BECKER: DRIVE, THEY SAID (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about a gruff neighborhood doctor working in the Bronx. Linda becomes convinced that a personals ad in the paper is meant for her, and she hopes to meet with her mysterious suitor despite Margaret warning her against it. Becker manages to get tickets to a Mets game from one of his patients in lieu of pay, and Margaret asks him to drop her off at a surprise party on his way to Shea Stadium. He goes to Reggie’s to eat and asks Jake to accompany him to the game, but Jake says he has to visit his grandmother, and he convinces Becker to give him a ride to her place. Reggie asks to go with Becker to the game despite her lack of enthusiasm for it. Linda asks Becker to drop her off in Queens for her date, adding to Becker’s frustration at having to drive so many people. Problems begin immediately when Becker’s beat-up old car refuses to start. Becker’s reckless driving and bad attitude make his passengers agitated. Soon he gets into an automobile accident with another car and gets into a heated argument with the other driver. Reggie, Linda, and Margaret urge Becker to apologize to the other driver and move on, but Becker stubbornly refuses. The other driver suddenly starts experiencing heart problems and Becker discovers his pulse is weak. They take the man to Queens General Hospital, and Becker stays to make sure he is okay despite insisting that the accident was not his fault. The assembled party leaves the hospital, each one trying to convince Becker to drop them off first. However, Becker feels that he cannot leave the hospital at the moment and lends them the car. Becker speaks with the accident victim and finds that he has pains in both his chest and his upper back, which he finds suspicious. He tries to convince the resident doctor that the man might be dissecting his thoracic aorta and requires a CAT scan, but the doctor rejects Becker’s hypothesis, believing that Becker is merely trying to assuage his feelings of guilt about the accident. None of Becker’s friends make it to their destinations; Linda’s “soulmate” walks off, Margaret’s surprise party is ruined, and Reggie manages to feign a love of baseball in order to attract a young doctor at the hospital. Becker and the others get fed up and decide to leave, but Becker is stopped by the resident doctor, who reveals that he ran the CAT scan after all and Becker’s diagnosis was correct. He thanks Becker, and Becker tries to give him some advice. Becker ends up driving Reggie and her new doctor friend to a sports bar. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: May 3, 1999 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:41
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:71573
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1998-2004
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Dave Hackel … Executive Producer, Created by
- Ian Gurvitz … Co-Executive Producer
- Russ Woody … Co-Executive Producer
- Andy Ackerman … Producer, Director
- Tim Berry … Producer
- Marsha Myers … Co-Producer
- Michael Markowitz … Co-Producer
- Lori A. Moneymaker … Co-Producer
- Ken Levine … Writer
- David Isaacs … Writer
- Bruce Miller … Music by
- Ted Danson … Cast, Dr. John Becker
- Terry Farrell … Cast, Regina "Reggie" Kostas
- Hattie Winston … Cast, Margaret Wyborn
- Shawnee Smith … Cast, Linda
- Alex Desert … Cast, Jake Malinak
- Jonathan Nichols … Cast, Jimmy
- Kevin Richardson … Cast, Dr. Stewart
- Peter Iacangelo … Cast, Rich
- Scott Thompson Baker … Cast, Dr. Witlin
- Connie Sawyer … Cast, Mrs. Yudelson