‘Becker’ Has Its Day in Court

Let’s be honest.

No one has ever stopped us at the water cooler and asked, “Did you see ‘Becker’ last night?”

“The Sopranos”? Yes. “The West Wing”? Absolutely. “Becker”? No.

Nonetheless, millions of others are watching this popular CBS comedy (9:30 p.m.), which generally benefits from a substantial lead-in provided by the superior “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

“Raymond” can be riotous. No one will ever say that about “Becker,” which focuses on a caustic, mad-at-the-world physician (Ted Danson), but at least the show’s likable ensemble has good timing and interaction. “Becker” will never be as funny or endearing as “Cheers,” in which Danson starred for 11 seasons, but there are weaker half-hours on the CBS schedule.

Tonight’s uneven season finale completes a story line involving a malpractice suit filed against curmudgeon John Becker, whose friends and co-workers are more hindrance than help as defense witnesses when he finally gets his day in court, with representation coming from a beautiful but rather ineffectual lawyer (Mariel Hemingway).

Predictably, Becker flies off the handle here, but he resolutely keeps everyone at a distance, remaining true to character when telling a colleague, “No matter what happens. No touching.”

Surf Report

SERIES

The boisterous “Ricki Lake,” which premiered in 1993, reaches its 1,500th episode (5 p.m. KCOP).

The UPN comedy lineup packs it in for the season. Mo ponders Hakeem’s invitation to move in with him for the summer on “Moesha” at 8 p.m. Darryl and friends are stranded in a dinghy on “The Hughleys” at 8:30 p.m. Kim learns her boyfriend is a single father on “The Parkers” at 9 p.m. And the ladies take a trip to Jamaica on “Girlfriends” at 9:30 p.m.

“Yes, Dear” (8:30 p.m. CBS), the first-year sitcom that gets no respect, ends its first year. Is that a cheer we hear?

“Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” (10:15 p.m. HBO) includes a report on former Laker Kermit Washington.

MOVIES

Whom will author Catherine Marshall’s cheery schoolteacher marry in the conclusion of “Christy: Choices of the Heart” (8 p.m., Pax)?