2. Mork (Mork & Mindy)
Mork is one of the two titular characters in the American science-fiction sitcom Mork and Mindy which aired between 1978 and 1982 on ABC. Mork is an alien from the planet Ork who was sent to Earth to observe human behaviour (and because humour, which Mork loves, is not allowed on Ork). He was apparently grown in a test tube by Orkan scientists. He dons human clothes (initially a suit, which he puts on back-to-front) and lands on Earth in his egg-shaped spacecraft, where he meets Mindy - a native of Boulder, Colorado - who initially thinks he's a priest before seeing his back (where the front of his suit is visible) and noticing his weird behaviour. Unfamiliar with the concept of lying, Mork tells Mindy that he's an alien when she questions who he is and she allows him to live in her attic, promising to keep him a secret. The show's storylines usually centred on Mork's endearing attempts to understand human behavior and American culture as Mindy helps him to adjust to life on Earth. He was played by a then-unknown Robin Williams whose quirky comedic ability shone through even then. Mork first appeared in Happy Days in what turned out to be a dream sequence, but the character proved so popular that he got his own show.