Only now does it occur to me... PERFECT STRANGERS, "BLACK WIDOW" (6x10) (1990)

Only now does it occur to me... that PERFECT STRANGERS made a TWIN PEAKS joke at a very intriguing time. In this particular episode, Larry (Mark Linn-Baker) has become convinced that his cousin Balki's (Bronson Pinchot) girlfriend Mary Ann is a "black widow killer" and has murdered her roommate, Jenifer. When Larry is proven wrong on this count (and not for the last time), Balki says,

"Now that you've solved the Jennifer 'murder,' maybe you can figure out who killed Laura Palmer?" 

 

This is an obvious reference to the iconic central mystery of TWIN PEAKS' first season: Who killed Laura Palmer? (Incidentally, ABC aired both TWIN PEAKS and PERFECT STRANGERS.) However, what makes this joke especially interesting––as it's the only TWIN PEAKS reference on PERFECT STRANGERS, so far as I can ascertain––is the timing. This episode was shot on September 26, 1990 (four days before the premiere of TWIN PEAKS' second season), suggesting that it was perhaps an intra-ABC cross-promotional idea. TWIN PEAKS went on to reveal Laura Palmer's killer in a David Lynch-directed episode (2x7), which aired on November 10. Then, this PERFECT STRANGERS episode ultimately aired on November 30 to viewers who, by then, would already have known who had killed Laura Palmer. The very next day, December 1, saw the airing of the TWIN PEAKS episode (2x9) which tied up the arc of Laura's killer and answered some lingering questions (some!) about the nature of the murder. Is all of this useless information? I mean, probably. But that's sorta this site's bread and butter, amirite?

Only now does it occur to me... PERFECT STRANGERS, "COUCH POTATO" (3x10) (1987)

Only now does it occur to me... that nestled within a "very special episode" of PERFECT STRANGERS (devoted to Balki's slow, spiraling descent into severe TV addiction) is a deep cut homage to Arnold Schwarzenegger's 80s actioners.

After days of erratic behavior, Larry (Mark Linn-Baker) tries to force his cousin Balki (Bronson Pinchot) to put the remote down and go to bed, but Balki explains the importance of his cable viewing:

Larry: "You keep changing the channel."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balki: "But cousin, it's easy: on this channel, Arnold Schwarzenegger is blowing up drug dealers."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balki: "And on this channel, Arnold Schwarzenegger is blowing up soldiers. Oh, there goes one now!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balki: "And on this channel, Arnold Schwarzenegger is blowing up drug-dealing soldiers."

 

 

 

Balki: "I just love cable. There's so much variety!"

 

Couched inside this joke––which is premised on all Schwarzenegger flicks being the same––and given that this is December 1987, I believe I can actually determine what films Balki is watching: the film where Arnold is blowing up drug dealers must be RAW DEAL (1986), the film where Arnold is blowing up soldiers must be the first act of PREDATOR (1987), and the film where Arnold is blowing up drug-dealing soldiers, must be the Val Verde-set third act of COMMANDO (1985). Obviously Arnold's mid-80s output is a complex tapestry of artistic forms. Take that, cousin Larry!