jmwpublic

No wonder there's so much disdain and lack of appreciation for how people lived in the past. Stop making films about old world history as though it's today's teenagers playing dress-up. Use of current music distracts from immersing oneself in the time period.

The 1995 miniseries with Carla Gugino, Mira Sorvino, Greg Wise, Michael Kitchen and Cheri Lunghi is so much better than this drivel. Carla is wonderfully cast as is James Frain.

Learned recently that this story is loosely based on Winston Churchill's mother.

The original version is 6 episodes long and enthralling from beginning to end.

Once Becker found its footing with Becker, Margaret, Linda, Reggie, Jake & Bob, every episode had great LOL moments. It was perfectly cast, with strong scripts, storylines, comedic timing & guest roles. Even some of the recurring patients were a hoot (remember Mrs. Recinos).

Most surprising for me... the comedic chops of Shawnee Smith & Terry Farrell. Before Becker, I'd only ever seen Shawnee Smith in dramatic roles, and had a fleeting remembrance of Terry Farrell in the Star Trek franchise. Both gave funny heartwarming performances as Linda and Reggie, respectively, especially Shawnee Smith.

Ted Danson as Becker was fantastic... not a trace of Sam Malone to be found. Not many actors are given the chance to play such varied characters, so vividly and successfully. Most continue to play some form of the same character over and over. Not Danson. Every sitcom ensemble he's a part of - as lead or otherwise - his performance bares little resemblance to past characters he's played. He was perfectly cast as John Becker.

I recall seeing Hattie Winston (Margaret) in small roles through the years and her flare for comedy was a pleasant surprise. Rounding out the cast with Alex Désert as Jake and Saverio Guerra as Bob - a late entrant to the ensemble - was the cherry on top. (I was surprised to learn Alex Désert isn't really blind).

For some behind the scenes reason, Terry Farrell left the show and was replaced with Nancy Travis. Travis has always been a favorite of mine, but once cast in Becker, the show lost its mojo... that intangible something that made it work and had it firing on all cylinders. It lost its chemistry!

It's hard to find all episodes of Becker streaming somewhere. When you do find it, some of the best episodes aren't included (i.e., the Princess Cruise aftermath episode springs to mind 🤣🤣😂🤣😂....). Happy I now own the full series on DVD.

Stroll down memory lane and rewatching series 1-3 to remind myself what I found so appealing before I watch the more recent incarnation without Caroline Quentin. While the series holds up in story telling and baffling mysteries, I now find Maddy to be extremely annoying and not in the least bit funny. She lacks any modicum of self-awareness and blames Jonathan for everything that's her fault. She's selfish, manipulative, and conniving and if I didn't like Caroline Quentin as an actress I would not have watched this series if her antics annoyed me the first time. Looking forward to finally watching series without her character in it.