Becker (1998–2004)

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.

Creator:

Dave Hackel

Stars:

Ted Danson, Hattie Winston, Shawnee Smith

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
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 (129 episodes, 1998-2004)
Saverio Guerra	...	Bob (104 episodes, 1998-2003)
Terry Farrell	...	Regina "Reggie" Kostas (94 episodes, 1998-2002)

Storyline

Misanthropic Dr. John Becker runs a clinic in New York City. He is assisted by super-capable Margaret Wyborn and less-than-capable Linda, who's only kept on because no one else can stand the doctor. Becker's best (some would say only) friend is the blind Jake Malinak, who runs a newsstand in the diner across the street. The diner used to be run by Reggie Kostas, but it has been taken over by Chris Conner, a lady whom Becker fluctuates between loathing and being attracted to. The diner is also frequented by Robert Benito, who is universally known as Bob and is the super at Becker's apartment (much to the doctor's regret).

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Plot Keywords:

diner | doctor | new york city | short man | interracial friendship | 

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Taglines:

This doctor feels your pain, he just doesn't want to hear about it.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

CBS [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tohtori Becker

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dave Hackel Productions, Industry Entertainment, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There have been numerous references to Danson's former series Cheers. 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, 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).

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Quotes

Dr. John Becker: I have this friend... well, we aren't really friends - we just share custody of an ex-wife.

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Connections

Featured in Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool (2001)

User Reviews

very funny

I just started watching this show a few months ago, and already I love it. Ted Danson is wonderful as the title character, and I think it is refreshingly funny and good. Shawnee Smith also makes a terrific airhead in Linda.