Month: May 2022

SUMMARY:                             RUNNING TIME: 25:00 Min.

First airing on ABC-TV on May 27, 1982, Robin Williams directed the unofficial series finale.  Pursuing a field promotion, Mork presents his oral report to Orson on maintaining a successful Earth marriage in the form of a mock newscast. 

Hence, the episode is broken into segments: honesty (Mindy tactfully rejects gaudy ensemble Mork has bought her); respect (losing out on a restaurant dinner with her family, Mindy endures Mork & Mearth’s costumed dance recital of an Orkian custom); romance (as dinner burns in their kitchen, the couple deliver a silent, black-and-white ballroom-style ode to Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire); and compatibility (at bedtime, Mork & an exasperated Mindy snipe at each other in a petty quarrel). 

The series’ last scene has Mork finding out if Orson has promoted him or not.  What such a promotion actually entails is never revealed.   

Mork: Robin Williams

Mindy McConnell: Pam Dawber

Fred McConnell: Conrad Janis

Mearth: Jonathan Winters

Cora Hudson: Elizabeth Kerr

Orson: Ralph James

Notes: In his sole directorial gig, Williams was also the program’s only cast member to direct an episode.  Once the series was cancelled in early-to-mid-1982, its intended three-part Season 4 season finale cliffhanger was left unresolved.  Hence, this earlier-filmed episode’s airdate was delayed to instead make it effectively the series finale.

REVIEW:

The wild charm Robin Williams’s Mork exuded in the show’s early days has long since eroded.  Such an observation is plainly evident in the ‘compatibility’ sequence, as Mork comes off as a stereotypically insensitive and annoying husband without any of his wacky Orkian mannerisms.  Still, the reliable TV magic Williams shares with Dawber is still present throughout the episode, especially their poignant last few minutes. 

Curiously, among Dawber’s last lines of dialogue is a broad hint that the series has indeed run its course.  Dawber & Williams, more importantly, makes their character’s concluding sentiments sincere to viewers. Speaking of which, their elegant black-and-white dance fantasy earlier on is a classy testament to Williams’s directorial capability. This compliment further applies to both performers for not having to act as if they’re in a live-action cartoon. 

It’s unfortunate that the script only delivers a few minor chuckles.  Williams & Winters amusing themselves in ridiculous plant costumes doesn’t count, considering Dawber’s restrained amusement is actually funnier than their lame father-and-son routine. 

Still, there’s just enough here to give Mork & Mindy a decent send-off. “The Mork Report”, if anything, keeps viewers from suffering through an even more dreadful Season 5, had there been one.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                5 Stars

SUMMARY:                     RUNNING TIME: 25:00 Min.

First airing on ABC-TV on February 4, 1982, Bob Claver directed this episode.  Fed up with being her family’s sole driver, Mindy wearily implores her husband, Mork, to obtain a driver’s license.  With their son, Mearth, in the backseat, Mindy’s good-natured patience teaching Mork basic driving skills fails miserably. 

Mork soon finds that his obnoxiously footloose pal, Todd “TNT” Taylor, will be his instructor at the Fastlane Driving School.  Tormented by a creepy nightmare, Mork confides in his wife that he now fears driving.   

With Mindy & Mearth helplessly watching on, Mork endures a wild driving test with “TNT “ (spectacularly failing to escape this predicament) and a sinister-looking State of Colorado DMV employee.  In this episode, Mork doesn’t report his findings back to Orson.    

Mork: Robin Williams

Mindy McConnell: Pam Dawber

Fred McConnell: Conrad Janis (credit only)

Mearth: Jonathan Winters

Todd Norman “TNT” Taylor: Bill Kirchenbauer

S. Devlin: Max Maven

REVIEW:

In their scenes alone together, Robin Williams and Pam Dawber still reliably exude some TV magic.  More so, Dawber deserves sympathy for having to maintain her dignity in the dubious sequences where Williams shamelessly mugs with Jonathan Winters.  Though their goofy ‘father and son’ antics are supposed to be hilarious, this desperate Season 4 ratings ploy is a channel-changer (or, in this case, a fast-forward button).  Mearth’s inane humor, in this particular episode, is mostly confined to one sequence as the childish ‘backseat driver.’    

For whatever reason, the episode skips past seeing Mork’s lessons with moronic “TNT,” which should have had solid comedic potential.  Instead, viewers get a live-action cartoon/extended stunt showcase posing as Mork’s driving test.  No matter how forgettable this episode is, it deserves some credit for a positive lesson balancing life’s successes with its failures.  Specifically, the message of humbly learning from vs. overreacting to failure is nicely played for kids.    

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                       4 Stars

SUMMARY:                         RUNNING TIME: 25:00 Min.

First airing on ABC-TV on November 9, 1981, Frank Buxton directed this episode.  With Grandma Cora babysitting their son, Mearth, Mindy and Mork attend her ten-year high school reunion. 

Introducing husband Mork to her former classmates, Mindy deliberately avoids geeky Dickie Nimitz, who exhibits some of Pee-Wee Herman’s future mannerisms.  Nudged by two of her old friends, Mindy dances with her smarmy ex-boyfriend (and now Wyoming Lt. Governor), Steve Sanders.  Consoled by Dickie, Mick experiences marital jealousy observing Steve blatantly flirt with his wife.

Come the next morning, Mork & Mindy quarrel over Steve’s affections for her.  An unsolicited gift’s arrival and Mearth’s prodding convinces Mork to use his magical ruby red shoes to go back in time.  On Prom Night 1971, Mork poses as a Russian exchange student to verify for himself that Mindy would still choose him over Steve the arrogant jerk. 

Returning to his present-day life, Mork realizes the true answer.  In this episode, Mork doesn’t report his findings back to Orson.    

Mork: Robin Williams

Mindy McConnell: Pam Dawber

Fred McConnell: Conrad Janis

Mearth: Jonathan Winters

Cora Hudson: Elizabeth Kerr

Steve Sanders: Robin Strand

Dickie Nimitz: Paul Reubens

Glenda Faye: Crissy Wilzak Comstock

Althea: Marilyn Kagan

Cora Hudson: Elizabeth Kerr

Messenger: Laura Leigh Carlson

Orson: Ralph James (credit only)

Crissy’s Date: Uncredited

Note: There’s a welcome dose of retroactive continuity: in the pilot three years earlier, Mindy’s age is stated as 21.  Now, her age is shifted to 28 in 1981, which is a realistic approximation to Pam Dawber’s actual age.

REVIEW:

Aside from virtually zero laughs, a few other things spring to mind.  Clearly, the show’s budget couldn’t manage much, as Mindy’s sparsely attended prom, let alone its small venue, proves mighty hard to believe.  That’s even ignoring a lack of de-aging make-up to help the actors remotely resemble teenagers.  Then, there’s Paul Reubens previewing his future Pee-Wee Herman chuckle.  It says plenty that even Robin Williams, Jonathan Winters, and Reubens combined can barely muster a chuckle in this disappointing episode.  

Though this Back to the Future-like premise has some intriguing potential, its ultra-convenient, cop-out finish makes watching the episode irrelevant.  Even with Mork supposedly interfering in the past (it’s now an alternate-reality past), nothing actually changes in Mork & Mindy’s present-day lives. 

Though Mindy’s true love is inevitably Mork, “Long Before We Met” infers that her husband has retroactively rigged the odds over the ultra-arrogant Steve of 1971.  Mork, unsurprisingly, is given an ethical pass by the scriptwriters, given the Mindy of 1971 was destined to dump Steve, anyway, without Mork’s nudging.

Considering that neither she nor her father (appearing in a 1971 cameo) remember meeting a Russian student resembling Mork, the creepy little gag ending the story falls far short.  And, really, the less said about Mork’s magical ruby red shoes (ripping off The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy) the better.  Shrugging this dreck off as Mork’s what-if fantasy might be best considering the inane Mearth character is likely the least of its problems.    

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                      2 Stars