A Greek conquers Chicago
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | A Greek conquers Chicago |
| Original title | Perfect Strangers |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 1986-1993 |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Episodes | 150 in 8 seasons |
| genre | Sitcom |
| production | James O'Keefe |
| music |
Jesse Frederick Bennett Salvay Steven Chesne Gary Boren |
| First broadcast | March 25, 1986 (USA) on ABC |
| German-language first broadcast |
June 28, 1990 on ProSieben |
| occupation | |
| |
A Greek conquers Chicago (original title: Perfect Strangers ) is an American comedy series . On March 25, 1986, the first of 150 episodes was first broadcast in the United States. It was developed by screenwriter Dale McRaven . Eight seasons were created between 1986 and 1993.
Differences to the US version
In the American original, Balki ( Bronson Pinchot ) comes from the Mediterranean island of Mypos, which does not exist in reality. Although Mypos is a Greek word, the name Balki Bartokomous sounds Greek, and the protagonist has a heavy Greek accent , explicitly naming the Greek is avoided.
The German translators decided (also in Bulgaria, but not in any other broadcasting country) to name the main character's Greek origin. The reason may be that Balki speaks accent-free High German in the German version , and his linguistic inadequacies are mainly illustrated by word mix-ups.
action
In the first episode, Balki, a country man and shepherd who has left his home village to come to America, reaches his cousin Larry ( Mark Linn-Baker ) in Chicago after a long journey . For the first time he lives alone in an apartment, but the two decide to live together for the time being at the end of the episode. A close friendship develops very quickly between the two. With his naive and honest manner and not least because of his mediocre language skills, Balki often brings his cousin into absurd situations. Sometimes there are almost acrobatic slapstick interludes.
Season 1 (1986)
The first season consists of only six episodes. After Larry and Balki decide to live together, Larry helps him get a job at the discount store in their house, where he also works. Her boss is the nasty Mr. Twinkacetti (played by Ernie Sabella ), whose name Balki doesn't always mispronounce in the original. This season, neighbor Susan is Larry's platonic friend.
Season 2 (1986-1987)
Susan retires at the beginning of the second season. Instead, the two of them start dating Jennifer Lyons (Melanie Wilson) and Mary Anne Spencer (Rebeca Arthur). In the following it turns out that the two are stewardesses who live in the same house as Larry and Balki.
Seasons 3–6 (1987–1991)
At the beginning of the third season, the boys find themselves in a new, larger apartment . From now on, Balki has her own room and no longer has to sleep on the sofa in the living room. Interestingly, this move is not addressed. The two neighbors Jennifer and Mary Anne are also still involved as counterparts of the two. Larry gets a job with the fictional Chicago Chronicle and manages to get Balki a job in the postal department.
Balki's direct superior Sam Gorpley ( Sam Anderson ) does not get along with him and is constantly planning opportunities to fire him. Lydia Markham, a Chronicles advisory columnist , is played by Belita Moreno , who played Edwina Twinkacetti in the first two seasons. Larry joins the investigative reporter duo "Marshall & Walpole" in season four, but continues to support them from the editorial team . Larry's relationship with Jennifer also keeps rolling, in the sixth season the two consider their wedding .
Harriette Winslow ( Jo Marie Payton-France , later Payton-Noble) works as an elevator operator in the Chicago Chronicle . Her husband Carl Winslow ( Reginald VelJohnson ) is introduced in a season four episode. Finally the two move into Larry and Balki's house. After two seasons, in 1989, Harriette Winslow got her own spin-off series: Family Matters ( All Under One Roof ). She no longer appeared in A Greek Conquers Chicago , but it was found in an early episode of All Under One Roof that she was fired as an elevator operator, only to be reinstated as head of security for the Chronicles .
Season 7 (1991-1992)
After Larry and Jennifer married, it was clear that the series would take a new direction. When the two bought a large Victorian house, they realized that they couldn't afford it without a roommate . So Balki and Mary Anne move in with them. In the middle of the season, Balki leaves the Chronicle as he is asked to draw his own comic based on his stuffed sheep Dimitri. Gorpley and Lydia appear occasionally within the series but leave at the end of the season. With the now married couple, the series now focuses on the ambiguous relationship between Balki and Mary Anne. In the final episodes of the season, Mary stops watching Balki and moves out of the house. But in the season finale the two reconcile and marry too. At the end of that episode, when the other two are on their way to Mypos on their honeymoon , Jennifer reports to Larry that she is pregnant.
Season 8 (1993)
The eighth season, like the first, consists of only six episodes. These represent the final finale of the series. The first episode takes place a few months after the last season and Jennifer is visibly pregnant. Balki and his newlywed return home from Mypos and reveal that Mary Anne is also pregnant. The Chronicle storylines will expire this season and reports will only be made from the actors' family life. The series ends with consecutive episodes in which Larry, Balki and Jennifer take off in a hot air balloon to induce childbirth after Mary Anne has already become a mother. When both babies are born, the program ends with a montage of memorable scenes from the series, musically accompanied by the song Somewhere In The World by Houko Kuwashima . Finally, the actors are shown bowing one last time to the studio audience.
occupation
| role | actor | German voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Balki Bartokomous | Bronson Pinchot | Frank Schröder |
| Larry Appleton | Mark Linn-Baker | Bernd Vollbrecht |
| Jennifer Lyons (seasons 2-8) | Melanie Wilson | |
| Mary Anne Spencer (seasons 2-8) | Rebeca Arthur | |
| Edwina Twinkacetti (Seasons 1-2)
Lydia Markham (seasons 3-7) |
Belita Moreno | |
| Harriette Winslow (Seasons 3-4) | Jo Marie Payton-France | |
| Carl Winslow (Season 4) | Reginald VelJohnson | |
| Sam Gorpley (seasons 3–7) | Sam Anderson | |
| Mr. Wainwright (Seasons 3-7) | FJ O'Neil | |
| Harry Burns (Season 3) | Eugene Roche | |
| Donald Twinkacetti (Seasons 1-2) | Ernie Sabella | |
| Susan Campbell (Seasons 1-2) | Lise cutter |
All under one roof
The character of Harriette Winslow and that of her husband Carl, who is presented in the fourth season, formed the basis for the spin-off All Under One Roof (original title: Family Matters ). In the first season the series had rather below average ratings, but it became very famous through the character of Steve Urkel ( Jaleel White ), who was promoted to a main character in the second season and moved more and more into the center. Because of the change in action, the fact that All Under One Roof is a spin-off from A Greek Conquers Chicago is virtually unknown these days.
Popularity comparison
In the most wanted comedy shows / television series of all time, All Under One Roof ranks 24th, while A Greek Conquers Chicago only ranks 184th. However, the popularity of the latter has been increasing since mid-March 2016. According to a vote on April 22, 2016, where the top 40 of the last week were selected, A Greek conquered Chicago took 2nd place (1st place went to Alf ), while All Under One Roof took place 7 occupied.
DVDs
On February 5, 2008, Warner Home Video released seasons 1 and 2 in a box as RC1 DVDs in the United States. This has now also appeared as a German box with an additional German soundtrack. There are various petitions for the release of further seasons. The publication stops however due to high license costs for songs that were sung a cappella by the main actors Pinchot and Linn-Baker ; inter alia U Can not Touch This of MC Hammer .
Web links
- Perfect Strangers in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- A Greek conquers Chicago on Fernsehserien.de
- Articles, Reviews and Pictures at sitcomsonline.com