Mork & Mindy: The Mork Report

Mork & Mindy: The Mork Report
ABC
May 27, 1982
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Winifred Hervey wrote this episode that was meant to air before the "Gotta Run" three-parter.  It feels like it's going to be a clip show, but Mork's memories in his report to Orson on marriage are all newly shot (and directed by Williams).  We get to Fred and Cora, and hear Orson, this one last time, and end on a more upbeat note, even if it was probably cognitive dissonance at the time.  (Like I said, I remember hardly anything about this season in its first airing.)  The sequences with just Mork and Mindy are best here, especially their "romantic" dance.  (Shown in black & white, unlike the still above.)  I guess we can be glad that M & M got together, even if how this was handled, and other events along the way, didn't always live up to potential.

Mork & Mindy in its final season ranges from 2 Cs to 2 Bs, averaging out to a low B-.  I don't think the series ever fully jumped the shark, and it probably wasn't sustainable for long term (say six plus years) anyway, given the premise and Williams's persona.  It remains a cute, sweet show, sometimes very moving, other times baffling and/or disappointing.  I'm glad I got to follow it then and now on this crazy journey, but I don't know what I would've made of it with a time-traveling Season Five.  If M & M's bond were reemphasized, I probably would've stayed with it, but part of that bond was always their culture clash, and that might've been lost with them clashing with a variety of cultures.

This is not quite it for Williams & Dawber, since a friend sent me a download of their reunion on The Crazy Ones.  If I can still access it when we get up to 2014, I'll share my thoughts then.  For now, we bid a farewell to my junior-high years and prepare for life as a high school freshman...

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: Rich Mork, Poor Mork

Mork & Mindy: Rich Mork, Poor Mork
ABC
November 26, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C

This Rosenstock & Teicher story has some nice moments, but it's hard to get past Mork's irresponsible behavior.  Not only does he spend a lot of money on gifts for Mearth, at a time when, as Mindy points out, she's the only one earning a salary and their food bill has gone up, but then he invests $900 in Exidor's boutique.  If not for Grandma ex Machina (Cora buys the shop once teens decide to defy their parents by shopping there), the McConnells would be in debt.

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: 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.

Mork & Mindy: The Wedding

Mork & Mindy: The Wedding
ABC
October 15, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B

This Eisenstock & Mintz story has Mindy breaking the news of the engagement to her grandmother, father, and stepmother.  Cathy still doesn't know Mork is an alien (I don't think she ever finds out), so she doesn't understand Fred's objections.  Mindy is stubborn and her father gives in, despite his misgivings.  Orson on the other hand punishes Mork by turning him into a dog.  Mindy still wants to go ahead with the wedding.  Everything works out, although Mindy is very surprised to hear that the honeymoon will be on Ork.  And the episode ends with another "To Be Continued."  Despite the obstacles, this doesn't feel as sad as the previous episode, if not as joyful as you'd expect a wedding episode to be.  M & M clearly love each other and are definitely ready for "for worse," but I hope they have some "for better" soon.

James Staley, who plays the Reverend, previously was Stu Scully.  I'm assuming Stephanie Dizon is Stephanie Kayano under another name, or it's just a coincidence that they found another plump Asian girl with the first name of Stephanie to play Stephanie from the daycare.  (She doesn't have any lines, so I can't be sure.)

Mork & Mindy: Limited Engagement

Mork & Mindy: Limited Engagement
ABC
October 8, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Brian Levant's second of two Mork stories changes the course of the show, but watching it again I felt a melancholy undertone tone that I hadn't noticed before.  And I say that as someone who did and does ship M & M hard, and who in fact was in the studio audience when this was taped.  (I remember the pony and I remember asking the warm-up guy about Bebo; he joked that Bebo had become Mork's chaps.  Williams looked sheepish.)  The best scene here is when Mindy's father and grandmother, who are both fond of Mork, warn her against marrying him.  And they're not being prejudiced; they have real, genuine concerns.  These are not addressed in this episode, but they are that Orkans age backwards and Orkans may not be able to reproduce with Earthlings.  Mindy tries to talk to Mork, but he's too busy wooing her, including a production number towards the end, which is fun to watch but feels out of place in the bigger picture.  In the end, she gives in because she doesn't want him to leave.  This is not Ann Marie's trippy ecstasy at Donald's proposal but a young woman recognizing that her love for an alien is making her give up any hope for a normal life.  And in the end, Mork defies Orson, who forbids the marriage.  It's "to be continued," but it does not bode well.

Bob Claver, who'd done The Bob Newhart Show and Welcome Back, Kotter, takes over as director from (usually) Howard Storm.

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: The Way Mork Were

Note the frost on the window.

Mork & Mindy: The Way Mork Were
ABC
May 1, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
C

This Kelly & Misch clip-show closes out the season, with Mork and Mindy flashing back to points in their relationship (and Mork's first acquaintance with Exidor) in order to comfort Fred, who's having adjustment problems in his marriage.  I have no idea when this is set, considering that it is supposed to be pouring down snow outside, but Fred has been mostly gone for a year.

Mork & Mindy in its second season ranges from C- to B+, with a high C+ average.  So, although it's not as good as the first season, its decline has been exaggerated.  I was surprised that it wasn't necessarily the out there episodes that were the problem, although the "Wonderland" opener was a bad idea, but rather trying to tackle the issue of the week too often, and often too clumsily.  Obviously, taking away Cora and for the most part Fred was a mistake, as was adding too many young and not terribly well defined characters as M & M's friends.  (Are there any Nelson Flavor fans out there?)  Season Three would, as I recall, try to find its way back home, with mixed results.

Mork & Mindy: It's a Wonderful Mork

Mork & Mindy: It's a Wonderful Mork
ABC
May 3, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This Scharlach & Tenowich story is another that's not as funny as it could be, and the dramatic parts don't work too well either.  I do remember the joke about Cliff's name from the time.  And there is a sweet  little kiss near the end.

Linda Henning, best known for Petticoat Junction, has her first of two Mork roles, as Margaret.

Mork & Mindy: Mork Runs Down

Mork & Mindy: Mork Runs Down
ABC
April 12, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This is the only Mork episode written by Ben Starr, who also wrote for The Brady Bunch and Diff'rent Strokes.  I don't know if he just didn't have the sensibility for this show or if Williams's ad-libs were off that week, but I felt like this episode was more frantic than funny.  Note that Mindy's grandmother here fits the '70s trope of being a motorcycle-owning old lady.

Susan Elliot, who plays Mindy's hippie-like friend Rainbow, would be Girl #2 on Bosom Buddies.  Jeffrey Jacquet makes his last appearance as Eugene.

Mork & Mindy: In Mork We Trust

Mork & Mindy: In Mork We Trust
ABC
March 15, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Mr. Bickley comes upstairs to complain about a party where guests are playing Tangle (a Twister knock-off) and steals Mindy's necklace to get attention.  I feel like the tone of this episode is off.  Also, it's weird to have Bickley say that his dog is like a son, when a later episode reveals he has a son.  (We do learn here that he and his ex-wife split in '66.)

David Wall, who plays Julius (the guy who apologizes to Mork for sitting on Mork's face), would return later that Fall as a Club Owner.

Mork & Mindy: Mork's Night Out

Mork & Mindy: Mork's Night Out
ABC
March 8, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This McRaven & Johnson story never quite gets going but it is notable for having Mindy and her family gone most of the time, and for a couple topical references to the Revolution in Iran.  Mork and Bickley go to a singles bar and meet a mother and daughter, who end up robbing them.   (Robin G. Eisenman, who plays the daughter, would appear on Bosom Buddies and Three's Company in the next couple years, while Ruta Lee has a bunch of credits but this is the first show of mine she's been on; she'd also do Three's Company, twice.)

Mork & Mindy: Mork's Mixed Emotions

Mork & Mindy: Mork's Mixed Emotions
ABC
February 22, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B

I considered going with a B+ on this Tom Tenowich & Ed Sharlach story (the first of fourteen for Sharlach), since Williams gives another tour de force performance, this time as Mork's various no longer repressed emotions.  But it bothers me that Mindy takes Mork out in public during this vulnerable time, even if it is her birthday.  (Note that she's on the phone to Sally talking about her plans, presumably the Sally we've seen.)  The penultimate scene where some of Mork's emotions kiss Mindy is funny and sweet, and Orson in the final scene decides not to report Mork for breaking Orkan law.  The episode contains, among other things, an Idi Amin reference and a Steve Martin imitation.

Stan Rodarte, who was a Reporter at the Homecoming Parade in Rescue from Gilligan's Island, is the Waiter.  Maitre D' George Pentecost would play two other characters on this show.  And twenty-five-year-old but already balding Bill Kirchenbauer makes his first of four Mork & Mindy appearances, here as a disco-loving customer, years before he became known as Coach Lubbock on Growing Pains and Just the Ten of Us.

Mork & Mindy: Yes Sir, That's My Baby

Mork & Mindy: Yes Sir, That's My Baby
ABC
February 15, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Susan Lawrence returns as Sally, now with the baby, whom Mork adores enough that he falls for a baby-selling scheme.  It's cute to see Mork playing father, but the pacing or something feels off in this April Kelly story.  Note that Sally teases Mindy about the possibility of having a baby with Mork.

William Porter's character is credited as "Sleazy," although we hear some of his pseudonyms.  He'd return as Ernest.

Mork & Mindy: Skyflakes Keep Falling on My Head

Mork & Mindy: Skyflakes Keep Falling on My Head
ABC
February 1, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This McRaven & Johnson episode feels a bit off, Exidor's material included, although I do like the exchange where Mork and Mindy "admit their feelings" in the sense that they have them and know what they are but aren't going to name them.  (At least this wouldn't drag on for years and years like Tony and Angela on Who's the Boss?)  Note that Mork makes some Watergate references, but then What's Happening!! had a Nixon joke a few weeks back.

This is the 800th sitcom episode I've reviewed, obviously with many more to come.

Mork & Mindy: Young Love

Mork & Mindy: Young Love
ABC
January 25, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B-

In this Tom Tenowich story, Eugene is tired of his mother's nagging so he and a new little girl, Holly (Tammy Lauren, who was on various shows at the time, like Angie), with similar complaints decide to get married.  Mork performs the ceremony.  This is never as funny as the bloopers I've seen from it, and I'm not crazy about how Mindy explains boys and girls hitting each other to express affection, but I will note that the vow to "learn about life by watching Three's Company" is a worthy one for any Gen-X sitcom fan.

Mork & Mindy: Mork and the Immigrant

Mork & Mindy: Mork and the Immigrant
ABC
January 11, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Regular writer April Kelly co-wrote this episode with David O'Malley, his first of two for Mork.  Mork meets a stereotypical Russian Sergei (Tim Thomerson, who had co-starred with Conrad Janis on Quark).  He has him move in, without first discussing it with Mindy.  And then they both end up trying to register as "aliens."  There's a funny line about money controlling democracy, but otherwise this episode is weaker than usual.

Ned Wertimer, who plays the Clerk, was recognizable by then as Ned the Doorman on The Jeffersons.

Mork & Mindy: Mork's First Christmas

Mork & Mindy: Mork's First Christmas
ABC
December 14, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
B

This is producer Bruce Johnson's first of twelve Mork scripts, here collaborating with creator Dale McRaven, who did the pilot.  It's also the first of five directed by Jeff Chambers.  It manages to balance sentiment and humor, with Mork giving Mindy and her family happy memories, then and now.

Salesman David Ketchum was on That Girl three times.  Pat Cranshaw makes his second Mork appearance, as the Old Man at the department store.  Interestingly, there's no report to Orson, although Mork obviously learns a lot, including from Eugene (Jacquet) and Susan (Fairchild).

Mork & Mindy: Old Fears

Mork & Mindy: Old Fears
ABC
November 30, 1978
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This sweet April Kelly story is marred by distractingly bad old-age makeup on Williams.  Cora is mourning a friend's death so Mork uses his age machine to make himself elderly, "senile minus two."  (Again, this is disconnected from the later canon about how Orkan aging works.)  Mindy is angry and concerned when she finds out, but it turns out that Cora suspected all along.  She and Mork have a good conversation and he comes out to her as Orkan.  She immediately accepts him and they're better friends than ever.  Pity the makeup artist couldn't have done better work, especially from the mouth to the chin.  Note that Eugene is 10 and his (unseen) mother 31.