In reviewing Season 2 of "Mork & Mindy," I find myself in the same position that my DVD Talk colleague Ian Jane was in with his review of Season 1. This show sure was funny when I watched the syndicated reruns as a kid, but now, as an adult? Not so much.

Season 2 has a behind-the-scenes story that should serve as a cautionary tale to all network programmers. When the show premiered in 1978, it was the most popular new series of the season and finished 3rd in the ratings for the year. It was a smash hit, with all of America repeating its catchphrases and imitating the beloved Mork. So what did ABC do for Season 2? Well, they figured that since nothing was wrong with the show, and since it was working perfectly, they should go ahead and screw around with it.

They moved it from Thursdays to Sundays. They dropped Mindy's father and grandmother out of the series and brought in a brother and sister pair from New York who operated a local deli. They disco-fied the opening theme music. All of this was to greedily attract more "younger viewers," even though the show was ALREADY a big success with them.

The result? Ratings dropped dramatically. It finished in 26th place for the year and fell to 49th place by the end of Season 3. (Mindy's dad came back by the end of Season 2 and was on full-time thereafter -- with a big raise and probably some sheepish apologies to the actor, Conrad Janis.)

Creatively, I suspect the series is about as good in Season 2 as it was in Season 1, i.e., not very. It is, of course, a show about a naive alien named Mork (Robin Williams) who lives with a bland Earth girl named Mindy (Pam Dawber), who teaches him the ways of the Earthlings. Really, it's an excuse for notorious improviser Robin Williams to rattle off the quick ad-libs he's famous for, while Pam Dawber stands by shaking her head in wonderment.

In truth, Williams is doing shtick. He talks a mile a minute, does a lot of silly voices, and the result is that a young or inattentive viewer's brain, unable to process it all so quickly, thinks what he's saying must be funny. But if you pay attention, and if you're a grown-up, you can follow him ... and you realize there's nothing particularly funny or clever about what he's doing. It's mostly broad vaudeville-style one-liners and strained topical references. Like this, about the eventual end of fossil fuels: "Dinosaurs aren't dying anymore, and Dinah Shore is still in residuals." Get it? "Dinosaur" and "Dinah Shore" sound alike!! Arr-arr-arr!

The season begins with an hour-long special in which Mork is shrunk to atomic size and goes to a parallel world where humor is outlawed. He meets up with some rebels who are trying to bring comedy back, and among them are three characters meant to be parallel-universe versions of Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, and Danny Thomas. Their names are Bob Faith, Jerry Looney, and Danny St. Tommy. The actors playing them do some of the most embarrassing, unfunny, over-the-top, weak-sauce impressions I've ever seen. It is painful to watch them. Is there anything less funny than someone doing a bad impression of a comedian? I think not.

Later shenanigans in this season include Mork becoming a priest, Mork becoming a sucker for TV commercials, Mork becoming a cheerleader, and Mork meeting Raquel Welch as an evil alien from a different planet. There is also a Very Special Episode where Mork meets a blind guy.

Here are all the episodes featured:

1. Mork in Wonderland (double episode) - 9/16/79 - Mork shrinks, goes to parallel world.
2. Stark Raving Mork - 9/23/1979 - Mork learns about the fun of making up after a fight, so he picks a fight with Mindy.
3. Mork's Baby Blues - 9/30/79 - A gold digger thinks Mork is rich; pretends to become impregnated by him.
4. Dr. Morkenstein - 10/7/79 - Mork befriends a robot played by Roddy McDowall.
5. Mork vs. Mindy - 10/14/79 - Morky and Mindy both vie for a job at Mindy's cousin's office.

6. Mork Gets Mindy-Itis - 10/21/79 - Mork becomes allergic to Mindy.
7. A Morkville Horror - 10/28/79 - Mindy's house has ghosts.
8. Mork's Health Hints - 11/4/79 - Mork creates wackiness at a hospital.
9. Dial 'N' for Nelson - 11/11/79 - Mindy auditions as an exotic dancer. WTF?
10. Mork vs. The Necrotrons - 11/18/79 - A bad alien from Mork's enemy planet comes to Earth.

11. Hold That Mork! - 11/25/79 - Mork becomes a cheerleader for the Denver Broncos, as if they haven't suffered enough already.
12. The Exidor Affair - 12/2/79 - Mork's loud, annoying friend Exidor falls in love with a meter maid.
13. The Mork Syndrome - 12/9/79 - Mork accidentally joins the Air Force.
14. Exidor's Wedding - 12/16/79 - Exidor's wedding.
15. A Mommy for Mindy - 1/3/80 - Mindy's dad returns with a new wife.
16. The Night They Raided Mind-Ski's - 1/10/80 - Mork gets involved with ecologists.
17. Mork Learns to See - 1/17/80 - Mork meets a blind guy.

18. Mork's Vacation - 1/24/80 - Mork's mind goes someplace while his body stays behind, temporarily inhabited by other aliens.
19. Jeanie Loves Mork - 1/31/80 - Mindy inadvertently advises Jeanie on how to woo Mork.
20. Little Orphan Morkie - 2/7/80 - Mork might get deported unless he marries someone or gets adopted.
21. Looney Tunes and Morkie Melodies - 2/14/80 - Mork and Mindy stage a fundraiser for Mindy's cousin.
22. Clerical Error - 2/28/80 - Mork wants to become a priest.
23. Invasion of the Mork Snatchers - 3/20/80 - Mork becomes infatuated with commercials and advertisements.
24. The Way Mork Were - 5/1/80 - Clip show!


THE DVD

All 24 episodes (including the hour-long season premiere) are included on four discs, with five episodes on Discs 1 and 2, seven episodes on Discs 3 and 4. The discs come in a clear plastic keepcase the width of a regular single DVD. Discs 1 and 4 are clasped inside the covers, while 3 and 4 are back-to-back on a thin plastic sheet that swings out of the center binding on hinges.

The episode descriptions appear on the inside covers -- which means you have to take Discs 1 and 4 out of the case to read them. That's annoying enough, but actually reading the things is even worse: Apparently someone thought they should "talk up" every episode as if it were a comedy gem, ignoring the fact that if we're reading it, that means we've already bought the DVD and don't need to be sold on how funny the show is. So we get cheesy stuff like this: "The humor is out of this world when..." and "Comedy explodes when..." and "The competition gets hot and hilarious when..." and "Mork creates riotous turmoil..." The word "hilarious" is used seven times in these plot descriptions. Ugh.

There are no subtitles or alternate language tracks, nor indeed any special features or extras of any kind.

VIDEO: There are occasional scratches and dirt specks on the full-frame picture, which is understandable, considering the series was shot on video and is nearly 30 years old. Overall, though, the colors are bright and rich. (The season premiere was shot on film, and it has not aged well at all.)

AUDIO: Basic mono. It's fine.

EXTRAS: Not a single one.


IN SUMMARY

The 24 episodes provide a few assorted laughs and chuckles, but with zero extras, and as weak as the show is overall, it's not worth bothering with.

(Thanks to Alex McNeil's indispensable book "Total Television" for some of the behind-the-scenes data on the series.)