"Becker" (1998) TV series 1998-2004

Creator:

Dave Hackel

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

2 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

His bedside manner is no manners at all!

Plot:

Dr. John Becker goes through his daily routine of being a doctor, stopping at his favorite diner, and other various situations, all the while hating life and everything around him.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | New York City | Medical | Blind Man | Sitcom

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Dec. 3	6:00 AM	USA	Afterglow	#6.6
Thur. Dec. 3	6:00 PM	WGNAMER	Picture Imperfect	#4.17

Cast

Ted Danson	...	Dr. John Becker (129 episodes, 1998-2004)
Hattie Winston	...	Margaret Wyborn / ... (129 episodes, 1998-2004)
Shawnee Smith	...	Linda (129 episodes, 1998-2004)
Alex Désert	...	Jake Malinak (127 episodes, 1998-2004)
Saverio Guerra	...	Bob (108 episodes, 1998-2003)
Terry Farrell	...	Regina "Reggie" Kostas / ... (94 episodes, 1998-2002)
Nancy Travis	...	Chris Connor (39 episodes, 2002-2004)

Runtime:

30 min (including commercials - 129 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:PG (some episodes) | UK:U (some episodes) | Australia:PG | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Dave Hackel Productions

Trivia:

There have been numerous references to Danson's former series "Cheers" (1982). Cheers co-stars George Wendt, Rhea Perlman and Kelsey Grammer have all appeared on the show: Wendt playing the barman to Danson's character (On "Cheers", Danson played the barman to Wendt's character) and Grammer playing an alcoholic friend of Danson's Harvard-graduate doctor (on "Cheers" and "Frasier" (1993), Danson played an ex-alcoholic and Grammer played the Harvard-graduate doctor. Rhea Perlman appeared as a therapist with an optimistic view on life, with Danson as the character who's not happy with his life (on "Cheers", Danson plays the cheery character and Perlman's the one who's not happy with her life).

Quotes:

[Becker's patient is Richard Hatch, winner of Survivor: Borneo]
Dr. John Becker: [checking his clipboard] Okay, uh, Mr. Hatch. I'm Dr. Becker.
[he and Richard shake hands]
Richard Hatch: Hey, Doc. Want me to take my clothes off? 'Cause that's no problem.
Dr. John Becker: Uh, why don't we just talk first.
Richard Hatch: Okay.
Dr. John Becker: [checking his clipboard] All right. It says you're here for... stomach distress. Any, uh, recent changes in your diet?
Richard Hatch: No, but, uh, several months ago, I was out of the country.
Dr. John Becker: Oh, yeah, I've seen that before. Mexico?
Richard Hatch: No, I was on this island. My diet was very exotic. I pretty much existed on stingray, dog food, beetle larvae...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The King of Queens: Pregnant Pause: Part 2 (#3.25)" (2001)

Goodbye, Becker

I watched the final "Becker" episode last night, and will miss this series. Critics have beaten up on this show quite a lot lately, but I watched it regularly and always enjoyed it. The characters are diverse and likeable, and I particularly admire Shawnee Smith, who played Linda, for taking a character that could have been annoying in the extreme and making her sweet and funny. One of the funniest things I've seen in a sitcom is when Linda, in trying to fix the hanging skeleton in Becker's office, managed to crazy-glue her hand to that of the skeleton. She ended up walking around the office all day holding hands with the skeleton, which rolled alongside her on its stand (you had to see it to appreciate it).

Ted Danson was quoted in TV Guide as saying that they decided to end the show with some grace, which I think they did quite nicely, tying up loose ends for the various characters. A couple of the jokes were particularly apt, i.e. Dr. Becker looking at the chart for a patient named "Mr. Nielsen" and saying he didn't know what he was complaining about because "these numbers don't look so bad to me." Danson's wife, Mary Steenburgen, appeared briefly as a deluded patient, and Becker exclaimed after she left "I pity the poor man who's married to her."

Anyway, I commend the makers of "Becker" for giving some closure to the characters in this show while they had the chance. As a regular viewer I appreciated it, and found it a very satisfying end to the series.