Mork & Mindy Season 1

By: The Dude

Creators: Joe Glauberg, Garry Marshal, Dale McRaven
Cast: Robin Williams, Pam Dawber
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
 
Anybody can pitch a show to TV execs these days. As long as there’s a desperate housewife in there, some people lost on an island, a hospital within which some female doctor plans to sleep with a male doctor, or these a crime what needs investigating, the TV people will throw wads o’ cash at you.

Back in the old days however, someone needed to pitch a solid, water-tight idea that was fresh and new – like a gay dad with three sons and a loose mum with three daughters who hook up for fun, good times and a catchy jingle. Throw in a sex-crazed maid who’s secretly on the job with a butcher and you’ve got yerself a show!

Now, the Dude woulda loved to have been in the meeting when the aforementioned creators pitched the idea of Mork and Mindy to the TV execs.

“Well, the basic premise of the show sir, is that there’s this highly sophisticated alien who done travel to earth in an egg.”

“Um… okay. An egg. Interesting. What planet is he from?”

“Ork.”

“Riiiiight. And his name?”

“Wait for it … Mork!”

“Mork from Ork?”

“You got it. So this Mork from Ork is like, this highly developed species but he’s from a race of people who age backward, so the fact that he’s an adult means he’s actually a child.”

“A child.”

“Yeah. So he’s basically a man in a big red suit what does silly kids stuff and is always ruining things for his gf.”

“He has a girlfriend? And what her name? Mindy?”

“Exactly! So eventually they get married and have a kid.”

“And I’m guessing that because the race ages backward, I suppose the kid is an old man?”

“Exactly… see I told you they’d get it.”

“Security!”

Now here’s the scoop, pal. This all happened BEFORE they wheeled in Robin Williams as the star of the show. If the suits thought the creators were on drugs, imagine what they thought when Williams started bouncin’ off the damn walls.

If you grew up in the 70s and occasionally greeted your friends with a hearty “Nanu nanu”, then your gonna love the fact that the good folk at Paramount have released season one of Mork and Mindy on DVD.

If you have no idea where Boulder Colorado is, have never heard of Jonathan Winters, or have no idea who Exador was, then you should head out to the local store and pick up a copy to find out what all the fuss is about. Do it. Now. This here review will still be here. Go.

I’m gonna go ahead and suggest that this was one helluva good TV series. Sure, some of the jokes might not make sense now on account of the fact it was made in the 70s or early 80s or something. But nonetheless, watching Robin Williams do he’s thang is worth the cost of the DVD alone.

I don’t care what anyone says… you wind up Robin Williams, give him a loose script and a general topic and he’ll split your damn sides with laughter is what he’ll do.

Verbatim:
Mork: “Well, come on, I’m waiting here with a worm on my tongue.”
Eugene: “Huh?”
Mork: “Baited breath.”

In a word: What’s the opposite of Shazbut?