"Mork vs. The Necrotons, Part 1" | |
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Season 2, Episode #11 (#36) in series (95 episodes) | |
Captain Nirvana (Raquel Welch) and her cronies arrive on Earth with plans to take Mork back to their ship to try to torture him in "Mork vs. The Necrotons, Part 1" in Season 2 (ep.#11) | |
"Mork & Mindy" episode | |
Guest Star(s): | Raquel Welch Debra Jo Fondren Vicki Frederick |
Network: | ABC-TV |
Production code: | 211 (2x11) |
Writer(s) | Alan Eisenstock & Larry Mintz |
Director | Howard Storm |
Original airdate | November 18, 1979 |
IMDB | Mork vs. The Necrotons, Part 1 |
Episode chronology | |
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"Dial 'N' for Nelson" | "Mork vs. The Necrotons, Part 2" |
List of Mork & Mindy seasons/episodes |
Mork vs. The Necrotons, Part 1 was the 11th episode from season 2 of [[Mork & Mindy[[, also the 36th overall episode in the series. Co-written by Alan Eisenstock & Larry Mintz, the episode, directed by Howard Storm, was the first part of a two-episode story arc. It premiered on ABC-TV on November 18, 1979.
Synopsis
Three voluptuous aliens from Necroton capture Mork and attempt to find out what information he's learned about Earth.
Plot summary
"Mork vs. the Necrotons" was originally a one hour broadcast intended to raise November ratings as well as body temperatures, serving only as the acknowledged low point of the show's unfortunate second season, its more sophisticated, less childlike Mork driving viewers away.
Nelson's political rally is jeopardized when Mork gets an emergency call from Orson telling him that the Necrotons, the planet Ork's arch enemies, have arrived on Earth and are searching for him, also reporting that the Necrotons have come to earth to find out what Mork knows about his adopted planet, which they seek to conquer. It isn't long before Captain Nirvana and her cronies kidnap him and take him back to their ship to try to torture him.
The Orkan way to avoid trouble being to hide, Mork does what he can by living inside Mindy's couch. Raquel Welch plays Necroton leader Captain Nirvana, whose intensive tortures involve tickling by feather and hickeys in the hot tub, courtesy guards Kama (Debra Jo Fondren, Playboy's 1978 Playmate of the Year) and Sutra (Vicki Frederick).
Trivia
- This originally aired as an hour-long episode. It was split into two parts for syndicated reruns.
- Mork previously mentioned the Necrotons in "To Tell the Truth."
- This episode marks one of the few times that Orson calls Mork.
- After season 1, they dropped the entire supporting cast, switched nights and softened the stories to seem more family friendly. Ratings of the top-rated show immediately plummeted. ABC was gaining a reputation for "jigglevision," so Raquel Welch was brought in to amp the sex factor, which miffed the cast and crew. "There were a lot of little kids who went through puberty watching that episode," Robin Williams commented, "and I think we lost a lot of the audience."[1]
- According to Howard Storm, "Raquel Welch was any director's nightmare."[2] In addition to various other annoyances, she was so afraid of being upstaged by the other Necrotons that she suggested they wear dog masks and she drag them around on leashes.
- Raquel Welch got under Pam Dawber's skin, so any time Dawber was standing behind her, she'd act as though she was punching Welch in the head to crack up the crew.[2]
- At the end of a take, Robin Williams refused to get out of the hot tub because he had an erection.[2]
- This episode was spoofed in the 2011 porn movie Mork & Mindy: A Dream Zone Parody.
Episode Cast
Starring
- Robin Williams as Mork
- Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell
- Jay Thomas as Remo DaVinci
- Gina Hecht as Jeannie DaVinci
- Jim Staahl as Nelson Flavor
- Ralph James as Voice of Orson
- Tom Poston as Mr. Bickley (credited only)