P.S. 2001

"P.S. 2001"
Season 4, Episode #10 (#83) in series (95 episodes)
Mearth decides he wants to go to school, so he commutes to Ork and meets classmates Zelka (Maureen Arthur) and "class bully" Ovits (Harvey Lembeck) in P.S. 2001 in Season 4 (ep.#10).
"Mork & Mindy" episode
Guest Star(s):	Maureen Arthur Louanne Harvey Lembeck
Network:	ABC-TV
Production code:	410 (4x10)
Writer(s)	Cindy Begel & Lesa Kite
Director	Bob Claver
Original airdate	December 17, 1981
IMDB	P.S. 2001
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List of Mork & Mindy seasons/episodes

P.S. 2001 was the tenth episode from the fourth season of Mork & Mindy, also the 83rd overall series episode. Co-written by Cindy Begel & Lesa Kite, the episode, which was directed by Bob Claver, was shot November 20, 1981 and premiered on ABC-TV on December 17, 1981.

Synopsis

Mork & Mindy face a problem when Mearth demands to go to school. Their problem eases when Orson contacts Mindy, arranging for Mearth to attend school on Ork. But Mearth's enthusiasm wanes when he realizes school life is difficult, and he stands out even there.

Plot

***************

Cut Scene

In an opening scene cut for time:

Fred showing Mearth how it's done

Fred is babysitting his grandson at Mindy's apartment with both McConnell's in possession of trombones. With Mearth listening, Fred finishes playing a musical piece, Mearth clapping appreciatively, complimenting his grandfather...and then asking if he can color in his head now. Putting him off, Fred suggest he try and play the same piece.

Mearth about to give it a go..

Lifting his instrument, Mearth gives it a go and succeeds in making a horrible series of noises, leaving Fred struggling to look encouraging. The noise finally ending when Mearth succeeds in separating the slider from the rest of the instrument. With Mearth upset about it, Fred consoles him telling him they just don't make things like they used to. When he suggests they do something else however, Mearth latches back on to his coloring in Fred's head again, saying he'll go get his crayons, while Fred numbers up his head. This time Fred telling him no, he's not letting him do it to him again. He's awake this time.

At that point Mindy and Mork return carrying take out, Mindy announcing the surprise of Chinese food to Mearth. Moo Shoo Pork, Egg Foo Yung and Moo Goo Gai Pan. Mork suggesting that she doesn't have to use baby talk with Mearth, their son being intelligent enough even to understand Stevie Nicks lyrics. As Mindy takes the food to the table, Mork checks with her father how his Wolfgang Amadeus McConnell is getting on. Fred wryly commenting that Mearth can do things with a trombone that Tommy Dorsey could never do, As Mork starts to get over enthused, Mindy suggests they sit down to eat before submitting Mearth to Playboy's Jazz Poll.

**********************

Mork, Mindy, Mearth, and Fred sit down to a Chinese feast, everyone exchanging dishes and commenting on the look of the food (boiled grass, dandruff and whale skin), when Mearth's curiosity about different food cultures, lead's him to point out how inquisitive he is and make the announcement that he feels he is ready for school. Mindy and Mork exchange uncomfortable looks before Mork tells him that he and Mindy can teach him everything he needs to know at home. But Mearth is unconvinced, feeling out of place, and that he should be like other children going to school. Mork, looking increasingly agitated, suddenly pivots his excuses 180, telling Mearth he doesn't really need to go to school at all, especially now that Jeopardy's been cancelled. Chiding Mork, Mindy assures Mearth that a good education is important, and they'll find a way to give him a good one. Fred tells him he's not old enough yet, and there's plenty of time, and to think of all the fun he's having around home, but Mearth isn't having any of that, feeling constricted at home. When Mindy tries to get him to be patient, Mearth works himself up into a tantrum, demanding to go to school, and Mindy has to discipline and send him to his room. Fred warning his son-in-law that it looks like he has a real problem on his hands. Mork looking ever more nervous.

Later that night, with Mork and Mindy in bed, asleep, Mindy is awakened by a hissing in her ear. Assuming its Mork trying to get amorous, she mumbles not now, as she has work in the morning, only for Orson's voice to respond, telling her it's him. Jolted half awake by that, she looks around, not seeing him, only for Orson to inform her he's using the speaker in Mork's ear, and needs to speak with her right now. Mindy refuses to go into Mork's head without his knowledge as it's an invasion of his privacy, but one lightning bolt from Orson 'reminds her' that she and Mork have no secrets from one another. Sliding her finger into Mork's ear and grasping his nose, she taps into Orson's open channel.

Inside Mork's mind, a half asleep Mindy continues to 'call Orson' insulting his size ala Mork, jolting herself fully awake, mortified and apologetic. Orson shrugs it off saying when using Mork's mind you'd have to expect some ill effects. Noting to Orson that it's kind of cold, he tells her he can't, and that he told Mork to insulate but he never bothered. As Orson provides her with some 'mental' coffee, and asks her how the family is Mindy starts to relax only for Orson to peevishly cut off the small talk demanding to know where the application Mork promised to fill out is? Mindy goes to answer, frowns, then confused asks what application? For Ork Prep, Orson informs her, saying he sent the application for Mearth to Mork ages ago.

Word of that makes Mindy realize why Mork was acting so strangely over dinner. After some thought she tells Orson she's not sure how she feels about Mearth going away to Ork for school. But he says she'll love it, he'll only go to school one day a month, Earth Time, and he'll commute. When she asks how, he tells her the H28 beam (developed by Xerko in S3's There's a New Mork in Town) is now serving Earth like a shuttle system. Mindy says she'll head back and talk it over with Mork and let him know, but Orson booms there will be no discussion, and takes her coffee. He wants the application back by the morning. Shooting him a look, Mindy remains polite and thanks him for the coffee as she goes, only for Orson to charmingly note that his secret is eggshells in the grounds. Noting that her grandmother used to do that, Orson wrongfoots her again by booming 'Who Cares?!!' and dismissing her with a Nanu Nanu.

Back in bed with Mork, Mindy removes her hands from him and Mork wakes up immediately playfully accusing her and Orson of sneaking around behind his brain, before deciding to take a 'positive spin' on their actions, launching into a riff on a surprise party they are throwing him. But Mindy isn't being thrown off and wants to know why he didn't tell her about the application to Ork Prep. He tries to throw her off about the reasons, but she tells him Mearth has to go to school, and the best way for him to learn is to be with kids like himself. Mork reveals that he is afraid once Mearth goes to school he won't be needed anymore. Mindy tells him the opposite is true, that he is the one who is going to have to guide Mearth through Orkan school and about Ork, and it's only one day a month. Mork asks can they hold off on the application till morning, but Orson's lightning bolt indicates otherwise.

Soon enough it's Mearths' first day of school and Mork & Mindy are packing a very large lunch into a very large lunchbox, for a super excited Mearth that is all togged out in his uniform. Mork however gradually starts to get more and more emotional, sniffling that he'll have to watch People's Court alone. Mindy drawing him aside to quietly remind him that they agreed there wouldn't be 'a scene'. Agreeing he apologizes, The H28 school beam alert sounds and Mearth goes to the door with his parents. Mork advising him, if he joins the school band not to be the Organ carrier. The beam initiates but it's not Mearth that's taken till the second go. Mork forlornly noting he's gone, Mindy sighing and pointing out so has her couch.

Later on, Mindy emerges from the bedroom with the laundry to find Mork with a hat/scarf combo on disconsolately 'ice' fishing out of their open apartment window. When Mork replies that he's cleaning the oven after she asks him what he's doing, Mindy firmly informs him that just because Mearth has gone to school there's no reason to go crazy! Catching what he thinks is letter from Mearth he rushes over to Mindy in the kitchen. only to sag when he finds it's a book of a month club flyer.

Eyeing her husband, Mindy grabs the moment, takes his hands and asks him does he realize how long its been since they've been together...alone? Coyly and amorously, she wonders if there's nothing Mork can think of that they might do together on a snowy afternoon? Unfortunately for Mindy just as Mork is getting the hint, both Mearth and the couch suddenly reappear, far too early, in the living room.

Mork is delighted but Mindy confused. When she asks Mearth why he's home he tells her he hates school and he's not going back. Picking up his lunch box he stomps up into his room chanting 'I hate it'. Upstairs in his room, Mearth has taken to his bed, says he hates the kids, and he hates his teacher, Miss Geezba, who Mork also had, and who he hated too. Mindy tells Mearth that she came home crying from her first day of school too and wouldn't have gone back if her Mom and Dad hadn't taken her to class, and asks him how he would like it if she and Mork did the same for him. Mearth agrees, but Mork is reluctant to go back and face Miss Geezba who once made him wear a coat on a field trip to the sun.

Later Mork & Mindy in their space suits beam with Mearth back into his classroom. Mindy, forgetting about the Orkan aging process, and not expecting to see a Miss Geezba who looks like a 12 year old girl, treats her like a student and gets off on the wrong foot with her. Catching sight of Mork, she grabs his ear and demands to know where the book report is that he owes her, and he gives her the excuse that it burned up on re-entry. Mearth uses this to prove to his mother that he was right, and Miss Geezba is tougher than a rawhide chewstick. Mindy draws her aside, and tries to explain nicely about how Mearth was upset coming home and how she and Mork were hoping to talk about him adjusting to his new environment. But Miss Geezba tells her she's been a teacher for 43 bleems and no one tells her how to run her classroom. This rubs Mindy up the wrong way and she almost lets her have it, but holds on and tells the diminutive teacher they just want to make the classroom a more positive experience for Mearth. Miss Geezba tells her she's sure everything will be fine once Mearth gets to know the other children and has learned their alphabet. In the meantime they are welcome to observe as long as Mork behaves! As Mork and Mearth stick their tongue out behind Miss Geezba's back, Mindy is converted to the 'I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!" assessment.

The bell rings and recess ends, and the class fills with a lot of skipping older middle aged 'kids', Mearth immediately approached by one mature busty blonde Zelka. Mork finds it cute that Mearth's already made a little friend, but Mindy has a feeling Zelka is everybody's little friend. Mearth is then approached by another moustachioed kid, Ovits, who apologizes for being mean to Mearth that morning. He shakes hands with Mearth but then punches him in the stomach with the other and runs away. Mork gives chase, but Miss Geezba yells at him for fighting in teh classroom again and tell him to sit down, when Mindy tries to point out what Ovits did, Miss Geezba calls her a tattle tale and tells the rather startled Mindy to sit down too. With Mork and Mindy at the back, they watch as Ovits pulls another prank on 'Earth Head' Mearth. Mearth falls for it and is mocked and laughed at by the rest of the class. When the class goes into 'Manilow Appreciation', Mearth sneaks back to talk to his parents, and tells them he'll stay if they want but he'll hold his breath if they do. Mindy is fired up and intends to go have words on his behalf, but Mork stops her. She, he tells her, has always fit in and never been the subject of ridicule, and turning to his son, tells him that he had been picked on for being different when he was in school too, but no one can make you feel a fool unless you let them.

He goes back to his seat reluctantly, as they reach the Show & Tell part of the class, and Miss Geezba calls on Mearth to see if he has anything. Mearth, encouraged by Mork, stands up and makes a virtue of his difference, introducing his parents and the benefits of having them, vs a test tube, he also shows them his pet frog which really fascinates them, and wins even Ovits around. Miss Geezba tells Mork & Mindy their son is going to be just fine, and they thank her for letting them observe, before she demands that book report from Mork again. As Miss Geezba leaves, Mindy takes Mork's arm and admiringly tells him how well he handled things with Mearth, and that he's a good father. With Mearth still talking with his new friends, Mork suggests they have an hour to themselves till the beam home that he takes her shopping, and they go off to have some fun.

The episode ends with Mork reporting to Orson who wants to know how Mearth is getting on in school, Mork his happy to report a lot better than he did, and Orson expressing pride in his Godson, suggesting Mearth could be heading for OrkMed. Mork says that would be nice, but he's not sure it would be Mearth's choice, and that he's learned that while its good to encourage your kids to shoot for the stars its not always good to choose what galaxy. That left up to parents kids would only ever be doctors, lawyers or wholesale jewelers, and he will be happy with whatever Mearth chooses to do.

Trivia

Orkan 'Facts'

• The H28 beam that Xerko invented and introduced (in S3's There's A New Mork In Town) has been incorporated by 'Air Ork' to extend it's use and has 'merged' with Glibthansa (A clear play on Germany's Lufthansa, one of the world's pre-eminent and best airlines) to serve the greater Earth region.
• Orkans have, as previously noted in the show, long been monitoring Earth's cultural output (sans commercials), and that begins at an early age evidently, with a section of Miss Geezba's class given over to Earth Music.

General

• The cut scene with Fred & Mearth playing trombone (Conrad Janis's celebrated jazz expertise) was time related, with all bar Mindy's line announcing the surprise of Chinese food for Mearth excised, the line overlapping an opening shot of the house at night. The two trombones they were playing are still visible on the couch as Mindy sends Mearth to his room.
• Conrad Janis' clearly corpsing at Jonathan Winter's 'Do you call that living?!' line is clearly kept in.
• At one point, while they are on Ork in Miss Geezba's classroom, Mork makes a reference to Mindy never have being publicly mocked, except for 'that one time when you tried to play the Mikado'. From Pam Dawber's reaction, it is clearly a Robin Williams ad-lib joke that she was not expecting, and likely a jokey (and contrary) allusion to Pam's having played the lead on stage in The Pirates of Penzance, another Gilbert & Sullivan production, in L.A. and on Broadway, during the show's summer hiatus, which had garnered her exceptional reviews.
• Mork tells Orson he'll be happy with whatever Mearth chooses to do, even if it's a Network Executive, taking a pop at the people in ABC who had pulled the show (and others) all over the place in the schedules and interfered in everything from cast members, to scripts, to themes.

Pop Culture

• The name of the episode is partly a play on how public schools are named in New York City.
• The title is likely also an homage to the 1968 classic science-fiction film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• Mork again (as in Mindy, Mindy, Mindy) refers to China and Jewish food, flipping the trope of Jewish families at Christmas heading to Chinese restaurants as they were the only places open in Western society.
• Mork tells Mearth he doesn't need school now that Jeopardy has been cancelled. Jeopardy originally ran from 1964 to 1975, with a new version from 1978 to 1979. The version currently running on US TV didn't start up again till 1984, so was off the air at the time of this episode. The version of Family Feud hosted by Richard Dawson however was on the air from 1976 to 1985.
• After she slaps him Mearth tells Mindy she really didn't hurt him at all. Just crushed his picture of Karl Malden, the Oscar winning veteran actor and star of the recent (at the time) The Streets of San Francisco, one of his bulldog faced heroes (along with Lou Grant)
• Mork uses the fact that he knows all the hosts of Real People  as a reason for him being fit to teach Meath by himself, Real People aired on NBC from 1979 to 1984 and featured a panel of seated hosts in front of a large studio audience. 'That black guy' Mork references, was Byron Allen a fellow stand up comedian like Robin Williams, who would go on to build a massively successful entertainment empire.
• Mork takes another pop shot at Ronald Reagan, this time at his budgetary spending.
• Mork hid Mearth's application in Merv Griffin's autobiography (with a cover of ME) on it, which came out the previous year, and didn't sell so well.
• Mearth's exceedingly large lunchbox has Anson Williams 'Potsie' from sister show Happy Days on the side.
• Mork is upset that Mearth won't be around to watch The People's Court with him. The show's first iteration (1981-1993) debuting as a half-hour program on September 14, 1981, with Judge Joseph Wapner presiding, with Rusty Burrell as his bailiff,
• Mork refers to the last time he got this emotional was on hearing about Tom Snyder's retirement. Snyder being the late night chat show host on the show Tomorrow on NBC. Both of which would be lampooned in Gotta Run, Part 3.
• Mork notes he almost snagged one little 5ft Avon Lady while fishing. The 'Avon Lady' going door to door selling Avon beauty products being an enduring fixture in American suburbia since 1886. Ironically the Avon company was started by a 'McConnell', David McConnell (which also happens to be Mindy's Uncles name).
• Mork's book of the month club flyer is for 'Gary Coleman: The Early Years'. Coleman being the diminutive but huge star of NBC's Diff'rent Strokes, a child star at the time, but precociously advanced, the Early Years being a gag about how advanced he seemed.
• Mork says to him hearing the word Miss Geezba is like saying disarmament to current Secretary of State Alexander Haig.
• Mork refers to Miss Geezba as 'The House of Correction' essentially a prison for people who had committed minor offences where In addition to imprisonment over half of the convicted were whipped.
• The portion of Miss Geezba's class given over to Earth music is Manilow Appreciation time. Though Barry Manilow's music is considered too saccharine for Orkan children to be exposed to for long.
• Mork has a pop at disgraced ex President Richard Nixon's staid persona, with his entire wit and wisdom fitting on a one page report.

Quotes/Excerpts

• Mearth: Grandpa let me ask you something, do they have American carry outs in China?
• Fred: No not yet
• Mork: No but every religious holiday all the Chinese people go downtown for Jewish Food.

__________________

• Fred: Think of all the fun you're having around home!.
• Mindy: Yeah.
• Mearth: You have got to be kidding! Do you think its fun just going upstairs and then coming back downstairs and occasionally having some Chinese food?! Do you call that living?!

__________________

• Mindy: *half asleep in Mork's mind* Mindy calling Orson. Yo!! Your Space Mountainship! *jerks awake realizing what she said* Oh! That was a mistake!! I apologize...I...I don't know where that came from. I really didn't mean...mean to say that..
• Orson: You're excused. When you're using Mork's mind there's bound to be some ill effects.

__________________

• Mindy: My poor Mearth, don't you worry Mommy's going to go talk to that little old pipsqueak!
• Mork: Now Mind, *grabs her* we gotta come down to Ork here. You've never been the object of ridicule...except for that one time when you tried to play the Mikado. *turns to Mearth* Son, I know exactly how you feel. See when I was going to school I was the one they made fun of. Kids will make fun of you as long as you let them. But if you have pride in yourself, there's nothing that anyone can say. That's right, hold your chin up high! Then they can really deck you!

__________________

• Miss Geezba: Stand up straight, Mork!
• Mork: Ma'am!
• Miss Geezba: And don't forget that book report!
• Mork: Yes ma'am. I'm doing it on the wit and wisdom of Richard Nixon. It'll be a one page essay.

__________________

Promo

1981 PROMOS- MORK & MINDY, FONZ & HAPPY DAYS GANG CARTOON

Brief 1981 Promo for P.S.2001 (Right at the start of Video, followed by Fonzie/Laverne & Shirley cartoon ads) taken from end of Laverne & Shirley Episode.

Image Gallery

Cast

Starring

• Robin Williams as Mork
• Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell
• Conrad Janis as Fred McConnell
• Jonathan Winters as Mearth
• Ralph James as Orson

Guest staring

• Louanne as Miss Geezba
• Maureen Arthur as Zelka
• Harvey Lembeck as Ovits

External links

• "P.S. 2001" at TV.com