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09/25/2006: Perfect Strangers Halloween Episode!


When I started the Countdown, obviously a bit on the early side, I had this nagging sense that it wasn’t really feeling like the Halloween season. Even today, I had a similar conversation with a friend, and we just chalked it up to us both being loser 9-5′ers, unable to partake in the season’s wealth of spooky spirits. But, as I drove home tonight, I couldn’t help noticing house after house after house decked with orange lights, spooky inflatables, carved pumpkins and mass mayhem. Like, more so than usual for this neighborhood. People like us, you and me, we’ll “live” Halloween no matter what. We’ll force it into our life, kicking and screaming. Still, it’s nice to know that we’ve finally hit that point in the year where I can fill my grocery store wagon with all three General Mills monster cereals and not catch a glance.

Know what else is nice? Knowing that the best is yet to come. Enjoy tonight’s Halloween Countdown article — a review of an old Halloween-themed episode of Perfect Strangers.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 79 comments

I loved the episode of Perfect Strangers where they got stuck in a flooding basement somehow. I just remember Balki all freaking out, and then Larry freaked out. Finally the girls saved them or something. It was a good episode. Don’t beee reedicyuluss

Ghosted by Old E @ 09/26/2006 3:56 PM EDT

bitchpants

Oops sorry, i meant who played Balki, Bronson Pinchot, I am glad I wasn’t off all together.

Ghosted by Goob @ 09/26/2006 3:58 PM EDT

I have many Perfect Strangers memories, unfortunately. The most recent one is where I was getting drunk with a couple of friends and we somehow got onto Perfect Strangers. I don’t really remember how the conversation went, but when I got up the next morning there was a torn scrap of paper with a quote on it that we’d written down so we wouldn’t forget what my friend Marty had said.

“Balki isn’t THAT cool.”

Ghosted by Chris Martin @ 09/26/2006 4:02 PM EDT

I remember when Perfect Strangers did one of those “Saturday Morning Preview” specials that all the networks did to introduce their cartoons. Those were fun to watch.

Baker basically went back to Broadway after Perfect Strangers. I think I saw an interview with him about it awhile ago. He had a moustache I believe.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 09/26/2006 4:03 PM EDT

“Breakdance Over Fire”

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Halarious!!!!!!!

Ghosted by Pete @ 09/26/2006 5:05 PM EDT

Anyone remember – I know this is off topic – a claymation/stop-motion Christmas special that involves two dolls coming to life? Perhaps (though this could be an entirely different movie, she says) with a live-action intro involving an old man alone in a basement with a transition to stop-motion and then ending with carolers singing to the old man? I can’t think of anything…

Ghosted by Jessica Marie @ 09/26/2006 5:06 PM EDT

If anybody is THAT curiously about Mark-Linn Baker these days…you can check him out on Broadway right now. He is appearing in “Losing Louie” for the Manhattan Theatre Club. I hear it’s a good show.

Ghosted by buckly @ 09/26/2006 5:33 PM EDT

As much as I love Balki, everyone knows Larry made Perfect Strangers. They even gave him the hotter girlfriend.

Ghosted by Rob @ 09/26/2006 5:45 PM EDT

You’ll forgive me if I haven’t posted ion a long time, as I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately. As oong as we’re taling about Halloween epsiodes, I am reminded of a Halloween episode of “Bobby’s World” where Bobby has to dress a as pumpkin because the Captain Squash costume he wanted was sold out at the costume shop. I don’t remember much about it after that, except that a trick-or-treater who comes to his family’s door is later identified by Bobby as wearing a Capn. Squash costume. Interestingly, “Weird Al” Yankovic did a Saturday morning promo for Fox Kids sometime after that. On a related note, a possible candidate for a later update to the jukebox is Weird Al’s “Nature Trail to Hell,” from his “In 3-D” album. It’s a song about a horror movie involving a deranged killer and some Boy Scouts or something like that, in essence a parody (who would’ve thought?) of all the horror films coming out in the 80’s. Also, my brother’s “Weird Al Show” DVD set has an episode called, “The Obligatory Holidat Episode,” where Al gives a Holiday party, but with a twist: rather than celebrate a single holiday, he decides to celebrate them all at once. Dick Clark even appears at the end to count down to the closing credits. I enjoy Halloween; I was able to find the MD: Pitch Black icees at Target, along with the Live Wire (Orange) variety, which reminded me of a friend or two in Nebraska. The Wal-Mart in Lincoln had quite a Halloween spread last year. After seeing all the Wal-Marts in Lincoln and Omaha, I was especially annoyed that they recently killed a plan to put in a new Wal-Mart not far from where I live. The nearest one to my house is in a not-so-good neighborhood. Anyway, I love a good Halloween decoration; if i had more money and fewer bills to pay, I might’ve considered buying that flying ghost Matt wrote an article about. I’ll probably post again later, when I think of something even more boring to talk about. I’m off to run some errands now; until I return I’ll rattle off a few Halloween themed episodes of Darkwing Duck to see if if it inspires any memories among my fellow bloggers: “Night of the Living Spud,” “Dead Duck,” “Hot Spells,” “Ghoul of My Dreams,” “My Valentine Ghoul(?),” “Twin Beaks,” “The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain,” “Monsters R’ Us,” and “The Revenge of the Return of the Braiinteasres, Too.” Admittedly, most of these ideas are just conjectures based purely on the titles; most of them I either haven’t seen or don’t remember. Hope you all enjoy!

Ghosted by Hoverbored @ 09/26/2006 7:06 PM EDT

bloodybrilliantme — My whatever diety it is you believe in rain many a good day upon you for that!

Ghosted by LemurCat @ 09/26/2006 8:40 PM EDT

dude it’s only september! give the halloween spirit some time

Ghosted by drbong @ 09/26/2006 8:47 PM EDT

I see drbong isn’t from around here. We always start every major holiday super early because we can’t wait until the appropriate time frame like “normal” people. And besides it’s the END of september geesh you should of seen us at the beginning of this month we were just beginning to talk about horror movies and cheap cotton spiderwebs! Sure we perhaps need therapy but who cares!! bring on the spider shaped sunglasses that were made 25 years ago and the neon green “ghoulish green” sodas from target. We are more then happy to spend our free time and finances to celebrate halloween WAY early like-a-buncha-freakies.

I’m sorry if I was too hard on the guy everybody else but i dunno…everybody else’s input on this

Ghosted by Goob @ 09/26/2006 9:08 PM EDT

I stand firm in my belief that Everything is Better with Ackbar

/phones in the bumper stick order

Ghosted by K- @ 09/26/2006 9:11 PM EDT

Goob – I sort of thought drbong was attempting to encourage Matt for not quite feeling the holiday spirit yet. I know that as I get older it becomes harder to get into the spirit.

Ghosted by Jessica Marie @ 09/26/2006 9:42 PM EDT

Yes, Baker mostly does Broadway these days. I have the cast album for “A Year With Frog and Toad.” It’s a lot of fun, especially if you have young kids in the demographic (about 4-8) it’s intended for.

Matt, you just made my night. “Perfect Strangers” is one of my all-time favorite shows, and the Halloween episode is one of it’s best. There were actually three “Larry has a nightmare” episodes; this is the one from the fourth season. In the third season, Jennifer says she’s moving and Larry has a nightmare about his future without her (pretty surreal, even for this show); in the sixth season, Larry dreams he and Balki are invincible and can withstand even bunji jumping and massive amounts of hair gel. And though this is PS’s only real “Halloween” episode, one of the episodes during the show’s last full season involved Balki, Larry, the girls, and a haunted house.

Trust me, I know a lot about this show. My best girlfriend sent me all of the episodes, and we had a joint “Perfect Strangers” fan site until recently (they took it down because we were sorta neglecting it).

Ghosted by starwenn @ 09/26/2006 9:43 PM EDT

I know what’ll make everyone feel more in the spirit…. buy enough black plastic spiders to fill a tub and BATHE IN THEM!!!!

Ghosted by Mystie @ 09/26/2006 9:47 PM EDT

Holy crap!! Perfect Strangers! Wow!

That show was amazing because it was so ridiculous. I loved it.

Ghosted by jazzy @ 09/26/2006 9:53 PM EDT

because lemur’s + Operatic owls = a nut tapping good time.;)

Ghosted by bloodybrilliantme @ 09/26/2006 10:10 PM EDT

I couldn’t believe it when I saw Matt was reviewing this episode. For some very odd reason, portions of this episode have stayed in my head for years now. But nobody knew what I was talking about. I remembered the knife in the chest, the 2 girls coming by, the pod, and “Put on the vest”. I am so happy to see it being reviewed here. Wasn’t there an episode where they were at a cabin as well???

Ghosted by darkpumpkin @ 09/26/2006 10:32 PM EDT

Hey..if you go to aol, they have a sitcom download thing where you can watch Perfect Strangers and Chico and the Man.

Ghosted by mandy_Reeves @ 09/26/2006 10:34 PM EDT

How ironic, because I remember having a dream sequence that starred Larry when I was a kid.

Ghosted by Frostor @ 09/26/2006 10:48 PM EDT

Jessica Marie yes now that I reread what he said and everything else it does sound like words of encouragement rather then an outsider looking into this freaky website we call home and saying geesh this is way too early to even think about halloween. I know there was this newsletter I used to get emailed to me this person said that she would have halloween decorations up year round but her husband said that october 1st until november 1st is plenty of time lol. It is just how you look at it. And after halloween I’ll be in the mood for gingerbread cookies, rudolph and anything with green white and red on it. Just you wait and see.

and I am so glad that Invader Norbert got his cereal! I am not involved in anyway in the subject I just can see myself driving myself nuts about a product like that (chocodiles anybody?) so I am thrilled to see a happy ending. Yay.

Ghosted by Goob @ 09/26/2006 11:17 PM EDT

Oh no, I can’t believe I’m late to a Perfect Strangers talkback!

One P.S. episode has stuck in my mind for all these years above all others, probably because it was so different from the rest. It was a one-hour episode where they were framed for murder and the only proof was a videotape of the guy getting killed by someone else. They went on the run and there were car chases and shocking twists and….sheesh, I don’t know why the writers got up that morning and decided to do the show THAT way, but they did….and never again.

Trivia: Jennifer had a baby in the last season. Larry’s son, wherever he may be now, is named “Tucker.”

Ghosted by Mars @ 09/27/2006 1:39 AM EDT

It’s alright Mars I’m late too, but I gotta add my love for perfect strangers. I know I loved the show but the only episode I remember was something about a sick horse and some drink with celery that Larry had to drink with the horse, because the horse only liked him.

I also would like to add, the perfect strangers theme song is now stuck in my head!

Ghosted by IHAQ @ 09/27/2006 9:46 AM EDT

i absolutly loved this show when i was little. i have no idea why. the only episode i can remember though is the one where they get stuck on a billboard overnight. i cant even remember why they went up there in the first place, or why i remember it. strange.

Ghosted by mightypiratekalypso @ 09/27/2006 2:56 PM EDT

Matt you’re seeing more Halloween stuff this year because sales are up 34%. They say Halloween is making a comeback as more and more adults realize they can extend their holiday fun by weeks and that it is not just a kids themed holiday. Plus kick ass decor is helping to drive up sales. So more and more people are becoming like us……we can expect to see 34% more homes decorated this year!!!!!

Ghosted by Funky BooBerry the 70's Ghost @ 09/27/2006 3:22 PM EDT

the only episode i can remember though is the one where they get stuck on a billboard overnight. i cant even remember why they went up there in the first place, or why i remember it. strange.
They made a bet, and had to sit on that billboard until some baseball team won a game.

Ghosted by Mars @ 09/27/2006 3:24 PM EDT

http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/Holidays#Halloween_.28October_31st.29

When talking about Halloween-themed episodes, I feel we should give at least some props to the “Homestarloween” toons that come out every year.

Ghosted by TB Tabby @ 09/27/2006 4:15 PM EDT

I LOVED perfect Strangers when I was really young. But you can’t buy any of it on DVD in Australia! There’s only the totally unrelated movie called Perfect Strangers. Can’t get any Family matters on DVD either! Yet you can get seasons 1-3 of the golden girls and season 1 of full house. I wish i could get the Real Ghostbusters on DVD here, i’ve never seen any episode of it.

Anyone remember the Family Matters episode where Steve Urkel burnt down the restaurant?

Ghosted by JEM @ 09/29/2006 2:35 AM EDT

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 25th, 2006 at 9:56 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.