marks the last appearance of Mr. Bickley, who's upset because his girlfriend has run off with his father.  It would've been interesting to see his reaction to Mearth, but M & M are more isolated this season than in the last two.

Mork & Mindy: The Honeymoon

Mork & Mindy: The Honeymoon
ABC
October 22, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

McRaven & Johnson wrote this story where Mindy learns what it's like to be the strange creature from another planet, and Mork learns what Earthlings do on their honeymoon, thanks to a marriage manual Fred gave to Mindy to give to Mork.  (He can't be blamed for not wanting to give Mork fatherly advice.)  Mindy is patient and understanding with Mork, who first dresses like a chicken and then is as scared as a chicken at the idea of mating (not that they call it that).  She tells him she's nervous about motherhood, which would soon become ironic.  The episode ends with her driving the egg back home (symbolic?), although I could see how this could've been a two-parter.  It's fun to see the sets and costumes and it would've been interesting to explore Ork more.  Again, it's "To Be Continued."

Felix Silla (yes, Cousin Itt, as well as various Krofft roles) plays the Orkan Porter.  Orson, although mentioned several times, is absent.