Becker (TV series)

Last updated

Becker
Becker Title.jpg
Genre Sitcom
Created by Dave Hackel
Starring
ComposerBruce Miller
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes129 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Dave Hackel
  • Tim Berry
  • Ian Gurvitz
Producers
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running timeapprox. 22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseNovember 2, 1998 (1998-11-02) 
January 28, 2004 (2004-01-28)

Becker is an American sitcom television series that originally aired on CBS from November 2, 1998, to January 28, 2004, broadcasting 129 episodes. Set in the New York City borough of the Bronx, the show starred Ted Danson as John Becker, a misanthropic doctor who operates a small practice and is constantly annoyed by his patients, co-workers, and friends, and practically everything and everybody else in his world. Despite everything, his patients and friends are loyal because Becker genuinely cares about them. The series was produced by Dave Hackel Productions and Industry Entertainment, in association with Paramount Network Television.

Contents

Premise

The show revolved around Becker and the things that annoyed him, although the members of the supporting cast also had their moments. The relationships between Becker and Reggie, and, later, Becker and Chris formed the key plots of many episodes. The show tackled more serious issues as well, such as race, homosexuality, transgender identities, addiction, nymphomania, schizophrenia, cerebral AVM, and political correctness.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 22November 2, 1998 (1998-11-02)May 17, 1999 (1999-05-17)
2 24September 20, 1999 (1999-09-20)May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22)
3 24October 9, 2000 (2000-10-09)May 14, 2001 (2001-05-14)
4 24October 1, 2001 (2001-10-01)May 20, 2002 (2002-05-20)
5 22October 6, 2002 (2002-10-06)April 20, 2003 (2003-04-20)
6 13October 8, 2003 (2003-10-08)January 28, 2004 (2004-01-28)

Cast and characters

Terry Farrell's departure

Terry Farrell was written out of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (where she played Jadzia Dax) after her contract expired without renegotiation. [1] Soon after, Farrell got the role of Reggie. According to Farrell, the original plan was for Reggie and Becker to have a relationship with romantic tension over the course of the show; the show's ending would be them going on their first date. However, the producers became worried that this would be compared to Sam and Diane's relationship on Cheers , so they backed away from it. [2]

At the end of season four, Nancy Travis was introduced for a short arc playing Chris, Becker's new neighbor. Chris was a cheerful and optimistic character, the opposite of Becker, and would serve as a rival for Reggie. The season ended with a cliffhanger as Reggie kissed Becker and then left. However, Farrell was dropped at the end of season four, [3] which came as a shock to her. [2] Creator and executive producer David Hackel and Farrell have both stated that it had nothing to do with Farrell supporting the cast in a lawsuit and walkout for a promised pay raise after season three. [2] [4] Hackel said that Chris and Becker's relationship would "shake things up a bit," which the network wanted, and that, instead of having Reggie do the usual thing and return to patch things up, she would just decide to leave. [4]

Syndication

The show was offered in syndication between 2003 and 2004, after its network run on CBS ended. In the U.S., the show aired on WGN America until 2010. ReelzChannel added the show in fall 2010. As of 2023, Becker aired on Antenna TV, Pluto TV, and Rewind TV.

In Australia, Becker was originally broadcast on Network Ten. Reruns of the series have been aired weekdays on Foxtel's pay TV network 111 funny and Network Ten's digital channel 10 Peach.

Home media

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) has released all six seasons of Becker on DVD in Region 1. Season 4-6 are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases, available exclusively via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program. [5] [6] [7]

On June 6, 2017, CBS DVD released Becker: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. [8]

In Region 2, Paramount Home Entertainment released the first season on DVD on April 28, 2008. There were issues with the discs that meant audio and video were out of sync. [9]

In Region 4, Paramount Home Entertainment released the first three seasons on DVD in 2008/2009. In 2013, Umbrella Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently re-released the first three seasons. Season 4 was released on February 5, 2014. [10] Season 5 and 6 were released in August 2016.

DVD nameEp#Originally airedRelease dates
Region 1Region 4
The First Season221998–1999April 1, 2008May 1, 2013
The Second Season241999–2000February 3, 2009July 3, 2013
The Third Season242000–2001January 12, 2010November 6, 2013
The Fourth Season242001–2002July 3, 2012February 5, 2014
The Fifth Season222002–2003June 11, 2013August 3, 2016
The Sixth Season132003–2004December 17, 2014August 3, 2016
The Complete Series1291998–2004June 6, 2017December 2, 2020

Reception

Becker debuted as part of CBS' highly rated Monday night lineup as a midseason replacement for the cancelled sitcom The Brian Benben Show , taking over the timeslot at 9:30 PM Eastern time. [11] The show performed well for its first four seasons, piggybacking off the ratings of its lead-in, Everybody Loves Raymond ; in its first four seasons, Becker ranked in the top 20 and peaked at #13.

Despite the ratings wins they were getting with the series, CBS decided to try to find a new home for Becker and relocated the sitcom to lead off its Sunday night lineup. The ratings unexpectedly fell as Becker dropped out of the top 50 in the ratings, and CBS was set to cancel the series. The network relented and gave Becker a sixth and last season, but was only willing to order thirteen episodes and intended to air it as a midseason replacement. Once again, the network changed its decision and the last season launched in the fall. Moved to Wednesday nights and aired in tandem with former Monday staple The King of Queens , the 129th and last episode of Becker was aired on January 28, 2004.

Nielsen ratings

SeasonEpisodesTimeslot (ET)Season premiereSeason finaleRankViewers
(in millions)
1998–1999 22

Monday 9:30

November 2, 1998May 17, 1999#1813.9
1999–2000 24September 20, 1999May 22, 2000#19 [12] 15.26 [12]
2000–2001 24October 9, 2000May 24, 2001#16 [13] 16.1 [13]
2001–2002 24October 1, 2001May 20, 2002#13 [14] 16.3 [14]
2002–2003 22Sunday 8:00 (Episodes 1–14, 21)

Sunday 8:30 (Episodes 15–20, 22)

October 6, 2002April 20, 2003#51 [15] 10.43 [15]
2003–2004 13

Wednesday 9:30

October 8, 2003January 28, 2004#46 [16] 10.29 [16]

See also

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