7.8/1074 votes#1 - Good Skates
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 9/22/1989
When Larry finds out that Grant, a co-worker of Jennifer's is impressing Jennifer by raising money for a ""big brothers"" roller skating marathon, he gets jealous of him and lies about his roller skating ability to win Jennifer.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.2/1065 votes#2 - Lie-Ability
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/1989
After a minor car accident, Mr. Gorpley suggests Larry should sue. So Larry has plans to defraud an insurance company to gain money to help his sister Elaine with her tuition. But Balki objects as usual.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.3/1062 votes#3 - The Newsletter
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/1989
When Balki is put in charge of the Chronicle Newsletter, Larry horns in and suggests he dig deep into the information. But he ends up reporting Lydia getting cosmetic surgery, Mr. Gorpley dating the wife of a sports editor, and quotes an insult Larry made to Mr. Wainwright.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.9/10115 votes#4 - Tooth or Consequences
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/13/1989
Balki gets a cavity and Larry makes him a dental appointment for him and Balki is excited to go when Larry tells him about all the neat stuff but he's too scared to go when Mr. Gorpley tells him about the drill.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.0/1065 votes#5 - Dog Day Mid-Afternoon
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/20/1989
Larry writes an expose of a money laundering scheme that gets him his first front page story but he's upset when he realizes that Marshall & Walpole too all the credit for his article. Also, Marvin Berman, the money laundering scheme's accountant, is also upset because his boss took all the credit for the scheme that was really his idea. So he shows up at the Chronicle with a bomb and demands a printed retraction.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.5/1065 votes#6 - Poetry in Motion
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/1989
Larry and Balki discover that Lowell Kelly, a famous poet used to live in their apartment and his unpublished poem is hidden there. So they search for it but Balki doesn't know that Larry plans to sell it after he discovered that it would be worth about $100,000.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1066 votes#7 - Father Knows Best (1)
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 11/10/1989
Larry's perfectionist father comes for a visit and Larry wants to impress him so he can finally get a ""well done son"" from his father. But instead, they end up trapped in the basement that is flooding after Larry broke the water pipe.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.5/1064 votes#8 - Father Knows Best (2)
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 11/17/1989
Larry and Balki, Jennifer and Mary Anne, Lydia and Mr. Gorpley, and of course Larry's father are all trapped in the flooding basement. Larry attempts to solve the problem without much luck. So thinking they're all going to die, Larry must tell his father how he feels. Luck changes when Larry finds his chemistry set.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.4/1071 votes#9 - Hello Ball
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 11/24/1989
When Jennifer's father comes to town, Larry tries to impress him. So they decide to go golfing. Larry is an excellent golfer but Mr. Lyons is a bad golfer and a bad loser o Larry decides to let him win and lets Balki play thinking that he can't golf, but can he?
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: Barry O'Brien
7.2/1065 votes#10 - Almost Live from Chicago
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 12/1/1989
Lydia has been offered the opportunity of having her on TV advice show but she has one problem, she's afraid of cameras. But Larry tries to force her to do the show because of a mistake he made in high school when he turned down an opportunity.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: Barry O'Brien
7.5/1062 votes#11 - Home Movies
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 12/8/1989
Balki wants to send a home movie to his mama for the reunion he is going to miss. But Larry takes over the video and goes overboard with his movie-making skills.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.8/1076 votes#12 - Everybody in the Pool
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 12/15/1989
Balki plays the football pool for the first time at the Chronicle and wins. He also ends up winning the next five weeks which makes everyone mad at him except Larry who decides to copy his picks to bet $10,000 with a bookie unaware that Balki picked all the losers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1068 votes#13 - Because They're Cousins
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/5/1990
Balki's cousin Bartok come to visit from Mypos via Los Angeles for the last six months. Bartok looks just like Balki except after being in LA, he lost his accent and got a cool attitude, and he has a money-making scheme and tries to take Balki's money.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.5/1062 votes#14 - Disorderly Orderlies
Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 1/12/1990
Balki tries to get Larry to do volunteer work at the hospital but he refused until he discovered that a famous football player is a patient there hoping that he can get an interview to advance his career.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
8.0/1061 votes#15 - The Selling of Mypos
Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 1/26/1990
When a big corporation in Chicago wants to buy 300 acres of land on Mypos, Balki was chosen to negotiate the sale, and he picked Larry to guide him through. When they are offered 10% of the total sale of 28 million dollars, Larry insists they accept is but Balki has a funny feeling about it.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.6/1086 votes#16 - Nightmare Vacation
Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 2/2/1990
Larry found the perfect vacation and Balki, Jennifer and Mary Anne decide to give him one more chance with planning vacations. They go to a tropical resort, Club Paradise with broken walls in the hotel room and it is disrupted with a hurricane and Larry can't admit that he's made another mistake.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: Barry O'Brien
7.5/1059 votes#17 - Three's a Crowd
Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 2/9/1990
While playing a board game, an argument breaks out between Jennifer and Mary Anne. The result being Mary Anne moving out and in with Larry and Balki at Balki's insistence. Larry doesn't like the idea because is jeopardizes his relationship with Jennifer. So Larry and Balki devise a plan to get Jennifer and Mary Anne back together.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1063 votes#18 - Blast From the Past
Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 2/16/1990
It's a very psychotic evening when Marvin Berman, who tried to blow up Larry and Balki, visits them for dinner to apologize. But in the process, they mistakenly think that the mob is after them and they are surrounded by killers.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.2/1061 votes#19 - He's the Boss
Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 2/23/1990
When Mr. Wainwright hires a personal assistant Mr. Glover, Balki gets promoted to the executive staff, but is unaware that it is a scheme that Mr. Glover has to try and implement the American Dream Program. And Larry may lose his job if he doesn't go along with it.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.2/1058 votes#20 - Here Comes the Judge
Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 3/9/1990
When Balki is elected the head of the grievance committee, Lydia is accused of parking violations and she tries to influence his judgment by buying him ""bunny slippers"" but Larry tells Balki that he must be tough which comes back on Larry when he's accused of stealing office supplies.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.3/1062 votes#21 - This Old House
Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 3/30/1990
Larry has a plan to make a fortune and talks Balki into buying a house for no money down, fixing it up and then selling it for a profit. He ends up making a deal for $150,000 but when he realizes he can make more money by putting in a chandelier and fancy doors, he gets greedy.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.1/1059 votes#22 - Eyewitless Reports
Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 4/11/1990
A Chronicle Tour sends Mr. Gorpley, Larry and Balki & Jennifer and Mary Anne to a cabin in the forest where they encounter a 'Mad Dog' killer who escaped from prison. The killer is later apprehended but they all tell different stories about the capture which confuses the state trooper.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: N/A
7.3/1060 votes#23 - Bye, Bye Birdie
Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 4/13/1990
Balki grows very fond of his new pet parrot that drives Larry crazy. Meanwhile, their chimney is clogged and when Larry tried to light a fire, he had to open the window to let the smoke out, the parrot flies out and Balki is heartbroken.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1062 votes#24 - Digging Up the News
Season 5 Episode 24 - Aired 4/27/1990
Larry is assigned to interview Uncle Shaggy, a kid's show host and when he gets Balki to take a picture of him without his costume, the get Uncle Shaggy fired after someone discovered that he has a criminal record for something he did along time ago. But Larry swears he will make it up to him.
Director: Joel Zwick
Writer: Barry O'Brien
The Best Episodes of Perfect Strangers Season 5
Every episode of Perfect Strangers Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Perfect Strangers Season 5!
The chronicles of the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean Europe, Balki Bartokomous.
Genre:Comedy
Network:ABC
Season 5 Ratings Summary
"Good Skates" is the best rated episode of "Perfect Strangers" season 5. It scored 7.8/10 based on 74 votes. Directed by Joel Zwick and written by N/A, it aired on 9/22/1989. This episode is rated 0.6 points higher than the second-best, "Lie-Ability".