Now, in Cheers, Ted Danson was a fun kind of guy: he owned a bar, he could finagle just about any woman into bed (with the exception of Rebecca, of course), and he was well-respected by his peers (if you would care to call guys like Norm, Cliff, and Paul peers, that is). Becker was a bit different:, though, and Ted’s new character was not at all fun: he didn’t own jack shit, didn’t care about women, and didn’t even have any peers to respect him--which is just as well considering the fact that Dr. John Becker is a complete asshole.

He’s always angry…

…hates people…

…thinks he’s surrounded by idiots.

That’s the way I feel at times.

I suppose one could argue that Becker was a show that, despite being a sitcom, reminded us that times were changing…mostly thanks to the Internet. People were beginning to turn into anti-social, passive-aggressive morons (a process that was later completed when text messaging came about). Dating had become an ever weirder ritual than it was before. The world had suddenly become more violent. Wait a second here, what the hell am I talking about…Becker takes place in New York City! Heh, the Internet has nothing to do with NYC’s aggression! Ha, ha! Silly me!

So anyway, as I’ve stated before, Becker is a show that revolves around one very disgruntled physician in New York. Much like Cheers, most of the action here takes place in a public establishment, although this time, it’s a small hole-in-the-wall diner run by a gal named Reggie (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine favorite Terry Ferrell), where the one and only individual in the whole Eastern seaboard can be found running a newspaper stand: a blind man by the name of Jake (actor/singer/songwriter Alex Désert, who does a much better blind man than say, Val Kilmer in At First Sight). Becker walks in like he owns the place, helping himself to a pack of cigarettes hidden in the cash register, grabbing a pack of gum from Jake’s stand, hardly ever putting any money down to pay for any of it (which makes you wonder how big his tab must be). Naturally, no sitcom is complete without a character like Bob (Saverio Guerra), the weird slimeball that speaks in the third-person.

When he’s not at the diner, Becker is forced to put up with patients at his office, while his office manager Margaret (Hattie Winston, who has played nurses more often than naught) and ditzy assistant Linda (future Saw star Shawnee Smith, who plays the part like a cross between my sister and my daughter) are forced to put up with him.

Becker - The Second Season (1999-2000) brings us all 24 episodes from the show’s second run onto 3-discs. Most of Becker’s adventures are standalone episodes, but there are a few recurring storylines here wherein Becker gets another chance at love; Reggie goes back to college (her cooking sucks anyway); Jake is confronted by the man who caused his blindness; and Linda takes in a recently-divorced Bob. Other highlights include Bob’s cooking skills shining through at the diner; a Santa Claus dying in the office on Christmas Eve; Becker getting shot (accidentally at that!); an appearance by the late Avery Schreiber; a memorable plane ride to Chicago (that only makes it as far as Buffalo); a visit by Becker’s old buddy Chuck (who is now a woman); and Becker in a court-ordered anger management class.

Becker may not be the finest comedy ever made--the writing is simple and some of the jokes are terribly predictable, while others just fall flat on their face--but when you look at the competition this show had at the time it was on the air (3^rd Rock From The Sun, Everybody Loves Raymond, That 70s Show, etc), it’s pretty excusable.

Maybe that’s why Becker was always angry…

…why he hated people…

…he was surrounded by idiots.

My significant other commented on how my behavior was very much like Becker’s. I didn’t argue.

Yeah, I can relate. I feel your pain, Herr Doktor.

Presentation
Presented in their original Standard Television format (1.33:1), Becker - The Second Season looks as good as it possibly can on DVD, with decent video quality and a nice English Stereo soundtrack. As is often the case with a lot of CBS/Paramount TV On DVD releases, no Subtitles are provided, although there is Closed Captioning which can be used for a fun drinking game if you like: take a shot every time the Captioning reads “(upbeat blues music playing)” and you’ll be hammered by the end of the first episode alone!

Extras
Again, as is often the case with a lot of CBS/Paramount TV On DVD releases, there aren’t any Special Features to be found on this set, either aside from the usual amount of Promo trailers.

The Bottom Line
Becker may not be the finest sitcom ever made, but it definitely fills the “there’s nothing on television” void that we get all too often. My only problem is the badly Photoshopped photo of Ted Danson on the cover.