Becker (TV series)

Premise

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

Episodes

Main article: List of Becker episodes

Cast and characters

• Ted Danson as Dr. John Becker
• Hattie Winston as Margaret Wyborn
• Shawnee Smith as Linda
• Alex Désert as Jake Malinak
• Terry Farrell as Regina 'Reggie' Kostas (seasons 1–4)
• Saverio Guerra as Bob (recurring, seasons 1–2; main, seasons 3–5)
• Nancy Travis as Christine "Chris" Connor (guest, season 4; main, seasons 5–6)
• Jorge Garcia as Hector Lopez (season 6)

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. 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.

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, which came as a shock to her. 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. 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.

Syndication

The show was offered in syndication between 2003 and 2004 after its network run on CBS ended. In the United States, the show aired on WGN America (now NewsNation) until 2010. ReelzChannel added the show in fall 2010. As of 2026, Becker currently airs on Antenna TV weeknights at 12:00 & 12:30 a.m. EST, Rewind TV weekdays at 4:00 & 4:30 p.m. EST and Sundays from 10:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. EST, and is currently streaming on Pluto 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 Comedy.

Home media

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

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

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.

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. Season 5 and 6 were released in August 2016.

Reception

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

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

Nielsen ratings

References

References

1. Wolfe, John. (September 29, 2020). "'Star Trek: DS9': Why Terry Farrell Left the Cast".
2. Bobbin, Jay. (2002-06-15). "Terry Farrell adjusts to life without 'Becker'". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
3. (May 24, 2002). "Farrell Falls Off "Becker"". [[Internet Movie Database]].
4. Hackel, Dave. (June 3, 2011). "Why did Terry Ferrell leave BECKER?". kenlevine.blogspot.com.
5. "Becker on Antenna TV".
6. "Becker Mon-Fri 6p ET {{!}} 3p PTSun 1p ET {{!}} 10a PT".
7. "Pluto TV: Watch Free Movies, TV Shows & Live TV Online".
8. "Becker DVD news: Release Date for Becker - The 4th Season".
9. "Becker DVD news: Release Date for Becker - The 5th Season".
10. "Becker DVD news: Release Date for The 6th and Final Season".
11. "Becker DVD news: Announcement for The Complete Series - TVShowsOnDVD.com".
12. (March 2, 2009). "Becker: Season 1". play.com.
13. "BECKER (SERIES 4) -DVD & Blu-Ray- Umbrella Entertainment".
14. (December 1, 1998). "Hello, 'Becker'; Farewell, Priestley". [[The Washington Post]].
15. "Top TV Shows For 1999–2000 Season". [[Variety.com]].
16. (June 1, 2001). "The Bitter End". [[Entertainment Weekly]] Published in issue #598 Jun 01, 2001.
17. (May 28, 2002). "How did your favorite show rate?". [[USA Today]].
18. (June 6, 2003). "Rank And File". [[Entertainment Weekly]] Published in issue #713 Jun 06, 2003.
19. "I. T. R. S. Ranking Report: 01 Thru 210". [[ABC Medianet]].