Mork & Mindy

I began watching Mork and Mindy in reruns in 2005. I quickly began to like the characters in the show, more than the show as a whole if you catch my drift. I can expand on that by saying I enjoyed watching robin ad lib and and do his shtick in the character of Mork, as well as watching the beautiful and warm-hearted Pam Dawber play the straight man as Mindy. Also, I enjoy the repartee between Mork and some of the peripheral characters like Remo, and Mindy's dad. That's where the heart of the show is at in my opinion. Don't try to take the plots too seriously or try to worry about continuity between episodes because you will quickly find holes that can't be filled. Instead of having a willing suspension of disbelief, Just watch it for the performances alone, and not treat this show as you would Happy Days or Laverne and Shirley, even though this show takes place in the same universe. This is an attitude I only take with this show, because I think the performers are good, and Robin's ad- libbing funny, but as a whole I think it isn't well written. Also, it will save you from being disappointed in the declining quality in seasons three and four. I know this sounds like a cynical review, but I still give it a 7 out of ten for the performers outshining their roles, and it's still a fun show to watch if you need a quick pick-me-up.

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.

The comic phenomenon that is Robin Williams was first fully unleashed on the world with this hilarious syndicated TV series.

Created as a spin off from an, admittedly, quite silly episode of Happy Days, this series charts the course of an alien, Ork, (Williams) as he investigates the planet Earth for his superiors back home.

What could have been an absolutely laughable disaster is transformed by Williams into an absolutely laughable success, from drinking with his finger and talking to plants, to his wild dances with Mindy, the woman who unwittingly welcomes him into her home, and reporting back upside down with his fingers in his ears, Williams keeps us laughing from start to finish off every episode.

This series blows away most of the comedic films Williams has done in his career, with the exception of Good Morning Vietnam, and should always be remembered as the ultimate comic performance from Williams.

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.

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.