Mork in Wonderland, Part 2

"Mork in Wonderland, Part 2"
Season 2, Episode #2 (#27) in series (95 episodes)
A shrunken Mork finds himself in a parallel world called Mirth, where all of the people in his life appear as different guises (Exidor as King Xidon, and Mr. Bickley as Marvin the Evil) in "Mork in Wonderland, Part 2" in Season 2 (ep.#2).
"Mork & Mindy" episode
Guest Star(s):	Ronnie Schell] Jeremy Vernon Johnny Haymer Tyler Horn
Network:	ABC-TV
Production code:	202 (2x2)
Writer(s)	Dale McRaven & Bruce Johnson
Director	Howard Storm
Original airdate	September 16, 1979
IMDB	Mork in Wonderland, Part 2
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Mork in Wonderland, Part 1" (Season 1 premiere)	"Stark Raving Mork"
List of Mork & Mindy seasons/episodes

Mork in Wonderland, Part 2 was the second episode of Season 2 of Mork and Mindy, also the 27th overall series episode. The conclusion of a two-episode story arc, the episode, which was written by Dale McRaven and Bruce Johnson, and directed by Howard Storm, first aired on ABC-TV on September 16, 1979.

Synopsis

Now shrunk to a microscopic size, Mork finds himself in an bizarre parallel universe on a world called Mirth. Populated by more extreme counterparts of his friends and celebrities, Mork finds he is almost grounded and sensible here. With humor outlawed and all electrical power controlled by Exidor's evil counterpart, King Exidon, a paranoid and tyrannical monarch, Mork is drawn into the fight to overthrow him by Mindy's forthright and feisty counterpart, Mandy, who leads the resistance.

Plot

Picking up immediately where Part 1 left off, the now microscopic Mork travels down through a "space warp" and lands in the lake of another world. Swimming ashore he looks around to find himself in a quite serene bucolic Earth like place, but one where everything is slightly skewed, with the flora and fauna off center and off colors. The animals acting differently, with many of them, the cows included, wearing trousers. Naked, Mork has a quick chat with a cow and borrows her pair, concluding that this entire place must exist as a molecule on Mindy's tablecloth. Unaware as he's talking to himself that he's being watched from a distance by by three tuxedo-ed individuals. As he tries to make his way around, he is taken prisoner by three oddballs who introduce themselves as Jerry Looney (channeling Jerry Lewis), Danny St. Tommy (Danny Thomas), and Bob Faith (Bob Hope). Patently idiots, even to Mork's mind, they still succeed in tying him up and taking him to their outpost, which looks like a living room without any walls around it. There they inform him they are part of a resistance group named 'The Sillies' and accuse Mork of being a spy for their enemy the evil King and his 'Glums' who have outlawed humor in that world, and are intent on taking him to see their leader.

Taking him to their Headquarters, Mork is confused see that it looks like a cross between a military camp and a circus. Khaki military style tents, with midways and parade grounds filled with people dressed as clowns, working on tumbling acts, practicing stand up routines, with their firing squads using gag guns. Finding it more and more bizarre, Mork asks when they will take him to meet their leader, to be told it depends if their leader is in camp or still working undercover at the King's Castle. Arriving at the Leaders tent, Bob Faith calls in to see if they're there, informing them they've captured one of the King's spies. A female voice replies from inside, imperiously ordering Mork to be washed and brought to her tent. Doused with a bucket of water, and still tied up, Mork is pushed inside, to see there are some distinctly familiar furnishings inside the tent, the Leader behind a divider telling him she is just changing into 'something more comfortable," which turns out to be a woman wearing a military jumpsuit with a silk scarf knotted around her throat.

To Mork's shock and delight, an exact lookalike of Mindy emerges. He flings himself at her with a cry of 'Mindy, Mindy, Mindy' and she forcefully shoves Mork right off her, telling him 'It's 'Mandy, Mandy, Mandy, Pal!' Mandy is The leader of the revolution, and is self-possessed, confident and direct, suspicious of Mork as a reported spy for King Exidon (Exidor's counterpart), and definitely not in the mood for someone trying to break in a new comedy act with his story of being from another world. As she sends him back to get changed out of his ridiculous 'cow pants', Mork convinces her by sharing his knowledge of what lies inside Mindy's wicker chest, which Mandy also owns. Detailing a high school picture, from when she used to give 'fish kisses', a super flimsy nightgown so sheer she hasn't yet had the nerve to wear it (which she declares defensively she will, one day), and ultimately his ability to drink from his finger, offering to drain her lake.

After proving himself, Mandy takes a long walk with him through a multi colored meadow and surrounding countryside, explaining to him that he's landed on the planet Mirth, which was a good place to live until 5 years ago when the King, the Head of the Glum Party took over, and outlawed humor. She responded by forming the guerilla 'Sillies' to fight back. Mork is confused, as she herself is not remotely "Silly" like her crazy army of clowns. She agrees, but she still loves to laugh, and feels everyone has a right to be happy. In addition, she tells Mork that the King is a crook, having cut off their energy supply so he could raise the rates, and make everyone more miserable, with electricity available to them only every other day.

As they walk it becomes increasingly clear, that in having someone to talk to and be comfortable with, the pair are swiftly getting close, Mandy taking his arm, the pair eventually walking hand in hand. As they do so, It occurs to her that Mork could be of great use to her people's cause, and asks for his help. Mork though is down on himself, calling himself Morko the Shlug, and in doing so intimating that whatever he undertakes falls apart. But Mandy feels strongly that as he's not known to the King, he could get a job at the Castle like her, and if they could find proof of the King's deliberate energy ploy to make money for himself, even his own supporters might turn against him. Stopping with her under a tree, Mork leans against it not thinking it feasible for him to just be able to walk up to the Castle and get a job. And besides if she's already there why would she need him? She tells him they made her the head of Public Information, and deliberately don't tell her anything. Mork is still not convinced he's up to the faith she's placing in him. But when she pleads with him, though he tells her he's new at this 'joke and dagger' stuff, he agrees to do it, for her. Touched and beyond grateful she kisses him lingeringly, which sends his spirits soaring, admitting that 'this 007 stuff is KO', but then wondering what kind of job she could get him in the Castle.

The next day, back in her job in the Castle, dressed in a drab brown three piece suit complete with tie, Mandy introduces Mork as The New Court Serious (as opposed to Court Jester) to the King's financial adviser, and boot black, Marvin the Evil (Mr. Bickley's counterpart). Marvin's appearance almost causes Mork to break his hunchbacked depressed Jester routine, but he holds it together and sending Mandy away, Marvin is sufficiently impressed with Mork's miserable announcements to introduce Mork to King Exidon. The King, arrives after Marvin's announcement, just moments later. Goose walking in with his guards, King Exidon is a saner, if more paranoid counterpart of Exidor who has eyes tattooed on his eyelids so no one knows if he's sleeping. Accepting Mork as his new Court Serious, to Marvin's surprise, the King throws his guards out but allows Mork to stay as he speaks with Marvin about escalating the phony energy crisis to make people more miserable and make him more money. When Marvin questions the wisdom of speaking in front of Mork, the King feels the new Court Serious is beyond question trust wise. He has written the entire plan on a roll of adhesive tape which he hides in his medicine cabinet.

Elsewhere in the castle, as Mandy makes her way through the corridors, she hears a hiss of someone trying to get her attention. Thinking it's coming from a suit of armor, and checking to see if Mork is in it, Mork jokily sneaks up on her from behind with his jester stick to startle her and crack a joke about it being his agent.. As she pleads with him not to joke due to the risk, Mork placates her by telling her he's overheard King Exidon's entire plan. Amazed at how quickly he's managed it, she tells him they still need proof or it's only his word against the King's. Growing ever bolder and more dashing with every close encounter with her, Mork assures her he can get her proof and make it stick. Worried for him and the risk he's about to take, Mandy, tells him to be careful that she doesn't want anything to happen to him, pulling him to her to hug tight. Afterward, Mork makes the coy suggestion to her that maybe when the dirty business is over they can get together and tickle each other's funny bone.

As the sun sets over the woods outside the Kings Castle, Mork & Mandy meet in a dried up riverbed, with Mork having stolen King Exidon's tape, which he presents to her in the form of a large adhesive ball. Reading through some of it, Mandy joyously confirms to Mork that he's done it, this is exactly the proof they need. Awed and ecstatic that he's saved her people, Mandy pulls Mork to her, passionately kissing him. Through the woods however, King Exidon and his men are on the march being led by a couple of rabid (clothes wearing) toy poodles, Fifi and Raoul who have picked up a scent. While they are still kissing, Mandy is distracted and, asks him if he hears 'something'? Mork is too enamored of her to hear anything but 'bombs bursting in air and rockets red glare', and tries to resume kissing her. Laughing, she tells him it wouldn't hurt to check and leaves him with the tape, to clamber up a bank . As Mandy goes a little further away from the riverbed into the woods, she's spotted and captured and grabbed by King Exidon and his men.

King Exidon sneeringly reveals to her that he had suspected her from the start, and letting Mork overhear his plan was a deliberate trap to flush her out, knowing Mork was a spy from the first. Mandy yells towards Mork to run, to take the tape to the people, he does so, promising to be back for her, but the King yells after him that he better be back by noon the next day or be into taxidermy. Zigzagging as he runs down the river bed, Mork escapes with the King's men firing at him. Arriving completely out of breath at the guerilla camp, Mork is faced with having to get the danger Mandy is in across to Looney, Faith and St. Tommy in a Harpo Marx style form of charades, finally making the three idiots understand that they have the proof they need, but Mandy has been captured and they have to save her before noon the next day. With the massed ranks of King Exidon's men around the Castle, they don't have anywhere near enough people to fight them. But Mork comes up with a more pacifist idea, and the camp spends the night making a hot air balloon to get them over the walls and inside the Castle, while the rallying the resistance and publishing the tape.

The next morning, Mork leads the attempt to rescue Mandy getting over the walls in a hot air balloon, but immediately coming across Marvin the Evil. Before they try and get away from him, Marvin stops them saying he's turned over a new leaf and getting out of there, unable to take what the King is planning to do to Mandy. Gathering their 'weapons', Marvin leads them to the dungeons where they're holding her and other prisoners of the King. Unboxing their ammunition, they use cream pies and seltzer to blind, disarm and capture the King's guards. Grabbing the keys, Mork breaks Mandy out of her cell, and Mandy launches herself into his arms. Mork apologizes for the cream everywhere, but he tells her at least he got the proof out to the people. Mandy is touched by his risking his life for her people, but Mork tells her, no, he did it for her. In the full flush of his romantic heroism, they kiss passionately again, until Marvin breaks them up, telling them it's no time to fool around they have a balloon to catch. Mork in full heroic cry, tells them to keep a pie for themselves, the King's men will never take them alive.

Outside, a full on rebellion has broken out, with explosions heard outside the Castle, as the people, in the wake of the revelations on the tape have risen up against King Exidon. But as they make for the balloon, they find him and his guards waiting for them. A shell falls inside the walls, showering dirt over every one. With the people revolting, the furious King orders his guards to remove the heads of Mandy, Mork and the others, but another shell hits, as the rebellion gets closer and the people overwhelm his army outside. Stepping forward, Mandy tells King Exidon it's all over for him now, that the people know about his power scam, and attempts to extort them. On hearing from her that King Exidon is the one responsible for the power cuts, even his guards turn against him. As they turn their weapons on him, and the King tries to talk himself out the end, another shell hits just inside the walls beside them and knocks nearly everyone flat. The moment gives the King the chance to escape, 'goose stepping outta there' with both the Sillies and Glums giving chase.

Mork pulls himself up full of the zeal of revolution and victory, and tries to rally Mandy to join the chase. But she remains lying on the ground. Falling to his knees to help her, he draws her into his arms, as it's revealed she was right next to the exploding shell and is badly wounded. As he cradles her and calls for a medic to help, Mandy knows it's too late for her, and thanks him for all he did for her people who are free and can laugh again. Not wanting to hear it, Mork continues to call for help. She starts to tell him how she would've felt if she ever really got to know him, but instead tells him to tell Mindy that she's really lucky to have him as he appeals to her to hold on. Mandy then quietly dies in his arms. Devastated, Mork gently lowers her to the ground, crying out: "It's not fair!" At that moment, seemingly triggered by his grief and anger, the cold medicine Mindy gave him wears off, his clothes start tearing, and he starts growing. Looking down, he sees what's happening and calls to Mandy that he doesn't want to leave her and he doesn't want to go, but his growth continues and he travels back up out of the planet Mirth through the "space warp" calling: "Mandy, Mandy - Mindy!"

Back on Earth, it's nighttime, and Mindy dressed in black, is in tears grieving over Mork as she packs his personal belongings in boxes. After taking his space suit out of the closet, she's startled by movement and hearing Mork's voice from the tablecloth on her table. Dropping the space suit, she's shocked as the tablecloth surges upward, and Mork bursts through it. Mindy cries out his name and breaks down crying with disbelief and relief. After they hug each other, she tells him he's been gone for 3 days, and she was sure he was dead before breaking down crying again. Half laughing, half crying, he tells her he was in a parallel universe, and everyone was there, including her, but she died. Not understanding what he's talking about, she tells him it doesn't matter, and all that matters is that he's back. Lifting her into his arms they laugh and cry at the same time, before Mork then tells her that he knows it's selfish, and that no one lives forever, but he hopes he dies before she does, because he couldn't bear to lose her twice, causing her to fall into his arms again.

Mork makes his report to Orson, picking up on the end of the tale with his reappearance in the tablecloth, before he talks about how wonderful Mandy was. Orson interrupts him, pointing out that they had already spoken about her. Mork, suddenly growing quiet, tells him that he is aware of that, clearly emotional. Orson presses him gently, saying he knows it may be painful, but wants to know how it felt when Mandy died. Mork recalls softly that he felt anger at first, and anguish, and a sense of deep loneliness. Orson tells him he can't even fully comprehend one emotion, but all those at once, it must cause insanity he conjectures. Mork tells him with quiet emotion, it does at first, but then when you have time to think, you realize the good side, that love can extend beyond universes and even beyond death.

Goofs

Unavoidable perhaps, given it is a primetime network sitcom, but despite having shrunk to microscopic size and ostensibly being naked as he climbs out of the lake, Mork is clearly wearing a modesty covering loincloth as he falls into said lake.

Trivia

General

• This debuted as the second-half of an hour-long episode. It was split into two parts for syndicated reruns; it appears as one part on the DVD.
• The story was expanded upon and written as a novel Mork & Mindy 2: The Incredible Shrinking Mork by Robin S. Wagner.
• A very brief glimpse behind-the-scenes footage from this episode was included in the documentary The Adventures of Garry Marshall.
• This was Robin Williams' first major movie-like experience, shooting a complete show without an audience, on location, and in elaborate sets. He becomes very animated when Mork masquerades as a jester.
• Mork tells Mandy that the wicker basket contains a High School Graduation picture of her (as it does of Mindy) back when she was 'el chubbo', and giving 'fish kisses' however we later see Mindy (in Long Before We Met) at her Senior Prom and she is anything but, and is involved in a fairly heavy relationship with her boyfriend Steve.
• The novelization (and therefore probably the original script) showed Mork demonstrating his 'lake draining' skills with his finger, before it resumes with Mork and Mandy's walk through the meadow.
• When we see 'the tape' that Exidon has written his plans on it is neatly rolled up, yet when Mork gives it to Mandy it's rolled up in a soccer balls fashion. This is explained in the novelization (The Incredible Shrinking Mork) where Mork uses the tape to help him escape Exidor's rooms, shimmying down the tape, then rolling it up again.
• After it's introduction in the Season 1 finale, Mork's Best Friend, the Shiksa label is applied to Mindy (or in this case Mandy) when Mork mimes it out to Looney, Faith & St. Tommy back at the guerilla camp.
• After Season 1's A Mommy for Morky this is the second time Mork's belly button is clearly visible, this time when he grows back to his normal height, though he claimed not to have one prior to Three the Hard Way.

Pop Culture

• Mork conjectures that he's either in a tiny parallel universe or has somehow landed in the Ayatollah Khomeni's farm, a reference to how the cows are covered up, as the women in Iran were forced to, post the Khomeni led Revolution earlier that year.
• Mork asks Bossy the Cow what Bert Lahr would do in this situation doing a quick impersonation, before answering himself with 'Haul Oz out of here', Bert Lahr having played The Cowardly Lion (and one of Dorothy's cousins) in 1939s The Wizard of Oz .
• Mork tells Bossy 'Moo Gezunterheit.' Yiddish for Moo in Good Health
• The Sillies are based on comedians Bob Hope (Bob Faith), Jerry Lewis (Jerry Looney) and Danny Thomas (Danny St. Tommy).
• The Danny St. Thomas character references his daughter, St. Marlo and son St. Rusty, nods to the Danny Thomas's real life daughter and sitcom star in her own right Marlo Thomas, and his on screen son Rusty, played by Rusty Hamer The 'Saint' is most likely an allusion to Danny Thomas's dedication to St. Jude the patron saint of hopeless causes, through which he helped found St Jude Children's Research Hospital the world leading child cancer care and research facility.
• A Steve Martin lookalike is leading the firing squad as they walk into the guerilla camp.
• Mork is ordered by the as yet unseen Resistance Leader, to be washed and brought to her tent, an allusion and gender reversal of the old bringing the girl before the sheikh/prince trope in preparation for sex, stemming from Cecil B DeMille's 1958 The Ten Commandments
• The flag hanging at the back of Mandy's tent is very slightly modified version of the pre Soviet Russian Imperial Double Headed Eagle flag.
• A similar trope to the 'washed and brought to the tent' is rolled out when Mandy informs Mork she is just 'slipping into something more comfortable', which is traced back to Jean Harlow's role as Helen in Howard Hughes' 1930 film Hell's Angels, and general indicates the woman will either come out wearing something diaphanous, or naked. Though in this case, the trope is turned on its head when Mandy emerges in a military jump suit.
• Mork says Mindy used to give 'Fish Kisses' earlier in High School, referring to the kind of puckered up kiss that Exidor and Ambrosia would example later in the Season in The Exidor Affair.
• Mork refers to himself as Morko the Shlug when Mandy suggests he could help, shlug being Yiddish for Annihilate, indicating he would be more of a wrecking ball then a help.
• Mork talks about not being able to just walk up to the castle and say 'Kelly Boy' when trying to get a job inside. Referring to the 'Kelly Girl' office temping service.
• Mork references James Bond with his 'This 007 stuff is KO' after Mandy kisses him.
• The exterior shot of Exidon's castle is actually Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, used as the setting for the 1968 movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The use is appropriate to the episodes plot, given the plot of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang involves a castle dwelling tyrant who bans the having of children and corrals all the fun (and toys) for himself.
• Mork in his hunchback jester persona does an impersonation 'Sanctuary, Sanctuary!' of Charles Laughton's Quasimodo from 1939 The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• Mork apologizes to King Exidon, who has a huge X on his shirt, saying King's X, something kids say to get out being 'it' in games.
• Exidon tells Marvin and Mork that the first 18 and a half inches of the Adhesive tape with his plan on it are missing, a gag on the 18 and a half minutes missing from Richard Nixon's White House Tapes.
• In return for helping Mandy, Marvin asks Mork to take him 'Up Up and Away' in his beautiful balloon, and Mork promises to take him anywhere in the 5th Dimension, a direct gag based on the 1967 hit song by the 5th Dimension.
• Mork references a number of various types of revolution and historical moment of change on Earth including Magna Carta, 4th of July, Bastille Day and Cinco de Mayo before singing a snatch of the French National Anthem, La Marseillaise
• Mork's sudden growth, and the ripping of his clothes, as he grieves angrily over Mandy is a direct homage to those shown in TV's The Incredible Hulk's growth spurts when he grows angry or upset.
• Includes another The Wizard of Oz homage, with Mork with all of the folks from Mork's life appearing as different characters on Mirth.

Quotes/Excerpts

• Leader: Have him washed and brought to my tent!
• Mork: *has bucket of water thrown over him* You know what? Even by my standards you guys are very bizarre.

___________________________

• Mandy: *peruses him* So...you're a spy
• Mork: *shocked* Mindy!! *runs to her* Mindy! Mindy! Mindy! Mindy! *throws his arms around her*
• Mandy: *pushes him off* That's Mandy, Mandy, Mandy, pal!
• Mork: Mandy?! Oh no Einstein was right! I've fallen into a parallel universe! This is incredible! This is the ultimate deja vu! Its deja ja vu vu!

___________________________

• Exidon: My name isn't Exidor it's Exidon!
• Mork: Sorry, King's X, excuse me but you have little eyes painted on your eyelids. Are you paranoid?
• Exidon: No, why do you ask?! I do this so assassins don't know when I'm asleep.
• Mork: Ooo in school they must've really called you four eyes! *waves his jester head* Wooooah!!
• Exidon: You should have heard what they called me when I wore glasses! Children can be so cruel. That's why I love them!

___________________________

• Mork: First we have to save Mandy!
• Marvin: I'll show you where the dungeon is, but first you have to promise me you'll take me up up and away in your beautiful balloon.
• Mork: I'll take you anywhere you like in the 5th Dimension.

___________________________

• Mork: Save a pie for yourselves! They'll never take us alive!

___________________________

• Mindy: It doesn't matter!*crying as he lifts her* You're back I can't believe it! *sobs* I missed you so much! *pulls back slowly to see his face* What?
• Mork: *crying* This may be a little selfish of me and I know no one lives forever but I hope I...I leave this life before you, because I never want to lose you twice.

Image Gallery

Cast

• Robin Williams as Mork
• Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell / Mandy
• Tom Poston as Marvin the Evil
• Robert Donner as Exidon
• Ralph James as Voice of Orson

Guest starring

• Ronnie Schell as Bob Faith
• Jeremy Vernon as Jerry Looney
• Johnny Haymer as Danny St. Tommy
• Tyler Horn as Angry Soldier