Becker is a dedicated, outspoken and talented doctor with a gruff exterior. While he tends to offend those who try to get close to him, he is extremely dedicated to his medical practice in the Bronx, N.Y., where he always goes the extra mile to help those in need. But Dr. John Becker looks at the world around him and sees a society gone mad, full of incongruities and just plain wrong thinking. And he has no qualms about saying anything that comes to mind – anything.
| Alternative Titles | |
| First Air Date: | 1998-11-02 |
| Last Air Date: | 2004-01-28 |
| Number of Episodes: | 129 |
| Number of Seasons: | 6 |
| Genres: | Comedy |
| Status: | Ended |
| Networks: | $CBS |
| Casts: | Ted Danson, Hattie Winston, Shawnee Smith, Alex Désert, Jorge Garcia, Nancy Travis |
On the face of it, two A-list men at the top of the bill should have made this compelling, but sadly what we get is a rather lacklustre thriller that is positively lacking in thrills! The story centres around police officer "O'Meara" (Harrison Ford) who takes in an Irish lodger "Devaney" (Brad Pitt and his hilarious Irish accent). From the outset, we are aware that the lodger is really an IRA terrorist who is hiding out under an assumed name, and gradually his host begins to suspect that all is not what is seems. What now ensues is a really rather poorly constructed story that leaves breadcrumbs for us all to follow to an ending that though taut at times along the way, is really nothing very interesting. As a Brit, I've always found these intrigue films that portray terrorists as glorified freedom fighters a bit tough to stomach and the narrative here plays to just about every dumb stereotype imaginable. There is precious little by way of action and the pace sort of lumbers along with little to engage the little grey cells. The plot is overly simplistic and from a political perspective, totally one-sided and that renders the whole thing little better than an hollow outing for both. Though Pitt is at his most eye-catching, this is nothing at all to write home about and offers us little of meaning to help comprehend the complexities of the true problems on the island of Ireland.
