I AM LUUKING FOR MY KOZZEN LARRY!

ok i'm a little surprised at my vitriol there. sorry, mat, all forgiven.

What do you mean? The role of Cousin Larry wasn't actually mentioned in this book on Russian theatre; I just recognized the name Mark Linn-Baker and said "wait, wasn't he...?".

He was a great foil to Peter O'Toole in My Favorite Year...but somewhere along the way...

He appeared in the role of Hysterium in the 1995 Broadway stage production of 'A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum'.

Played "Marvelous" Mark Slackmeyer in the Broadway production of "Doonesbury - The Musical"

His christened name is Mark Linn Baker (without the hyphen). Linn is actually his middle name,
not part of his last name. When he joined the actors union, there already was a Mark Baker, so he
combined his middle name with his last name. His father made up his middle name "Linn" in
honor of Leonid Tolstoy.

Mark is a partner in Manhattan's West Bank Cafe.

Wife Adrianne Lobel is a set designer. They have one daughter.

xpost jesus fuck a doonesbury musical??!?

When Trudeau took what at the time was an unusual break for comic artists -- I think it was something like a year and a half off, around 83-84 -- part of his time was spent writing the musical or rather cowriting it. I still have never seen it, but my understanding was that it covered the 'missing time' during the break, when Mike and JJ got married and the original 'Walden' crew finally went their separate ways.

http://epguides.com/PerfectStrangers/guide.shtml

Ep. 114.

God I miss this show

and in hopes of going into labor, Larry and Balki take Jennifer up in the balloon.

I'm still amazed.

Why can I still remember this shit 10 years later?

SO GODDAMN WRONG.

That seems a little...edgy.

How is that an episode of an entire show???

Creepy.

Standing tall, on the wings of my dream.
Rise and fall, on the wings of my dream.

The rain and thunder
The wind and haze
I'm bound for better days.
It's my life and my dream,
Nothing's going to stop me now.

Seriously this is the best show that ever existed. It's like Seinfeld with foreigners and big tittied blondes.

Given the nature of this show, I am shocked that he wasn't LITERALLY glued to the TV.

I REMEMBER THE BIBI-BOBKAS SONG!

FUCK FUCK FUCK NOW I HAVE TO GO SEE IF PERFECT STRANGERS DVDS ARE ON NETFLIX

x-post

Hello:
Thank You for post. If you want to eMail me you name -phone number + best time to call, I will be more than happy to talk about this. I am your Internet Buddy: Donald Miller Charleston South Carolina

PDATED Sat Oct 15 2005 17:46:34
Hello Everyone:
ANNOUNCEMENT: I HAVE THE WHOLE SERIES - ALL 150 episodes on 8 SuperLongPlay DVD's
===============================================================================
I am just a nice guy who likes to help people out. There are a lot of PERFECT STRANGERS fans out there who would like to see this show, and I feel badly for those who can't watch it on TV. Luckily TV-Series Trading has grown in popularity in the last few years, and I have the whole series on DVD, To swap or??? please contact me -Hey let's talk !! If I can help you somehow I will
Please write to me at this eMail address It's that E-Z eMail me at
cprompt100 at yahoo dot com or just go to the PERFECT STRANGERS TRADING-SWAPPING-POST webpage I have set up to TRADE/or/SWAP Perfect Strangers with other collectors, for whatever you may have in your collection- SWAPPING is Fun + E-Z. Let's Talk about it!!! To find out about SWAPPING just eMail me and I will send you a link to my PERFECT STRANGERS webpage. This page has ALL the information you need... REALLY it's that E-Z

Donald Miller Charleston SC -I am just a nice guy that likes to help people. So don't worry if you don't have anything to swap, we will work something else out I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.

Again write to "cprompt100 at yahoo dot com" Or use the IMDB "send a private message system"

?!?!

Balki is discovered by a music promoter and he offers him a record and video contract. So Larry convinces Balki to accept and he becomes the newest rap star after shooting a video called "Fresh Young Balki B." But after they watch it, they notice that a different voice was dubbed in and Balki quits.

Title of the episode: "Out of Sync"

I like the logical flow of the final actions there.

...and dies bloodily?

Nothing about this makes any sense.

Ok, wait so there's nothing wrong with the concept of 'Fresh Young Balki B' but LIP SYNCING IS BAD CUZ THEY ONLY WANTED HIM FOR HIS BODY.

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.

This surely must have meant an episode with Larry and Balki in a dream sequence in an oversize set dressed up in DIAPERS.

"In America, 'go-karts' are women who remove their clothes and dance for money."

If only that wasn't a misspelling of 'who'

Mr. Wainwright has chosen Larry and Balki to team up for a stress evaluation test that could get them fired if they fail, which isn't easy for Larry; ho is high strung.

-- Ned Raggett (ne...)

it was! ive seen that episode! it was a later episode, IIRC. they wore pajamas instead of diapers though.

Thank god for that.

Jennifer is seven months pregnant; Balki and Mary Anne have been on their honeymoon for five months in Mypos and their about to come home. When they arrive, they have a surprise, Mary Anne is also pregnant but isn't going through any bad symptoms like Jennifer is. Balki brought a root back from Mypos that could help Jennifer but when Larry and Balki eat it, they start acting very hyper and ruin the baby shower.

Just...in the driveway, not even in the car.

not long after all that, "TGIF" started, and Robo Urkel was on his way!

Larry prepares a surprise party for Balki who is taking his college entrance exams. While they are waiting for him to return, they talk about some things they've been through together such as when they first met, the first day at the Chronicle, when they tried to fix Jennifer and Mary Anne's shower, etc. Larry thinks that he has helped Balki come along way but it seems that Balki has been helping him more.

"I'm nothing like you! NOTHING! *fires shot*"

"NOOOO!!!" *leaps from tree onto Balki's back*

Larry comes down with a sickness, and Balki offers him a special Myposian cure to take. After Larry devours the elixir, he feels revived -- except the only problem is that Larry was asleep for three days as a result. So Larry must find a way to explain his disappearance from work.

"I'm Sehr'ge"

To what is this pertaining?

the Sausage King of Chicago.

Sometimes the world looks perfect,
Nothing to rearrange.
Sometimes you get a feeling
Like you need some kind of change.
No matter what the odds are this time,
Nothing's going to stand in my way.
This flame in my heart,
And a long lost friend
Gives every dark street a light at the end.

Standing tall, on the wings of my dream.
Rise and fall, on the wings of my dream.

The rain and thunder
The wind and haze
I'm bound for better days.
It's my life and my dream,
Nothing's going to stop me now.

I still can't remember the damn melody!

x-post!

xpost, perhaps.

When you rollin' out the dough
Just make sure you roll it slow
If you roll it out too quick
Bibi Babka make you sick

When you put the filling in
Just make sure you wear a grin
If you smile on what you bake
Bibi Babka come out swell

Perfect Strangers -- The Movie

XP

OSCOW -- Warner Bros. is on a roll in Russia with a local version of its 1980s TV hit "Perfect Strangers," featuring two local actors playing reincarnated versions of the show's original central characters Larry and Balki -- but with the new monikers of Andrei and Ivan.

This is a distinctly Russian version of the U.S. evergreen comedy that aired on ABC from 1986-93, starring Mark Linn-Baker as Larry and Bronson Pinchot as Balki. But the local actors playing the leads were diligent about studying their American counterparts' performances before hitting their marks.

Artem Semakin, who plays Andrei (and is known to Russian audiences for his role in CTC comedy "Born Ugly"), says during a pause in the frantic production pace on the Russian set, "The American actors have that accuracy which is so necessary in a sitcom: accuracy of tempo and pauses."

Ivan is played by Anton Eldarov, who also is well known to Russian audiences from his role in military drama "Soldaty" (also on Ren-TV). "We simply show what goes on between two guys, one with a Moscow psychology, the other with a provincial outlook," he says. "Two 'grotesque' types -- exactly the same ethos as the U.S. series."

Already in its second month on air, "Perfect Strangers" -- or as Russian audiences know it "Brat'ya po-raznomu" is off to a promising start with a respectable 5% audience share.

Advertisement

The show is being made under a deal in which WBITV has partnered with entertainment channel CTC -- Russia's fourth-largest national broadcaster -- and Amedia, one of its leading TV production houses, to produce the formats.

And this is just the beginning for Warner Bros. International Television as it heads east in a scripted format deal with the Russians that will see its popular sitcoms "Suddenly Susan," "Step by Step" and "Full House" go Cyrillic.

"Perfect Strangers," which airs five nights a week on Ren-TV with daytime repeats, is down for 50 episodes, though its Moscow producer Dmitri Mileshin believes options for further episodes are likely to be taken up.

"The time has come for these sorts of sitcoms on Russian television; viewers enjoy the humor, and they are shows all the family can watch and relax with," says Mileshin, a large, affable and bearded man. "We think the initial 50 episodes will be extended -- there are options to continue in chunks of 26 -- because its already getting the ratings and is popular with viewers."

But Mileshin is at pains to emphasis how different the Russian version is. "We've kept the essence -- the dramaturgy -- but some 70% of the episodes have been completely rewritten," he says. "Russian audiences don't understand American jokes, and a lot of detail needed to be changed. But Hollywood is the world's master factory for television, and we can learn a lot from each other," he says, adding that WBITV executives were "intrigued" by the Russian approach to fine-tuning the show.

Four or five pilots of the Russian version were filmed before they were screened to a range of focus groups. Recordings of the laughter -- and timing between gags -- were then used to tweak the pace and rate of the comedy.

Down on the set at Amedia's sprawling new Media City studios, housed in a vast old former ball bearing factory, the good humor and buzz are much in evidence.

Director Roman Fokin -- donning a red T-shirt with an image of President Vladimir Putin on the front and the gag "dobrogo putina" -- a word play on the Russian for "safe travels" (dobrogo puti) and the president's surname -- is dashing about between takes working at getting just the right expressions of adulation from the young female extras.

Like many young directors and artists working in Russian television, his background is in KVN -- Klub Vesyolykh I Nakhodchivykh -- university comedy clubs similar to Britain's famous Cambridge Footlights.

"Andrei and Ivan are like chalk and cheese -- they have virtually nothing in common except they are distant relations," Folkin says. "But both want to try their best and are forever repeating, 'We are, after all, brothers,' which adds to the irony and comic situations."

With a tight shooting schedule -- three 26-minute episodes are shot every week, with an average day's shooting getting 12-13 minutes in the can -- Fokin has little time for reflection.

Uh-oh.

Then again the idea of American sitcom acting being as utterly formal as kabuki makes perfect sense.

Russian comic timing = Yakov Smirnoff?

no run in with neo-fascist then

whuddabout family matters?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meego

this site is useful btw: http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html

This area is devoted to spin offs of shows and crossovers between shows. When shows crossover or spin off other shows the implication is that those shows share a reality. If The Jeffersons and Archie Bunker can meet each other they clearly are part of the same world as opposed to Archie Bunker being able to turn on his TV and watch The Jeffersons. Now when you figure in that many shows do LOTS of crossovers with various shows that can lead to tons of shows all theoretically being part of the same reality (Yeah, I know - I've got waaay too much time on my hands). Click here to go to lists of crossovers and spin offs broken down into groups by their shared realities.

...useful or insane?

I Dream of Jeannie and Law & Order are in the same shared reality!

Three cast members of Gilligan's Island, Bob Denver, Dawn Wells, and Russell Johnson, had a guest appearance on an unaired episode titled Mommy 'n' Meego.

it's kind of frightening how much my youth was spent watching horrible sitcoms

oh christ this thread

Hahaha

<3

i want mypos to be real

FRESH
YOUNG
BALLLK-I
B!

i loved this show, as a kid

"Now we do the dance of joy"

i want mypos to be real

Don't we all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vbnLYROCj8

I have not watched that since childhood.

Did that just say "Produced by Philip Roth"?

BALKI BARTOLKOMOS, CONSUMER ADVOCATE:

There was this one where Balki's favorite cereal, which promised 100 raisins in every box, bought a share of stock in the cereal, which he framed on his wall. After the first commercial break and probably some subplot, Balki counted the raisins in his new box of cereal and THERE WERE ONLY 67 RAISINS. He was crushed until Larry pointed out the stock meant he owned part of the company. After the second commercial break, Balki met up with the president of the company and shared his disappointment. The president realized what a grave error he made, commended Balki, and instituted a program to make sure at least 100 raisins in every box.

This show gave me some mixed up ideas about finance.

Another example: Balki opens a checking account (was it ever established if he was a naturalized citizen?). In his excitement, he bought Maryann a pack of gum and Larry a lightbulb with one of his new checks. But then, he BOUNCED a check by buying, IIRC, a tapestry of some collies. And I didn't get to see the rest of the episode, so I was horrified and anxious for a whole week. Did Balki get arrested? Did Larry kick him out of his apartment?

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 could 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 and a while, but it backfires on him.

Ha! I remember this one: I had to ask my dad what adultery was. He comtemplated whether I should be allowed to continue watching my FAVORITE SHOW.

The unspecified pronoun in the second sentence kind of kills the didacticism here!

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.

"Future Shock"

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.

!!!!

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.

This one actually scared me as a kid. Larry gets stabbed in the chest in a surprisingly gory fashion!

Did that just say "Produced by Philip Roth"?

Maybe that's how Mark Linn-Baker got to play Zuckerman?

Larry and Balki wind in jail after refusing to reveal a source of a commodity scandal to protect the freedom of the press. They won't stop there they are very persistent to keep their sources and take the hard time, But they later get two dangerous cell mates.

I love these summaries because they hardly sound like comedies at all.

It's a very psychotic evening when Marvin Berman, who tried to blow up Larry and Balki, visits them for dinner to apologize. But in the process, they mistakenly think that the mob is after them and they are surrounded by killers.

Larry is going duck hunting with Mr. Wainwright and Balki wants to go to get revenge on something that happened to him when he was a kid involving a duck. Larry lets him go when he sees what a great shot Balki is but it turns into a disaster when Balki will only let them kill one kind of ducks - pterodactyls.

Okay I REALLY want Mypos to be real is pterodactyls are still there!

Mr. Wainwright promotes Balki as the editor of the Sunday Children's page where he draws a comic trip of a sheep named Dimitri and Larry is assigned to fill in the dialogue "bubbles." But Larry and Balki can't agree on the sheep's sensibility.

Those summaries are just still amazing. Beckett couldn't have done better.

i remember all of these

these summaries are making me think that
they should remake this show in nu-sitcom style with handheld cameras, no laugh track and starring ryan seacrest and tyra banks

Balki in Wikipedia

This actually makes sense:

The character of Balki was based upon a foreign exchange student Dale McRaven knew in high school.

In an episode originally aired August 6, 1993, Mary Anne gave birth to their son, Robespierre-Boinki Bartokomous.

Two of my housemates are immigrants and our inherent cultural differences lead to a lot of taxing shenanigans around the house. At first, I kinda let it get under my skin, but lately have taken to muttering "Balki, Balki, Balki..." under my breath. It helps.

Oh man, Balki was already doing a comic for the Chicago Chronicle at age 28. I'll be outdone by a man who wears brocade vests. : (

The lyrics to the Dance of Joy song are approximately:

Dai-dai-dai-dai
Dai dai, duh dai dai dai
Hey
Hey
Hey
Hey
Dai-dai, duh dai duh
Hey!

HAHAHAHA

My brother and I would do the dance of joy any time we were fucking happy, and (jesus) my high school boyfriend and I did too.

1993 ???

PERFECT STRANGERS

1986-1993

R.I.P.

Oh god, a whole Wikipedia section on Mypos:

Mypos is the fictional island country which Balki Bartokomous is from. Its exact location is never specifically stated, but it is clearly modeled on the Greek Isles and so is presumably located near Greece in the Aegean, Ionian or Mediterranean seas. It has some customs which are unusual by American standards. In one episode Balki wears a traditional necklace that is in the shape of the island, which resembles Cyprus.

Mypos neighbors the also fictional island of Skeptos to the west and the fictional island of Pathos to the east. Together the three islands form the Tri-Island Area.

Cuisine includes:

* Halkidiki: A Myposian travel food which consists of milk, eggs, flour, honey, and goat spleen set out at room temperature until it gets that "little green fur" (as Balki described it).
* Booglie muzacman: Pig bladder stuffed with cheese.
* Dingding makhmud: Pig snout with saffron.
* Bibbibabka: A Myposian delicacy which must be prepared very carefully or it will explode. As Balki puts it, "If you don't make the bibbibabka in the traditional Myposian way, The bibbi in the babka... goes boom." Balki has a mnemonic device to aid in the preparation of bibbibabka in the form of a song (to the tune of "Limbo Rock"): "When you're rolling out the dough, just make sure you roll it slow. If you make the dough too quick, bibbibabkas make you sick...", etc.

Customs include:

* At bed time: in the middle of the day, someone rings a bell, and each person lies down to take a nap wherever they happen to be. On Mypos when it is a person's birthday, the person whose birthday it is gives presents to other people.

Misc facts:

* The king of Mypos was King Ferdinand, who was king until 1991. It is not known when he became king, but it was prior to 1986. After King Ferdinand died in 1991, the queen of Mypos was Queen Cookie. The royal family of Mypos were the only people on the island who had indoor plumbing.

* From the episode "The Lottery", if Balki won the jackpot he would pay off the Mypos national debt of $635.

* According to Balki, Mypos has only one phone on the entire island, located in the country's single 7-11 store. ("But it has Call Waiting.")

* The national sport of Mypos is long-distance spitting.

* In the episode "Ladies and Germs," it is established that Mypos has developed a cure for the common cold, a horrible-tasting potion brewed from herbs and fish parts. Balki makes the potion for Larry, who has a cold. But Larry drinks too much of the potion and falls asleep for three days.

* Other than during the opening credits when Balki waved goodbye, Mypos was only shown in one episode "Citizenship" in Season 7. Including convincing the travel agent that there was such a country, Larry traveled there to convince Balki's mother that her son, who had become a U.S. citizen, was happier back in Chicago.

DVD FORTHCOMING:

Warner Home Video will release the first and second seasons on a four-disc DVD set in Region 1 for the very first time on February 18, 2008.

Wow:

In the German dubbing, Balki was said to be an actual Greek and Mypos a Greek island. Even the show was called Ein Grieche erobert Chicago (A Greek captures Chicago), and in the opening credits Balki said that he became bored with his sheep in Greece, so he went to America to visit his cousin.

I'm sorry, the title in America so should have been A Greek Captures Chicago. It would still be running today.

Is it "captures" as in "beguiles", or...

A Greek Seduces Chicago

Chicago Gets Greeced Up

Perfect Strangers - The Complete First and Second Seasons

On DVD tomorrow!

Holy shit, the man's gonna have so many more reasons to hate my Netflix abuse! (Yesterday we got "Little Monsters" and a docu called "God Told Me To" about murderers, neither of which I remember even putting on the q, let alone moving to the top.)

I can't sink any dollars into this, but someone out there please tell me that the episode guide descriptions actually fit the episodes. I just need to know.

Oh, they do, but in a really saccharine way. Like how a Library of Congress summary fits a novel.

The first guy I dated, pretty much the only reason I came to his house is because he had some Perfect Strangers episodes he'd taped as a kid.

Thank god, the Balki B video is still on YouTube for instant roffles, so to repost:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F28LW9NWOCk

My brother just emailed me:

I remembered that perfect strangers is on AOL TV. At least some episodes. So I decided to see if that second episode of their winter expedition and cabin avalanche was on there. Of course the episode is not on there but the first part is! Will we EVER find out what really happened? Will I ever forgive mom and dad for taking us from grandma's house the one time it actually comes on tv? What awful torture must I bear?!

I knew you could sympathize. Thanks. I love you!

-Merr1ck

P.S. For torture inducing memories, the first episode is here: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/perfect-strangers-snow-way-to-treat-a-lady-part-1/355878549

Being robbed of watching that second episode has been a lifelong grudge we both share.

Oh good, Balki B video link still works.

This is the greatest thing ever.

http://nothingsgonnastopmenow.com/

hahaha

just to sing the song

oh there are some shitty entries on the dream board

quality video game

dammit, beaten by minutes!

lolling at the tri-island area

beaten by an hour actually

I didn't cotton on to catching stars til about halfway through, I was too busy singing

We've had a few Wikipedia links above but anyway, a further celebration:

http://decanting-cerebral.tumblr.com/post/44323013452/16-ways-of-looking-at-perfect-strangers-via-wikipedia

Oh Balki

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg80jycIEAAGR1Y.jpg

Who they?

tuomas if there was an embed for getting a thread to slap someone in the face i would paste it in below even if it inadvertently slapped everyone else who loaded this thread in the face because then it would also slap you in the face for asking such a fundamentally dense question about the very thread in which you were asking it, my gawd

why would tuomas even click on this thread?

^zen koan

Because it had a weird title and I was trying to understand what it was about. I read the first 10 posts or so, but I still didn't get it. Who is cousin Larry?

Hey Tuomas, I don't know if you use Chrome, but if you do you can right-click on any pic in the world and click "Search google for this image", which will usually tell you what you're looking at.

or you could just type "Cousin Larry" into Google

i gotta say those two have aged pretty well, it's been like 25 years

mark linn baker looks like Larry David

Oh...oh dear.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/perfect-stranger-things-gives-larry-and-balki-a-new-roo-1820220807

Dancing In The Moonlight

the episode where larry falls asleep for days after drinking a jar of balki’s medicine is the apex of eighties sitcom art

i was watching the first season of Newhart (80s innkeeper one) on Hulu when i had the flu and 80s sitcoms are sort of weirder than today's "weird" sitcoms in a way

one episode literally involved them learning their was a witch buried in their basement and hiring Larry Daryl and Daryl to dig up the bones so they could bury them in the church graveyard, but then Joanna decides she likes having the witch in their basement because she was wrongfully accused so they cancel the job and just keep the witch's bones in their basement

This was a very relatable scenario in the 80s

Nothing beats the "magic cave" episode of Punky Brewster for sheer bugfuck 80s sitcom weirdness.

This is everything. pic.twitter.com/HVtPCkFUd0

— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) August 12, 2022

And in sharing it a friend (a published playwright) makes a case

The writers of that show understood farce, which is really rare - and they could act it, which is rarer - in the beginning when the show was basically two rooms, the newspaper and the apartment, it was like a really fun play from the 30s-50s https://t.co/eUWl6i4an1

— Justin Sherin (@wychstreet) August 12, 2022

Glad to know my childhood was spent watching quality TV

The episode where they make pastry that explodes unless you burp is a classic