March 25, 1986: "Perfect Strangers" Premieres

Mark Linn-Baker (left) and Bronson Pinchot,

in American and (fictional) Myposian formal attire, respectively.

March 25, 1986: Perfect Strangers premieres on ABC. Bronson Pinchot stars as Balki Bartokomous, from the fictional Mediterranean, Greek-influenced but apparently hopelessly underdeveloped island nation of Mypos.

Mark Linn-Baker plays Larry Appleton -- always "Cousin Larry" to Balki, even when he's talking about him to somebody else -- the Chicago-based relative who takes him in, and does his best to teach him how to be an American, while the immigrant teaches him how to be a better person.

David Pomeranz sang the theme song, which was written by Jesse Frederick and Bennett Salvay. They went on to write, and Frederick to sing, the themes to the ABC sitcoms Full House and Family Matters, the latter of which was a spinoff of Perfect Strangers.

The show indulges in all the immigrant-in-America tropes, from the occasional native dress to the frequent mishandling of U.S. slang. With Balki, the expression "Get out of town!" becomes "Get out of the city!" Telling a woman who appears to be psychic that she has not ESP, but PMS. And so forth. (This was more recently done on NCIS, with Cote de Pablo and her "Zivaisms.")

After working in a convenience store in the 1st 2 seasons, Larry and Balki got jobs at a fictional newspaper, the Chicago Chronicle. They end up dating, and marrying, flight attendants: Larry to Jennifer Lyons (played by Melanie Wilson, daughter of Dick Wilson, known for playing Mr. Whipple in Charmin commercials), and Balki to Rebeca Arthur (Mary Anne Spencer). The show lasted 7 seasons, and each couple's baby was born during the series finale, airing on August 6, 1993.

Did I like this show? To use Balki's catchphrase, "Well, of course I did, don't be ridiculous!" Even now, when something good happens, I'll post the video of Balki and Larry doing the Myposian "Dance of Joy!"

Pinchot never found a follow-up sitcom that worked, and turned to doing voiceovers for audiobooks -- in his real voice, not in Balki's fake Myposian accent. Baker moved into directing.

And they remain friends to this day.

*

March 25, 1986 was a Tuesday. Basketball star Kyle Lowry was born.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks, as they would so often do over the next dozen years, lost to the Chicago Bulls, 111-98 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-115 at the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center Arena. a.k.a. The MECCA. (It's now the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.) Albert King scored 34 points in defeat.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 97-91 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio. Dominique Wilkins, "The Human Highlight Film," scored 36 points for the Hawks.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets, 121-115 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Detroit Pistons 125-121 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 116-99 at the original ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

And there were 4 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils, 5-4 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The New York Islanders lost to the St. Louis blues, 2-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins, 6-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 7-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.