Shortly after Robin Williams initial guest appearance on Happy Days the comedic actor’s career took off. Happy Days producer Gary Marshall loved the episode so much that he created Mork & Mindy in 1978 and the show ran till 1982. Throughout its run the series continued to be a hit for CBS, rating as high as number three, just behind ABC’s Laverne and Shirley and Three’s Company.
The series is set in Boulder, Colorado (as compared to the late-1950s Milwaukee setting for Happy Days). Mork arrives on earth in an alien egg-like spaceship in order to observe human behaviour and to report back to his leader Orson. Mork encounters 21 year old Mindy (Pam Dawber) who is having boyfriend issues and seeks advice from Mork since he looks like a priest in his attire. Ultimately Mindy asks Mork to move into her attic despite the objections of her father Fred (Conrad Janis) who finds Mork to be quite bizarre, to say the least, but Mindy’s grandmother (Elizabeth Kerr) is enchanted by Mork.
Cora and Mindy work at Fred’s Music Store. Most of the scenes take place in Mindy’s house or the Music Store. Plots usually focus on Mork’s efforts to comprehend earthlings and Mindy efforts to help him adjust to life on Earth. It usually ends up exasperating Mindy, as Mork can only do things bestowing to Orkan customs. In the end of each episode, Mork reports back to Orson, his leader on what new knowledge he has gained about Earthlings.
Mork and Mindy was written specifically to provide Robin Williams with an open ended script / dialogue. Williams would make up so many jokes during filming, eventually scripts had specific gaps where Williams was allowed to freely perform. The comedy series featured several well-known guest stars including John Larroquette, William Shatner, Paul Reubens, Barbara Billingsley, Roddy McDowall, Raquel Welch, Henry Winkler, Penny Marshall and David Letterman, amongst others.
This 4 season, 15 disc, 94 restored episode retrospective will surely recapture a bit of our youth, if you remember watching the series almost 40 years ago; it’s amazing how time flies. This is a befitting tribute to one of our favorite comedic minds who left us way too soon, earlier this year. Robin Williams we miss you “Na-Nu Na-Nu.”
Characters:
Mork (Robin Williams)
Mindy McConnell (Pam Dawber)
Fred McConnell (Conrad Janis)
Grandma Cora Hudson (Elizabeth Kerr)
Franklin Bickley (Tom Poston)
Mearth (Jonathan Winters)
Remo Davinci (Jay Thomas)
Jean Davinci (Gina Hecht)
Nelson Flavor (Staahl)
Orson (Ralph James)
Special Features:
2 Happy Days episodes featuring Mork:
“My Favorite Orkan” (Season 5, Original Air Date: 2/28/78)
“Mork Returns” (Season 6, Original Air Date: 3/6/79)
