This show was special in that they didn't stay consistant as to who the smart one and silly one was.
Some episodes Larry was the sensible one while Balki acted eccentrically.
Other episodes when Larry got carried away in his 'Get-Rich-I-have-a-plan' schemes, Balki would attempt to reign him in.
As it is, Larry was the Wise to the world, but Balki was wise in spirit.
I always saw it like Laurel & Hardy, where the Straight Man (Larry) was always the one who was generally on the receiving end of the physical humour.
I liked that Balki was never shown as being stupid, only unaware of most American customs. He generally showed far more common sense than Larry did. For example, in the episode "Pipe Dreams" where Larry insists he can change the showerhead in Jennifer's bathroom, Balki is the voice of reason who begs him to call a plumber. (FYI, that episode was considered by cast and crew to be one of the funniest of the entire show) When the inevitable flood occurs, Balki is proven correct.
For example, in the episode "Pipe Dreams" where Larry insists he can change the showerhead in Jennifer's bathroom, Balki is the voice of reason who begs him to call a plumber
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I remember that episode. It was very funny
Thanks for the info about the cast and crew saying it's the best episode.
Without that interesting fact, if i were to reminisce about PF, I would think that that episode is the one which stands out.
The part where larry explains the difficulty of removing the pipe and balki turning it in the opposite direction is just classic as well as the hammer skit.
I noticed this about the show, that's definitely interesting.
shareEarly in the series when Balki was real new to America it seemed to me that it always ended with Larry being the wise one and Balki learning something, but then later it seemed like the episodes were about Larry having a crazy idea and Balki ending up with I told you so moments.
shareIt's great when a comedy can do that - turn the straight guy into the comedic one and the comedic one into the straigt one, making it totally realistic, not jumping the shark. It's why the show ran as long as it did while still being as popular as it was.
As it is, Larry was the Wise to the world, but Balki was wise in spirit.