Becker (1998–2004): Season 3, Episode 24 - Trials and Defibrillations - full transcript

Oh, good, good, good,
I'm glad you're here.

Look, I made some notes that I
think you should incorporate

in your opening statement.

I, uh... I covered legal
precedent, medical background

and some biographical
information.

I also, uh, worked in

some quotes
from Churchill, Hippocrates

and, heh, even a lyric
from an old Beatles song, heh.

Great, since you did that,

why don't I stay here
and see some of your patients?

Oh.



Look, you know, I'm...
I'm the one on trial here.

I... I wanna be involved.

How much more involved
could you be?

You're the defendant.

Oh.
Look,

all you need to do is show up,
sit down, and this is key,

shut up.

But you mean
until I take the stand.

Yeah, about that,

I don't think
that's a good idea.

Not a good idea?

Why the hell wouldn't you
want me to take the stand?

Don't you want the jury to
have a chance to get to know me?

I mean,
how else are they gonna find out



that I'm... That I'm a competent,
level-headed, calm...?

Well, it's all there
if you need it.

I hope I'll be okay, Margaret.

My granddaughter's
getting married next week,

and I wanna go to the reception
and really let the dogs out.

I'm sure you'll be fine,
Mr. Gordon.

I'll see you in court
tomorrow morning.

And don't dress up.
Just look the way you always do.

It'll work for you.

Because I'll look sincere?

No, because it'll invoke pity.

Just take this to this address,

and they'll set you up
with something

called a Holter monitor.
What's that?

It's a cardiac monitor
that you'll wear for 24 hours.

I just wanna make sure
your heart's

not causing your dizzy spells.

Then tomorrow,
I bring the monitor back here?

Uh, no.
Because of my trial,

Dr. Klein's
gonna be checking the results.

You're my doctor.
I want you to help me.

I don't care if you killed
that man.

Oh, boy.

All right, all right, all right,
I'll tell you what.

I'll, uh... I'll look at your
results myself, Mr. Gordon.

Good.

Thank you, Dr. Becker.
You're welcome.

Oh, you know, John,
it's gonna be okay.

Thank you, Margaret, but
no matter what happens to me,

remember, no touching.

Oh, right. Forgot.

You know, she's right,
Dr. Becker.

I'm sure that once you've had
your day in court,

everyone will know that
you didn't do anything wrong.

Oh, well, thank you.
I... I appreciate that.

Yeah, you ran an ad
for a receptionist,

and since my boss
almost killed a guy,

I'm gonna need a job.

Reg, just some coffee, please.

Actually, make that decaf.

I need to calm down
before court.

Oh, that's right.
Today's the day.

Are you sure I can't make
you something special?

I've been coming here for years.
I'm positive.

I don't blame you
for being nervous.

Twelve people who were pissed

they couldn't get off
of jury duty

are gonna decide the course
of the rest of your life.

Yeah, thanks...
Thanks for the pep talk, Jake.

Actually, my lawyer said
everything's gonna be fine.

Speaking of your lawyer,

when is that hot little piece of
corpus delicti gonna get here?

Oh, please, she'd grind you up
like so much hamburger meat.

Hey, if she's grinding anything,
let it be Bob.

Listen, Becker, all kidding
aside, are you okay?

You really do seem stressed.

You always seem stressed, but...
I'm not stressed, all right?

I'm fine.

All I'm saying is, with all
that you're going through,

maybe you should consider
talking to someone.

I know this therapist...

Then make yourself
an appointment, Reg.

You know,
why couldn't you have studied

something quiet, like mime?

Oh, yes, mime.

Where complicated thoughts are
conveyed with a simple gesture.

Wanna see one now?

Hey, Becker.
What are you doing here?

I came to lend
a little moral support.

And you,
a little floral support.

Hey, you know,
we're working here.

Yeah, you and me both.

Hey, Dr. Becker. How you doing?

Oh, you know, good.

Except for the fact
you're suing me.

I was afraid you'd take this
personally.

Vinny, we're about
to get started.

Just sit down and look pathetic
like we rehearsed.

All rise.

The honourable
Marion Reinhold presiding.

Case Number 1436,
Deluca v. Becker.

Is plaintiff's counsel prepared
to present opening remarks?

I am, Your Honour. Ahem.

When I get through with you,

there won't be enough left
to put in a teaspoon.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I'm a simple man.

Like many of you,

I was raised by good, honest,
hard-working people

that couldn't give me
material things, God love them.

But they did give me

a clear sense
of right and wrong.

It comes down to this.

Vinny trusted this man,
and it almost cost him his life.

Will money make up
for almost losing his life?

No.

Or to his wife
and his children,

for almost losing
a husband and a father?

No.

Or to his dear little mother,
Sophia,

who almost lived
life's greatest tragedy:

To bury a child?

I love you too, Ma.

Is anyone really falling
for this?

And in closing,
ladies and gentlemen,

I'd like to thank you
for your patience.

And soon, I hope
to be able to thank you

for your good judgement
in helping me

to right this terrible, terrible
wrong.

Butcher.

Miss Sonders?

Vinny Deluca spent years
abusing his body.

And when the inevitable
happened,

he looked for someone to blame.

Dr. Becker is not that person.

That's it?

His guy was up for, like,
an hour.

That's all you've got?

Unless you brought
your Italian mother,

yeah, that's all I've got.

Now, Vinny,
if you had misgivings

about going to the gym
that day,

why did you go?

'Cause I trusted Dr. Becker.

And, uh, when you say
Dr. Becker,

who exactly
are you referring to?

That man right there.

Oh, come on.
Who didn't know that already?

I thought you said the jury
would see Vinny

for what he really is.

Yeah, and apparently,
he's really nice.

Don't worry, they've only heard
one side of the story.

Things will turn around.
Ah.

Hey, Dr. Becker.
We're going out for some lunch.

You wanna join us?

Has no one explained this
to you?

See you later.

Hey, Vinny, I'll catch up
with you guys in a minute.

Hello, again.

Judging by the way
things are going,

you obviously have a thing
for losers.

So why not make a day of it
and have dinner with Bob.

Will you just get lost?

I saw what that man did to you.
Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm fine.
Wrong answer. Call me.

I tell you,
Vinny's sleazebag of a lawyer

is making me sound like some
arrogant, irresponsible bully

with absolutely no regard
for his fellow man.

I hope that fat sack of crap
dies.

Becker, you really
should consider

talking to someone about this.

Therapy isn't
the negative thing you...

Give it a rest, will you, Reg?

Ruth said everything
is gonna be fine.

And I have complete faith
in her judgement.

Oh, Becker, there you are.

I have a riddle for you.

What's this tall and slept
with your lawyer last night?

Do you give up?

It was me.

What was that you said

about trusting
your lawyer's judgement?

You slept with Bob?

I was tense last night
after court.

Oh, my God, it's true.

Bob?

Look, I need to stay focused
on this trial.

How smart would it be for me

to sleep with a man
I was attracted to,

respected
or ever wanted to see again?

Oh.

But Bob?

John?
Yeah, yeah.

I just got here.
Have I missed anything?

No, the judge
is just about to come in.

Is that your lawyer?
Yeah.

Bob?

And you swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth?

I do, so help me God.

Mrs. Wyborn,

uh, you've worked with
Dr. Becker for some years now.

Is it common for him

to antagonise or intimidate
his patients?

Was that a real Bible?

I'm sorry, John,
I have to tell the truth.

You know they can hear you.

Miss Gilbert, what exactly
is your relationship

with Dr. Becker?

I met him when I cut my hand,
and he treated me.

By the way, he did that out
of the kindness of his heart.

I never saw a bill.

So you would consider yourself
to be a good friend of his?

I would say so, yes.

Mm-hm. Uh, one more question,
Miss Gilbert.

Is it true you're a prostitute?

I don't see
what that has to do with...

What's the matter?

Are you ashamed to admit
you're a prostitute?

No more ashamed
than you should be

to admit you're a lawyer.

No further questions.

Miss Kostas.
Mm-hm.

On the day in question,

Dr. Becker
stopped by your diner.

Yes, he did.
Mm-hm.

And would you say he was angry
about having to go to the gym?

Well, he did say that he thought.

Mr. Deluca
tricked him into going.

Mm-hm. So that's a yes.
He was angry.

No further questions.

No, in all fairness, you know,

he did see a little person
that day,

and they really creep him out.

It's not like he hates them

like he does cops, lawyers,

religious people,
civil servants...

Miss Kostas, you may step down.
Oh.

I've been begging him
to see someone.

He really needs
psychological help.

She said you could step down.

Actually, on that day,

Dr. Becker wasn't even at
the gym with Mr. Deluca.

He wasn't even in New York.

He was with me at
a medical conference in Denver.

So you see,
he couldn't possibly

have had anything to do
with this at all.

The defence has already
stipulated

that Dr. Becker was at the gym
with Mr. Deluca.

Oh.

Well, I came in late.

I'm getting killed here.

What are you thinking?

Maybe sleeping with Bob
was a mistake.

Yeah, that's what's
been bothering me too.

John?

Yeah, Jake, over here.

How are you doing?

I'm dead.
What are you talking about?

Oh, come on,
they're making it sound

like I reached
into Vinny's chest

and ripped out his heart
with my bare hands.

Which at the moment,
I actually feel like doing.

You could always take him back
to the gym. Ha-ha-ha.

The worst part is my lawyer
won't let me take the stand.

I gotta just sit there and
listen to that guy destroy me.

I mean, you should see the looks
the jury's giving me.

I could lose my practise, Jake.

Yeah?

Well, take it from me, John.

You can lose a lot of things you
think you can't live without,

but life goes on.

What, are you guilting me
with that whole blind thing?

I thought it might give you
a little perspective.

Look, even if you do lose, it
doesn't mean you're not right.

It doesn't mean
you're not a good doctor.

Thank you, Jake.

I appreciate that.

Ruth, sorry Bob
hasn't been around,

but I spent the day
writing a letter to Penthouse.

I finally have one that's true.

Bob, last night,

after we finished making
whatever that was,

what did I tell you?

"I feel so ashamed"?

After that.

"Hand me the remote
and go."

Before that.

"Come near me again,
I'll kill you"?

That's the one.
Oh.

Okay, we need a new strategy.

Yeah, does it involve
my grabbing the bailiff's gun

and blasting my way out of here?

That's plan B.

John, I'm gonna put you
on the stand.

Well, that's great.

You know,
I'm finally gonna be able

to say exactly what happened.

Okay, but listen,
the jury genuinely likes Vinny.

Ah.
Now they need to like you.

So keep your answers short
and to the point.

And remember, if you lose your
temper, you lose this trial.

All right, all right.

Oh, and one more thing, smile.

You know what?
Forget the smile.

John?
Yeah?

I'm sorry to bother you,
but Mr. Gordon is very upset.

It happened again,
Dr. Becker.

This afternoon, I got dizzy.

All rise.

Am I gonna be all right
for my granddaughter's wedding?

Be seated.
I've been starving myself

so I can fit into my best suit.

Dr. Becker,
the court is back in session.

Yeah, yeah, wait a minute.

You... ? You haven't been eating?
Nobody mentioned this to me.

Dr. Becker.
In a minute.

John.
You don't need a doctor.

You... You need a cookie.

You know,
you've got dizzy spells

because your blood sugar
is too low.

Oh?

Yeah, do you have
any candy in your purse?

John, you know I'm dieting.

Come on, come on, come on.

Oh, all right.

I'm not going to tell you again.

Hey, hey, you know, I'm done.

Relax.

I mean, relax, Your Honour.

Dr. Becker, I don't wanna
hear your voice again.

Counsellor,
call your next witness.

I-it's him.

So once his rhythms stabilized,
I discontinued CPR

and turned him over
to the paramedics.

But you didn't leave him, then,
did you?

No, no, I rode with him in
the ambulance to the hospital,

and then stayed with him
until he was out of danger

so I could...
I could talk to the family.

I see.

So when you visited Mr. Deluca
in the hospital,

what was it that he said to you?

He said he owed me his life.

Thank you. No further questions.

Mr. Goler, your witness.
Behave yourself.

Dr. Becker, why didn't you give
Mr. Deluca an echocardiogram,

an angiogram
or even a cardiac-enzyme test?

I didn't give him a Pap smear,
either.

Look, Vinny had no symptoms,

you know, no family history
of heart disease.

It would have been ridiculous
to run all those tests.

Would have been ridiculous
to run all those tests.

It wouldn't have made
any difference.

Wouldn't have made
any difference.

Who are you talking to?
Who am I talking...?

I am talking to all
the Vinny Delucas out there

who depend upon their physician
to save their lives.

Oh, you know something?
Now you're just pissing me off.

You know damn well...
I'll admonish you to watch...

Oh, admonish this.

Your Honor, may I have a word
with my client?

No, you know, you may not have
a word with your client.

You know something? I'm glad
Vinny had that heart attack.

Dr.
Becker, I would strongly advise you

to heed your counsel's advice.

Look, you know,
if I'm gonna lose this thing,

I might as well say
what I wanna say.

You know, Vinny
would've had that heart attack

whether or not
he went to the gym.

Matter of fact,
if I hadn't been with him,

he'd be dead by now instead of
sitting there suing me.

Dr. Becker.
You know something?

I saw Vinny have a salad today
at lunch.

Yeah, it's the first time
he's seen a piece of lettuce

that didn't come on top
of a cheeseburger.

And look... Look at his
shirt pocket there.

That's the first time
since I've known this bastard

there wasn't a pack
of cigarettes in there.

Yeah, he's finally learning
how to take care of himself.

And if that's my fault,
you know, fine.

I hope he lives long enough
to sue lots of doctors.

All right, that's enough.
That's the world we live in.

You know, where a lawyer
like that can twist the facts

just to grab a quick buck.

You keep this up, I'm gonna
find you in contempt of court.

And you.

Yeah, is this why
you went into the law,

so you could tie up
legitimate doctors

when they should be
treating patients

like Mr. Gordon over there?

Why? What's wrong with me?

Oh, nothing.
Sit down, will you?

No, you know something?
The hell with this.

You wanna find me guilty,
then just do it.

But remember, whether or not I'm
a nice guy is not on trial here.

Whether or not
I'm a good doctor is.

And if this court
can't tell the difference,

then to hell with this court.

Dr. Becker, you're out of order.

No, you know something?
You're out of order.

This whole system's
out of order.

Okay, Pacino.

That's it. You have no idea
how much I hate that damn movie.

I'll be honest, this is the
last place I thought I'd end up.

But my friend, Reggie,

kept telling me
to talk to a therapist.

You know, I told her I didn't
want any part of it, but...

You know, I gotta admit,

talking like this
kind of makes me feel better.

I still can't believe
I won that case.

I mean, since when do juries
go for the truth, huh?

I guess I also learned something
about practicing medicine.

It's not just about healing.

It's also about
covering your ass, heh.

You're right, you're right,
I should have known that.

I should have also known
not to piss off a judge.

Will you shut up?

Oh, yeah?
And who's gonna make me?

You know, actually, I'm done.
I'm done.