Mork the Prankster

"Mork the Prankster"
Season 3, Episode #5 (#56) in series (95 episodes)
Mindy has to confront Mork about his practical joking, which gets out of hand when he puts her jeep in their second-floor apartment, as it promptly crashes through the floor below into Bickley's apartment in "Mork the Prankster" in Season 3 (ep.#7).
"Mork & Mindy" episode
Guest Star(s):	Bill Kirchenbauer Corey Feldman William Bumiller Stephanie Kayano Amy Tenowich Bebo
Network:	ABC-TV
Production code:	305 (3x5)
Writer(s)	Wendy Kout & George Zateslo
Director	Jeff Chambers
Original airdate	December 4, 1980
IMDB	Mork the Prankster
Episode chronology
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Dueling Skates	Mork, the Monkey's Uncle
List of Mork & Mindy seasons/episodes

Mork the Prankster was the fifth episode from Season 3 of Mork and Mindy, also the 56th overall episode in the series. Co-written by Wendy Kout and George Zateslo, the episode, which was directed by Jeff Chambers, premiered on ABC-TV on December 4, 1980.

Synopsis

After Mindy introduces Mork to practical jokes, his attempts to grasp the concept and prank her back ultimately results in disaster. Furious at his irresponsibility, and the damage he caused, Mindy flees to Glenda Fayes where she confesses this could be the end for them.

Plot

After Mindy, Jeanie and Glenda get back from their morning exercise, they get to discussing how homey Mindy has made her apartment. On asking Mindy if she will help her decorate her new place, to the cool tune of 10,000 dollars, Glenda Faye pranks Mindy & Jeanie with spring loaded snakes in her purse. Following recovery from her mild heart attack, Mindy asks to borrow one to prank Mork, thinking he'll love it, Jeanie taking the other one for Remo. Declining the offer of heading to the Restaurant with her friends, as Mork has promised to make her breakfast, Miindy alerts him to how hungry she is as they leave, and he literally swings into action.

His full on Julia Child on Sherry concoction however, leaves her 'on a diet'. Grinning she tells him she has a surprise for him, offering him her purse. However, Mork ignores the snake as it springs out at him, and is disappointed that there is nothing in the purse for him. The joke having fallen completely flat, Mindy has to try and explain the concept of practical jokes. Which he maintains he knows about but clearly does not quite get the hang of.

Later after work, Mork arrives home with Billy, Stephanie and Lola, from the Day Care to show them where he lives. With Mindy out, he confesses a desire to try out a practical joke on her, but consults with them about what he could do to prank her back, as he really doesn't have any ideas. They give him a few options and getting the idea his fertile mind starts ticking over in excitement. However, when Mindy gets in later, interior decoration magazines in tow for ideas for Glenda, she's immediately intrigued and amused by a Mork near vibrating with anticipation. Already giving the game away. His attempts to scare her with a skeleton in the Armoire and an alarm in the refrigerator are completely undermined by his telegraphing everything to her. Taking him in hand, Mindy explains to him that surprise is the central hook of the concept of practical jokes, ironically surprising him.

Once he fully understands the necessary components, things start to click for him. And as a trial run he plays a giant version of the spring loaded snake prank on a fishing trip bound Fred & Mr. Bickley, involving Mindy's wicker chest. Having got it right, and now super confident following Mr. Bickley's praise, he then latches on an idea born from an old college prank Mr.Bickley played (which he claims made him a 'Legend'), where they took apart and re-assembled his '51 Studebaker in the Dean's living room.

Convinced he's finally found a prank worthy of her, Mork wakes a sleepy Mindy at 5am to call her out of her bedroom, where it takes her a few moments to register that Mork has taken apart and rebuilt her Jeep in her living room.***(Cut Scene) Mr. Bickley having failed to explain to Mork that that kind of practical joke is not suited to an upstairs living room. Mork awaiting praise from her for his amazing prank fails to register Mindy's alarm and furious insistence that he get the Jeep out of there now! As she tries to hammer home her point on the hood of the jeep, the floor starts to creak and groan, and the pair can only scramble backwards. Mindy watching in horror as her floor gives away under the weight of the Jeep and both floor and car crash down into Mr. Bickley's Apartment below.

Downstairs the pair peruse the jeep centered wreck that is now Mr. Bickley's front room. A shell shocked Bickley, up and dressed for an early fishing trip, coffee pot in hand, informing them that he'd only been in that spot the Jeep landed on moments before. Only his going to make coffee saving his life. Mindy, trying to placate Bickley as best she can, tells him she thinks her insurance will cover the damage...providing it covers collision, but is freshly angered when Mork still presses for praise for his prank, not having taken on board the seriousness of what he has done. After a still stunned Bickley leaves to get some air, a furious Mindy rounds on Mork about his complete lack of regard to safety, and his seeming obliviousness to the fact he could have killed Bickley, never mind the amount of damage he has done and what its going to cost her to fix it. Finally exhausting her supply of patience with him, unable to take anymore, Mindy storms off, leaving Mork to clean up his own mess, intent on staying with Glenda Faye.

Later at the Singles Apartment Complex, helping set up and decorate Glenda's Apartment, a deeply frustrated Mindy finishes telling Glenda what happened with Mork. Understanding both the damage and her upset, Glenda is more than happy for Mindy to stay with her for a while. But the blonde grows more concerned when she hears Mindy talking about not being sure she can take much more of Mork's antics, wondering how long anyone could reasonably handle them. When Mindy mentions Mork possibly having to find himself a new roommate, Glenda starts to realize just how serious this actually is.

Before they can talk more about it however, a couple of her neighbors in the complex drop by. Glenda introducing the handsome male model like, poseur, Derrick, and the chain clad, velour wearing, swinger, Todd Norman Taylor or "TNT". TNT taking an immediate shine to Mindy's 'personality'. Making a beeline for her, to Mindy's initial bewilderment and then rapid irritation, he relentlessly starts hitting on her. The balding lothario leaning on imaginary walls beside her, kissing his own hand rather than hers, offering her cheese puffs from his pocket, shaking his chains and hairy chest at her, before suggesting they have a salt lick race around a margarita glass with her. Completely repelling her. Not one iota of which seems to remotely impinge on TNT.

When both men invite Glenda and Mindy to continue the 'fun' and join them in TNT's Jacuzzi, Glenda tells them they'll meet them there, and an appalled Mindy is relieved to see them go. The coup de grace being their failure to get either Glenda (Brenda) or Mindy's (Cindy) name's right as they do. However, she's then shocked to discover that agreeing to join them wasn't just a ploy on Glenda's part to get them to leave. That Glenda actually seems to want to go hang out with the two idiots. Mystified, Mindy asks her why she would possibly want that, when they can't even remember their names and patently only want the most superficial of relationships with the women.

Glenda insists however that maybe having a few superficial laughs is what they both need to distract them from their problems. And in phrasing it that way lets slip to Mindy that the brunette is not the only one with relationship issues. When Mindy gently presses her to talk about it, a reluctant Glenda finally confides to Mindy that since her husband died, all she's been looking for is a few laughs. So for her the superficial TNT and crew are where she's at right now. Something Mindy can understand.

Glenda admits however that there are moments where she desperately misses having someone in her life who really cares about her. Looking to her she informs Mindy that, for that reason, she is incredibly lucky to have Mork. Pleading with Mindy to give Mork another chance, she tells her that a hole in her floor is a whole lot better than one in her life. Quietly taking what Glenda has said on board and, after seeing TNT and Derrick and realizing what 'options' there actually are out there, Mindy agrees that maybe things aren't as bad at home as she thought.

Returning to the house she finds a dejected, regretful Mork still in Mr. Bickley's apartment perusing the damage and talking to Bebo wishing the floor was the only thing he had to patch up, and missing Mindy. On seeing her and finding her both willing and wanting to speak with him, he is both overjoyed and hugely apologetic. Revealing that the reason he hasn't made much inroad on either removing the jeep or cleaning up the mess, is because he has been spending his time in teary reflection. He confesses to all the faults he knows he has to work on, showing her the massive list he's made of them all. And the one tiny one he's made in regards to his good points, which consists of her liking him.

Mindy, touched, tells him no one is perfect, and then refutes his assertion that she is. Telling him that for one thing she doesn't have enough patience. That she should have known he meant no harm with the Jeep. That he was only trying to make her laugh. Moving with him through the wreck of Bickley's apartment, she admits that while he is crazy, weird, aggravating, impulsive, exasperating and frustrating, he is also very caring which is what makes being with him worthwhile.

Mork hopeful, asks whether that means she still likes him? And after a moments consideration she gives him an emphatic and goofy nod. Beyond happy, he tells her back on Ork they have a very special custom of making up. When she asks what that is, he tells her they take each others hands. And takes hers. Then they look deep into each others eyes. Which he does to hers. And then stands there. Waiting, she asks what happens after that? And he tells her, that's it. Both amused and bemused, Mindy informs him that on Earth they usually do all that...and then they kiss.

Flustered, Mork asks her if she's sure she wants to? After a split second of feigning being reluctant, Mindy peeps a more than eager 'OK!'. Coming together they share a long romantic kiss, which has such a powerful effect on Mork that he manages to lift the front of Mindy's jeep as he raises his leg behind him.

The episode ends with Mork's report to Orson, where it's revealed Mork has sent Orson a box of (exploding) cigars, Mork hopes he got a 'bang' out of them and explains that is what is called a practical joke on Earth. Orson opines that no joke is practical. Mork argues that they serve a purpose, jokes can fill your life with surprises. Life, Orson says, isn't supposed to be surprising, it's supposed to be ordered and predictable. Mork queries where the fun is in that, saying that if life was predictable no one would watch the Miss America pageant, everyone would know who is hosting the Tonight Show, and no one could believe an actor could become President. Mork argues that the warm feeling you get when you tell a friend a joke is incredible, but the most important thing is to have a friend that you want to tell a joke to...and if not, the joke is on you.

Cut Scene: Putting the Jeep together

In the scene as shown, we see Bebo wearing protective glasses sitting on the kitchen counter Mork having rebuilt the jeep in the living room, in an extra or at least extended version of the scene, we actually see Mork putting the Jeep back together using his finger, and wearing his own protective (sun)glasses.

Goofs

• Mork's confusion over what practical jokes are and how they work doesn't track with season one's Mork's Seduction where he thinks Mindy is telling him to play a practical joke on Susan Taylor, and in To Tell the Truth in which Mork clearly references 'Splinking' as the term for Practical Jokes on Ork.
• Mindy's iconic Jeep is blue, the one in the living room is black (which will happen again in S4s Drive, She Said). The Jeep used in the credits and when on location (Dueling Skates / Gotta Run, Part 2) was borrowed/hired from a local Colorado University Student each time. For some reason no blue jeep was ever found in LA for the soundstage shots.

Trivia

Orkan 'Facts'

• Mork's foot pop while kissing Mindy seems to indicate that (given the right conditions) Mork has preternatural strength given he lifts the Jeep as he does it. He also breaks ropes easily in S4's Mama Mork, Papa Mindy, and crushes a gun My Dad Can't Beat Up Anybody, all three cases have an emotional factor, and may be the reason for the ability.

General

• The 'kiss and make up' scene between Mork & Mindy at the end, really makes this look like a first season episode and marks the first time they share a genuinely romantic kiss since that season (not including the ones with Mandy, and given the last previous kiss in Stark Raving Mork, in season two was more to shut him up), further showcasing the effort to get the show back to where it had been.
• There's never another mention of this episode's events and Mindy's jeep is undamaged in later shows. In fact the floor and the apartment are back together by the time Mork makes his report. Mork does comment to Bebo that he wishes that "patching up the floor" was all he had to do (making up to Mindy being the harder part), so it does indicate that his abilities may have helped restore things faster (as he does the jail wall in Cheerleaders in Chains), though how that gets explained to Bickley is anyone's guess!
• Referring to Mork's shenanigans, Mindy asks Glenda Faye, "How many years can a normal person put up with that kinda stuff?" Glenda Faye replies, "Four?" This is an inside-joke about how many seasons it took for a series to become eligible for syndicated reruns at that time.
• This episode marks the return of Bill Kirchenbauer as "TNT" (Todd Norman Taylor), the disco-loving, womanizing sleazeball who first appeared as a patron in the record store in Mork's Mixed Emotions in season 1.
• Bill Kirchenbauer improvised his 'invisible wall' lean while rehearsing the scene with Pam Dawber, and it went over so well that they put it in the show proper.
• Mindy tells Mork he is "Crazy, Weird, Aggravating" and he tells her he can't help it revealing his astrological sign as Libra. Given Robin William's propensity for ad libbing/fun poking (and the latter with the writers) however, it should be noted that Pam Dawber is actually a Libra.

Pop Culture

• Mork swings down from the attic in his apron as 'Tarzan of the Crepes' playing on Tarzan of the Apes.
• During his opening scene, Mork does a comical impersonation of Julia Child, the vastly popular television chef who was frequently the butt of jokes regarding her heavily-rumored (and factually inaccurate) alcoholism.
• Esther Williams, the champion swimmer and MGM star gets another mention as Mork throws his ingredients into the pot for Mindy's 'breakfast'
• As Lola points out to Mork, his Great Expectations to scare the Dickens out of Mindy, is a pun around the author of said novel.
• Mork tells Stephanie, "There's free food down at Jack in the Box if you stand next to the clown." The Jack in the Box Restaurant's drive-through speaker used to be hidden inside of a clown head, but these speakers were discontinued the same year this episode was made, in an infamous commercial in which they blew up the clown.
• Mork refers to the skeleton he's hidden in the armoire to scare Mindy as 'Dr. Atkins' the cardiologist who had published his first carbohydrate heavy diet book in 1972, and whose Atkins Diet would take off into a whirlwind global phenomenon in the years that followed.
• When Mork gets an idea, he references The Wizard of Oz again by exclaiming, "A tornado in the windmills of my mind. Hang on, Toto, hang on!" at the same time he references the 1968 Noel Harrison, Oscar winning song 'Windmills of Your Mind' from the Thomas Crown Affair.
• Mr. Bickley narrowly escaped death because he went to get a cup of coffee, so he exclaims, "I owe my life to Joe DiMaggio!" DiMaggio was a former professional baseball player, the one-time husband of Marilyn Monroe, and was then known as the spokesman for the Mr. Coffee kitchen appliance.
• As part of his hitting on Mindy onslaught, TNT in trying to get 'serious' asks her if she has ever 'really' listened to Manilow, referring to Barry Manilow, whose music was considered light and 'easy listening' even then.
• Mork's 'foot pop' during Mork & Mindy's kiss at the end (as it was in Jeanie loves Mork) is an homage to old comic book and Hollywood Romantic and Romantic Comedy movies, indicating hot 'n heavy/genuine chemistry, most often by the woman but was often done by Bob Hope. This time given extra heft (literally) with Mork lifting the Jeep with his foot as she kisses him.
• Mork does a brief Stan Laurel impersonation while calling Orson, calling him 'Your Oliver Hardy-ness' in reference to his girth, and the legendary comic duo Laurel & Hardy

Quotes

• Mork: Ohhhh ahhrr ahrr ahhrr...oh great expectations! I'm going to scare the Dickens out of Mindy!
• Lola: Great Expectations? Dickens? You know big fella you're a lot deeper than you look.

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• Mindy: *aghast on realizing the Jeep is in her living room* How...?! Mork...how did you....?! Why would you....?! When did you get this thing up here?!
• Mork: Mind take your time now. I know these type of compliments don't just fall trippingly from the tongue.
• Mindy: Get this Jeep out of here now!
• Mork: And?
• Mindy: And get this Jeep out of here now!!*Mindy hits it for emphasis, and the floor starts to creak ominously, dragging each other away the watch in horror as the floor gives away and the Jeep falls through to Mr. Bickley's apartment below. Both of them on their hands and knees look down into the gaping hole*
• Mindy: *waving weakly* Mornin' Mr. Bickley.

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• Mindy: I mean when I first met Mork I knew he was different but....tchh!!
• Glenda Faye: You know, I noticed that too? But I never said anything. You see I was brought up to laugh behind people's backs.

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• TNT: I have heavier chains for when it snows. *looks Mindy over* I bought them out of my slush fund.

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• TNT: *leaning on Mindy* Say why don't we share a Margarita? You go right, I'll go left. We'll have a salt lick race around the rim.

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• Mork: Back on Ork we have a very special custom of making up
• Mindy: Well what's that?
• Mork: First of all we grab each other's hands *takes her hands* We look very deeply into each others eyes *looks deeply into her eyes*
• Mindy: *waits...and waits* Yeah?
• Mork: That's it.
• Mindy: That's it?!?! Really? Well on Earth we usually do all that...and then we kiss.
• Mork: *flustered* Are you sure you want to?
• Mindy: Well I dunno *enthusiastically* OK!

Promo

Mork & Mindy - Mork the Prankster - Episode Promo

Promo for Mork the Prankster (first up on vid) as part of ABC's Thursday December 4, 1980 prime time lineup (along with "Bosom Buddies")

Image gallery

Cast

Starring

• Robin Williams as Mork
• Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell
• Conrad Janis as Fred McConnell

Co-Starring

• Gina Hecht as Jeannie DaVinci
• Crissy Wilzak as Glenda Faye Comstock
• Ralph James as Voice of Orson
• Tom Poston as Mr. Bickley

Guest stars/Recurring cast

• Bill Kirchenbauer as Todd Norman Taylor
• Corey Feldman as Billy
• William Bumiller as Derrick
• Stephanie Kayano as Stephanie
• Amy Tenowich as Lola
• Gregg Berger (Voice) as Bebo