Mork the Prankster was the fifth episode from the third season of Mork & Mindy, also the 56th overall episode in the series. Co-written by Wendy Kout and George Zateslo, the episode, which was directed by Jeff Chambers, premiered on ABC-TV on December 4, 1980.
Synopsis[]
After Mindy introduces Mork to the concept of practical jokes, he puts her jeep in their second-floor apartment. Meanwhile, Mindy discovers Glenda Faye is feeling lonely and unhappy.
Plot summary[]
After Mindy tries to razz Mork with a spring-loaded snake, he to attempts to grasp the concept of practical jokes but takes things one step too far when he puts Mindy's jeep inside their second-floor apartment. Meanwhile, Glenda Faye has become unhappy and is filling her time by hanging out with the pretentious singles who live in her building.
The episode begins with Glenda Faye asking Mindy to help decorate her apartment to make it more comfortable. After Mindy pulls a harmless practical joke on Mork, he begins a series of minor pranks that grow in intensity until Mindy finds her jeep in the living room (which Bickley boasts he did with a 1951 Studebaker), promptly falling through the floor into Bickley's apartment.
A furious Mindy spends time at Glenda's singles apartment, where she encounters swingers like Todd Norman Taylor (Bill Kirchenbauer), who calls himself TNT. Glenda confides that since her husband died she's been looking only for a few laughs, convincing Mindy that she should give Mork another chance. The 'kiss and make up' scene really makes this look like a first-season episode.
Trivia[]
- During his opening scene, Mork does a comical impersonation of Julia Child, a popular television chef who was frequently the butt of jokes regarding her heavily rumored alcoholism.
- Mork tells Stephanie, "There's free food down at Jack in the Box if you stand next to the clown." The Jack in the Box Restaurant's drive-through speaker used to be hidden inside of a clown head, but these speakers were discontinued the same year this episode was made, in an infamous commercial in which they blew up the clown.
- When Mork gets an idea, he references The Wizard of Oz again by exclaiming, "A tornado in the windmills of my mind. Hang on, Toto, hang on!"
- Mr. Bickley narrowly escaped death because he went to get a cup of coffee, so he exclaims, "I owe my life to Joe DiMaggio!" DiMaggio was a former professional baseball player, the one-time husband of Marilyn Monroe, and was then known as the spokesman for the Mr. Coffee kitchen appliance.
- There's never another mention of this episode's events and Mindy's jeep is undamaged in later shows.
- Referring to Mork's shenanigans, Mindy asks Glenda Faye, "How many years can a normal person put up with that kinda stuff?" Glenda Faye replies, "Four?" This is an inside-joke. The show was sagging in the ratings and the crew was hoping for at least four seasons, which is how many it took for a series to become eligible for syndicated reruns at that time.
- This episode marks the return of Bill Kirchenbauer as "TNT" (Todd Norman Taylor), a disco-loving, womanizing sleazeball who first appeared as a patron in the record store in season 1.
- Mork's astrological sign is revealed to be Libra.
Image gallery[]
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Robin Williams as Mork
- Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell
- Conrad Janis as Fred McConnell
- Gina Hecht as Jeannie DaVinci
- Crissy Wilzak as Glenda Faye Comstock
- Tom Poston as Mr. Bickley
- Ralph James as Voice of Orson
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Bill Kirchenbauer as Todd Norman Taylor
- Corey Feldman as Billy
- William Bumiller as Derrick
- Stephanie Kayano as Stephanie
- Amy Tenowich as Lola
- Bebo as Himself
