 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
||
|
||
Thursday May 10 3:10 PM ET
Ted Danson Loves Un-Nice 'Becker'
By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - It's been awhile since Sam Malone pulled a draft on ``Cheers,'' and Ted Danson, who for 11 seasons reigned as TV's barkeep Casanova, has put it all behind him.
But not as far back as the ``Cheers'' last call in 1993. Instead, it was with Danson's current sitcom, ``Becker,'' that he finally laid Sam to rest.
``I was 50,'' says Danson, thinking back three years, ``and I remember saying, 'The romantic thing is kind of wearing thin. I'm tired of having to be charming and nice.'
``And then,'' he recalls with a blossoming grin, ``along came this amazing script which was so UN-nice!''
The script (written by Dave Hackel, executive producer of the series-to-be) gave rise to a new kind of character for Danson: a fussy, misanthropic Harvard research scientist who flees to the Bronx and a ragtag medical practice.
For Danson, Dr. John Becker was just what the doctor ordered.
``My favorite kind of comedy is one that comes out of pain and sadness,'' Danson says, ``and this guy is in so much pain. So-o-o lonely!''
Of course, Sam had been lonely, too, with the very word ``alone'' embedded in his surname. But he and his fellow ``Cheers'' misfits embraced their loneliness communally. Becker guards his with selfish defiance.
The comedy comes from Becker's clashes with the world that surrounds and usually confounds him.
What's with all these people getting tattoos! ``You want to let some ex-biker with a rusty dentist's drill use your body for a doodle pad, go ahead!''
Good morning, Becker! ``Oh, yeah! Just great! I got a toilet that won't stop, a car that won't go, I got neighbors that won't shut up and a breakfast that won't stay down.''
His immediate world is populated by his take-charge nurse Margaret (Hattie Winston) and by office airhead Linda (Shawnee Smith) as well as regulars at the diner where Becker seems to take every meal: Reggie (Terry Farrell), the gal who owns it; the blind newsstand vendor Jake (Alex Desert), and Bob, the wisecracking grifter (Saverio Guerra).
``No one who bumps into Becker takes him seriously for two seconds,'' says Danson. ``They think he's a jackass and a fool and a bit of a bore.
``His anger comes out of wanting to do the right thing, but he has no idea how to be with people, no idea how to be intimate. It's almost as if he buried himself in the Bronx because instinctively he knew: `This is my last whack at not ending up a hermit.'''
Wrapping its third season Monday at 9:30 p.m. EDT, ``Becker'' is a solid Top 20 hit for CBS. And it's a triumph for Danson: proof that he can score as someone other than Sammy.
But even thriving as a middle-age grump, Danson is as rangy and square-jawed as ever. The main clue that time has passed is his gray skullcap 'do, quite a different look than the lush brown pompadour of Sam Malone's day.
``Sam made me into this leading man that I'm really not,'' says Danson. ``I'm a character actor, and that's what I love to do.''
No doubt about it, John Becker is a character. But there's another reason Danson feels blessed with his new show: It followed his big TV flop.
With great fanfare in early 1996, Danson and his wife, Mary Steenburgen, signed to co-star in a CBS sitcom scheduled for that fall. Then the brainstorming began: What would it be about?
The agreed-upon concept - a divorced couple working, fighting and flirting at a New York newspaper - never clicked. After one season, ``Ink'' was axed.
``Mary and I had a great time working with each other,'' recalls Danson, moony at the very mention of her name, ``and when the plug was pulled, it was - ahhh - so hard! But as far as the creative process goes, everything was done kind of ass-backwards.
``If you're Seinfeld or Cosby, sure, hire writers and call the shots. But if you're an actor, you cut out a big part of the creative process by having people develop something for you. Because then the material gets dragged down to your level, as opposed to you latching on to somebody's passionate, I-gotta-write-this energy.''
That was the lesson of ``Ink,'' borne out for Danson when he latched himself to ``Becker'' and dared to grow into it.
``Doing `Becker' is wonderful, because of the work, but I don't feel carefree and silly,'' he says. ``I'm a doctor who stays miffed most of the time. I'm NOT a bartender hanging out with a bunch of goofballs.''
Instead of Sam's lady-killing swagger, Becker slouches and fidgets and shakes his shorn head. But what's this? Becker has retained one touch of youth: His hair is still brown.
``I wanted to do it gray,'' declares Danson, ``but that made the network nervous.''
Suddenly, he's wearing a mischievous grin.
``I wish Becker would get caught in the rain,'' he says, ``and his brown hair dye would stream down his face.''
Danson's fingers brush his cheeks to trace an imaginary mess. Poor Becker. Danson, laughing, savors the scene.
-
On the Net:
This page is a mirror, reposted here for your convenience.
