Long before your cricket started chirping, Becker was one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. They are showing reruns on Dutch TV that reminded me how funny this show was. I don’t even know why they cancelled it. Did no one ever watch it? If you did, you know why I like Ted Danson’s character: John Becker is a mean, grumpy son of a bitch with a mouth that never stops (so egotistical he thinks the whole universe is conspiring against him), but somewhere underneath all the biting sarcasm and misanthropy there’s a real lovable son of a gun with a heart of gold. He may call his patients names, but all he wants is for them to enjoy a healthy life. (Interestingly enough, one of his patients is the actor who’s playing Roger Sterling on Mad Men now.) There’s a kid who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion, and Becker is at his affable best around him, answering questions about life and even paying for his medical treatment because his single mother cannot afford it herself or letting the kid sleep over his house. Becker is a loner, with two failed marriages, and a long line of women who refuse to talk to him. His ex-wife used to call him “angry man.” “Oh, yeah, what was your name for her?” “Castrating bitch from hell.” One day a colleague thinks he’s giving her a booty call, but when she comes to his place, all he can do is talk about one of his patients. His blind date from hell happens when one of his patients sets him up with her niece, mind you, a gorgeous blonde. She comes late, because her country-and-western line-dancing class ran late, she is into aroma therapy, considers herself a romantic person, saw Titanic fifty-three times, and suggests they go to a karaoke bar after dinner. He tells her, “Now, Kelly, if we were the last two people on this earth, that would be the only thing we have in common.”
The supporting cast is terrific, too. At Becker’s office there’s Margaret. You never know why she doesn’t quit, but somehow she appreciates him. She berates him when he’s spouting mean-spirited comments, but she always trusts his medical opinion. And perhaps my favorite character is Linda, a pretty airhead who never stops talking gibberish. You never know why she isn’t fired, but you gotta love that gal. She even sells cosmetics on the sly in the waiting room. Still, one day Becker cannot figure out why one of his patients has been suffering from fatigue, because all the test results come out normal. Then Linda points out how strange it is that he still has a tan, even though he’s been back from Bermuda for six weeks and he works in a bank. It’s the one clue Becker missed: hyperpigmentation is a symptom of Addison’s disease. Then there’s the diner where Becker hangs out, run by Reggie, who rather chats than serve her customers. She’s always looking for a date, which is strange, because she is adorable. Secretly, she grows into liking Becker, connecting over failed dates, their mutual hatred of Valentines Day, and appreciating his blunt honesty. Among the regulars, there’s Jake, who supposedly works at the newsstand inside the diner, but you hardly ever see him work. On one of these mornings that Becker is telling him off, Jake replies, “John, I’m blind, I’m poor and I’m running a newsstand in the Bronx. God gave me the finger long before you ever did.” Bob, that slick perv who never scores and talks about himself in the third person, first shows up halfway through the season scolding Reggie for ignoring him in high school, and now it’s his turn to scoff at her for running her recently deceased father’s diner. He knows he’s dreaming the impossible, but with him doing better and her doing worse, he feels he is that much closer to the moon. When a customer leaves her two tickets to a hockey game, Jake and Becker both beg her to take her. In the end, she lets them decide who will join her – and to tease her, they actually give Bob the ticket! There are also the fuzzy outdoor shots. I know it’s the Bronx, but it’s New York, and it makes me feel like home!
The supporting cast is terrific, too. At Becker’s office there’s Margaret. You never know why she doesn’t quit, but somehow she appreciates him. She berates him when he’s spouting mean-spirited comments, but she always trusts his medical opinion. And perhaps my favorite character is Linda, a pretty airhead who never stops talking gibberish. You never know why she isn’t fired, but you gotta love that gal. She even sells cosmetics on the sly in the waiting room. Still, one day Becker cannot figure out why one of his patients has been suffering from fatigue, because all the test results come out normal. Then Linda points out how strange it is that he still has a tan, even though he’s been back from Bermuda for six weeks and he works in a bank. It’s the one clue Becker missed: hyperpigmentation is a symptom of Addison’s disease. Then there’s the diner where Becker hangs out, run by Reggie, who rather chats than serve her customers. She’s always looking for a date, which is strange, because she is adorable. Secretly, she grows into liking Becker, connecting over failed dates, their mutual hatred of Valentines Day, and appreciating his blunt honesty. Among the regulars, there’s Jake, who supposedly works at the newsstand inside the diner, but you hardly ever see him work. On one of these mornings that Becker is telling him off, Jake replies, “John, I’m blind, I’m poor and I’m running a newsstand in the Bronx. God gave me the finger long before you ever did.” Bob, that slick perv who never scores and talks about himself in the third person, first shows up halfway through the season scolding Reggie for ignoring him in high school, and now it’s his turn to scoff at her for running her recently deceased father’s diner. He knows he’s dreaming the impossible, but with him doing better and her doing worse, he feels he is that much closer to the moon. When a customer leaves her two tickets to a hockey game, Jake and Becker both beg her to take her. In the end, she lets them decide who will join her – and to tease her, they actually give Bob the ticket! There are also the fuzzy outdoor shots. I know it’s the Bronx, but it’s New York, and it makes me feel like home!
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