Mystery Science Theater 3000: Catalina Caper [fragment]

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Catalina Caper [fragment]
Comedy Channel
October 13, 1990
Riffing
VHS
B+

Let's get the housekeeping out of the way first.  Although I taped this off of Comedy Central, it did originally air two or three years earlier on the Comedy Channel, as a couple jokes indicate.  (C. Channel would merge with Ha! to form C. Central, so to me they are distinct if related entities.)  This is fairly early in the cable run of the show although the main elements are in place and it doesn't feel as alien as the KTMA prehistoric episodes do.

The regulars, at this point, are

• Trace Beaulieu as Crow T. Robot and Dr. Clayton Forrester
• Frank Conniff as TV's Frank
• Joel Hodgson as Joel Robinson
• and Kevin Murphy as Tom Servo

I'm omitting Gypsy until she actually appears.  But I am tagging Michael J. Nelson because he's head writer.  Co-writer Jim Mallon also directed.

I put "fragment" because I would sometimes leave out the skits that are separate from the riffing, such as the invention exchange here and maybe another scene or two.  So I'm judging this just by what's on the videotape.  And it's very good.

It does admittedly start out relatively slow but as the jokes become running and the references get more accessible, things really build and I found myself laughing out loud and wanting to quote specific riffs.  In fact, there are lines from this that I think of sometimes that I can't exactly place, like the one about not wanting to live in a world with adults.  There's even a Trump reference, but during the fan letter sequence, where a couple has fallen in love by watching MST3K and they've invited Joel and the Bots to the wedding, and one of the Bots jokes, "It's in New York and it's the Trumps," although Donald wouldn't marry Marla till '93.

Anyway, there's a lot to savor here, from Tom's crush on "the Creepy Girl," including a ballad (Kevin Murphy is a wonderful singer, as he'd show in, for instance, the Rifftrax of the Twilight series), to almost any line about Jim Begg.  The chart of the "plot" is also classic and I just wish there had been a close-up.  I also wish that they had made at least one Exidor reference, considering how much Robert Donner is onscreen, but that's OK.

I was never a MSTie, a hardcore fan.  I enjoyed the show but didn't feel the need to collect every single episode I could.  So there's going to be a gap of about a year until our next episode, by which time the C. Central merger will have happened.

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: Mama Mork, Papa Mindy

Mork & Mindy: Mama Mork, Papa Mindy
ABC
November 5, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This Kout & Zateslo story continues to move things along quickly.  By the end of it, Mearth seems to have moved from infancy to toddlerhood or maybe beyond, speaking in full sentences.  Mork is excited about motherhood but Mindy is dubious about fatherhood.  Her own father, after his initial fear, offers good advice.  For the first time in awhile, Mork makes a report to Orson, who he asks to be godfather.  And there is no "To Be Continued."

Frank Buxton, who wrote an early episode of The Bob Newhart Show, here directs his first of four Mork episodes.

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 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: 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: Mindy and Mork

Mork & Mindy: Mindy and Mork
ABC
May 7, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This story, the first of two by Brian Levant, doesn't live up to its potential, although it does pick up towards the end.  Mindy is working more, including hosting a call-in program for Dr. Joni Lincoln (Elinor Donahue).  Mindy asks Mork to help out with the housework, but he feels overwhelmed, even after buying Exidor's Maid-o-Matic.  He calls in to the show, almost getting Mindy fired.  Not until they do psychodrama, on Dr. Lincoln's advice, do they start to understand each other.  The thing is, it's not particularly funny or insightful until that scene.  It is interesting to see Mindy do the report to Orson.

The problem with Google image-search with an episode title like this.

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: 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: Gunfight at the Mor-Kay Corral

Mork & Mindy: Gunfight at the Mor-Kay Corral
ABC
December 18, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This is the only Mork episode written by Stuart Gillard, who did "Chrissy's Night Out" for Three's Company.  As with Mindy's green hair in the previous episode, it feels a bit Brady-like, with Billy (Corey Feldman) admiring his namesake Billy the Kid, although Mork uses celebrity imitations and pacifism to teach Billy not to admire a violent cowboy.  Note that Mork asks if Billy the Kid is Jimmy's brother who helped Reagan win, and he makes a Liberace "in the closet" throw-away joke.

Amy Tenowich and Stephanie Kayano return as Lola and Stephanie respectively, while this is Jonathan Ian's middle of three appearances as Jonathan.  (Like Kayano, he wasn't mentioned on the IMDB page for the season-opener, although the episode is on his page.)

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.

Match Game

Phyllis Davis, definitely this week.

Match Game
CBS
August 24, 1980
Game Show
DVD
B-

Well, it looks like this is the earlier of the two episodes from this date, although it's on Disc 2 and the other is on Disc 1.  Equally entertaining.

Match Game

A different episode with Donner.

Match Game
CBS
August 24, 1980
Game Show
DVD
B-

No classic moments but generally entertaining with two very bubbly contestants and a nice celebrity line-up, including Mork's Robert Donner, Vegas's Phyllis Davis, and Trapper John regular Charles Siebert, who was Mr. Ramsey on What's Happening!!

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: Little Orphan Morkie

Mork & Mindy: Little Orphan Morkie
ABC
February 7, 1980
Sitcom
DVD
B-

I'd like to have given this Kalish & Taylor story a B, since it picks up a hanging thread from the previous season (about Mork's citizenship) and it is one of the funnier episodes of this season.  (Though Williams probably deserves credit for the President Jerry Brown solar-powered electric chair joke.)  However, I feel that the Exidor material this season is weak, and obviously I'd rather have had them have Mork & Mindy consider marriage for more than a moment rather than try to figure out who could adopt Mork.  I am pleased by two of the cameos: Judge Baker played by Charles Lane, less than a year after he was a judge on Soap; and Priscilla Morrill as Miss Kalinowski at the adoption agency.

I don't know if the kid Jud was intended to be a successor to Eugene, or if they just wanted to give Noah Hathaway work after his role as Boxey on Battlestar Galactica, but I never saw him in anything except this episode.  (It is worth noting he plays Harry Potter, Jr. in the 1986 movie Troll.)

Mork & Mindy: Exidor's Wedding

Mork & Mindy: Exidor's Wedding
ABC
December 16, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
C

In this McRaven & Johnson episode, Mork finds Exidor's long-lost (after 35 years) mother, Princess Lusitania (Anita Dangler, who had recently played the lobotomy patient Virginia).  There's a lot of wackiness here but not much actual humor, and the attic wedding (presided over by Nelson for some reason) isn't as memorable as the one Mork performed for Eugene in the first season.

Mork & Mindy: The Exidor Affair

Mork & Mindy: The Exidor Affair
ABC
December 2, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This McRaven & Johnson story introduces Exidor's fiancee, Ambrosia Malspar, who's not only a real person (unlike his imaginary friends like Pepe), but who's played by Georgia Engel, for whom the studio audience and I have a residual fondness from her role as Georgette on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Mork hints in his message to Orson that their wedding will be memorable, and indeed we'd see that wedding two weeks later.

This is the 700th ABC program I've reviewed, with a lot more on the way.

Mork & Mindy: A Morkville Horror

Mork & Mindy: A Morkville Horror
ABC
October 28, 1979
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This Tenowich & Scharlach story asks us to believe that Mindy knows nothing of the history of the house that's been in her family for 80+ years, but if you can get past that, there's some good stuff here, particularly Mork's impressions of not only celebrities (he's got Jack Nicholson down already) but the ghosts.  The part with him channeling Mindy's mom is sweet.  Note that Mindy's mother's maiden name was LaFollette.