Perfect Strangers is a sitcom which ran on ABC from 1986 to 1993, focusing on colorful immigrant shepherd Balki and his uptight American cousin Larry. The series had a spin-off, Family Matters (centering on the family of supporting character Harriet Winslow).
References
- Muppet Magazine issue 20 featured the cover text "Don't Be Ridiculous! It's Balki! Bronson Pinchot!" (with Pinchot wearing the vest he used as Balki). The inside article includes a photo caption with Gonzo saying "Yeah, I’m kind of a perfect stranger, too!"
Muppet Mentions
- In the third season episode "Weigh To Go, Buddy," Larry is trying to avoid a Myposian diet that Balki has put him on and so is hiding food around the apartment. When Balki finds a bag of cookies under the couch cushions, Larry innocently wonders who could've put them there. Balki replies, "I bet it wasn't the Cookie Monster."
- In the sixth season episode "The Men Who Knew Too Much" (part 2), Larry and Balki end up in a tattoo parlor. Balki asks if they have the Muppet Babies and is told it's the second most requested item (after a cobra on the face).
- In the seventh season episode "The Elevator," while trapped inside, Balki tries to use the elevator phone to end his subscription to Muppet Baby Magazine. When Larry tries to phone out, Balki says "Cousin, not until I cancel Kermit."
- In the series finale "Up Up and Away," Mary Anne talks about baby development, "Rational thought process occurs in the sixth month. Verbal skills follow in the ninth or tenth." When everyone's impressed by the statement, she explains "I heard it on Sesame Street."
Connections
- Greg Antonacci directed "New Kid on the Block" and "A Horse is a Horse" (1990)
- Gregg Berger played a clerk in "The Lottery" (1988)
- David Ketchum wrote "The Break-In" (1987)
- Bruce Lanoil played a ventriloquist in "Hocus Pocus" (1990)
- Michael Laskin played Dave in "Wayne Man" (1992)
- Mark Linn-Baker played Larry Appleton
- Barry O'Brien was a main writer and later story editor and producer (1987-1993)
- Bronson Pinchot played Balki Bartokomous
- Doris Roberts played Mrs. Bailey in "Maid to Order" (1989)