Becker – The Third Season (2000 – 2001/CBS DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C
Though I
have come to like Ted Danson over the years, I was no big fan of Cheers and was not always impressed
with his earlier work outside of that hit sitcom. That unimpressed sense of his work continued
with the surprise of his hit sitcom Becker,
where he played a doctor in what was supposed to be a funny show, but never
worked. Lazy and a few light-years away
from the likes of The Bob Newhart Show,
I never thought the show worked and the DVD release of The Third Season confirmed what I thought.
The show
wants to be more like a Cheers or Seinfeld and nothing here really ever
meshes, the characters are not developed to the point that I could enjoy them
and the storylines are as weak as I remembered them. Of course, enough people tuned in for a while
(six seasons!?!), but here are all 24 half-hours and you can decide for
yourself. I just watched these again and
still cannot remember them, in part because it is every sitcom convention you
could imagine. With half the series out,
you can see for yourself, even starting with the first season if you must look
at all.
One plus
for the show is that it has the great Marvin Kaplan as a recurring character,
but he cannot save it either.
The 1.33
X 1 image is in decent shape as it should beg and does look filmed, though
these transfers all look like they are finished on NTSC professional-level
analog videotape. You can see detail
limits, color limits and other flaws throughout. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and
good, but not great by any means, showing some compression here and there. Episodes are consistent from show to show,
but there are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
