In the mid 80s and 90s, the TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) comedy lineup on ABC was viewers’ way to relax with laughs after a stressful week. Let’s remember one of these shows from that magical lineup, Perfect Strangers.

Perfect Strangers aired for eight seasons from March 26, 1986 to August 6, 1993.  It originally began on Tuesday night before having a successful run as part of the TGIF comedy lineup.

It was the story of Larry Appleton (Mark Linn-Baker) who moves from Wisconsin to Chicago. He is excited to be starting a new life alone away from his family. However in true sitcom fashion, out of the blue appears Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot), an unheard of distance cousin from the fictional Mediterranean island of Mypos, moves in with him. Larry teaches Balki the ropes of being an American. The cultural differences and Balki’s naïve made for episode laughs.

Throughout the series run, viewers watched Larry and Balki’s friendship grow, with the cousins meeting, falling in love and marrying friends Jennifer and Mary Anne.

Perfect Strangers also helped to spin-off Family Matters, the show about elevator operator Harriet Winslow’s family.

Perfect Strangers was one of my favorite shows.  I looked forward to tuning in every Friday night to watch Larry and Balki’s adventures. I even had the opportunity to meet Bronson Pinchot in the 90s in New York when he appeared at Circle on the Square in the play “Zoya’s Apartment.”

Take a stroll down memory lane with the theme song:

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