"Mork the Prankster" opens with Glenda Faye Comstock (Crissy Wilzak) 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.
2 Reviews
Crash Into You
Lian12 October 2020
This episode marks the first time Mork & Mindy kiss in more than a full season, a kiss that is far more romantic and long lasting than any of the others that have come before, marking the start of a shift forward in their relationship, that culminates in their mutual declaration at the end of the season.
The circumstances setting it, and a classic episode, in motion are triggered by Glenda Fay playing a practical joke on Mindy and Jeanie that Mindy in turn decides to try on Mork. She carries it off and after initially missing the point (to make you laugh) Mork decides to play one back on her, consulting his young charges (including Corey Feldman in the first of two appearances) because he doesn't know any. They give him some ideas, but Mork being Mork gets the wrong end of the stick about the nature of practical jokes, and begins a series of small stunts that fall flat because he flags every single one of them to Mindy. After Mindy explains that surprise is the key component, he begins to cotton on, and raises his game.
Pulling off a giant version of Mindy's prank on Mr. Bickley & Fred, they congratulate him, and Mr. Bickley reminisces about his college days and the practical joke that made him a Legend, when he took apart the Dean's Studebaker and rebuilt it in the Dean's living room. A light bulb comes on in Mork's head as the legendary practical joke sounds perfect in his aim to make Mindy laugh.
Spending all night, he takes apart her Jeep and rebuilds it in the living room, waking Mindy at 5am to come out. Half asleep it takes her a moment to take in what he's done, and rather than amused she's aghast. Unfortunately no one mentioned to him, that a 2nd floor apartment is not the place for this kind of prank, and the combined weight of them both and the Jeep is too much, the wooden floor giving way, and plunging the Jeep down into Mr. Bickley's living room on the ground floor.
A shell-shocked Bickley, up early to go fishing only escapes being crushed by having gone out to the kitchen to fill his Thermos with coffee, and wanders out in a daze with Mindy's assurances that Mork will remove the jeep and she'll check to see if her insurance will cover the damages.
As soon as he's gone she rounds on Mork, rightfully furious at his unthinking recklessness, telling him that he could've killed Mr. Bickely, and he's wrecked both his and their apartment which could cost her a huge amount to repair. Unable to deal with him further she storms off to Glenda Fay at her single's complex.
Glenda Fay is entirely sympathetic and, though a little shocked when she realizes Mindy is actively thinking of ending her living arrangements with Mork is happy to put her up . No sooner is that decision made however, than two of Glenda's neighbours drop by. The chain wearing super swinger Todd Norman Taylor - TNT (first encountered in Mork's Mixed Emotions in S1) and the male model handsome Derek who would be a statue were he any more the poseur.
After 5 minutes of TNT's unrelentingly and cheesily hitting on her, and Derek's virtually motionless display of posing, during which neither of them use either her or Glenda's correct name, Mindy is in shock. Not only on her own behalf but Glenda's who is intending to take up the two men's invitation to their Jacuzzi party.
As she discusses why Glenda would possibly want to hang out with two self absorbed bozos, who have no real interest in her beyond having fun, Glenda confesses that fun and a few laughs is all she wants in the wake of her husband's death. But that every so often she misses having someone who really cares about her and that is why Mindy is so lucky to have Mork. She suggests that she give Mork another chance, telling her that a hole in her floor is a whole lot better than a hole in her life. Having seen what is out there, Mindy admits that she actually has it pretty good at home.
Going back to Bickley's apartment, she finds a truly repentant Mork, who has written a massively long list of all his bad points to work on. Mindy tells him that despite what he thinks of her, she's not perfect, that she should have had more patience, and knows that he only did what he did to make her laugh. Yes he's crazy, aggravating, impulsive and frustrating, but he cares about her and that makes everything else worthwhile.
The kiss that follows is a kiss and make up wrapped in flirtation, with Mork's questioning as to whether she really wants to kiss him, teasingly toyed with before Mindy eagerly seizes on it. It's sweet and lingering, with the added classic 'in love' visual gag from old movies of the raised leg (normally by the girl, but this time by Mork) which is strong enough to lift the Jeep behind him.
All in all this is a wonderfully crafted, visually top notch episode, that blends escalating humour, with dramatic punctuations and a some genuinely moving moments (Crissy Wilzak's Glenda Fay can really turn the tables on your expectations), and a pretty iconic moment with that Jeep going through the floor!
There is only one serious caveat, which relates to Mork's lack of knowledge of Practical Jokes in the first place. Something he made abundantly clear he knew all about in S1s To Tell The Truth, where the whole thing is kicked off with Mork playing a practical joke on Mindy (Splinking her) convincing her to go out with her rain coat, based on his ion ratios telling him the weather forecast was wrong, and laughing that she fell for it when she comes home soaked to the skin.
The circumstances setting it, and a classic episode, in motion are triggered by Glenda Fay playing a practical joke on Mindy and Jeanie that Mindy in turn decides to try on Mork. She carries it off and after initially missing the point (to make you laugh) Mork decides to play one back on her, consulting his young charges (including Corey Feldman in the first of two appearances) because he doesn't know any. They give him some ideas, but Mork being Mork gets the wrong end of the stick about the nature of practical jokes, and begins a series of small stunts that fall flat because he flags every single one of them to Mindy. After Mindy explains that surprise is the key component, he begins to cotton on, and raises his game.
Pulling off a giant version of Mindy's prank on Mr. Bickley & Fred, they congratulate him, and Mr. Bickley reminisces about his college days and the practical joke that made him a Legend, when he took apart the Dean's Studebaker and rebuilt it in the Dean's living room. A light bulb comes on in Mork's head as the legendary practical joke sounds perfect in his aim to make Mindy laugh.
Spending all night, he takes apart her Jeep and rebuilds it in the living room, waking Mindy at 5am to come out. Half asleep it takes her a moment to take in what he's done, and rather than amused she's aghast. Unfortunately no one mentioned to him, that a 2nd floor apartment is not the place for this kind of prank, and the combined weight of them both and the Jeep is too much, the wooden floor giving way, and plunging the Jeep down into Mr. Bickley's living room on the ground floor.
A shell-shocked Bickley, up early to go fishing only escapes being crushed by having gone out to the kitchen to fill his Thermos with coffee, and wanders out in a daze with Mindy's assurances that Mork will remove the jeep and she'll check to see if her insurance will cover the damages.
As soon as he's gone she rounds on Mork, rightfully furious at his unthinking recklessness, telling him that he could've killed Mr. Bickely, and he's wrecked both his and their apartment which could cost her a huge amount to repair. Unable to deal with him further she storms off to Glenda Fay at her single's complex.
Glenda Fay is entirely sympathetic and, though a little shocked when she realizes Mindy is actively thinking of ending her living arrangements with Mork is happy to put her up . No sooner is that decision made however, than two of Glenda's neighbours drop by. The chain wearing super swinger Todd Norman Taylor - TNT (first encountered in Mork's Mixed Emotions in S1) and the male model handsome Derek who would be a statue were he any more the poseur.
After 5 minutes of TNT's unrelentingly and cheesily hitting on her, and Derek's virtually motionless display of posing, during which neither of them use either her or Glenda's correct name, Mindy is in shock. Not only on her own behalf but Glenda's who is intending to take up the two men's invitation to their Jacuzzi party.
As she discusses why Glenda would possibly want to hang out with two self absorbed bozos, who have no real interest in her beyond having fun, Glenda confesses that fun and a few laughs is all she wants in the wake of her husband's death. But that every so often she misses having someone who really cares about her and that is why Mindy is so lucky to have Mork. She suggests that she give Mork another chance, telling her that a hole in her floor is a whole lot better than a hole in her life. Having seen what is out there, Mindy admits that she actually has it pretty good at home.
Going back to Bickley's apartment, she finds a truly repentant Mork, who has written a massively long list of all his bad points to work on. Mindy tells him that despite what he thinks of her, she's not perfect, that she should have had more patience, and knows that he only did what he did to make her laugh. Yes he's crazy, aggravating, impulsive and frustrating, but he cares about her and that makes everything else worthwhile.
The kiss that follows is a kiss and make up wrapped in flirtation, with Mork's questioning as to whether she really wants to kiss him, teasingly toyed with before Mindy eagerly seizes on it. It's sweet and lingering, with the added classic 'in love' visual gag from old movies of the raised leg (normally by the girl, but this time by Mork) which is strong enough to lift the Jeep behind him.
All in all this is a wonderfully crafted, visually top notch episode, that blends escalating humour, with dramatic punctuations and a some genuinely moving moments (Crissy Wilzak's Glenda Fay can really turn the tables on your expectations), and a pretty iconic moment with that Jeep going through the floor!
There is only one serious caveat, which relates to Mork's lack of knowledge of Practical Jokes in the first place. Something he made abundantly clear he knew all about in S1s To Tell The Truth, where the whole thing is kicked off with Mork playing a practical joke on Mindy (Splinking her) convincing her to go out with her rain coat, based on his ion ratios telling him the weather forecast was wrong, and laughing that she fell for it when she comes home soaked to the skin.
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