Mork & Mindy: Mork Meets Robin Williams

Mork & Mindy: Mork Meets Robin Williams
ABC
February 19, 1981
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This McRaven & Johnson story to some degree has to be separated from the poignant irony it's gained in light of Robin's death, and his struggles before then.  Mindy has an assignment to get an interview with Williams, who's in town, and meanwhile Mork is attacked by fans who see a resemblance to the celebrity.  There's an awful lot of set-up to get to the good scene with Mork, Mindy, and Robin, and the sad report to Orson where Mork mentions celebrities who found fame hard to deal with, including John Lennon (whose death would've been very recent at the time of filming).

Even in '81, Williams had been struggling with fame for awhile and there is an undercurrent of Dawber, a genuine friend, trying to speak to him and help him maintain his selfhood, whether or not this was a conscious intention on anyone's part at the time.  We (especially a certain naive 13-year-old fan) didn't know about Williams's cocaine usage, but it's impossible to not think of it, and his other problems, now.  And I think there's also the subtext of Williams trying to figure out who Mork was to him, both burden and opportunity, even as he bemusedly watches Mork eat roses.  Not a great episode but certainly an interesting one, especially for the last five minutes or so.

Foster Brooks returns as station manager Mr. Sternhagen, again with a sober scene and a drunk scene.  Guard Rance Howard (Ron's father) had appeared in both versions of the That Girl pilot as a Customer.