Customer Reviews

Mork & Mindy - The Second Season

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For quite sometime future "Mork & Mindy" releases seemed pretty darn unlikely. Lots of fans were afraid that we would never ever see season two released. To my surprise, however, Paramount has come through for us!

Here are the episode listings for season 2:
1. Mork in Wonderland (1) - Mork shrinks after taking a cold capsule.

2. Mork in Wonderland (2) - While shrunk, Mork finds himself in an odd world.

3. Stark Raving Mork - To keep excitement in his relationship with Mindy, Mork starts fights with her and then wants to kiss and make up.

4. Mork's Baby Blues - Due to a misunderstanding about Monopoly money, gold-digger Kathy believes Mork is rich, and claims she is carrying his child.

5. Dr. Morkenstein - Working as a security guard in a science museum, Mork befriends a robot.

6. Mork vs. Mindy - After Mork and Mindy are hired as campaign workers by Mindy's cousin, Nelson Flavor, who is running for city councilman, they end up competing for the same job.

7. Mork Gets Mindy-itis - Mork discovers he is allergic to Mindy, when he has uncontrollable fits of laughter (the Orkan equivalent to sneezing) around her.

8. A Morkville Horror - On Halloween, Mork and Mindy believe the house she grew up in is haunted.

9. Mork's Health Hints - While in the hospital, Mindy is mistakenly scheduled for brain surgery.

10. Dial 'N' for Nelson - When Nelson receives threatening phone calls, Mork and Mindy investigate a shady club.

11. Mork vs. The Necrotons (1) - Mork is romanced by another alien.

12. Mork vs. The Necrotons (2) - Mork is threatened by another alien.

13. Hold That Mork - Mork becomes a cheerleader for the Denver Broncos, making him pro football's first male cheerleader.

14. Exidor Affair - Exidor wants to propose to a meter maid and asks Mork for help.

15. The Mork Syndrome - Mork goes on a secret mission for the Air Force.

16. Exidor's Wedding - Exidor's mother shows up and tries to keep her son from getting married.

17. A Mommy for Mindy - When Mindy's dad visits with a younger woman he has just married, Mork is happy, but Mindy is not.

18. The Night They Raided Mind-skis - Mindy is targeted by a bigoted fanatical group.

19. Mork Learns to See - When Mr. Bickley's blind son comes to visit, Mork learns to see the world differently.

20. Mork's Vacation - Needing a vacation, Mork gets Orson's permission to swap bodies with other aliens.

21. Jeanie Loves Mork - Mindy secretly writes for a newspaper's lonely hearts column and unknowingly gives advice to Jeanie, who then falls for Mork.

22. Little Orphan Morkie - Mork could be deported, unless he marries an American or finds someone to adopt him.

23. Looney Tunes and Morkie Melodies - Mork recruits his friends to turn the hour devoted to Nelson's 7am, Saturday morning campaign speech into a variety show for kids.

24. Clerical Error - Mork thinks he is a priest when he dresses in a black jacket and white collar, and begins advising church parishioners.

25. Invasion of the Mork Snatchers - When Mork becomes addicted to advertising, he becomes a "buy-a-holic", causing problems for Mindy.

26. The Way Mork Were - When marital problems plague Mindy's father, he turns to Mork and Mindy for help.

In 1978, "Mork and Mindy" was a ratings smash. However, the network changed the format and nixed Mindy's father (Fred) and grandmother (Cora) as one means of 'retooling' the show, which simply proves the suits don't even know when success sits on their lap! But I digress. Season 2's ratings were said to have plummeted, which prompted the network to bring back Fred and Cora (YES!!!), but having rewatched season 2, the episodes are riotously funny and with the usual moralizing messages we gen X'ers grew up on... and promptly forgot to follow, but who said anyone was perfect?

In this season, we are treated to some of the series' best wit to date: Starting with the premiere episode, Mork takes a cold medicine that shrinks nasal membranes and he in turn shrinks to nothing because Orkans are nothing more than membranes... it was an hour long special. This episode freaked me as a child and still retains much of its power - even special effects were surprisingly successful and hold up rather well overall, even if there is a 'fluidity' problem with some of the zooming close-ups. That's how it was made, as was said by another it was not a DVD defect. And the moralizing over the energy crisis is also an interesting non-plot point for the first 5 minutes of the story.

Later we get to meet Mork's vile enemies - the dreaded Necrotons. Show this to a non-fan, it'll hook 'em right away. And not just because Raquel Welch stars as the main Necroton and proves she really is a considerable actress and not merely a body with an incidental brain attached... but because of the jokes; many of which come out of nowhere yet whose relevance are staggeringly funny. In 1980, Robin Williams' lines and improv combined with the smiley-faced boxers had me laughing; re-watching it again yesterday had me laughing for far, far more reasons. Netflix or buy it for this episode alone! This one is also a special 1-hour entry.

Another highlight to this season is when Mork is lulled into television commercials - it is another high point and extremely well written episode.

Never mind that Robin Williams and Pam Dawber play against/with each other extremely well. Even if the low-point episodes are less than special (namely the rehash of the season 1 episode where Mork has to deal with the immigration people... and the clip show featuring the temporary return of Fred), Robin and Pam put in top rated performances, with dialogue to ensure you'll be laughing in hysterics, and I don't say that lightly.

True, I missed Fred and Cora, but I know they will return. But the suits, for once, had a point and season 2 really contains a high number of gems -- even with the ditzy politician and deli owners who migrated from New York. They were never the same, but they weren't bad. But as we all know, Fred and Cora were the best sidekicks.

DVD quality - while the images look a bit soft and there's plenty of film speckles, it doesn't detract. Color saturation is beautiful and the episodes are fairly spaced amongst the 4 discs. The packaging is cheaper, but considering how season 1 wasn't entirely profitable, what counts most in a DVD (the level of compression in the episodes) was retained. I am highly grateful that they kept with the 4 disc format. KUDOS!! :)

I hope season 2 is successful so season 3 can come out as well. It too features a number of gems, including the hour-long opener "Put the Ork Back Into Mork".

After the first season of "Mork & Mindy" failed to be a huge seller, Paramount took awhile to roll out season two. But it's out now, however this time around it's the no frills version (same with the new season two sets for "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley"). The four discs are packaged in a clear single snap case and the episode info is printed on the inside of the case. Gone are the rainbow colored discs from season one replaced with drab gray printed discs. All that aside the episodes are all here. The overall picture quality is really good. The first episode of the second season was a one hour premiere and the first half is shot on film because of the special effects and the quality is less than stellar, but that is because of how the episode was shot. As with the previous season some music has been changed for DVD release, but the series didn't use a lot of music so it's not a big loss. Hopefully if this season sells well enough season three won't be far behind. Perhaps the budget cuts will make it possible for the last two seasons to get released soon.

After much too long a wait, the second series of Mork & Mindy finally arrives on DVD in cheaper packaging and without extras (one can only imagine what the outtakes from this show must have been like). The result is both entertaining and nostalgic. It's hard to imagine now just how fresh and different Robin Williams seemed all those years ago when he was still genuinely funny. And seeing these shows again after such a long time makes me realize just how good (and sexy) Pam Dawber was - not only both verbally and physically funny in her own right but being able to keep her composure and remain in character when confronted with Williams' manic performance.

The best part about the show is the interplay and chemistry between the two title characters and the best scenes are invariably the ones when they are alone on screen. But the makers of the show (or the network) did not seem to have sufficient confidence in these two and insisted on putting them in the straight jacket of a conventional sitcom format. Thus one set of unfunny supporting characters have been replaced by another equally unfunny (but younger) lot. A couple of survivors have their roles expanded (was Exidor really funny after the first or second time?). But what we really want to see is Mork and Mindy.

As always, the highlights are Williams' bursts of stream of consciousness fantasy which occasionally seem at least partially improvised. His range of voices and mannerisms, coupled with a totally bizarre way of looking at just about everything, are still a delight. True, they are liberally sprinkled with some cultural and political references which are now terribly dated. But some, such as the throwaway line about buying Earl Butz a pair of tight shoes, are still quite funny. Unfortunately, some of the episodes descend into a sickly and heavy-handed sentimentality which was totally unnecessary.

On the whole, Mork & Mindy still manages to amuse and even make you laugh out loud. Once, that is, you get past the misjudged and not very funny hour long opening episode. Compared to modern sitcoms, it seems almost innocent. But that doesn't stop it from being one of the all-time classics.

After phenomenal ratings for the first season, the producers of this show recognized they had a unique creature on their hands: the television spin-off which is very strong in its own right. America just could not get enough of Mork and his zany antics.

So, they sent Fred McConnell and Cora packing on a concert tour and attempted to up the `young adult' demographic by bringing in new characters for this 26-episode 1979-1980 season.

First, enter Remo and Jeannie.

The brother and sister duo work at the New York Delicatessen on Boulder's pedestrian Pearl Street Mall while Jeannie is being put through school. Mindy and Mork frequently stop by to chit-chat, eat and exchange advice.

Another is Nelson Flavor, an aspiring political candidate and Mindy's cousin. Being a political animal, I like him despite not being given adequate character development to realistically flesh out his role in this particular city. If Boulder is supposed to be the `counterculture capital' of the mountain states but the guy looks like a young Republican, there is no way he could ever get elected yet alone Mindy would be working for him ("Mork v. Mindy" , "Dial N for Nelson") despite the family connection. Plus, if Fred still is getting weirded out by Mork, Nelson should definitely be running for the mountains after a first encounter!

One character who I just can't personally deal with though is Exidor, the lone member of the Friends of Venus, who somehow realizes that Mork is in fact an alien from another planet. I think that he was supposed to represent the 70's new age-cult phenomena and emphasize that even as Mork has adjusted to earth, he still was taking our planet's eccentrics at their own face value. Exidor is harmless, but he is definitely an eccentric. Perhaps it was part of the whole 70's bohemian thing, but I don't find `wacky people' with obvious mental health problems `funny'. Audiences were supposed to laugh at Exidor, but the way his lines are written he comes across as somebody being mocked rather than a nice person to `hang with.

All of the emphasis on new characters and people focused storylines did not completely eliminate the series' `concept' storylines. Since the 70's were the era when so much disability rights legislation was getting passed in America, there is an episode where Mork meets Mr. Bickley's blind son--and subsequently experiences his world ("Mork learns to see"). Mr. Bickley was of course introduced last season, but apparently grew friendlier towards his neighbors because Mindy and Mork can now stand to deal with him.

Mork experiments with gender roles when he decides to audition for the Pony Express the professional cheerleaders for the Denver Broncos--who have traditionally been female ("Hold that Mork"). They are supportive of Mork's intention to attempt joining them as are Mindy and Jeannie, but Remo appears visibly uneasy with his friend's decision.

Then, Mindy gets targeted by a local hate group in "The night they raided Mind-skis" because she is Polish. Although this series wasn't as political as anything being produced by Lear-Yorkin, episodes like this do acknowledge that `bad' stuff happens even in `liberal' cities across America. Mindy's obviously shaken by the encounter, but comes away determined to continue being herself.

This season is the season which contains both the classic episodes "Stark raving Mork and a Mommy for Mindy". I originally owned these particular episodes on a long-ago issued VHS best-of-set, so I can now assure any remaining doubters that the picture and sound quality restorative powers of DVD make a very big difference for aficionados of classic television series. I can't wait to complete my collection of this entire television series.

Mork's future permanent job at the daycare center is foreshadowed in "Looney tunes and Morkie melodies" when he turns a spot reserved for Nelson's television campaigning into a variety show for children. It turns out that Mork has a natural ability for taking care of children! Throughout the episode Williams makes obviously kind-hearted but satirical allusions to "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" in tribute to the impact Fred Rogers had on childrens television programing--and having grown up with both shows and Mr. Rogers now departed, appreciated the episode even more now!

Mork needs a paying job of his own too because he can't keep just living off of Mindy forever no matter how nice of a person he is. Then, in "Invasion of the Mork snatchers", he goes spend crazy, creating problems for Mindy who obviously doesn't have a lot of worldly possessions to begin with. They are after all, only living in a two bedroom apartment in part of a renovated Victorian.

Finally, Fred comes back in "The way Mork were" he needs help with marital advice and ends up turning to Mindy and Mork for help! Since traveling around to conduct an Orchestra did not work out (i.e the show's ratings slipped big-time) Fred returned with Cora and he is now dating women around the area.

Mindy realizes that she never fully got over her mother dying when her father brings over a woman named Kathy for dinner and announces that he plans to marry her ("A mommy for Mindy"). We never learn what she had died from, but this episode is very important because Mindy could remember her mom being sick and then permanently leaving her. Realizing that her dad did love her mom but needs to move on enables Mindy to then move on with her life and become friends with Kathy.

There are two `bad' episodes in this season. The first is "Clerical error" because the writers seem to have forgotten that Mork already got mistaken for a priest in the first episode of the first season when he encountered Mindy after her bad date dumped her on the side of the road and she was looking for somebody trustworthy to walk home with. The second is "Little orphan Morkie" because Mork now has to get married or else he will get deported, again revisiting confusion over the `alien registration' joke from season one; both were cute the first time but now have lost some air with replay. Did somebody forget to write episodes and so thought they could get away with simply reformatting earlier ones from their own show? It's a good thing that Robin Williams and the rest of this cast--yes including the `newbies'---were so talented and clearly had great interpersonal chemistry with each other because such apparent script writer laziness would have and has easily killed many other shows.

In an era when there were only three networks, this season's ratings experiments were not as big a gamble as it would be today. No, everything ultimately did not work out as planned, but considering everything which could have happened (and did happen) to risk-taking popular shows, M&M survived to tell more tales of Earthling customs.

Considering there are only two seasons left in this entire series, I hope that the others are released ASAP. I initially was lukewarm about the original case coverings for the DVDs, but after this season's treatment where the discs have now been directly piled onto each other, wish for the original packaging. I still consider it a crime of intergalactic proportions that this series continues languishing in Paramount's vault.

The quality of the DVDs is fine; the picture is clear and the menu lists the episodes in order so it's pretty easy to go from one to one. But this is a no frills collection. No special features. No booklet or guide; the episode list is on the inside of the cover visible through the clear plastic case.

So, if you just want to watch the episodes again, like I did, it is a great purchase. If you're hoping for extras, you're going to be disappointed.

As we seen the episodes of Mork and Mindy Second Season "Mork Learns to See" and "Looney Tunes and Morkie Melodies", I have seen Mork plays the harmonica, hiding the box, and singing lovely Orkan Blues Song (The Orkan Blues), Tom Bickley sings the "Beauty and the Me", and Mork sings "The Shazbut Blues".

This a must for those who remember the entertainment when it was truly just for fun. The two main characters present a time of enjoyable comedy that isn't found today. Early Robin Williams before his Iconic rise to fame as the original off the wall character that makes people laugh. Like some of the classic shows it makes you think about society, and how people are different. Just a fun series with lots of Robin Williams improve through-out the shows. For the kid in all of us it's a great addition to any collection of classic tv series.

I grew up with this TV Show. I always loved to watch it when it was on. Now I can watch it when ever I want with it on DVD. Without having to watch theshows that are on the TV stations without them hacking the shows to bits.

Following the success of season 1 season 2 of Mork and Mindy followed this time we return without 2 of the main leads notably Mindys dad Fred and grandmother Cora but the arrival of Mindys lawyer cousin Nelson would lead to some classic episodes in the season premiere Mork in Wounderland pts 1 & 2 which is a 1 hour special where he shrinks only to appear in a backward world of coulourful animals and a Mindy clone called wait for this yes you guessed right Mandy as the season progressed we would see the return of Fred and of course Cora as guest stars getting them ready to return as regulers next season

Roll on Season 3!!!!