Gotta Run, Part 3

"Gotta Run, Part 3"
Season 4, Episode #21 (#94) in series (95 episodes)
Mork & Mindy in 3-D
"Mork & Mindy" episode
Guest Star(s):	Mark Fenske Joe Regalbuto Stephen Stucker Beans Morocco John E. Bristol Chea Collette Keith Coogan
Network:	ABC-TV
Production code:	422 (4x22)
Writer(s)	Alan Eisenstock & Larry Mintz
Director	Bob Claver
Original airdate	May 20, 1982
IMDB	Gotta Run, Part 3
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Gotta Run, Part 2"	"The Mork Report" (series finale)
List of Mork & Mindy seasons/episodes

Gotta Run Part 3 is the final episode of the 3 part story arc in Season 4 of Mork and Mindy, also the 21st episode of the season, and also the 94th overall episode in the series. Written by Alan Eisenstock and Larry Mintz, the episode, directed by Bob Claver, was shot in 3-D; it premiered on ABC-TV on May 20, 1982.

Synopsis

Mork, revealed to the entire world as an Orkan in an effort to stop Kalnik, has to face into the repercussions of his choice. Now the most famous and sought after face in the world, returning to normal is not as simple as he hoped.

Plot summary

Still in Los Angeles after Mork's revelation of himself as an Alien to the world, the effects of Mork's announcement are immediate, when he and Mindy are approached by a Network Head, who declares Mork the most famous man in the world and to their shock offers Mork his own Prime Time Television Show. It's only the beginning, and 4 days after Morks announcement, the pair immediately appear on television again, this time on a talk show on KSF-TV . Tom the host, explains how 4 days previously he saw the news break while he was out on dinner, but discounted this 'alien' as a hoax, but since has been proven wrong, and now he'd like his audience to welcome him and his 'earthling' wife. Immediately distracted and mugging for the cameras, Mindy has to focus Mork, who jokes with Tom that on Ork the Green Room is flesh colored. When Tom jokes back that he feels half his staff are from Ork, Mork takes it seriously and looking around, discounts it. Tom immediately goes after Mindy though, wanting to know why she married an alien?! Billions of Earth Men on the planet and she couldn't find 'But what you couldn't find one you liked!?!'

A little taken aback, Mindy tells him it's not like that. It was because Mork was special, loving, and doesn't know the meaning of the word deceit. Shaking his head, Tom 'understands' that they have a son? Steve? Mearth, Mindy corrects, to Tom's annoyance with his research team. Taking the opportunity to introduce Mearth, Mearth in turn takes the opportunity to pull out his top hat and try to go into a number, before his mother quickly stops him, confiscating his hat and leaving him in sulk mode. When Tom starts to make a joke out of his aging backwards, it only gets worse, Mearth openly asking Mork 'what's wrong' with Tom, Mork thinking his eyebrows are putting too much pressure on his frontal lobe. Tom sums them up as a 'Mom's a Cute little Boulder girl who obviously prefers Men from another plant. Dad's a Space Jockey.' and now they're all famous and there's talk of a TV talk show., and he jokes they'll probably be put up against him. Mork thinking that's not a bad idea, wiping the smile off of Tom's face.

Mearth, not liking him at all, tells Tom he looks exactly like their garbage man, and starts making faces at him, till Mindy yanks him back again. She explains to Tom, the reason they are 'considering' the show is that it's the most effective way to reach a large number of people. That Mork hopes to promote a cultural exchange of understanding and respect between Earth and Ork. That and being on Battle of the Network Stars, Mork agrees. Tom however quickly decides to get them off stage, bumping them for a guy who makes cities out of toothpicks. Mearth reacting badly reminding him he had Charles Manson on for an hour! And having to be calmed by his parents.

Back at their hotel there is a mob scene, with hordes of people, mostly photographers and screaming Mork groupies, having managed to even invade the corridor outside their suite. Mindy manages to fight her way through, but then has to go back to join security in trying to rescue her husband. Women hanging on to Mork's arms and legs like he's all four members of the Beatles 'Mind! Mind! Pull hard! I can grow another one!'. Mindy is not impressed by their presence, wanting them to go 'upstairs and bother Warren Beatty'. The room is full of mail bags, and the photographer doesnt' stop, as Mindy checks to see if Mearth made it, which he did, talking to a cub reporter. They panic slightly as the door opens and the screaming women calling Mork's name sound out again, but its porters delivering bouquets of flowers, Mork thanking them 'for the snacks'. Blinking as one of the porters flashes a camera in his eyes, Mork suddenly finds himself being feather 'dusted' by a pretty blonde chambermaid, Mindy staring at her as she flagrantly flirts with her husband in front of her. As Mork greets her with a nervous hello, Mindy dismisses her with an icily dangerous 'goodbye'. Taking both Mork's hands, aware of his already struggling, Mindy urges him gently to stay calm, knowing he's feeling like he's being pulled in 'a million' different directions, Mork agreeing that he feels like he's being dragged all over the place.

The door opens again, and one of the security try to stop a man and his entourage from entering, but indignant he announces himself as 'Mork's Producer' here to talk about the show. Flamboyant, energetic and enthusiastic, Billy, greets Mork as 'the new media's darling of the day' and Mindy as 'his little pooter' bouncing on the couch beside her and putting his arm around her, Mindy giving him a weak smile, Mork's more like a grimace. Billy wants to talk TV, but Mindy solicitous of her husband, feels Mork has had enough for today, Mork murmuring a quiet 'bless you' to her. Billy expresses disappointment, having hoped to talk 'concept' and sipping white wine, instead he takes the opportunity to introduce Mork to his writers, all of them hilarious because 'they never had a date in high school.' Mearth takes a call and wants to know if his parents know a 'Ron and Nancy?', distracted Mindy says no and asks him to just take a message, Mearth getting into an argument with them on the phone, not caring what color their House is. Yet more mail and gifts arrive, as Billy launches into the concept anyway. 'Those Amazing Aliens!'. The first episode of which they will strap Mork to the nose of a Concorde, and when they get to Paris, set him on fire and make him eat Mud. Mork thinks it's wonderful he'll get to go to Paris but, horrified, Mindy vetoes it immediately, Billy unimpressed with her.

The door opens again and its Mork's merchandising manager. Another call comes in and Mearth audibly argues that he doesn't care if Fred is his grandfather, his mother told him to tell everyone they're not in. Getting up quickly to go to talk to her father, Mindy leaves Mork alone, and without her the horde around him close in. Billy tells him that tomorrow they're 'going to make you look like an alien', planning to shave his head, and tint his skin green. The door opens again and this time a surge brings in a chunk of the photographers and the groupies, Mork suddenly surrounded by flashing cameras, demanding writers, eager unfamiliar talking heads, screaming women and outstretched hands. Unable to take it, Mork panics and tries to make a break for the door, the horde moving after him.

Back at the wreck of the apartment, in his old clothes, Mork is sifting through the detritus, boxing what he can, and finding Mindy's wall clock behind the remains of the couch. As he carries it back over to the wall, Mindy arrives in the doorway looking around to see him try and hang it back up, only for it to crash to the ground again. Saying she knew he'd be there, making her way to him, Mork turns and hugs her, relieved. Telling her he couldn't take the pressure, she entirely understands. It was all down to Kalnik giving them no choice, but the notoriety hasn't changed 'them'. Mork agrees, and asks after Mearth. Wryly, Mindy confesses he's back in L.A. going with Fred today to get a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mork wonders if they're going to end up like other American flashes in the pan, making spaghettis westerns in Italy. Mindy tells him she wishes she could tell him everything would just change tomorrow, but she can't. When he tells her she's about as cheerful as an East Berlin Cheerleader, she laughs, and swats at him, saying she's not finished yet. Sitting with him on what's left of their couch, she tells him they need to try and take control of their lives again, starting right now. He knows what he wants right now, and leans in, kissing her. Bouyed, Mindy tells him no one can make them do anything they don't want to do.

'Unless', a voice comes from up in the attic, 'they have a great big ray gun', Kalnik announces as he descends gun in hand and dressed in his Neptunian space suit. Trapped, unable to get to the door, the couple can only cling to one another as a gloating Kalnik closes on them, announcing they only have 30 seconds to live. As Mork kisses Mindy's hands, Kalnik starts the rapid countdown, only for Mork to snap at him to stop...and then tell him he should properly apply the 'Mississippi' between the numbers to ensure it's properly timed, both of them re-commencing the countdown together, upon which Mindy declares them both crazy, and demands to know why he wants to kill them? So they'll be dead, he replies fairly logically. They spoiled his plot, he tells them angrily, they turned him into a statue, and made him miss his parents 400th Anniversary. He mellows a little as Mork congratulates him on that, talking about his parents affectionately until Mindy asks don't she and Mork deserve to make it to their 1st Anniversary? Not the way she cooks, he snarls, saying he saw her on 'Merv' and her Chicken Kiev had too much garlic, ruining his dinner party.

As Kalnik moves into position to finish them off, Mork standing in front of Mindy makes a staunch bid for a last request, saying he would like to die with dignity, honor, and his penny loafers on. Irritated but agreeable, he tells Mork to hurry up, his friends are waiting in a car downstairs they have a two o'clock tee off for golf. Grabbing the box out the remainders he has packed, Mork moves to open, it Kalnik stopping him, checking first and cracking up at the ruby red sequined penny loafers in the Orkan marked box, unware of their being time travel devices, an indignant Mork wanting to know 'do you realize what I paid for these?!' As Kalnik hurries him along, Mork gets the shoes on as fast as he can. Once he does and stands up, Kalnik tells them, doing a Groucho Marx impersonation, that it's time 'to Lose Your Lives'. Grabbing Mindy's hand, Mork does a Chico impersonation back, and snaps his heels together, saying "There's no place like Rome!' repeatedly, Kalnik only able to watch and yell as the couple fade into the Time Vortex. Furious, Kalnik finally notices the writing on the box, 'Time Travel Shoes, Ruby Red, Size 8'. Berating himself for having fallen for the oldest time travel trick in the book, he yells down to his golf buddies that he can't come, already formulating a plan to find and kill Mork & Mindy, and heading out of the apartment.

Falling through the Vortex, hands clasped, Mork and Mindy emerge in rough terrain outside the mouth of a large cave. Looking around in astonishment, Mindy grabs Mork arm, declaring 'You did it!', unable to believe they escaped through time. As they wonder where they are a spear lands about three feet away from them quivering in the ground, and from around a ridge, a wild haired girl dressed in furs runs towards them, pursued by two large spear carrying men. As Mindy urges Mork to get them out of there, fast, Mork clicks his heels repeatedly, going 'Home, James!' but nothing happens. As he keeps trying, he tells Mindy something's wrong, thinking maybe the insoles short circuited. As the girl approaches she stops on seeing them, almost as scared of them as the men pursuing her. The men stop on seeing them as well, and Mindy realizes on seeing them close up where they are. The stone age, the dawn of man. One of the men fires a spear at them, the couple side stepping it, and Mindy reacting by telling Mork to get ready for a fight, picking up a nearby rock. But Mork, his pacificst ways intact, comments of his wife that 'evolution hasn't changed you', and, as the cave men grab the girl, pulls out his harmonica from his pocket, intent on soothing the savage beasts. As he starts to play, the men start, look at each other, and then let go of the girl, running away, leaving Mork to reflect on how the 'record company executives did the same thing'. The girl though, runs to Mork smiling, falling on her knees and grabbing his leg, bowing repeatedly, Mindy noting that she must think he did magic.

Inside a cave, a tribe of men women and children are sheltering, some drawing on walls, as led by the girl, Mork and Mindy cautiously follow her in, Mindy bemoaning the fact she didn't pay more attention in 8th period History, and the fact she can't remember anything good that ever happened in a cave. As the tribe rise cautiously to the strangers, the girl explains in guttural tones and elaborate movements, what happened, gesturing to Mork and attempting to replicate the sound of the harmonica. The apparent Chief of the tribe, Ebu, moves the girl, Belk, out of the way, prompting a derisive 'Macho' from Mork, before the chief starts sniffing them, Mork doing the same till the pair of them are sniffing and circling each other like a pair of dogs, to the amusement of one of the children. When the chief growls aggressively at Mork, he pushes Mindy forward reminding her 'they're your ancestors, you talk to them!' Mindy does her best to explain who she is, Mork is, that they're friends, from far away 'Boulder' (kicking a rock), but the Chief reacts aggressively again. As he does when Mork tries, until Mork finally pulls out his harmonica again, and starts to play. The Chief and the entire tribe slide to their knees and start worshipping Mork, chanting 'Ra Loo' which Mork uses to turn into a bluesy song. As they continue to worship, Mindy starts to relax, smiling and waving at the little boy who smiles and waves back, the tribe won over.

Later, a storm rages outside, the tribe lay scattered about in piles, some sleeping, some eating raw meat from bones, Mork and Mindy huddled together, Mindy with a skin wrapped around her as Mork tries to do some repairs to the shoes with a sharpened flint. Both of them looking up as Belk returns and offers them the remains of a meat covered bone for themselves. Mindy politely declines on the grounds her doctor advised her to cut down on raw zebra, and Mork not being fond of Mastodon Tartare. Freezing Mindy wishes they were home with their family and a warm bed, plumbing Mork adds wistfully, clean clothes Mindy nods, Frank Gifford Mork sighs. With Mindy shivering he suggests they could always pile on to the others fast asleep. Watching them, Mindy feels sorry for them, thinking on how hard they have to fight just to survive, against animals, and enemies and the brutal climate, and all with just some crummy weapons and no fire.

Looking around her, she gets up and asks Mork to help her gather some twigs, telling him she's going to try and start a fire. Mork warns her to be careful, she could be altering the course of natural history, but she points out at the discovery of fire pre-dates cave paintings by thousands of years, and figures that somehow this tribe lost the knowledge and all she's doing is giving it back to them. Taking his hand she looks to the little boy, and asks Mork wouldn't he want someone to do it for his son? Agreeing, Mork starts to help her build a fire. A little later with half the tribe watching, Mindy is rubbing sticks together, determinedly, with Mork blowing, and gets excited as smoke starts to rise. Thrilled, and intent, Mindy tells Mork she's going to give this tribe a new lease on life. Unbeknownst to her however, more tribesmen arrive into the cave behind them, carrying torches. Her head down she asks if someone could bring that light closer and fetching it for her, Mork brings the torch closer 'How's that hon?' Smiling and telling him that's great she does a doubletake. Deflating and embarrassed, Mork tries to cheer her up telling her it was a lovely gesture and they'll just have to invent the Olympics instead.

The next morning, as they're walking outside the cave, Mindy is still dwelling on her failure with Mork, and wants to try and leave the tribe with something. How to protect themselves, or plant seeds, or the wheel, thinking about how often they might get a chance to leave a mark on history. As she says it however, a familiar laugh comes from behind them, and they turn to see Kalnik, now wearing bright red sequined boots, his own time travel device, with his gun in hand. As Mork and Mindy dive behind a rock, the tribe scatters. Taunting them about the lovely day he has planned, vaporizing them, then going canoeing. Firing at the rock they're hiding behind he splits it. Asking Mindy to stall him, Mork tries desperately with the sharpened flint to activate his shoes. Asking him how he found them, Kalnik tells her it wasn't easy, bouncing through time, ending up between Boothe and Lincoln at the theatre. But that's history he grins, and now so are they. As he goes to fire, Mindy angrily throws a stone at him, making him dodge, his laser fire hitting an overhang of rocks on a slope near him, which starts an avalanche, that slides towards him. Grabbing Mindy's hand, Mork says 'here goes nothing' and clicks his heels rapidly to ignite them. After a moment, they vanish, leaving a groaning half buried Kalnik.

As they fall through the Vortex again, Mindy grabs hold of Mork tighter confessing to being scared. Mork telling her to hold on tight, he doesn't know what's in store, but whatever happens, they'll have each other.

Trivia

General

• This was intended to be the show's final episode, ending with a cliffhanger to be resolved the next season. ABC decided to cancel the show and opted to air The Mork Report as the final episode instead to give it a sense of closure.
• The time travel and prehistoric sequences were shot in 3-D, but when ABC made the decision to cancel the show, they wouldn't put the effort or money required, and so it was only broadcast in 2-D.
• According to writer Brian Levant, the plan for season 5 was that Mork and Mindy would be caught traveling through time with Mork's malfunctioning shoes, hobnobbing with various historical figures along the way. publicity stills of the couple were shot, both in period gear themselves, and with actors dressed as Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln.
• The couch in Mork & Mindy's Hotel suite in L.A. that they sit on together, is the exact same couch that Exidor's invisible 'girlfriend' had in 'her' apartment in S2's Mork Gets Mindy-itis.
• Mindy's propensity for using too much garlic in her cooking comes up again (as it did in Mork in Wonderland, Part 1), this time having ruined Kalnik's food.
• Apparently Mindy knows about the shoes and what they can do, urging Mork to hurry up and put them on, under her breath as he dallies. Whether she knows he used them to travel back to her Prom in Long Before We Met, or not, remains unclear.
• Mork takes Size 8 shoes.

Pop Culture

• "Tom" is clearly done as a parody of Tom Snyder, and his late night talk show Tomorrow, on the NBC television network, with the set like the set up on the talk show, and actor Mark Fenske, impersonating Snyder's pronunciation. Snyder having come in for some previous ribbing in the show as being a poor/dull talk show host (Mork's Night Out) and retirement (P.S. 2001)
• Mork backs up Mindy's outlined reasons for them considering a talk show, with a desire to also be on ABC's ratings stunt Battle of the Network Stars, the bi-annual athletics contest featuring stars from ABC, NBC and CBS with members of the casts of the top shows, hosted by Howard Cosell which ran from the mid 70s to late 80s . Which Robin Williams had competed in, in Nov '78, Pam Dawber cited her unwillingness to participate in stunt shows like that (and Love Boat) as a reason why Mindy was 'underwritten' for the first couple of years of the show.
• Mearth points out that Tom had serial killer Charles Manson on his show for an hour, but is cutting them after 5 minutes.
• Mindy wonders why the groupies don't just 'Go upstairs and bother Warren Beatty?!' who was at the height of his fame as a star (and a ladies man). Beatty was also the Director who advised Pam Dawber, after she just missed out on an early part after auditioning for him and his A.Ds, that she'd be crazy not to take up acting classes to hone her natural talent.
• Mork refers to feeling like he's a 'firehose in the Sth Bronx', in the late 70s up until 1980 In total, over 40% of the South Bronx was burned or abandoned due to persist arson attacks on buildings due to the plummeting property prices in the area, and attempts by owners, businesses and tenants alike to try and recoup money through insurance.
• Billy's concept for Mork's show, 'Those Amazing Aliens' is a direct jibe at ABC's just cancelled 'Those Amazing Animals'.
• There's another Reagan reference when Mearth asks Mindy, in reference to the call on the phone, if they know a 'Ron & Nancy' and then tells the callers he doesn't care what color their house is.
• Slappy White was a highly successful stand up comedian and comedic actor who had a renaissance during the 70s landing a recurring role on Sandford and Son and a million dollar contract to perform in the Flamingo in Las Vegas.
• In the 5 days since the announcement, as part of the whirlwind of appearances, Mindy apparently appeared on Merv Griffin's syndicated show, doing a cooking segment with the famous host...evidently Chicken Kiev!
• Kalnik does an impersonation of Groucho Marx, paraphrasing his old game show title 'You Bet Your Life' into 'You Lose Your Life'. In response Mork does an impersonation of fellow Marx Brother, Chico, paraphrasing the Wizard of Oz's Dorothy's 'There's No Place Like Home' into 'There's no place like Rome' due to Chico's faux Italian persona.
• In trying to speak to the cave people, Mork goes 'Pe Kaya...Mo 'e ah 'e...Dayo!" devolving into 'Me say day, me say day, me say day...' from the (Dayo) The Banana Boat Song, one of Hari Belafonte's best known songs.
• Mindy tells Mork she saw them starting a fire on Grizzly Adams with sticks, but really didn't think it was going to work. Grizzly Adams based on the life of a real Mountain Man, and after a popular Movie in 1974, aired as a series in the 70s with TV Movies after.
• Mork tells the Tribesmen with the torches that the attempt to make fire was 'Meshuggener', Yiddish for Foolish Act/Person.

Quotes

• Tom: *to Mork* Reading from the papers we know that apparently you are a alien *switches sudden to Mindy* But you married him?!?! WHY?! I mean 2 Billion guys on this planet! Granted they're not all good lookers, but what you couldn't find ONE you liked for godsakes?!
• Mindy: *a little taken aback* No! Ehh...eh...it's not like that at all! *takes Morks hand* It's just that Mork is very special and loving, and he doesn't know the meaning of the word deceit.
• Tom: Remarkable, remarkable. Now I understand that you have a son, and his name is Steve?
• Mindy: Mearth.
• Tom: *stares* Mearth *tosses away card* Good work research.

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• Mearth: *aggressively to Tom* That's it?! What a gyp! You had Charles Manson on for a whole hour!!

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• Mork: *nervously smiling at chambermaid flirting with him* Heh...Hello.
• Mindy: *looking from her to Mork and back, icy* Goodbye! *narrow eyed dangerous smile*

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• Mindy: Mork?
• Mork: Min?
• Mindy: *solicitously* You gotta stay calm, okay? I know you feel like you're being pulled in a million different directions.
• Mork: You're not kidding Mind, I feel like a fire hose in the South Bronx.

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• Kalnik: ...29...28....
• Mork: *snaps* Wait a minute!!! You call that a second?! It should be 27 Mississippi...26 Mississippi
• Mork & Kalnik: *enthusiastically* 25 Mississippi!! 24 Mississippi!! 23 Mississippi!!
• Mindy: STOP IT!! *to Kalnik* You're Crazy! You need help! *looks at Mork, says through gritted teeth* And so do you! *to Kalnik* What do you expect to accomplish by killing us?!
• Kalnik: Your death! Ah! Ah! Ah!!

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• Mork: Wait! Wait! I have one last request! I would like to die with dignity. With honor. And with my penny loafers on.

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• Mindy: Do you realize where we are?! We're at the Dawn of Man!
• Mork: Oh Mind, finally we'll be able to buy land in California, cheap!

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• Mindy: *as cave girl bows at Morks feet* Woah...she must think you did magic.
• Mork: Either that or she's near sighted and has a foot fetish.

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• Mork: *pushing Mindy forward* They're your ancestors, you speak to them! Don't be afraid.
• Mindy: Ehhhh...uhh...Me, Mindy! *taps her chest*
• Mork: *slowly* Shiksa! Likes Mayo...naise and Tupper..ware!

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• Mindy: I am freezing! Oh, I wanna go home. To our family and a warm bed.
• Mork: Yeah, and plumbing.
• Mindy: Oh, and clean clothes.
• Mork: Frank Gifford.
• Mindy: *blinks* What?! We're freezing to death and you miss Frank Gifford?!
• Mork: Don't you?

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• Mindy: Look at them over there, all heaped together. I feel so sorry for them.
• Mork: Yeah, they look like a dessert cart at a cannibal restaurant.

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• Mindy: *rubbing sticks* Keep blowing it's starting to work! Keep blowing! *louder* Keep Blowing!!!!
• Mork: *rears back* Oh you inventors are so temperamental, Mind!!
• Mindy: It's starting to smoulder I can't believe it! Y'know I saw this on Grizzly Adams but I really didn't think it was going to work!

Image Gallery

Cast

• Robin Williams as Mork
• Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell
• Conrad Janis as Fred McConnell
• Jonathan Winters as Mearth McConnell
• Ralph James as Voice of Orson

Guest starring

• Mark Fenske as Tom
• Joe Regalbuto as Kalnik
• Stephen Stucker as Billy Vincent
• Beans Morocco as Maury (as Dan Barrows)
• John E. Bristol as Ebu (as John Bristol)
• Chea Collette as Belk
• Keith Coogan as Scotti (as Keith Mitchell)
• Michael Prince as Network President (uncredited)

External links

• "Gotta Run, Part 3" at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
• "Gotta Run, Part 3" at TV.com