Mork and Mindy.. and Me

It has been a little more than a week since the world was left shocked by the sudden death of Robin Williams. I am still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact he chose to take his own life. I have been very saddened by his suicide. Like many kids in the late ’70s, I grew up with “Mork and Mindy.” It was a weekly ritual. Mork was so zany, hilarious, and over the top. Yet you couldn’t help but adore him. The show, which aired on ABC, was a monster hit in its first season. It was among the top 5 shows in the country. I didn’t care for some of the cast changes over time. I didn’t like Mork’s friend Eugene being written out, along with Mindy’s dad and grandmother. I also didn’t think Mork and Mindy should have fallen in love and gotten married. Not to mention Mork giving birth to their son, Mearth. However, I kept watching. I would do so until its end in 1982. Like numerous others, I was a huge fan of the show. I loved it!

Over the years, I deviated from my love for “Mork and Mindy.” If anything, I became very intolerant of the show. I slammed it quite often, and would not watch it in reruns. Why and how this happens with a show you once enjoyed is hard to explain. I guess life experiences change us to the point where some of those things you loved in childhood become foreign to you. Weird thing is most of the TV shows I grew up with I still enjoy, and easily relate to. “Mork and Mindy” was not on that list.

After hearing news of Robin’s suicide, I was brought back face to face with “Mork and Mindy.” Clips from it were all over the TV and Internet. Talk about those of us who were first introduced to him via “Mork and Mindy” rang in my ears. Suddenly, I found myself thinking back to those Thursday nights when I was between the ages of 7 and 11. Memories of my life at the time flooded back, as was the reminder “Mork and Mindy” was a significant part of it all. I began to embrace my relationship with the show for the first time in quite a while. I was proud it was a part of my childhood. I remembered how happy the show made me, how much I laughed, and looked forward to watching it. I felt ashamed of my previous mindset. I have not felt up to watching an entire episode yet, but in time I plan to do just that. Never again will I be so hostile or dismissive of anything which was once so dear to me. I regret it took Robin’s death make me wake up and realize this.

I wonder what he have thought about that, my reunion with the show which made him a household name taking place now, after his passing. I have a feeling he would have just looked at me and said “Na-nu, Na-nu!” RIP, Mork. I am so glad you were a part of my life.

~ by kmnnz on August 21, 2014.