In the fall of 1983,I made it my mission to catch ALL of the episodes of this series,as I had caught only about 3/4 of the last season and was so impressed by it that when it went off the air,I decided I would track this show and give it a chance. I wasn't too blown away by the show when it first ran in the late seventies and early,early eighties and missed a lot of episodes early on(strange it wouldn't have appealed to me back then,since I was between the ages of six and nine back then,but maybe I just didn't get Robin Williams back then. I don't really recall). I must say that I am very pleased I did make the effort,because this show was quite the pleasant escape!
Robin Williams' Mork,culled from an episode of "Happy Days",lands in Colorado and ends up staying with Boulder resident Mindy McConnell(pretty,game straight-woman Pam Dawber),laying low as he observes humans and their nature. His reports back to his mission commander,a basso-profundo disembodied voice named Orson. Through the episodes,from season to season,Mork goes from being a Tres-silly alien caricature to a thoughtfully funny adult who seems to find more questions to the answers he's seeking. The relationship he builds with Mindy is one of the most unforced and sweet ones I've sen on television,a nice contrast to the Sam-and-Diane,Muleder-and-Scully,Niles-and-Daphne type of "Will they/Won't they?" type of flirtations. Most of the rest of the cast seems to be expendable,shifting in-and-out each season,with probably her father(Conrad Janis)and local eccentric Exidor(Robert Donner)being the few constants. Jonathan Winters' turn as the son that the pair have was a great bonus,and probably what got me interested in the show to begin with. The high sense of improvisation was evident,and didn't hurt the show at all.
It's a great memory from when I was in sixth grade,and a fun show to watch. Even though I haven't caught an ep of this show in God-knows how many years,I've seen each episode at least twice and was charmed each time. A fun,silly show that holds good memories for me.
