Perfect Strangers (1986–1993)

A high strung and cynical man's life is never the same when his naive but good-natured cousin comes to America to live with him.

Creator:

Dale McRaven

Stars:

Bronson Pinchot, Mark Linn-Baker, Melanie Wilson

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Bronson Pinchot	...	Balki Bartokomous (150 episodes, 1986-1993)
Mark Linn-Baker	...	Larry Appleton (150 episodes, 1986-1993)
Melanie Wilson	...	Jennifer (102 episodes, 1986-1993)
Rebeca Arthur	...	Mary Anne (93 episodes, 1986-1993)

Storyline

Balki Bartokomous, a sheepherder from the small Mediterranean Greek-like island of Mypos, travels to the United States in search of his relatives. He finds his cousin, Larry Appleton - who has recently 'escaped' from his large-sized family and is reveling in the unaccustomed luxury of having his own room to himself. They end up sharing accommodation in Larry's apartment - even though the two cousins could not be more dissimilar. For, while Larry is panicky, hyperventilative, business-like and mercenary - Balki is placid, unharried, sunny-natured and idealistic.

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Plot Keywords:

innocence | cousin cousin relationship | roommate | get rich quick scheme | idealism | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Balki e Larry - Due perfetti americani

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Television, Miller/Boyett Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (150 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Balki Bartokamous is from the fictional island of Mypos. The island of Mypos is possibly based off the real-life Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus. Also interestingly enough, the name Mypos is derived from the Greek word for "maybe".

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Quotes

Balki Bartokomous: You said that you would not go overboard, and now look at you. You're scraping barnacles off the Titanic.

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Connections

Featured in Message in a Bottle (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now"
Written by Jesse Frederick and Bennett Salvay
Performed by David Pomeranz

User Reviews

One of the BEST Comedies of All Time!

We've loved this show for almost 20 years now! It's good, clean fun that the whole family can enjoy. The first-year episodes were really funny; all the typical "immigrant-new-to-America" situations like: Balki getting a driver's license, Balki wanting to meet girls, Balki opening a checking account. Just watching Balki discover potato chips was a treat.

Later, some priceless episodes were: when Larry and Balki meet Jennifer and Mariann in the health club, the camping trip, the ski trip, learning karate, the guys 're-doing' the girls' upstairs bathroom plumbing, etc... I started watching when I was newly married and then, as I had kids, I really appreciated the wholesomeness of the show. The comedy was very physical (sort of ala "I Love Lucy"), yet there were no profanities or sexual references that are so prevalent in today's prime time lineup.

I SO wish these were out on DVD!