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Becker (TV series)

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Becker
Title Screen
Created byDave Hackel
StarringTed Danson
Terry Farrell (1998-2002)
Hattie Winston
Shawnee Smith
Alex Désert
Saverio Guerra (1998–2003)
Nancy Travis (2002–2004)
Jorge Garcia (2003–2004)
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes129
Production
Running time30 minutes (including commercials)
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseNovember 2, 1998 –
January 28, 2004

Becker is an American situation comedy that ran from 1998 to 2004 on CBS. Set in the New York City borough of The Bronx, the show starred Ted Danson as the title character, Dr. John Becker, a doctor who operates a small practice and is constantly annoyed by his patients, co-workers, friends, and practically everything and everybody else in his world. As a result of his outspoken nature, Becker is inaccessible to most people that do not know him. His patients and friends are nonetheless loyal, because Becker portrays a kind-hearted side that shows that, despite his cantankerous personality, he really does care about them.

The series was produced by Paramount Television, which produced another successful sitcom starring Danson, Cheers. In fact, some of the writers and crew from Cheers (like creator Dave Hackel) also worked on Becker.

Characters

Actor Role Character run
Ted Danson Dr. John Becker (1998–2004)
Terry Farrell Regina 'Reggie' Kostas (1998–2002)
Hattie Winston Margaret Wyborn (1998–2004)
Shawnee Smith Linda (1998–2004)
Alex Désert Jake Malinak (1998–2004)
Saverio Guerra Bob (1998–2003)
Nancy Travis Chris Connor (2002–2004)
Jorge Garcia Hector Lopez (2003–2004)

For the first four seasons, the main characters were:

Becker, a Harvard Medical School graduate, runs a neighborhood medical practice. He is easily annoyed by things such as a flickering street lamp, noisy neighbors, the couple having very loud sex in the apartment above him, or his numerous failed attempts to quit smoking. Becker has a personal superstition that "All midgets are bad luck, whenever I see one, something bad happens to me". He has been married and divorced twice and is very stingy. He likes Chinese food, especially when he gets free coupons for it. He holds liberal views on many political issues but holds no respect for political correctness, and due to his cynical nature, he does not seem to be enthusiastic about any political party. He especially hates Richard Nixon (which cost him a relationship with a long time flame, Megan, whose father split them up after Becker made a nasty comment about Nixon).

Becker also appears to be an atheist; in one episode he states that "God is a concept of man" and that people use religion as a justification for immoral activity. He also openly stated, seconds before almost being hit by drywall, that "there is no Larry" (Larry being "God's first name", according to one of Becker's patients). When asked what he believes in, Becker states that he believes in science, and in one episode he tells a priest that he became an atheist, but was raised agnostic. However, Becker has occasionally contradicted himself, such as one episode in which he delights in the fact that "sometimes God just hands you one." His nurse Margaret, who is a Christian, enjoys pointing out this incongruity.

Becker's office manager, and one of the few people who can tolerate Becker and his ways, Margaret is a motherly-like figure to Becker and Linda. She is married to the often mentioned but never seen Lewis. She once thought about becoming a singer instead of a nurse. Margaret is a Christian, specifically a Baptist, (indicated when Linda says "Margaret, you're a Baptist right?" and she replied "yes") and often quotes the Bible. Margaret is often the most level-headed character. She also appears to have liberal views, as in one episode she is asked what Florida is known for, and she sarcastically answers "not counting votes?".

A muddle-headed girl whose surname is never revealed, she works at the doctor's office to establish independence from her wealthy parents. Although her help is often of questionable value she can occasionally show surprising competence. She once described herself as being like a spare tire, something that can really come through and save the day when needed, but not someone you want to rely on unless you have to. Her mother is an alcoholic, though her parents are apparently quite wealthy, managing to buy Linda an apartment with a doorman, a Monet painting, a view of the park, and a Danish ambassador as a neighbor. She has been out with lots of men, including her on-again/off-again ex-boyfriend Gil, who is frequently mentioned (often in a negative context). Linda is popular with some of the patients, sometimes due to her outfits and her optimistic attitude; mostly kids enjoy her being around when it comes to take shots. She respects John a great deal, often calling him "Doctor" no matter where she is, and has even stuck up for him at a parent/teacher meeting she attended with John to straighten out the "sex talk" he gave to a classroom of little kids. She admires him, and does get along with him when he's having one of his few good days. She did grow serious about her career and started reading a few of his text books and found herself being a total know-it-all. She also respects Margaret and is often helped out of a lot of tough situations. She has a soft spot for small animals and loves to go shopping, clubbing, and dating a new guy every week. One of her ex-boyfriends taught her some Mandarin.[1]

The owner and operator of a diner she inherited from her late father, Reggie is a former model and is unhappy being stuck running a diner. When Becker is away from his office or apartment, he can almost always be found at her diner. Reggie is torn over her feelings for Becker– she loves him but also hates him at the same time. She is frequently taunted for her poor cooking and drops hints that the Board of Health has issued her warnings before. Although disenchanted with her occupation, Reggie does seem to enjoy her customers and lets them make it a sort of extension of their homes, allowing Becker, for example, to operate the register to access the cigarettes he keeps there. Reggie eventually went on to acquire a degree in psychology but had a panic attack when the jokes of the episode hinged on the uselessness of the degree. In the 5th season's premiere episode, "Someone's In The Kitchen with Reggie?", she and John sleep together because she was jealous of the fact Chris liked John. The following day, she left town, only leaving a message telling everyone that she regretted sleeping with John and that she couldn't face the humiliation of it. She also said that she wanted to pursue a better career for herself. In the following episode, titled "Do The Right Thing", Jake announced that he received a phone call from her and that she went to Miami to meet up with a few of her modeling friends and that they were going to travel through Europe for a while.

Becker's best friend, Jake also works at the diner selling newspapers and miscellaneous items such as candy, magazines, cigarettes, gum, etc. Jake is blind following a car accident several years before. He lived with his grandmother as a youngster and was close to her before she died. Jake married a woman, Amanda (played by Lindsay Price), 24 hours after they met but they got the marriage annulled, deciding to live together instead. Amanda left Jake after two and a half years, taking all his possessions with her. The show ends with him going off to college in Chicago and staying with a relative who teaches at the University.

Bob loiters at the diner and is of Italian descent. He is an old high school classmate of Reggie's who is short, annoying, and refers to himself in the third person. Bob is a sex addict who also desperately wants to have sex with Reggie. Bob becomes the superintendent of Becker's apartment building in the third season, although he tries to do as little work as he can. As with Linda, Bob's last name is never revealed, although we do discover his middle name is Benito. Bob was a recurring character for the first two seasons, and was made a main character for Seasons 3 through 5. Although he avoids his job as a building superintendent at Becker's building, one of his few talents is that he is an excellent cook. Despite the food at Reggie's Diner being sub quality, he is still able to cook very well. Bob disappeared after the fifth season. His absence was explained by Jake in the Season 6 premiere episode in which Jake claimed he went on a vacation. He was never referred to again. (The reason Bob was taken out of the show was because Saverio Guerra decided not to renew his contract for the sixth season.)

New characters in Season 5 and 6

Chris Connor joined the show as the new neighbor who moves to the Bronx after traveling the world. Chris, originally supposed to be in the show for only four episodes, joined the show at the end of Season 4 and became a regular cast member in Season 5. Chris takes over the diner and begins a love-hate relationship with Becker. She is his total opposite– always nice and cheerful, but they eventually got together by the end of the series.

Hector Lopez is a friend of Jake. Jake knew Hector as a little brother of one of his childhood friends. When Jake talked about him as kid, he said that he would do anything to get money including selling his parents' condoms, to which he responded by saying, "Hey, those weren't scams, they were business ventures. Besides I got a baby sister out of it." He was a cast member only during the sixth season and served as a replacement of sorts for Bob (Saverio Guerra did not renew his contract for the 6th season). In the last episode, Hector takes over control of the news stand after Jake announces he will be moving to Chicago the next day.

Plot

The show revolved around Becker and the things that annoyed him, although the supporting cast also had their moments. The relationships between Becker and Reggie (later, Chris) formed the key plots of many episodes.

The show tackled more serious issues as well, such as race, homosexuality, AIDS, Cerebral AVM, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and political correctness.

Reception

The show performed well for its first four seasons, piggybacking off the ratings of its lead-in, Everybody Loves Raymond. However, CBS moved the show to Sunday in 2002, and its ratings deteriorated quickly, eventually forcing the network to put it on hiatus. CBS had planned to cancel it after the fifth season, but gave it a last-minute reprieve because of a dearth of promising comedy pilots. Becker's sixth season was to be as a mid season replacement for the 2003-2004 season, and thus only 13 episodes were ordered. Despite this, CBS' comedy lineup forced them to move Becker's sixth season debut to the fall, where the show was moved to Wednesday and paired up with The King of Queens. Ratings remained low, and the show finished out its run in January 2004, after 129 episodes.

Terry Farrell's dismissal

Between the fourth and fifth seasons,Terry Farrell was fired.[2] The reason for Farrell's dismissal remains unclear. She has told interviewers that it came as a complete shock to her and that she is unsure of exactly why it happened, although she reportedly led a strike among the show's cast. After Terry's dismissal, actress Nancy Travis was hired to play Chris Connor, the new neighbor in Becker's apartment building who moves to the Bronx after traveling the world. Nancy, originally supposed to be in the show for only 4 episodes, became a series regular after the firing of Terry Farrell. Chris takes over the diner and begins a love-hate relationship with Becker.

DVD release

DVD Cover Art DVD Release Episodes Originally aired Release date
Region 1 Region 2
File:BS1DVD.jpg The First Season 22 1998-1999 April 1, 2008 April 28, 2008

Broadcasters

[1] WGN Superstation

See also

References

  1. ^ Seen in the episode "Activate Your Choices".
  2. ^ Terry Farrell - News
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