Mork & Mindy

The first season of this show made it the breakout hit of 1978. However, the producers came up with the bright idea of firing much of the original supporting cast (Corad Janis who played Mindy's father Fred and Elizabeth Kerr who played Mindy's grandma Cora) and replacing them with Jean and Remo DaVinci (played by Gina Hecht and Jay Thomas repectively). Another mistake that was made was by removing the broad slapstick that made the show a success and replacing it with more socially relevant stories. Things got so bad that they decided to put a twist on the old bring the cute kid trick and have Mork marry Mindy and have Mork "give birth" to a middle age baby. At least Jonathan Winters was funny in that role. Too bad it couldn't save what could have been one of the all time great sitcoms.

I remember the late summer of 1978, working to save enough money to go back to school. Many days were long and difficult. My friends and I left behind by those that had their finances lined up for classes, were always looking for something to do to take our minds off of what we thought were big issues at the time.

Along came this wacky television show with a guy on it that was absolutely nuts. A bunch of us would get together every Thursday night to see what he would do next. We would laugh our heads off at this crazy show and we wouldn't think of missing one. Mork and Mindy was a bright spot in our day in day out lives.

MORK AND MINDY was hilarious during its first season, but the producers and the network got so full of themselves over it, they decided "let's improve on perfection!", and naturally, they destroyed the show doing so.

Season 2 was no longer the least bit funny, and season 3 with Jonathan Winters was so absurd (and actually tasteless if you think about it) that the series sank like a stone. None of the "new" supporting characters had any charisma, and the producers' "feel good" decision to start sermonizing to the viewers was as poor a decision as has ever been made in television.

Bottom line: Buy the first season on DVD and enjoy it. Pretend the rest of it didn't happen.

This sitcom was out-of this world, Robin Williams was incredibly funny as Mork, an alien was sent to earth to examine earth's culture. When he finally gets to earth, he meets Mindy. She takes Mork in, and tries to help him adapt to human custom, but Mork keeps making alien mistakes in funny ways. This sitcom was fall-out-of your seat laughter. Robin Williams and Pam Dawber had a funny chemistry together. This show was right up there with Bewitch and I dream of Jeannie. Next to E.T Mork was my favorite alien. It is a an outer-space classic. It was nice to see that funny man Robin Williams got his start here. If this is interesting to you I would go out and buy it.

This show is my earliest TV memory---my father loved this show and we watched it a lot together when I was very small. I recently discovered Seasons 1 and 2 by chance at my local Fred Meyer, picked them up and enjoyed them immensely. I was reminded again of how funny Williams really is.

Robin is at his manic best, and it's obvious that he often forsakes the script and happily heads off into improv la-la-land. Some of it is of course dated now, but it is still very funny. People sometimes disparage Pam Dawber, but she did exactly what she was supposed to do---be the straight man (or woman). Williams is SO manic that he needed an EXTREMELY normal, average straight man to contrast with, and that's exactly what she is. She's cute and perky, the quintessential girl next door. When she explains basic human nature to a confused Mork (which she does constantly) she seems totally believable, like having an older sister explain something about people you didn't understand before.

Watching it as an adult, I did notice a few things I didn't realize as a child: Pam Dawber spends many scenes trying desperately to not laugh and break character at William's improvisations. You can see it in her face; to me, it makes it even more entertaining. Also, the live audience contributed a lot to the general air of cheerful hilarity on the show. When Mork or Exidor show up for the first time in each episode, the audience literally screams in delight.

All in all, watching the first two seasons again I was greatly entertained, laughing throughout, and it brought back great childhood memories. If you're into checking out past decades of pop culture, you need to see this show.