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).

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

CBS [United States]

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

Matthew Weiner wrote the pilot of Mad Men in 1999 while working on this sitcom. In 2002, Weiner sent the pilot as a writing sample to David Chase, who created The Sopranos.

---

Quotes

[about a patient]
Dr. John Becker: What does he want?
Margaret: To bask in the sunny warmth of your disposition.

---

Connections

Referenced in Collateral (2004)

User Reviews

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.