| Review:
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The wait is over - Perfect Strangers finally arrives
on DVD! Starring Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker, the
series follows two distant cousins who couldn't be more
distant. Larry (Linn-Baker) is a photographer by trade,
who has just moved into a new apartment. Rather unexpectedly,
his distant Mediterranean islander cousin Balki comes to
live with him. Balki is new to the world of American culture,
having lived his whole life outside the country, as a shepherd.
Larry agrees to help teach him everything about American
culture he can - but this doesn't stop him from taking things
out of context constantly. ***
The show ran for eight seasons on the ABC network, and
was an instant hit. Other members of the priceless cast
in the first two seasons include Belita Moreno, Melanie
Wilson, Rebeca Arthur, Ernie Sabella, and Lise Cutter. As
the series would progress, cast members would come and go
- but this supporting cast of the first two seasons was
arguably the show's finest. Additionally, the show would
eventually spawn the equally successful spin-off series
Family Matters. ***
The four-disc DVD set brings together all 28 episodes
of the first and second seasons, which aired 1986-1987.
The episode list is as follows: Knock Knock Who's There,
Picture This, First Date, Baby You Can Drive My Car, Check
This, Happy Birthday, Hello Baby, Hunks Like Us, The Unnatural,
Ladies And Germs, Lifesavers, Babes In Babylon, Falling
In Love Is, Two Men And A Cradle, Can I Get A Witness, The
Rent Strike, A Christmas Story, Dog Gone Blues, Since I
Lost My Baby, Trouble In Paradise, Beautiful Dreamer, Tux
For Two, Ten Speed And A Soft Touch, Snow Way To Treat A
Lady (Two-Parter), Up On A Roof, Get A Job, and Hello Elaine.
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Image And Sound:
Sadly the set doesn't get any sort of audio or visual
improvement. This is, more-or-less, just the show slapped
on DVD. The image quality is unrefined, and the audio is
less than stellar. Not a horrible transfer (I've seen other
TV shows that look far worse on the DVD format), but you'll
wish Warner Bros. had taken the time to do some sort of
remastering. ---
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