Perfect Strangers Episode Guide

EPISODE 25 - Snow Way to Treat a Lady, Part Two

First Air Date: February 25, 1987
Nielsen Rating: 17.2 HH

TV Guide Description: Conclusion.  Trapped in a ski lodge by an avalanche, Larry decides it's time he told Jennifer the truth.

Co-Producer: James O’Keefe
Created by: Dale McRaven
Written by: Robert Griffard & Howard Adler
Directed by: Joel Zwick

Cast:
Bronson Pinchot: Balki Bartokomous
Mark Linn-Baker: Larry Appleton

Guest Cast:
Rebeca Arthur: Mary Anne
Melanie Wilson: Jennifer Lyons

Dimitri Appearances: Dimitri is still sitting on the kitchen table in the ski outfit he was wearing in the first part.

Balki-isms:
"Cousin, we’ve been through fat and thin together."
"Every rolling stone has a silver lining."
"If George Washington had given up at Valley Forge we’d all be speaking English today!"

Don’t be ridiculous: Said twice.

Other catchphrases used in this episode:
Balki and Larry say "Hi!" in stereo
"That is correct."
Balki’s "Huh?"
"That’s a very good point."

Other running jokes used in this episode:
Balki shrugs off compliments
Larry’s breathy pronunciation of W’s
Larry’s breathy laugh
Larry asking "how many times" Balki has done something, Balki finally answering with a number until Larry adds a specific and Balki has to admit never, to which Larry says, "None, as in zero, as in never ever . . . . ?"
Jennifer has contradictory feelings in one sentence
Mary Ann says something profound then offers a ridiculous explanation for it
Balki laughs at his own joke

Songs: "The Theme to the Andy Griffith Show (The Fishin’ Hole)" - Balki and Larry both whistle this tune as they dig a tunnel through the snow.

Interesting facts:
- The episode begins with a montage of scenes from the first half shown the week before which runs before an abbreviated version of the theme song.
- When Balki says "we have the sun in the morning and the moon at night" he’s referring to a classic Irving Berlin song "I Got the Sun in the Morning" from the musical Annie Get Your Gun.
- Balki then quotes another classic song, "Get Happy," when he says "forget your troubles, c’mon get happy . . . you’ve got to chase all your cares away."
- Balki again mentions his father while digging through the snow.  Balki’s references to his father were few and when we finally visit Mypos his father is not shown or mentioned at all.
- As Cousin Monika points out, when Balki is trying to rally the others into not giving up, he uses two famous quotes from American history ("I have not yet begun to fight" was said by naval hero John Paul Jones and "Don't give up the ship" was the dying command of Captain James Lawrence during the War of 1812) then follows it up with "Have it your way," which was the popular advertising slogan for Burger King.
- Larry finds he has been sleeping on a hardcover copy of the book Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean when he wakes up in the cabin.  The novel is a thriller, suspense saga regarding the Cold War and the rescue by submarine of a team of stranded people in a British meteorological station in the Arctic.

Bloopers and Inconsistencies:
- A notable blooper from this episode in which Mark accidentally steps on Bronson's foot (when he's only wearing socks and Mark is wearing ski boots!) can be seen on our YouTube Channel, along with other bloopers from the series!  This clip was also used in the Friendship commercial for the series, which also featured bloopers from the show.

Synopsis:
The episode picks up exactly where the last part left off, with Balki and Larry hanging on to one another and Jennifer and Mary Anne sitting on the couch.  "We’re trapped!" Jennifer exclaims.  Mary Anne asks what exactly she means by "trapped."  Balki explains that she means the cabin is buried under tons of snow and they can’t get out unless they have an out of body experience.  "I was afraid that’s what she meant," Mary Anne says woefully.  Larry urges everyone not to panic.  "What are we going to do?" Jennifer asks.  "We’re gonna die!" Larry states.  Jennifer says she doesn’t want to die . . . she wants to leave now.  She gets up but Mary Anne stops her, saying she can’t go anywhere.  "Out of my way, Blondie!" Jennifer says threateningly.  Balki urges Jennifer not to talk to her friend like that.  "If we’re going to meet our maker, we got to make nice!"  Larry says Balki is right and that they should accept their fate with dignity.  They all sit down on the couch together, looking as dignified as possible.

After a moment Jennifer declares she doesn’t want to go out with dignity . . . "I don’t want to go out at all!"  She asks Larry if the ski patrol won’t find them.  "Jennifer, a mountain just fell on us," Larry points out.  "They won’t find our bodies until after the Spring thaw."  At this point Mary Anne starts touching up her makeup with a compact.  Jennifer asks what she’s doing.  "Well, just because I’m going to die doesn’t mean I have to look bad!" Mary Anne insists.

"Larry, can you think of a way to get us out of here?" Jennifer asks hopefully.  Seeing the look on her face Larry promises he will, becoming stoic, stating he will find a way out of there.  "Larry, there is no way out of here," Mary Anne comments.  Larry dissolves immediately into panic, grabbing Balki and repeating there’s no way out of there and they’re going to die.  "Now Cousin, you’re being a little negative," Balki says.  He encourages them to look at the good side.  "We’re still alive, we have blankets to keep us warm, we have the sun in the morning and the moon at night, we have a nice roof to keep us dry . . . . "  At these words the roof creaks and some snow falls through the into the cabin.  "The roof is going to collapse!" Jennifer says in fear.  "So much for staying dry," Mary Anne adds.

Jennifer and Mary Anne turn to each other for solace and Larry turns to Balki but Balki doesn’t buy this melodrama.  Instead he encourages everyone to "forget your troubles, come on get happy!  You’ve got to chase all your cares away!  Balki has a plan!"  Balki leads Larry to one side and Larry dotes over Balki, saying he knew Balki would come up with something and that he’s very good under pressure.  "Now what’s the plan?"  "I don’t have a plan," Balki admits.  Larry insists they have got to have a plan and Balki assures him he’ll think of one.  "When?  When?" Larry asks, blowing out heavy breath with each W.  "Stop blowing on me!" Balki cries, "I’m not a dandelion!"

They turn to find the girls staring at them and say "Hi!" simultaneously.  Jennifer asks if anything’s wrong and Larry laughs, assuring her that they are working out the very fine details of Balki’s plan.  When he turns back to Balki he says, "They’re going to be very disappointed, aren’t they?"  Balki smiles, saying, "No, I don’t think so!"  "Why not?" Larry asks.  "Because I just thought of a plan!" Balki announces.  He tells Larry that they are going to dig a tunnel out through the snow.  Larry seems less than certain.  "Balki, if we dig a tunnel it will collapse and we will be crushed to death."  The roof creaks again and more snow falls from above.  "All right, here’s the plan . . . " Larry announces, turning to the girls.

The next scene shows the progress already made on the plan with Jennifer and Mary Anne inside the cabin shoveling snow that has been dug out from the tunnel extending from the open front door.  Mary Anne drops a shovelful of snow onto the floor, missing the paper which Jennifer has laid out. Jennifer is upset, saying, "Watch it!  I asked you to keep it on the paper; we don’t want to make a mess!"  "You’re expecting guests?" Mary Anne asks.

Larry and Balki are inside the tunnel laying on their sides.  Balki is in front and asks Larry for a hammer, which Larry hands to him.  Balki starts chipping away at the snow with the claw of the hammer while whistling the theme song to "The Andy Griffith Show."  Larry asks Balki how he can whistle at a time like this.  "I enjoy my work," Balki answers.  "Aren’t you afraid?" Larry asks incredulously.  "Oh Cousin, of course I’m afraid," Balki admits, "but a wise man once said ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’"  "That was President Roosevelt," Larry explains.  "He said it too?" Balki asks.  "He must have heard it from my father!"  Balki goes on to say that his father taught him how to deal with fear.  "He said ‘You take that fear and you mush it into a ball and you put it in your pocket and then you know where it is and it can’t hurt you.’"  "Put your fear in your pocket?" Larry asks.  Balki demonstrates by taking a ball of snow and putting it into his pocket, reacting then to the cold against his chest.  "Well, it’s right where I want it!" Balki says, shivering.

Balki starts to dig again when there is a rumbling sound and snow starts falling from the tunnel’s ceiling.  "Cave in!  Crawl for your life!" Balki cries.  The cousins both start scooting backwards out of the tunnel, Balki mumbling, "Fear in the pocket, fear in the pocket, fear in the pocket."  Balki finally stops and encourages Larry to come back, that it wasn’t a cave in, just a little snow falling from the ceiling.  "Balki, a little bit of snow falling from the ceiling is a cave in!" Larry insists.  Balki points out that the tunnel didn’t collapse and suggests they go back to work.  Larry agrees and they move like they’re going to go back but stay put instead.  Balki points out the girls are depending on them and Larry once again agrees and they lean forward again but still don’t go anywhere.  "Yes sir, we’re moving now!" Balki says determinedly.

The Cousins finally sit down to talk instead. Larry says he’s sorry for getting Balki into this mess.  "You tried to warn me but I wouldn’t listen.  Can you forgive me?"  "Oh Cousin, of course I can.  I always forgive you.  You’re my family.  You took me in . . . you taught me American ways and culture.  If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am today."  Larry says he feels bad enough as it is.  Balki says they can lick this and Larry agrees they’ve made a pretty good team.  "You got that right," Balki concurs.  "Except for this ski trip, it’s been great!"  They return to work at the end of the tunnel.

As they reach the spot where they’d been working Balki comments on how far they’ve gone as Larry sighs that he’s exhausted.  As Balki starts to dig again, whistling as he works, Larry says that they are going to want to start bearing a little bit to the right.  Balki insists that they have to go to the left and they start to argue about it.  "Okay, Balki, how many times have you dug a tunnel?" Larry asks.  Balki hesitates on the answer until Larry pushes the point and Balki answers, "Three."  Larry thinks about this then adds, "Through the snow?"  "None," Balki admits.  "None, as in zero, as in never ever dug a tunnel through the snow?" Larry asks.  Larry points out that he is from Wisconsin and has been digging tunnels in the snow since he was five and that they are going to start heading right.  He makes Balki change places with him so he lead.

Back inside the cabin Mary Anne tells Jennifer that she knows they’re going to get out of the situation.  "But just in case we don’t, I’m glad you’re my best friend and there’s no one else I’d rather die with."  "Thank you," Jennifer says skeptically.  Back in the tunnel Larry is now in the front position with the hammer and tells Balki to be ready to catch some snow.  "Cousin, you’re a lean, mean digging machine," Balki encourages.  Larry winks and starts chipping at the snow, whistling "The Andy Griffith Theme" as well.  He strikes the snow and starts shouting, "Balki!  I found it, I found it!"  "You found the way out?" Balki asks excitedly.  "No, I found my Chapstick, I lost it in the avalanche!" Larry explains, using the balm on his lips as Balki lowers his head in disappointment.

The second act begins with Larry feebly still chipping away at the snow.  Balki says they have been digging for hours and gotten nowhere.  "I still think we should have turned left."  "Well, you’re wrong," Larry insists.  "No, I’m not!" Balki states.  Larry hits the snow a couple more time then grows excited.  "Balki!  Balki!  There’s a light at the end of the tunnel!"  Balki thinks Larry is simply quoting a metaphor and sighs, "Yes, and every rolling stone has a silver lining . . . . "  Larry explains that he meant there’s a light at the end of their tunnel.  And Balki can see he’s right.  Larry uses a spoon and they start digging even more frantically, thrilled that they’ve found the way out.

Inside the cabin, Jennifer and Mary Anne are sitting at a small table underneath one of the windows when they start to hear a knocking and scratching sound.  They look at the window and we can see Larry scratching and sweeping away snow from the other side.  "It’s Larry!  We’re saved!" Mary Anne yells excitedly as the girls get up and Mary Anne opens the window.  "Hi Larry!" Mary Anne greets happily.  Larry sees the girls and immediately breaks down into tears.  Balki pokes his head through the window as well and starts crying, too.

"How did you guys get over here?" Jennifer asks.  "I’ll let you field that one, Cousin," Balki says to Larry.  "It’s all my fault," Larry cries, "I tunneled in a circle.  I can’t do anything right.  I’m an albatross . . . a Jonah . . . a bad luck charm.  I’d tell you to cast me outside if we could just get outside!"  Jennifer says Larry shouldn’t be so hard on himself but Larry’s guilt has finally gotten the better of him.  "If it wasn’t for my snowball of lies we wouldn’t be stuck in this pit."  He wants to confess to Jennifer but Balki is lying between himself and her, so Larry maneuvers his way beneath Balki to get closer to her, causing Balki to flip over awkwardly in the small space and land and the other side.

"Jennifer, I lied to you about skiing at Insbrook.  I’ve never raced a giant slalom, the truth is I can’t ski at all.  I just wanted you to like me as much as I like you."  Jennifer is taken aback, replying, "Larry, I don’t know what to say . . . I’m flattered that you would go to so much trouble to impress me yet repulsed at the thought that it might cost us our lives."  "Don’t be too angry with him, Jennifer," Mary Anne offers, "Think of him as one who loved not wisely but too well."  They all stare at Mary Anne in surprise.  "I think that’s Shakespeare," she explains, then thinks, "or Moonlighting."  Jennifer says she forgives Larry and he thanks her and says that he thinks they’re a fine group of people and that it’s an honor to die with them.  "Ditto!" Mary Anne says happily.

"Wait a minute!  I can’t believe the babbasticki that I’m hearing!" Balki cries.  "You’re giving up!  And you call yourselves Americans?  Whatever happened to ‘I have not yet begun to fight?’  ‘Don’t give up the ship?’  ‘Have it your way?’  Americans aren’t quitters.  If George Washington had given up at Valley Forge we’d all be speaking English today!"  Balki says he’s going back into the tunnel and making a sharp left.  He asks if Larry will join him.  Larry agrees with Balki, speaking bravely that they must not give up, until he sighs "It’s just that I am so tired!"  Balki pats Larry (on the face!) and says it’s okay, that even George Washington got tired.  "That’s why he slept everywhere."

Balki says he’s going back in the tunnel to do some digging and Larry can take a nap and when it’s time to be relieved Balki will wake him up.  Jennifer wishes Balki good luck and Mary Anne offers Balki a kiss, although Balki has to lean way forward and squash Larry to receive it.  Mary Anne pushes Balki back into the tunnel (by his face!) as she and Jennifer pull Larry into the cabin through the window.

In the next scene, Larry, Jennifer and Mary Anne are huddled close to one another, sleeping on the floor.  Larry wakes up and groans in pain, reaching beneath him to pull out a book he’s been sleeping on.  "Ice Station Zebra?" Larry reads on the cover before tossing the book aside.  The girls wake up as Larry checks his watch and realizes it is morning.  Jennifer asks where Balki is and Mary Anne notes that he must still be in the tunnel.  Larry comments on what a guy Balki is to not have even woken him up to relieve him.

They walk to the front door and open it, only to find the tunnel is completely filled with snow.  In a frenzy, the three start digging frantically, Larry especially, calling Balki’s name but there is no answer.  Jennifer pulls Larry away, pointing out that there’s too much snow and that the tunnel’s collapsed.  Larry dives back in to dig some more, saying he has to save Balki and still calling frantically.  Jennifer pulls Larry back again, holding on to him and saying the tunnel must have collapsed hours ago and that’s why Balki didn’t wake him up.

Larry walks away from the tunnel in a daze, moaning that this can’t be happening.  "I belong in the pit, not him!  Oh, why didn’t I listen to him instead of to my own hormones?"  He and Jennifer sit down on the couch with its back to the fireplace.  He looks at Jennifer in frustration.  "Why do you have to be so damned attractive?"  "I’m sorry, Larry," Jennifer offers.  "Listen to me . . . I have just killed the sweetest, bravest man I’ve ever known and now I’m trying to blame it on you.  He came to America looking for a new life . . . he moved in with a cousin he didn’t even know . . . I thought I was doing him a favor and now . . . I was the lucky one.  If I know anything about the goodness and purity in life it’s because Balki Bartokomous taught me."

Mary Anne walks over to join them on the bench, tearfully saying they’re going to miss him, too.  Larry says he’ll never forgive himself for this and Jennifer says she thinks Balki would forgive him.  "Of course he would!" Larry sobs, "Even dead he’s a better man than me!"  Larry wishes he could hear Balki’s voice one more time.  Just then Balki’s voice rings out from somewhere, calling "Cousin Larry!"  This makes Larry cry even harder.  He wishes he could just see Balki again and tell him how much he meant to him.  Mary Anne is looking up at the ceiling and says plainly, "I think he’s up there."  "Of course he is!" Larry states.  "He was a saint!"

Mary Anne indicates upward again as the roof creaks.  "No, no, no . . . I mean I think he’s on the roof!"  This time Balki’s voice rings clearer as he calls, "Cousin Larry, can you hear me?"  Larry excitedly climbs over the back of the couch exclaiming, "He’s alive!"  He leans back into the fireplace looking up the flue.  "Balki!  You’re alive!" Larry cries happily.  We see Balki standing on the roof looking down the chimney.  "Well of course I am, don’t be ridiculous!  What am I gonna be . . . dead?"  Balki laughs at his own joke.  Balki tells them he can see the search party and that they’re coming soon.  He looks around and smiles, "It’s a wonderful day!"  Larry agrees it is and yells, "We’re saved!" as he tries to climb out of the fireplace, first hitting his head on the stones and then hitting his head on the mantel.  He checks before standing up completely then hugs the girls as he cries again "We’re saved!"

Back at the apartment the cousins enter carrying their ski equipment and saying goodbye to the girls in the hallway.  As soon as Balki closes the door Larry breaks down into tears, sobbing and mumbling into Balki’s shoulder.  Balki answers his unintelligible babbling with words of comfort until finally he realizes, "Oh Cousin, I know what it is.  You’re still feeling like a big slimeball."  "You’re too kind," Larry sobs.  Balki leads Larry to the couch, saying he knows how to cheer Larry up.  "No, no . . . I don’t think that’s poooosssible," Larry whines.

As they sit on the couch, Balki tells Larry that Jennifer told him that she thinks Larry is brave.  Larry looks hopefully, then breaks down again, saying, "No, you’re the one that saved us."  Balki tries again, saying Jennifer said she thinks Larry is clever.  Again Larry looks hopefully before breaking down, crying, "No, you’re the one who came up with all the ideas."  Not giving up, Balki says Jennifer told him she thought Larry was cute.  Larry looks more hopeful this time, smiling sheepishly.  "Did she really say she thinks I’m cute?" he asks hopefully.  "Well of course she did!  I don’t lie!" Balki assures him.  "No, I’m the one who lies," Larry sobs, then continues, "but I’m basically an honest man . . . I never lied to my parents, I never cheated in school.  It’s just when I’m around Jennifer . . . . "  "You lose your mind," Balki finishes.  "Yeah," Larry agrees.

Balki gets up to start fixing some hot cocoa and assures Larry that he’s getting better because he told Jennifer the truth.  "And do you know why?" Balki asks.  "No," Larry admits.  "Because if you know anything about the goodness and purity in life, Balki Bartokomous taught you!"  Balki laughs to himself as Larry puts two and two together.  "Wait a minute," Larry hums, "How long were you up on that roof?"  "Saint Balki," Balki muses, " . . . I like that!"  Balki throws a knowing smile at a stunned Larry.

Continue on to the next episode . . .