Mork and Mindy

It was one of my favorite sitcoms from back in the 70's and 80's.  Although it was on the air for only four seasons, didn't it seem like it was on forever, like an old friend?  

Mork and Mindy was one of those memorable and unique sitcoms that ran along the edge of bizarre.  The world was introduced to the mad comedic genius of Robin Williams, who drove the writers crazy with his improvisational whims that he just threw in as it was being filmed.  They ultimately had to leave gaps in the scripts, giving Robin the artistic freedom to put in his unique touch.  Fans of the show responded favorably, making it one of the most successful sitcoms in it's first season.

The sitcom started as a spoof of the 60's sitcom, My Favorite Martian, in the form of a dream Richie Cunningham of Happy Days had.  Robin Williams' character Mork was so popular with the viewers that the powers that be had to spin it off into a sitcom all to itself.

Mork arrives on earth in an egg-shaped space-craft with the intent of the Orkans to study human behavior.  However, the real intent was to get Mork off the planet of Ork, where humor was not allowed.  Imagine that . . . Mork must have drove them mad!

The sitcom centered around Mork trying to understand American culture while Mindy (Pam Dawber) attempts to assist him with adjusting to life on Earth.  A feature of each episode came at the end of the show in the form of a summary, when Mork reports back to Orson, his superior from Ork, on what he has learned about Earth.  This feature gave Robin the chance to throw in his outrageously comical commentary on social norms of the times.

While the first season was wildly popular, the ratings began to slip in the second season when attempts were made to change what didn't need fixing. Between the changes and constant changes to the time slot, the series never regained the popularity of the first season.  The biggest mistake of the second season was the attempt to link Mork and Mindy romantically.

By the fourth season, despite the decline of the sitcom, the network wanted to give it another chance, hoping to capture the magic once again since Robin Williams remained hilarious as Mork.

The changes that came with the fourth season were personally an insult to my intelligence.  The addition of Jonathan Winters, along with Robin Williams, could have been a genius move if not for the unbelievably lame storyline.

Mork and Mindy got married.  Mork laid an egg that grew larger and larger, hatching a full grown adult, Jonathan Winters, as their son.  The explanation was that Orkans aged in reverse from humans.  Although I always loved Jonathan Winters, I was not amused with him talking like a baby.

As a huge fan of the show, I wanted it to succeed and continue on since I loved the characters, but it died a dismal death of awful ratings that ended at #60. Seems like I was not the only one whose intelligence was insulted.  Too bad they couldn't have come up with a better storyline.

Mork and Mindy was cancelled after four seasons and 95 episodes.  

I still hear the greeting Mork often used, na-nu na-nu . . . the saying is a piece of pop culture history in itself.

Robin Williams went on to super stardom . . .

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Annette Funicello . . . a role model for a generation

Annette was one of the role models of my generation, representing the innocent times of the 1950's and ushered us into the changing times of the 1960's as the queen of the beach party movies, accompanied by Frankie Avalon who was the king.

I'm so very sad for the children of the following generations who have barely had wholesome role models to look up to. The one thing I am grateful for growing up in the times I did was the fact that we could actually be children . . . most of us were innocent to awful realities of life that are now prominently depicted on television.

She began her professional career at the age of twelve, rising to prominence as one of the most popular "Mouseketeers" on the original Mickey Mouse Club.

On April 8, 2013, Annette Funicello died at the age of 70, from complications due to multiple sclerosis.

Since her death, I have wanted to write this post, but at the time I did not have the words to convey my sadness at her passing. What really made me sad is that at the end of 2013, when you hear of those famous people who passed on during that year, Annette was barely mentioned. Perhaps my generation is being forgotten as new generations arise and so will our role models, as it appears Annette has.

Commenting on her death, Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said,

"Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mouseketeer, and a true Disney Legend. She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney's brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent. Annette was well known for being as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, and she faced her physical challenges with dignity, bravery and grace. All of us at Disney join with family, friends, and fans around the world in celebrating her extraordinary life."

"Annette took dancing and music lessons as a child in order to overcome shyness. In 1955, the 12-year-old was discovered by Walt Disney when she performed as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake at a dance recital at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank, California. Disney cast her as one of the original "Mouseketeers". She was the last to be selected, and one of the few cast-members to be personally selected by Walt Disney himself. She proved to be very popular and by the end of the first season of The Mickey Mouse Club, she was receiving 6,000 letters a month, according to her Disney Legends biography." Source: Wikipedia

Take a walk down memory lane with these awesome videos and celebrate Annette's life along with me.

"That Girl" . . . starring Marlo Thomas

"That Girl" is an American sitcom, one of the first to focus on a single woman who was not a domestic or living with her parents, ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971 (a total of 136 episodes) starring Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring actress who moves from her hometown to try to make it big in New York City. 

Ann Marie has to take a number of offbeat "temp" jobs to support herself in between her various auditions and bit parts. Ted Bessell played her boyfriend Donald Hollinger, a writer for Newsview Magazine.

The sitcom was just the beginning of the "single woman" shows, followed by The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda and so many others that have come along since then.

I don't remember a lot of details about the show and after checking out the cast and characters, realize that many actors and actresses got their early start on the show.  

It was in the day when my main focus on everything television related was fashion, music or soap operas.  My mom was a seamstress and she made the clothes that I would sketch out based on the fashions I studied on television and fashion magazines.  Marlo Thomas was one of those fashion icons for me.

"That Girl" was developed by writers Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, who had served as head writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show (with which Thomas's father, Danny Thomas, was closely associated) earlier in the 1960s.

Marlo Thomas grew tired of the series and wanted to move on after five years, although "That Girl" did moderately well in the ratings. 

Cast and characters

• Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas), a beautiful and would-be actress who moves to New York City in order to seek stardom. 

• Donald Hollinger (Ted Bessell), writer for NewsView magazine, becomes Ann Marie's boyfriend after meeting her during the filming of a TV commercial.

• Lew Marie (Harold Gould; pilot only; Lew Parker), Ann's father and the owner of the La Parisienne restaurant in Brewster, New York.

• Helen Marie (Penny Santon pilot only; Rosemary De Camp), Ann Marie's mother

• Dr. Leon Bessemer (Dabney Coleman), a neighbor of Ann Marie's and gynecologist who is frequently on call to help women give birth

• Judy Bessemer (Bonnie Scott), Leon's wife and Ann Marie's neighbor.

• Jerry Bauman (Bernie Kopell), a fellow employee at NewsView magazine.

• Ruth Bauman (Carol Ann Daniels), Jerry's wife since the episode "Rain, Snow and Rice."

• Margie "Pete" Peterson (Ruth Buzzi), a friend of Ann Marie's.

• Harvey Peck (Ronnie Schell), one of Ann Marie's agents at the Gilliam and Norris Theatrical Agency

• George Lester (George Carlin), another one of Ann's agents

• Mildred Hollinger (Mabel Albertson), Donald's mother

• Bert Hollinger (George Cisar, later Frank Faylen), Donald's father

• Jules Benedict (Billy De Wolfe), head of the Benedict Workshop of the Dramatic Arts

Source:  Excerpts and information from Wikipedia