On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts. Here's a look at Season 5 (Part 2) of Perfect Strangers! For Part 1, click here!
Larry tricks Balki into volunteering as an orderly so he can get a big interview with a recovering football player.
Balki and Larry in a hospital is a trope that Perfect Strangers hasn't done yet so we get that in this episode. There is an extended physical gag of Balki and Larry trying to help a patient and it feels like awhile since we've seen a really long bit like that. Although they are pretty silly, Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot do well with those and there are times they make me think of a male version of Lucy and Ethel or Laverne and Shirley. Overall, this is a pretty funny episode that ends up having even more physical comedy besides the one long bit.
RATING: 8/10
87. The Selling of Mypos (1/26/90)
Balki is asked to negotiate for Mypos when a Chicago company wants to buy half of it and Larry agrees to help him.
This is a fun twist on a trope that can only really work with because of the premise of Perfect Strangers. A negotiation episode has some extra kookiness to it thanks to Balki and his Mypos customs that make for a lot of humorous moments. I do wish more of the episode had to do with the actual negotiation because the rest of the episode is basically the typical "Larry is a jerk and Balki has a huge heart" episode. Before I watched any Perfect Strangers, I always assumed Balki was sort of obnoxious like Urkel but he is without a doubt the best part of pretty much every Perfect Strangers episode.
RATING: 7.5/10
Balki, Jennifer and Mary Anne are nervous about another vacation Larry planned and it turns out to be even worse than they expected.
Ah, the 80s. Still an innocent time for a sitcom like this to imply that Balki and Larry would take their girlfriends on a vacation and they would break up the sleeping arrangements by gender instead of couple. This is much better than the last trip episode though because the others just aren't having it with Larry instead of naively going along and it's wonderful to see. It's a fun setting for the episode and even though it's another "disastrous trip" episode, it has a little bit of a fresher feel and less like a rehash of a previous episode.
RATING: 8.5/10
89. Three's a Crowd (2/9/90)
89. Three's a Crowd (2/9/90)
After a big fight with Jennifer, Mary Anne moves in with Balki and Larry.
This episode is a good showcase for Rebecca Arthur who, as I mentioned, is under-utilized in the show. She has some funny moments although I don't like the bit where she treats Larry and Balki like they are passengers on the airplane. This episode is just so many sitcom tropes rolled into one episode. A fight between two friends over something trivial, one of the two in the fight overstaying their welcome with other characters, a "fake fight" to try to get a real fight to end. That kind of stuff has been done since I Love Lucy. It's fine to do sitcom tropes but it makes it pretty unmemorable when it makes you think of a show that did it better.
RATING: 6/10
90. A Blast From the Past (2/16/90)
The man who almost blew up Larry and Balki in the office wants to have dinner with them but they end up trapped in the apartment with him.
George Wyner returns after a pretty memorable appearance earlier in the season. This episode has a lot of the same elements. That makes it feel a little unnecessary but Wyner once again has a pretty good camaraderie with the two stars. The increasing escalation of the situation provides a lot of humor and I think adding Wyner into the mix changes up the Balki-Larry dynamics because Larry is not as obnoxious and self-assured as he sometimes can be when he and Balki are alone in a situation they have to get out of.
RATING: 7/10
91. He's the Boss (2/23/90)
91. He's the Boss (2/23/90)
A new manager at the paper promotes Balki to a new position but isn't clear about his responsibilities.
This episode has a little bit of a flimsy set-up. Balki getting promoted is handled in a clumsy way because they seemed to just want to tell this story. But that being said, the story is actually not that bad and it's pretty funny that there's nothing clear about why Balki has the job or what his responsibilities are. However, the show turns yet again when it becomes a little bit of a preachy episode about tokenism. That is a great topic to address but shows like this always struggled to do so in organic ways that didn't come across as contrived.
RATING: 4.5/10
92. Here Comes the Judge (3/9/90)
92. Here Comes the Judge (3/9/90)
Balki is put on the grievance committee at the paper and then Larry is summoned to appear before the committee for stealing office supplies.
Boy, Larry is incredibly insufferable in this episode. It's wonderful to see the resolution of Balki actually holding the line against Larry because I feel like too often the show decides to resolve itself by Balki letting Larry get away with something he shouldn't. After Larry makes Balki feel completely terrible, Balki actually stands up for himself and that is great to see. I feel like I harp so much on how awful Larry can be but here we are in season five and he's barely grown at all as a character. If he does, it's one step forward and two steps back.
RATING: 6/10
93. This Old House (3/30/90)
Larry and Balki renovate a house with plans to flip it and end up stuck on a chandelier.
It's been a while since Perfect Strangers did a real physical comedy episode, really since the piano episode at the beginning of Season 4 although there was the scene in the hospital earlier this season. This one again has some physical comedy moments but I was actually expecting that to drive the episode a little more considering it had to do with renovating a house. I'm actually surprised physical comedy is not a convention that was used more because Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker are consistently good at doing the physical comedy and playing off each other with it.
RATING: 6/10
94. Bye, Bye Birdie (4/13/90)
Balki brings home a parrot. When he flies out the window, Balki insists on keeping the window open in a snowstorm in case he comes up.
You probably know by now that I'm not a big fam of animal-themed episodes. That especially is true for bird episodes because I'm just not a big fan of birds in general. This episode is pretty predictable and not funny in the least. I would prefer a good cold snap or snowstorm episode if it had a better plot. There are so many times where Balki is a truly endearing character who is easy to side with. But episodes like this just make Balki so juvenile it's hard to really get on his side. When I'm siding with Larry in an episode, I know there's a problem.
RATING: 2/10
95. Eyewitless Report (4/27/90)
After a dangerous killer is captured at a cabin the gang is staying at, they all try to take credit for his capture.
This episode is more ambitious than normal for Perfect Strangers because of the way it tells the story. It starts with the ending and then tells the same story from three different perspectives. There are certainly plenty of shows that have employed that storytelling device but I have to give credit where credit is due for a show that usually plays it safe. It has a few funny moments but Mr. Gorpley's story is just sort of creepy and Larry's is expectedly braggadocios. Although I gave credit for how this episode was put together, I'm not sure it was the best plot to use it for and I don't know that we needed Mr. Gorpley in the mix.
RATING: 6.5/10
Larry convinces Balki to help him get a photo of a children's performer out of makeup and they end up getting that performer fired.
This episode has a similar plot to a classic season two episode of Happy Days set at "Howdy Doody" but its execution ends up being a little diffeerent as Perfect Strangers goes more for the laughs and silliness than the heart that the early Happy Days episodes often played to. It's a pretty fun plot that has the added benefit of seeing Balki and Larry in ridiculous costumes. There's also a funny moment at the beginning of the episode when Balki thinks he blacked out because Larry has manipulated him (again) and a good sight gag of the two of them on the giant oversized couch. A strong end to the season.
RATING: 8/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON FIVE:
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON FIVE:
6.3/10
The Best Episodes:
The Best Episodes:
1. "Nightmare Vacation" (#88) - 8.5/10
2. "Father Knows Best??" Part 1 (#79) - 8.5/10
3. "Tooth or Consequences" (#76) - 8.5/10
4. "Disorderly Orderlies" (#86) - 8/10
5. "Because They're Cousins" (#85) - 8/10
The Worst Episodes:
1. "Bye Bye Birdie" (#94) - 2/10
2. "Home Movies" (#83) - 3/10
3. "The Newsletter" (#75) - 4/10
4. "Everyone in the Pool" (#84) - 4.5/10
5. "He's the Boss" (#91) - 4.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV new stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at Season Six (Part 1) of Perfect Strangers!
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