"Jeanie Loves Mork" offers beautiful Gina Hecht's Jeanie DaVinci an episode to shine, in which Mindy's latest job with the Boulder Journal requires her to work on the Lonely Hearts column, which Mork assumes means 'spare parts for donors!' Her first letter gets the perfect response from Mork: "I found a pair of panty hose in my husband's pocket, should I be worried?" "don't panic, they may not be his!" A letter written by Jeanie DaVinci reveals how lonely she's been since moving from the Bronx, wanting to just meet a nice guy who listens and shares the same interests. Enter Mork the compassionate, walking her home and spending the next two days making her laugh for the first time in a while. Mindy is at first delighted to read a follow up letter saying that Jeanie has met a great guy, only to find that Mork has gone overboard in his efforts to cheer up Jeanie: "and then some!" Jeanie drowns her sorrows in ice cream, but realizes that Mork's friendship has helped her escape from her shell and become a better person (this was the only episode that showed Remo and Jeanie in their apartment). Another sign that the show could still be salvaged, more to come the third season.
2 Reviews
Sweet, if a bit of a re-tread
Lian10 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Morks' most charming trait is the lengths he goes for for those he cares about and considers friends. This episode is best for showcasing that and actually focusing some of the light on the emotional life of the newer regular supporting characters (beyond Mr Bickley or, weirdly, Exidor) as they had to some extent in Season 1 with Fred and Cora. Gina Hecht is a terrific actress (with a career still going strong), and she was finally given some meat to work with and, unsurprisingly, carried it off really well (as she did later in S3's Reflections & Regrets).
Unfortunately in taking the route they took, it feels in tone very much like Episode 1's Old Fears. And worse makes it feel like Mork learned nothing from his well meaning actions in that, and once again tries to fill a hole in someone's life just to cheer them up and inadvertantly plays with their emotions as a result). In addition it's saddled with a resolution that seems very pat in comparison to the satisfying (and revelatory) one in Old Fears.
Having already squired a lonely Cora (as an old man), in Old Fears he now does the same for Jeannie who has written her lonely hearts letter (to a high conveniently placed Mindy in the Agony Aunt position just at the right time). Jeannie is rapidly charmed (just as Cora was) and sounds out Mindy about Mork as a possible boyfriend, but naturally Mork is just trying to cheer her up and romance is just not going to play out. But while Cora figures out her beau is Mork by herself; that isn't going anywhere (also a great way to have her discover he's not human) and has already come to terms with it before he eve confesses...Jeannie's feelings for Mork are just magically dissipated by the end of the episode and never arise again.
Unfortunately in taking the route they took, it feels in tone very much like Episode 1's Old Fears. And worse makes it feel like Mork learned nothing from his well meaning actions in that, and once again tries to fill a hole in someone's life just to cheer them up and inadvertantly plays with their emotions as a result). In addition it's saddled with a resolution that seems very pat in comparison to the satisfying (and revelatory) one in Old Fears.
Having already squired a lonely Cora (as an old man), in Old Fears he now does the same for Jeannie who has written her lonely hearts letter (to a high conveniently placed Mindy in the Agony Aunt position just at the right time). Jeannie is rapidly charmed (just as Cora was) and sounds out Mindy about Mork as a possible boyfriend, but naturally Mork is just trying to cheer her up and romance is just not going to play out. But while Cora figures out her beau is Mork by herself; that isn't going anywhere (also a great way to have her discover he's not human) and has already come to terms with it before he eve confesses...Jeannie's feelings for Mork are just magically dissipated by the end of the episode and never arise again.
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