Well, do you know Becker? It is one of the few sit-coms that actually makes me roll on the floor laughing out loud! No, seriously, I really roll on the floor. It is that funny. Why? Because Ted Danson’s character, doctor John Becker, is an ill-tempered, sarcastic misanthrope, just like me. His view on religion? “Just another dumb-ass system created by the tiny minded to deal with the complexities of human life, because rather than think for themselves, it’s easier to believe that our fate is controlled by some great apocalyptic voodoo monkey in the sky.” Hilarious! He runs a small practice in the Bronx, and despite his permanent exasperation, you quickly learn to respect him because he genuinely cares about his patents’ well-being – not to mention he is bluntly honesty.
In one of her rare moments of clarity, his vacuous assistant Linda quits. That’s when Becker and his office manager Margaret realize just how invaluable she is, because she is so good with the patients. Becker visits her to give her another chance – and we learn that she is living in a penthouse on Central Park, next to the Danish ambassador, and owns a genuine Monet. Her wealthy parents have long ago given up on her, but are willing to pay for her house to keep her out of trouble. The job at Becker’s office is the only thing that makes her feel good about herself. Then that sleazebag Bob is thrown out his mother’s retirement home and needs a place to stay. Linda offers. Margaret tries to warn her. Help the needy, Linda reminds her, and Bob is needy, very needy. “Isn’t that what Christianity is all about?” “Christ never met Bob,” Margaret retorts. Somehow Linda and Bob manage to make it work, but only God knows how.
But obviously the show is mostly about Becker. He has about as much charm as an uncouth bear. He usually barges into Reggie’s diner every morning complaining about some incident on the way from his home. When Reggie is wearing a stunning red dress, Becker’s kind of complement is, “You’re not exactly the worst looking woman in this place, but I’d rather go with that one over there.” But when he meets Reggie’s best friend Amanda who used to be a model like her, they have a brief affair. “Sex with a model!” his assistant Margaret scoffs in disbelief. Then Reggie’s dating this guy she doesn’t know is one of Becker’s patients – and he is giving him advice to prove indirectly that he knows women better than Reggie; and she falls for it (initially at least). Later, Reggie’s high school flame is back in town and she can’t wait to go out with him – until he ends up in jail and wants her to post bail. Then Becker gets a call from a friend of his best buddy in high school. They hit it off famously, having dinner, going to a game, drinking beer. He tells her she must be the perfect woman, but she has something to tell of her own: she is his high school buddy – except she had a sex change.
At one point Becker gets shot when picking up his blind friend Jake who got lost in Brooklyn. The doctor, Liz, at the hospital can’t stand him, but refuses to let him go home until he is fit to. Between the abrasive sarcasm, something grows between them. They are, in fact, just like each other: arrogant, opinionated control freaks, stubborn, infuriating pains in the ass, with nothing going on in their private lives. Once he’s released, she drops by to tell him how unpleasant it was having him as her patient, so much so she wanted to strangle him, but doesn’t entirely miss that feeling. He replies he never thought of her thinking of him that way, and that he noticed she was sort of intelligent and not unattractive. He invites her for dinner at his place, she tells him he didn’t have to go through all that trouble – and he tells her neither did she, “I mean, I didn’t expect you to look so good.” “This isn’t nearly as horrible as I thought it would be,” she tells him. Meanwhile, his neighbor across the hallway notices Reggie stopping by, Liz frequenting, the upstairs neighbor complaining she won’t just have sex when it’s convenient for him, the next door neighbor complaining he’s responsible for her crying baby, you know the lady is thinking he got prostitutes coming in all day. “You wanted to get to know me, this is me, you know,” he offers Liz. “I can’t pretend to be somebody else, just for the sake of a relationship.” She leans in to kiss him. “You must really be screwed up.” The relationship lasts for much of the second half of the season, until she gets a job offer in Chicago and he encourages her to go because it’s a great career opportunity – even though he will miss her. Please do yourself a favor and watch this show whichever way you can!
In one of her rare moments of clarity, his vacuous assistant Linda quits. That’s when Becker and his office manager Margaret realize just how invaluable she is, because she is so good with the patients. Becker visits her to give her another chance – and we learn that she is living in a penthouse on Central Park, next to the Danish ambassador, and owns a genuine Monet. Her wealthy parents have long ago given up on her, but are willing to pay for her house to keep her out of trouble. The job at Becker’s office is the only thing that makes her feel good about herself. Then that sleazebag Bob is thrown out his mother’s retirement home and needs a place to stay. Linda offers. Margaret tries to warn her. Help the needy, Linda reminds her, and Bob is needy, very needy. “Isn’t that what Christianity is all about?” “Christ never met Bob,” Margaret retorts. Somehow Linda and Bob manage to make it work, but only God knows how.
But obviously the show is mostly about Becker. He has about as much charm as an uncouth bear. He usually barges into Reggie’s diner every morning complaining about some incident on the way from his home. When Reggie is wearing a stunning red dress, Becker’s kind of complement is, “You’re not exactly the worst looking woman in this place, but I’d rather go with that one over there.” But when he meets Reggie’s best friend Amanda who used to be a model like her, they have a brief affair. “Sex with a model!” his assistant Margaret scoffs in disbelief. Then Reggie’s dating this guy she doesn’t know is one of Becker’s patients – and he is giving him advice to prove indirectly that he knows women better than Reggie; and she falls for it (initially at least). Later, Reggie’s high school flame is back in town and she can’t wait to go out with him – until he ends up in jail and wants her to post bail. Then Becker gets a call from a friend of his best buddy in high school. They hit it off famously, having dinner, going to a game, drinking beer. He tells her she must be the perfect woman, but she has something to tell of her own: she is his high school buddy – except she had a sex change.
At one point Becker gets shot when picking up his blind friend Jake who got lost in Brooklyn. The doctor, Liz, at the hospital can’t stand him, but refuses to let him go home until he is fit to. Between the abrasive sarcasm, something grows between them. They are, in fact, just like each other: arrogant, opinionated control freaks, stubborn, infuriating pains in the ass, with nothing going on in their private lives. Once he’s released, she drops by to tell him how unpleasant it was having him as her patient, so much so she wanted to strangle him, but doesn’t entirely miss that feeling. He replies he never thought of her thinking of him that way, and that he noticed she was sort of intelligent and not unattractive. He invites her for dinner at his place, she tells him he didn’t have to go through all that trouble – and he tells her neither did she, “I mean, I didn’t expect you to look so good.” “This isn’t nearly as horrible as I thought it would be,” she tells him. Meanwhile, his neighbor across the hallway notices Reggie stopping by, Liz frequenting, the upstairs neighbor complaining she won’t just have sex when it’s convenient for him, the next door neighbor complaining he’s responsible for her crying baby, you know the lady is thinking he got prostitutes coming in all day. “You wanted to get to know me, this is me, you know,” he offers Liz. “I can’t pretend to be somebody else, just for the sake of a relationship.” She leans in to kiss him. “You must really be screwed up.” The relationship lasts for much of the second half of the season, until she gets a job offer in Chicago and he encourages her to go because it’s a great career opportunity – even though he will miss her. Please do yourself a favor and watch this show whichever way you can!
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