Robin Williams began his career on the television show Mork & Mindy.  I loved the show when I saw it years ago, probably mostly in syndication, and I've watched the show whenever I could find it on television again.  I recently picked up the DVD sets that are available and I recently finished watching Mork & Mindy: The Complete Second Season.

Mork & Mindy is a comedy series about Mork, an alien from the planet Ork.  Mork is sent to Earth to observe humans and make reports back to his boss Orson about what he is learning.  Orkans look like humans, though they act very differently and their spaceships look like giant eggs.  When Mork arrives, he is in Bolder Colorado and he ends up living with Mindy McConnell.  She is a young woman that Mork meets within minutes of arriving on the planet.  Mindy quickly accepts Mork and tries to help him learn about life on Earth.  Mork slowly learns things and makes some new friends, like Exidor, a man who believes in aliens and has a group of invisible friends.  Mindy's father Fred knows that Mork is an alien and has accepted that he lives with Mindy.  

During the second season of Mork & Mindy, Mork is more settled and accustomed to some things, but there is still a lot that he doesn't understand.  Most of the episodes in this season focus on something that is new to Mork in some way.  Mork continues to give short reports to Orson, which take place during the last few minutes of the episodes.  Every episode has a different plot and they weren't really interconnected beyond featuring Mork and Mindy in some way.  The episodes could be watched out of order and things would still make sense.  I do think that the episodes aired in an order different from the order they were filmed.  The counters at the deli, a new setting for the season, kept switching back and forth.  Mork's hair also kept changing lengths after he said in a specific episode that he got a hair cut.  His hair was very short at that point, and then in just a few episodes was longer, and then it got short again.  At one point it was back to be scruffy like it was before the haircut in the first place.  Those issues with the continuity of a few things didn't bother me overall, though I did notice them.  I noticed similar things throughout the first season as well.

Mork & Mindy aired on ABC from 1978 to 1982.  The show was very popular during the first season, ending up being one of the highest rated shows of the year.  Despite that, the network decided to make several changes before the beginning of the second season, including changing the time slot.  Mindy's father Fred and her grandmother Cara were gone.  Three new characters, Nelson, Jeanie, and Remo, were added.  It did seem to be an attempt to aim at a younger audience.  Even the theme song was changed a bit, giving it more of a disco beat.  I didn't mind the changes that much, though the new characters really didn't add much and I missed Fred and Cora.  

The second season of Mork & Mindy features the same type of humor that was used during the first season of the show.  Much of the humor is silly, but it works perfectly with what is going on in the episodes.  The humor could be too silly for some viewers.  I think the show is very funny and entertaining.  I was laughing out loud during every episode in this season at least once.  Once again, Mork provides most of the humor with his antics, like when he dresses in Mindy's clothes and acts like her.  Mork is still learning about things which causes some of the funny moments.  Mork's Health Hints is one of the funniest episodes from the first two seasons.  Mindy has to have her tonsils out and Mork is slightly freaked out about the process.  It just gets worse when the hospital gets Mindy confused with another patient and Mork decides he has to rescue her.  Exidor pops up in a few episodes and the wacky way he acts, mostly in regard to his invisible friends, always cracks me up.  The show is very funny overall, but some of the episodes are more serious.  Mindy struggles to accept her father getting married again in one of the more serious episodes.  Probably the most serious episode focused on Mork coming into contact with a hate group.  

At least some of every episode is set in Mindy's apartment again.  The attic that Mork has taken over for his room is only shown in a few of the episodes.  Mindy's bedroom is briefly shown for the first time during this season.  Nothing changed in her apartment from how it had been in the first season, and the lamps stopped changing every few episodes.  Since Mindy's father isn't around anymore, no scenes feature the music store that he owned.  It seems like the deli that Jeanie and Remo own and work in replaced the music store.  Most of the episodes include at least one scene in the deli.  The counters keep switching places throughout the season, which did distract me a little bit.  Mr. Bickley's apartment turns up in a few episodes again as well.

The relationship between Mork and Mindy continues to be important throughout the second season.  They have a strong friendship, though they have a few conflicts that turn up to work though, like when Mork decides to deliberately start a fight so they can make up.  There isn't any actual romance between them, but it is clear that they have feelings for each other.  Mindy wasn't shown dating anyone else.  Mork really didn't date anyone else either, though at one point he was spending time with someone in an attempt to do something nice, not fully realizing that she was looking for it to become more serious.  Exidor finds a girlfriend who accepts his eccentric ways, including his invisible friends, and a little of their relationship is shown.  

Obviously Mork and Mindy are the main characters for the show, with Mork receiving a bit more attention and development.  Mork is still learning about life on Earth and end up confused about a few things.  Mork is somewhat childlike at times, which adds to his appeal in my opinion.  He does want to help people even though he ends up messing up in some way.  Robin Williams was great in the part, making Mork one of the funniest characters ever created.  He was frequently allowed to improvise things and that caused some of the funniest moments in the show.  Williams also made his first appearance in drag when he thought he was Mindy, years before Mrs. Doubtfire.  Williams did not make an attractive woman, but it was funny.

Mindy is around in every episode, but she hasn't received as much development.  There really wasn't anything new added to her character during this season.  She is very accepting of Mork and the odd things he does at times.  She is a king, caring, likeable young woman.  She is still going to college, though not much about that is mentioned during the season.  She just mentions that she is going to class every so often and that was basically it.  Pam Dawber handled the part really well.  She and Williams worked well together. 

Mr. Bickley, the grumpy downstairs neighbor, is also back in a few episodes.  His work writing greeting cards isn't brought up this season.  He is basically the same he'd been, though something new related to him to does come out in one episode.  He has an interesting friendship with Mork.  Tom Poston handled the part fine.  Orson is only heard when Mork gives his reports at the end of the episodes.  Ralph James did well with the voice.

Mindy's father Fred is only in two episodes, so Conrad Janis didn't have as much to do.  His absence is explained by his having gotten a job with a touring orchestra.  He gets married to a woman named Cathy, who is only in one episode.  Cora is completely missing from this season. She is supposed to be traveling with Fred and the orchestra.  I did miss her and Fred being around. 

Exidor is back in a few episodes and he is just as bizarre as he'd been in the first season.  He still talks to his group of invisible friends and seems to be paranoid about everything.  He does find a girlfriend, Ambrosia, who is normal.  She accepts his eccentric ways and even believes that his invisible friends are real.  I really enjoy it when Exidor turns up since he tends to do really funny things.

Three main characters are added for the second season of Mork & Mindy.  Nelson Flavor is Mindy's cousin who is running for city council.  He always talks about the election and his campaign when he shows up, but the election never happens during the season.  Nelson is arrogant and a bit of a jerk.  He is basically willing to do anything to get support for his campaign.  Jim Staahl was fine in the part.  

Jeanie and Remo are siblings from New York City who run a deli.  No other employees are ever shown during the season.  The counters in the deli keep switching places, which did slightly annoy me.  Jeanie is also going to college where she is studying to become a doctor.  It is never said for sure, but I think she and Mindy became friends at the college.  Remo does act a little arrogant at times, but he is nice enough overall.  Gina Hecht and Jay Roach were fine in the parts.  I didn't think any of the new characters added that much to the series.  Racquel Welch was in a two part episode as Captain Nirvana, another alien. Her race of aliens are enemies of Orkans.  I thought she did well with the part and men probably enjoyed her from fitting costume.

Main Cast
    
Pam Dawber - Mind McConnell
Robert Donner - Exidor
Gina Hecht - Jeanie
Ralph James - Voice of Orson
Conrad Janis - Fred McConnell
Tom Poston - Mr. Bickley
Jay Roach - Remo
Jim Staahl - Nelson Flavor
Robin Williams - Mork

DVD Information

Mork & Mindy: The Complete Second Season has the twenty-four episodes of the second season on four discs.  A list of the episodes, including short plot summaries, is included on the inside of the case.  There are no extras for this set, which is disappointing.

Episode List

Mork in Wonderland
Stark Raving Mork
Mork's Baby Blues
Dr. Morkenstein
Mork vs. Mindy
Mork Gets Mindy-itis
A Morkville Horror
Mork's Health Hints
Dial ‘N' for Nelson
Mork vs. The Necrotrons
Hold That Mork!
The Exidor Affair
The Mork Syndrome
Exidor's Wedding
A Mommy for Mindy
The Night They Raided Mind-ski's
Mork Learns to See
Mork's Vacation
Jeanie Loves Mork
Little Orphan Morkie
Looney Tunes and Morkie Melodies
Clerical Error
Invasion of the Mork Snatchers
The Way Mork Were

Mork & Mindy is a very funny, entertaining show that I still enjoy watching.  It would have been nice if there had been some kind of extras in Mork & Mindy: The Complete Second Season, but I'm still very glad that I have the DVD set.  This is a must have set for fans of the show.

This review is part of CaptainD's Good Movies EpiGuide 3 Write Off.

Robin Williams Reviews
Aladdin ~ August Rush ~ The Birdcage ~ Dead Again ~ Death to Smoochy ~ The Final Cut ~ Happy Feet ~ Insomnia ~ Jumanji ~ License to Wed ~ Man of the Year ~ Mork & Mindy: The Complete First Season ~ Night at the Museum ~ Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ~ Old Dogs ~ One Hour Photo ~ Popeye ~ Robots ~ RV ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD