Mork & Mindy: The Complete First Season
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes Overall: B+
Who would have thought that when an overly hairy unknown
comic named Robin Williams auditioned for the guest-starring role of alien Mork
for an episode of Happy Days that pure genius would be discovered. Everyone knew he was perfect for Mork
instantly. But no one knew that he
would spark the idea for a spin-off series (well, technically, thanks to time
travel) called Mork & Mindy.
Spin-offs normally supplant popular characters from established
television shows into new situations and locales. Since Mork was only a one-time guest on Happy Days, Mork
& Mindy can only technically be considered a spin-off. Nonetheless, the creators of Happy Days
saw Williams potential to be a big star so immediately set to work on giving
his character his own series. Thus, Mork
& Mindy. The show quickly found
a fan base, as people loved the zaniness of the stories. The basic premise behind the show had an
alien named Mork reporting to Earth on behalf of his home world Ork to report
on Earth customs and what the people are like.
Upon landing on Earth, he instantly befriends Mindy McConnell and stays
with her in her home much to the chagrin of her father.
The series really showcased Williams' talent for physical
and verbal humor, something that really had not been focused on since the days
of I Love Lucy. His portrayal of
the innocent and child-like Mork is nothing short of brilliant. Each episode dealt with Mork dealing with
something on Earth from the point of view of a complete stranger, from sitting
down head first to believing eggs were the prisons of creatures needing to be
free. Pam Dawber is wonderful as his
human counterpart Mindy who takes Mork through the humanization process,
helping him learn the way things are.
The supporting players are all fantastic, and both feed and play off
Williams' energy with amazing results.
This show was really the mold for future shows like Perfect Strangers
and 3rd Rock from the Sun, in which all these series dealt
with outsiders coming to America and dealing with customs differently, but in a
humorous manner.
The set comes in a box featuring a really young Robin
Williams and Pam Dawber on the cover.
The box holds four ultra-thin Amaray cases, which hold one disc
each. Each case contains an episode
synopsis and original airdate for the episodes. The DVD cases and box do contain some nice photos from the series
as well as PR photos that were probably released around the time of the
series. The DVD menus are not animated,
but do contain a “Play All” option.
Thankfully, each episode is broken up into chapters.
The video is presented in its original TV aspect ratio of
1.33 to 1. Considering that Paramount
probably did only so much to help clean up the image, the image quality looks
pretty good and holds up well after all these years. There are instances of dust and dirt, with occasional moments of
graininess, but it still looks pretty good.
The color palette of the show uses more soft and dark colors (except for
Mork, which makes him stand out), and it gives the show a bit of a faded
look. But still, it looks good, it just
could have been better. Maybe when the
HD transfers are done, as the show was filmed, not taped, like all spin-offs of
Happy Days.
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital English Stereo
Surround. It sounds pretty good for a
show this old, but a little clean up could have been done. Unfortunately, English is the only
option. There are no other language
tracks nor subtitles or closed captioning.
Shazbot! Since Mork
& Mindy is released under the Paramount Television label, this means no
extras, making it a bare-bones episode-only release. It would have been nice to at least get the episode of Happy Days
that inspired the spin-off.
Mork calling Paramount, come in Paramount. Mork calling Paramount, come in
Paramount. Please start releasing your
season sets of classic television shows with extras! The fans wish it to be so!
However, it seems like Paramount is willing to risk major overhauls and
the inclusion of supplements to bring the set to fans at a decent price. I guess it is better to get these shows than
to not get them at all. So, until next
time, this is Mork saying, “Na nu, na nu!”
- Antonio Lopez
