It's weird how comedy evolves.
I love Robin Williams, so I'm trying to watch Mork & Mindy.
But the humor is... I guess "old" is a nice way to say it.
In the pilot, one of the "jokes" that had the "audience" in stitches was the idea that two old people could enjoy playing music. That's it. A moment later the audience was dying because the old lady was able to name-check Alice Cooper.
I just don't get it.
@pseudonym The original joke about them liking music was the two of them playing "dueling mozart" on pianos, so even then it was old people music.
I got the point of the Alice Cooper joke... it just seemed very weak.
Now, granted, part of this may be that it's the pilot, and pilots are always a little weird and awkward.
Also, it should be noted that Williams' physical comedy is truly timeless. It's just the writing around that is... not great. To the point where it's super obvious any time Robin improvs a line, because those are actually funny, and even the other actors can't help but laugh.
@LouisIngenthron
Oh my, yes.
Humor really does change over time.
I watched Mork and Mindy as a kid and it was hilarious. I'll let it sit in my memory in nostalgia.
I don't recall any specifically from M&M, but the 80s sitcoms were pretty terrible with gay "jokes." (3's company)
Old folks name checking Alice Cooper was "funny" then not because they didn't like music, but because old folks (as a group) generally didn't like or know that kind of music. So the "joke" played on the surprise.