"My Favorite Orkan" is the 22nd episode of the fifth season of the American television sitcomHappy Days, and the 110th episode overall. Written by Joe Glauberg and series creator Garry Marshall and directed by Jerry Paris, the episode originally aired on ABC on February 28, 1978. It is notable for introducing Robin Williams to a larger audience; the actor's popular appearance in this episode led to the spin-off series Mork & Mindy, which was based on his character.[1]
At Arnold's Drive-In, Richie remarks that he thinks he saw a flying saucer, but Fonzie, Ralph, Potsie and Chachi don't believe him. When Richie returns home, he finds his family has gone to the movies. Someone knocks on the door: a visitor dressed in red, with a triangle on his shirt and wearing a helmet. The visitor speaks very strangely and Richie thinks it is Ralph pulling a prank; instead, the visitor reveals himself as "Mork", an alien from the planet Ork.
Richie decides to interview Mork. When asked why he is visiting Earth, Mork tells him that he is trying to collect a "specimen". Richie asks him if he is going to take the President or maybe baseball star Hank Aaron; Mork says no, telling Richie that Ork would have to trade the entire planet for someone so famous. Instead, Mork claims he needs someone average and "humdrum": Richie himself. At first, Richie demurs, but when Mork tells him that he will bring him back in an "instant", Richie agrees to go. He heads upstairs to pack and tells Mork to make himself comfortable; the spaceman does, watching The Andy Griffith Show on the family TV set. ("I like that boy Opie," Mork remarks, "funny though, he has an Orkan name!" Opie was played by a young Ron Howard, who played Richie on Happy Days.) The movie over, Joanie, Marion and Howard return to the house and notice Mork sitting on the couch; thinking "he must be a friend of Richard's", they let Mork's odd behavior go for the moment, including the Orkan's predilection to "sit down" by lying face first on the couch with his backside in the air.
Howard and Mork get into a dispute when Mork seemingly damages the TV set by pointing his finger at it; Howard starts to point his finger at Mork and all three Cunninghams (except Richie) are frozen and cannot move. (Howard "drew first", Mork explains to Richie.) After being assured the "freezing" effects will eventually wear off, Richie ask Mork exactly how long they will be gone; the spaceman tells Richie it will be a mere 2,000 years in Earth time. When Mork is not looking, though, Richie makes a run for it, escaping to Arnold's.
Back at Arnold's, Richie tells Fonzie in the men's room that there is a spaceman after him. Fonzie is dubious, which causes Richie grab hold of Fonzie's jacket: a serious breach of "cool" protocol. Fonzie heads out of the rest room and sees the gang singing a song onstage and Al smiling and watching them; suddenly, Mork points his finger and everybody but Richie and Fonzie are frozen. Fonzie introduces himself, but things don't go well. ("Do you want to rumble [i.e. fight]?" Fonzie asks, to which Mork replies, "Ah, rhumba!" and hums a bit from West Side Story.) Mork says if he wins, Richie will go with him, but if Fonzie wins he does not have to go; the fight starts and is seemingly over in an instant as Mork freezes the Fonz with his all-powerful finger. Just when Mork is about to take Richie away, however, Fonzie gets out of the frozen position and says "Ayyy!" with both of his thumbs up.
The battle continues, as Mork and Fonzie put their thumbs together, causing a green light to appear between them. When Mork points his finger at the jukebox and turns it on, Fonzie (using his patented move) bangs on it to turn it off again; all the while, Richie writes the events down in his notebook. At one point, Mork strips Ralph to his underwear, then unfreezes him. Ralph, confused, runs out of Arnold's in terror. Fonzie snaps his fingers at a frozen waitress and they start to make out; Mork tries this on a blond girl, only to make Potsie walk to him instead ("I'll give you that one," Mork concedes). When Mork uses Al for "target practice", making the owner walk around like a robot and bumping into things, Fonzie does the same thing by snapping his fingers.
Finally, Mork says "no one can top this one": he will put his fingers together and make the whole building collapse. Not wanting to see anyone get hurt, Fonzie stops the Orkan and reluctantly admits defeat. Richie says he will go in peace, but Mork decides to take Fonzie back to Ork instead. When Richie tries to stop Mork from taking Fonzie, he suddenly wakes up on the family couch: it was all just a dream. When Richie mentions the flying saucer, Howard says it was actually a weather balloon. Again, the doorbell rings and Richie answers it; at the door is a man who resembles Mork, except he is speaking with a Southern accent and merely asking for directions. (In an ending shot for the summer 1978 rerun, it turns out the man really is Mork, and he made it seem like the entire event was a dream. He recounts the events to his superior Orson, who assigns him to modern-day 1978, leading up to the events of Mork and Mindy. This ending now airs in syndication.)
Production history
Producer Garry Marshall watched Star Wars with his son, who asked him for a Happy Days episode with an alien in it. The cast considered the original script unusable, and production proved so difficult that the intended actor for the alien, Roger Rees, abruptly quit.[2] Marshall asked the cast if they could help quickly find a replacement. Al Molinaro suggested fellow acting student Robin Williams; Penny Marshall recognized the name and agreed with the suggestion.[3][4]
After Williams impressed Marshall with his quirky sense of humor at the audition by sitting on his head when told to take a seat, Williams was quickly hired. The cast was astounded on set at Williams effortlessly improvising the whole Mork persona on the spot and thus creating a highly amusing character that transcended the poor script. Encouraged by Williams' talent, the cast and crew invited everyone around the studio to see Williams perform with the typical description of him being "He's a genius!" This included the series' writers who came on set to take notes of Williams' gags, and network executives who heard of this new performer's outstanding talent. The executives were so impressed that a contract for Williams to star in his own series, Mork and Mindy, was prepared and signed four days later.[4]
Henry Winkler and Penny Marshall would guest-star as Fonz and Laverne, respectively, in the pilot episode of Mork & Mindy,[5] and Mork would return to Happy Days in the sixth-season episode "Mork Returns".[6]
Mork & Mindy is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of Happy Days, "My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrestrial who comes to Earth from the planet Ork, and Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell, his human friend, roommate, and eventual love interest.
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most successful series of the 1970s. The series presented an idealized vision of life in the 1950s and early 1960s Midwestern United States, and it starred Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham, Henry Winkler as his friend Fonzie, and Tom Bosley and Marion Ross as Richie's parents, Howard and Marion Cunningham. Although it opened to mixed reviews from critics, Happy Days became successful and popular over time.
Anson Williams is an American actor. He is best known for his role as gullible, well-intentioned singer Warren "Potsie" Weber on the television series Happy Days (1974–1984), a role for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang is an American animated science fiction comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Paramount Television and originally broadcast during the Saturday morning schedule on ABC from November 8, 1980, until November 28, 1981. It is a spin-off of the live-action sitcom Happy Days.
Joanie Louise Cunningham is a fictional character, played by Erin Moran on the sitcoms Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. Her first appearance was on one episode of Love, American Style, where she was played by Susan Neher.
Ralph Hector Malph is a character on Happy Days played by Donny Most.
Warren "Potsie" Weber is a fictional character from the sitcom Happy Days. He was played by Anson Williams. Anson also played the character in several other shows; he appeared in guest appearances on Love, American Style and Laverne & Shirley.
Richard J. Cunningham is a fictional character in the 1970s TV sitcom Happy Days, played by Ron Howard. Richie is Howard and Marion Cunningham's son and Joanie Cunningham and Chuck Cunningham's brother. He is friends with Fonzie, Ralph Malph, and Potsie Weber.
Happy Days is a musical with a book by Garry Marshall and music and lyrics by Paul Williams, based on the ABC television series of the same name. The story is set in approximately during Season 4 of the original sitcom. The story concerns the kids' plans to save Arnold's from demolition by hosting a dance contest and wrestling match.
Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour is a 1982 American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Ruby-Spears Enterprises in association with Paramount Television, featuring animated versions of characters from the live-action sitcoms Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days (Fonzie), all part of the same franchise. This Saturday morning series lasted for one season on ABC.
This is a list of episodes from the third season of Happy Days. It was the first season of the show to be filmed in front of a live audience.
This is a list of episodes from the fourth season of Happy Days.
This is a list of episodes from the fifth season of Happy Days.
This is a list of episodes from the sixth season of Happy Days.
This is a list of episodes from the seventh season of Happy Days.
This is a list of episodes from the eighth season of Happy Days.
This is a list of episodes from the ninth season of Happy Days.
The tenth season of Happy Days, an American television sitcom, originally aired on ABC in the United States between September 28, 1982, and March 22, 1983. The show was created by Garry Marshall, under the production company Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions and Henderson Production Company, Inc., in association with Paramount Television.
Howard C. Cunningham is a fictional character played by Tom Bosley on the 1970s sitcom Happy Days. Actor Harold Gould played the character in the pilot, which aired as an episode of the anthology series Love, American Style. He is the husband of Marion Cunningham, and the father of Chuck, Richie, and Joanie Cunningham. Originally, Gould was supposed to reprise his role on Happy Days as Howard Cunningham but wanted to commit to something else so Bosley was offered the part. Howard is one of only two characters, the other being Fonzie, to appear in all 255 episodes of Happy Days and to remain with the rest of the cast for all 11 seasons; of the two, Howard is the only one to have also appeared in the pilot.
Marion Cunningham is a fictional character in the 1970s American television sitcom Happy Days. She was played by Marion Ross, after whom the character was named, and first appears in the Love, American Style episode "Love and the Happy Days". She is one of three characters to remain on the show for all 11 seasons. She is also one of three characters to be played by the same actors on Love, American Style as well as Happy Days.
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