The WORST episodes of Perfect Strangers
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
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...
#1 - Lie-Ability
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/1989
After a minor car accident, Mr. Gorpley suggests Larry should sue. So Larry has plans to defraud an insurance company to gain money to help his sister Elaine with her tuition. But Balki objects as usual.
#2 - The Men Who Knew Too Much (1)
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/9/1990
Larry is sent to Los Angeles to write an article about a soap opera star's wedding and Balki goes with him. While attempting to get a better story, they get chased by mobsters after they witness and video tape Marco Madison, a big time gangster, murder an undercover drug agent and Larry and Balki are prime suspects.
#3 - The Men Who Knew Too Much (2)
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/16/1990
Larry and Balki manage to play back the tape proving their innocence, but they have trouble getting the tape to the police after they are mugged and captured by Marco's men.
#4 - I Saw This on TV
Season 6 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/1/1991
Larry manages to get tickets to go to a Bulls game with Balki on the night that Larry promised to take Jennifer to the ballet. So Larry lied to Jennifer saying that he had to work. Balki tells him a story about an old Honeymooners rerun where we see Ralph (Larry) lying to Alice (Jennifer) about having to work late when he plans on going bowling with Norton (Balki) and Alice ends up finding out about it while she was with Trixie (Mary Anne). However Jennifer found out about the basketball game and Larry is in a heap of trouble.
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#5 - The King and I
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/24/1989
Larry and Balki throw a '50's party and invite their friends. Lydia brings her date Lamont who is a hypnotist. After demonstrating hypnosis, he accidentally hypnotizes Balki into thinking he's Elvis which carries on through their tax audit the next day.
#6 - Bye, Bye Birdie
Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 4/13/1990
Balki grows very fond of his new pet parrot that drives Larry crazy. Meanwhile, their chimney is clogged and when Larry tried to light a fire, he had to open the window to let the smoke out, the parrot flies out and Balki is heartbroken.
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#7 - Teacher's Pest
Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/28/1989
Larry was chosen to teach a college course in journalism and Balki is able to take the class. But his standards are set way too high that he fails the whole class.
#8 - The Gazebo
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/1/1991
Larry and Balki are building a new gazebo in their back yard and as they struggle to build it, it reminds Jennifer and Mary Anne of Laurel and Hardy as we see them in a parody of Laurel and Hardy trying to build a gazebo.
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#9 - Better Shop Around
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/1987
While grocery shopping, Balki wins a shopping spree to happen the next day and he thinks it would be fun. But Lary makes a plan to get certain things to sell for an air conditioner which takes all the fun out of it.
#10 - The Unnatural
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/1/1986
Larry's softball team has a chance of winning the championship but the star player was sent to prison. So He promises to let Balki play until a star ringer shows up.
#11 - Father Knows Best (1)
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/10/1989
Larry's perfectionist father comes for a visit and Larry wants to impress him so he can finally get a ""well done son"" from his father. But instead, they end up trapped in the basement that is flooding after Larry broke the water pipe.
#12 - Finders Keepers
Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/4/1991
Balki finds a box with over $50,000 cash in it. Larry wants to keep it but Balki is insistent on finding the rightful owner, which won't be easy, especially with Mr. Gorpley scheming to get it anyway he can.
#13 - Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/8/1992
When Balki shows Larry that Jennifer has been knitting booties, The possibility that Jennifer is pregnant causes Larry to imagine Larry and Balki's future sons becoming best friends in the nursery trying to escape.
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#14 - Up, Up and Away (1)
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/6/1993
Jennifer is two weeks overdue and has a few false alarms. Meanwhile, After Balki and Mary Anne went to the fair, Mary Anne goes into labor and has her baby in the driveway. Jennifer is told about a balloon ride Mary Anne went in and in hopes of going into labor, Larry and Balki take Jennifer up in the balloon.
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#15 - Lifesavers
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/22/1986
After Larry saves Balki from getting hit by a taxi, Balki becomes his personal servant which ends up annoying Larry.
#16 - Aliens
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/28/1988
Larry and Balki throw a Halloween party with their friends and after six hours of watching scary movies, Larry wakes up and discovers that Balki is an alien from ""Planet Mypos"" and is turning everyone into Mypiots by putting vests on them.
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#17 - That Old Gang of Mine
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/13/1989
Mary Anne was promoted and moves to London and Balki is heartbroken and miserable. So Larry suggests Balki get a hobby to take his mind off her. So he joins a motorcycle gang where the club plans a wild initiation ceremony.
#18 - Family Feud
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/26/1990
A 500 year-old feud in the Bartokomous family is back when their rival Zolton Bauchelitis is coming to fight a duel with Balki. Larry gets caught up in it and must fight Zolton himself. However, they don't try and kill each other, the winner takes the loser's ears.
#19 - The Baby Quiz
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/30/1993
Balki applies to the ""Baby Quiz"" TV game show for both couples. As it happens, Only Larry and Jennifer are accepted until a last minute drop out of the other contestants, in which Balki and Mary Anne take their places. The prize is a college scholarship for the baby.
#20 - Digging up the News
Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 4/27/1990
Larry is assigned to interview Uncle Shaggy, a kid's show host and when he gets Balki to take a picture of him without his costume, the get Uncle Shaggy fired after someone discovered that he has a criminal record for something he did along time ago. But Larry swears he will make it up to him.
#21 - Hello Ball
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/24/1989
When Jennifer's father comes to town, Larry tries to impress him. So they decide to go golfing. Larry is an excellent golfer but Mr. Lyons is a bad golfer and a bad loser o Larry decides to let him win and lets Balki play thinking that he can't golf, but can he?
#22 - Future Shock
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/25/1987
Jennifer has been given a promotion but if she accepts it, she has to move to LA. Larry refuses to tell her how he feels as a fear of rejection but later that evening, he has a dream about being a lonely old man with Balki and Mary Anne married, rich, living upstairs.
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#23 - Couch Potato
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/2/1987
When Larry and Balki get cable TV, Balki becomes glued to the TV and won't stop watching it to the point where he forgets about his job, sleep, and never goes out anymore. So Larry must make an important decision of getting rid of the cable.
#24 - Sexual Harrassment in Chicago
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/1987
The editor of the Chronicle's Sunday Magazine makes a play for Balki but he isn't interested. She won't take no for an answer and anyone who ever tried to report her lost their jobs.
#25 - Almost Live from Chicago
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/1/1989
Lydia has been offered the opportunity of having her on TV advice show but she has one problem, she's afraid of cameras. But Larry tries to force her to do the show because of a mistake he made in high school when he turned down an opportunity.