Mork & Mindy: Long Before We Met

Mork & Mindy: Long Before We Met
ABC
November 19, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This Raznick & Collins story doesn't live up to its potential.  Mork and Mindy attend her tenth high school reunion*, while Grandma (really Great-Grandma) babysits Mearth.  There's no reaction moment in this or any other episode of Cora finding out the existence and maturity of her great-grandson (who now is learning fractions).  They interact a little but not much is done with it, beyond that she's his favorite and only babysitter.  (Understandable, considering how his parents are keeping his identity a secret.)

As for the reunion, Glenda Faye (Wilzak in her last appearance) is there, and she knows about Mork and Mindy being married, and yet there's no line here or elsewhere indicating that she minds not having been invited to their wedding.  (It's not like they eloped.)  Two others in attendance are Paul Rubens as geeky Dickie Nimitz (of course the best part of the episode) and Mindy's boyfriend for her last two years of high school, Steve Sanders (Robin Strand, who'd be Steve Stepanowicz on Square Pegs).  Mork becomes jealous of Steve, so after they return home, Mork (using ruby slippers) time travels back to Mindy's senior prom.


Fred is there, with more hair, but he's not given much to do.  Mork, anticipating Moscow on the Hudson, pretends to be a Russian exchange student.  He hits it off with Mindy, including supporting her dreams of becoming a journalist, while Steve comes across as a jerk.

The episode isn't bad, but like I said, it seems like all these elements ought to add up to more.


*Sic!  Mindy was 21 when the series began three years ago.  I can understand that they might not want to do a sixth-year reunion a la Bosom Buddies, but a fifth-year reunion would've been more plausible than tenth.  And, yes, I spotted this error at the time.

Mork & Mindy: Reflections and Regrets

Mork & Mindy: Reflections and Regrets
ABC
May 14, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B+

This Tenowich & Scharlach story is a solid B for the most part.  The entire cast is present (except, significantly, Orson), yet they're all given moments to shine, and it would in fact be the final appearances for Hecht, Staahl, and Thomas.  (Stephanie Kayano and Amy Tenowich also briefly make their last appearances, as Stephanie and Lola.)  They're all gathered to celebrate Mr. Bickley's 50th birthday.  (Poston was actually pushing 60 but didn't look it.)  He has many regrets, including that he's never told his 27-year-old son Tom the facts of life.  The others share their regrets, ranging from funny (Remo's that women only want him for his body) to dark (Fred's that he killed a man in self-defense during the Korean War).

Mindy avoids sharing hers until everyone has gone home, so that she can tell Mork in private that she regrets that her mother didn't have the chance to meet Mork.  She couldn't say this in front of their friends because she'd have to talk about Mork being from outer space.  It's a sweet, moving confession.  And then Mork says what he'd say to Mindy's mom, and it's unclear if she's really there (as she was in the episode set in the old house).  Mork says that he loves Mindy, and then he tells her directly.  She says, "I love you, too, Mork."  And I dissolve into a pool of emotions.  (No, seriously, I was sobbing!)  It's a lovely way to close out the third season, and to lead to the beginning of the fourth.

Other than this episode, Season Three ranges from C to B, and factoring the B+ in gives an average on the C+/B- border, slightly to the B- side.  And, yes, there are a lot of cuspy shows for '80-'81, a time when television and the world were in transition.  The eighties but not The Eighties, if you will.  As for M & M, this episode proves that there was still life in the series, although Season Four would take it to some unexpected places, Ork among them.

Mork & Mindy: I Heard It Through the Morkvine

Mork & Mindy: I Heard It Through the Morkvine
ABC
April 30, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Staahl co-wrote this story about Mork learning about gossip.  (As with some of his other lessons in Season Three, it seems a bit late for something so basic, especially considering Mork lives with an attractive young woman and should've encountered rumors about them at some point.  But this is not Three's Company.)  The episode also makes a point about the nature of privacy and it's more intelligent than I expected.  (I laughed out loud at the references to the then fairly current autobiographies of Lauren Bacall and Shelley Winters, but maybe that's because I've read those books.)  And, yes, it's another one of those with added poignancy, because Williams's own death would be surrounded by gossip.

This episode has more of the supporting cast than usual, although Exidor does not become a subject of gossip.  Foster Brooks makes his last appearance as Mindy's boss, Mr. Sternhagen.

Mork & Mindy: Old Muggable Mork

This scene is not on the DVD and I don't remember it at the time.

Mork & Mindy: Old Muggable Mork
ABC
April 16, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

While it's nice to see Elizabeth Kerr back, I wish writers Collins & Raznick had given her better material.  Grandma Cora is visiting for three days, although she lives in Boston and travels a lot with her Swinging Seniors group.  Her spirit is broken when she's mugged.  Then Mork goes proto-Doubtfire by dressing as an old woman, to teach the muggers a lesson.  I would rather have watched something where Cora had a new boyfriend or a new career; I don't want to see her afraid to go outside.  And again, Mindy's friends, especially Glenda Faye, suck energy out of the scene.  (What's odd is, Wilzak is sometimes fine with Williams and/or Dawber but she's generally over the top with Hecht, who in turn becomes muted around her.)

Garry Marshall's son Scott, who'd previously played a character named Scott, is the Boy Scout here.  Mugger #1, Charles Thomas Murphy, had two roles on The Bob Newhart Show, while Mugger #2, Anthony Peck, would be Jack Smith on Who's the Boss?  This is the first of three Mork episodes directed by Don Barnhart.

Mork & Mindy: Mork the Swinging Single

Mork & Mindy: Mork the Swinging Single
ABC
March 12, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Kout & Zateslo story, Mindy has her first date in a year.  She and Mork are just friends but she feels funny socializing when he isn't.  So he goes to a party at Glenda Faye's, where he meets TNT (Bill Kirchenbauer again).  TNT teaches him how to be a swinger, although since it's Mork, it's all still pretty innocent.  In the end, M & M realize that they can spend time with others but still need to make time for each other.  (And we never hear anything about how Mindy's date went.)  Note that Mork makes a Nancy Reagan joke.

Wendy Hoffman, who plays Sheri (the girl in green in the picture), would be Jackie in The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island.

Mork & Mindy: Twelve Angry Appliances

Mork & Mindy: Twelve Angry Appliances
ABC
February 5, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Ron Osborn and Jeff Reno's first of three Mork stories is mostly forgettable.  Mindy is fed up with the appliance repairman Mr. Strand (Richard Libertini, who among other things had recently appeared with Williams in Popeye).  So Mork teaches him a lesson.  Note that Mork makes two Watergate references this time, one in front of the daycare kids, who get it and laugh.

Jonathan Ian, Stephanie Kayano, and Amy Tenowich return as respectively Jonathan, Stephanie, and Lola.

Mork & Mindy: Mindy Gets Her Job

Mork & Mindy: Mindy Gets Her Job
ABC
January 22, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

In this Tenowich & Sharlach story, Mindy gets a job at the local TV station.  Foster Brooks makes his first of three appearances as Lola's uncle, station manager Miles Sternhagen, and it's weird to see him sober in his first scene, before showing up near the end to do his patented drunk act.  At first, given the title and plot, it seems like the focus will be on Mindy for a change, and there's a cute bit where she finds out that all the other "girls" applying are like her, including Mandy McDonald.  But there's a sequence with Glenda Faye and Jeanie that almost sucks the life out of the episode, and later Mork takes over the newscast, which would be OK if he were funnier.

Williams's best line is actually when he comes in and makes a Popeye reference, including about the arms.  (His performance in the title role had been released December 12th, and I remember how cool I found this reference at the time.)  He also imagines Reagan saying, "Line?" at the inauguration.  (I don't know if they knew this episode would air the same week, since production order is not necessarily airdate order.)  It feels a little weird that Mork's report to Orson is about jobs, considering Mork himself has had a few jobs by this point, but I guess it had to be about something.

Amy Tenowich and Stephanie Kayano return as Lola and Stephanie.  Pat Cranshaw has his third and longest-lasting Mork role, as cameraman Jake Loomis.

Mork & Mindy: Mork and the Bum Rap

Mork & Mindy: Mork and the Bum Rap
ABC
January 15, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

John B. Collins and Deborah Raznick's first of four Mork scripts has Mork learning the difference between begging and charity.  Political references include the then recently revealed Abscam and Eagleton ('72).

Man #1 John Miranda previously played a Cop on this show, while Man #2 Ed Greenberg was Jack.

Mork & Mindy: Alas, Poor Mork, We Knew Him Well

Mork & Mindy: Alas, Poor Mork, We Knew Him Well
ABC
January 8, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This story by Steve Kreinberg and Andy Guerdat takes awhile to get going but the stuff with Mork in his glass bubble (I'm surprised there's no John Travolta reference) is good.  And, yes, Mork deciding to fully live life is a bit poignant considering Williams's later life and death.  Note that Glenda Faye denies that she and Nelson are an item, although he says they are.

Will Porter, who previously previously played the baby-seller "Sleazy," here is an insurance salesman named Ernest.

Mork & Mindy: Mork, the Monkey's Uncle

Hilarity fails to ensue.

Mork & Mindy: Mork, the Monkey's Uncle
ABC
December 11, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
C

It's de ja vu city in this Tenowich & Scharlach script based on a story by someone with no other credits.  Mork brings home a chimp and Mindy tries to dye her hair blonde but it turns green.  Since it's the early '80s, we also get an orangutan.  Note that Mork makes a remark specifically about Reagan being elected.

Veterinarian Joe Howard may look familiar to those of you who watched Mathnet on PBS; he was Officer George Frankly on this surprisingly good kids' show about, yes, math.

Mork & Mindy: Mork the Prankster

Mork & Mindy: Mork the Prankster
ABC
December 4, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Wendy Kout teams up with George Zateslo, whose first of five Mork scripts this is.  At first it's pretty standard "Mork annoys Mindy, who forgives him" stuff, but it does have some surprises, including that Glenda Faye is trying to distract herself from her grief over her husband, and Mindy gives Mork a kiss of forgiveness that makes his leg "pop" enough to lift her Jeep (which he put in her living room as a prank but it crashed down into Mr. Bickley's).

The highlight of the episode though is the return of Bill Kirchenbauer, this time for the first of three appearances as Todd Norman Taylor.  Kirchenbauer manages to distill every stereotype of the '70s swinging single into one character, but he also does little touches like a mimey moment when he leans against "the wall" to hit on Mindy (see picture).  I found this funnier and fresher than anything Williams does in the episode, including the Julia Child routine.  (Dan Aykroyd had done that earlier and better, although Kirchenbauer's TNT is better than Aykroyd's "wild and crazy guy."

I think it's a nice touch to have Fred and Mr. Bickley bond and go fishing, since they're middle-aged men who can be grouchy at times, Fred less than Mr. B of course.  Amy Tenowich returns as Lola, while Stephanie Kayano makes her second of seven appearances as Stephanie.  (IMDB didn't list her for the season premiere, although the credit is on her page.)  But of course the most notable of Mork's daycare friends is Billy, played by nine-year-old Corey Feldman in his first of two Mork cameos.  Remo is absent, although Jean is in the first scene.

Note that Mork refers to "no one thinking an actor could become President," but it's not clear if this means the possibility or the actual election on November 4th.

Mork & Mindy: Dueling Skates

Mork & Mindy: Dueling Skates
ABC
November 27, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
C+

I recorded this episode at the time, but on audiocassette, which is funny considering it's such a visual episode.  In fact, I would've gone with a C but I like the scenery, even if it's probably mostly California pretending to be Colorado.  Mork challenges a skater named Wheels to keep the daycare center from being torn down.  The writing by McRaven & Johnson could be stronger, like how Mork says he might do some kind of time freeze but then he doesn't or even come close to it.  Also, Glenda Faye shows up for just a few lines and then disappears from the rest of the episode.  Note that Mork passes a place in downtown that has a sign "Keep Boulder Pure," ominously suggesting that the white power group from last season is still around.

Bill Morey, who's Mr. Simpson, previously was Mr. Prendergast.  Tom Kindle plays his third unpleasant Mork character, Bozz the sidekick.  The manager of the daycare is now Mrs. Fowler, played by Priscilla Morrill, who was Miss Kalinowski last season.  Oddly enough, Garry Marshall himself directed this one, which he generally didn't do on the shows he created.

Mork & Mindy: Mork in Never-Never Land

Mork & Mindy: Mork in Never-Never Land
ABC
November 20, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Wendy Kout's first of seven Mork stories has Mork becoming pen pals with "Peter Pan," while Mindy waits to find out if she'll get a scholarship to grad school.  She doesn't and the script sort of glosses over this like it's not a big deal at the end.  I mean, yes, she should keep going on with life, but I'd like some acknowledgement that it will be an adjustment for her, an adjustment that learning to crow like a rooster won't help.  Note that Glenda Faye is now presented as Mindy's friend from high school, rather than just someone Nelson met recently.

Dick Yarmy, who plays Sid, has many TV credits, including two appearances on That Girl, and two previous cameos on this show.

Mork & Mindy: Putting the Ork Back in Mork

Mork & Mindy: Putting the Ork Back in Mork
ABC
November 13, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
B

As the title suggests, this Scharlach & Tenowich season-opener has Mork, and the show, trying to find the way back to what was lost.  The result is in turns bittersweet, funny, moving, and meandering.  Although Janis was back for good, the second season additions weren't dumped, and in fact we also get Crissy Wilzak in her first of 22 appearances as Glenda Faye Comstock.  The Da Vincis now run a restaurant ("Eat your last supper here," Remo suggests as a slogan), while Nelson is changing his self image after losing the election.  These four young characters still don't have terribly much to do though, which is why the episode isn't a B+ or higher.

When the focus is on Mork and Mindy, with and without Fred and The Elder (Vidal I. Peterson in the first of two appearances), things really hum though.  Williams starts out doing a very bland, whitebread Earthling and then gradually returns to something more like (but not identical to) first-season Mork.  His jokes and his energy are stronger than they've been in a long while, and I laughed out loud a few times.  (There are a couple swipes at Republicans, including, yes, Nixon, but my favorite line was the throwaway about ABC shaking up the schedule the previous season.)  The sweetness of M & M's relationship also gets more attention than it usually did in Season Two.  Whether the show can sustain this quality for the rest of the season is unknown, but it certainly has more potential than Soap's season-opener indicates.

I remember this episode from the time, including that at twelve I got that the joke about "You should've seen the way we used to do this," in reference to Mindy putting her finger in Mork's ear so she can speak with Orson, was a sex joke.  I remember enjoying the episode then, especially Peterson's performance; I'd forgotten until watching it now that the Orkan backwards aging didn't come up before.  Note that most of Mindy's memories, set to a cover of "Memories," look like they're extended clips of scenes from the credits, such as flying the kite.

Amy Tenowich returns as Lola.  And this is the episode that introduces Mork's pet noggachump, Bebo.