"Becker" season 2

A couple months ago, our friend Garon was kind enough to send me a couple of DVD sets that I agreed to review. The first was season 2 of "Dave's World," a long forgotten sitcom starring Harry Anderson of "Night Court." The second was season 2 of "Becker." I seemed to recall enjoying these shows when they were on, so I figured, "Why not?"
Here's why not: I was in my early-to-mid-teens when those shows were on the air. Twelve years later, my tastes have changed.
It sounds awful, but I think I lost my taste for traditional sitcoms a long time ago. The setup/punchline-setup/punchline-setup/punchline nature of them just doesn't do it for me anymore.
Take "Becker," for example. Ted Danson plays a misanthropic doctor whose cynical view of the world alienates those around him. One could say that John Becker is an early template for Hugh Laurie's Gregory House. The difference here is that "House" is primarily a drama; the protagonist might be a little outrageous, but the character is not required for making the viewer laugh. As such, the character of House is allowed to go places that serve to humanize. Becker, on the other hand, isn't so much a fully-realized character, but rather an archetype. He is "grumpy, sarcastic, and cynical." Everything that he says must support these characteristics, but also be funny. Needless to say, John Becker isn’t exactly a three-dimensional character.
The sad thing is, he is the most well-developed of the ensemble. It’s as if a producer closed his eyes, opened up a book of sitcom clichés, and just started pointing. There’s the sassy black receptionist. The smart-ass blind guy. The horny idiot (who speaks in the third person, no less). The ditzy-yet-chipper assistant. And these are the regulars. The parade of one-note characters that march through Becker’s waiting room amounts to one tired archetype after another.
The actors do what they can with these characters, but they’re not helped by the material much. Any audience even mildly experienced in watching sitcoms can see the punchlines coming from miles off. For example, early in the series, Becker feels as if he is being a stalked by a woman whose life he saved. Becker’s airheaded assistant, Linda, talks about a stalking experience she once had. She details the terror and paranoia. Becker replies with, “Wow, that must have been scary.”
Okay. Now, we all know what’s coming next, right? Of course we do. Linda responds, “It was scary, but he just didn’t seem to understand that we belonged together forever.” Or something like that.
The whole series is like this. Clunky setups and obvious payoffs.
I cannot imagine that there was anybody clamoring for “Becker” to be released on DVD. I feel like its release came out of some misguided sense of obligation, as if the executives thought that it was their responsibility to put out absolutely everything that has ever aired on television.
At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before we get DVDs of commercials.

“Ooh. They’re releasing the complete 1996 season of Pepsi commercials. Finally!”