Larry Appleton has just settled in his new Chicago apartment after leaving home of one of nine kids and took a job at the corner discount store working for his greedy landlord Mr. Twinkacetti until he can eventually become a photo journalist. But one evening, Balki Bartokomous, his distant cousin and a Mediterranean sheep herder from the island of Mypos shows up on his door step looking for a place to stay. So Larry takes him in and tries to get him a job at Twinkacetti's store which may mean risking his own job.

Larry tries to kickstart his career and gets tipped off that Dolly Parton is in town committing adultery. So he decides to follow her until he can get a picture to sell to newspapers. Meanwhile, Balki will do a favor for anyone who will ask for it so Larry teaches him to say "no" once in a while but it backfires on him.

Larry takes Balki to a singles bar to meet women and while Balki gets his first date, Larry gets beat up in a parking lot by a boyfriend of a woman he hit on.

Larry takes Balki to the bank to open a bank account but Balki doesn't seem to understand everything about banking when he overspends with his checks and buys Larry new furniture. Meanwhile, Twinkacetti is going to a poker game and his wife, Edwina doesn't like him gambling. So he asks Larry to tell his wife that they were at a basketball game but Larry refuses to.

Larry is miserable on his 24th birthday after he blew a photo opportunity. So Balki tries to throw him a last minute surprise birthday party for him to cheer him up.

Balki invites Gina, a friend from his citizenship class to stay with them. But she happens to be pregnant and goes into labor in the middle of the night.

Larry decides to join a health club after having the hots for a member named Jennifer. But he thinks she's only interested in jocks and pretends to be one. Balki goes with him and picks up a woman right away who happens to be Jennifer's best friend Mary Anne.

Larry's softball team has a chance of winning the championship but the star player was sent to prison. So He promises to let Balki play until a star ringer shows up.

Larry has a date with a beauty queen but after going to the hospital to visit Mr. Twinkacetti (who has broken his leg), he catches a cold and when Balki tries to cure him with a secret Myposian cure, he ends up sleeping for three days.

After Larry saves Balki from getting hit by a taxi, Balki becomes his personal servant which ends up annoying Larry.

Larry and Balki win a trip to Las Vegas. When they get there, Larry plans out what to do for their entire trip to prevent Balki from going to the casinos and becoming a compulsive gambler. Balki eventually talks him into it and after Balki has a string of good luck playing roulette, Larry starts playing and won't stop.

Balki falls in love with a girl at night school and who makes a play for Larry and constantly breaks dates with him. Balki refuses to believe that she is just using him to get good grades.

Balki agrees to take care of Gina's baby while she goes away with her husband. And since Larry knows more about babies, he is obligated to help Balki. Things go fine until they take him to the park and lose him.

Balki takes a job delivering packages for a racketeer named Vince Lucas. After Vince is busted, they are asked to testify in court but Vince threatens to kill them if they do.

Mr. Twinkacetti hasn't been living up to his landlord responsibilities so Larry, Balki, and all the tenants hold a meeting and declare a rent strike. The tenants still won't quit even after Twinkacetti turns off the electricity, water and heat which is too bad for Twinkie who needs money to pay off a gambling debt.

Larry and Balki are snowed in Chicago on Christmas Eve which means they can't go to Madison to see Larry's family. So Larry is miserable until Balki spreads some Christmas cheer his way.

Balki got a dog and wants to keep it even though it is against the lease. So Larry and Balki do their best to hide it from Twinkacetti.

After Mr. Twinkacetti forgot his wedding anniversary (for the 16th time), Edwina kicks him out. Balki invites him to stay for a while but he makes no efforts to reconcile with Edwina. So Larry and Balki try and get them back together.

Balki hasn't been sleeping due to a nightmare that has been haunting him about him not being able to help out at harvest season back on Mypos.

Larry has been invited to a formal party for a photographer he idolizes but Balki's honest opinions embarrass Larry.

Larry and Balki become 'big brothers' to a troubled teenager who is always stealing. They do fine until Larry accuses him of stealing his bike.

When Larry's sister Elaine stops by for a visit, Larry is appalled when she tells him that she's going to New York to become a pianist instead of college.

Larry gets a job at the Chicago Chronicle local newspaper as a reporter and brings Balki to find a job. Mr. Burns the city editor hires Balki in the mail room but Mr. Gorpley the mail room boss doesn't want him there and tries everything to fire him.

The editor of the Chronicle's Sunday Magazine makes a play for Balki but he isn't interested. She won't take no for an answer and anyone who ever tried to report her lost their jobs.

Balki buys one share of stock in a cereal company and discovers that there isn't enough raisins in a box that they advertise. Knowing that the company is cheating the public, he decides to go to head office to complain and Larry goes with him.

While grocery shopping, Balki wins a shopping spree to happen the next day and he thinks it would be fun. But Lary makes a plan to get certain things to sell for an air conditioner which takes all the fun out of it.

When a famous psychic visits the Chronicle, She goes into a trance and predicts that a bog storm will come and Larry will die at midnight after sitting on a sheep and eating a golden ring. Larry thinks that it is just superstition until a storm comes out of nowhere.

While at a happy hour restaurant, Larry and Balki get beaten up at a bar by a bully who hit on Jennifer. So they decide to take karate and after several weeks of fine training, Larry insists on returning to the bar to pick a fight with the bully.

Balki is cheated by a con artist who sold him counterfeit watches. And after getting no help from the police, Larry and Balki go undercover to expose the con artist and put him out of business.

When Larry and Balki get cable TV, Balki becomes glued to the TV and won't stop watching it to the point where he forgets about his job, sleep, and never goes out anymore. So Larry must make an important decision of getting rid of the cable.

Balki accidently delivers Larry's offensive article to the publisher. So they break in late at night to retrieve it and end up on the ledge dealing with someone trying to commit suicide.

When Larry and Balki are chosen to be in the commercial for the Chicago Chronicle, Larry takes his acting abilities too far and goes overboard.

After Mr. Gorpley gets information out of Balki about what's in the mail, Larry tells him that it's against the rules for him to give away what's in the mail. But in order to buy his dream car, he needs to know about his raise that was processed in the mail.

Vince Lucas the racketeer that Larry and Balki testified against has been paroled and Balki invites him into their apartment after writing to him ever since he went to prison. Even though he threatened them, Balki trusts him but Larry's too scared.

Balki manages to graduate night school at the top of his class, but soon finds out that there is no graduation ceremony. So Larry talks to the principal and arranges one.

Larry is very angry at Balki for making him late for work and won't speak to him so Balki handcuffs them together and loses the key during Larry's important luncheon sate with Mr. Burns and the publisher R.T. Wainwright.

Larry's successful brother Billy (Ted McGinley) comes down for a visit, and Larry is upset because he brags about his success. So he tricks Balki into lying to Billy to make him think Larry is more successful.

While Larry is doing some important research, Balki goes out to the races and when he gets back, he tells Larry about meeting Carl Lewis but Larry doesn't believe him since he has taken Balki's money and left.

Balki insists on buying a lottery ticket but Larry thinks that it is just a waste of money for something that can't possibly win. But during the draws, Larry realizes that Balki picked the right numbers and won 28 million dollars but Balki can't remember where he hid the ticket.

After Mr. Perkins, an employee at the Chronicle parked in Larry's parking space and Jennifer breaks a date with him at the last minute, Larry figures he has trouble being assertive. So he goes to a seminar called "stop" hoping it will help him become more assertive. When he returns, He tells Jennifer and Mr. Perkins off, and he instructs Balki how to get a raise after Mr. Gorpley laughed in his face when he asked for it. He finally gets Balki to demand a raise from Mr. Gorpley.

When Lydia wants her piano moved up ten flights of stairs so she can sing for a record producer she is dating, Balki volunteers himself and Larry but Larry's bad back may be a strain on this whole thing.

Larry has an excellent idea to present to the owners of the Chronicle but has trouble getting into the party that they're holding. And mistakenly believing that Balki is that Crown Prince of Mypos, he gets invited with Larry.

The Chicago Chronicle is having a camping trip. Larry hates camping but knows that Jennifer loves it, so he arranges a trip. Jennifer insists she won't go alone with Larry (remembering the skiing incident), so Larry elects Balki as the camping leader thinking that Jennifer would feel safe and Mary Anne decides to go along.

Larry prepares a surprise party for Balki who is taking his college entrance exams. While they are waiting for him to return, they talk about some things they've been through together such as when they first met, the first day at the Chronicle, when they tried to fix Jennifer and Mary Anne's shower, etc. Larry thinks that he has helped Balki come along way but it seems that Balki has been helping him more.

On Christmas Eve, Larry and Balki throw a Christmas party at their apartment for all their friends. But when Balki realizes that Mr. Gorpley is lonely, he invites him who causes a lot of trouble with snide attitude and everyone wants to throw him out. But Balki insists on spreading a little Christmas cheer his way too.

With Larry working late and Balki at college, their household chores are falling behind. So they decide to hire a maid. They finally select Mr. Bailey who waits on them hand and foot for practically nothing which ends up getting on Larry's nerves.

Mary Anne was promoted and moves to London and Balki is heartbroken and miserable. So Larry suggests Balki get a hobby to take his mind off her. So he joins a motorcycle gang where the club plans a wild initiation ceremony.

Larry is assigned to be on a game show called "Risk it All" and Balki is his partner. Balki wants to do all the stunts on the show but Larry, to avoid humiliation, insists that he just answer questions and go home. But after being offered a cruise around the world, Larry won't quit.

Larry and Balki are flying to Hawaii with Jennifer and Mary Anne serving along the way. But after eating a Myposian snack the wrong way, Jennifer and Mary Anne get sick. So Larry and Balki decide to cover for them but didn't know they weren't suppose to serve through turbulence.

Larry's bowling team is one game away from winning the trophy that Mr. Gorpley has been waving in Larry's face for the last year. But Calvin, the star player has been sent out of town by his boss - Mr. Gorpley of course. Balki tries bowling for the first time and had an excellent score so he becomes the substitute, but his trip to the ophthalmologist before the tournament may make playing difficult.

Larry and Balki throw a '50s party and invite their friends. Lydia brings her date Lamont, a hypnotist. After demonstrating hypnosis, he accidentally hypnotizes Balki into thinking he's Elvis which carries on through their tax audit the next day.

Larry and Balki wind up in jail after refusing to reveal their source for a commodity scandal, to protect the freedom of the press. They won't stop there; they are very persistent to keep their sources, and take the hard time, but they later get two dangerous cell mates.

Lydia is miserable when her boyfriend dumped her so Balki uses his match-making skills to fix Lydia up with a man who turns out to be a gigolo who married wealthy women, takes their money and leaves them.

Balki loses $100 at Mr. Gorpley's poker game so Larry insists on playing at his next game to win back Balki's money and then some. Larry tells Balki that he is a great poker player but he loses every hand to Mr. Gorpley.

Larry was chosen to teach a college course in journalism and Balki is able to take the class. But his standards are set way too high that he fails the whole class.

On Balki's 25th birthday, his mama has a pre-arranged marriage that Balki must go through with, even though he is in love with Mary Anne. So Larry and Jennifer try and find a way to save Balki from being unhappy.

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 and lies about his roller skating ability to win Jennifer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 so Larry decides to let him win and lets Balki play thinking that he can't golf, but can he?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Grandpa Appleton comes for a visit and is quite a surprise: He's 76 years old and is acting like a wild teenager, and has a much younger girlfriend. Larry thinks he should act more his age but Balki thinks that it's okay acting as young as he feels.

Larry decides to impress Mr. Wainwright by enlisting himself and Balki to move his brand new oversized couch up the elevator to his office while the elevator is under repair.

Balki hasn't gone out since he broke up with Mary Anne. So Larry convinces Balki to go out and meet new people and takes him to a singles bar. Balki brings home a woman to watch a Woody Woodpecker marathon but her friend comes with her who is drunk and falls asleep in Larry's bed around the time that Jennifer comes home.