Perfect Strangers: The Complete First and Second Seasons
Mark Linn-Baker (Actor), Bronson Pinchot (Actor), Greg Antonacci (Director), James O’Keefe (Director) Rated:
NR Format: DVD
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Perfect Strangers: The Complete First & Second Seasons (DVD)
A slapstick “buddy comedy” that explored the wonderment of a newly arrived immigrant at the ways of America- “The Land of the Whopper.” Balki was a young sheperd from the Mediterranean island of Mypos, who showed up unexpectedly at the Chicago apartment of his distant cousin, bachelor Larry. Balki’s wide-eyed, fun-loving manner, his nutty myposian customs, and his tendency to take everything American’s told him quite literally, promised considerable disruption to Larry’s organized life, but Larry took him in. After all, getting started as a sheperd in Chicago was not going to be easy.
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Relying on the tried-but-true odd-couple set up, Perfect Strangers focuses on the comical lives of Larry Appleton (Mark Linn-Baker) and Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot). Larry is an uptight American who has moved away from his family’s Wisconsin home for his own apartment in Chicago. His life is changed forever when his childlike cousin Balki–a sheepherder from the fictional island of Mypos–shows up on his doorstep with the goal of becoming a U.S. citizen. A hit sitcom for ABC that ran from 1986 to 1993, Perfect Strangers offers some heartwarming storylines, a few laughs, and some genuine chemistry between the two leads. The first few years of the comedy are among the show’s best, as Larry and Balki get accustomed to each other’s ways. Linn-Baker plays the straight man who sets Pinchot up to deliver the best lines. While Pinchot definitely has the showier “fish out of water” part–and “Don’t be ridiculous!” tag line that became a catchphrase for a year or two–Linn-Baker creates the more relatable character. He’s working in a small shop, but his dream is to become a photojournalist. The show actually does a nice job of making sure Larry never loses sight of his goals, even as Balki is dragging him from one adventure to another. The four-disc DVD set includes all six episodes from the first mini season, as well as 22 episodes from the show’s second full season. Other than a “Dance of Joy” extra–which includes a montage of dance clips from the first two seasons–there are no special featurettes. Fans of high definition may be disappointed by the video transfer, which clearly dates the series. At its worst, Perfect Strangers is an outdated show that isn’t as funny as it thinks it is. But at its best, it projects giddy innocence and is easy viewing. Flash-forward to 2005 when Pinchot is throwing himself at Janice Dickinson on the reality series The Surreal Life: Now that’s not easy to watch. –Jae-Ha Kim
Special Features
Dance of Joy: Merry Montage of Balki and Larry’s Signature Two-Step Throughout the Show’s First Two Seasons
Product Details
Actors: Mark Linn-Baker, Bronson Pinchot, Rebeca Arthur, Melanie Wilson, JoMarie Payton
Directors: Greg Antonacci, James O’Keefe, Howard Storm, Bill Petty
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Subtitles: English, French
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 4
Rated:
NR
Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: February 5, 2008
Run Time: 700 minutes
Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (367 customer reviews)
ASIN: B00005JNIS
Perfect Strangers-A safe comedy
By Donald Duck on October 8, 2005
Verified Purchase
There are so few comedies on TV today. What few there are have so many suggestive, adult-oriented themes that I cannot watch them without being embarressed (is that right?)
Perfect Strangers was one of the funniest shows of all time. It is a show I can watch without being embarrassed. I cannot understand why so many shows are coming out on DVD that were essentially failures as TV shows.
I want my Perfect Stangers now!!