Ted Danson’s Personas Integrated in One Fantastic, Funny, Fun New Show—Help Me Help You
Ted Danson’s Personas Integrated in One Fantastic, Funny, Fun New Show—Help Me Help You by Roxanne McDonald
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Snarky egotist Sam Malone meets crabby curmudgeon John Becker, MD—to bring us another hilarious character, Dr. Bill Hoffman. |
It’s no wonder that when Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza collaborate on a pilot for NBC that George relentlessly alludes to Ted Danson—to how Ted Danson is treated, to how much per episode Ted Danson makes ($800,000/episode on Cheers)….
Whether the writers had a thing for Danson or a grudge ( which I doubt) or whatever,
he is also mentioned (as wikipedia contributors note) numerous times throughout the Seinfeld series and brought in once more in the second to last episode, with George again grousing how Ted Danson gets a better plane than they who are being flown to LA to air the pilot do.
And while Costanza is (in the postmodern sense) just as valuable/marketable, Ted Danson is one enduring performer who has come full circle with two TV characters who share commonalities to offer us a third who is a composite of the two and more.
Sam Malone (Cheers, 1982-1993; now in re-run) A former Red Sox pitcher with a continuing following, Sam was the hottie who knew it. He womanized and seduced his way through almost every episode, save those wherein he was in a committed relationship—and then was a frustrated playboy toy boy struggling to abstain from adventures that aggrandized his already bloated ego. Charmer, lover, and foil and fumbler when the comedy called for it, Ted Danson made himself a household name—swoon—early on through this cocky alter ego.
Dr. John Becker (Becker, 1998-2004, in re-run) The character was such a stretch in so many ways from the Sam character, that it is a wonder the pilot of Becker took. But it not only took but flew—with the versatility Danson showed in a character that was perpetually disgruntled, purposely antisocial (save his daily visits to the local coffee shop where the only ones who would tolerate him longer than his medical assistant hung out for hours on end), and predictably obsessive…about the crime, the degeneration, and the decadence of his home and work environs.
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