Info:
DVD Release Date: November 27, 2007 (CBS DVD/Paramount Home Entertainment)
Color / 1980-81
MSRP: $38.99
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 22
Running time: Approx. 9 Hours, 9 Minutes
Audio Tracks: Dolby Digital English Mono 2.0
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Languages, Subtitles, Closed Captioning: English; No Subtitles; Closed Captioned
Special Features: None
Introduction:
Mork & Mindy was a spin-off from an episode of Happy Days in which Mork, an alien from the planet Ork,
attempted to kidnap Richie. Mork was so popular that he was given his own series which became an
instant hit!
Mork (Robin Williams) was sent to study Earthlings, landing in an eggshell near Boulder, Colorado.
He was soon befriended by pretty Mindy McConnell (Pam Dawber), a music store clerk, who
helped him adjust to Earth's "strange" ways.
The cosmic comedy continues in this four-disc, third season collection. As always, Mindy
attempts to live a normal life - but there's never a dull moment with Mork around
as he keeps us laughing with his naive and wacky view of the world. His adventures include
protecting Grandma Cora from muggers, racing a champion roller skater, coming face to face with
the real Robin Williams and helping Mindy become an Orkan! Shazbot!
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
Mork & Mindy's third season premiered with an one-hour episode on November 13, 1980. It was delayed
due to a writer's strike. The show continued to air on Thursday nights at 8:00-8:30 P.M. on ABC.
Returning this season as supporting cast members were Conrad Janis (Mindy's father, Frederick McConnell),
Elizabeth Kerr (Mindy's grandmother, Cora Hudson), Jay Thomas (Remo Da Vinci), Gina Hecht (Jean Da Vinci),
Jim Staahl (Mindy's cousin, Nelson Flavor), Robert Donner (Exidor) and Ralph James (voice of Orson). Remo and Jean's restaurant was changed from "The New York Delicatessen" to "Da
Vinci's Restaurant". After finishing #27 in the ratings for the second
season, the show dropped out of the top 30.
Memorable episodes included the special one-hour season premiere, "Putting the Ork Back in Mork," in
which it could be Mork's last night on Earth when an ancient Orkan elder - who looks like a ten-year-old
boy - arrives with the news that Mork must return to Ork for "forecycling" because he has picked up too
many Earthly ways. Spaceman Mork gets so cosmically carried away with pulling practical jokes that he surprises
Mindy by assembling her jeep in their living room right over Mr. Bickley's apartment - with disastrous
results in "Mork the Prankster." Mork braves one of the zaniest shootouts ever when he faces a funny but
formidable opponent in a ghost town saloon - a small boy armed with water balloons who's trying
to emulate outlaw hero Billy the Kid in "Gunfight at the Morkay Corral." Spaceman Mork
comically discovers the human emotion fear when an insurance salesman's scare tactics
and Exicor's claim that the world is ending prompt him to seal himself in a glass tube
right in the middle of Mindy's living room - vowing never to emerge in "Alas, Poor Mork, We Knew Him
Well." Naive Mork puts on his own out-of-this world telethon to help Mindy raise charity funds,
but is such a funny failure at fund-raising that he turns to his own outrageous brand of panhandling
to come up with the needed money in "Mork and the Bum Rap." Mork, who has never heard of Robin Williams
and scoffs at the idea of resembling him, gets crushed by mobs of fans who think he is
the popular comedian in "Mork Meets Robin Williams." Mork, who doesn't understand why people
gossip, reveals some hilarious "inside scoops" when he shows and tells all about his
friends while subbing for Mindy as host of a local TV show called "Rumor Has It" in
"I Heard it Through the Morkvine."
Notable guest stars included Priscilla Morrill as Mrs. Fowler in "Dueling Skates."
Corey Feldman appeared as Billy and Bill Kirchenbauer was Todd Norman Taylor in "Mork the Prankster." Corey
returned in "Gunfight at the Morkay Corral." Bill appeared again in "Mork the Swinging Single."
Shelley Fabares played Cathy McConnell, Fred's new and much younger wife, in "Mork's New Look." Ilene Graff was the Receptionist in "Mork's New Look."
Foster Brooks guest starred as Miles Sternhagen, Mindy's boss, in "Mindy Gets Her Job." Lyle Waggoner
played Xerko in "There's a New Mork in Town." Robin Williams appeared as himself in "Mork Meets
Robin Williams." Rance Howard (Ron Howard's father) guest starred as the Guard in "Mork
Meets Robin Williams." Jonathan Winters made his first appearance on the show as Dave McConnell in "Mork and
the Family Reunion." He would play the baby Mearth in the final season. Elinor Donahue appeared as
Dr. Joni Lincoln in "Mindy & Mork."
Packaging:
This 4-disc set contains all 22 episodes (1 which was an one-hour episode) from the third (1980-81) season.
The packaging is similar to the second season format. It comes in an Amaray movie-style
case with clear outer edges. The cover art features a photo of Mork (with his ranbow suspenders) and
Mindy. The Mork & Mindy logo with the "o" in Mork shaped like an egg is in the top center of
the case and there is a rainbow stripe. There's a smaller photo of Mork in his spacesuit calling Orson next to the logo.
Robin Williams and Pam Dawber's names are the very top of the case. While Season 2 had a purple background,
this time it is yellow. On the back of the case, there is a photo of Mork zapping his fingers and three smaller, circular photos from
the episodes. These photos include Mork, Mindy, Exidor, the chimp and Grandma Cora. The rainbow stripe is
continued on the back of the case and there are various red, yellow and green stars in the background.
A synopsis of the set and the DVD specs are listed. Mork & Mindy are, once again, on the spine of the case.
There is a plastic holder in the middle of the case that holds the second and third discs. The
first and fourth discs are in an embedded holder inside the case. The embedded holders look
to be a bit sturdier than the holders in the second season set, so that is an improvement and the discs
shouldn't pop out as easily. Episode titles, original airdates and short summaries are listed by disc
in the backgrounds, which are white in color. The disc numbers and episode titles are listed in
various colors, while the rest of the text is in black. There are small stars in red, yellow
and green in the background. There is a black sticker bar on the right side of the inside case,
so that obscures some of the information for the first episode on disc three.
The discs look the same as on the season two set. They have the show logo on them and
have a silver background. The Mork & Mindy logo on them gives
a hologram-type effect when you turn them into the light. Photos of the cast on the discs would
have been much nicer. Disc 1 has episodes 1-6. Disc 2 has 7-11. Disc 3 has 12-16. Disc 4
rounds out the set with 17-22.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menus are very basic, but they look nice and colorful and are easy to navigate.
A different photo and colored background is used on each disc. Disc 1 features Mork in his red spacesuit and has a blue
background. Disc 2 has Mork & Mindy and an orange background. Disc 3 has Mindy & Mork in his spacesuit and
a green background. Disc 4 features Mindy and Mork in his spacesuit and a purple background.
The backgrounds feature a rainbow stripe on the left side of the screen and the Mork & Mindy
rainbow-bordered logo in the top center. The episode titles are listed in white text and spiral down from
right to left. A "Play All" option is available for those who want to watch the
episodes without interupptions.. The episode that you highlight is underlined
in a different color on each disc. When you first insert disc one, there is a series of previews
for some other CBS DVD releases (1:27) that you can watch or skip. Chapter stops are available
within the episodes, but no separate scene selection menus are offered.
Video and Audio Quality:
The video and audio quality looks slightly better than the first two seasons.
The video looks crisp and clear, with just some occasional grain and dirt.
The outdoor Boulder, Colorado scenes that are sprinkled throughout the episodes look beautiful.
Overall colors are vibrant and bright. These prints certainly look better than what I've
seen in syndication over the years. It is hard to believe they are nearly 30-years-old now.
They are presented in their original full screen format and in their original broadcast order.
The episodes are spread out well with no more than 6 per disc.
For the closing logo enthusiasts, you will be disappointed to see that the Paramount mountain logo is still gone. They just
use a new CBS Paramount Television logo.
The audio is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, and I didn't notice any major problems. The volume is at a good
level, and the dialogue is easy to understand. Closed captioning is available.
You'll notice on the back of the case, it says in very small text: "Some episodes may be edited from their
original network versions. Some music has been changed for this home entertainment version."
Season two just mentioned that some music had been changed, so I guess there may be some
scenes that were completely edited out on this set. Most of the episodes run around 24 1/2 to 25 minutes
in length and seem to be unedited. The one-hour season premiere is presented in its original format
and runs 50 minutes, 6 seconds. The episode with the lowest running time is "Mork Meets Robin Williams." It runs
24 minutes, 11 seconds. I was unable to find any music listings for the third season, so
I'm not sure what music was changed or which scenes may have been cut out.
If you notice any missing scenes or substituted music, please post
in this thread.
Here is the episode breakdown by disc, including the running times:
Disc 1
---------
3-1 and 3-2 - 52-53. Putting the Ork Back in Mork, Parts 1 & 2 (11/13/80) (50:06)
3-3 - 54. Mork in Never Never Land (11/20/80) (24:33)
3-4 - 55. Dueling Skates (11/27/80) (24:42)
3-5 - 56. Mork the Prankster (12/04/80) (25:11)
3-6 - 57. Mork, the Monkey's Uncle (12/11/80) (25:10)
Disc 2
---------
3-7 - 58. Gunfight at the Morkay Corral (12/18/80) (24:54)
3-8 - 59. Mork's New Look (01/01/81) (25:00)
3-9 - 60. Alas, Poor Mork, We Knew Him Well (01/08/81) (24:41)
3-10 - 61. Mork and the Bum Rap (01/15/81) (25:00)
3-11 - 62. Mindy Gets Her Job (01/22/81) (25:11)
Disc 3
---------
3-12 - 63. Twelve Angry Appliances (02/05/81) (25:00)
3-13 - 64. There's a New Mork in Town (02/12/81) (25:10)
3-14 - 65. Mork Meets Robin Williams (02/19/81) (24:11)
3-15 - 66. Mindy, Mindy, Mindy (02/26/81) (25:12)
3-16 - 67. Mork the Swinging Single (03/12/81) (25:10)
Disc 4
---------
3-17 - 68. Mork & Mindy Meet Rick & Ruby (03/26/81) (24:57)
3-18 - 69. Mork and the Family Reunion (04/09/81) (25:06)
3-19 - 70. Old Muggable Mork (04/16/81) (24:56)
3-20 - 71. I Heard it Through the Morkvine (04/30/81) (25:05)
3-21 - 72. Mindy & Mork (05/07/81) (25:09)
3-22 - 73. Reflections and Regrets (05/14/81) (25:06)
Special Features:
Shazbot! Three seasons released. No special features. It would have been nice to see Mork's appearances on Happy Days,
but those will be on the Happy Days sets... whenever they are released in the future. We've lost two
cast members over the last year or so. Tributes to Robert Donner and Tom Poston would have been great.
Maybe we'll see some extras on the fourth and final season or on a complete series boxed set
if they release one.
Final Comments:
After waiting nearly 2 1/2 years between seasons one and two, it was only about 7 months this time around. The episodes
of the second season were a bit of a letdown, but
the show rebounded a bit for the third season. They tried to go back to the show's roots and put the
Ork back in Mork. Conrad Janis and Elizabeth Kerr were brought back, as well as a number
of the supporting characters. Even with the changes, the show was never able to recapture the magic of the first
season and the show continued to fall in the ratings. ABC should have never tampered with the hit they
they had at the start. If I had to rank my favorite seasons in order, it would be season 1, 3, 2 and 4.
Hopefully we will see the fourth and final season sometime in the spring of 2008, if the release
pattern is the same. There were a lot of shark jumping moments in the fourth season with
Mork & Mindy's marriage and the arrival of Mearth, but I know some fans still liked it and hoped
for a longer run. Na-Nu, Na-Nu!
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars - How our point system works)
Video Quality: 4/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Special Features: 0/5
Menu Design/Navigation: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller on 11/25/07
To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000UX6TLG/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20
Questions or comments about this set? Post on our message board:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=214256
For much more information on the show, visit our extensive fan site:
Mork & Mindy Online
