Perfect
Strangers Episode Guide
Season
Three Credits
(1987 - 1988)
Broadcast
Information:
22 episodes
aired from September 23, 1987 through May 6, 1988 on ABC
Started on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. then moved to Fridays at 8:00 p.m. on March
4, 1988
Opening Credits:
Bronson Pinchot
Mark Linn-Baker
Rebeca Arthur (starting with the episode Taking Stock)
Melanie Wilson (starting with the episode Taking Stock)
Belita Moreno (starting with the episode Couch Potato)
Producer:
Paula A. Roth
Supervising Producers:
William Bickley & Michael Warren
End Credits:
Executive Producers:
Thomas L. Miller, Robert L. Boyett
Coordinating
Producer:
Harriette Ames-Regan
Associate Producer: Alan Plotkin
Executive Consultant: Dale McRaven (starting with the episode Couch Potato)
Executive Script Consultant: Bob Keyes
Executive Story Editor: John B. Collins; Robert Blair
Story Editors:
Robert Griffard & Howard Adler
Unit Production
Manager:
Harriette Ames-Regan
First Assistant Director:
Miles Kristman
Second Assistant
Director:
Connie
Garcia-Singer
Director of
Photography: Sherman
Kunkel, A.S.C.
Art Director:
Lynn Griffin
Edited by:
Kelly Sandefur; John Neal (The Pen Pal; Bye, Bye Biki)
Executive in Charge of
Casting: Barbara
Miller
Casting by: Melinda Gartzman, C.S.A., Jamie Tarses; Cami Patton,
C.S.A.
Music by: Jesse Frederick & Bennett Salvay; Steve Chesne (Just Desserts; Bye, Bye
Biki)
Theme Song
"Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now" by:
Jesse Frederick & Bennett Salvay
Theme Song Performed
by: David Pomeranz
Set Director: Jeannie
Laughlin; Thomas Cost; Mary Ann Good
Men’s Wardrobe:
Bob Squire
Women’s Wardrobe:
Gina Trikonis
Special Assistant: Marilyn Bagley
Make-Up: Bob Osterman;
Robert Ryan
Hair Stylist: Irene De'Atley; Gail Rowell
Property Master: Dominic Belmonte
Technical Coordinator: Erik Emi
Sound Mixer: Jim
Ford
Music Director:
Richard Berres
Post Production
Services by: Laser
Edit, Inc.; Telecine Tech
Color by: Metrocolor Lab®
Re-Recording Mixers: David
E. Fluhr, Rick Himot
Sound Editor: Miguel Rivera,
Deni King, Leslie
Baerwitz
Music Editor: Lori Higgins (starting with The Horn Blows at Midnight)
Re-Recorded by: Compact
Video (later listed as Compact Sound Services)
This motion picture is
protected under the laws of the United States and other countries, and its
unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition may result in civil
liability and criminal prosecution.
The events, characters and films depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to
actual persons, living or dead, or to actual entities is purely coincidental.
Executive In Charge
of Production: R. Robert Rosenbaum
MILLER * BOYETT
Productions in association with Lorimar Telepictures
SEASON THREE THEME
SONG:
Season Three brought a
whole new theme song, the one most fans are still familiar with today and the
one which would be used at the start of the show throughout the rest of its run
(unlike other Miller / Boyett programs which starred children and rather needed
to be updated occasionally, there was no real need to update the Perfect
Strangers theme song visuals so no new theme was ever done after
this). The music is the same and still sung by David Pomeranz but with
more orchestration added than on the previous versions.
The theme
starts showing Balki and Larry on the tour boat Ecstasy traveling on the Chicago
River and passing under the Irv Kupcinet Bridge. The show's logo comes up,
more prominent than ever before. The logo has light run across it, making
it shine (this glowing effect would only ever be used in the third season).
There is a
very short montage of scenes from the earlier openings which show Balki coming
to America and Larry traveling from Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago. As
Larry passes under the Welcome to Chicago sign there is an upward pan transition
and we begin the new on-location footage (note that some weeks this flashback
portion was cut from the opening).
In the first
shot we see Balki and Larry jogging in Lincoln Park. Next, Balki stops to
pet the head of a horse which draws a carriage before stepping forward into the
full frame where Bronson's screen credit comes up. Note Balki is either
going to or from school, as he has his books in a bookstrap over his shoulder!
Larry stops
to buy a copy of the Chicago Chronicle from a newsstand and searches it to find
an article written by himself. Over the show of Larry's proud expression
we see Mark's screen credit. We then see Balki and Larry struggling to
walk down the street against the famous Chicago wind!
Balki and Larry are then
seen heading to a baseball game at Wrigley Field. Balki is wearing a
Chicago Cubs bear cap, t-shirt and is carrying a souvenir miniature baseball
bat. The stop across the street from the stadium as Larry shows Balki the
tickets to the game. Balki tries to grab them from Larry but Larry holds
them tightly and they turn to cross the street to the stadium. After that
we see them entering a revolving door. Balki makes the complete rotation,
enjoying the fun of the door. Larry appears again, looking for Balki with
a frustrated expression in his face.
There is an
establishing shot of the Chicago El (elevated train) as the producers' credits
are shown. Finally Balki and Larry are seen coming out of the underground
train station, dressed in tuxedos (Balki is wearing his Myposian tuxedo) and
they head across the street to the Chicago Theater where, appropriately, a
production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple is playing.
Watch
the Season Three Theme Song on YouTube
SERIES CHANGES:
Season
three brought significant changes to the series. In the first episode,
Larry has already left his job at the Ritz Discount and has landed a job at the
Chicago Chronicle working as an assistant to the editor, Mr. Burns. Balki
is still at the Ritz but comes down to the paper to look through the classifieds
for a new job, ending up with a job in the mailroom of the paper working right
next to Larry in the basement.
But
as the first episode of the season begins, the cousins are already in a new
two-bedroom apartment. While the exterior shots of the building are
clearly different from those used in the first and second season (see Filming
Locations for more information on these specific buildings) the press
information below reveals that it was to be accepted that Balki and Larry simply
moved to a larger apartment in the same building (which would explain why
Jennifer, Mary Anne and Mrs. Schlegelmilch also still lived there, but doesn't
do much to explain how the girls still live above the guys and what happened to
the Twinkacetti's . . . or even what happened to the Ritz Discount Store!)
With
the change of workplaces, new characters were introduced. Harriette
Winslow, the Chronicle's elevator operator (played by Jo Marie Payton-France)
was a sharp addition intended to bring balance by injecting sarcasm and snappy
retorts to the basement proceedings. Balki's new boss, Mr. Sam Gorpley
(played by Sam Anderson) was a replacement for Twinkacetti and intended as a
foil for the cousins (oddly enough, no mention of Mr. Gorpley is made in the
press release show descriptions until the 1990-91 season!). Mr. Burns,
Larry's boss and editor of the Chronicle (played by Eugene Roche) was given more
consideration in the below press release, even though he would not last past
this season. The Chronicle's neurotic advice-columnist, Lydia Markham,
joined the series in the episode Couch Potato. She would be
mentioned in the following season's press release, and it's interesting to note
that they say she turns to Balki to help her answer her voluminous mail, even
though this never actually happens!
And
one may wonder why in so many articles and interviews people referred to Balki
as a goat-herder instead of a sheep-herder. As you can see from the press
kit excerpt below, this particular misinformation was given to the media and this would not change
throughout the entire series, even though in the show itself Balki is *always*
referred to as a sheep-herder and never a goat-herder (although in the theme
song there are both sheep and goats present when Balki bids his family goodbye).
Press Kit Information
1987
- 88 SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Making it on your own in the competitive
world of journalism is tough. Making it in journalism in the big city is
tougher still. But pursuing this dream with your Mediterranean
goat-herding cousin who’s also your best friend makes it nearly impossible and
promises unusual, if not bizarre, experiences on the third season of
"Perfect Strangers," starring Bronson Pinchot and Mark
Linn-Baker. As Balki Bartokomous and Larry Appleton, respectively, this
oil and water duo are in the best sense, "Perfect Strangers."
In the first season, Balki, a professional
goat herder on the small Mediterranean island of Mypos, decided that the only
answer to seeking a better way of life would be to emigrate to the United States
and pursue his peculiar version of the American dream. So off he went,
devoid of inhibitions, full of idealism, fresh naivete and an enthusiasm for
everything. Everything.
At about the same time, Balki’s
midwestern cousin Larry Appleton had also broken away from his parents’
comfortable nest and was peacefully asserting his independence in the big city
of Chicago while attempting to became a famous photojournalist. But when
his heretofore unknown cousin arrived at his newly acquired doorstep, Larry’s
calm and steady existence was suddenly and drastically altered.
Reluctantly, Larry agreed to take him in and, ultimately, teach him the ropes of
"making it in America."
Opening the new season, the cousins have
recently moved into a larger two bedroom apartment (where Balki now has his own
room) in their old building and are still maintaining their friendship / romance
with another odd pairing, stewardesses Jennifer and Mary Anne (Melanie Wilson
and Rebeca Arthur, respectively). Having left his job at the Ritz Discount
Store, Larry finally hits paydirt by landing a job as assistant to the editor at
one of the (sic) Chicago’s largest daily newspapers, the Chicago
Chronicle. Forced to put his dream of photojournalism on hold, he is now
obligated to remember all the skills and fundamentals he conveniently forgot at
journalism school.
Afraid of becoming stagnant himself, Balki,
with a little help from Larry, secures a job in the mailroom at the Chronicle in
his pursuit of bettering himself in the work place. Although the
mimeograph machine may never be the same, Balki has the reassurance of working
in the same room as Larry, which is unfortunately located on the bottom floor of
the building, far from the action and a breath away from the parking garage.
Also joining the cast this season will be
an acerbic elevator operator, Harriet (sic) Winslow (Jo Marie Payton-France),
whose sharp-tongued observations not only keep those on the upper floor in line,
but serve to remind those on the basement level of their insignificance, and
Harry Burns (Eugene Roche), Larry’s demanding and blustery boss.
Despite Larry’s attempts to
"Americanize" Balki, to instruct him in the idiosyncracies of
Americans, Balki still retains a fresh innocence and spontaneity that provides
the practical and rigid Larry a whole new perspective on life.
"Perfect Strangers," a Miller
Boyett Production in association with Lorimar Television airs Wednesdays (8:30 -
9:00 PM, PT) on the ABC Television Network. Thomas L. Miller and Robert L.
Boyett serve as executive producers; William Bickley and Michael Warren are
supervising producers; and Paula Roth and Jim O’Keefe serve as producers.
August, 1987
CAST AND
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
The following are cast and production
credits for "Perfect Strangers," the comedy series on the ABC
Television Network.
On Air: Wednesday, 8:30 - 9:00 PM, PT
Origination: Filmed at Lorimar Studios, Culver City, CA
Format: Half-hour comedy
Starring: BRONSON PINCHOT; MARK LINN-BAKER
Produced by: Miller Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar
Executive Producers: Thomas L. Miller; Robert L. Boyett
Supervising Producers: William Bickley; Michael Warren
Producers: Paula Roth; James O’Keefe
Coordinating Producer: Harriet Ames-Regan
Director: Joel Zwick
Director of Photography: Sherman Kunkel
Editor: Kelly Sandefur
Press Representative: David Stapf
THOMAS L. MILLER
& ROBERT L. BOYETT
(Executive Producers)
"Perfect Strangers" is one of
the three network prime-time comedy series on the success list of the production
team of Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett. They’re also at the helm
of the successful comedy "Valerie" and are the executive producers of
the new situation comedy "Full House" in this, their third year at
Lorimar Television.
Previously, Miller and Boyett were
partnered with Edward Milkus (sic) at Paramount Studios where they produced such
top-rated series as "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley"
and "Mork and Mindy."
Miller, who formerly served as a
development executive at both Paramount and Twentieth Century-Fox, co-produced
the popular feature films "Silver Streak" in 1976 and "Foul
Play" in 1978 under the Miller / Milkus (sic) banner. Boyett was
formerly Senior Vice President of Television at Paramount and prior to that
served as a development executive at ABC-TV.
Under the Miller Boyett Productions
banner, the pair created and developed the critically acclaimed television
series "Bosom Buddies," as well as "Angie," "Joanie
Loves Chachi" and "Out of the Blue." They also produced the
feature film "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" in 1982.
August, 1987
MICHAEL WARREN
and WILLIAM BICKLEY
(Supervising Producers)
Michael Warren and William Bickley began
their association in 1973 when Warren became associate producer on the musical /
comedy series "The Partridge Family," which was being co-produced by
Bickley. In 1975, the pair began writing as a team and soon had written
scripts for such comedy series as "Happy Days," "Laverne &
Shirley" and "Welcome Back Kotter."
They have produced "What’s
Happening," "Please Stand By" and the ninth season of "The
Love Boat." They also have served as executive story consultants on
"Happy Days," "Joanie Loves Chachi" and "The Good Time
Girls." This season marks their third season on "Perfect
Strangers" as supervising producers.
