"The Mork & Mindy Special" was the one hour pilot that launched Robin Williams into stardom as the character Mork from Ork, introduced in the HAPPY DAYS episode "My Favorite Orkan" seven months earlier, even bringing back Henry Winkler as Fonzie, and adding Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio for an even better tie-in. Williams' love for performing and rapid fire character skills were undoubtedly unique, and never dimmed over time (he once referred to himself as a 'culture junkie'), while co-star Pam Dawber was quite the novice with one feature film (1978's "The Wedding") and a failed TV pilot on her slim singing/acting resume. A successful model loaded with charm and spunk, these qualities proved essential in portraying Mindy McConnell, unsuspecting earth woman whose first meeting with an alien from outer space piques her journalistic interest and compels her to let him stay and observe earth behavior so she can learn more about his Orkan ways. This doesn't sit well with her old fashioned father Fred (Conrad Janis), a successful orchestra conductor who owns a music store where his daughter works alongside grandmother Cora Hudson (Elizabeth Kerr), Fred's mother-in-law, who often pricks his pomposity by constantly calling him a 'weiner' (far more hip than square Fred). Cora accepts Mork right away, but Fred asks Deputy Tilman (Geoffrey Lewis) to put a scare into Mork, resulting in his arrest and sanity trial, where a few secrets are revealed by Mork's canny cleverness in impersonations. Before that takes place, he relates his past experience during the 1950s with the Fonz, seeking advice about women, major mishaps in store for an unsuspecting Laverne, who concludes that Fonzie set her up with another jerk! Another recurring character introduced is 10 year old Eugene (Jeffrey Jacquet), who often coaches Mork in how to react to adversity, such as being forced to eat spinach! (a child who is quite flattered to have an adult asking for HIS advice). Only Mindy is aware of Mork's alien identity, and every episode ends with the childlike Mork reporting his findings back to the unseen Orson (voiced by Ralph James), his Orkan superior, touching upon the foibles of human existence with great warmth and a twinkle in his eye. It's no wonder the show was an instant hit, finishing in the Top 3 its first year, though radical, unnecessary changes made during the offseason sent the series cratering rapidly, never to recover from its disastrous second season (though they did bounce back admirably for the third).
Review of Pilot
