Rewind TV & Antenna TV Celebrate Earth Day 2023 With Marathons of Two Out-of-This-World Classic Sitcoms
This Earth Day — Saturday, April 22, 2023 — Rewind TV and Antenna TV, two Nexstar networks devoted to classic television, will be celebrating our planet in a unique way: They are each spotlighting daylong marathons of a beloved sitcom that chronicles the wacky experiences of an alien visitor to our world.
Rewind TV’s “The Mork & Mindy Mother Nature Marathon” — Saturday, April 22 at 6am-Sunday, April 23 at 4am ET
Beginning earlier on Earth Day, Rewind TV, a channel devoted to sitcom hits from the 1980s and ’90s, kicks things off with a marathon of episodes from Mork & Mindy, the spinoff of the well-received Feb. 28, 1978, Happy Days episode called “My Favorite Orkan” (its title playing off the ’60s series My Favorite Martian, which ties in with the other sitcom marathon airing today).
Robin Williams was an unknown when he appeared as alien Mork (from Ork) in that Happy Days installment, but his performance there — and especially in this ensuing series — as the quirky alien made him a star, as well as an Emmy nominee and a Golden Globe winner, and demonstrated the hilariously manic and often physical humor he brought to his comedic performances (later in his career, of course, he also showed his skill with dramatic acting).
Mork & Mindy will be marking the 45th anniversary of its premiere this fall (the series originally ran on ABC Sept. 14, 1978-May 27, 1982). In the show, Mork comes to Earth to study human behavior. In Boulder, Colorado, he says “Na-Nu Na-Nu” to Mindy McConnell (Pam Dawber). The two eventually fall in love, marry and raise an Orkan “child” — who hatches out of an egg near the start of Season 4 in the form of full-grown senior man (since Orkans age backward) named Mearth (portrayed by legendary comedian/actor Jonathan Winters, who was one of Williams’ idols).
The series also features Conrad Janis, Elizabeth Kerr, Tom Poston and Jay Thomas.
Rewind TV’s Mork & Mindy marathon runs 22 hours and includes notable episodes such as “Mork Moves In,” the series’ third episode; “Mork in Love,” in which the title characters kiss for the first time; “Three the Hard Way,” featuring the arrival of Mearth; “Mama Mork, Papa Mindy,” Winters’ first episode as a series regular; and “The Mork Report,” the final episode.
Antenna TV’s “My Favorite Planet: An Earth Day Marathon” — Saturday, April 22 at 10am-Sunday, April 23 at 5am ET
Meanwhile, over on Antenna TV, there are also plenty of other extraterrestrial shenanigans as the network airs a 19-hour marathon of the legendary CBS sitcom My Favorite Martian, which originally aired Sept. 29, 1963-May 1, 1966.
The series is led by Ray Walston as the titular Martian (who adopted the persona of “Uncle Martin” after becoming stranded on Earth), and Bill Bixby as Tim O’Hara, the human reporter who brings the otherworldly visitor into his home.
(l-r) Bill Bixby and Ray Walston in the pilot episode of My Favorite Martian (Courtesy Everett Collection)
Antenna TV’s marathon begins with “My Favorite Martian,” the series pilot, and concludes with the series’ last episode, “Pay the Man the $24.” In between will be other notable episodes, ranging from the show’s first 75 that were shot in black and white to the last 32 that were shot in color, such as “Rock to Mars,” “Girl in a Flying Machine” and “The Disastro-nauts.”
And stay tuned in coming months for other Antenna TV marathons themed around special days: The network has announced a Mother’s Day One Day at a Time marathon on Sunday, May 14, and a Father’s Day Father Knows Best marathon on Sunday, June 18. More details on those later!