Pam Dawber Blames ABC For Trying to Make 'Mork & Mindy' Into A "Sexy" Sitcom

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by MrsRoyHinkley

LOL, Oh yeah, swooning over Jonathan Winters right now.

Seriously, Fred Silverman was in charge of ABC back then. He was all about "Jiggle TV" if i'm not mistaken.

Fred Silverman left ABC for NBC in 1978, so while he may have approved Mork & Mindy as a series for ABC that fall, he had nothing to do with ABC's actions in ruining this show from 1979 forward.

[Retro4Life]

Seems to me that Pam Dawber was plenty attractive enough without any kind of "padding". She was gorgeous, bright, had a friendly and kind personality...no underwear adjustments would have improved upon those qualities.

As to the show in general, yeah, if they were trying to 'sex up' what was ostensibly a family comedy, they were barking up the wrong tree. A definite example of network 'tinkering' dooming a show that wasn't broken to begin with.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Seems to me that Pam Dawber was plenty attractive enough without any kind of "padding". She was gorgeous, bright, had a friendly and kind personality...no underwear adjustments would have improved upon those qualities.

As to the show in general, yeah, if they were trying to 'sex up' what was ostensibly a family comedy, they were barking up the wrong tree. A definite example of network 'tinkering' dooming a show that wasn't broken to begin with.

Probably why they got rid of the father and grandmother. Then they realized they made a mistake and brought them back. lol M & M was ranked #3 that first year. You just don't mess with success. The public knows what it likes. lol

And I won't even mention Jay Thomas. I never did like him.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

Probably why they got rid of the father and grandmother. Then they realized they made a mistake and brought them back. lol M & M was ranked #3 that first year. You just don't mess with success. The public knows what it likes. lol

And I won't even mention Jay Thomas. I never did like him.

Never cared for him, either. It was a mistake to bring both of them in, IMHO.

That show had SO many supporting characters over time, it was like a revolving door! I liked most of them to some extent, but besides Jay, I never cared for Nelson Flavor, Exidor's mother, and even poor Georgia Engel, who through no fault of her own really had no reason to be on this show. By the time Winters arrived, Mork was like the most normal character in a sea of loonies...a far cry from the original premise!

[visaman666]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

I have to dispute that. I'll argue that the network hoped Mork & Mindy was appealing to a youngish demographic with buying power, but I don't think it was ever aimed at children.

I was 14 when the show debuted. I guess you could call me a child, and some of the smutty references went over my head, so to speak... Debbie Does Dallas references, for example.

[king of comedy]

They never heard of the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I only saw the first season and it was perfect the way it was. They should have kept it at that.

[CosmicCharlie]

There's a written interview after the show ended with Pam where she says something to the effect "see, a small breasted women can find success in the world" (paraphrase)

[cbikle]

Originally Posted by robyrob

yeah, the network execs demanded "more jiggle TV", its also why they got rid of Conrad Janis and Grandma in the second season -

Personally, I didn't miss them.

[CosmicCharlie]

Pam was / is a beauty ! just the way she is !!

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

They never heard of the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I only saw the first season and it was perfect the way it was. They should have kept it at that.

What ABC forced the producers of Mork & Mindy to do should be taught as "How to kill off a show that was a massive hit in its first season."

All they had to do was leave well enough alone, but the networks were paying too much attention to demographics and reasoning that younger, hipper, "sexier" characters would appeal to that coveted youth demographic and therefore bring in big ratings and advertiser $$$.

Instead, the show nosedived and never recovered creatively (in my opinion) and the ratings began a slow descent, eventually bottoming out so much that the network cancelled the show at the end of season 4 in 1982.

Networks should be concerned with scheduling and promoting shows, not getting involved creatively when they don't need to be.

[CosmicCharlie]

Mindy Mindy Mindy

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by CosmicCharlie

Mindy Mindy Mindy

She was right purty!