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 6 (Part 2) of Perfect Strangers! For Part 1, click here!
Larry's grandpa visits and Larry is surprised at how much he still wants to go out and do things until he has his heart broken.
This episode, which has a prominent part for guest star John Anderson, veers awfully close to being heavy-handed and a "very special episode." But it manages to keep the comedy strong enough and the sentimentality down enough that the ratio works. Anderson has a good personality and plays both the rambunctious and depressed grandpa role well. After a couple stinkers, this is a better episode that moves by breezily and has lots of fun moments including perhaps the best use of the usually annoying Dance of Joy.
RATING: 8/10
111. Little Apartment of Horrors (1/18/91)
With the cold going through the office, Balki grows a plant from Mypos as a natural remedy but it turns out to have unusual side effects.
This episode starts with a very promising story. It's a fun twist on a "everybody is sick!" episode with Balki confidently trying to encourage others to try his natural remedy. I think the humor and storytelling is tight for the first half of the episode. But it starts to go south for the second half of the episode as the joke just gets tired and the resolution (to the extent there is a resolution) feels rushed. I'm not sure the show needed to add in Jennifer and Mary Anne here. I think we already got the point of what the plant can do. It also morphs into a more tired "Larry tries to get rich scheme" episode.
RATING: 5.5/10
112. I Saw This on TV (2/1/91)
To make a point to Larry about lying to Jennifer, Balki tells him about a rerun of The Honeymooners he saw and imagines them in the actual show.
One of the more unique episodes of Perfect Strangers, the homage to The Honeymooners is done extremely well. I have to give credit to both Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot for pretty solid impressions of Jackie Gleason and Art Carney. The impressions by the girls are less impressive but there's also less source material to work with. While the impressions are good, I am more impressed with this episode because they very clearly went for something different instead of safe sitcom tropes. Perfect Strangers is rarely ambitious as a show but they were here and it worked for them.
RATING: 9/10
113. Speak, Memory (2/8/91)
Larry has recurring bouts of amnesia after a fall on the day he's supposed to meet Jennifer's mother for the first time.
If you thought amnesia only impacted 60s sitcom characters, you are mistaken. Perfect Strangers certainly knows no boundaries when it comes to sitcom tropes. There are some funny parts of this episode but it felt like it just kept reverting back to the same joke. Larry would lose his memory then get it back, then lose it again, then get it back again. I guess amnesia episodes by nature are one joke episodes but boy this really felt like a one joke episode and the dinner scene with Jennifer's mother just didn't land comedically.
RATING: 3.5/10
Balki is recruited by an agent to be a new music star but then finds out his voice has been dubbed for a music video he creates.
Whew, this episode couldn't get more early 90s if it tried. The episode is of course playing off of the Milli Vanilli lip-synching scandal of that time period and the music video Balki creates is so insanely a product of its time. There's something actually endearing and fun about an episode that's such a time capsule. Although it's obviously trying to capture the zeitgeist at the time, it is weaved well into a story that is fitting for Balki's character. This is twice in three episodes that Perfect Stangers has tried to be a little more ambitious and it pays off for them.
RATING: 8.5/10
115. See How They Run (2/22/91)
Balki runs for student body president of his night school and reluctantly lets Larry manage his campaign.
Oh boy, this plot is ripe for Larry being annoying but what I like about this one compared to previous episodes like this is Balki shows some more fight both in not wanting Larry to get involved and then arguing with him along the way. What's also interesting is that it's not really Larry who causes Balki to lose the election as might be expected but it's Balki sticking to his guns. What's not surprising is that it is another episode where it's very easy to be Team Balki. His earnestness is always winning over Larry's calculated misfirings. Still, it's a better episode than some other similar ones.
RATING: 7.5/10
116. Climb Every Billboard (3/15/91)
Larry and Balki live on a billboard until the Bulls win a game as a publicity stunt for the newspaper.
This episode seems like it tees itself up to be one of those episode that sticks Balki and Larry in a ridiculous situation and forces them to find their way out of it. But it's hamstrung by the plot. Being stuck on a billboard is not the same as a roof in a snowstorm or a chandelier in a house. There are very limited things they can do or places they can go. The setup seems like it wants to include some physical comedy but the actual setting pretty much ensures very little physical comedy can happen. So the whole episode doesn't really work.
RATING: 2.5/10
Balki attempts to work two catering jobs in one night without realizing that Larry has booked a third event.
This episode is definitely a Lucy and Ethel or Laverne and Shirley plot, but it's done in a very fun way with the three different groups - the Germans, the Texans and the Calorie Counters. Having the three different areas needing to be served at the same time allowed the episode to move at a frenetic pace. There's some really good comedy and a moment that could go awry easily (Larry leading a square dance while the others try to collect plates) is actually a really good comedic scene. This was a very well executed episode.
RATING: 9/10
118. Duck Soup (4/5/91)
Balki goes hunting with Larry and Mr. Wainwright after finding out they are hunting ducks, an animal that is hated on Mypos.
This could be a conventional hunting episode (a standard sitcom plot not yet employed by Perfect Strangers). But it is elevated by a strong performance from Bronson Pinchot. Balki's complete hatred for ducks is a ridiculous premise but it is performed with such commitment for Pinchot that it is both very funny and somewhat believable. It's interesting that the episode loses a little steam when they actually go duck hunting because that should be the peak of the comedy but the lead-up is more satisfying than the execution.
RATING: 6.5/10
119. Great Balls of Fire (4/26/91)
Larry agrees to be a volunteer fireman with Balki first to get a story and then to impress Jennifer.
One of the best developments in season six is how often Balki calls out Larry for his behavior. In early episodes, Balki just worshipped Larry but now he sees through some of Larry's character flaws. Interestingly, that makes the character flaws less glaring because other characters are acknowledging them. It feels like a more even playing field and that's a good thing. This episode has some funny moments although it also feels like there's more physical comedy left on the table (though Mary Anne and Balki coming down the fireman pole is a funny moment).
RATING: 7/10
Larry and Jennifer realize they are both very nervous about getting married when Balki and Mary Anne press them to pick a date.
Larry and Jennifer's relationship was a very slow burn for many years of Perfect Strangers. This season was a slightly less slow burn but it still was not something the show focused on for much of the season after their engagement except for the episode with Jennifer's mother. But as the season comes to a close, we get an episode that focuses primarily on their engagement. It's a pretty silly episode but it has a sweet ending and does address the constant elephant in the room of "can't Jennifer do better than Larry?"
RATING: 7/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON SIX:
5.9/10
The Best Episodes:
1. "A Catered Affair" (#117) - 9/10
2. "I Saw This on TV" (#112) - 9/10
3. "Out of Sync" (#114) - 8.5/10
4. "The Men Who Knew Too Much" Part 1 (#103) - 8/10
5. "Grandpa" (#110) - 8/10
The Worst Episodes:
1. "Family Feud" (#101) - 1.5/10
2. "Hocus Pocus" (#108) - 2/10
3. "Finders Keepers" (#109) - 2/10
4. "Call Me Indestructible" (#102) - 2.5/10
5. "Climb Every Billboard" (#116) - 2.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at Season Seven (Part 1) of Perfect Strangers!
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