| "Beauty or the Beast" | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode #8 (#8) in series (26 episodes) | |
 | |
| "The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour" episode | |
| Guest Star(s): | Ralph James Mark L. Taylor Frank Welker |
| Network: | ABC-TV |
| Production code: | 1x8 |
| Writer(s) | |
| Director | |
| Original airdate | October 16, 1982 |
IMDB 
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Beauty or the Beast |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Every Doing Has His Day" | "Morkel and Hyde" |
| List of Mork & Mindy seasons/episodes | |
Beauty or the Beast was the eighth Mork and Mindy theme episode from the ABC-TV The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour animated series.
Synopsis[]
Mindy's plans to enter a beauty contest hit a snag when Mork tries to zap a blemish from her nose and accidentally turns her into a gorilla. It isn't long before Mindy's spied by animal control workers and shipped off to the zoo.
Plot[]
In the McConnell House, Mindy is glamorous dressed in a backless evening gown, checking herself in a full length mirror when Mork and Doing enter. Doing giving a wolf whistle on seeing her, Mork checking her out and telling her 'You look Spiffy, little Mama', before somewhat deflating her sails by wanting to know why her dress has fallen down. Telling him it's supposed to be that long, its an Evening Gown, only confuses him further until he latches on the idea that somethings gone wrong with her eyesight and she can't tell night from day, promising to get her the best help he can and she can use Doing as a guide dog until she's fixed. She explains there's nothing wrong with her eyesight, she was just trying the dress on to see how she looked for the finals of the Beauty Contest that night.
As she looks back at the mirror she reacts with alarm seeing a large red bug bite on the end of her nose. Declaring herself 'disfigured' she reckons she'll never win the contest now. But Mork gallantly refuses to let her accept defeat and offers to fix it with his finger, and zaps her nose. Only to increase it's size and length five fold, shocking Mork and Doing. Asking him if it's gone, Mindy hugs him when he says it is, only to be horrified on turning back to the mirror and seeing the wicked witch like proboscis she now has. Telling her it was only a slight miscalculation, he tries again and succeeds in fixing it, only to give her elephant ears instead. Even more upset, Mindy is not amused when Mork suggests that on the bright side she can flap her ears and keep cool all summer. Calming her down, he promises to take care of it, and zaps her again.
Turning her into a gorilla.
Doing freaking out, Mork stares at his finger and embarrassed figures he's having a 'primary digit' malfunction. Seeing their faces Mindy looks at her hands and sees what she's turned into, freaking out. Zipping to her, Mork puts his arm around her and tells her not to worry he'll straighten it all out. Distraught, she pulls his arm off her and pulls him to his knees to boot, telling him to stay away from her. Going after her on his knees, he pleads with her to trust him, but she reminds him she did trust him and look at her. Telling her at least her bug bite is gone, she snarls in exasperation and lopes away, Mork chasing after her, grabbing a banana for her as he does.
Running after her down the street, he tries to offer her the banana as a gift, but she angrily and effortlessly climbs the nearest telephone pole to get away from him. Calling up to her he tells her they'll give her a real close shave, put some make up and sunglasses on her, and he bets the judges won't even notice. Angrily telling him to leave her alone she swings away on the telephone wires. Giving chase trying to come with other ideas for her, Mork crashes into a trash can and by the time he's righted himself she's disappeared. Worried, Mork tells Doing they have to find his Little Mama and de-gorilla-fy her.
Hiding up in a tree on the corner of 5th and Elm, Mindy spots a telephone box, and sneaks down, hoping to find a coin so she can make a call. Seeing nothing she despairs until accidentally hitting the phone with her gorilla elbow, knocking a coin free. Using it, she calls Hamilton. When she tells him she's in big trouble and needs help, he's stunned she called him...before correcting himself rapidly and making it sound natural that she would. Telling him where she is, she asks him if he can get there quick. When he answers 'Does a Monkey like Bananas?', Mindy panics wondering who told him, but realizing from his blank response he doesn't and urging him to get there. Which he does, screeching up rapidly in his car. Looking around for her he calls for her, and while his head his turned she drops from the tree into the seat beside him, telling him she's right there. Turning to look to her ready to make a move on her, he freaks out on seeing the gorilla in the dress beside him and runs for it. Sighing she moves into the drivers seat and decides she'll just have to drive herself to the Hospital to get some help. Hearing Mork call her name and yelling at her to wait, still furious at him, she tells him to get away from her and drives away, Mork and Doing giving chase.
In an Animal Control van, the duo inside are having their lunch when Mindy Gorilla stops at the lights right beside them in Hamilton's convertible. When the lights go green and she drives on, they too give chase. Still searching for her, Mork stops to look around, and alarmed, sees Mindy being bundled into the Animal Control Van having been caught by them, and takes off after them to follow to where they take her. Which is the Denver Zoo.
Stuck in the Gorilla compound, a depressed Mindy is approached by a male Gorilla who starts his chest beating mating routine, only for her to show the 'Big Ape' away and stalk off. Mork zips up to the compound, trying to figure out which one is Mindy. A female gorilla approaching the gate, taking a fancy to him, and reaching through to pull him closer, kissing him. Declaring her from that, and telling her he'd recognize her kiss anywhere. Zapping open the gate, he tells the gorilla that they need to blow this popsicle stand and starts walking her towards the entrance telling Doing they've got to get home to fix Mindy up.
Back in the House however, the Gorilla is starting to act like a Gorilla not responding to Mork's attempts to 'help' her, flipping him over and then tossing him on top of the chandelier, before roaring at Doing scaring him to literal bits, making Mork realize he's got the wrong Gorilla. Taking hold of it, he leads it back to the Zoo telling Doing he has a plan to find the real 'Little Mama'. Dressing himself (and Doing) in a Gorilla outfit he sneaks into the enclosure, checking off a male gorilla he tries another female gorilla who scoops him up like a baby, and rocks him, before bouncing his head on the ground like a jackhammer. Forlornly he calls for Mindy, and hidden away in a quasi cave, she hears him, coming out to the gorilla outfitted Mork to check if its him. Joyously hugging her, he tells her he's here to rescue her, grabbing her and pulling her out of the enclosure. But as they get out of the Zoo they run across the Animal Catchers again, who on seeing 3 gorillas this time, give rapid chase again.
Arriving outside of WBTV, they find themselves cut off by the police who have been called by Animal Control, and spot them. Mork, with the head of his costume down, notices they are actually outside of the station that is planning to broadcast the Beauty Contest that night. Telling her she can still make it, Mindy shakes her head, noting the way she looks there's no way. When she resolves that it's back to the cage for her, Mork is adamant that 'No Min, of mine' is going to end up in a cage. Reminding her they're gorillas, he suggest they climb over the building, and brightening Mindy agrees grabbing hold of both him and Doing, she climbs up the side of the building with them. The police seeing her reach the top of the building with them, the police call in back up, including helicopters.
When Mork starts waving his arms at the copters buzzing them, Mindy wants to know what he's doing, and he starts quoting from 'Emperor Kong'. Informing him she knows the movie, she asks him can he stow the review as they have other problems right now. Finding a cable, Mork decides to take a leap and gathering up Mindy and Doing jumps with them over the side of the building only for the cable to come up short. With no way down, Mork swings them and takes them through a window into the building. On the same floor where the Beauty Contest is being held. Crashing past the other contestants who are rehearsing, Mindy groans that if anyone recognizes her she'll die. But Mork has another trick up his sleeve and sends in an emergency call to Orson. Slightly peeved at being interrupted Orson wants to know what he wants. With time a luxury, Mork asks him to read his mind as it will be quicker. Doing so, Orson understands, and to get Mindy back to normal sends Mork and odd looking red box with an arrow pointing left on top. A Glitchfelder, Mork tells Mindy. Hitting the arrow on top, he transforms her back to herself.
Beyond relieved, she grabs hold of Mork and gives him a massive hug, only to knock the box from his hand, the Glitchfelder going off its' ray hitting all the other contestants who are all transformed into gorillas. Off of Mindy's prompt, Mork grabs the box up, and hits the button on the arrow again, all the girls transformed back to themselves. Offering to take care of the bug bite on her nose again, Mindy asks him for a different favour, suggesting he just go home and sit on his hand until the contest is over that night. Given he's dying to get out of the itchy gorilla contest he's happy to oblige.
Later at home, sitting upside down with Doing watching the contest, Mork converses with Orson about the beauty contest which he finds bizarre even as he tries to explain it to his boss. Saying it doesn't' make sense, but Earthlings line up their females to decide which one is the most beautiful on the outside, when the most beautiful parts of them are actually on the inside where they can't be seen. So this beauty contest, Orson concludes, is nothing more than a silly charade. But as Mork watches Mindy win the contest and get crowned, he smiles telling Orson that maybe not so much in this case. In this case he says, they did pick the most beautiful.
When Orson wolf whistles Mindy, Mork warns him to be careful. That was a very Earthly thing to do.
Trivia[]
- Mork tells Mindy, "If Marlin Perkins is a judge you'll stand a fighting chance." Perkins was a famous zoologist and the longtime host of Wild Kingdom.
- There are several references to the 1933 classic King Kong.
Gallery[]
Characters[]
- Robin Williams as Mork
- Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell
- Ralph James as Orson
- Mark L. Taylor as Hamilton J. DuPont XXV
- Frank Welker as Doing
Supporting Characters[]
- Animal Control Guy #1
- Animal Control Guy #2
- Police Officer