Becker (1998–2004): Season 2, Episode 11 - Blind Curve - full transcript

( upbeat blues theme playing )

Hey.

Hey, Jake.
Hey.

You ever have something happen

that's so great,
that's so perfect that you--

You just can't wait
to share it with someone?

'Cause I just did, and I just
can't wait to share it.

What?
What happened?

Actually, Reggie,
you're not the person

I wanted to share it with.

So, uh, John,



they had a raffle
at my grandmother's church,

and guess who won.

Jake, I can't even fake
enthusiasm for this topic.

I won.

Ah, good for you.

Wait till you hear
what I won.

A big-screen TV.

What?

( laughing )

Oh, now I get it.

JAKE:
That's right, John.

I won a state of the art,

Surround Sound, 56-inch,
big-screen TV.

Well, what--?



You're blind.

That's the beauty part.

What--? What the hell
are you gonna do

with a 56-inch TV?

And he's off.

Why not make it
a zillion inches?

You know, how about
picture-in-picture

so you can't see
two shows at the same time?

You know, it's not fair.

You know, I'm stuck with
a 30-year-old

black-and-white console
with rabbit ears,

and the blind guy here
has his own drive-in.

You know, there are
these places called stores

where you can exchange money
for any kind of TV you want.

Yeah, the key word here
is "money."

No, the key word here
is "cheap."

Ha.

You know what I like
about you guys?

No, really, I'm asking.

Well, I've gotta go
to the bank.

And, yes, John,

I'll be laughing
all the way there.

( Jake laughing )

Jake?

Yeah?

Hey, it's me, Chris.

Chris.

CHRIS:
Yeah.

How are you, man?

I'm good. You?

Good.

Wow, it's good to see you.

I-- I'm in town
visiting my mom, you know,

I thought I'd look you up.

I mean, it's been,
like, what, forever?

It's been a long time.
Yeah, I know.

You know, I wasn't sure
if you'd wanna talk to me.

What'd you wanna talk about?

Oh, I thought maybe we could
go to dinner or something.

You busy tonight?

No, tonight's cool.

Cool, cool, great.

Um, I'll pick you up
around 7.

All right.
All right.

So who was that?

Chris Davis, an old friend.

Y-you know the car accident
where I lost my sight?

He was the one driving.

( somber blues theme playing )

( funky blues theme playing )

Morning.

Tony Sinclair's in One.

But take your time.

He's only been waiting
15 minutes.

Which is your passive-aggressive
way of saying I'm late.

I do believe
you've cracked the code.

Oh, no.

I can't believe
it's been a year.

You waited a year
for that shirt?

No.

This is my friend
Patricia's

cute little way
of reminding me

that it's time
for our annual road trip.

That sounds like fun.

Oh, yeah?

How would you like
to be locked in a trailer

for 48 hours?

Done it.

No, I meant
with five other women

headed to some dopey
tourist attraction.

Well, if you don't wanna go,
just tell them.

Oh, I can't.

These are women that I knew
from nursing school.

I mean, haven't you ever done
something you hated

strictly
out of obligation?

You're kidding,
right?

Look, just make up a story
and get out of it.

Oh, I can't lie.

I'm no good at it.

People always know.

I could teach you how.

No.

I'd just feel guilty.

But no one will know.

God will know.

Not if you don't
tell him.

Yo, yo, yo, s'up, doc?

Well, Tony, let me
take a look at your arm

and we'll see.

Ah, that's it.

Yo, my arm's givin' me
so much pain,

Tony can't get busy.

And a brother's gotta get busy,

know what I'm sayin'?

A brother?

Yo, Diz-octor Biz-ecker,

like, we all brothers

oppressed by the man's
mighty white hand.

Yeah,
speaking of the man,

is your father still
vice president

of the Riverdale
Savings Bank?

Pssh, yeah.

Got his ass in charge
of rapin' the 'hood.

Is that right?

Well, homey, uh...

it appears that you've
developed tennis elbow.

You're kidding. Will I be
all right by Saturday?

I-I'm in a mixed doubles
tournament with my mom.

Yeah. Here's, uh,
some Naprosyn

for the, uh,
swelling.

I'm also gonna call in a
prescription for Velveeta,

Miracle Whip and--
And Wonder Bread.

Now go.

No, wait a minute.

There. Now go.

( funky blues theme playing )

Do you think he's okay?

Is who okay?

Jake?

What?

Nothing.

( quietly ):
What is the matter with you?

What?

His friend comes back
after all this time,

and Jake says
he's not even upset.

You don't have to be
a psychology major,

which I am,

to see that
he's in total denial.

And it would make you
feel better if he were upset?

No.

But if he were upset,

then I'd think he was okay
because he should be,

but obviously
he is upset

because he's acting like
he's not.

That made no sense.

You're gonna make
a great therapist.

Say, Reg, um,
I'm gonna leave early.

You mind keeping
an eye on things?

Sure.

Hey, Jake.

Uh, it's me,
Chris.

Yeah, I heard
the voice, man.

Right, right,
of course you did.

Oh, uh, Chris Davis,

Reggie Kostas,
John Becker.

REGGIE: Hi.
Nice to meet you.

So, uh, I thought
we'd go downtown.

How does steak sound?

Sounds good.
Cool, cool.

Yeah, other arm.
Yeah, I got it.

Oh, you got it.

Okay.

Careful, there's a step.
Yeah, I know, I got it.

Let me get the door for you.
I can get the damn door.

I come in and out of here
every day.

Sorry, man, I--
I just wanted to help.

Well, I don't need your help.

You know what, Chris,
what's going on?

I mean, you haven't
come to see me in years.

Why now? What do you want?

Well, actually,

I thought we could
talk about that over dinner.

No, why don't we
talk about it now,

see if we even
wanna go to dinner?

Okay.

Uh, I've told you
how sorry I am

about what happened
that night.

But what you don't know

is that my life
hasn't been the same.

I mean,
don't get me wrong, man,

you know, not like yours.

But, well,

I started drinking.

I mean, really drinking.

Chris--
No, no, let me finish,

or I'm never gonna
get through this.

I've had trouble
holding onto a job.

I got married, but I
couldn't make that work either.

I pretty much hit bottom.

But then I got myself
into a program,

and, well...

I guess I learned that
what I really need to recover...

is for you to forgive me.

Chris,

you walked away
from that accident.

I walked away with this.

I can't help you, man.

( blues theme playing )

( funky blues theme playing )

MAN ( over TV ):
My, oh my, can he run.

( static over TV )

He does.
He's got Jim Thornton--

And now-- Kicking off--
It's a--

( static over TV )

Ow! Gee--

( cursing indistinctly )

Ball is down,
there's a flag on the play!

Flag on the play.
I don't know if he--

( static over TV )

Oh, making the same mistake
over and over again.

And once again...
(knock on door )

...we've got another
three and out.

There they go.
( knocking continues )

Watch the replay here.
Oh, crap.

( static over TV )

What? Oh.

Sorry to drop in
on you like this.

Uh, is Liz here
tonight?

No, Liz is working late
at the hospital.

Otherwise, she'd be
holding this.

( sighs )

Well, I tried
to call you, but,

uh, oh, your phone's
off the hook.

No, no, don't--
Don't touch the phone.

It makes
the game better.

Having your phone off the hook
makes the game better?

Yeah, yeah, that way
no one can bother me

while I'm watching it.

What do you want?

I want you go over
and talk to Jake.

I tried calling him
at least 15 times.

He won't pick up,
he won't return my calls.

And I'm beginning
to get the feeling

that he doesn't
want to talk to me.

Well, maybe he's watching
the game like I'm trying to do.

The picture's so crappy.

How can you even see it?

It's fine.

It just--
It just ghosts a little.

That-- That's all.

There's like 80 guys
on the field.

Well, I got it down to 40
before you got here.

Would you stop worrying
about the stupid TV?

I'm trying to talk to you
about Jake.

I mean, you saw
how upset he was.

I mean, if it was me,
I'd want someone to talk to.

You know, I wouldn't
wanna be alone.

He's not alone.

He's got a big-screen TV
to keep him company.

I thought you were
his friend.

I am his friend, Reggie.

That's why
I'm leaving him alone.

Look, if he wants to talk,
he'll call me.

Your phone's
off the hook.

I meant after the game.

I can't believe you, Becker.

I know you're
a selfish son of a bitch,

but I always thought you were
a decent human being.

( static voices over TV )

MAN ( on TV ):
And he is in for the score.

All right.
( knock on door )

A punt return all the way
from 65 yards.

Who is it?

BECKER:
Come on, man, it's Becker.
Open up.

...that's the second return
this year they've taken

for a touchdown.

Which is rare...
Hey.

Just thought
I'd stop by--

Hey, hey, I don't wanna
talk to anyone now.

No, I don't either.

I just wanna catch
the end of he game.

My-- My TV crapped out.

Ray, how about this return?

Oh, my God.

Greg Gumbel is gigantic.

Oh, this is--
This is amazing.

( chuckles )

Uh, John, how many times
do I have to tell you,

everything is in a place
for a reason.

So if you move something,
let me know.

Oh, I'm sorry.

You all right?
Yeah.

Hey, you got any--
You got any chips?

No.

Son of a bitch!

Relax.
I have Cheetos.

No, no, I was talking about
the game.

Some clown just dropped
the pass.

What, are you blind?

Once again, we've got another--

Figure of speech,

figure of speech.

You see, he's coming across
the middle, the ball...

Wild guess:

Reggie talk to you?

About what?

Oh, come on, man.

She's been leaving
messages all day.

I mean, you think
she'd get the hint.

I don't wanna talk about Chris.

Neither do I.

I'm here to watch the game.

They're dropping everything.

All right,
and he is back to punt.

You think I should
forgive him, don't you?

Oh, what a beautiful punt.

Oh, beautiful.
( TV turns off )

Okay, you wanna
talk about it?

Let's talk about it.

I don't wanna
talk about it.

All right,
we'll just watch TV.

He's got two men to beat.

He goes on--

'Cause I've got my reasons,
you know.

( TV clicks off )

Okay.

Eh, mm, nah, forget it.

Fine.
( TV turns on )

...He is in for the score!

Oh, my.

You know, it's just really hard
to talk about.

( TV clicks off )

Take your time.

I'd rather not. I'm sorry.

( TV turns on )

I mean, you wanna know
why I won't forgive Chris?

I'll tell you why.

Hey, you know, tell me,
don't tell me.

Just stop
driving me crazy here.

Okay.

All right, it was the summer
after high school, right?

And we're going to a party.

Now what you already know
is that Chris was driving.

Now, what you don't know,
is that he was drunk.

And I mean, really drunk.

You didn't have
a designated driver?

We ditched him. And before
you say it, yes,

I know I didn't have to
get in the car.

Maybe I was drunk too,
all right?

But he was the one driving.
He should've known better.

You're right.
He should have.

And you still think
I'm being a hard-ass?

Don't you think
I wanna forgive him?

I mean, come on, man, he--
He was my best friend.

Boy, that makes it tough.

What're you gonna do?

That's his problem, not mine.

You know what,
I don't wanna talk about it.

Let's just finish
watching the game.

Okay.

( man on TV speaking Spanish )

Yo, Jake?

I hear it. I'm not deaf.

MAN ( on TV ):
How will God know you love him

if you don't send a check
or money order--

( woman moaning over TV )

( crowd roaring over TV )

Whoa, wait, wait, wait.

Go back.

( woman moaning over TV )

( blues theme playing )

Yoo-hoo!

Hey, Margaret, that woman must
have gone through our trash,

she's wearing
your crappy T-shirt.

( whispers ):
No, it's Patricia.

Be right there.

( whispering ):
I just don't know
if I can lie to her.

Sure you can.

She trusts you. Use that.

Margaret, there's a new addition
to the trailer this year.

Now, I-- I don't
wanna give anything away,

but the secret word
is "karaoke."

Patricia, I can't go.

Oh, no.
I know.

You're kidding.
I'm not.

But why?
Well, it's--

It-- It's--
It's my husband.

He's...dead.

Set.

He's dead set
on me not going.

He just gets so lonely
when I'm not there.

He just hates
being by himself.

But I don't understand.

Louis was coming too.

Huh?

It was supposed to be
a surprise,

but it was Louis
who suggested

we go as couples
this year.

Why would he say
he didn't want you to go?

Yes. Hee-hee!

Why would he say that?

Margaret, please,
let me.

Okay.

This is very difficult
for Margaret.

Louis hasn't been well.

It's not so much physical
as it is mental.

The doctors diagnosed it as
multiple personality disorder.

You obviously talked to

the sociable,
outgoing Louis.

But there's
another one.

The dark, brooding,
sullen Louis,

who barely
leaves the house.

If you've seen
those movies on Lifetime,

you know what
I'm talking about.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

But, you know,
now that you mention it,

there's always been
something about Louis

that seemed a little off.

Yeah.

You be strong.

Sometimes I'm so good,
I scare myself.

You scare me too.

Now, are you gonna come home
with me and explain to Louis

why everyone thinks
that he's insane?

Oh, you know, Margaret,
I'm really not comfortable

getting involved
in your personal life.

( mellow blues theme playing )

Jake?

Chris.

What're you
doing here, man?

Just visiting
the old neighborhood.

It's amazing.

This place always smells like
pot roast, dope and bus fumes.

Yeah, some things
never change, right?

( laughs )

Hey, uh,

remember that summer
we got paid to help the super

fix things
around the building?

Yeah, yeah.

Hey,
I never told you this,

but that time I said
I lost the money,

I didn't.

I ditched it
and blew it on video games.

Well, what you don't know
is that when you ditched me,

I was upstairs fooling around
with your sister.

Well, she was voted
Most Popular.

That'd be my vote.

( both chuckling )

A lot of memories here.

Yeah, yeah,

most of them pretty good.

( sighs )

Man, we were so stupid.

You know, we could've
killed someone that night.

I know.

Look, Chris, uh,

I've been thinking,
and, uh--

Yeah?

Well, I've really tried
to find it in my heart

to forgive you,

but I can't.

The truth is, it's--

It's because
I can't forgive myself.

Jake, it wasn't
your fault.

Yeah, I know,

but I had just as much
to drink as you did.

I didn't have to
get in the car.

And I shouldn't have
let you drive.

I thought I could.
You know, I really did.

I know.

Look, I'm here

because I wanna take
some of the blame off of you

and accept my part in it.

That's the best I can do.

Thanks.

Hey, I appreciate
you coming down here.

It's okay.

( somber blues theme playing )

( funky blues theme playing )

Hey, Jake.

Hey.

( whispers ):
Find out if he's okay.

Jake, Reg wants to know
if you're okay.

Well, not okay,
but better.

Um, Reg, I owe you an apology.

I mean, all those phone calls,

I'm sorry I didn't
get back to you.

But I do appreciate
the concern.

And, John,

uh, well, I'm sorry
for going on like I did.

It's all right.

Jake, I should
apologize to you.

I-- I should've
left you alone.

It was really
none of my business.

Oh, that's cool. You meant well.

And, Becker, last night
at your apartment,

I was a little harsh.

And I'm-- I'm sorry.

It's all right.

All right, uh,

yeah, I have--
I have something I wanna say.

I think you should
give me your TV.

What?

Oh, come on,
you've had your fun.

Now give me the TV.

Well, at least think about it.

( upbeat blues theme playing )