An Unidentified Flying Egg

Nanu, Nanu…Tonight, I was treated to a blast from my childhood. There was a mini-marathon of the series that launched the career of Robin Williams. Mork & Mindy was one of several series that spun off of Happy Days. Mork is an alien from the planet Ork who was sent to Earth to observe the primitive inhabitants and make weekly reports to his boss, Orson. The alien is taken in by a young single woman (played by Pam Dawber) and as one would suspect, their acquaintance eventually blossomed and Mork laid an egg that produced a bouncing baby boy who looked like a 50-something Earthling (Orkans age in reverse) named Mearth (appropriately enough). One of Mr. Williams’ heroes, Jonathan Winters, played the rather large bundle of joy.

One of the episodes in the marathon involved Mork’s encounter with a bully. Although he came from a world that had abolished violence and embraced peace, the alien ingeniously dealt with the bully by traveling inter-dimensionally and moved so fast that the combatant totally missed and embarrassed himself completely. Shazbot, indeed!

There were also a number of guest appearances by other actors on the verge of stardom. David Letterman played a motivational speaker named Elsworth(?). Unfortunately, his is the only one I can remember. Anyone want to help on other appearances?

So, it was kind of nice to revisit one of my childhood favorites.

Jamy Shaffer