Nielsen Rating: 17.1 HH
PERFECT STRANGERS EPISODE GUIDE
EPISODE 43 - Just Desserts
First Air Date: February 3, 1988
Nielsen Rating: 17.1 HH
TV Guide Description: Larry has no trouble finding a market for Balki's delicious Myposian dessert, but mass-producing it is a different story.
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
Rebeca Arthur: Mary Anne
Melanie Wilson: Jennifer Lyons
Dimitri Appearances: Dimitri does not appear in this episode.
Balki-isms:
"Cousin, before you run off
half-crocked . . . "
"You can’t squeeze water out of a
sponge!"
"You’re a man repossessed!"
"Oh, give me a line of credit!"
"You’ve made your cake, now lie in
it."
Don’t be ridiculous: Said once.
Other catchphrases used in this episode:
"Get out of the city!"
"Let me get this straight . . .
"
"HA!"
"You got that right!"
"Balki, Balki, Balki . . . "
Other running jokes used in this episode:
The use of alliterative sentences, often focusing
around the letter "B."
Mary Anne comes up with something amazing
or profound then explains it in an illogical way
Larry has a crazy plan that gets everyone
in over their heads
Songs: "The Bibbibabka Ditty" - sung by everyone at some point in the episode. This translated Myposian song is set to the music of "The Limbo Rock."
Interesting facts:
- This episode focuses on Balki’s love
of cooking, particularly Myposian food. Balki cooked often throughout the series
and even got to the point where he became a caterer in season six.
- Bronson once again shows his talent for
mimic when he accurately impersonates Scotty played by James Doohan in the
original Star Trek series.
- This episode, commonly referred to as
the "bibbibabka episode," continues to be one of the most popular of
the entire series. Bibbibabkas are the one Myposian food which didn’t seem to
include any unusual or repulsive ingredients, unlike most Myposian fare.
- This episode marked the first time fast
alliteration was used in the show. The number of "B’s" in bibbibabka
alone made it natural for the writers to throw in a lot of words beginning with
"B" for Mark and Bronson to exchange quickly back and forth. This
would be seen again and again throughout the series from this episode on.
- When Balki says the pastry chef at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel will have to "make a new plan, Stan" he is quoting
the song 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon.
- Fans loved to sing the bibbibabka ditty
and many still remember it to this day! The lyrics are as follows (there
are some variations to the words during the show itself, such as a
"when" exchanged for an "if" at different times):
When you rolling out the dough,
Just make sure you roll it slow.
If you make the dough too quick
Bibbibabka make you sick.
When you pour the filling in
Just make sure you wear a grin.
When you smile on what you bake
Bibbibabka turn out swell.
The song is set to the music of the Limbo
Rock, a popular song in 1962, first recorded as an instrumental by The
Champs and then by Chubby Checker with lyrics. As Balki sings the song you’ll
notice he bends backwards as he sings "When you smile on what you
bake" in a limbo fashion (as if he is going to move under a limbo pole).
We
only ever hear the song in its English version which explains why the last line
doesn’t rhyme (in Myposian it does rhyme but this is lost in the translation
to English).
- Another joke about the show Moonlighting
appears in this episode when Balki is listing things that simply can’t be
rushed. This was based on the fact that new episodes of Moonlighting were
often long in production and therefore took some time getting to air.
Bloopers and Inconsistencies:
- Cousin nighttime59 on the forums pointed out a
couple of interesting bloopers for us. At the beginning of the episode,
everyone is sitting around the dinner table after finishing the meal Balki
prepared. Jennifer has a stack of three empty plates in front of her and
Balki has an empty plate in front of him. After Balki says in a close-up,
" . . . I’ve made you the dessert of kings . . . bibbibabkas,"
the scene cuts back to a shot of all four and the dinner plates are now suddenly
gone and Balki starts to hand out dessert plates which have appeared from
nowhere. Look closely, though, and you'll see that between the two cuts,
at the very end of Bronson's close-up he is moving to get up to take the plates
and get the bibbibabkas and dessert plates.
- Cousin nighttime59 also found this mistake: In
the second scene when Balki, Mary Anne and Jennifer are making bibbibabkas, they
finish singing the bibbibabka ditty and Balki takes the bibbibabka they
completed and sets it on a tray sitting on a stool. A moment later, Larry
runs into the apartment and over to them . . . and the tray on the stool is
suddenly gone!
- While filming the scene where Larry is trying to
encourage Balki to pick up the pace on the bibbibabka ditty, Mark told Bronson
that he was going to add a little something at the end of their exchange.
Bronson decided at the last minute to throw in the word "booby" at the
end of his line, which somehow ruined what Mark was going to do, which is why
Mark gives Bronson a look and then walks away and Bronson does the little silly
dance. To hear Bronson tell this story, be sure to check out our Videos
page this week!
- When the first bibbibabka explodes
inside a box it makes the box lid pop up. The box this happens to is the one on
the far left of the work table next to some bibbibabkas on a tray and sitting
upon another box. The second one to explode is in this same box, but somehow the
lid has been pushed down again into a closed position without anyone going near it. Most likely they filmed
two different shots of the same box lid popping up, one from a far angle and one from a
closer angle and used both shots back to back, hoping viewers wouldn’t notice
it was the same box and same explosion.
Synopsis:
The episode begins in Balki and Larry’s
apartment. They are sitting at the dining table with Jennifer and Mary Anne.
"Balki, I have to tell you, I was a little bit worried about eating a
complete Myposian dinner but this was delicious!" Jennifer offers. "Oh
thank you, thank you," Balki says humbly, "It is quite a challenge to
use every part of the animal. Well, a Myposian dinner calls for a Myposian
dessert, and I’ve made you the dessert of kings . . . bibbibabkas."
Balki
starts handing out plates to his left with everyone passing on the plate they
receive to the next person. "What you are about to have is the Myposian
national dessert treat." Balki then thanks Mary Anne, who hands him one of
the plates back, before continuing. "Legend has it that the first
bibbibabkas were made by Ferdinand Mypos to celebrate his ability to grow a
moustache." "Festive occasion indeed!" Larry comments.
Balki motions to the plate in the center
of the table where several cream-filled pastries are sitting. "Well, go
ahead . . . I hope you 
like them!" Everyone takes a bibbibabka and tries a
bite. They sit, chewing and contemplating, each one saying "Mmm!" in
turn then together. "Does this mean you like them or do we have gas?"
Balki ventures. "Balki, this cream filling is incredible!" Larry says
enthusiastically, "These not only taste good, they make me feel good!
Like
listening to music . . . like looking at great art! I feel . . . I feel . . .
taller! Balki, your bibbibabkas are so good I think you could sell them!"
"Get out of the city!" Balki scoffs, "I wouldn’t feel right
taking your money!" "No, Balki, I don’t mean sell them
to us . . . I mean sell them to other people," Larry clarifies,
"It could be a nice little business venture. You’d make a couple of extra
bucks and get a lesson in free enterprise." "Enterprise?" Balki
asks excitedly, "You mean I could meet Captain Kirk and Scotty?"
Balki
breaks into an impersonation of James Doohan as Scotty saying, "I’ll have
full power for you in an hour, Captain, but I need more dilithium
crystals!"
"No, no, Balki, that’s the Starship
Enterprise," Larry explains, "Free enterprise is the American way of
doing business. I tell you what . . . you whip up a batch of bibbibabkas and
tomorrow I’ll take them to restaurants and see if anybody’s
interested." "Cousin, Cousin, you don’t just
whip up bibbibabkas," Balki sighs, "These took me all morning nd I’m
the best bibbibabka baker on Mypos. Believe me, baking bibbibabkas is a
back-breaking business." "I understand, Balki, baking bibbibabkas is a
back-breaking business but . . . you’re doing it alone. There are four
of us! We’ll all do it together, it’ll be like a party." "That’s
a wonderful idea, Larry!" Jennifer agrees. "Yeah, what do you say,
Balki?" Mary Anne asks. "Well, I . . . I guess we could bake up a
batch of bibbibabkas and see if anybody bites." "Beautiful!"
Larry smiles.
The next day we see Balki, Mary Anne and
Jennifer working in the dining room which has been set up in a kind of small
assembly line fashion. "Ready for the next batch?" Balki asks.
"Can we sing the bibbibabka song again?" Mary Anne asks. "Well,
of course we can, don’t be ridiculous!" Balki assures her, "You can’t
bake a batch of bibbibabkas without belting the bibbibabka ditty." He
then
asks if they’re ready and they begin singing the song, working as they go.
Balki sings the first line as he moves his body in a wave motion, "When you
rolling out the dough, just make sure to roll it slow," as Jennifer runs a
rolling pin over two circular pieces of thick dough on a wood board. Balki then
sings the second line while wiggling his shoulders and moving from side to side,
"If you make the dough too quick, bibbibabka make you sick," as Mary
Anne uses a wooden instrument to make indentations in the dough. Next Mary Anne
and Jennifer sing the third line while motioning with their arms, "When you
pour the filling in, just make sure you wear a grin," as Balki pipes the
filling into the center of one piece of dough. Finally Balki sings the last line
while making a limbo-type motion, "When you smile on what you bake,
bibbibabka turn out swell!" as Mary Anne places the plain piece of dough on
top of the cream-covered one. Balki takes the finished bibbibabka and places it
onto a baking sheet.
At this moment Larry rushes into the
apartment and stops in front of them. "You’ll never guess where I’ve
been!" he says excitedly, then points to Balki and adds, "Don’t
guess. I went to the Hyatt Regency Hotel and gave a couple of the bibbibabkas we
baked last night to the pastry chef. He loved them and he wants some for
Monday!" "Oh Cousin, that’s wonderful!" Balki exclaims,
"We just made three dozen! How many do he want?" "He wants two
thousand!" Larry answers enthusiastically. "Let me get this
straight," Balki begins, "Today is Saturday and this chef wants us to
make two thousand bibbibabkas by Monday?" "Right!" Larry
confirms. "Larry, it took us all morning to make three dozen,"
Jennifer points out, "Do you know how many dozen two thousand are?"
"166 and 2/3 dozen," Mary Anne answers. When everyone looks at her in
amazement she explains, "My father was a carpenter," which leaves
everyone looking just as confused.
"Cousin, you’re just going to have
to call this chef and tell him to make a new plan, Stan," Balki states.
"I can’t believe my ears!" Larry cries. "Oh, they’re okay,
they just stick out a little bit," Balki tries to comfort Larry as he walks
to him. "I think we’re all agreed my ears are fine," Larry sighs,
"We have a golden opportunity! We have a chance to live the American dream!
To control our own destinies! We’ll start the first bibbibabka company in
America!" "Larry, aren’t you getting a little carried away?"
Jennifer asks. "You bet!" Larry says, "But that’s the kind of
guy I am. I like to take chances, roll the dice, gamble on the future!"
"Uh . . . who are we talking about here?" Balki asks in disbelief,
"You? You don’t like to roll the dice! You don’t like to gamble on the
future! You take ten minutes to change lanes!"
"Well, this is different!" Larry
insists, "This is the brass ring, this is the whole enchilada! The four of
us could own our own company, be our own bosses! What do you say? Are you with
me?" "I’m with you!" Jennifer agrees, putting her hand in Larry’s.
"I’m with you!" Mary Anne agrees, placing her hand on theirs. They
all turn to Balki expectantly. "Balki?" Larry asks. "Not too much
pressure!" Balki sighs. "Balki . . . " Larry starts. "What?" Balki asks timidly.
"This is your chance to make Mypos
famous!" Larry says, moving toward Balki, "To put Mypos on the
culinary map!" "Well, but Cousin . . . baking two thousand by Monday
is impossible!" "Balki, God made the world in six days!" Larry
points out. "Yeah, but he didn’t have to make a special cream filling for
it," Balki counters.
"Balki, trust me . . . we can do
it!" Larry urges. "Cousin, before you run off half-crocked I got to
tell you that you can’t bake bibbibabkas unless you bake them the traditional
Myposian way! Otherwise you run into terrible . . . " "Well, of course
we’ll bake them the traditional Myposian way!" Larry interrupts,
"After all, that’s the fun part! Now what do you say?" Balki is
still unsure until Larry starts singing the tune of the bibbibabka ditty. The
girls join in and by the end Balki in convinced. "Okay babies, let’s bake
some bibbibabkas!" Balki agrees. They all sing the bibbibabka ditty
together, dancing in a conga line back to the kitchen as the scene fades.
The second act opens considerably later in
the living room, which has been converted into a much bigger assembly line.
Balki, Jennifer and Mary Anne, all wearing aprons and bakers hats, are working
feverishly, each covered with flour and looking exhausted. Larry stands to the
side with a clipboard making notes, notably free of flour. "Good news,
everybody!" Larry announces, "We’ve only been working for 24 hours
straight and we’ve already reached the halfway mark . . . one thousand
bibbibabkas!" "Yay," Mary Anne and Jennifer cheer without any
enthusiasm. "That’s the spirit!" Larry continues, undaunted,
"Now let’s use that momentum to carry us right through to the end."
Jennifer is shaping the bibbibabka dough
on a wooden board when Mary Anne reaches over her to try to get some flour.
"Don’t 
bump me!" Jennifer says sharply. "I didn’t bump
you!" Mary Anne argues. "You’ve been bumping me for sixteen
hours!" Jennifer counters, "It’s like flying with Shriners!"
"Oh, so now you’re making fun of my hat!" Mary Anne remarks in
anger. "I’m not making fun of your hat, I’m just saying when you reach
for the flour you keep bumping me!" Jennifer explains. "Well, maybe if
you’d stop hogging the flour I wouldn’t have to bump you!" Mary Anne
snips, then reaches for the flour again, bumping Jennifer, who loses it. The
girls start arguing until Balki comes running between them. "Ladies,
please, what are you doing?!" Balki says in shock, then reaches down and
picks up the board with the bibbibabkas and moves them away, sighing,
"Arguing in front of the bibbibabkas! They can’t hear ugly sounds like
arguing and fighting, they’ve got to hear beautiful sounds. Sounds of love and
gentleness and kindness."
"Love, right . . . okay, look!"
Larry continues, still in business mode, "We are falling behind! We have
got to work harder to get these babies out!" "Larry, why don’t you
put your clipboard down and get your hands white?" Jennifer asks sharply.
"Hey . . . hey hey hey hey hey hey," Larry says defensively, "somebody’s
got to supervise." "Look," Jennifer continues, "I’m
irritable, tired and I just want to go to sleep." "Listen, girls, why
don’t you take a little break?" Balki suggests. "They can’t take a
break!" Larry insists, "We just broke for dinner eight hours
ago." "Okay, then we won’t take a break," Jennifer says,
"I quit!" She storms out of the apartment. "And that goes double
for me!" Mary Anne adds, turning to head for the door but stopping to say
goodnight to Balki sweetly. Larry chases the girls to the door. "We only
have a thousand more to go!" Larry cries, "We need you!" When the
door slams he turns to Balki and says, "Who needs them?"
"We do, Cousin," Balki sighs,
"We’re up to our buttocks in unbaked bibbibabkas. If they don’t help us
we never finish in time." 
"Never?" Larry asks, "Did I hear
Balki Bartokomous say never?" "Well, listen Cousin," Balki begin,
"There is no way I can bake one thousand bibbibabkas by myself. It’s as
simple as that! You can’t squeeze water out of a sponge!" Larry puts his
clipboard own, saying, "Well, then I’ll help you!" "You
will?" "Balki, there are times when management has to loosen its tie
and join hands with the workers." Balki looks around him in confusion then
says, "Well, on behalf of all of us, I bid you welcome." Larry takes the board with the unassembled
bibbibakas over to his side of the table as they begin. Balki signs the
bibbibabka ditty very slowly, as Larry rushes through the first two steps.
When
it comes time for Balki to pipe in the filling, Larry takes over the third line
of the song, singly it very quickly in an effort to get Balki to speed up, but
Balki still takes his sweet time. Finally Balki sings the last line of the song
slowly as Larry quickly puts the bibbibabka together and puts it on the baking
pan. "Cousin, see? One down and only 999 to go!" Balki smiles.
"Hold hold hold," Larry motions before Balki can begin again, "Balki,
the song is really slowing us down. We’re going to have to lose the bibbibabka
ditty." "We can’t bump the bibbibabka
ditty!" Balki protests, "It’s part and parcel of the point by point
process of baking bibbibabkas!" "I understand that it’s part and
parcel of the point by point process of baking bibbibabkas, Balki, buddy, but .
. . we gotta cut some corners. We’re talking mass production here!"
"Don’t bring religion into this!" Balki complains, "You can’t
bake bibbibabkas without belting the bibbibabka ditty . . . if you drop the damn
ditty you’re doomed!" "Okay, okay . . . fine!" Larry agrees,
"We’ll keep the bibbibabka ditty. But we’ve gotta pick up the pace,
Balki, and really bop with the bibbibabka ditty, buddy." "All
right," Balki agrees, "I can bop with the beat a bit more briskly,
booby!" They begin again, this time working much
more quickly as Balki sings and gyrates faster and faster. 
Each time they start
again Larry gives them a faster downbeat and the production line gets faster and
faster until it’s going at a ridiculously fast rate, Balki swinging himself
all over and hardly able to keep up. Larry is totally into the swing and ends up
grabbing Balki and dancing with him as Balki cries out for it to stop. Larry
finally stops and Balki cries, "You’re a man repossessed!" "And
loving it!" Larry cries, dancing again, "Balki, rhumba tempo! We’ve
got to get these bibbibabkas baked!" "Cousin, it’s too fast!"
Balki protests, "And besides, shouldn’t I be leading?"
"Balki, do you want to make Mypos
famous or not?" Larry asks. "Oh, give me a line of credit!" Balki
scoffs, "You don’t care about making Mypos famous!" "But you’re
right, I don’t," Larry admits, "Now are you going to help me or
not?" "Ha ha ha!" Balki laughs, "I’m not! I quit!"
"Okay, fine, quit, I’ll make all the bibbibabkas myself," Larry
states. 
"HA!" Balki laughs. "I beg your pardon?" Larry asks.
"HA!" Balki repeats. "I beg your pardon?" Larry asks again.
"What did I just say?" Balki asks. "HA!" Larry mimics Balki.
"You got that right!" Balki agrees, "I’m the only one that
knows how to make bibbibabkas with the special cream filling!" "Oh,
what’s the big deal?" Larry scoffs, "Pinch of this, bit of that,
dollop of whatever." "Oh, is that so?" Balki asks, "Well,
let me tell you this . . . if you don’t make it the . . . . " "I
tell you what, Balki . . . if you can’t take the heat, get out of my
kitchen!" Larry demands. "All right," Balki says cooly,
"Fine . . . you’ve made your cake, now lie in it!" Balki goes to his
bedroom and Larry continues on the assembly line, only humming a quick rhumba
rhythm and not using the bibbibabka ditty at all.
The next morning Balki comes out of the
bedroom, buttoning up a black shirt. He pauses to look in the living room where
there 
are racks and boxes of finished bibbibabkas all around. Balki enters the
living room and Larry enters from the kitchen, covered with flour and carrying a
box which he sets down triumphantly. "Two thousand bibbibabkas,
buddy," Larry says, brushing flour from his hands as Balki backs away from
him, not wanting to get any flour on his black shirt. "You know,"
Larry continues, "I think there’s a valuable lesson to be learned
here." "You know, I think I’m gonna hear it," Balki realizes.
"Balki, Balki, Balki," Larry
says, stepping closer again with Balki backing away, "We all want to
maintain the quality of our product but, you see, to make it in business today
you’ve got to be willing to sacrifice, persevere, and yes, compromise a
little." Balki manages to avoid Larry’s hand until the last line when
Larry finally pats Balki on the shoulder.
As they are standing, there is a loud
popping noise and the lids of one of the boxes suddenly pops up. Larry, who was
not looking in the direction of the box, asks, "What was that?" "I think that was one of your compromises," Balki answers.
There is
another loud pop and another box lid bounces up. "It’s coming from the
boxes," Larry realizes. Larry walks to another box and is about to
open it when Balki puts his hand on the lid. "Don’t open this box,"
Balki warns. "What are you talking about?" Larry asks. "I’m
talking about this box and the act of your not opening it," Balki explains.
"Balki, take your hand off this box!" Larry insists. "All right .
. . if that’s what you really want," Balki agrees. "That’s what I
really want, okay?" Larry assures him. Balki takes his hand off the box and
Larry goes to open it as Balki leans as far from Larry as he possibly can
without moving. Larry opens the box lid and looks down, only to hear another
loud POP and have a bunch of cream filling fly 
up and hit him in the face.
"The bibbibabka exploded," Larry
notes, "in my face." Balki studies Larry’s face carefully, then
deduces, "Well, yes it did! And do you know why? Because if you don’t
make bibbibabkas the traditional Myposian way the bibbi in the babka goes
boom." "The bibbi in the babka goes boom?" Larry asks.
"Basically," Balki confirms. The bibbibabkas begin to explode around
them, more and more of them going off until pastry and cream filling is flying
everywhere. Balki and Larry stand perfectly still as this chaos is going on
around them, capping off with a giant explosion right behind them.
Later that morning they are cleaning up
the mess of flour, sugar and burnt bibbibabkas. "The chef at the hotel was
pretty upset," Larry says, "You know, French is a colorful language.
I
don’t speak a word of it and yet I understood everything he said." Larry
stops working to sulk. "Balki, I had it all planned . . . . "
"I
know, Cousin," Balki sympathizes. " . . . . I 
had a schedule . . . .
" "Oh, I know, Cousin." " . . . . I had a customer all lined
up . . . . " "I, I know, Cousin." " . . . . I thought this
was how you started a business." Larry pauses a moment and Balki ventures,
"Could I talk now?" "Where did I go wrong?" Larry asks.
"I guess not," Balki sighs. "I’m sorry," Larry offers,
"What were you going to say?" "There are some things that just can’t
be rushed," Balki explains, "Like antiques, redwoods . . . a really
good episode of ‘Moonlighting’ . . . . . any episode of ‘Moonlighting.’"
"I guess you’re right," Larry admits, then adds worriedly, "You
think Jennifer and Mary Anne will still like me?" "Oh, Cousin, of
course they will!" Balki assures him, "Maybe after they rest for a
week and if you send them some flowers they might even speak to you again."
"I could send them a few complimentary bibbibabkas," Larry says,
motioning to a nearby pan, "There are a few that didn’t explode."
As
they watch, one of the bibbibabkas swells and swells, finally exploding. "Flowers," Balki suggests and Larry nods in agreement.
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