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| Robin Williams and Ron Howard on Happy Days. |
For decades, clip shows were a necessary evil of network television. Each series only has so much money to work with per season. The producers have to cut costs somewhere. Why not recycle some classic moments from previous episodes, linked together by a thin wraparound story? That way, you let your fans relive some cherished memories without having to make an expensive, all-new episode.
I would say that the traditional TV clip show thrived—if that's the word—between the 1970s and the 1990s. Back then, older episodes were not so easily accessible through DVD or streaming, so fans may have actually welcomed the chance to revisit some favorite scenes. It may have been The Simpsons that killed off these patchwork shows once and for all. The long-running Fox animated series undermined the trope with such slyly self-referential episodes as "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular." After the dreadful "Gump Roast" in 2002, however, even The Simpsons gave up on clip shows.
Happy Days did more than its fair share of clip shows over its decade-long run. Season 6's "Mork Returns" (aka "The Fifth Anniversary Show") is merely one example among many. What sets this apart is the participation of Robin Williams as the manic alien Mork from Ork. Williams' guest shot in Season 5, "My Favorite Orkan," had been a sensation and led to the top-rated spinoff Mork & Mindy. It was only natural that the character would return to Happy Days someday. Why they brought him back for a lowly clip show is anyone's guess.
Does Robin Williams manage to make "Mork Returns" an episode worth watching? Find out when we review it on These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast.