Mork & Mindy is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of Happy Days, "My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrestrial who comes to Earth from the planet Ork, and Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell, his human friend, roommate, and eventual love interest.
History and episodes
Premise and initial success Mork first appears in the Happy Days season five episode "My Favorite Orkan", which aired in February 1978, and is a take on the 1960s sitcom My Favorite Martian. The producers wanted to feature a spaceman to capitalize on the popularity of the recently released Star Wars film. Williams's character, Mork, attempts to take Richie Cunningham to his planet of Ork as a specimen, but he is foiled by Fonzie. In the initial broadcast, it turned out to be a dream of Richie's. However, when Mork proved popular, the syndicated version was re-edited with a scene filmed showing Mork erasing the experience from everyone's minds.
The character of Mork was played by then-unknown Robin Williams, who impressed producer Garry Marshall with his quirky comic ability as soon as they met. Dom DeLuise and Roger Rees were offered the role, but both passed. Richard Lewis and Jeff Altman were considered. When Williams was asked to take a seat at the audition, he sat on his head, and Marshall cast him on the spot, later wryly commenting that Williams was the only alien who auditioned.
Mork & Mindy is set in Boulder, Colorado, in the then-present-day late 1970s and early 1980s, as opposed to the Happy Days setting of Milwaukee in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Mork explains to Richie that he is from the "future": the 1970s.
First season
Mork arrives on Earth in an egg-shaped spacecraft. He has been assigned to observe human behavior by Orson, his mostly unseen and long-suffering superior (voiced by Ralph James). Orson has sent Mork to get him off Ork, where humor is not permitted. Attempting to fit in, Mork dresses in an Earth suit, but wears it backwards. Landing in Boulder, Colorado, he encounters Mindy McConnell (Pam Dawber), who is upset after an argument with her boyfriend, and offers assistance. Because of his odd garb, she mistakes him for a priest and is taken in by his willingness to listen (in fact, simply observing her behavior). When Mindy notices his backward suit and unconventional behavior, she asks who he really is, and he innocently tells her the truth. She promises to keep his identity a secret and allows him to move into her attic. Mindy's father, Fred (Conrad Janis), objects to his daughter living with a man (particularly one as bizarre as Mork), but Fred's mother-in-law and Mindy's grandmother, Cora (Elizabeth Kerr), approves of Mork and the living arrangement. Mindy and Cora work at Fred's music store, where Cora gives violin lessons to Eugene (Jeffrey Jacquet), a 10-year-old boy who becomes Mork's friend. Also seen occasionally are Mindy's snooty old high school friend, Susan (Morgan Fairchild), and the possibly insane Exidor (Robert Donner).
Storylines usually center on Mork's attempts to understand human behavior and American culture as Mindy helps him to adjust to life on Earth. It usually ends up frustrating Mindy, as Mork can do things only according to Orkan customs. For example, lying to someone or not informing them it will rain is considered a practical joke (called "splinking") on Ork. At the end of each episode, Mork reports to Orson what he has learned about Earth. These end-of-show summaries allow Mork to humorously comment on social norms.
Mork's greeting is "Na-Nu Na-Nu" (pronounced ), with a hand gesture similar to Mr. Spock's Vulcan salute from Star Trek combined with a handshake. It became a popular catchphrase at the time, as did "Shazbot" (), an Orkan interjection that Mork uses. Mork says "KO" in place of "OK".
Mork & Mindy was Robin Williams's first major acting role. Scripts were shorter than on Happy Days, with notes specifying, "Robin will do something here", to let Williams improvise. However, his improvisations often had to be replaced with pre-written "ad libs" scripted by a large team, due to Williams's true ad libs being unsuitable for a general television audience.
The series was extremely popular in its first season. The Nielsen ratings were very high, ranking at 3, behind Laverne & Shirley (at 1) and Three's Company (at 2), both on ABC, which was the highest-rated network in the U.S. in 1978. The show gained higher ratings than Happy Days, the series that had spawned it, at number 4. However, network management sought to improve the show in several ways. This was done in conjunction with what is known in the industry as counterprogramming, a technique in which a successful show is moved opposite a ratings hit on another network. The show was moved from Thursdays, where it outrated CBS's The Waltons, to Sundays, where it replaced the canceled sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica. The show then aired against two highly rated shows: NBC's anthology series titled The Sunday Big Event, and CBS's revamped continuation of All in the Family, titled Archie Bunker's Place.
Second season The second season saw an attempt to seek younger viewers, and premiered a new disco arrangement of the gentle theme tune.
The characters of Fred and Cora were dropped from the regular cast. It was explained that Fred went on tour as a conductor with an orchestra, taking Cora with him. Fred and Cora made return appearances in later episodes. Recurring characters Susan and Eugene made no further appearances after season one, and were never mentioned again.
New cast members were added. Among the new supporting characters were Remo and Jeanie DaVinci (Jay Thomas and Gina Hecht), a brother and sister from New York City who owned a new neighborhood deli where Mork and Mindy now spent a lot of time. Also added as regulars were their grumpy neighbor, Mr. Bickley (who was occasionally seen in the first season, and ironically worked as a verse writer for a greeting-card company), portrayed by Tom Poston, along with Nelson Flavor (Jim Staahl), Mindy's snooty cousin who ran for city council.
The show's main focus was no longer on Mork's slapstick attempts to adjust to the new world that he was in, but on the relationship between Mork and Mindy on a romantic level. Also, some of the focus was on Mork trying to find a steady job.
Because of the abrupt changes to the show and time slot, ratings slipped dramatically (dropping to 27th place). The show was quickly moved back to its previous time slot, and efforts were made to return to the core of the series; however, ratings did not recover.
Third season For the third season, Jeanie, Remo and Nelson were retained as regulars, with Jeanie and Remo having opened a restaurant. Nelson was no longer into politics, and wore more casual clothes.
Mindy's father and grandmother returned to the series. The show acknowledged this attempt to restore its original premise, with the third season's hourlong opener, titled "Putting the Ork Back in Mork".
Several supporting characters were added to the lineup. Joining were Lola and Stephanie, two children from the day-care center where Mork worked. Also added was Mindy's close friend Glenda Faye Comstock (Crissy Wilzak), a lovely young widow on whom Nelson develops a crush. Wilzak lasted one season as a regular.
When these ideas failed to improve ratings, many wilder ideas were tried in an attempt to capitalize on Williams's comedic talents. The season ended at number 49 in the ratings.
Fourth season Despite the show's steady decline, ABC agreed to a fourth season of Mork & Mindy, but executives wanted changes. The show began to include special guest stars this year.
At the beginning of the fourth season, Mork and Mindy got married. Jonathan Winters, one of Williams's idols, joined the cast as their child, Mearth. Because of the different Orkan physiology, Mork laid an egg, which grew and hatched into the much older Winters. Winters had previously appeared in a Season 3 episode as Dave McConnell (Mindy's uncle and Fred's brother). It had previously been explained that Orkans aged "backward", thus explaining Mearth's appearance, and that of his teacher, Miss Geezba (portrayed by then-11-year-old actress Louanne Sirota). After four seasons and 95 episodes, Mork & Mindy was canceled in summer 1982. The show ended at 60th place at season's end.
Characters Main characters Mork (portrayed by Robin Williams) – An alien from the planet Ork sent to observe human behavior. Mork mentions many times that Orkan scientists grew him in a test tube. Mindy McConnell (portrayed by Pam Dawber) – A female human who finds Mork and teaches him about human behavior. Eventually falls in love, marries Mork and raises an Orkan "child". Fredrick "Fred" McConnell (portrayed by Conrad Janis) – Mindy's father, a widower with conservative values. In the first season, Fred owned a music shop with Cora. In the third season, Fred became the conductor of the Boulder Symphony Orchestra. Grandma Cora Hudson (portrayed by Elizabeth Kerr) – Mindy's less-conservative, rock-loving grandmother and Fred's mother-in-law. Franklin Delano Bickley (portrayed by Tom Poston) – Mindy's downstairs neighbor. He has a job involving writing greeting cards. At first, Franklin is a total grump and always complains about noise. In time however, he warms up and becomes a friend to Mork and Mindy and the gang. Mearth (portrayed by Jonathan Winters) – The "child" of Mork and Mindy and godson of Orson. Because of Orkan physiology, Orkans age backwards starting with elderly adult bodies, but with the mind of a child and regressing to feeble "old" kids. Remo DaVinci (portrayed by Jay Thomas) – The co-owner of The New York Delicatessen in season 2 and DaVinci's Restaurant in season 3. The character was dropped after season 3. Jeanie DaVinci (portrayed by Gina Hecht) – The sister of Remo DaVinci and co-owner of The New York Delicatessen in season 2, and DaVinci's Restaurant in season 3. The character was dropped after season 3. Nelson Flavor (portrayed by Jim Staahl) – The strait-laced, driven, yet aloof cousin of Mindy with dreams of political power. The character is dropped after season 3. Glenda Faye Comstock (portrayed by Crissy Wilzak) – Mindy's friend and recent widow who becomes the love interest of Nelson, seen only in Season 3. Orson (voiced by Ralph James) – Mork's mostly unseen and long-suffering superior who has sent Mork to Earth to get him off-world because humor is not permitted on Ork. Although often perplexed and exasperated with Mork's light-hearted demeanor and casual humorous views regarding his mission and life in general, Orson maintains at least a grudging respect for Mork, is patient and thoughtfully curious when receiving Mork's weekly reports, and generally allows Mork the freedom to do as he pleases while gathering information on Earth.
Recurring characters Eugene (portrayed by Jeffrey Jacquet) – A ten-year-old boy who takes violin lessons from Cora, and befriends Mork in Season 1. He and Mork invariably go through elaborate incantations and pantomime when greeting each other, and Mork occasionally consults Eugene regarding social matters; Eugene is always more than willing to assist, although he often feels a bit awkward advising someone so much taller and older than himself. Arnold Wanker (portrayed by Logan Ramsey) – The landlord of Fred and Cora's music store in Season 1. He dies in Fred's music store, but Mork, misinterpreting the comments made to his wife, brings him back to life (a "one-in-a-billion" chance). Susan Taylor (portrayed by Morgan Fairchild) – Mindy's snooty ex-friend from high school who was seen only in Season 1. In the episode "Mork's First Christmas", a glimpse was shown into why Susan is such a shallow person.