Becker is a dedicated, outspoken and talented doctor with a gruff exterior. While he tends to offend those who try to get close to him, he is extremely dedicated to his medical practice in the Bronx, N.Y., where he always goes the extra mile to help those in need. But Dr. John Becker looks at the world around him and sees a society gone mad, full of incongruities and just plain wrong thinking. And he has no qualms about saying anything that comes to mind – anything.
Becker is a dedicated, outspoken and talented doctor with a gruff exterior. While he tends to offend those who try to get close to him, he is extremely dedicated to his medical practice in the Bronx, N.Y., where he always goes the extra mile to help those in need. But Dr. John Becker looks at the world around him and sees a society gone mad, full of incongruities and just plain wrong thinking. And he has no qualms about saying anything that comes to mind – anything.
Russ Woody, David Isaacs, Michael Markowitz, Matthew Weiner, Ken Levine, Gary Dontzig, Michael Rowe, Anne Flett-Giordano, Chuck Ranberg, Gigi McCreery, Bobby Gaylor, Ian Gurvitz, Dan Wilcox, Eric Cohen, Mark Wilding, Lisa Albert, David Chambers, April Kelly, Dawn DeKeyser
Production details
Status
Ended
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
129
Original language
English
Networks & production
CBSUnited States
Dave Hackel Productions
Industry Entertainment PartnersUnited States
Paramount TelevisionUnited States
CBS StudiosUnited States
Themes
doctormisanthrophynew york citysitcom
Season 5 episodes
Watch options above are for the show and may vary by season or episode.
Becker spends the night with Reggie, but whilst trying to sneak out of the diner, Jake discovers him and finds out everything. Becker decides to dump Chris, and when she comes to the diner he tells her that he slept with Reggie and can't be with her. Later Becker has second thoughts and after a conversation with Linda about following your heart, decides to dump Reggie and be with Chris. He goes to the diner but Reggie is nowhere to be seen. The phone rings. It's Reggie. She's realized she hit rock bottom when she slept with Becker and has decided to leave town. Becker goes to Chris and tells her he changed his mind, and she's ready to be with him too until she finds out that Reggie left town and she assumes she's some sort of consolation prize. Meanwhile Linda argues with Margaret over what the term "next Thursday" means.
John tries desperately to persuade Chris that he chose to be with her before he learned that Reggie was leaving town, but Chris doesn't believe him. Also, Jake and Bob decide to follow in Reggie's footsteps and get out of town, and Margaret and Linda try to find out the identity of a man who claims he is a former patient.
Directed by Andy AckermanWritten by Ian GurvitzGuest stars Tia Riebling
Neighbors John and Chris do whatever they can to annoy each other, from smoking cigars to using a sander at 4 A.M. to strip a floor; Linda pretends she is from L.A. to impress a new guy she is dating; Jake worries that Amanda is decorating his apartment in an overly feminine fashion.
A grumpy patient who claims he's dying insists that John visit him in the hospital every night. Also, Bob accidentally sees Chris naked in her apartment, but what really upsets her is that he doesn't brag to the guys about what a beautiful body she has.
Directed by Gail MancusoWritten by Gigi McCreeryGuest stars Hal Holbrook
John becomes jealous when Chris turns down his offer to watch a movie with him and instead goes out with another man. Later, in an awkward attempt to show Chris his true feelings, John shows up at her job and inadvertently gets her into trouble.
Directed by Gail MancusoWritten by Michael RoweGuest stars Kyle Massey, Kathy Christopherson
John gets jealous and lies to a friend who expresses interest in Chris by telling him that she is gay. Unfortunately, the man acts on John's information and sets Chris up with a lesbian acquaintance. Also, Bob tries to deepen his friendship with Jake and buys a pair of walkie-talkies so that the two of them can stay in constant contact with each other.
Directed by Ken LevineWritten by Ken Levine, David IsaacsGuest stars Julie Claire, Betty Murphy
Jim Reynolds is a soft-spoken, likable man whom John is treating for high cholesterol. But Jim's condition is worsening because he isn't taking his medication. The reason: One of his three alter egos, the evil Jerry, keeps hiding the pills. So John goes straight to the source and speaks to Jerry, who then accuses Jim of lying. Adding to all of the confusion is yet a third persona Jim begins to exhibit: a three-year-old girl. Elsewhere, Chris and Jake annoy each other; and Bob becomes a big brother to a 10-year-old boy.
Becker's desperately trying to figure out what happened to the atlas he ordered from a door to door high school student; Chris is an over giver; Bob plans his mother's funeral.
Jake begins to believe that his blindness makes him less of a person. The feeling sets in after he allows a crook carrying cash from Chris's register to walk right past him and out of the diner. Jake even holds the door open for the thief. After Chris and John's attempts to cheer him have the reverse effect, John figures a hockey game may help take Jake's mind off of the matter. But while the two are at the game, Jake believes he hears the robber's voice and he wants John to make a citizen's arrest.
Directed by Ken LevineGuest stars James Pickens Jr.
Chris gets jealous when she hears from John that he is dating an editor at a leading magazine and is going to spend Christmas with her in Vermont. Also: Bob fears that a street-corner Santa is out to get him, and Margaret tries to cheer up Linda by having her go caroling with a church group.
Margaret looks back 10 years to her first meeting with John, when she persuaded him to hire her and keep his practice open instead of closing shop and returning to Boston. Meanwhile, Bob hides at the diner from an angry tenant who wants him to fix a clogged drain; and Chris finds Jake's old keyboard.
Jake and Bob misinterpret one of Chris's phone conversations and assume that she and John are sleeping together. At the office, John tries to persuade a promiscuous teen to use condoms.
Becker's old college roommate Rick Cooper, a recovering alcoholic, comes to town to make amends; but John was unaware until now that Rick was the one behind the misdeeds he confesses, which include stealing and sleeping with his wife. Meanwhile, Margaret spends time with Cliff, the medical supply salesman, until Linda accuses her of having an affair with him; and Bob becomes obsessed with his supposedly imminent death.
Directed by Andy AckermanGuest stars James Pickens Jr.
John gets upset when a patient refuses to take any more medication because he believes God is healing him through prayer. At the diner, Bob brags that he is part Native American and tries to cash in on his newfound heritage, and Linda attempts to keep up the charade in her “long-distance” relationship with a fellow New Yorker.
John is stalked by an elderly but frisky neighbor (Betty Garrett) who is determined to make him her man. Also: Linda decides to tell her boyfriend (Shawn Christian), who thinks she lives in L.A., the truth about where she resides.
Directed by Gail MancusoWritten by Michael RoweGuest stars Betty Garrett
Fed up with his practice, John applies for a research position in Baltimore, without telling his friends. His suspicious behavior then leads them to believe he's either sick or on drugs.
John feels like climbing the walls after Chris bans smoking from the diner and Margaret won't let him light up in the office. Elsewhere, Bob convinces Jake that Amanda is cheating on him after Jake unwittingly walks into the diner wearing lime green pants that are too small for him; and Linda persuades John to treat a friend's dog.
Becker's in withdrawal from cigarettes and driving everybody crazy; Jake's girlfriend leaves him for a deliveryman; Chris awaits her delivery of Supersculpt Leave-In Hair Conditioner.
A palm reader turns up at the diner and, much to his own dismay, Becker gets caught up in the excitement and lets her take a look at his palm. Inspired by the psychic, Linda invests her inheritance in a grapefruit company.
Written by Russ WoodyGuest stars R. Martin Klein, Conchata Ferrell, Yeardley Smith
John gets frustrated when a childless couple who come to him for advice on getting pregnant misconstrue everything he says. Elsewhere, Chris flirts with a fire marshal to get out of a ticket, but Bob's attempt to charm a police officer who is about to write him up for jaywalking backfires.
Written by Michael RoweGuest stars Leon Russom, Heidi Swedberg, Jason Kravits, Joe Nieves
When Chris's all-too-friendly ex-husband unexpectedly shows up and stays at her apartment, Becker tries everything he can to keep the divorced duo apart.
Directed by Gail MancusoGuest stars Jon Cryer, Amy Spanger
John realizes he still has feelings for Chris after a series of romantic dreams about her, but he fears she doesn't feel the same way about him. Meanwhile, Linda lives in fear that something bad is going to happen to her after she is involved in an accident on her way to work
