 |
|
Saturday, July 25, 1998
Networking in L.A.: Ted Danson heads back into the sitcom arena with 'Becker' on CBS
|
By Tim Kiska / The Detroit News
Tim Kiska is attending the semiannual television writers'
national conference.
PASADENA, Calif. -- Ted Danson, the former Cheers star whose last sitcom --
Ink -- was pink-slipped by CBS after only one season, is about to give it another go, as a
doctor.
He'll star in the sitcom Becker early next year on CBS as John Becker, who
is described by the network as "a dedicated and talented doctor with a gruff
exterior. Unfortunately, his interior isn't all that warm and fuzzy, either."
In other words, the character is quite some distance from Sam Malone, the
Boston bartender he portrayed for 11 years in Cheers. Sam might be described as nice.
Becker would never be described that way. In fact, a reasonable person could describe
Becker as controversial, maybe even politically incorrect.
"At age 50, it's nice not having to be nice," Danson told
television critics gathered here Friday. "Having done it for 11 years, it's nice not
to have to do jokes."
Danson said he had all but given up on doing another sitcom until he saw the
Becker script.
He described the philosophy behind the character as "life is too short
to suffer fools lightly. We're running out of time here, folks. He's a diagnostician. You
come into his office, he tells you what's wrong with you.
"The problem with Becker is that he goes out into the world and also
makes diagnoses when nobody really asks him to."
Danson said he had learned some lessons from his experience on Ink, which
was created specifically for him but still wound up on the scrap heap after a troubled
season.
"To have somebody create a show for you, I think, is probably a mistake
from my point of view. I think it's much better to read a script that excites you, that
was written out of somebody's passion, and then ask very nicely to play the part. You get
the full creative blast, as opposed to somebody trying to tailor something, and start to
edit their process. That's definitely the way to do it, and that's exactly what happened
here."
Danson said he read a script written by writer/producer Dave Hackel, who had
worked on Dear John, Wings and Frasier. Hackel described his thinking when he created the
Becker character: "I've been on the planet for 49 years, and I see a lot of things
that piss me off."
No air date has been set for Becker, but the show is slated as a midseason
replacement.
Also on the CBS slate for fall: Martial Law, a one-hour comedic drama that
stars Sammo Hung, the bad guy in the late Bruce Lee's last film, Enter the Dragon.
Hung will play a Shanghai detective who moves to L.A.
This page is a mirror reposted here for your convenience.
