The BEST episodes of Perfect Strangers

Every episode of Perfect Strangers ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Perfect Strangers!

The series chronicles the rocky coexistence of Larry Appleton and his distant cousin Balki Bartokomous. A Wisconsin native, Larry, who comes from a large family with numerous brothers and sisters, has just moved into a new apartment in Chicago, and is experiencing his first joys of newfound privacy when Balki, a hitherto unknown cousin from a Greek-like island in the Mediterranean called Mypos, drops by to live with him. Balki, a shepherd by trade, interprets what little he knows about the United States by relying on his own recollections of American pop culture, which are often out-of-context. After initially gently rebuffing his cousin's request to stay at his apartment, Larry, an aspiring photographer, decides to take Balki under his wing and teach him about American life...

Last Updated: 9/3/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended
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Happy Birthday, Baby
star
8.65
104 votes

#1 - Happy Birthday, Baby

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/29/1986

Larry is miserable on his 24th birthday after he blew a photo opportunity. So Balki tries to throw him a last minute surprise birthday party for him to cheer him up.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Writer: Doug Keyes
Watch Now:Amazon
Pipe Dreams
star
8.00
16 votes

#2 - Pipe Dreams

Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/10/1988

Jennifer asks Larry if he can call a plumber for her to fix her shower head while she's away. Larry decides that to impress her he'll fix it himself and as Larry and Balki try and put everything together, things go extremely wrong and they end up flooding Jennifer and Mary Anne's bathroom.

Writer: Bob Keyes
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Breakup
star
7.93
14 votes

#3 - The Breakup

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/12/1990

Jennifer was asked out on a date by an old boyfriend and checked with Larry first. But he agreed thinking that's what she wanted but she really wanted to know here their relationship is going. Confused, She breaks up with Larry who is too scared to tell her how he really feels but they eventually end up getting engaged.

Directors: James O'Keefe
Writer: Terry Hart
Watch Now:Amazon
Bachelor Party
star
7.92
13 votes

#4 - Bachelor Party

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1991

As the best man at Larry's upcoming wedding, Balki is tricked by Mr. Gorpley into throwing a bachelor party and when Mr. Gorpley show up at the party, he spikes the punch and hires a stripper and Jennifer finds out.

Directors: Judy Pioli
Writer: Terry Hart
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Lottery
star
7.92
24 votes

#5 - The Lottery

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/14/1988

Balki insists on buying a lottery ticket but Larry thinks that it is just a waste of money for something that can't possibly win. But during the draws, Larry realizes that Balki picked the right numbers and won 28 million dollars but Balki can't remember where he hid the ticket.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Hunks Like Us
star
7.91
111 votes

#6 - Hunks Like Us

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/24/1986

Larry decides to join a health club after having the hots for a member named Jennifer. But he thinks she's only interested in jocks and pretends to be one. Balki goes with him and picks up a woman right away who happens to be Jennifer's best friend Mary Anne.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Writer: Alan Mandel
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Baby, You Can Drive My Car
star
7.91
106 votes

#7 - Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/15/1986

Balki wants to get his driver's license but Mr. Twinkacetti doesn't think he can do it. But Larry is so confident that he can, that he bets $50 and offers Balki his car.

Directors: Howard Storm
Watch Now:Amazon
Up a Lazy River (2)
star
7.89
19 votes

#8 - Up a Lazy River (2)

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/25/1988

After the river takes them on a wild ride, The four end up lost in the woods. Hoping that Larry can regain Jennifer's respect, he talks Balki into letting him lead them back to the camp site but they end up walking for five hours in a circle. Later, Larry and Balki almost drown in quicksand and in the evening, they get attacked by a bear.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Three's a Crowd
star
7.86
14 votes

#9 - Three's a Crowd

Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/9/1990

While playing a board game, an argument breaks out between Jennifer and Mary Anne. The result being Mary Anne moving out and in with Larry and Balki at Balki's insistence. Larry doesn't like the idea because is jeopardizes his relationship with Jennifer. So Larry and Balki devise a plan to get Jennifer and Mary Anne back together.

Writer: Tom Devanney
Watch Now:Amazon
Get Me to the Dump on Time (2)
star
7.86
7 votes

#10 - Get Me to the Dump on Time (2)

Season 7 - Episode 24 - Aired 4/18/1992

According to a sacred Myposian custom, Balki and Mary Anne must be married within 24 hours and they get everything ready. Larry feels left out of the duties so Balki makes him his best man and the guardian of his Myposian marriage necklace which he must have during the ceremony, but Larry accidentally throws it out. So Larry and Balki search the dump for it and eventually find it and Balki and Mary Anne finally get married.

Directors: Judy Pioli
Writer: Tom Devanney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Door to Door
star
7.83
12 votes

#11 - Door to Door

Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/1991

Larry and Balki get part time jobs to earn extra money. Balki tries stuffing teddy bears, but Larry asks for his help with door to door selling cleaning products. However, Larry is determined to go to a mansion and sell lots of products instead of going door to door with disastrous results.

Directors: Judy Pioli
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Speak, Memory
star
7.82
11 votes

#12 - Speak, Memory

Season 6 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/8/1991

Jennifer's mother comes to town and wants to meet Larry, and Jennifer doesn't think that her mother will approve of her marrying him. Later on, Larry falls down the stairs at the Chronicle and gets amnesia which last during the dinner where Larry meets Mrs. Lyons.

Directors: Judy Pioli
Watch Now:Amazon
Disorderly Orderlies
star
7.79
19 votes

#13 - Disorderly Orderlies

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/12/1990

Balki tries to get Larry to do volunteer work at the hospital but he refused until he discovered that a famous football player is a patient there hoping that he can get an interview to advance his career.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Watch Now:Amazon
Just a Gigolo
star
7.78
18 votes

#14 - Just a Gigolo

Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/31/1989

Lydia is miserable when her boyfriend dumped her so Balki uses his match-making skills to fix Lydia up with a man who turns out to be a gigolo who married wealthy women, takes their money and leaves them.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Elevator
star
7.78
9 votes

#15 - The Elevator

Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/14/1992

Larry decides to impress Mr. Wainwright by enlisting himself and Balki to move his brand new oversized couch up the elevator to his office while the elevator is under repair.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Writer: Tom Amundsen
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Trouble in Paradise
star
7.77
31 votes

#16 - Trouble in Paradise

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/21/1987

Larry and Balki invite Jennifer and Mary Anne over for dinner but cannot agree on what to serve which cases a rift between them and eventually a rift between Jennifer and Mary Anne.

Writer: Mark Fink
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Everybody in the Pool
star
7.77
13 votes

#17 - Everybody in the Pool

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/15/1989

Balki plays the football pool for the first time at the Chronicle and wins. He also ends up winning the next five weeks which makes everyone mad at him except Larry who decides to copy his picks to bet $10,000 with a bookie unaware that Balki picked all the losers.

Writer: Tom Amundsen
Watch Now:Amazon
Beautiful Dreamer
star
7.76
33 votes

#18 - Beautiful Dreamer

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/28/1987

Balki hasn't been sleeping due to a nightmare that has been haunting him about him not being able to help out at harvest season back on Mypos.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ladies and Germs
star
7.76
45 votes

#19 - Ladies and Germs

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1986

Larry has a date with a beauty queen but after going to the hospital to visit Mr. Twinkacetti (who has broken his leg), he catches a cold and when Balki tries to cure him with a secret Myposian cure, he ends up sleeping for three days.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Going Once, Going Twice
star
7.75
8 votes

#20 - Going Once, Going Twice

Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/1/1992

Larry goes to an auction to cover a story and brings Balki with him and Larry demonstrates the bidding procedure at an auction and they wind up buying a very expensive bottle of wine for $21,000. They now must hide it from Jennifer until they can go back to the auction and resell it.

Directors: Judy Pioli
Writer: Tom Amundsen
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Selling of Mypos
star
7.75
12 votes

#21 - The Selling of Mypos

Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/26/1990

When a big corporation in Chicago wants to buy 300 acres of land on Mypos, Balki was chosen to negotiate the sale, and he picked Larry to guide him through. When they are offered 10% of the total sale of 28 million dollars, Larry insists they accept is but Balki has a funny feeling about it.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Writer: Terry Hart
Watch Now:Amazon
A Christmas Story
star
7.75
32 votes

#22 - A Christmas Story

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/17/1986

Larry and Balki are snowed in Chicago on Christmas Eve which means they can't go to Madison to see Larry's family. So Larry is miserable until Balki spreads some Christmas cheer his way.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Writer: Dale McRaven
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Tux for Two
star
7.74
34 votes

#23 - Tux for Two

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/4/1987

Larry has been invited to a formal party for a photographer he idolizes but Balki's honest opinions embarrass Larry.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
See How They Run
star
7.73
11 votes

#24 - See How They Run

Season 6 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/22/1991

Balki runs for student body president and lets Larry help and as usual, Larry goes completely over the top. The students however, don't like the idea of Balki's idea of reinstating the language requirement so Larry thinks Balki should lie in order to win but he won't.

Directors: Judy Pioli
Watch Now:Amazon
Climb Every Billboard
star
7.73
11 votes

#25 - Climb Every Billboard

Season 6 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/15/1991

Larry suggests to Mr. Wainwright that a Chronicle employee stay on a billboard until the Bull' losing streak is over. Mr. Wainwright liked the idea and assigned Larry to find someone to do it. So he tricks Balki to do it but when Balki wants to get down, Larry kicks the ladder down and they both get stuck up there until the Bulls win.

Writer: Tom Devanney
Watch Now:Amazon