Mork & Mindy (1978–1982) User Reviews

The series that started it all...

[Bing-18 · 7/10 · 22 April 1999]

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.

a Robin Williams original

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 29 January 2017]

In one of the weirdest spin off from Happy Days, Mork (Robin Williams) is from the planet Ork. He is sent to Earth by Orson who is frustrated with his irreverent humor. At the end of each episode, Mork reports to Orson about the lesson he learned. Orkans drink with their fingers, sit on their heads, and age backwards. Mork lands outside of Boulder, Colorado and finds Mindy McConnell (Pam Dawber) abandoned by her date. He tells her about his extraterrestrial origins and becomes her flatmate. Her father Fred owns a music store in the first season which he ran with his sharp-tongued mother-in-law. Mr. Bickley (Tom Poston) is Mindy's grumpy downstairs neighbor. The second season has New York siblings Remo (Jay Thomas) and Jean DaVinci (Gina Hecht) as their restaurateur friends. Nelson Flavor (Jim Staahl) is Mindy's pompous cousin. Exidor is Mork's crazy friend with imaginary followers. The most insane and inspired choice is Mearth (Jonathan Winters), Mork's newborn in season 4, after his wacky performance in season 3 as uncle Dave.

This is simply a Robin Williams original. He makes this show. The show really only works with him on the screen. Pam Dawber is cute but she is overmatched. Of course, almost anybody would be overmatched. She has a tendency to laugh at Robin's jokes and do a lot of aww-schucks. The constant changes to the cast are not helpful. The DaVinci siblings didn't do the work that the show had hoped. Nelson Flavor and Exidor are my favorite characters. There is nobody like Jonathan Winters but by the fourth season, the show had no viewers and Robin Williams had better opportunities on the big screen.

A fun little show if you don't take it too seriously

[ToiletHumorist · 7/10 · 1 November 2015]

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.

Fond childhood memories.

[Mmmavis · 29 May 2007]

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.

Invasion in Milwaukee

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 3 September 2019]

Anyone who was ever a fan of the late Robin Williams has fond memories of Mork&Mindy. Another spinoff from Happy Days where a confrontation between spaceman Willlams, Mork from the planet Ork and Fonzie proved so popular Williams got his own show.

As Mork,Williams was on a mission from his planet to report on Earth and its inhabitants. He chose Milwaukee as his base and every night he reported to his leader Orson. He lived with Pam Dawber, all American girl who was at great pains to explain what this weird person was doing.

In this show we saw Robin Williams open that amazing book of comic tricks for the world. Williams was a genius no doubt, right up there with Chaplin and Keaton. Sad he was such a depressed and tortured soul in real life.

Those reruns are still popular and timeless. Check the show out and sample the first taste the world got of Robin Williams.

Absolutely wonderful TV show

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 10/10 · 22 January 2005]

I first saw Mork and Mindy when I was about five and thought it was the funniest thing on earth. I would even sit on my head like Mork did and I had some of the Mork toys too.

So it's obvious I would grab this DVD box set as soon as it came out. And is Mork and Mindy as good today as it was back then? Of course! In fact it might be even better coz when you compare it to modern sitcoms M&M has more integrity as Robin Williams and Pam Dawber seem to be performing to a much rawer audience with more theatrical performances.

Robin Williams is just completely crazy as Mork (from Ork), an alien sent to Earth to investigate our strange customs and report back telepathically to Orson, his boss. Mindy is the girl he meets who gives him a home in her attic, much to the annoyance of her cynical dad. And, trust me, you can clearly see that Robin Williams often gives up the script to manically ad-lib his own madness while Pam Dawber runs after him, desperately trying to keep the show under control. It's so cool in certain moments when they're close together during a manic moment and she's looking into his eyes in amazement, petrified at what he's about to do next. He would also go crazy off-stage in an effort to distract Dawber when she had a scene on her own.

Supporting characters are also cool. Mr Bickley, Mindy's dad and grandma, Eugene and the outrageous Exidor all grab as much attention as they can whenever Williams isn't going mental. David Letterman, Dana Hill, Tammy Lauren, Morgan Fairchild, Penny Marshall and Geoffrey Lewis show up in cameos too. Plus Fonzie is the first episode (a flashback to Mork's first ever appearance in Happy Days).

There are NO FEATURES AT ALL on the DVDs. Which is annoying seeing as how this time I would have liked to have seen stuff. But I'm just glad to have it. Hey, Paramount, give us Season 2 NOW!!! The show is presented in 1.33:1 full frame, as originally shot. And for a 27 year old show it looks great with very little in the way of print damage or grain. The sound is plain old mono but it's fine for what it is.

You MUST buy.

Mork and Mindy

[safenoe · 7/10 · 2 August 2022]

I loved the first season of Mork & Mindy, and this was the series that launched Robin Williams's career into the stratosphere big time.

I'd love for a reboot of this series but who could play Mork I guess. I nominate acclaimed British actor Danny Dyer to play Mork and one of the Spice Girls to play Mindy.

Now THIS is what I call a sitcom!

[sadewolu · 10/10 · 4 January 2014]

Although I'm not really a 70's kid, I still appreciate TV shows/movies from back then as well as today's entertainment. I really love this show, and guess what? I have never seen it before in my entire life! First of all, you have Robin Williams, one of the best and most talented actors in all of Hollywood. No one---absolutely no other living soul---could ever outsmart him in playing the role of an eccentric alien from an unknown planet with a silly name such as "Ork." Robin is just very good at what he does best. Some of you may think otherwise, but he definitely is one of the greatest comedic actors of his time. Secondly, you have the lovely and charismatic Pam Dawber, on whom I'm not afraid to admit I have a small girl crush. She's just so pretty and her voice is totally gorgeous, and I think she and Robin have perfect chemistry with each other on the show. Once you watch this show, I'm pretty sure you'll love it. You may not like Robin Williams, but I'm just putting this out there for ya'll---he's just very great at what he does best.

a unique, and in many ways, extraordinary show

[forestbreeze40 · 9/10 · 29 June 2008]

Mork and Mindy 1978(only) is a warm-hearted and often poignant show. Although Robin Williams was the star, Pam Dawber created perhaps the most positive portrayal of a young woman in TV history. She is nurturing, always supportive, understanding, tolerant, and dresses with impeccable style. The season contains two episodes that reach the level of art: the famous"Window Scene" from "A Mommy for Morky", and "Mork's Mixed Emotions", its' most explosive sexual episode. There is a depth to Mork and Mindy's relationship that plays with the viewer's heart. The couple refers to each other as best friends, but the show is rife with sexual innuendos. Their chemistry is apparent from the first episode, and the show plays with terms such as "living together", "spent the night", and so on. But there is clearly a wonderful bond between them, and both of them grow as individuals, because of their special relationship.

Much wittier than my recollection

[jwikstro · 9/10 · 18 January 2017]

I recently caught a few episodes from the last season of the series. I either forgot, took for granted, or let some of the downright obtuse references in Robin Williams' lines and/or improvisations go over my head when I originally viewed some of this in the early 80s. My brief impression upon revisit has been that this was acutely humorous, and frequently hilarious, without sinking to tastelessness, as is the wont nowadays when shows or performers run low on comic material.

I think maybe I was going through my early teens' "I'm too cool for this" stage when these originally aired. As others have stated, Pam Dawber was perky with never seeming to be saccharin, and she even had a certain "je ne sais quoi" that is quite wholesome. Jonathan Winters' turn on the show was inspired, and they had numerous great guest stars as the show went on, a la everyone wanting to be on an episode of "Batman" 15 years earlier, another show which is also funnier upon adult revisit. Inspired writing, some of which may have been Williams' improv, as I have been watching a lot of the last season and he would have been given some leeway by then. I too recall that at the time, I thought the last season was a dip in form. Perhaps having been starved of any truly inspired comedy of late, I am appreciating that this is a relative feast in the comedy sense. (I just read the Trivia section, which notes that Winters and Williams were given explicit license to improvise in parts of the scripts for the last season. Also, Conrad Janis' comments about Robin Williams are enlightening, as he was well liked by the cast. All this comes through in the positive overtone of the episodes that I recently viewed).

I am downloading episodes from all the seasons to further explore. As another reviewer stated, some of the early episodes made more use of Mork's alien nature as the butt of jokes, so that is the juvenile, silly part I was remembering. By the 4th season, Robin Williams' character had become more earth-friendly, so he could reasonably make all these great jibes about Turlock, Marshall McLuhan, chewing lanolin, Eddie Fisher's bad marital luck, etc.. By then, Williams had carte blanche to improvise, and he ran with it, but many of us had turned off to the show by then.

Hurray for Antenna TV for preserving these tasteful, uplifting gems of comedy! It is a few leagues above those American sitcoms which all seem generic starting at about ~2000, which are dire in comparison.

Just an awful show.

[albundy-31819 · 1/10 · 21 January 2022]

One or two jokes here and there may be funny, but the rest are just moronic. This is a spinoff that NEVER should of been made. The character from Happy Days was ok, but not for its own show. Robin Williams is just annoying and when they had the grown kid, EVERYONE should of been fired and it taken off the air at that moment.

Too Bad They Had to Mess Around With It

[Sargebri · 24 June 2003]

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.

Seasons 1-3 are superb, but season 4 is a little blah!

[livemuzek-01941 · 10/10 · 26 May 2016]

I can see why season 4 was the final season. Don't get me wrong, I love Mork and Mindy, but the things that bothered me about the last season are, they cut Gina Hecht (Jean DaVinci) and Jay Thomas (Remo DaVinc) out completely. I liked those characters and the diner they ran. I also thought by adding the diner that it gave the show another place to go to instead of just shooting everything in Mindy's apartment. Lastly, season 4 just gets kind of weird and goes overboard with Mearth. I know everybody loves Jonathon Winters, but I didn't find him all that funny except a few times. I will definitely keep season 4 and watch it again, but the first 3 seasons really are the best. It's a shame they never had a series finale, but that's how it goes most of the time I guess. We will always love and miss you Robin Williams! Well, until next time..Nanu Nanu.

Madness...

[eskimosound · 8/10 · 19 February 2022]

I'm re watching this, it is amazing to watch, Robin Williams it's totally and utterly bananas but it sort of gets too much. It was funny back then as no one had seen anything like it but with his rise to fame, Robins style just progressed so much that we are used to it. So sure it's good but at what cost? We now know he was seriously high on Cocaine, does that take from it? Maybe but the best thing I can say is its dated. God Bless Robin Williams.

Great show up to the point Mork and Mindy got married.

[Aaron1375 · 8/10 · 14 February 2010]

The television show "The Happy Days" had an episode which is used in many shows. It is called "jumped the shark", basically an episode that is the beginning of the end for a show as this is the point in the show that the ratings start to go down and the episodes become really weak. Sometimes there is room for debate as to when this happens in a show, and sometimes it is hard for me to say when it occurred for a particular show. However, it is easy for this one, it is when Mork and Mindy got married. After that the show just got to bizarre with the birth of their child and the strange way the show ended. I would think there was some rule that all shows involving aliens ended with an ending that really did not conclude the show in a satisfying way. "Alf" had the same kind of end, however I do believe "Third Rock from the Sun" ended in a more conclusive way. This show was great though up until that point as this is one of the few Robin Williams vehicles that I enjoyed watching. His energy and craziness does not detract from this show as it often does in his movies, but rather enhances it. Pam Dawber plays the perfect straight woman to his madness as she must withstand an onslaught of questions and trying to get him used to things on our planet. Sometimes the show got a bit to sappy, and at others downright strange, but for the most part the show worked. There was even one that was a bit scary when I saw it as a child where a house was haunted and Mork got possessed or something. Then there was the strange one where he shrunk that was oddly unfunny when he was in the strange universe. However, my favorite episodes were the simpler ones. One of my favorite gags was when he learned about arguments from some guy who owned a deli with his sister and how great it was when they made up so Mork proceeds to start a fight with Mindy by taking the spaghetti she made for dinner and slamming it against the wall yelling "You expect me to eat this slop!". When Mirth was born the show was just becoming to strange as I did not care for the fact Mork got pregnant as he may have been an alien and they may have been able to give birth, but what exactly could Mindy have done to get him that way? Basically, a great show for three seasons that got to weird its fourth.

mork and mindy season review

[annmintz-1 · 8/10 · 29 January 2009]

I think the first season was awesome but i was surprised at how quickly mork "humanized." That was why i was glad that they had the episode where he "orkanized" him again, but he was never again his naturally clueless self. I also hated when they abandoned the music store and went for a diner instead. I think Mearth was a great addition to the cast and I loved when Mindy's father and grandmother came back. I didn't really like how Mindy changed, though. I think that she became more and more mature and not fun as the show progressed. All in all, season one was great, season two sucked, and season three was great when they got married and had Mearth.

Mork & Mindy never was funny. Almost unwatchable

[gargantuaboy · 1/10 · 12 October 2021]

Mork & Mindy was about as funny as Mister Ed or some other bad sitcom. There was nothing funny about Robin Williams prancing around in his striped shirt and suspenders. The character was introduced on truly one of the dumbest Happy Days episodes of all time. I really am not one to review this show because I am not able to get through an entire episode.

Don't Tamper With A Hit!

[parkerr86302 · 10 May 2007]

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.

One of the fun shows to catch on Nick-at-Nite.

[OllieSuave-007 · 8/10 · 8 September 2017]

I've caught quite a few episodes of this sit-com as a kid, and was pretty amused by the decent humor, comedy and wackiness of the story.

It was nice seeing Robin Williams in one of his earlier works, playing an alien named Ork as he investigates planet Earth for his superiors back in his home planet.

Williams definitely has that goofiness, and sometimes nonsensical, comedic side to him and it works fine in this show. He has good chemistry with co-star Pam Dawber (Mindy), who welcomes the alien into her home.

It's one of the fun shows to catch on Nick-at-Nite.

Grade B.

Ha ha

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 12 June 2020]

I like the bit where he said Nano nano and did that thing with his hand

Before my time

[Ptcsb19 · 10/10 · 23 February 2021]

Even though this was before I was born, I love this show. I wish shows today still had this kind of magic.

I don't know why people are unhappy when there are so many clowns in government.

[Sylviastel · 10/10 · 25 November 2018]

Robin Williams will be forever missed for his comic genius and natural talent. Robin played Mork from Ork who first appeared in "Happy Days." Garry Marshall was smart enough to get him his own sitcom immediately. This sitcom was the perfect venue to showcase his many talents. Pam Dawber played Mindy and she deserved an Emmy for her performance as the straight-laced college graduate. They lived in Boulder, Colorado. Mork and Mindy's relationship heat up by the last season. In this season, they learned how much they mean to each other. After watching the third season on DVD, I can't help but miss Robin Williams more. He was such a gift. While he would go on to superstardom, his performance as Mork is a lesson in masterclass acting. Pam Dawber deserves a lot of respect for her performance as the patient and kind Mindy.

Television at it's worst

[pmike-11312 · 1/10 · 17 January 2022]

While agreeing with the previous (date-wise) review, I have to say Mr. Ed was far more entertaining than this idiocy. (My Mother The Car might even be better!) . No one ever laughed harder at Robin Williams than Robin Williams. Despite never being able to stand the guy, I did try to watch this show once or twice - got through maybe half of each. And as an actress, Pam Dawber is much better in her portrayal as Mrs. Mark Harmon.

I almost spit out my morning coffee when I read one reviewer say it was a good show until it got stupid.... LOL! Like the first minute of the first epi sode?

Fall of '83

[KUAlum26 · 13 April 2006]

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.

Hilarious, zany comedy

[grantss · 8/10 · 24 April 2023]

Mork, an alien from the planet Ork, is sent to Earth to research it and report his findings to his superiors. He ends up living with a young woman, Mindy. She helps him learn about Earth and human ways and helps him adjust. This doesn't make him behave any less strange, however.

The series that was made by Robin Williams and which launched his career. He is absolutely perfect for the role of Mork: off-the-wall, outlandishly funny and spontaneous. If anyone else was in the role this series would have been quite forgettable.

Williams' antics are complemented by a great performance by Pam Dawber as Mindy. She plays it straight and the chemistry between the two of them is great. Kudos to her for not losing her composure (though I don't know how many takes each scene took!).

Wonderfully funny.