Dueling Skates

"Dueling Skates"
Season 3, Episode #4 (#55) in series (95 episodes)
"Wheels", the pampered son of a prominent land owner prevails on his father to tear down the Daycare Center to build a car park for his Roller Rink So Mork challenges him to a skate-off through Boulder in "Dueling Skates" in Season 3 (ep.#4).
"Mork & Mindy" episode
Guest Star(s):	Reid Smith Priscilla Morrill Bill Morey Tom Kindle Bebo
Network:	ABC-TV
Production code:	304 (3x4)
Writer(s)	Dale McRaven & Bruce Johnson
Director	Garry Marshall
Original airdate	November 27, 1980
IMDB	Dueling Skates
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Mork in Never Never Land"	"Mork the Prankster"
List of Mork & Mindy seasons/episodes

Dueling Skates was fourth episode from Season 3 of Mork and Mindy, also the 55th overall episode in the series. Co-written by Dale McRaven and Bruce Johnson, the episode, which was directed by Garry Marshall, originally aired on ABC-TV on November 27, 1980.

Synopsis

A pretentious daddy's boy nicknamed "Wheels", whose father owns the land the Pine Tree Daycare Center is on, plans to tear it down to provide a parking lot for the skating rink he runs. To try and save the Center Mork challenges him to a skate-off through Boulder without knowing that Wheels is a State roller skating champ.

Plot

Mindy has dropped Mork off at his job at the Pine Tree Day Care Center. Before she leaves, Mrs. Fowler who runs the center arrives to tell them that its lease is up at the end of the year, and Paul Simpson the man who owns the lease is not going to renew it. Instead the Center is to be torn down and turned into a parking lot for the Roller Disco across the street, which he also owns. Mr. Simpson is on his way over to explain things.

TV Guide Ad - 1980

Mindy tells Mork they need to find a way to do something to stop this, but if it's *the* Paul Simpson they'll be up against it as he's very powerful and owns half of Boulder. Mork is all fired up however, and read to give him what for and what five. However the minute Mr Simpson arrives, Mork goes down on his knees, pathetically pleading with him not to close the place as Mindy tries to stop him, finally pulling him away and telling him to cool it. Mindy makes a more reasoned appeal to Mr. Simpson who admits he doesn't want to tear down the Center. He is doing this because of his son, Carol, who goes by the name Wheels. While he technically owns the roller rink, he gave it to his son, who up until he started to run it was irresponsible and shiftless only interested in skating. The rink has turned him around, so Mr. Simpson isn't going to mess with it or get involved. He suggests they go to talk with him, while he talks to Mrs. Fowler.

Mork & Mindy head to Wheels Roller Rink and hire some skates, looking around for this Wheels. Mindy spots a tall good looking guy out on the rink who's exceptionally good. But Mork isn't impressed. For him, roller skating is a snap, or at least he thinks it is, falling flat on his face the second he actually steps onto the rink. Mindy pulls him up and they spot Wheels again, Mork tells her to go on and catch him, he'll be fine 'as a superior being', but as soon as she goes he's left flailing. Mindy speaks to Wheels, telling him about Mork's desire to speak with him (while she loses sight of him), but he barely pays any attention to her. When Mork finally makes his way to join her, Wheels and his sidekick Bozz, show nothing but amusement at the fate of the Center or the kids in it. When Mork confronts them about their attitude Wheel's disdainfully pushes him away, sending him spinning across the rink, and when an angry Mindy comes to Mork's defense she ends up flat on her back. Flying back and getting tangled up with Mindy and Wheels Mork asks if there's no way to change his mind, and Wheels tells him he has as much chance of that as of outskating him.

Mork accepts Wheels bet, and both Wheels and Mindy are left wondering what bet? Mork reminds him that Wheels said if he could outskate him he'd change his mind. When Wheels denies he said that, Mork indicates to the crowd in the rink that Wheels is welching and is scared. The tactic works and Wheels agrees, but Mindy tells Mork there's no way he can beat Wheels, to which Mork asks her to remember that he is a superior alien being, Going along with it Mindy clarifies the terms, but Wheels is unconcerned about losing wanting to know how many laps around the ring Mork wants. Mork, thinking he has him, says he has no intention of racing him on his home turf, he wants a road race from Eagle Park through Boulder Mountain Park finishing at the Mall, 10 steep miles downhill. Wheels accepts, and Mork crows that Wheels is a rink skater, and there'll be no spandex, no disco beat or strobe lighting to help him, there they'll be equals. Wheels however looks smug, and Bozz encourages Mork to read Wheel's oversized belt buckle. When he does, he sees that Wheels is Colorado State rink, street and cross country skate champion.

Back at the apartment Fred is telling Mindy, Mork has no chance of winning, she agrees but he got up before dawn to start training and 6 hours later hasn't returned yet. When he does, he's a wreck, everything bruised and hurting. He also ran into Glenda Faye multiple times. When she jogs in, Mindy reintroduces her to Fred who remembers her from Mindy's High School days. Fred voices his misgivings to Mork, but Mork is confident because as TV and Movies have shown him the good guys always win, and he's the good guy.

On the day of the race, at the finishing line in the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Fred and Mr. Bickley are MC-ing the event, with a large crowd gathered. Up at snowy Eagle Point, Mindy is helping, a 20's fighter pilot helmet clad, Mork finish his preparations talking him through the route down, and fretting over his safety. Wheels is unconcerned but its clear from their conversation that he and Bozz have planned a few tricks just in case. Their plan to cheat is clear from the off, when Wheels heads off before Bozz fires the gun and before Mork notices. An indignant Mindy questions Bozz then tells Mork to go. Despite his headstart Wheels comes down by Flagstaff Summit with Mork not too far behind him, but Mork almost gets distracted by a call from Orson When he comes around another bend however, he finds Wheels has strewn tyres, that Bozz left for him, across the road to block Mork's passage. Unable to stop in time, Mork hits the wheels and is sent careening off the road falling off a small precipice, but due to the winding nature of the road, as luck has it, literally lands on his feet beside Wheels on the next level below. Supremely casual, Mork wants to have a friendly word with Wheels about his 'start' and then wonders how Wheels managed to get past the tyres? When Wheels acts like he knows nothing about them and skates off, Mork 'starts' to get suspicious.

Watching from her jeep with binoculars, Mindy is concerned not seeing Mork but then spots him right on top of Wheels, and see's Wheel's trip Mork and send him crashing into the trees. Running to help him, she finds Mork confused, wondering why he's not winning as the good guy. Mindy says they don't always win, especially when the other guys cheat. Mork tells her he doesn't want to cheat or be rash, but Mindy tells him to be rash, how else can he catch him? He thinks about it and says its a drastic measure but he could induce Translinear Phasial Molecular Motion, essentially a timewarp. He can't do it for very long though and he's not sure there's enough time left for it to make a difference. Mindy tells him he has to do anything he can at this point, and he questions that its her of all people telling him to cheat. She retorts she's not telling him to cheat, Wheels is the one who is cheating, and besides he's doing it for the kids. He agrees and after exchanging a 'Big Kiss' he surprises Mindy by taking off through the trees and down through the grass to cut across country.

Down at the Pearl Street Mall, Fred and Mr. Bickely get word that Wheels has entered the outskirts of town and is headed towards the Mall. There's no sign of Mork at first, but then he's spotted, however, he starts to run out of steam as he warned Mindy he would and on reaching her in town tells her he's all warped out. Mindy reminds him of his talk of determination and drive, and encourages him forward...renewed again, he promises to give her drive, and will see her at the finish line, only to head off the wrong way. Turning around Mork gives it his all and catches up with Wheels, neck and neck as they enter the Mall area, but when Mork tries to get past him, Wheels starts to interfere with him, and in full view of everyone he shoves Mork onto the path making him fall. Getting encouragement from a little girl, Mork picks himself up once again. Wheels is skating down the Mall and already celebrating, not seeing Mork come up behind him rapidly, but with no space left to pass him it looks like Mork can't get over the line before Wheels, until he ducks and skates through Wheel's legs pipping him across the line in front of the crowd. Crashing onto the podium he's picked up in front of the cheering crowd by Fred and Mr. Bickley. Pushing her way through the crowd, Mindy rushes to congratulate him. Hugging him excitedly she tells him the kids are so happy, the care center saved.

The episode ends with Mork's report to Orson, telling him he raced a human on skates and won, but the real winners were the children whose day care center was saved. Orson wonders if humans always race on skates, but Mork tells him there's all kinds of different races, dog, horse, auto. Orson comments that racing is popular there and Mork agrees but says the most wonderful race of all could be the Human one if they could only realize they are all on the same side. All they need he thinks is an International Referee, suddenly getting the bright idea that he could be it, and demonstrates for Orson.

Trivia

General

• Contrary to their 'amateurish' abilities in the episode, both Robin Williams & Pam Dawber were enthusiastic roller skaters, attending a number of prominent rinks in LA and New York together and separately both for fun and various causes.
• Mork has difficulty and claims he's never skated before, but he displayed coordination skating previously, even racing Mindy home in her jeep in Mork vs. Mindy.
• The Keep Boulder Pure signs that were used by the racist group in Season 2's The Night They Raided Mind-ski's are seen again in this episode on the streets of Boulder, in this case in their real purpose, the push for clean energy.

Pop Culture

• Rollerskating was a fad that exploded in the late 1970s and seeped into pop-culture in programs such as this, as well as movies like Roller Boogie and Xanadu. Much of this episode was shot on-location in Boulder, including the interior of a typical roller-rink.
• Mork tells Mindy this isn't the Joan Crawford Daycare Center in relation to them not being mean to kids. The infamous biopic of the legendary movie star Joan Crawford Mommie Dearest was in production at this stage, based on the book by her daughter Christina Crawford which had come out in 1978, detailing the alleged acts of cruelty to her adopted children in their lives with her.
• In his pleading to Mr. Simpson, Mork references both Oliver Twist and Little Orphan Annie spinning off from Fagin, and the originals into a tangent about Hollywood and a quasi riff on child actors, possibly referencing the careers of child actors Mark Lester & Jack Wild after Oliver! in 1970, and the upcoming Annie which had been the subject of a bidding war in Hollywood alongside Robin William's own Popeye.
• Mindy refers to Mork on his return from training as 'Rocky', referring to Rocky's pre-dawn training regimen from the 1976 movie.
• Mork does a John Wayne voice for his Genghis Khan impersonation referring to Wayne's infamous casting as the Mongol in 1956's The Conqueror
• Mork imitates legendary screen bad guy Peter Lorre (as he does again in Present Tense) singing Roy Rogers & Dale Evan's theme song Happy Trails from the Roy Rogers radio and TV show in the 1940s and 50s.
• Mork refers to his middle name as 'Mr D' a play on 'Mr T' who had just come to prominence (prior to Rocky III) in 1980's America's Toughest Bouncer aired on NBC.
• Mork asks the little girl who encourages him after Wheel's pushes him onto the ground if her last name is 'Gipper', a reference to the famous Notre Dame Quarterback George 'Gipper' Gipp, who had died young, whose name had become synomous with winning under pressure, and who ironically had been played by current U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1940 movie Knute Rockne All American
• In his report to Orson, Mork mentions Leonid Brezhnev, then the leader of the Communist Party and the USSR.; Fidel Castro, President of Cuba (famous for its cigars hence the smoking joke), and Idi Amin, the Despotic President of Uganda who was deposed at the end of 1979 and went on the run, hence not being able to find him.

Quotes

• Mork: Yeah, I'll give that Mr Simpson a piece of my mind, or at least a hunk of my frontal lobe, there Min. I mean eviction of little munchkins, that's rude! We can't be mean to kids, this isn't the Joan Crawford Daycare Center!

_________________________

• Mork: *on his knees to Mr Simpson* I mean you can't tear down the Orphanage! Why then little Orphan Annie and Oliver Twist will be thrown out into the cold and picked up by Fagin and forced to lie, cheat and steal! Then they'll take 'em to Hollywood to work in 'B' movies, and they'll never have an agent! They'll never know...*gets pulled away by Mindy*
• Mindy: *hissing in his ear* Mork...lighten up! And it's not an Orphanage it's a Daycare Centre.
• Mork: Whoever heard of Little Daycare Annie?

_________________________

• Fred: Mork you look terrible.
• Mork: Oh I was alright, until I skinned my eyes.

_________________________

• Mindy: Where'd you go?
• Mork: Well Mind, you wouldn't believe this but I went all the way around the block!
• Mindy: *impressed* How many times?!
• Mork: Times?

_________________________

• Mork: Oh but Fred, I gotta do it, I gotta do it for the kids. Besides I can't lose. No way.
• Mindy: Why can't you lose?
• Mork: Well because this is the Land of the Home, Free of the Brave. Because the good guys always win, and that's me!
• Fred; Who says the good guys always win?
• Mork: Ooo Fred, movies, television! I mean look at that! I mean it's the American way! I mean when is the last time you saw Genghis Khan ride off into the sunset? *John Wayne voice* Alright you little Mongols lets head your little ponies out! Or when was the last time you saw Peter Lorre ride off into the sunset *Peter Lorre voice* Happy trails to you, until we meet again.*to Mindy in same voice* You're very pretty.

_________________________

• Mr. Bickely: Way to go Mork! What you did took a lot of courage...and stupidity.

_________________________

• Mork: *blows imaginary whistle* Brezhnev 15 miles, illegal invasion! Castro you're out of the game, smoking in the huddle! Amin you'd be out of the game too if we could find you!

Promo

Mork & Mindy -1980 - Dueling Skates - Episode Promo

Short ABC Promo for Dueling Skates (followed by equally short promos for Bosom Buddies, Barney Miller & Soap), Nov. 1980

Image Gallery

Cast

Starring

• Robin Williams as Mork
• Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell
• Conrad Janis as Fred McConnell
• Crissy Wilzak as Glenda Faye Comstock
• Ralph James as Voice of Orson
• Gina Hecht as Jeanie DaVinci (credited only)
• Jim Staahl as Nelson Flavor (credited only)
• Jay Thomas as Remo DaVinci (credited only)

Guest starring/Recurring cast

• Reid Smith as Wheels
• Priscilla Morrill as Mrs Fowler
• Bill Morey as Mr. Simpson
• Tom Kindle as Bozz
• Gregg Berger (Voice) as Bebo

External links

"Dueling Skates" at TV.com