The BEST episodes of Perfect Strangers season 1

Every episode of Perfect Strangers season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Perfect Strangers season 1!

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
Baby, You Can Drive My Car
star
7.91
106 votes

#2 - 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
Knock, Knock, Who's There?
star
7.39
173 votes

#3 - Knock, Knock, Who's There?

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/25/1986

Larry Appleton has just settled in his new Chicago apartment after leaving home of one of nine kids and took a job at the corner discount store working for his greedy landlord Mr. Twinkacetti until he can eventually become a photo journalist. But one evening, Balki Bartokomous, his distant cousin and a Mediterranean sheep herder from the island of Mypos shows up on his door step looking for a place to stay. So Larry takes him in and tries to get him a job at Twinkacetti's store which may mean risking his own job.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Writer: Dale McRaven
Watch Now:Amazon
Picture This
star
7.32
109 votes

#4 - Picture This

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/1/1986

Larry tries to kickstart his career and gets tipped off that Dolly Parton is in town committing adultery. So he decides to follow her until he can get a picture to sell to newspapers. Meanwhile, Balki will do a favor for anyone who will ask for it so Larry teaches him to say ""no"" once in a while but it backfires on him.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Watch Now:Amazon
Check This
star
7.24
82 votes

#5 - Check This

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/22/1986

Larry takes Balki to the bank to open a bank account but Balki doesn't seem to understand everything about banking when he overspends with his checks and buys Larry new furniture. Meanwhile, Twinkacetti is going to a poker game and his wife, Edwina doesn't like him gambling. So he asks Larry to tell his wife that they were at a basketball game but Larry refuses to.

Directors: Joel Zwick
First Date
star
7.15
105 votes

#6 - First Date

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/8/1986

Larry takes Balki to a singles bar to meet women and while Balki gets his first date, Larry gets beat up in a parking lot by a boyfriend of a woman he hit on.

Directors: Joel Zwick
Writer: Marty Nadler