Nielsen Rating: 16.2 HH
PERFECT STRANGERS EPISODE GUIDE
EPISODE 21 - Beautiful Dreamer
First Air Date:
January 28, 1987
Nielsen Rating: 16.2 HH
Co-Producer:
James O’Keefe
Created by: Dale McRaven
Written by: Paula A. Roth
Directed by: Joel Zwick
Cast:
Bronson Pinchot: Balki Bartokomous
Mark Linn-Baker: Larry Appleton
Ernie Sabella: Mr. Donald Twinkacetti
Guest Cast:
Melanie Wilson: Jennifer Lyons
Rebeca Arthur: Mary Anne
Marte Boyle Slout: Television Set Shopper
Muriel Minot: Greeting Card Shopper
Dimitri
Appearances: Dimitri can be see sitting on the end table to the right of
the couch in the last scene of the first act wearing a sleep mask. In the
second act he has been moved to the kitchen table.
Balki-isms:
"Before I talk about that dream again it’ll be a cold day in
December!"
Don’t be ridiculous: Said four times, once in Myposian.
Other catchphrases
used in this episode:
"That’s a good point, a very good point."
"Yes! Yes!"
Other running jokes
used in this episode:
Larry grabs Balki by the shirt.
Mary Anne saying something profound or insightful and giving a completely
ridiculous reason for knowing it.
Jennifer skips kissing Larry goodnight at the door.
Balki cries until he gets something he wants.
Balki’s mama yelling "Balki!" which can be heard through the phone
receiver
Notable Moments:
We hear Balki's Mama on the phone for the first time.
Interesting facts:
- The episode title is the name of an 1865 standard
song by Stephen Foster which has been recorded countless times over the
years. A version of it was even recorded by rock legend Roy Orbison.
- This is the first time we hear Mama’s trademark "Balki!"
being yelled through the telephone.
- This episode marks the only time we would hear
Balki say "Don’t be ridiculous" in Myposian!
- It wasn’t the first time Jennifer didn’t pick
up on Larry’s desire to carry their relationship a step further (by kissing)
but at the end of the episode Larry makes it clear he’s confused about where
they stand, whether Jennifer’s really interested in him or not. This
would continue until the third season as their relationship slowly did progress.
-
Character actress Marte Boyle Slout, who appears as the woman with the
television set in this episode, would appear again as the debate moderator in
the sixth season episode See How They Run.
- While Melanie and Rebeca’s screen credits continued to appear at the
end of the episodes throughout the second season (their names wouldn’t move to
the opening credits until season three) they switched off getting top billing .
. . sometimes Rebeca was listed first and sometimes Melanie would be.
Bloopers
and Inconsistencies:
- In this episode Balki talks very respectfully about his Papa but Balki’s
Papa is rarely mentioned again and when they go to Mypos he is nowhere to be
seen and no explanation is ever given for his absence.
Synopsis:
The episode begins in the middle of the night and Balki is has moved much of the
furniture in the living room to the edges of the area rug. He is in the
process of moving the round coffee table aside but its legs hitting the wood
floor make a noise and Larry’s voice calls out "Balki?" from his
bedroom. Balki pauses, waiting to see if Larry will respond, then pulls
the table further and its last two legs make a noise on the floor. This
time Larry calls out Balki’s name and follows with "Is that
you?" Realizing that Larry is going to come out of his bedroom to
investigate, Balki runs to the front door and turns off the living room light,
hoping Larry will see the dark room and go back to bed.
Instead
Larry walks into the living room, asking what’s going on. He trips over
a chair and lands face first on one of the couch’s cushions which is lying on
the floor. Balki quickly turns on the light and runs to Larry, asking if
he’s all right. Larry’s mumbled voice answers, "Fine!"
Balki comments that it was a good thing he put that cushion there or Larry could
have hurt himself. "Yes, it’s a real piece of luck," Larry
answers sarcastically.
Larry asks why Balki is rearranging
furniture in the middle of the night. Balki explains he needs more floor
space to do aerobics. Larry is surprised that Balki would be doing
aerobics at three a.m. when they’re only four hours away from Twinkacetti’s
monthly going out of business sale. He tells Balki they need to get some
sleep and Balki says he’s not tired. Larry doesn’t understand how that
could be. "But that reminds me," Balki begins, "I have a
friend who can’t sleep. There’s nothing wrong with him is there?"
Larry asks Balki if he’s having trouble sleeping and Balki insists it’s his
friend, his best friend. "I’m your best friend," Larry points
out. "That’s a good point, a very good point," Balki agrees.
Larry assures Balki that everyone has trouble sleeping every now and again. Balki asks if every now and again is more than four nights in a row. When pressed he finally admits he’s had trouble sleeping four nights in a row. Larry sits Balki down on the couch and explains that what Balki has is a classic case of insomnia. Balki is horrified. "I knew it was something terrible!" he worries, then says, "Okay, give it to me straight. How long have I got?" "Fifty or sixty years," Larry answers flatly. "Fifty of sixty years?" Balki cries, "Oh my god, a slow death!" Larry consoles him by explaining that insomnia is what they call it when you can’t sleep.
Larry says he’ll help Balki to fall
asleep and Balki wants to know how. Larry asks how people generally fall
asleep on Mypos and Balki says they close their eyes and wait for Princess Reva,
the beautiful fairy princess who holds all the sleeping people in her arms and
protects them until 
morning.
Off Larry’s clueless expression Balki asks "Don’t she come to
America?" "No, she don’t come to America," Larry
admits. "Well, what do you do in America?" Balki asks.
"Here we wait for the sandman. He makes you sleepy by throwing sand
in your eyes." Balki thinks about this a moment then says,
"Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll hold out for the
princess."
Putting the second cushion back on the
couch Larry explains they’re going to put Balki’s body to sleep one part at
a time. He instructs Balki to lie down and say goodnight to his
toes. Balki sounds skeptical at first but then goes along with saying
goodnight to his feet and legs. By the time he says goodnight to his
finger Balki falls fast asleep. Larry is satisfied, 
commenting
to himself "Where would this kid be without me?"
He’s about ready to go back to bed when Larry notices that Balki is looking pained in his sleep. He stops and watches as Balki starts to call out for his Mama and then lets out a horrible scream, bolting upright. Larry realizes Balki must have had some kind of nightmare but Balki can’t remember anything about it. Larry offers to sit up with Balki but Balki insists Larry go back to bed. Larry says that at some point Balki’s body will tell him when it’s time for him to sleep and Balki says he’ll let Larry know if his body says anything to him. As Larry is about to head for bed again Balki stops him, pausing anxiously as he listens, then realizes his body is only telling him he’s hungry.
The
next morning the cousins are in the Ritz Discount store preparing for the big
sale. Balki is obviously exhausted and Larry is trying to encourage him to
go to bed. But Balki says he needs to help with the sale, pointing to the
mob of people already pressed against the door waiting to get in. As they
are looking at this they see Mr. Twinkacetti making his way through the mob,
ending up smashed against the door as he yells for Appleton to help him.
Larry runs to the door and manages to open it just wide enough to let his boss
is, as Twinkacetti beats back the anxious shoppers. Once inside the shop
Twinkacetti moans, "You’d think I was having a real sale!
People are so gullible!" Larry tries to wish Twinkacetti a good
morning but the man only grunts and goes into his office.
Larry looks around and realizes Balki is no where in sight. Larry spots a table in the foreground with a sheet over it and runs over, pulling the sheet back to reveal Balki sleeping on a pile of shirts. Larry pulls him up and Balki says "Remember when you told me that my body would tell me when it’s time to sleep? Well, it’s talking to me like crazy!" Balki starts to drift off again but Larry pulls him up, saying they have to get Balki upstairs and into bed. Larry pulls Balki off the table but he only slumps down onto the floor. It takes some effort for Larry to finally get Balki onto his feet again.
They head for the front door and Larry
tries to get it open and keep the shoppers at bay while balancing a sleeping
Balki on one arm, but the mob 
manages
to burst through and rush inside, sweeping Balki up with them and carrying him
back well into the store where he ends up next to a table of precariously
arranged cups and dishes. Larry barely manages to push his way through the
people to grab Balki and keep him from crashing into the display.
Steering Balki to an antique barber’s chair Larry says it’s best for Balki to stay out of the way. No sooner does Larry walk away than a woman holding a small television approaches Balki and asks if he works there. "Oh, I’ll put that in your car for you," a dazed Balki offers and gets up to take the television. No sooner is he on his feet than he nods off again, backing up toward the dishes display. Once again Larry catches him barely in time and asks the woman to take the television set out of Balki’s hands. Larry once again pushes Balki into the chair and tells him to stay there. Balki insists he’s going to help Larry with the sale but falls asleep the moment he’s finished his sentence. Larry places an "Out to Lunch" sign on Balki’s on him.
Turning
to help the woman with the television Larry informs her that it’s eighty nine
dollars marked down from ninety two. The woman says sharply, "I
thought you said this was a sale!" In the meantime Balki is starting
to have his nightmare again and calls out in his sleep as a woman next to him is
looking through greeting cards. Balki sits up and screams, startling the
woman looking through the cards. She races out of the store, scaring the
woman holding the television set into throwing it in the air. Larry lunges
for the television set, catching it but knocking into the display of dishes
which go crashing to the ground. The woman is quick to hurry away, leaving
Twinkacetti to find Larry standing over the shattered display. "You
broke it, you bought it!" Twinkacetti tells Larry, slapping Larry on the
back and causing him to drop the television set as well.
That
night Larry is carrying a stack of books to the coffeetable as he and Balki sit
on the couch to discuss the problem. "We have to make sure you don’t
stay up another three days then fall asleep during Mr. Twinkacetti’s annual
water damage sale," Larry explains. He found some of his old college
psych(ology) books to help them find out what’s causing Balki’s
nightmares. "The answer is inside your head. We have to get in
there and find what we’re looking for." Balki looks nervous.
"Does this involve cutting?"
Larry explains that in college they
studied ways to get into the subconscious. He decides to start with word
association,
giving Balki a word and having him respond with the first word that comes into
his head. It starts out normally enough, with Larry saying "in"
and Balki answering "out," Larry giving "up" and Balki
saying "down." After "black / white," "short /
tall," Balki answers "door" with "eggs." Larry
says that makes no sense but Balki says it does because he remembers the time
his Uncle Stavlos closed Aunt Sophia’s hand in the door and they had to take
her to the doctor but he charged so much money they couldn’t pay it so they
had to give him one dozen eggs from their hen Hilda every week for a year.
"So you see it makes perfect sense and don’t you feel just a little bit
stupid?" Balki asks. Larry is ready to leave but Balki says he’ll
be good.
Since that didn’t work Larry says they’ll
try an exercise where they go back into the dream state. "Would that
be New 
Jersey?"
Balki asks. "No . . . no, that’s the Garden State," Larry
explains patiently. Larry says this exercise will help Balki relive his
dream and starts by asking Balki to clear his mind of all thoughts.
"I know it’s not easy," Larry says, "but you have to
concentrate . . . " But Balki declares he’s done it and that his
mind is empty, taking on a vacant expression. Larry encourages him to go
back into his dream and tell him what he sees. Balki says he sees little
white cars and that their engines are running like thunder and he wants to run
but can’t move and they’re coming closer to him and he’s afraid they’re
going to crush him. Seeing Balki is becoming more scared Larry eases him
back and Balki fans himself nervously, saying "Whoa, baby! We shoulda
gone to New Jersey!"
Larry
asks Balki if this is the same dream he’s had for the past few nights and
Balki says he thinks so. Larry says that the only way Balki can get rid of
the nightmare is to figure out what it means and they’ll have to talk about
it. Balki immediately refuses, saying "Cousin, before I talk about
that dream again it’ll be a cold day in December!" Balki runs into
the bathroom.
The second act opens at 3:00 a.m. the next morning. Jennifer and Mary Anne are sitting around the coffee table with the guys as Larry insists Balki tell them about his dream. Balki keeps trying to create distractions, like getting popcorn. When Larry asks if the dream was in black and white or color Balki heads into the kitchen to make hot chocolate. Mary Anne is all smiles, saying "This is fun! I’ve never been to a dream interpretation party before!" Jennifer looks more skeptical, saying to Larry that she gets the feeling Balki doesn’t want to talk about his dream.
Larry
walks into the kitchen and tells Balki they have to solve his problem, pushing
Balki back to the couch. Balki insists he doesn’t want to talk about
it. Jennifer assures Balki that everyone has nightmares and they’re
nothing to be afraid of. "Dreams are nothing more than windows to our
subconscious," Mary Anne offers, "They should be open to let in the
fresh air of reason." Everyone stares at Mary Anne in
disbelief. "Mary Anne, did you just read that?" Larry
asks. "No, sometimes late at night I start to make sense," Mary
Anne explains. Jennifer eyes Larry, saying, "Scary, huh?"
The girls excuse themselves because they
have an early flight. "If we don’t get some sleep we’ll wind up
spilling things on
the passengers," Jennifer explains. "They hate that," Mary
Anne adds. Mary Anne wishes Balki "Pleasant dreams!" then
realizes what she's said. As they leave Larry wishes Jennifer goodnight
and she smiles at him but doesn’t kiss him goodnight. The girls leave.
Balki suggests they go to an all-night movie and gets their jackets from the closet door but Larry insists they have to find out what Balki’s dream means so they can both get some sleep. Balki still doesn’t want to talk about it and says Larry can’t make him. Larry says fine, that he’ll figure it out himself. Balki puts Larry’s jacket back and prepares to leave as Larry sits back down on the couch and starts thumbing through one of his books. Just as Balki’s heading out the door Larry pretends he’s found something very interesting, "Ah ha!"ing to himself and catching Balki’s attention.
Slowly
Balki slips back in the door and over to the couch, trying to look over Larry’s
shoulder to see what Larry has found. Larry hides the pages from his view
and Balki comes around to sit on the couch and says he wants to see the
book. Larry refuses until Balki starts to cry and then agrees he’ll let
Balki see the book if Balki gives him one piece of information.
"Where are the cars in your dream going?" Balki hesitates, then
answers, "Into a big garage" and reaches for the book, but Larry keeps
it out of reach. Larry pushes further, asking why the cars are going into
the garage and Balki says "I don’t know why they’re going into the
barn!" Larry latches on to the word barn as having
significance. "Do you know what this means?" Larry asks.
"You’re not going to give me the book?" Balki asks.
Larry
points out that cars don’t belong in barns, animals do, so the cars must
represent some kind of animal. He starts naming different animals,
"rabbits, cats dogs . . . " "Sheep?" Balki
offers. "No, it would have to be some kind of farm animal,"
Larry insists, "horses . . . " "Sheep!" Balki says
again. "I’ve got it!" Larry declares.
"Cows!" "Sheep!" Balki repeats. Larry finally
catches on and agrees that the cars represent sheep. Larry is confused
then, asking why Balki would be afraid of sheep. "I don’t
know," Balki admits. "I love sheep! Sheep are man’s best
friend!" Larry speculates that maybe Balki only thinks he loves sheep
but actually he was jealous of all the attention his parents gave the
sheep. Balki shoots this theory down saying, "They treated us all
equally."
The question as Larry sees it is why Balki
would be dreaming of sheep now. Balki announces, as if the answer should
be obvious, "It’s bopoltide!" 
Larry
asks what bopoltide is. Balki explains that it’s the time of the year
when the Mypiot people shear off the wool of the sheep to sell to get
money. The whole family gets up very early because the wool buyer comes to
Mypos for only one day and if the wool is not ready when he comes then he goes
right on to the next farm and they perhaps don’t have any money for
food. Balki then confesses that he’s worried because he’s not there to
help and maybe they don’t finish in time and they will end up being
hungry. Larry realizes Balki feels guilty about this and that’s what’s
causing his nightmare. He suggests they call Balki’s family and tell
them he’s sorry he can’t be there. But Balki says they are probably
tired from working too much and there’s only one phone on Mypos which is way
on the other side of the island and that after they get the messenger pigeon
they’d have to pack a lunch, get in the oxcart and drive many, many miles to
get to the phone booth. "One phone?" Larry asks
incredulously. "Well yes," Balki confirms, "but it has call
waiting!" Larry says he will place the call.
The next scene finds Balki talking on the phone in Myposian with Larry standing next to him, asking for translations of what they’re saying. Balki explains to Larry that he has told them he feels bad because he can’t be there for the sheep shearing. "Balki!" Mama’s voice calls loudly through the phone, making Balki jump as he realizes he’s keeping his mother waiting while translating. Balki listens on the phone and then becomes excited and Larry wants to know what’s being said. Balki explains that they bought an electric sheep shearer with the money he sent them. Again Mama’s voice cries, "Balki!" Balki listens and talks again then tells Larry that they finished their work in half the time and had a big celebration. "Balki!" Mama cries. Balki finishes up his phone call with his mama, hesitating when she apparently wants him to throw her kisses over the phone, embarrassed to do that in front of Larry. But he does and then he holds the phone up for Larry, who also blows a couple of kisses to Mama.
Balki
is very quiet when the phone conversation ends and walks to the couch to sit
down, Larry following him and asking if he’s okay. "Cousin, what do
you call it when something squeeze your heart and make you wish you were with
your family?" Larry explains that it's called being homesick and that
it’s perfectly natural to miss his family and want to be with them.
Balki says he’s very happy he came to America and that Larry is a good family
to him. "But once in a while when I know my Mypos family is all
together then I wish I was in my chair at the table, because Papa sits here and
Uncle Stavlos sits there and it’s a place of honor, you know."
Larry suggests that maybe Balki should call home more often. "It won’t
be like being in your chair but at least you’ll hear the voices."
Balki says he is sorry he made so much trouble for Larry and Larry assures him it’s okay, that he was just worried about him. Balki says he’s glad Larry made him look Mr. Fear right in the face. "He’s not so bad when you realize he’s just a sheep!" Larry says he knows Balki would do the same for him. "Listen . . . if anything is ever, ever bothering you, you let me know!" Balki insists. Larry says there is something he’s wanted to talk to Balki about but that things have been so hectic he hasn’t found a good time. Before he can even begin Larry realizes Balki has fallen sound asleep where he sits, snoring with his mouth open. Larry continues anyway, saying he’s wondering where his relationship with Jennifer stands, talking it out to a sleeping Balki.
Back to:
EPISODE
GUIDE