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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.

Matt, where did you find the Halloween DVD of the Roseanne show? It is eluding me!

I totally remember being into that show when I was little. Wow that just brought back so many memories of when I used ta live in Alaska! I think I just blew a capillary, I gotta go lay down.

Holy Crap! Perfect Strangers- Halloween Episode. This whole thing caused what ever part of my brain that deals with sentimentality to malfunction.

Don’t have time to read the article right now as the phone just rang but gimmie 45 min and i’m sure i’ll have it licked.

Had time to read the blog entry though, sent you a mail bout a week or so ago saying how i wasn’t feeling it this year either, but slowly but surely each day is bringing it more and more into focus.

The new jukebox helps with that too by the way, don’t think i mentioned that. Kudos to the guy you said hooked it up, all though there’s a couple in there i chose to skip but it’s worth it.

Oh also, i think a reason i wasn’t feeling it as early as usual has been the weather in the tri-state throughout early september, mild, then hot, mild then warm, the leaves aren’t getting time to do their shit. But it’s starting.

I never saw “Perfect Strangers”, to be totally honest with you. Great article as always, though!

I was thinking back through the years of Halloween special prime time TV episodes. My FAVORITE was 21 Jump Street’s “Ring of Fire” at least I believe that is what the episode was called. It played that song in the beginning “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash. I think 21 Jump Street had a few Halloween episodes that were pretty good. I don’t own the 21 Jump Street DVD set so I don’t know for sure. Sci-fi channel just announced Tales from the Darkside are going to be shown soon….I think they said MONDAYS…

WOW!Â I never noticed the jukebox link before.Â YEAH!Â GHOSTBUSTERS!Â Very coolâ€¦.. well, I’ll be listening to this now so LATER FOLKS!

I have the same Q as threebees! I went to target today to get it but alas it was nowhere to be found.

As for the halloween spirit, I feel as though I am more excited than usual, and it has alot to do with this years buildup and later countdown! Thanks so much Matt!!

The Roseanne Halloween DVD can be found lots of places, but I found it at Best Buy.

I remembered watching Perfect Strangers, but I don’t remember any actual episodes. Not even this one. But we watched it every week.

What about the Home Improvement Halloween Episodes? Those were pretty effing sweet most of the time.

My fav is the Facts of Life episode where the girls think Mrs. Garrett has killed a customer.
I know they used a clip from that episode in the opening that year.

I think that my favorite thing about X-Entertainment is that I will read reviews of episodes I never heard of from tv shows I made it a point not to watch and still enjoy the reviews. Thanks, Matt!

Monster House helped me get into the Halloween spirit early. The cool weather helps, too

Home Improvement sports, in my opinion, the best Halloween episodes. They’re always just crazy fucking fun with plots revolving around haunted houses, spooky pranks, fake gore, horror movies, and trick or treating. The Xmas episodes are classic, too. Damn you, Doc Johnson!

Please, PLEASE! review some more cheesy late 80â€™s early 90â€™s TGIF sitcomsâ€¦particularly Full House or Family Matters (Urkel Robot!!!).

Your tribute to the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is one of my all-time favorite X-E articles — I think you should do something special to honor The Great Pumpkin, too. I know I’d dig it.

I love nothing more than a Halloween/Murder Special.
My favorites would have to be (in no particular order):

The BOY MEETS WORLD episode where the students are being killed off and Jennifer Love Hewitt guests. (not an actual Halloween episode, but one can hardly deny its horror roots).
The FACTS OF LIFE where there is a mystery killer after the girls go to a horror movie. I’ve watched this one every year since I was 10, it never gets old.
The GARFIELD HALLOWEEN SPECIAL. The Great Pumpkin gets a lot of praise, and rightfully so. But often this one is looked over. It’s quite good.
Lastly, the first TWO GUYS, A GIRL, and A PIZZA PLACE Halloween episode was something special. This show that was usually was only mediocre was able to surpass many others in this episode.

I remember being a huge Perfect Strangers fan, even going so far as to try to find Mypos on a map (hey, I was young). But outside of the basic premise, I don’t remember anything about it. I don’t even have a favorite episode. Of course, I haven’t watched it since it aired. Plus, when it is rereunned, it is usually at 4:00 am or some weird hour where only insomniacs are up.

Reading this review, it sounded very similar to the Dick Van Dyke “Walnut” episode. Of course, I’m sure every sitcom did a “Body Snatchers” parody for Halloween.

Off-Topic but still Halloween-related: If you have WWE 24/7 they are celebrating the holiday by calling itself “WrestleVania” and highlighting the creepy/supernatural characters/angles like Undertaker, Kane, Raven, The Dungeon of Doom, and even Papa Shango. They’re also showing old Halloween Havocs. I’m having a blast.

OMG!!! Fantastic review!!! I used to love Perfect Strangers as a kid! LOL this review brought back some fuzzy Halloween feelings! I dont know what I would do without this website now, its part of my annual Halloween fix!

C’mon now. How small does this planet has to be, to be hiding behind a dwarf planet?

I see Matt’s been shopping at Ye Olde Timey Grocerie Market and Apothecarie Hut. As a kid, I fucking *loved* that pink bird costume Balki has. If I had one I would’ve worn it at all times until I was forced to stop.

Sweetness, you sure know how to make my day. Whatever happened to those two actors?

mjf, I have no clue what happened to Larry, but Bronson Pinchot went on to be in one of the more recent seasons of Surreal Life where we learn he had an abusive father. sad.

I’m in LI, by the way, in case anyone here wasn’t familiar with my dilemma last year.

Couldn’t find the cereals for 2 months, asked someone here, they sent me 2 boxes of Frankenberry, I thanked them fondly, then I ate the contents, then I was happy. Whoever sent that to me, I still wanna say thanx!

Coors, huh? I don’t think I’ll be able to consider myself grown up until I’ve developed a taste for beer, but I’ll take a fruity drink any day.
I’m much more familiar with Pinchot through his Beverly Hills Cop/Surreal Life work. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a complete episode of Perfect Strangers but now of course I want to.
I always preferred the Boy Meets World Halloween ep where Cory believes he’s turning into a werewolf. The Office and Reno 911 eps are great too. It’s odd to think of how many shows really didn’t bother with Halloween episodes, or those that had spooky but not exactly holiday eps (Zeke the plumber!).

I liked Perfect Strangers, it was (semi) good TV, yeah. Anyone know if it’s in syndication anywhere?

I wore the knife-in-chest/hockey mask combination about a decade later. I hope it was a coincidence and not my subconscious.

I thought you would have mentioned the Perfect Strangers theme at the end of Simpsons’ Halloween special 15. (There are sixteen countdown entries waiting to be written, or maybe 48, one for each tale.)

I loved perfect strangers and I remember this time of TGIF. Full house, perfect strangers, family matters, I think the ten of us was around there someplace. At the very end of TGIF’s prime was boy meets world then it got sell-outish. LOL if that is understandable. But if I find an opprotunity to watch perfect strangers (any really old TGIF is great to me) then I at least watch half of the episode with enjoyment. And tons of these halloween episodes are dream ones, I think that is the only way they can explain it.

You know what song you should have on the halloween countdown? Alice cooper, gimme. man that’s a creepy song and not too serious. I have it. And insane clown posse’s Halloween. Maybe too foul for your taste even though it’s not as bad as their other stuff. I have that one as well and I could put it in a zip file for ya and email it.

I love when X-E does this to me; that sudden image that bites through my cerebrum and releases all the memories of something that I would swear up and down that I’d never seen before. What was it for this one? The enormous pod falling out of the closet, that’s what. It brought everything back, right down to, “Sure you’re all right, except you have a knife in your chest.”

The MST3K crew called that phenomenon “mental lawn darts.” You hit my target with this dart, Matt– thanks!

I always enjoyed the Halloween episode of Doug. The slug costume was amazing. My favorite part was probably when everyone showed up at the party with a big shaker of salt and proceeded to chase Doug down the streets of Bluffington until he was nothing more than a slimy pile of goo.

that was an awesome article, matt. Thanks for the clips too. I love halloween themed episodes of sitcoms.

I loved LOVED Perfect Strangers. To me, at that age, it was the funniest thing ever. I have not watched it since it aired back then, so I could have been wrong. Perfect Strangers, Max Headrom, and Sledge Hammer were my favorite back then. I’m sure I laughed at all the wrong parts though.

Great Review Matt, I believe that show was from the tape I sent you a couple of years ago. You reviewed the Growing Pains episode that same year. If could make a request…could you review the Night Court Halloween Episode, Id love to hear your comments. KUDOS BUDDY!

My favorite episode of Perfect STrangers was when Larry and Balki take Karate lessons after being bullied and then spend the rest of the episode throwing each other around the living room.

As always Matt, thanks for the article. X-E is a testament to what the internet shuld be.

The only Perfect Strangers memory I have is of a promo during which Balki is trying to see if the light really does go off inside the fridge once it’s closed. I think it was one of the first promos from when P.S. was new. Never got into the show much, though.

Wow, I must be the only person on here who detested this show. I still do. I want to punch Larry in the head.

i remember one friday night, my sister wanted to watch Perfect Strangers, and i didnt. so i told her that perfect strangers was a rerun. she decided to call me out, by asking which episode were they rerunning. i pulled this episode out of my ass, and she did not believe me. i told her repeatedly, “Its the one with the pod in the closet”. So we started to watch pefet strangers, and wouldnt you know it, my lie turned out to be the truth! it was totally this episode! the spirit of Halloween allowed me to alter the course of history by rerunning this episode just to prove that i was right!

Wow, ‘Perfect Strangers’- my brother and I used to love this show for some reason…man, I miss Halloween themed episodes of stuff. The ‘Real Ghostbusters Halloween Special’ was a great one.

The fact that “Big Bad Wolf” from ‘Teen Wolf’ is on the XE jukebox just made my frigging day! Thanks.

I havent been able to watch perfect strangers since partaking of some recreational designer drugs and watching the Langoliers for three hours straight,then going home to flip on the t.v and balki was on!!

thomas is correct TWO GUYS, A GIRL, and A PIZZA Parlor had great halloween episodes.

Any fans of Herman’s Head here? They had a St. Patricks day episode where Teddy? and Hank Azaria’s charachter were stuck in an elevator and she teaches him raunchy lyrics to a song. I have been trying to find that song or those lyrics since 1989.

You know, I hope Green Day got payed ALOT of money for that debacle last night. That was just painful to watch.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was for charity. Either way it blew chunks. I hope Billie reamed Bono out afterwards. Utter shite.

That was depressing. The newest I can find for him is Melanie Griffith’s show “Twins”. I can only hope he hit Broadway or something, because aside form the VERY occasional guest role, he’s done jack since Perfect Strangers.

Erich: A little more than three years ago, Baker was on Broadway in that musical about Frog and Toad (based on the kids’ books). I saw the poster on the street and did the dance of joy.

The Monster Triple pack of cereal has a new box design this year. It has been the same the last 2+ years. Snagged at BJ’s.

Mark Linn-Baker was on Step-by-Step after the guy that played Coty had to leave. He had a french accent and he was an uncle or something for a couple of seasons. Too bad that happened to that guy that played Coty though, his wife’s family arrested him for beating on her (according to him, she was bi-polar and was threatening him and hit him before he hit her and he was just trying to calm her down) and the show told him he couldn’t be on that show anymore. I actually enjoyed that show to a point.

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

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

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.

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.

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…

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.

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

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!

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

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

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.

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).

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

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???

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

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

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.

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.”

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!

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.

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!!!!!

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.

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

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?

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